Note 9.6 — Front matter

que. The conjunction que is frequently used with a subtle and variable force. Here it lends emphasis and might be rendered by a simple "and": and they needed to badly enough. In line 12; below, it is nearly equivalent to porque. Sometimes it expresses surprise, etc., and may be rendered "so," cf. page 71, note 2. And elsewhere it shades into a mere expletive, without translatable force.