The Saint Paul globe., 1904-05-08
BY JOSEPH CONRAD.
copyright, 1904, by Mcclure, Phillips
& Coz
CHAPTER v.


This is bad this is very bad;
what shall do now?" A sort of mad
meditation that in this meaningless way
became so tense as to positively fright
en- me. went to sleep ultimately, just
as a man sentenced to death goes to
sleep. Ever when I awoke it kept me
steady, in way. I washed, dressed,
walked, ate, said Good morning,
Cesar" to the old major-domo 1 met in
the gallery; exchanged grins with the
negro boys under the gateway, and
watched the mules being ridden out
barebacked by other nearly naked
negro boys into the sea, with great
splashing of water and a noise of
voices. A small knot of men, unnis-
takably Lugarenos, stood on the beach,
also, watching the mules, and exchang-
ing loud ocular shouts with the blacks
AS 1 looked from the outer balcony
above the great gate, the Lugarenos
turned about to look at the Casa
Riego. They recognized me, no doubt,
and one of them iourished, threaten
ingly, an arm from under his cloak.
retreated indoors.
This was the only menacing sign.
absolutely the only one sign that mark
ed this day. 1t was a day of pause.
Seraphina did not leave her apart
ments; Don Balthasar did not show
himself; Father Antonio hurrying to-
wards the sick room, greeted me with
only a wave of the hand. 1 was not
admitted to see Carlos; the nun came
to the door, shook her head at me, and
closed it gently in my face. Castro,
sitting on the floor not very far away,
seemed unaware of me in so marked
manner that it inspired me with the
Idea of not taking the slightest notice
of him.
went to my room and sat thinking.
Suddenly L heard a stealthy sound.
went to the door and listened. Then,
opening it the merest crack, I saw the
emptiness of the gallery. Castro, on his
hands and knees, startled me by whis-
pering at my feet:
Stand aside, senor."
He entered my room on all fours, and
waited till 1 got the door closed before
he stood up.
Even he may sleep sometimes" he
said. And the balustrade has hidden
me-"
To see this little saturnine bandit,
who generally stalked about haughtily,
by right of fidelity, crawl into my room
like this was inexpressibly startling.
He shook the folds Of his cloak and
dropped his hat on the floor.
Still, it is better so. The very wom-
en- of the house are not SAFE" he said.
"Senor, have no mind to be delivered
to the English for hanging. But have
not been admitted to see Don Carlos,
ND fIar.a 7
to you. These are Don Carlos orders.
Serve him, Castro, when am dead, as
If my soul had passed into his body"
He nodded sadly. Isl! But Don Car
los is a friend to me and you-you."
He shook his head, and drew me away
from the door. Two Lugarenos," he
said, Manual and another one, did go
last night, as directed by the friar"-
he Supposed-"to meet the Juez in the
bush outside Rio Medic. He holds all
the people in his hand in some way
Even | must be cautious, though l am
an humble, trusted friend of the Casa"
What harm can he do to you?"
asked.
He is civil to me. Amigo Castro
here, and Amigo Castro there. Bah!
The devil, alone, is his friendi He
could deliver me to justice and get my
life sworn away. He could Quien
"a man that can get absolution from
the archbishop himself if he likes
He looked at me fiXedly, as If expect
Ing me to make a sign, then shrugged
his shoulders.
''Bueno. Then look to it yourself,
senior. You are to me even as Don Car
loS-aH except for the love. No Eng
lish body is big enough to receive his
soul. No friend will be left that should
risk his very honor of a noble for a
man like Tomas Castro. Let me warn
you not to leave Casa, even If shining
angel stood outside the gate and called
you by name. The gate is barred, now.
night and day, l have dropped hint
to Cesar, and that old African knows
more than the senior would suppose
cannot tell how soon / may have the
opportunity to talk to you again."
He peeped through the crack of the
door, then slipped out, suddenly falling
at once on his hands and knees, so as
to be hidden by the stone balustrade
from anybody in the patio.
Early In the evening descended into
the court, and Father Antonio, walk
ing up and down the patio with his
eyes on his breviary. muttered to me:
''Sit on this chair" and went on
without stopping.
/ took a chair near the marble rim of
the basin with its border of English
flowers, its splashing thread of water
Father Antonio his head down, and
the open breviary under his nose
brushed my foot with the skirt of his
cassock.
Have you any plan?"
When he came back, walking very
Slowly, l said, None"
At his next turn l pronounced rap
idly, Il should like to see Carlos"
He frowned over the edge of the
book.
I understood that he refused to let
me in. And, after all, why should /
disturb that dying man? He was pre-
pairing for eternity. Father Antonio's
business was to save souls. I felt hor-
ribly crushed and alone. The priest
asked, hardly moving his lips:
What do you trust to?"
| had the time to mediate my reply.
"Tell Carlos think of escape by sea-
He made little sign of assent. turn
ed off towards the staircase. and went
back to the sick ROOM
The folly Of it," 1 thought How
could think of it? Escape where? I
dared not even show myself outside the
Casa. My safety within depended on
old Cesar more than on ANYBODY else
He had the key of the gate and the
gate was practically the only thing be-
tween me and miserable death at the
hands of the first ruffian / met outside.
And with the thought 1 seemed to
stife in that patio open to the sky.
Cesar, going his round along the
gallery shuffled his silk-clad shanks
smartly between two young negroes