第65章

Isuspectedthemateofhisopinionofthecaptainlongbeforeheexpressedit。Hewas，Isay，ataciturnman，butonedayspeechbrokethroughhim。Hehadbeensittingatthetablewithhisarmsfoldedonit，musingdrearily，pipeinmouth，andthevoiceofthecaptaindrifteddownfromabove。

Themateliftedhisheavyeyestomeandregardedmeforamoment。Thenhebegantoheavewiththebeginningsofspeech。

Hedisembarrassedhimselfofhispipe。Icoweredwithexpectation。Speechwascomingatlast。Beforehespokehenoddedreassuringlyonceortwice。

“E——“

Hemovedhisheadstrangelyandmysteriously，butachildmighthaveknownhespokeofthecaptain。

“E’saforeigner。”

Heregardedmedoubtfullyforatime，andatlastdecidedforthesakeofluciditytoclenchthematter。

“That’swhatEis——aDAGO！”

Henoddedlikeamanwhogivesalasttaptoanail，andIcouldseeheconsideredhisremarkwellandtrulylaid。Hisface，thoughstillresolute，becameastranquilanduneventfulasahugehallafterapublicmeetinghasdispersedoutofit，andfinallyheclosedandlockeditwithhispipe。

“RoumanianJew，isn’the？”Isaid。

Henoddeddarklyandalmostforbiddingly。

Morewouldhavebeentoomuch。Thethingwassaid。ButfromthattimeforthIknewIcoulddependuponhimandthatheandI

werefriends。IthappensIneverdidhavetodependuponhim，butthatdoesnotaffectourrelationship。

Forwardthecrewlivedlivesverymuchafterthefashionofours，morecrowded，morecrampedanddirty，wetter，steamier，moreverminous。Thecoarsefoodtheyhadwasstillnotsocoarsebutthattheydidnotthinktheywereliving“likefightingcocks。”

SofarasIcouldmakeouttheywereallnearlydestitutemen；

hardlyanyofthemhadaproperseaoutfit，andwhatsmallpossessionstheyhadwereasourceofmutualdistrust。Andaswepitchedandflounderedsouthwardtheygambledandfought，werebrutaltooneanother，arguedandwrangledloudly，untilweprotestedattheuproar。

There’snoromanceabouttheseainasmallsailingshipasIsawit。Theromanceisinthemindofthelandsmandreamer。Thesebrigsandschoonersandbrigantinesthatstillstandoutfromeverylittleportarerelicsfromanageofpettytrade，asrottenandobsolescentasaGeorgianhousethathassunkenintoaslum。Theyareindeedjustfloatingfragmentsofslum，muchasicebergsarefloatingfragmentsofglacier。Thecivilisedmanwhohaslearnttowash，whohasdevelopedasenseofphysicalhonour，ofcleanlytemperatefeeding，oftime，canendurethemnomore。Theypass，andtheclankingcoal-wastingsteamerswillfollowthem，givingplacetocleaner，finerthings。

ButsoitwasImademyvoyagetoAfrica，andcameatlastintoaworldofsteamyfogsandahotsmellofvegetabledecay，andintosoundandsightofsurfanddistantintermittentglimpsesofthecoast。Ilivedastrangeconcentratedlifethroughallthattime，suchalifeasacreaturemustdothathasfalleninawell。Allmyformerwaysceased，allmyo