WEBVTT
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The Arrow of Gold, a story between two notes by
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Joseph Conrad. This LibriVox recording is in the public domain,
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read by Peter Dan second note, The narrative of our
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Man goes on for some six months more from this
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the last night of the carnival season, up to and
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beyond the season of Roses. The tone of it is
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much less of exultation than might have been expected. Love,
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as is well known, having nothing to do with reasons,
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being insensible to forebodings, and even blind to evidence. The
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surrender of those two beings to a precarious bliss has
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nothing very astonishing in itself, and its portrayal as he
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attempts it, lacks dramatic interest. The sentimental interest could only
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have a fascination for readers themselves actually in love. The
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response of a reader depends on the mood of the moment,
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so much so that a book may seem extremely interesting
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when read late at night, but might appear merely a
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lot of vapid verbiage in the morning. My conviction is
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that the mood in which the continuation of his story
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would appear sympathetic is very rare. This consideration has induced
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me to suppress it all but the actual facts which
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round up the previous events and satisfy such curiosity as
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might have been aroused by the foregoing narrative. It is
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to be remarked that this period is characterized more by
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a deep and joyous tenderness than by sheer passion. All
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fierceness of spirit seems to have burnt itself out in
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their preliminary hesitations and struggles against each other and themselves.
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Whether love in its entirety has speaking generally the same
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elementary meaning for women as for men is very doubtful.
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Civilization has been at work there. But the fact is
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that those two display, in every phase of discovery and
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response an exact accord. Both show themselves amazingly ingenuous in
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the practice of sentiment. I believe that those who know
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women won't be surprised to him he say that she
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was as new to love as he was. During their
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retreat in the region of the Maritime Alps, in a
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small house built of dry stones and embowered with roses,
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they appear all through to be less like released lovers
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than as companions who had found out each other's fitness
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in a specially intense way. Upon the whole I think
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that there must be some truth in his insistence of
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there having always been something childlike in their relation. In
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the unreserved and instant sharing of all thoughts, all impressions,
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all sensations, we see the naiveness of a children's foolhardy adventure.
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This unreserved express for him the whole truth of the situation.
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With her, it may have been different, it might have
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been assumed. Yet nobody is altogether a comedian, and even
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comedians themselves have got to believe in the part they play.
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Of the two, she appears much the more assured and confident.
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But if in this she was a comedienne, then it
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was but a great achievement of her ineradicable honesty. Having
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once renounced her honorable scruples, she took good care that
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he should taste no flavor of misgiving in the cup.
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Being older, it was she who imparted its character to
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the situation. As to the man, if he had any
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superiority of his own, it was simply the superiority of
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him who loves with the greater self surrender. This is
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what appears from the pages I have discreetly suppressed, partly
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out of regard for the pages themselves. In every even
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terrestrial mystery, there is, as it were, a sacred core.
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A sustained commentary on love is not fit for every eye.
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A universal experience is exactly the sort of thing which
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is most difficult to appraise justly in a particular instance.
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How this particular instance affected Rose, who was the only
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companion of the two hermits in their rose embowered hut
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of stones, I regret not to be able to report,
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but I will venture to say that, for reasons on
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which I need not enlarge, the girl could not have
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been very reassured by what she saw. It seems to
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me that her devotion could never be appeased, for the
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conviction must have been growing in her that, no matter
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what happened, Madame could never have any friends. It may
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be that Doniaita had given her a glimpse of the
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unavoidable end, and that the girl's tarnished eyes masked a
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certain amount of apprehensive, helpless desolation. What meantime was becoming
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of the fortune of Henry Alagra is another curious question.
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We have been told that it was too big to
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be tied up in a sack and thrown into the sea,
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that part of it represented by the Fabulous Collections was
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still being protected by the police. But for the rest
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it may be assumed that its power and significance were
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lost to an interested world for something like six months.
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What is certain is that the late Henry Alagra's man
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of affairs found himself comparatively idle. The holiday must have
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done much good to his harassed brain. He had received
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a note from Don Yata saying that she had gone
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into retreat, and that she did not mean to send
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him her address, not being in the humor to be
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worried with letters on any subject. Whatever it's enough for you,
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she wrote to know that I am alive. Later, at
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a regular intervals, he received scraps of paper bearing the
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stamps of various post offices, and containing the simple statement
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I am still alive, with an enormous, flourished, exuberant r.
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I imagine Rose had to travel some distance by rail
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to post those messages. A thick veil of secrecy had
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been lowered between the world and the lovers. Yet even
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this veil turned out not altogether impenetrable. He it would
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be convenient to call him Monsieur George. To the end,
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shared with Don Narita, her perfect attachment from all mundane affairs,
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but he had to make two short visits to Marseilles.
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The first was prompted by his loyal affection for Dominic.
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He wanted to discover what had happened or was happening,
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to Dominic, and to find out whether he could do
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something for that man. But Dominic was not the sort
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of person for whom one can do much. Monsieur George
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did not even see him. It looked, uncommonly, as if
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Dominic's heart were broken. Monsieur George remained concealed for twenty
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four hours in the very house in which Madame Leonore
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had her cafe. He spent most of that time in
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conversing with Madame Leonore about Dominic. She was distressed, but
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her mind was made up. That bright eyed, nonchalant and
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passionate woman was making arrangements to dispose of her cafe
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before departing to join Dominic. She would not say where.
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Having ascertained that his assistance was not required, Monsieur George,
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in his own words, managed to sneak out of the
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town without being seen by a single soul that mattered.
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The second occasion was very prosaic and shockingly incongruous with
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the super mundane coloring of these days. He had neither
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the fortune of Henry Alagre, nor a man of affairs
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of his own, but some rent had to be paid
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to somebody for the stone hut, and Rose could not
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go marketing in the tiny hamlet at the foot of
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the hill without a little money. There came a time
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when Monsieu George had to descend from the heights of
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his love in order, in his own words, to get
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a supply of cash. As he had disappeared very suddenly
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and completely for a time from the eyes of mankind,
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it was necessary that he should show himself and sign
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some papers that business was transacted in the office of
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the banker mentioned in the story. Monsieur George wished to
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avoid seeing the man himself, but in this he did
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not succeed. The interview was short. The banker naturally asked
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no questions, made no allusions to persons and events, and
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didn't even mention the great legitimate principle which presented to
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him now no interest whatever. But for the moment all
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the world was talking of the Carlist enterprise. It had
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collapsed utterly, leaving behind, as usual, a large crop of recriminations,
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charges of incompetency and treachery, and a certain amount of
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scandalous gossip. The banker, his wife Salloon, had been very
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carlst indeed glad that he had never believed in the
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success of the cause. Ye are well out of it,
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he remarked with a chilly smile to Monsieur George. The
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latter merely observed that he had been very little in it,
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as a matter of fact, and that he was quite
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indifferent to the whole affair. You left a few of
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your feathers in it, nevertheless, the banker concluded, with a
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wooden face, and with the curtness of a man who knows.
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Monsieur George ought to have taken the very next train
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out of the town, but he yielded to the temptation
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to discover what had happened to the house in the
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street of the Consuls after he and Donya Rita had
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stolen out of it like two scared yet jubilant children.
