back. And they left arm in arm, talking about their bad luck.
Cat counted his winnings. Not counting the money Pedro Bala had lost, there was a pot of thirty-eight
milreis
. Cat gave Pedro Bala back his money, then Big João, and sat thinking for a moment. He put his hand into his pocket and took out the five
milreis
God’s-Love had lost before:
“Take it, nice guy. It was a trick, I don’t want to pocket your dough…”
God’s-Love kissed the bill with satisfaction, patted Cat on the back:
“You’ll go a long way, kid. You can get rich with those tricks.”
But the sun was already going down and the man wasn’t coming. They ordered another drink. With nightfall the wind coming off the sea grew stronger. God’s-Love began to get impatient. He was smoking cigarette after cigarette. Pedro Bala was looking at the door. Cat was dividing the thirty-eight
milreis
into threes. Big João asked:
“I wonder how Legless made out snatching hats?”
No one answered. They were waiting for the man and now they had the feeling he wasn’t coming. The information had been wrong. They didn’t even hear the song coming in off the sea. The Gate of the Sea was deserted and Mr. Filipe was almost asleep behind the bar. It wouldn’t be long, however, before it would be full and then any deal with the man would be impossible. He wouldn’t want to talk there with the whole place full. They might know him and he didn’t want that. The Captains of the Sands didn’t want it either. Cat really didn’t know what it was all about. And Pedro Bala and Big João didn’t know much more. They knew as much as God’s-Love, to whom the deal had been proposed and who had accepted it for Pedro Bala and the Captains of the Sands. He himself, however, only had vague information and they would learn everything from the man who’d set up a meeting at the Gate of the Sea in the afternoon. But he hadn’t arrived by six o’clock. Instead of him the one who’d spoken to God’s-Love came. He got there just as the group was about to leave. He explained that the man couldn’tcome. But that he was waiting for God’s-Love that night on the street where he lived. He should go around one o’clock in the morning. God’s-Love declared that he couldn’t go but that he was leaving the matter with the Captains of the Sands. The intermediary looked mistrustfully at the boys. God’s-Love asked:
“Haven’t you ever heard of the Captains of the Sands?”
“Yes, maybe. But…”
“In any case, they’re the ones who are going to take care of the business. That’s how it is…”
The intermediary seemed to accept it. They set up a date for one in the morning and went their way. God’s-Love went to his ship, the Captains of the Sands to the warehouse, the intermediary disappeared on the docks.
Legless still hadn’t returned. There was nobody in the warehouse. They must have all been scattered out on the streets of the city, scrounging for their dinner. The three went out again and went to eat in a cheap restaurant in the market. Coming out of the warehouse, Cat, who was very happy with the outcome of the game, tried to trip Pedro Bala up. But the latter avoided it and threw Cat down:
“I’ve been practicing that, dummy.”
They went into the restaurant, making a lot of noise. An old man who was the waiter came over mistrustfully. He knew that the Captains of the Sands didn’t like to pay and that the one with the scar on his face was the one to be most feared of all of them. In spite of there being quite a few people in the restaurant, the old man said:
“We’ve run out. We haven’t got any more grub.”
Pedro Bala replied:
“Don’t spin me a yarn, old man. We want to eat.”
Big João pounded on the table:
“If not we’ll turn this grease pot upside down.”
The old man looked at him indecisively. Then Cat dumped the money on the table:
“Today we’re going to spend.”
It was a convincing argument. The waiter began to bring
Cat counted his winnings. Not counting the money Pedro Bala had lost, there was a pot of thirty-eight
milreis
. Cat gave Pedro Bala back his money, then Big João, and sat thinking for a moment. He put his hand into his pocket and took out the five
milreis
God’s-Love had lost before:
“Take it, nice guy. It was a trick, I don’t want to pocket your dough…”
God’s-Love kissed the bill with satisfaction, patted Cat on the back:
“You’ll go a long way, kid. You can get rich with those tricks.”
But the sun was already going down and the man wasn’t coming. They ordered another drink. With nightfall the wind coming off the sea grew stronger. God’s-Love began to get impatient. He was smoking cigarette after cigarette. Pedro Bala was looking at the door. Cat was dividing the thirty-eight
milreis
into threes. Big João asked:
“I wonder how Legless made out snatching hats?”
No one answered. They were waiting for the man and now they had the feeling he wasn’t coming. The information had been wrong. They didn’t even hear the song coming in off the sea. The Gate of the Sea was deserted and Mr. Filipe was almost asleep behind the bar. It wouldn’t be long, however, before it would be full and then any deal with the man would be impossible. He wouldn’t want to talk there with the whole place full. They might know him and he didn’t want that. The Captains of the Sands didn’t want it either. Cat really didn’t know what it was all about. And Pedro Bala and Big João didn’t know much more. They knew as much as God’s-Love, to whom the deal had been proposed and who had accepted it for Pedro Bala and the Captains of the Sands. He himself, however, only had vague information and they would learn everything from the man who’d set up a meeting at the Gate of the Sea in the afternoon. But he hadn’t arrived by six o’clock. Instead of him the one who’d spoken to God’s-Love came. He got there just as the group was about to leave. He explained that the man couldn’tcome. But that he was waiting for God’s-Love that night on the street where he lived. He should go around one o’clock in the morning. God’s-Love declared that he couldn’t go but that he was leaving the matter with the Captains of the Sands. The intermediary looked mistrustfully at the boys. God’s-Love asked:
“Haven’t you ever heard of the Captains of the Sands?”
“Yes, maybe. But…”
“In any case, they’re the ones who are going to take care of the business. That’s how it is…”
The intermediary seemed to accept it. They set up a date for one in the morning and went their way. God’s-Love went to his ship, the Captains of the Sands to the warehouse, the intermediary disappeared on the docks.
Legless still hadn’t returned. There was nobody in the warehouse. They must have all been scattered out on the streets of the city, scrounging for their dinner. The three went out again and went to eat in a cheap restaurant in the market. Coming out of the warehouse, Cat, who was very happy with the outcome of the game, tried to trip Pedro Bala up. But the latter avoided it and threw Cat down:
“I’ve been practicing that, dummy.”
They went into the restaurant, making a lot of noise. An old man who was the waiter came over mistrustfully. He knew that the Captains of the Sands didn’t like to pay and that the one with the scar on his face was the one to be most feared of all of them. In spite of there being quite a few people in the restaurant, the old man said:
“We’ve run out. We haven’t got any more grub.”
Pedro Bala replied:
“Don’t spin me a yarn, old man. We want to eat.”
Big João pounded on the table:
“If not we’ll turn this grease pot upside down.”
The old man looked at him indecisively. Then Cat dumped the money on the table:
“Today we’re going to spend.”
It was a convincing argument. The waiter began to bring
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