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Word of Kino's discovery travels quickly. Even before Kino returns to his brush house, everyone in town knows that he has found "the Pearl of the World." Throughout town, people of every class--from the beggar to the businessman to the priest--dream of how Kino's pearl can help them. Like everyone else, the doctor who turned Kino away desires the pearl. Ignorant of others' jealousy, Kino and Juana delight in their good fortune, inviting family and …

…as the intruder who comes to steal the pearl. The intruder is described in vague, inhuman terms that portray him as an unidentifiable mass of clothing. Kino even refers to him as "the thing," as though he were a plague sent against Kino rather than another human being. At this point in the story, however, only Juana seems to recognize that the pearl is an evil instrument that will bring her family pain and heartache.