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All he discovered was a strange fact woman, a sort
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of virago, who had apparently been put in as a
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caretaker by the man of affairs. She made some difficulties
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to admit that she had been in charge for the
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last four months, ever since the person who was there
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before had a lot roped with some Spaniard who had
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been lying in the house ill with fever for more
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than six weeks. No, she never saw the person, neither
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had she seen the Spaniard. She had only heard the
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talk of the street. Of course, she didn't know where
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these people had gone. She manifested some impatience to get
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rid of Monsieur George, and even attempted to push him
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towards the door. It was, he says, a very funny experience.
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He noticed the feeble flame of the gas jet in
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the hall, still waiting for extinction in the general collapse
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of the world. Then he decided to have a bit
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of dinner at the restaurant de la Guire, where he
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felt pretty certain he would not meet any of his friends.
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He could not have asked Madame Leonou for hospitality, because
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Madame Leonore had gone away already. His acquaintances were not
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the sort of people likely to happen casually into a
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restaurant of that kind, And moreover, he took the precaution
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to seat himself at a small table so as to
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face the wall yet before long he felt a hand
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laid gently on his shoulder, and looking up, saw one
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of his acquaintances, a member of the Royalist Club, a
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young man of a very cheerful disposition, but whose face
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looked down at him with a grave and anxious expression.
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Missus George was far from delighted. His surprise was extreme when,
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in the course of the first phrases exchanged with him,
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he learned that this acquaintance had come to the station
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with the hope of finding him there. You haven't been
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seen for some time, he said, You are perhaps somewhere
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where the news from the world could and reach you.
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There have been many changes amongst our friends and amongst
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people one used to hear of so much. There is
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Madame de la Staola, for instance, who seems to have
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vanished from the world which was so much interested in her.
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You have no idea where she may be now, Monsieu
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George remarked grumpily that he couldn't say. The other tried
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to appear at ease. Tongues were wagging about it. In
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Paris there was a sort of international financier, a fellow
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with an Italian name, a shadowy personality who had been
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looking for all over Europe and talked in clubs, astonishing
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how such fellows get into the best clubs. Oh As
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a Latti was his name. But perhaps what a fellow
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like that said did not matter. The funniest thing was
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that there was no man of any position in the
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world who had disappeared. At the same time, a friend
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in Paris wrote to him that a certain well known
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journalist had rushed south to investigate the mystery, but had
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returned no wiser than he went. Monsieur George remarked, more
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unamiably than before, that he really could not help all that. No,
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said the other, with extreme gentleness. Only, of all the
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people more or less connected with the Carlist affair, you
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were the only one that had also disappeared before the
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final collapse, What cried Monsieur George, So said the other meaningly.
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You know that all my people like you very much,
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though they hold various opinions as to your discretion. Only
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the other day, Jane, you know, my married sister and
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I were talking about you. She was extremely distressed. I
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assured her that you must be very far away, or
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very deeply buried somewhere not to have given a sign
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of life under this provocation. Naturally, Monsieur George wanted to
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know what it was all about, and the other appeared
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greatly relieved. I was sure you couldn't have heard. I
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don't want to be indiscreet. I don't want to ask
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you where you were. It came to my ears that
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you had been seen at the bank to day, and
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I made a special effort to lay hold of you
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before you vanished again. For after all, we have been
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always good friends, and all our lot here liked you
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very much. Listen, you know a certain Captain Blunt, don't you.
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Miss George owned to knowing Captain Blunt, but only very slightly.
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His friend then informed him that this Captain Blunt was
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apparently well acquainted with Madame de la Stiola, or at
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any rate, pretended to be. He was an honorable man,
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a member of a good club. He was very Parisian
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in a way. And all this, he continued, made all
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the worse that of which he was under the painful
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necessity of warning Monsieur George. This Blunt, on three distinct occasions,
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when the name of Madame de la Stola came up
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in conversation in a mixed company of men, had expressed
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his regret that she should have become a prey of
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a young adventurer who was exploiting her shamelessly. He talked
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like a man certain of his facts, and as he
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mentioned names. In fact, the young man burst out excitedly.
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It is your name that he mentions, and in order
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to fix the exact personality, he always takes care to
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add that you are that young fellow who is known
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as Missieu George all over the South amongst the initiated Carlists.
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How Blunt had got enough information to boast that atrocious
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calumny on Mossu. George couldn't imagine, but there it was.
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He kept silent in his indignation till his friend murmured,
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I expect you will want him to know that you
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are here, yes, said Monsieur George. And I hope you
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will consent to act for me altogether. First of all,
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pray let him know by why that I am waiting
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for him. This will be enough to fetch him down here.
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I can assure you you may ask him also to
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bring two friends with him. I don't intend this to
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be an affair for Parisian journalists to write paragraphs about yes,
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that sort of thing must be stopped at once. The
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other admitted. He assented to Monsieur George's request that the
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meeting should be arranged for at his elder brother's country place,
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where the family stayed very seldom. There was a most
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convenient walled garden there. And then Monsieur George caught his train,
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promising to be back on the fourth day, and leaving
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all further arrangements to his friend. He prided himself on
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his impenetrability before Doniaita, on the happiness without a shadow
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of those four days. However, don Eurita must have had
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the intuition of there being something in the wind, because
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on the evening of the very same day, on which
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he left her again on some pretense or other, she
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was already ensconced in the house in the street of
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the Consuls, with a trustworthy rose, scouting all over the
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town to gain information of the proceedings in the walled garden.
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There is no need to speak in detail. They were
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conventionally correct, but an earnestness of purpose, which could be
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felt in the very air, lifted the business above the
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common run of affairs of honor. One bit of byplay,
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unnoticed by the seconds, very busy for the moment with
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their arrangements must be mentioned disregarding the severe rules of
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conduct in such cases. Monsieur George approached his abde adversary
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and addressed him directly. Captain Blunt. He said, the result
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of this meeting may go against me. In that case,
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you will recognize publicly that you were wrong, for you
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are wrong, and you know it. May I trust your honor.
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In answer to that appeal, Captain Blunt, always correct, didn't
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open his lips, but only made a little bow for
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the rest. He was perfectly ruthless. If he was utterly
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incapable of being carried away by love, there was nothing
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equivocal about his jealousy. Such psychology is not very rare,
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and really, from the point of view of the combat itself,
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one cannot very well blame him. What happened was this
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Mossu George fired on the word, and whether luck or
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skill managed to hit Captain Blunt in the upper part
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of the arm which was holding the pistol, that gentleman's
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arm dropped powerless by his side, but he did not
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drop his weapon. There was nothing equivocal about his determination.
