That is great already; there is no saying what it will be in
the future, while some day the trade from the far East should flow
in here also by vessels trading round the south of Africa.
"Cadiz has but one fault: the space on which it stands is too small
for a great city. You see how close the houses stand together,
and how narrow are the streets. It cannot spread without extending
beyond the rock over the sands, and then its strength would be gone,
and it would be open to capture by an enterprising enemy having
command of the sea. There now, having indulged your humour, let
us return to more important matters. Have you thought over what we
were talking about last night?"
"I have certainly thought it over," Geoffrey said; "but I do not
know that thinking has resulted in much. The only plan that occurs
to me as being at all possible is this. You were talking in joke
at Madrid of turning robber. Would it be possible, think you, to
get together a small band of men to aid you in carrying off the
young lady, either from the grounds of her father's house or while
journeying on the road? You could then have your talk with her.
If you find her willing to fly with you, you could leave the men
you have engaged and journey across the country in some sort of
disguise to a port. If she objected, you could conduct her back to
the neighbourhood of the house and allow her to return.
Pages:
236
237
238
239
240
241
242
243
244
245
246
247
248
249
250
251
252
253
254
255
256
257
258
259
260