第17章

Itwouldhavesaid，“Iamhere——stillhere“……andwhatmorecantheeyeofthemostforsakenofhumanbeingssay？Butsheturnedherbackonthemasifindisdainoftheirfate：shehadswunground，burdened，toglarestubbornlyatthenewdangeroftheopenseawhichshesostrangelysurvivedtoendherdaysinabreaking-upyard，asifithadbeenherrecordedfatetodieobscurelyundertheblowsofmanyhammers。WhatwerethevariousendstheirdestinyprovidedforthepilgrimsIamunabletosay；buttheimmediatefuturebrought，ataboutnineo’clocknextmorning，aFrenchgunboathomewardboundfromReunion。Thereportofhercommanderwaspublicproperty。Hehadsweptalittleoutofhiscoursetoascertainwhatwasthematterwiththatsteamerfloatingdangerouslybytheheaduponastillandhazysea。Therewasanensign，uniondown，flyingathermaingaff(theseranghadthesensetomakeasignalofdistressatdaylight)；butthecookswerepreparingthefoodinthecooking-boxesforwardasusual。

Thedeckswerepackedascloseasasheep-pen：therewerepeopleperchedallalongtherails，jammedonthebridgeinasolidmass；hundredsofeyesstared，andnotasoundwasheardwhenthegunboatrangedabreast，asifallthatmultitudeoflipshadbeensealedbyaspell。

`TheFrenchmanhailed，couldgetnointelligiblereply，andafterascertainingthroughhisbinocularsthatthecrowdondeckdidnotlookplague-stricken，decidedtosendaboat。Twoofficerscameaboard，listenedtotheserang，triedtotalkwiththeArab，couldn’tmakeheadortailofit：butofcoursethenatureoftheemergencywasobviousenough。Theywerealsoverymuchstruckbydiscoveringawhitemandeadandcurleduppeacefullyonthebridge。“Fortintriguesparcecadavre，“asIwasinformedalongtimeafterbyanelderlyFrenchlieutenantwhomIcameacrossoneafternooninSydney，bythemerestchance，inasortofcafe，andwhorememberedtheaffairperfectly。Indeedthisaffair，Imaynoticeinpassing，hadanextraordinarypowerofdefyingtheshortnessofmemoriesandthelengthoftime：itseemedtolive，withasortofuncannyvitality，inthemindsofmen，onthetipsoftheirtongues。I’vehadthequestionablepleasureofmeetingitoften，yearsafterwards，thousandsofmilesaway，emergingfromtheremotestpossibletalk，comingtothesurfaceofthemostdistantallusions。Hasitnotturnedupto-nightbetweenus？AndIamtheonlyseamanhere。Iamtheonlyonetowhomitisamemory。Andyetithasmadeitswayout!Butiftwomenwho，unknowntoeachother，knewofthisaffairmetaccidentallyonanyspotofthisearth，thethingwouldpopupbetweenthemassureasfate，beforetheyparted。IhadneverseenthatFrenchmanbefore，andattheendofanhourwehaddonewitheachotherforlife：

hedidnotseemparticularlytalkativeeither；hewasaquiet，massivechapinacreaseduniformsittingdrowsilyoveratumblerhalffullofsomedarkliquid。Hisshoulder-strapswereabittarnished，hisclean-shavedcheekswerelargeandsallow；helookedlikeamanwhowouldbegiventotakingsnuff——don’tyouknow？Iwon’tsayhedid；butthehabitwouldhavefittedthatkindofman。ItallbeganbyhishandingmeanumberofHomeNews，whichIdidn’twant，acrossthemarbletable。Isaid，“Merci。“

Weexchangedafewapparentlyinnocentremarks，andsuddenly，beforeI

knewhowithadcomeabout，wewereinthemidstofit，andhewastellingmehowmuchtheyhadbeen“intriguedbythatcorpse。“Itturnedouthehadbeenoneoftheboardingofficers。

`Intheestablishmentwherewesatonecouldgetavarietyofforeigndrinkswhichwerekeptforthevisitingnavalofficers，andhetookasipofthedarkmedical-lookingstuff，whichprobablywasnothingmorenastythancassisal’eau，andglancingwithoneeyeintothetumbler，shookhisheadslightly。“Impossibledecomprendre——vousconcevez，“

hesaid，withacuriousmixtureofunconcernandthoughtfulness。Icouldveryeasilyconceivehowimpossibleithadbeenforthemtounderstand。

NobodyinthegunboatknewenoughEnglishtogetholdofthestoryastoldbytheserang。Therewasagooddealofnoise，too，roundthetwoofficers。

“Theycrowdeduponus。Therewasacircleroundthatdeadman(autourdecemort，“hedescribed。“Onehadtoattendtothemostpressing。

Thesepeoplewerebeginningtoagitatethemselves——Parbleu!Amoblikethat——don’tyousee？“heinterjectedwithphilosophicindulgence。