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With the greatest deliberation he reached with his left hand
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for his pistol, and taking careful aim, shot Monsieur Jos
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through the left side of his breast. One may imagine
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the consternation of the four seconds and the activity of
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the two surgeons in the confined, drowsy heat of that
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walled garden. It was within an easy drive of the town,
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and as Monsieur George was being conveyed there at a
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walking pace, a little brahm, coming from the opposite direction,
300
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pulled up at the side of the road. A thickly
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veiled woman's head looked out of the window, took in
302
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the state of affairs at a glance, and called out
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in a firm voice, follow my carriage. The brahm, turning round,
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took the lead. Long before this convoy reached the town,
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another carriage containing four gentlemen, of whom one was leaning
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back languidly with his arm in a sling, whisked past
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and vanished ahead in a cloud of white provencile dust.
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And this is the last appearance of Captain Blunt and
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Monsu George's narrative. Of course, he was only told of
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it later. At the time, he was not in a
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condition to notice things. Its interest in his surroundings remained
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of a hazy and nightmarish kind for many days altogether.
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From time to time he had the impression that he
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was in a room strangely familiar to him, that he
315
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had unsatisfactory visions of don Yareta, to whom he tried
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to speak as if nothing had happened, but that she
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always put her hand on his mouth to prevent him,
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and then spoke to him herself in a very strange voice,
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which sometimes resembled the voice of Rose. The face, too,
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sometimes resembled the face of Rose. There were also one
321
00:19:49.160 --> 00:19:51.880
or two men's faces which he seemed to know well enough,
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though he didn't recall their names. He could have done
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so with a slight effort, but it would have been
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too much trouble. Then came a time when the hallucinations
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of Donareta and the faithful Rose left him altogether. Next
326
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came a period, perhaps a year or perhaps an hour,
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during which he seemed to dream all through his past life.
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He felt no apprehension. He didn't try to speculate as
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to the future. He felt that all possible conclusions were
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out of his power, and therefore he was indifferent to everything.
331
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He was like that dream's disinterested spectator who doesn't know
332
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what is going to happen next. Suddenly, for the first
333
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time in his life, he had the sole satisfying consciousness
334
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of floating off into deep slumber. When he woke up
335
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after an hour or a day or a month, there
336
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was dusk in the room, but he recognized it perfectly.
337
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It was his apartment in Donareta's house. Those were the
338
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familiar surroundings in which he had so often told himself
339
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that he must either die or go. But now he
340
00:21:02.039 --> 00:21:05.759
felt perfectly clear headed, and the full sensation of being
341
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alive came all over him, languidly, delicious. The greatest beauty
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of it was that there was no need to move.
343
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This gave him a sort of moral satisfaction. Then the
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first thought, independent of personal sensation came into his head.
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He wondered when Terreise would come in and begin talking.
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He saw vaguely a human figure in the room, but
347
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that was a man. He was speaking in a deadened
348
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voice which had yet a preternatural distinctness. This is the
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second case I have had in this house, and I
350
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am sure that directly or indirectly it was connected with
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that woman. She will go on like this, leaving a
352
00:21:48.759 --> 00:21:51.160
track behind her, and then some day there will be
353
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really a corpse. This young fellow might have been it
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in this case, doctor, said another voice. One can't blame
355
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the woman very much. I assure you. She made a
356
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very determined fight. What do you mean that she didn't
357
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want to? Yes, a very good fight. I heard all
358
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about it. It is easy to blame her. But as
359
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she asked me despairingly, could she go through life failed
360
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from head to foot, or go out of it altogether
361
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into a convent? No, she isn't guilty. She is simply
362
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what she is, and what's that? Very much of a woman,
363
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perhaps a little more at the mercy of contradictory impulses
364
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than other women. But that's not her fault. I really
365
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think she has been very honest. The voices sank suddenly
366
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to a still lower murmur, and presently the shape of
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the man went out of the room. Missus George heard
368
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distinctly the door open and shut. Then he spoke for
369
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the first time, discovering with a particular pleasure that it
370
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was quite easy to speak. He was even under the
371
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impression that he had shouted who is here? From the
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shadow of the room, he recognized at once the characteristic
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outlines of the bulky shape. Mills advanced to the side
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of the bed. Don Jarito had telegraphed to him on
375
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the day of the duel, and the man of books,
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leaving his retreat had come as fast as boats and
377
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trains could carry himself, For, as he said later to
378
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Monsieur George, he had become fully awake to his part
379
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of responsibility. And he added, it was not of you
380
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alone that I was thinking. But the very first question
381
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that Monsieur George put to him was how long is
382
00:23:38.440 --> 00:23:42.960
it since I saw you? Last? Something like ten months,
383
00:23:43.000 --> 00:23:48.359
answered Mills's kindly voice, Ah, is to raise outside the door.
384
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She stood there all night. You know, yes, I heard
385
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of it. She's hundreds of miles away. Now, well, then
386
00:23:57.680 --> 00:24:01.599
ask Greta to come in. I can't do that, my
387
00:24:01.680 --> 00:24:06.440
dear boy, said Mills, with affectionate gentleness. He hesitated a moment.
388
00:24:07.559 --> 00:24:13.400
Don Everita went away yesterday, he said, softly, went away. Why,
389
00:24:13.720 --> 00:24:18.559
asked Monsieur George. Because I am thankful to say your
390
00:24:18.640 --> 00:24:21.799
life is no longer in danger, and I have told
391
00:24:21.799 --> 00:24:24.240
you that she is gone Because strange as it may,
392
00:24:24.319 --> 00:24:27.279
seem I believe you can stand this news better now
393
00:24:27.319 --> 00:24:32.920
than later, when you get stronger. It must be believed
394
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that Mills was right. Monsieur George fell asleep before he
395
00:24:36.799 --> 00:24:40.559
could feel any pang at that intelligence. A sort of
396
00:24:40.640 --> 00:24:44.559
confused surprise was in his mind, but nothing else, and
397
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then his eyes closed. The awakening was another matter, but
398
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that too, Mills had foreseen. For days he attended the bedside, patiently,
399
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letting the man in the bed talk to him of
400
00:24:57.759 --> 00:25:02.000
don Everita, but saying little him to. One day he
401
00:25:02.119 --> 00:25:05.119
was asked pointedly whether she had ever talked to him openly,
402
00:25:06.519 --> 00:25:08.400
and then he said that she had on more than
403
00:25:08.480 --> 00:25:12.759
one occasion she told me, amongst other things, Mills said,
404
00:25:12.839 --> 00:25:15.720
if this is any satisfaction to you to know that
405
00:25:16.000 --> 00:25:19.400
till she met you, she knew nothing of love. That
406
00:25:19.519 --> 00:25:22.480
you were to her, in more senses than one, a
407
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complete revelation, and then she went away, run away from
408
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the revelation, said the man in the bed bitterly. What's
409
00:25:33.680 --> 00:25:38.000
the good of being angry, remonstated Mills gently. You know
410
00:25:38.119 --> 00:25:40.960
that this world is not a world for lovers, not
411
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even for such lovers as you two, who have nothing
412
00:25:44.039 --> 00:25:47.559
to do with the world as it is no A
413
00:25:47.599 --> 00:25:50.480
world of lovers would be impossible. It would be a
414
00:25:50.519 --> 00:25:52.960
mere ruin of lives which seemed to be meant for
415
00:25:53.000 --> 00:25:57.039
something else. What this something is, I don't know, and
416
00:25:57.119 --> 00:26:00.440
I am certain, he said, with a playful compassion, that
417
00:26:00.559 --> 00:26:06.200
she and you will never find out. A few days
418
00:26:06.279 --> 00:26:09.880
later they were again talking of don Yareta. Mills said,
419
00:26:10.440 --> 00:26:12.759
before she left the house, she gave me that arrow
420
00:26:12.839 --> 00:26:14.960
she used to wear in her hair, to hand over
421
00:26:15.039 --> 00:26:17.960
to you as a keepsake, and also to prevent you,
422
00:26:18.079 --> 00:26:25.079
she said, from dreaming of her. This message sounds rather cryptic. Oh,
423
00:26:25.119 --> 00:26:29.680
I understand perfectly, said Monsieur George. Don't give me the thing. Now,
424
00:26:29.960 --> 00:26:32.039
leave it somewhere where I can find it some day
425
00:26:32.079 --> 00:26:35.440
when I am alone. Though, when you write to her,
426
00:26:35.519 --> 00:26:38.400
you may tell her that, now, at last, surer than
427
00:26:38.440 --> 00:26:43.279
mister Blunt's bullet, the arrow has found its mark. There
428
00:26:43.279 --> 00:26:47.839
will be no more dreaming. Tell her she will understand.
