Nostromo : A Tale of the Seaboard
the husband of Antonia Avellanos would be naturally the intimate friend of the Gould Concession. He even pointed this out to Anzani once when negotiating the sixth or seventh small loan in the gloomy, damp apartment, with enormous iron bars, behind the principal shop in the whole row under the arcades. He hinted to the universal shopkeeper at the excellent terms he was on with the emancipated seflorita, who was like a sister to the Englishwoman. He would advance one leg and put his arms akimbo, posing for Anzani's inspection and fixing him with a haughty stare.
"Look, miserable shopkeeper! How can a man like me fail with any woman, let alone an emancipated girl living in scandalous freedom?" he seemed to say. His manner in the Casa Gould was, of course, very different, devoid of all truculence and even slightly mournful. Like most of his countrymen, he was carried away by the sound of fine words, especially if uttered by himself. He had no convictions of any sort upon anything except as to the irresistible power of his personal advantages. But that was so firm that even Decoud's appearance in Sulaco and his intimacy with the Goulds and the Avellanos, did not disquiet him. On the contrary, he tried to make friends with that rich Costaguanero from Europe in the hope of borrowing a large sum by-and-by. The only guiding motive of his life was to get money for the satisfaction of his expensive tastes, which he indulged recklessly, having no self-control. He imagined himself a master of intrigue, but his corruption was as simple as an animal instinct. At times, in solitude, he had his
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