Astothebulkhead，hehadadvisedhiscommanderthatthesafestthingwastoleaveitalone，itwassovillainoustolookat。Theygottwohawsersonboardpromptly(entoutehate)andtookthePatnaintow——sternforemostatthat——which，underthecircumstances，wasnotsofoolish，sincetherudderwastoomuchoutofthewatertobeofanygreatuseforsteering，andthismanoeuvreeasedthestrainonthebulkhead，whosestate，heexpoundedwithstolidglibness，demandedthegreatestcare(exigeaitlesplusgrandsmenagements)。Icouldnothelpthinkingthatmynewacquaintancemusthavehadavoiceinmostofthesearrangements：helookedareliableofficer，nolongerveryactive，andhewasseamanlike，too，inaway，thoughashesatthere，withhisthickfingersclaspedlightlyonhisstomach，heremindedyouofoneofthosesnuffy，quietvillagepriests，intowhoseearsarepouredthesins，thesufferings，theremorseofpeasantgenerations，onwhosefacestheplacidandsimpleexpressionislikeaveilthrownoverthemysteryofpainanddistress。Heoughttohavehadathreadbareblacksoutanebuttonedsmoothlyuptohisamplechin，insteadofafrock-coatwithshoulder-strapsandbrassbuttons。Hisbroadbosomheavedregularlywhilehewentontellingmethatithadbeentheverydevilofajob，asdoubtless(sansdoute)Icouldfiguretomyselfinmyqualityofaseaman(envotrequalitedemarin)。Attheendoftheperiodheinclinedhisbodyslightlytowardsme，and，pursinghisshavedlips，allowedtheairtoescapewithagentlehiss。“Luckily，“hecontinued，“theseawaslevellikethistable，andtherewasnomorewindthanthereishere。“……Theplacestruckmeasindeedintolerablystuffy，andveryhot；myfaceburnedasthoughIhadbeenyoungenoughtobeembarrassedandblushing。

Theyhaddirectedtheircourse，hepursued，tothenearestEnglishport“naturellement，“wheretheirresponsibilityceased，“Dieumerci。“……Heblewouthisflatcheeksalittle……“Because，mindyou(notezbien)，allthetimeoftowingwehadtwoquartermastersstationedwithaxesbythehawsers，tocutusclearofourtowincaseshe……“Hefluttereddownwardshisheavyeyelids，makinghismeaningasplainaspossible……“Whatwouldyou!Onedoeswhatonecan(onfaitcequ’onpeut)，“

andforamomenthemanagedtoinvesthisponderousimmobilitywithanairofresignation。“Twoquartermasters——thirtyhours——alwaysthere。Two!“

herepeated，liftinguphisrighthandalittle，andexhibitingtwofingers。

ThiswasabsolutelythefirstgestureIsawhimmake。Itgavemetheopportunityto“note“astarredscaronthebackofhishand——effectofagun-shotclearly；and，asifmysighthadbeenmademoreacutebythisdiscovery，Iperceivedalsotheseamofanoldwound，beginningalittlebelowthetempleandgoingoutofsightundertheshortgreyhairatthesideofhishead——thegrazeofaspearorthecutofasabre。Heclaspedhishandsonhisstomachagain。“Iremainedonboardthat——that——mymemoryisgoing(s’enva)。Ah!Patt-na。C’estbienca。Patt-na。Merci。Itisdrollhowoneforgets。Istayedonthatshipthirtyhours……’

“`Youdid!“Iexclaimed。Stillgazingathishands，hepursedhislipsalittle，butthistimemadenohissingsound。“Itwasjudgedproper，“

hesaid，liftinghiseyebrowsdispassionately，“thatoneoftheofficersshouldremaintokeepaneyeopen(pourouvrirl’oeil)“……hesighedidly……“andforcommunicatingbysignalswiththetowingship——doyousee？——andsoon。Fortherest，itwasmyopinion，too。Wemadeourboatsreadytodropover——andIalsoonthatshiptookmeasures……Enfin!Onehasdoneone’spossible。Itwasadelicateposition。

Thirtyhours。Theypreparedmesomefood。Asforthewine——goandwhistleforit——notadrop。“Insomeextraordinaryway，withoutanymarkedchangeinhisinertattitudeandintheplacidexpressionofhisface，hemanagedtoconveytheideaofprofounddisgust。“I——youknow——whenitcomestoeatingwithoutmyglassofwine——Iamnowhere。“