429
00:26:50.240 --> 00:26:54.119
I don't even know where she is, murmured Mills. No,
430
00:26:54.359 --> 00:26:57.599
but her man of affairs knows. Tell me, Mills, what
431
00:26:57.680 --> 00:27:03.319
will become of her. She will be wasted, said Mills, sadly.
432
00:27:04.400 --> 00:27:08.839
She is a most unfortunate creature. Not even poverty could
433
00:27:08.839 --> 00:27:12.839
save her. Now she cannot go back to her goats. Yet,
434
00:27:12.880 --> 00:27:16.400
who can tell she may find something in life? She may,
435
00:27:17.640 --> 00:27:21.039
it won't be love. She has sacrificed that chance to
436
00:27:21.079 --> 00:27:25.440
the integrity of your life heroically. Do you remember telling
437
00:27:25.480 --> 00:27:29.440
her once that you meant to live your life integrally? Oh,
438
00:27:29.480 --> 00:27:33.720
you lawless young pedant. Well she is gone, but you
439
00:27:33.759 --> 00:27:36.279
may be sure that whatever she finds now in life,
440
00:27:36.319 --> 00:27:40.599
it will not be peace. You understand me, Not even
441
00:27:40.599 --> 00:27:46.319
in a convent, she was supremely lovable, said the wounded man,
442
00:27:46.440 --> 00:27:49.000
speaking of her as if she were lying dead already
443
00:27:49.079 --> 00:27:54.480
on his oppressed heart and elusive struck in mills in
444
00:27:54.519 --> 00:27:58.640
a low voice. Some of them are like that, she
445
00:27:58.680 --> 00:28:02.119
will never change. Amid all the shames and shadows of
446
00:28:02.160 --> 00:28:04.440
that life, there will always lie the ray of her
447
00:28:04.480 --> 00:28:09.039
perfect honesty. I don't know about your honesty, but yours
448
00:28:09.039 --> 00:28:11.839
will be the easier lot. You will always have your
449
00:28:12.359 --> 00:28:17.880
other love, you pig headed enthusiast of the sea. Then
450
00:28:17.960 --> 00:28:20.519
let me go to it, cried the enthusiast. Let me
451
00:28:20.599 --> 00:28:24.400
go to it. He went to it as soon as
452
00:28:24.440 --> 00:28:26.759
he had the strength enough to feel the crushing weight
453
00:28:26.799 --> 00:28:31.200
of his loss. Or his gain fully, and discovered that
454
00:28:31.240 --> 00:28:35.640
he could bear it without flinching. After this discovery he
455
00:28:35.759 --> 00:28:40.240
was fit to face anything. He tells his correspondent that
456
00:28:40.279 --> 00:28:42.440
if he had been more romantic, he would never have
457
00:28:42.480 --> 00:28:46.119
looked at any other woman. But on the contrary, no
458
00:28:46.319 --> 00:28:50.559
face worthy of attention escaped him. He looked at them all,
459
00:28:51.000 --> 00:28:54.160
and each reminded him of Don Eureta, either by some
460
00:28:54.279 --> 00:29:00.519
profound resemblance or by the startling force of contrast. The
461
00:29:00.559 --> 00:29:03.839
faithful austerity of the sea protected him from the rumors
462
00:29:03.839 --> 00:29:07.079
that fly on the tongues of men. He never heard
463
00:29:07.079 --> 00:29:10.640
of her. Even the echoes of the sale of the
464
00:29:10.640 --> 00:29:14.400
great alag recollection failed to reach him, and that event
465
00:29:14.519 --> 00:29:17.440
must have made noise enough in the world, but he
466
00:29:17.519 --> 00:29:22.640
never heard. He does not know. Then years later he
467
00:29:22.720 --> 00:29:25.839
was deprived even of the arrow. It was lost to
468
00:29:25.920 --> 00:29:29.279
him in a stormy catastrophe, and he confesses that next
469
00:29:29.359 --> 00:29:32.720
day he stood on a rocky, wind assaulted shore, looking
470
00:29:32.759 --> 00:29:35.599
at the seas raging over the very spot of his loss,
471
00:29:35.880 --> 00:29:39.400
and thought that it was well. It was not a
472
00:29:39.440 --> 00:29:42.359
thing that one could leave behind one for strange hands,
473
00:29:42.799 --> 00:29:46.759
for the cold eyes of ignorance, Like the old king
474
00:29:46.839 --> 00:29:49.400
of Thule with the gold goblet of his mistress. He
475
00:29:49.440 --> 00:29:51.799
would have had to cast it into the sea before
476
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he died. He says. He smiled at the romantic notion,
477
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but what else could he have done with it? End
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of second note, End of the Arrow of Gold? A
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story between two notes by Joseph Conrad
1
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The Arrow of Gold, a story between two notes by
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Joseph Conrad. This LibriVox recording is in the public domain,
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read by Peter Dan second note, The narrative of our
4
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Man goes on for some six months more from this
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the last night of the carnival season, up to and
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beyond the season of Roses. The tone of it is
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much less of exultation than might have been expected. Love,
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as is well known, having nothing to do with reasons,
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being insensible to forebodings, and even blind to evidence. The
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surrender of those two beings to a precarious bliss has
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nothing very astonishing in itself, and its portrayal as he
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attempts it, lacks dramatic interest. The sentimental interest could only
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have a fascination for readers themselves actually in love. The
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response of a reader depends on the mood of the moment,
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so much so that a book may seem extremely interesting
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when read late at night, but might appear merely a
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lot of vapid verbiage in the morning. My conviction is
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that the mood in which the continuation of his story
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would appear sympathetic is very rare. This consideration has induced
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me to suppress it all but the actual facts which
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round up the previous events and satisfy such curiosity as
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might have been aroused by the foregoing narrative. It is
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to be remarked that this period is characterized more by
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a deep and joyous tenderness than by sheer passion. All
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fierceness of spirit seems to have burnt itself out in
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their preliminary hesitations and struggles against each other and themselves.
