Ностромо
Chapter 6
Gould’swhitemules,hehadsaidinCharles’sroom—
“Yougoaheadinyourownway,andIshallknowhowtohelpyouaslongasyouholdyourown.Butyoumayrestassuredthatinagivencaseweshallknowhowtodropyouintime.”
TothisCharlesGould’sonlyanswerhadbeen:“Youmaybeginsendingoutthemachineryassoonasyoulike.”
Andthegreatmanhadlikedthisimperturbableassurance.ThesecretofitwasthattoCharlesGould’smindtheseuncompromisingtermswereagreeable.Likethistheminepreserveditsidentity,withwhichhehadendoweditasaboy;anditremaineddependentonhimselfalone.Itwasaseriousaffair,andhe,too,tookitgrimly.
“Ofcourse,”hesaidtohiswife,alludingtothislastconversationwiththedepartedguest,whiletheywalkedslowlyupanddownthecorredor,followedbytheirritatedeyeoftheparrot—“ofcourse,amanofthatsortcantakeupathingordropitwhenhelikes.Hewillsufferfromnosenseofdefeat.Hemayhavetogivein,orhemayhavetodieto-morrow,butthegreatsilverandironinterestswillsurvive,andsomedaywillgetholdofCostaguanaalongwiththerestoftheworld.”
Theyhadstoppednearthecage.Theparrot,catchingthesoundofawordbelongingtohisvocabulary,wasmovedtointerfere.Parrotsareveryhuman.
