Explore "The Vow" by Paul Trent on Textopian. Read with annotations and highlights.
It would have been impossible to choose a more suitable emissary than the Baron de Croiseuil for the task of dealing with John Gaunt, for he was an astute diplomatist, and entirely devoid of scruples. During the last few years there had grown up in Belgium a group of men whose prosperity was solely due to the Congo. Many of them had spent varying periods of time in that country, and had returned without the sense of honor which they may once have possessed.
When Gaunt first went to West Africa, the Baron was a high official of the Free State, and he was mainly responsible for the carrying out of the late King's decree that rubber must be got, and that the method of obtaining it need not be considered. It was a congenial task, for as he made money for his master, so did he line his own pockets, and the time came when he could return to Belgium a man of wealth, and covered with the honors that the King delighted to confer upon those who had succeeded in sending to him the millions which he needed for the pursuit of his life of vice.