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Whether love in its entirety has speaking generally the same
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elementary meaning for women as for men is very doubtful.
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Civilization has been at work there. But the fact is
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that those two display, in every phase of discovery and
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response an exact accord. Both show themselves amazingly ingenuous in
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the practice of sentiment. I believe that those who know
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women won't be surprised to him he say that she
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was as new to love as he was. During their
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retreat in the region of the Maritime Alps, in a
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small house built of dry stones and embowered with roses,
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they appear all through to be less like released lovers
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than as companions who had found out each other's fitness
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in a specially intense way. Upon the whole I think
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that there must be some truth in his insistence of
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there having always been something childlike in their relation. In
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the unreserved and instant sharing of all thoughts, all impressions,
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all sensations, we see the naiveness of a children's foolhardy adventure.
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This unreserved express for him the whole truth of the situation.
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With her, it may have been different, it might have
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been assumed. Yet nobody is altogether a comedian, and even
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comedians themselves have got to believe in the part they play.
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Of the two, she appears much the more assured and confident.
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But if in this she was a comedienne, then it
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was but a great achievement of her ineradicable honesty. Having
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once renounced her honorable scruples, she took good care that
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he should taste no flavor of misgiving in the cup.
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Being older, it was she who imparted its character to
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the situation. As to the man, if he had any
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superiority of his own, it was simply the superiority of
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him who loves with the greater self surrender. This is
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what appears from the pages I have discreetly suppressed, partly
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out of regard for the pages themselves. In every even
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terrestrial mystery, there is, as it were, a sacred core.
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A sustained commentary on love is not fit for every eye.
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A universal experience is exactly the sort of thing which
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is most difficult to appraise justly in a particular instance.
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How this particular instance affected Rose, who was the only
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companion of the two hermits in their rose embowered hut
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of stones, I regret not to be able to report,
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but I will venture to say that, for reasons on
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which I need not enlarge, the girl could not have
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been very reassured by what she saw. It seems to
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me that her devotion could never be appeased, for the
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conviction must have been growing in her that, no matter
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what happened, Madame could never have any friends. It may
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be that Doniaita had given her a glimpse of the
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unavoidable end, and that the girl's tarnished eyes masked a
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certain amount of apprehensive, helpless desolation. What meantime was becoming
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of the fortune of Henry Alagra is another curious question.
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We have been told that it was too big to
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00:05:05.800 --> 00:05:08.040
be tied up in a sack and thrown into the sea,
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that part of it represented by the Fabulous Collections was
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still being protected by the police. But for the rest
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it may be assumed that its power and significance were
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lost to an interested world for something like six months.
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What is certain is that the late Henry Alagra's man
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of affairs found himself comparatively idle. The holiday must have
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00:05:30.279 --> 00:05:33.639
done much good to his harassed brain. He had received
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00:05:33.680 --> 00:05:36.000
a note from Don Yata saying that she had gone
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00:05:36.000 --> 00:05:38.160
into retreat, and that she did not mean to send
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00:05:38.199 --> 00:05:40.720
him her address, not being in the humor to be
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00:05:40.800 --> 00:05:45.600
worried with letters on any subject. Whatever it's enough for you,
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00:05:45.879 --> 00:05:50.519
she wrote to know that I am alive. Later, at
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a regular intervals, he received scraps of paper bearing the
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stamps of various post offices, and containing the simple statement
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I am still alive, with an enormous, flourished, exuberant r.
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I imagine Rose had to travel some distance by rail
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00:06:07.079 --> 00:06:11.319
to post those messages. A thick veil of secrecy had
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been lowered between the world and the lovers. Yet even
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this veil turned out not altogether impenetrable. He it would
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be convenient to call him Monsieur George. To the end,
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shared with Don Narita, her perfect attachment from all mundane affairs,
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00:06:27.639 --> 00:06:30.160
but he had to make two short visits to Marseilles.
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The first was prompted by his loyal affection for Dominic.
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He wanted to discover what had happened or was happening,
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to Dominic, and to find out whether he could do
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something for that man. But Dominic was not the sort
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of person for whom one can do much. Monsieur George
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did not even see him. It looked, uncommonly, as if
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Dominic's heart were broken. Monsieur George remained concealed for twenty
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four hours in the very house in which Madame Leonore
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had her cafe. He spent most of that time in
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conversing with Madame Leonore about Dominic. She was distressed, but
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her mind was made up. That bright eyed, nonchalant and
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passionate woman was making arrangements to dispose of her cafe
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before departing to join Dominic. She would not say where.
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Having ascertained that his assistance was not required, Monsieur George,
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in his own words, managed to sneak out of the
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town without being seen by a single soul that mattered.
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The second occasion was very prosaic and shockingly incongruous with
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the super mundane coloring of these days. He had neither
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the fortune of Henry Alagre, nor a man of affairs
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of his own, but some rent had to be paid
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to somebody for the stone hut, and Rose could not
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go marketing in the tiny hamlet at the foot of
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the hill without a little money. There came a time
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when Monsieu George had to descend from the heights of
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his love in order, in his own words, to get
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a supply of cash. As he had disappeared very suddenly
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and completely for a time from the eyes of mankind,
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it was necessary that he should show himself and sign
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some papers that business was transacted in the office of
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the banker mentioned in the story. Monsieur George wished to
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avoid seeing the man himself, but in this he did
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not succeed. The interview was short. The banker naturally asked
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no questions, made no allusions to persons and events, and
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didn't even mention the great legitimate principle which presented to
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him now no interest whatever. But for the moment all
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the world was talking of the Carlist enterprise. It had
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collapsed utterly, leaving behind, as usual, a large crop of recriminations,
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charges of incompetency and treachery, and a certain amount of
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scandalous gossip. The banker, his wife Salloon, had been very
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carlst indeed glad that he had never believed in the
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success of the cause. Ye are well out of it,
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he remarked with a chilly smile to Monsieur George. The
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latter merely observed that he had been very little in it,
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as a matter of fact, and that he was quite
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indifferent to the whole affair. You left a few of
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your feathers in it, nevertheless, the banker concluded, with a
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wooden face, and with the curtness of a man who knows.
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Monsieur George ought to have taken the very next train
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out of the town, but he yielded to the temptation
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to discover what had happened to the house in the
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street of the Consuls after he and Donya Rita had
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stolen out of it like two scared yet jubilant children.
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All he discovered was a strange fact woman, a sort
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of virago, who had apparently been put in as a
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caretaker by the man of affairs. She made some difficulties
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to admit that she had been in charge for the
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last four months, ever since the person who was there
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before had a lot roped with some Spaniard who had
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been lying in the house ill with fever for more
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than six weeks. No, she never saw the person, neither
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had she seen the Spaniard. She had only heard the
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talk of the street. Of course, she didn't know where
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these people had gone. She manifested some impatience to get
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rid of Monsieur George, and even attempted to push him
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towards the door. It was, he says, a very funny experience.
