Every year a few hardy
muleteers--men inured to exposure--were known to perish in that way. But
what would you have? Their Excellencies possibly had not realized what
a tough priest he was. Meantime, the ignorant were beginning to murmur
that the Ribierist reforms meant simply the taking away of the land
from the people. Some of it was to be given to foreigners who made the
railway; the greater part was to go to the padres.
These were the results of the Grand Vicar's zeal. Even from the short
allocution to the troops on the Plaza (which only the first ranks
could have heard) he had not been able to keep out his fixed idea of
an outraged Church waiting for reparation from a penitent country. The
political Gefe had been exasperated. But he could not very well throw
the brother-in-law of Don Jose into the prison of the Cabildo. The chief
magistrate, an easy-going and popular official, visited the Casa
Gould, walking over after sunset from the Intendencia, unattended,
acknowledging with dignified courtesy the salutations of high and low
alike. That evening he had walked up straight to Charles Gould and had
hissed out to him that he would have liked to deport the Grand Vicar
out of Sulaco, anywhere, to some desert island, to the Isabels, for
instance.
Pages:
279
280
281
282
283
284
285
286
287
288
289
290
291
292
293
294
295
296
297
298
299
300
301
302
303