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\nPer\u00adhaps the very atmo\u00adsphe\u00adric con\u00addi\u00adti\u00adons which had kept away the mer\u00adchant fleets of bygone ages indu\u00adced the O.S.N. Com\u00adpany to vio\u00adlate the sanc\u00adtuary of peace shel\u00adte\u00adring the calm exis\u00adtence of Sulaco. The varia\u00adble airs sport\u00ading lightly with the vast semicir\u00adcle of waters within the head of Azu\u00adera could not baffle the steam power of their excel\u00adlent fleet. Year after year the black hulls of their ships had gone up and down the coast, in and out, past Azu\u00adera, past the Isa\u00adbels, past Punta Mala\u2014disregarding ever\u00ady\u00adthing but the tyranny of time. Their names, the names of all mytho\u00adlogy, became the house\u00adhold words of a coast that had never been ruled by the gods of Olym\u00adpus. The Juno was known only for her com\u00adfor\u00adta\u00adble cab\u00adins amid\u00adships, the Saturn for the genia\u00adlity of her cap\u00adtain and the pain\u00adted and gilt luxu\u00adrious\u00adness of her saloon, whe\u00adreas the Gany\u00admede was fit\u00adted out mainly for cattle trans\u00adport, and to be avo\u00adided by coast\u00adwise pas\u00adsen\u00adgers. The hum\u00adblest Indian in the obscu\u00adrest vil\u00adlage on the coast was fami\u00adliar with the Cer\u00adbe\u00adrus, a little black puf\u00adfer wit\u00adhout charm or living accom\u00admo\u00adda\u00adtion to speak of, whose mis\u00adsion was to creep inshore along the woo\u00added bea\u00adches close to mighty ugly rocks, stop\u00adping obligin\u00adgly before every clus\u00adter of huts to coll\u00adect pro\u00adduce, down to three-pound par\u00adcels of indi\u00ada\u00adrub\u00adber bound in a wrap\u00adper of dry grass.
\nAnd as they sel\u00addom fai\u00adled to account for the smal\u00adlest package, rarely lost a bul\u00adlock, and had never drow\u00adned a sin\u00adgle pas\u00adsen\u00adger, the name of the O.S.N. stood very high for trust\u00adwort\u00adhi\u00adness. Peo\u00adple declared that under the Company\u2019s care their lives and pro\u00adperty were safer on the water than in their own hou\u00adses on shore.
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\nThe O.S.N.\u2019s super\u00adin\u00adten\u00addent in Sulaco for the whole Cos\u00adta\u00adguana sec\u00adtion of the ser\u00advice was very proud of his Company\u2019s stan\u00adding. He resu\u00admed it in a say\u00ading which was very often on his lips, \u201cWe never make mista\u00adkes.\u201d To the Company\u2019s offi\u00adcers it took the form of a severe injunc\u00adtion, \u201cWe must make no mista\u00adkes. I\u2019ll have no mista\u00adkes here, no mat\u00adter what Smith may do at his end.\u201d
\nSmith, on whom he had never set eyes in his life, was the other super\u00adin\u00adten\u00addent of the ser\u00advice, quar\u00adte\u00adred some fif\u00adteen hundred miles away from Sulaco. \u201cDon\u2019t talk to me of your Smith.\u201d
\nThen, cal\u00adming down sud\u00addenly, he would dis\u00admiss the sub\u00adject with stu\u00addied negligence.
\n\u201cSmith knows no more of this con\u00adti\u00adnent than a baby.\u201d
\n\u201cOur excel\u00adlent Senor Mit\u00adchell\u201d for the busi\u00adness and offi\u00adcial world of Sulaco; \u201cFussy Joe\u201d for the com\u00adman\u00adders of the Company\u2019s ships, Cap\u00adtain Joseph Mit\u00adchell pri\u00added hims\u00adelf on his pro\u00adfound know\u00adledge of men and things in the country\u2014cosas de Cos\u00adta\u00adguana. Amongst these last he accoun\u00adted as most unfa\u00advoura\u00adble to the orderly working of his Com\u00adpany the fre\u00adquent chan\u00adges of govern\u00adment brought about by revo\u00adlu\u00adti\u00adons of the mili\u00adtary type.
