"
"That cold bird!" replied Celia. "What could he do?"
"Nothing, nothing. We must keep on their track," said the curate.
"And get some money out of that old Shylock," added the Superman.
This espionage, carried on half in joke and half in all seriousness,
wound up in debates and disputes, and as a result two groups were
formed in the house; that of the Sensible folk, comprised by the three
criminals and the landlady, and that of the Foolish, in which were
enrolled all the rest.
This limitation of sides forced Roberto and Don Telmo into intimacy,
so that the student changed his place at the table and sat next to the
old man.
One night, after eating, while Manuel was removing the service, the
plates and the cups, Don Telmo and Roberto were engaged in
conversation.
The student was a dogmatic reasoner, dry, rectilinear, never swerving
from his point of view; he spoke but little, but when he did speak, it
was in a sententious manner.
One day, discussing whether or not young men should be ambitious and
look to the future, Roberto asserted that the first was the proper
course.
"Well, that isn't what you're doing," commented the Superman.
"I am absolutely convinced," replied Roberto, "that some day I'm going
to be a millionaire. I am engaged in constructing the machinery that
will bring me a fortune.
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