1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die

And three girls of about fourteen, fifteen and sixteen. "My father and my sisters," she said, "here are some strangers I have brought home. They've come from the El Dorado prison, and they don't know where to go. I ask you to take them in." "You're welcome," the father said. And he repeated the ritual words, "This house is yours. Sit down here, around the table. Are you hungry? Would you like coffee or rum?" I didn't want to offend them by refusing, so I said I'd like some coffee. I could see from the simple furniture that they were poor. "My daughter Maria, who brought you here, is the eldest. She takes the place of her mother, who left us five years ago with a gold prospector. I'd just as soon tell you that myself, before you hear it from someone else." Maria poured coffee for us. Now I could look at her more closely, because she had taken a seat next to her father, right opposite me. The three sisters stood behind her. They looked closely at me, too. Maria was a girl of the tropics, with big, black, almond-shaped eyes ...»