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\nThe poli\u00adti\u00adcal atmo\u00adsphere of the Repu\u00adblic was gene\u00adrally stormy in these days. The fugi\u00adtive patri\u00adots of the defea\u00adted party had the knack of tur\u00adning up again on the coast with half a steamer\u2019s load of small arms and ammu\u00adni\u00adtion. Such resourceful\u00adness Cap\u00adtain Mit\u00adchell con\u00adside\u00adred as per\u00adfectly won\u00adderful in view of their utter desti\u00adtu\u00adtion at the time of flight. He had obser\u00adved that \u201cthey never see\u00admed to have enough change about them to pay for their pas\u00adsage ticket out of the coun\u00adtry.\u201d And he could speak with know\u00adledge; for on a memo\u00adrable occa\u00adsion he had been cal\u00adled upon to save the life of a dic\u00adta\u00adtor, tog\u00ade\u00adther with the lives of a few Sulaco officials\u2014the poli\u00adti\u00adcal chief, the direc\u00adtor of the cus\u00adtoms, and the head of police\u2014belonging to an over\u00adtur\u00adned govern\u00adment. Poor Senor Ribiera (such was the dictator\u2019s name) had come pel\u00adting eighty miles over moun\u00adtain tracks after the lost battle of Socorro, in the hope of out-distancing the fatal news\u2014which, of course, he could not manage to do on a lame mule. The ani\u00admal, moreo\u00adver, expi\u00adred under him at the end of the Ala\u00admeda, where the mili\u00adtary band plays some\u00adti\u00admes in the evenings bet\u00adween the revo\u00adlu\u00adti\u00adons. \u201cSir,\u201d Cap\u00adtain Mit\u00adchell would pur\u00adsue with porten\u00adtous gra\u00advity, \u201cthe ill-timed end of that mule attrac\u00adted atten\u00adtion to the unfort\u00adu\u00adnate rider. His fea\u00adtures were reco\u00adgni\u00adzed by seve\u00adral deser\u00adters from the Dic\u00adta\u00adto\u00adrial army amongst the ras\u00adcally mob alre\u00adady enga\u00adged in smas\u00adhing the win\u00addows of the Intendencia.\u201d
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\nEarly on the mor\u00adning of that day the local aut\u00adho\u00adri\u00adties of Sulaco had fled for refuge to the O.S.N. Company\u2019s offices, a strong buil\u00adding near the shore end of the jetty, lea\u00adving the town to the mer\u00adcies of a revo\u00adlu\u00adtio\u00adnary rabble; and as the Dic\u00adta\u00adtor was exe\u00adcra\u00adted by the popu\u00adlace on account of the severe recruit\u00adment law his neces\u00adsi\u00adties had com\u00adpel\u00adled him to enforce during the struggle, he stood a good chance of being torn to pie\u00adces. Pro\u00advi\u00adden\u00adti\u00adally, Nostromo\u2014invaluable fellow\u2014with some Ita\u00adlian work\u00admen, impor\u00adted to work upon the Natio\u00adnal Cen\u00adtral Rail\u00adway, was at hand, and mana\u00adged to snatch him away\u2014for the time at least. Ulti\u00adm\u00adately, Cap\u00adtain Mit\u00adchell suc\u00adcee\u00added in taking ever\u00ady\u00adbody off in his own gig to one of the Company\u2019s steamers\u2014it was the Minerva\u2014just then, as luck would have it, ente\u00adring the harbour.
