Summary
Word spreads throughout the town of La Paz that Kino will
be selling his great pearl. The pearl buyers are especially excited,
and the pearl fishers abandon their work for the day to witness
the transaction. Over breakfast that morning, the brush-house neighborhood teems
with speculation and opinion. Kino, Juana, and Coyotito wear their
best clothes for the occasion, and Kino dons his hat with care,
anxious to appear a serious, vigorous man of the world.
As Kino and Juana set out from their brush house, the
neighbors fall in line behind them. Juan Tomás walks at the front
with Kino and expresses his concern that Kino may be cheated, as
Kino has no standard of true comparison to know what his pearl is
worth. Kino acknowledges this problem but adds that they have no
way of solving it. Juan Tomás tells Kino that another system of
pearl-selling used to exist before Kino was born. Pearlers would
give their pearls to agents for sale in the capital, but as a result
of the rampant corruption of pearl agents who stole the pearls meant
for sale, the old system is no longer in place. Kino points out
that according to the church, such a system must fail, as it represents
a vain effort on the part of the pearlers to exceed their station
in life.
Kino and Juan Tomás walk on in silence into the city,
drawing stares from assembled onlookers. As Kino, Juan Tomás, and
the attending crowd approach, the pearl dealers scramble to put
their offices in order, hiding their little pearls and preparing
to make offers. The first dealer is a short, slick man who nervously
rolls a coin back and forth in his hand. He explains after a careful
examination that the pearl is worthless because of its abnormally
large size. Declaring it more of a museum curiosity than a market
commodity, the dealer makes an offhand bid of one thousand pesos.
Kino reacts angrily to this lowball offer and insists
that the pearl is worth fifty times that much. The dealer firmly
asserts that his is an accurate appraisal and invites Kino to seek
out a second opinion. Kino’s neighbors stir uneasily, wondering
how Kino can reject such a large sum of money and wondering whether
he is being foolish and headstrong by demanding more. Presently,
three new dealers arrive to examine the pearl, and the initial dealer
invites them to make independent appraisals.
The first two dealers reject the pearl as a mere oddity,
and the third dealer makes a feeble offer of five hundred pesos.
Upon hearing this news, Kino quickly removes the pearl from consideration. As
he does so, the initial dealer, unfazed by the lower bid, insists
that his offer of one thousand pesos still stands. Protesting that
he has been cheated, Kino announces a plan to sell his pearl in
the capital city. His outburst raises the bid to fifteen hundred
pesos, but Kino will have none of it. He fiercely pushes his way
out of the crowd and starts the long walk home as Juana trails after
him.
At supper, Kino’s neighbors debate the day’s events.
Some suggest that the dealers’ appraisals were fair, while others
think that Kino is the victim of a scam. Some think he should have
settled for the final offer of fifteen hundred pesos; others praise
Kino’s bravery for insisting on his own terms.
