Nostromo: A Tale of the Seaboard
lief. "I have been telling Mrs. Gould that you were
perfectly safe, but I was not by any means certain
that the fellow would have let you go."
"Neither was I," confessed Charles Gould, laying his hat on the table.
"You will have to take action."
The silence of Charles Gould seemed to admit that this was the only course. This was as far as Charles Gould was accustomed to go towards expressing his intentions.
"I hope you did not warn Montero of what you mean to do," the doctor said, anxiously.
"I tried to make him see that the existence of the mine was bound up with my personal safety," continued Charles Gould, looking away from the doctor and fixing his eyes upon the water-color sketch upon the wall.
"He believed you?" the doctor asked, eagerly.
"God knows!" said Charles Gould. "I owed it to my wife to say that much. He is well enough informed. He knows that I have Don Pépé there. Fuentes must have told him. They know that the old major is perfectly capable of blowing up the San Tomé mine without hesitation or compunction. Had it not been for that I don't think I'd have left the Intendencia a free man. He would blow everything up from loyalty and from hate—from hate of these Liberals, as they call themselves. Liberals! The words one knows so well have a nightmarish meaning in this country. Liberty—democracy—patriotism—government. All of them have a flavor of folly and murder. Haven't they, doctor?... I alone can restrain Don Pépé. If
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