`Iwasafraidhewouldenlargeuponthegrievance，forthoughhedidn’tstiralimbortwitchafeature，hemadeoneawarehowmuchhewasirritatedbytherecollection。Butheseemedtoforgetallaboutit。Theydeliveredtheirchargetothe“portauthorities，“asheexpressedit。Hewasstruckbythecalmnesswithwhichithadbeenreceived。“Onemighthavethoughttheyhadsuchadrollfind(droledetrouvaille)broughtthemeveryday。Youareextraordinary——youothers，“hecommented，withhisbackproppedagainstthewall，andlookinghimselfasincapableofanemotionaldisplayasasackofmeal。Therehappenedtobeaman-of-warandanIndianMarinesteamerintheharbouratthetime，andhedidnotconcealhisadmirationoftheefficientmannerinwhichtheboatsofthesetwoshipsclearedthePatnaofherpassengers。Indeedhistorpiddemeanourconcealednothing：

ithadthatmysterious，almostmiraculous，powerofproducingstrikingeffectsbymeansimpossibleofdetectionwhichisthelastwordofthehighestart。“Twenty-fiveminutes——watchinhand——twenty-five，nomore。“……Heunclaspedandclaspedagainhisfingerswithoutremovinghishandsfromhisstomach，andmadeitinfinitelymoreeffectivethanifhehadthrownuphisarmstoheaveninamazement……“Allthatlot(toutcemonde)onshore——withtheirlittleaffairs——nobodyleftbutaguardofseamen(marinsdel’Etat)andthatinterestingcorpse(cetinteressantcadavre)。Twenty-fiveminutes。“……Withdowncasteyesandhisheadtiltedslightlyononesideheseemedtorollknowinglyonhistonguethesavourofasmartbitofwork。Hepersuadedonewithoutanyfurtherdemonstrationthathisapprovalwaseminentlyworthhaving，andresuminghishardlyinterruptedimmobility，hewentontoinformmethat，beingunderorderstomakethebestoftheirwaytoToulon，theyleftintwohours’time，“sothat(desorteque)therearemanythingsinthisincidentofmylife(danscetepisodedemavie)

whichhaveremainedobscure。“’

thesewords，andwithoutachangeofattitude，he，sotospeak，submittedhimselfpassivelytoastateofsilence。Ikepthimcompany；andsuddenly，butnotabruptly，asiftheappointedtimehadarrivedforhismoderateandhuskyvoicetocomeoutofhisimmobility，hepronounced，“MonDieu!howthetimepasses!“Nothingcouldhavebeenmorecommonplacethanthisremark；butitsutterancecoincidedformewithamomentofvision。It’sextraordinaryhowwegothroughlifewitheyeshalfshut，withdullears，withdormantthoughts。Perhapsit’sjustaswell；anditmaybethatitisthisverydullnessthatmakeslifetotheincalculablemajoritysosupportableandsowelcome。Nevertheless，therecanbebutfewofuswhohadneverknownoneoftheseraremomentsofawakeningwhenwesee，hear，understandeversomuch——everything——inaflash——beforewefallbackagainintoouragreeablesomnolence。Iraisedmyeyeswhenhespoke，andIsawhimasthoughIhadneverseenhimbefore。

Isawhischinsunkonhisbreast，theclumsyfoldsofhiscoat，hisclaspedhands，hismotionlesspose，socuriouslysuggestiveofhishavingbeensimplyleftthere。Timehadpassedindeed：ithadovertakenhimandgoneahead。Ithadlefthimhopelesslybehindwithafewpoorgifts；theiron-greyhair，theheavyfatigueofthetannedface，twoscars，apairoftarnishedshoulder-straps；oneofthosesteady，reliablemenwhoaretherawmaterialofgreatreputations，oneofthoseuncountedlivesthatareburiedwithoutdrumsandtrumpetsunderthefoundationsofmonumentalsuccesses。“IamnowthirdlieutenantoftheVictorieuse“(shewastheflagshipoftheFrenchPacificsquadronatthetime)，hesaid，detachinghisshouldersfromthewallacoupleofinchestointroducehimself。Ibowedslightlyonmysideofthetable，andtoldhimIcommandedamerchantvesselatpresentanchoredinRushcutter’sBay。Hehad“remarked“her——aprettylittlecraft。Hewasverycivilaboutitinhisimpassiveway。Ievenfancyhewentthelengthoftiltinghisheadincomplimentasherepeated，breathingvisiblythewhile，“Ah，yes。Alittlecraftpaintedblack——verypretty——verypretty(trescoquent)。’Afteratimehetwistedhisbodyslowlytofacetheglassdooronourright。“Adulltown(tristeville)，“

heobserved，staringintothestreet。Itwasabrilliantday；asoutherlybusterwasraging，andwecouldseethepassers-by，menandwomen，buffetedbythewindonthesidewalks，thesunlitfrontsofthehousesacrosstheroadblurredbythetallwhirlsofdust。“Idescendedonshore，“hesaid，“tostretchmylegsalittle，but……“Hedidn’tfinish，andsankintothedepthsofhisrepose。“Pray——tellme，“hebegan，comingupponderously，“whatwasthereatthebottomofthisaffair——precisely(aujuste)？

Itiscurious。Thatdeadman，forinstance——andsoon。“

“`Therewerelivingmen，too，“Isaid；“muchmorecurious。“