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\nHe had to lower these gen\u00adtle\u00admen at the end of a rope out of a hole in the wall at the back, while the mob which, pou\u00adring out of the town, had spread its\u00adelf all along the shore, how\u00adled and foa\u00admed at the foot of the buil\u00adding in front. He had to hurry them then the whole length of the jetty; it had been a despe\u00adrate dash, neck or nothing\u2014and again it was Nostromo, a fel\u00adlow in a thousand, who, at the head, this time, of the Company\u2019s body of ligh\u00adter\u00admen, held the jetty against the rus\u00adhes of the rabble, thus giving the fugi\u00adti\u00adves time to reach the gig lying ready for them at the other end with the Company\u2019s flag at the stern. Sticks, stones, shots flew; kni\u00adves, too, were thrown. Cap\u00adtain Mit\u00adchell exhi\u00adbi\u00adted wil\u00adlingly the long cica\u00adtrice of a cut over his left ear and temple, made by a razor-blade fas\u00adtened to a stick\u2014a wea\u00adpon, he explai\u00adned, very much in favour with the \u201cworst kind of nig\u00adger out here.\u201d
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\nCap\u00adtain Mit\u00adchell was a thick, elderly man, wea\u00adring high, poin\u00adted col\u00adlars and short side-whis\u00adkers, par\u00adtial to white wais\u00adt\u00adcoats, and really very com\u00admu\u00adni\u00adca\u00adtive under his air of pom\u00adpous reserve.
\n\u201cThese gen\u00adtle\u00admen,\u201d he would say, sta\u00adring with great solem\u00adnity, \u201chad to run like rab\u00adbits, sir. I ran like a rab\u00adbit mys\u00adelf. Cer\u00adtain forms of death are\u2014er\u2014distasteful to a\u2014a\u2014er\u2014respectable man. They would have poun\u00added me to death, too. A crazy mob, sir, does not dis\u00adcri\u00admi\u00adnate. Under pro\u00advi\u00addence we owed our pre\u00adser\u00adva\u00adtion to my Capa\u00adtaz de Carg\u00adado\u00adres, as they cal\u00adled him in the town, a man who, when I dis\u00adco\u00advered his value, sir, was just the bos\u2019n of an Ita\u00adlian ship, a big Genoese ship, one of the few Euro\u00adpean ships that ever came to Sulaco with a gene\u00adral cargo before the buil\u00adding of the Natio\u00adnal Cen\u00adtral. He left her on account of some very respec\u00adta\u00adble fri\u00adends he made here, his own coun\u00adtry\u00admen, but also, I sup\u00adpose, to bet\u00adter hims\u00adelf. Sir, I am a pretty good judge of cha\u00adrac\u00adter. I enga\u00adged him to be the fore\u00adman of our ligh\u00adter\u00admen, and caret\u00ada\u00adker of our jetty. That\u2019s all that he was. But wit\u00adhout him Senor Ribiera would have been a dead man. This Nostromo, sir, a man abso\u00adlut\u00adely above reproach, became the ter\u00adror of all the thie\u00adves in the town. We were infes\u00adted, infes\u00adted, over\u00adrun, sir, here at that time by ladro\u00adnes and matre\u00adros, thie\u00adves and mur\u00adde\u00adrers from the whole pro\u00advince. On this occa\u00adsion they had been flo\u00adcking into Sulaco for a week past. They had scen\u00adted the end, sir. Fifty per cent. of that mur\u00adde\u00adring mob were pro\u00adfes\u00adsio\u00adnal ban\u00addits from the Campo, sir, but there wasn\u2019t one that hadn\u2019t heard of Nostromo. As to the town lepe\u00adros, sir, the sight of his black whis\u00adkers and white teeth was enough for them. They quai\u00adled before him, sir. That\u2019s what the force of cha\u00adrac\u00adter will do for you.\u201d
\nIt could very well be said that it was Nostromo alone who saved the lives of these gen\u00adtle\u00admen. Cap\u00adtain Mit\u00adchell, on his part, never left them till he had seen them col\u00adlapse, pan\u00adting, ter\u00adri\u00adfied, and exas\u00adpe\u00adra\u00adted, but safe, on the luxu\u00adri\u00adant vel\u00advet sofas in the first-class saloon of the Minerva. To the very last he had been careful to address the ex-Dic\u00adta\u00adtor as \u201cYour Excellency.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"