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He noticed the feeble flame of the gas jet in
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the hall, still waiting for extinction in the general collapse
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of the world. Then he decided to have a bit
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of dinner at the restaurant de la Guire, where he
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felt pretty certain he would not meet any of his friends.
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He could not have asked Madame Leonou for hospitality, because
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Madame Leonore had gone away already. His acquaintances were not
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the sort of people likely to happen casually into a
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restaurant of that kind, And moreover, he took the precaution
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to seat himself at a small table so as to
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face the wall yet before long he felt a hand
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laid gently on his shoulder, and looking up, saw one
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of his acquaintances, a member of the Royalist Club, a
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00:11:09.399 --> 00:11:12.399
young man of a very cheerful disposition, but whose face
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looked down at him with a grave and anxious expression.
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Missus George was far from delighted. His surprise was extreme when,
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in the course of the first phrases exchanged with him,
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he learned that this acquaintance had come to the station
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with the hope of finding him there. You haven't been
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00:11:30.799 --> 00:11:33.720
seen for some time, he said, You are perhaps somewhere
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where the news from the world could and reach you.
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There have been many changes amongst our friends and amongst
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people one used to hear of so much. There is
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Madame de la Staola, for instance, who seems to have
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vanished from the world which was so much interested in her.
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You have no idea where she may be now, Monsieu
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00:11:53.039 --> 00:11:57.879
George remarked grumpily that he couldn't say. The other tried
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00:11:57.919 --> 00:12:01.080
to appear at ease. Tongues were wagging about it. In
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Paris there was a sort of international financier, a fellow
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00:12:04.279 --> 00:12:07.639
with an Italian name, a shadowy personality who had been
195
00:12:07.679 --> 00:12:11.759
looking for all over Europe and talked in clubs, astonishing
196
00:12:11.759 --> 00:12:15.159
how such fellows get into the best clubs. Oh As
197
00:12:15.159 --> 00:12:18.799
a Latti was his name. But perhaps what a fellow
198
00:12:18.919 --> 00:12:22.320
like that said did not matter. The funniest thing was
199
00:12:22.360 --> 00:12:24.320
that there was no man of any position in the
200
00:12:24.360 --> 00:12:27.960
world who had disappeared. At the same time, a friend
201
00:12:27.960 --> 00:12:30.120
in Paris wrote to him that a certain well known
202
00:12:30.200 --> 00:12:33.879
journalist had rushed south to investigate the mystery, but had
203
00:12:33.919 --> 00:12:38.679
returned no wiser than he went. Monsieur George remarked, more
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00:12:38.840 --> 00:12:44.120
unamiably than before, that he really could not help all that. No,
205
00:12:44.679 --> 00:12:48.039
said the other, with extreme gentleness. Only, of all the
206
00:12:48.080 --> 00:12:51.559
people more or less connected with the Carlist affair, you
207
00:12:51.639 --> 00:12:54.159
were the only one that had also disappeared before the
208
00:12:54.200 --> 00:13:02.080
final collapse, What cried Monsieur George, So said the other meaningly.
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00:13:03.039 --> 00:13:05.240
You know that all my people like you very much,
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00:13:05.440 --> 00:13:09.799
though they hold various opinions as to your discretion. Only
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00:13:09.840 --> 00:13:13.120
the other day, Jane, you know, my married sister and
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00:13:13.240 --> 00:13:17.799
I were talking about you. She was extremely distressed. I
213
00:13:17.840 --> 00:13:20.200
assured her that you must be very far away, or
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00:13:20.440 --> 00:13:22.919
very deeply buried somewhere not to have given a sign
215
00:13:23.000 --> 00:13:28.120
of life under this provocation. Naturally, Monsieur George wanted to
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00:13:28.159 --> 00:13:30.279
know what it was all about, and the other appeared
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00:13:30.320 --> 00:13:34.360
greatly relieved. I was sure you couldn't have heard. I
218
00:13:34.360 --> 00:13:37.039
don't want to be indiscreet. I don't want to ask
219
00:13:37.120 --> 00:13:39.960
you where you were. It came to my ears that
220
00:13:40.039 --> 00:13:41.919
you had been seen at the bank to day, and
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00:13:42.000 --> 00:13:44.279
I made a special effort to lay hold of you
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00:13:44.360 --> 00:13:47.799
before you vanished again. For after all, we have been
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00:13:47.879 --> 00:13:50.519
always good friends, and all our lot here liked you
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00:13:50.679 --> 00:13:55.360
very much. Listen, you know a certain Captain Blunt, don't you.
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00:13:57.080 --> 00:14:01.080
Miss George owned to knowing Captain Blunt, but only very slightly.
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00:14:02.679 --> 00:14:05.279
His friend then informed him that this Captain Blunt was
227
00:14:05.320 --> 00:14:08.639
apparently well acquainted with Madame de la Stiola, or at
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00:14:08.639 --> 00:14:12.519
any rate, pretended to be. He was an honorable man,
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00:14:12.559 --> 00:14:15.360
a member of a good club. He was very Parisian
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00:14:15.399 --> 00:14:18.240
in a way. And all this, he continued, made all
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00:14:18.279 --> 00:14:20.759
the worse that of which he was under the painful
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necessity of warning Monsieur George. This Blunt, on three distinct occasions,
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when the name of Madame de la Stola came up
234
00:14:29.039 --> 00:14:32.519
in conversation in a mixed company of men, had expressed
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his regret that she should have become a prey of
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a young adventurer who was exploiting her shamelessly. He talked
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like a man certain of his facts, and as he
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mentioned names. In fact, the young man burst out excitedly.
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It is your name that he mentions, and in order
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to fix the exact personality, he always takes care to
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add that you are that young fellow who is known
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as Missieu George all over the South amongst the initiated Carlists.
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How Blunt had got enough information to boast that atrocious
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calumny on Mossu. George couldn't imagine, but there it was.
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He kept silent in his indignation till his friend murmured,
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I expect you will want him to know that you
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are here, yes, said Monsieur George. And I hope you
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will consent to act for me altogether. First of all,
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pray let him know by why that I am waiting
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for him. This will be enough to fetch him down here.
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I can assure you you may ask him also to
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bring two friends with him. I don't intend this to
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be an affair for Parisian journalists to write paragraphs about yes,
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that sort of thing must be stopped at once. The
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other admitted. He assented to Monsieur George's request that the
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meeting should be arranged for at his elder brother's country place,
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where the family stayed very seldom. There was a most
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convenient walled garden there. And then Monsieur George caught his train,
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promising to be back on the fourth day, and leaving
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all further arrangements to his friend. He prided himself on
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his impenetrability before Doniaita, on the happiness without a shadow
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of those four days. However, don Eurita must have had
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the intuition of there being something in the wind, because
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on the evening of the very same day, on which
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he left her again on some pretense or other, she
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was already ensconced in the house in the street of
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the Consuls, with a trustworthy rose, scouting all over the
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town to gain information of the proceedings in the walled garden.
