dies and gentlemen, belongs to the
Rector from the Cabanal! His wife, Dolores the beautiful, Dolores the
charming, will still have a stall in the Fishmarket, for all her wealth;
but she will be selling her own fish soon, her own, I'll have you know.
And as the women on their way to the _Pescaderia_ now walked along the
Gas House drain past the boat yard, with envious eyes they noticed the
Rector always hanging around there chewing the end of a cigar, and
supervising the carpenters as they sawed and hammered and planed away at
the long yellow pitchy brand-new timbers, some of them straight, and
strong, and thick, others of them light and curving--the keel, the ribs,
the sheathing, of the projected boat! Now, not too fast, boys, not too
fast! The Rector is taking his time at this job as at everything else.
Go slow and then you'll be sure. No mistakes allowed! There's no hurry!
The main thing is to see that this boat is the very best along the
shore!

While Pascualo was putting body and soul into his new enterprise, Tonet,
with his share in the booty--the Rector had done his best to make it as
large as could be--was enjoying one of his seasons of prosperity. In the
tumble-down shack where he lived with Rosario to the tune of quarrels,
swear-words and cudgelings, not the slightest trace of abundance entered
after the lucky trip "across the way." The poor woman was as usual up at
sunrise to carry her baskets of fish to Valencia or even to Torrente or
Betera, at times--always on foot--to save the price of a wagon. And when
the weather was not right for fishing, she spent her days in her hovel,
in company with her poverty and her despair. But Tonet, her Tonet, was
handsomer than ever, in a new suit of clothes, with money in his
pockets all the time, and a regular seat in the cafe, except when he was
away, with some of the boys, at Valencia, going the rounds of the
gambling joints, or spending gay nights in the Fishmarket section.
Nevertheless, whenever he saw his uncle, and not to allow any of his
claims on that worthy gentleman's pull to lapse, he would bring up the
subject of the job on the harbor survey; for, chasing that position was
his one serious occupation in times when he was out of money.

The fleeting prosperity that the African venture brought took him back
to the joyous days of his marriage. With that happy virtue he had of
taking no thought for the morrow, and with all that cynical gayety which
endeared him so t