Again I mention my conviction -- almost unsupported by the text, but there between
the lines -- that Decoud's sister started the Monterist war, by betraying Decoud's
gun-running operation to the Monteros. What else is the meaning of these glimpses
of her character -- "arbitrary," "resolute" -- except that
she is capable of switching sides in pursuit of a goal? The word "ruling"
here implies that she financially suppports the Decoud parents (in a "very
fine Parisian house"), suggesting at least one possible motive for selling
out Ribiera. Decoud's confession of the plot to her and mention of Montero ,
and Pedro's earlier presence in Paris ,
contributes to the plausibility. The "first-floor apartments" here could
conceivably be symbolic, meaning that the Decouds got in on the "ground floor"
of the Monterist revolution. Finally, if the sister was a perfect friend
it would go against the grain of the novel, in which everyone has their own interest,
and in which one prior correspondence from Costaguana (Mr Gould's) has already
led to betrayal.