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There is no need to speak in detail. They were
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conventionally correct, but an earnestness of purpose, which could be
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felt in the very air, lifted the business above the
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common run of affairs of honor. One bit of byplay,
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unnoticed by the seconds, very busy for the moment with
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their arrangements must be mentioned disregarding the severe rules of
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conduct in such cases. Monsieur George approached his abde adversary
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and addressed him directly. Captain Blunt. He said, the result
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of this meeting may go against me. In that case,
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you will recognize publicly that you were wrong, for you
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are wrong, and you know it. May I trust your honor.
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In answer to that appeal, Captain Blunt, always correct, didn't
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open his lips, but only made a little bow for
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the rest. He was perfectly ruthless. If he was utterly
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incapable of being carried away by love, there was nothing
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equivocal about his jealousy. Such psychology is not very rare,
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and really, from the point of view of the combat itself,
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one cannot very well blame him. What happened was this
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Mossu George fired on the word, and whether luck or
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skill managed to hit Captain Blunt in the upper part
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of the arm which was holding the pistol, that gentleman's
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arm dropped powerless by his side, but he did not
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drop his weapon. There was nothing equivocal about his determination.
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With the greatest deliberation he reached with his left hand
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for his pistol, and taking careful aim, shot Monsieur Jos
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through the left side of his breast. One may imagine
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the consternation of the four seconds and the activity of
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the two surgeons in the confined, drowsy heat of that
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walled garden. It was within an easy drive of the town,
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and as Monsieur George was being conveyed there at a
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walking pace, a little brahm, coming from the opposite direction,
300
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pulled up at the side of the road. A thickly
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veiled woman's head looked out of the window, took in
302
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the state of affairs at a glance, and called out
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in a firm voice, follow my carriage. The brahm, turning round,
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took the lead. Long before this convoy reached the town,
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another carriage containing four gentlemen, of whom one was leaning
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back languidly with his arm in a sling, whisked past
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and vanished ahead in a cloud of white provencile dust.
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And this is the last appearance of Captain Blunt and
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Monsu George's narrative. Of course, he was only told of
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it later. At the time, he was not in a
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condition to notice things. Its interest in his surroundings remained
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of a hazy and nightmarish kind for many days altogether.
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From time to time he had the impression that he
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was in a room strangely familiar to him, that he
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had unsatisfactory visions of don Yareta, to whom he tried
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to speak as if nothing had happened, but that she
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always put her hand on his mouth to prevent him,
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and then spoke to him herself in a very strange voice,
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which sometimes resembled the voice of Rose. The face, too,
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sometimes resembled the face of Rose. There were also one
321
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or two men's faces which he seemed to know well enough,
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though he didn't recall their names. He could have done
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so with a slight effort, but it would have been
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too much trouble. Then came a time when the hallucinations
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of Donareta and the faithful Rose left him altogether. Next
326
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came a period, perhaps a year or perhaps an hour,
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during which he seemed to dream all through his past life.
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He felt no apprehension. He didn't try to speculate as
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to the future. He felt that all possible conclusions were
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out of his power, and therefore he was indifferent to everything.
331
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He was like that dream's disinterested spectator who doesn't know
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what is going to happen next. Suddenly, for the first
333
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time in his life, he had the sole satisfying consciousness
334
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of floating off into deep slumber. When he woke up
335
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after an hour or a day or a month, there
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was dusk in the room, but he recognized it perfectly.
337
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It was his apartment in Donareta's house. Those were the
338
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familiar surroundings in which he had so often told himself
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that he must either die or go. But now he
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felt perfectly clear headed, and the full sensation of being
341
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alive came all over him, languidly, delicious. The greatest beauty
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of it was that there was no need to move.
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This gave him a sort of moral satisfaction. Then the
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first thought, independent of personal sensation came into his head.
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He wondered when Terreise would come in and begin talking.
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He saw vaguely a human figure in the room, but
347
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that was a man. He was speaking in a deadened
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voice which had yet a preternatural distinctness. This is the
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second case I have had in this house, and I
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am sure that directly or indirectly it was connected with
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that woman. She will go on like this, leaving a
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track behind her, and then some day there will be
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really a corpse. This young fellow might have been it
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in this case, doctor, said another voice. One can't blame
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the woman very much. I assure you. She made a
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very determined fight. What do you mean that she didn't
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want to? Yes, a very good fight. I heard all
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about it. It is easy to blame her. But as
359
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she asked me despairingly, could she go through life failed
360
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from head to foot, or go out of it altogether
361
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into a convent? No, she isn't guilty. She is simply
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what she is, and what's that? Very much of a woman,
363
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perhaps a little more at the mercy of contradictory impulses
364
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than other women. But that's not her fault. I really
365
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think she has been very honest. The voices sank suddenly
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to a still lower murmur, and presently the shape of
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the man went out of the room. Missus George heard
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distinctly the door open and shut. Then he spoke for
369
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the first time, discovering with a particular pleasure that it
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was quite easy to speak. He was even under the
371
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impression that he had shouted who is here? From the
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shadow of the room, he recognized at once the characteristic
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outlines of the bulky shape. Mills advanced to the side
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of the bed. Don Jarito had telegraphed to him on
375
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the day of the duel, and the man of books,
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leaving his retreat had come as fast as boats and
377
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trains could carry himself, For, as he said later to
378
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Monsieur George, he had become fully awake to his part
379
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of responsibility. And he added, it was not of you
380
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alone that I was thinking. But the very first question
381
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that Monsieur George put to him was how long is
382
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it since I saw you? Last? Something like ten months,
383
00:23:43.000 --> 00:23:48.359
answered Mills's kindly voice, Ah, is to raise outside the door.
384
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She stood there all night. You know, yes, I heard
385
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of it. She's hundreds of miles away. Now, well, then
386
00:23:57.680 --> 00:24:01.599
ask Greta to come in. I can't do that, my
387
00:24:01.680 --> 00:24:06.440
dear boy, said Mills, with affectionate gentleness. He hesitated a moment.
