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Back at the cave, Pablo is drunk, and Maria is waiting on Robert
Jordan, trying to anticipate his every need.
El Sordo has come, leaving a bottle of whiskey as a present
specifically for Jordan; then he\'s gone to look for the horses they\'ll
need on the retreat after the bridge. The whiskey is a rare gift for
the time and situation, and Jordan is grateful.
Now Pablo begins to suffer severe guilt pangs. He regrets the
violence and killing he was responsible for when the movement began.
He wishes he could restore his victims to life. It\'s highly uncertain,
though, whether Pablo or Pablo\'s wine is delivering these repentant
sentiments.
The others make conversation with Jordan, partly out of
embarrassment for Pablo\'s drunkenness. They ask him questions about
the United States and learn that he taught Spanish there. They are
probably interested but also want to fill an embarrassing gap.
Pablo keeps entering the conversation. And he keeps insulting
Jordan, particularly with immature insults about the latter\'s
masculinity. Jordan begins to think that Pablo may not be as drunk
as he appears- or wants to appear. It\'s a repeat of an earlier
scene: an opportunity for Jordan to kill Pablo. Only now Jordan is
more aware of the situation and has more incentive. He realizes more
than before how dangerous Pablo could be to his operation.
And so he deliberately insults Pablo, hoping for some movement
from the former leader that will justify a fatal retaliation of some
sort, something that could be chalked up to self-defense. But Pablo
senses a trap (which he\'s convinced Pilar has engineered) and will not
walk into it.
Augustin takes the initiative with lurid insults and harsh slaps
across Pablo\'s face. Still Pablo will not fight back. Moreover, he
seems to know that he\'ll be needed during the retreat; he taunts
Jordan with the prospect of having to lead the band to safety.
Pablo also makes a significant comment about the value of this
ideological war and the merit of foreign involvement. He calls the
band \"a group of illusioned people\" and refers to Jordan as \"a
foreigner who comes to destroy you.\"
Clearly, Pablo no longer feels allegiance to the Republic. In
fact, such allegiance to the cause is precisely the illusion he\'s
talking about. As for Jordan being a destroyer, that may be a little
difficult to prove. He\'s about to destroy a bridge; we don\'t have
any direct evidence that he has ever destroyed lives. On the other
hand, it is difficult to see how he has saved or improved any lives.
Is Pablo right? Does this often drunken, superficially weak,
less-than-admirable man have the best grasp on reality? As Pablo
leaves to look after the horses, he needles Jordan again by pointing
out that the snow is still falling.
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