Under the Volcano - Malcolm Lowry [54]
"Dr. Guzmán?"
"Yes, Guzmán. I think that was the name. I tried to persuade him to see Geoff. But he refused to waste time on him. He said simply that so far as he knew there was nothing wrong with Papa and never had been save that he wouldn't make up his mind to stop drinking. That seems plain enough and I dare say it's true." The track sank level with the scrub-land, then below it, so that the embankments were now above them,
"It isn't drinking, somehow," Yvonne said suddenly. "But why does he do it?"
"Perhaps now you've come back like this he'll stop."
"You don't sound very hopeful."
"Yvonne, listen to me. So obviously there are a thousand things to say and there isn't going to be time to say most of them. It's difficult to know where to begin. I'm almost completely in the dark. I wasn't even sure you were divorced till five minutes ago. I don't know--" Hugh clicked his tongue at his horse but held her back. "As for Geoff," he went on, "I simply have no idea what he's been doing or how much he's been drinking. Half the time you can't tell when he's tight anyway."
"You couldn't say that if you were his wife ."
"Wait a minute.--My attitude towards Geoff was simply the one I'd take towards some brother scribe with a godawful hangover. But while I've been in Mexico City I've been saying to myself: ¿Cui bono? What's the good? Just sobering him up for a day or two's not going to help. Good God, if our civilization were to sober up for a couple of days it'd die of remorse on the third--"
"That's very helpful," Yvonne said. "Thank you." "Besides after a while one begins to feel, if a man can hold his liquor as well as that why shouldn't he drink?" Hugh leaned over and patted her horse. "No, seriously, why don't both of you get out, though? Out of Mexico. There's no reason for you to stay any longer, is there? Geoff loathed the consular service anyway." For a moment Hugh watched one of the foals standing silhouetted against the sky on top of the embankment. "You've got money."
"You'll forgive me when I tell you this, Hugh. It wasn't because I didn't want to see you. But I tried to get Geoffrey to leave this morning before you came back."
"It was no go, eh?"
"Maybe it wouldn't have worked anyhow. We tried it before, this getting away and starting all over. But Geoffrey said something this morning about going on with his book--for the life of me I don't know whether he's still writing one or not, he's never done any work on it since I've known him, and he's never let me see scarcely any of it, still, he keeps all those reference books with him--and I thought--"
"Yes," Hugh said, "how much does he really know about all this alchemy and cabbala business? How much does it mean to him?"
"That's just what I was going to ask you. I've never been able to find out--"
"Good lord, I don't know..." Hugh added with almost avuncular relish: "Maybe he's a black magician!"
Yvonne smiled absently, flicking her reins against the pommel. The track emerged into the open and once more the embankments sloped down on either side. High overhead sailed white sculpturings of clouds, like billowing concepts in the brain of Michelangelo. One of the foals had strayed from the track into the scrub. Hugh repeated the ritual of whistling, the foal hauled itself back up the bank and they were a company again, trotting smartly along the meandering selfish little railroad. "Hugh," Yvonne said, "I had an idea coming down on the boat... I don't know whether--I've always dreamed of having a farm somewhere. A real farm, you know, with cows and pigs and chickens--and a red barn and silos and fields of corn and wheat."
"What, no guinea-fowl? I might have a dream like that in a week or two," Hugh said. "Where does the farm come in?"
"Why--Geoffrey and I might buy one." "Buy one?"
"Is that so fantastic?"
"I suppose not, but where?" Hugh's pint-and-a-half of strong beer was beginning to take pleasurable effect, and all at once he gave a guffaw that was more like a sneeze. "I'm sorry," he said, "it was just the notion of Geoff among the alfalfa, in overalls and a straw hat, soberly hoeing, that got me a moment."