388
00:24:07.559 --> 00:24:13.400
Don Everita went away yesterday, he said, softly, went away. Why,
389
00:24:13.720 --> 00:24:18.559
asked Monsieur George. Because I am thankful to say your
390
00:24:18.640 --> 00:24:21.799
life is no longer in danger, and I have told
391
00:24:21.799 --> 00:24:24.240
you that she is gone Because strange as it may,
392
00:24:24.319 --> 00:24:27.279
seem I believe you can stand this news better now
393
00:24:27.319 --> 00:24:32.920
than later, when you get stronger. It must be believed
394
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that Mills was right. Monsieur George fell asleep before he
395
00:24:36.799 --> 00:24:40.559
could feel any pang at that intelligence. A sort of
396
00:24:40.640 --> 00:24:44.559
confused surprise was in his mind, but nothing else, and
397
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then his eyes closed. The awakening was another matter, but
398
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that too, Mills had foreseen. For days he attended the bedside, patiently,
399
00:24:55.519 --> 00:24:57.680
letting the man in the bed talk to him of
400
00:24:57.759 --> 00:25:02.000
don Everita, but saying little him to. One day he
401
00:25:02.119 --> 00:25:05.119
was asked pointedly whether she had ever talked to him openly,
402
00:25:06.519 --> 00:25:08.400
and then he said that she had on more than
403
00:25:08.480 --> 00:25:12.759
one occasion she told me, amongst other things, Mills said,
404
00:25:12.839 --> 00:25:15.720
if this is any satisfaction to you to know that
405
00:25:16.000 --> 00:25:19.400
till she met you, she knew nothing of love. That
406
00:25:19.519 --> 00:25:22.480
you were to her, in more senses than one, a
407
00:25:22.519 --> 00:25:28.319
complete revelation, and then she went away, run away from
408
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the revelation, said the man in the bed bitterly. What's
409
00:25:33.680 --> 00:25:38.000
the good of being angry, remonstated Mills gently. You know
410
00:25:38.119 --> 00:25:40.960
that this world is not a world for lovers, not
411
00:25:41.119 --> 00:25:44.000
even for such lovers as you two, who have nothing
412
00:25:44.039 --> 00:25:47.559
to do with the world as it is no A
413
00:25:47.599 --> 00:25:50.480
world of lovers would be impossible. It would be a
414
00:25:50.519 --> 00:25:52.960
mere ruin of lives which seemed to be meant for
415
00:25:53.000 --> 00:25:57.039
something else. What this something is, I don't know, and
416
00:25:57.119 --> 00:26:00.440
I am certain, he said, with a playful compassion, that
417
00:26:00.559 --> 00:26:06.200
she and you will never find out. A few days
418
00:26:06.279 --> 00:26:09.880
later they were again talking of don Yareta. Mills said,
419
00:26:10.440 --> 00:26:12.759
before she left the house, she gave me that arrow
420
00:26:12.839 --> 00:26:14.960
she used to wear in her hair, to hand over
421
00:26:15.039 --> 00:26:17.960
to you as a keepsake, and also to prevent you,
422
00:26:18.079 --> 00:26:25.079
she said, from dreaming of her. This message sounds rather cryptic. Oh,
423
00:26:25.119 --> 00:26:29.680
I understand perfectly, said Monsieur George. Don't give me the thing. Now,
424
00:26:29.960 --> 00:26:32.039
leave it somewhere where I can find it some day
425
00:26:32.079 --> 00:26:35.440
when I am alone. Though, when you write to her,
426
00:26:35.519 --> 00:26:38.400
you may tell her that, now, at last, surer than
427
00:26:38.440 --> 00:26:43.279
mister Blunt's bullet, the arrow has found its mark. There
428
00:26:43.279 --> 00:26:47.839
will be no more dreaming. Tell her she will understand.
429
00:26:50.240 --> 00:26:54.119
I don't even know where she is, murmured Mills. No,
430
00:26:54.359 --> 00:26:57.599
but her man of affairs knows. Tell me, Mills, what
431
00:26:57.680 --> 00:27:03.319
will become of her. She will be wasted, said Mills, sadly.
432
00:27:04.400 --> 00:27:08.839
She is a most unfortunate creature. Not even poverty could
433
00:27:08.839 --> 00:27:12.839
save her. Now she cannot go back to her goats. Yet,
434
00:27:12.880 --> 00:27:16.400
who can tell she may find something in life? She may,
435
00:27:17.640 --> 00:27:21.039
it won't be love. She has sacrificed that chance to
436
00:27:21.079 --> 00:27:25.440
the integrity of your life heroically. Do you remember telling
437
00:27:25.480 --> 00:27:29.440
her once that you meant to live your life integrally? Oh,
438
00:27:29.480 --> 00:27:33.720
you lawless young pedant. Well she is gone, but you
439
00:27:33.759 --> 00:27:36.279
may be sure that whatever she finds now in life,
440
00:27:36.319 --> 00:27:40.599
it will not be peace. You understand me, Not even
441
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in a convent, she was supremely lovable, said the wounded man,
442
00:27:46.440 --> 00:27:49.000
speaking of her as if she were lying dead already
443
00:27:49.079 --> 00:27:54.480
on his oppressed heart and elusive struck in mills in
444
00:27:54.519 --> 00:27:58.640
a low voice. Some of them are like that, she
445
00:27:58.680 --> 00:28:02.119
will never change. Amid all the shames and shadows of
446
00:28:02.160 --> 00:28:04.440
that life, there will always lie the ray of her
447
00:28:04.480 --> 00:28:09.039
perfect honesty. I don't know about your honesty, but yours
448
00:28:09.039 --> 00:28:11.839
will be the easier lot. You will always have your
449
00:28:12.359 --> 00:28:17.880
other love, you pig headed enthusiast of the sea. Then
450
00:28:17.960 --> 00:28:20.519
let me go to it, cried the enthusiast. Let me
451
00:28:20.599 --> 00:28:24.400
go to it. He went to it as soon as
452
00:28:24.440 --> 00:28:26.759
he had the strength enough to feel the crushing weight
453
00:28:26.799 --> 00:28:31.200
of his loss. Or his gain fully, and discovered that
454
00:28:31.240 --> 00:28:35.640
he could bear it without flinching. After this discovery he
455
00:28:35.759 --> 00:28:40.240
was fit to face anything. He tells his correspondent that
456
00:28:40.279 --> 00:28:42.440
if he had been more romantic, he would never have
457
00:28:42.480 --> 00:28:46.119
looked at any other woman. But on the contrary, no
458
00:28:46.319 --> 00:28:50.559
face worthy of attention escaped him. He looked at them all,
459
00:28:51.000 --> 00:28:54.160
and each reminded him of Don Eureta, either by some
460
00:28:54.279 --> 00:29:00.519
profound resemblance or by the startling force of contrast. The
461
00:29:00.559 --> 00:29:03.839
faithful austerity of the sea protected him from the rumors
462
00:29:03.839 --> 00:29:07.079
that fly on the tongues of men. He never heard
463
00:29:07.079 --> 00:29:10.640
of her. Even the echoes of the sale of the
464
00:29:10.640 --> 00:29:14.400
great alag recollection failed to reach him, and that event
465
00:29:14.519 --> 00:29:17.440
must have made noise enough in the world, but he
466
00:29:17.519 --> 00:29:22.640
never heard. He does not know. Then years later he
467
00:29:22.720 --> 00:29:25.839
was deprived even of the arrow. It was lost to
468
00:29:25.920 --> 00:29:29.279
him in a stormy catastrophe, and he confesses that next
469
00:29:29.359 --> 00:29:32.720
day he stood on a rocky, wind assaulted shore, looking
470
00:29:32.759 --> 00:29:35.599
at the seas raging over the very spot of his loss,
471
00:29:35.880 --> 00:29:39.400
and thought that it was well. It was not a
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thing that one could leave behind one for strange hands,
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for the cold eyes of ignorance, Like the old king
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of Thule with the gold goblet of his mistress. He
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would have had to cast it into the sea before
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he died. He says. He smiled at the romantic notion,
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but what else could he have done with it? End
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of second note, End of the Arrow of Gold? A
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story between two notes by Joseph Conrad
