下载辰思小说免费APP
Theotherdayhetookitintohisheadtocrosstheroomwithnootherpurposebuttoopenadoorforme；andIfeltmoreintouchwithmankindthanIhadbeenforyears。Ridiculous，isn’tit？OfcourseIguessthereissomething——someawfullittlescrape——whichyouknowallabout——butifIamsurethatitisterriblyheinous，Ifancyonecouldmanagetoforgiveit。Formypart，IdeclareIamunabletoimaginehimguiltyofanythingmuchworsethanrobbinganorchard。Isitmuchworse？Perhapsyououghttohavetoldme；butitissuchalongtimesincewebothturnedsaintsthatyoumayhaveforgottenwe，too，hadsinnedinourtime？ItmaybethatsomedayIshallhavetoaskyou，andthenIshallexpecttobetold。Idon’tcaretoquestionhimmyselftillIhavesomeideawhatitis。Moreover，it’stoosoonasyet。Lethimopenthedoorafewtimesmoreforme……“Thusmyfriend。Iwastreblypleased——atJim’sshapingsowell，atthetoneoftheletter，atmyowncleverness。EvidentlyIhadknownwhatIwasdoing。Ihadreadcharactersaright，andsoon。Andwhatifsomethingunexpectedandwonderfulweretocomeofit？Thatevening，reposinginadeck-chairundertheshadeofmyownpoopawning(itwasinHongKongharbour)，IlaidonJim’sbehalfthefirststoneofacastleinSpain。
`Imadeatriptothenorthward，andwhenIreturnedIfoundanotherletterfrommyfriendwaitingforme。ItwasthefirstenvelopeItoreopen。“TherearenospoonsmissingasfarasIknow，“ranthefirstline；
“Ihaven’tbeeninterestedenoughtoinquire。Heisgone，leavingonthebreakfast-tableaformallittlenoteofapology，whichiseithersillyorheartless。Probablyboth——andit’sallonetome。Allowmetosay，lestyoushouldhavesomemoremysteriousyoungmeninreserve，thatIhaveshutupshop，definitelyandforever。ThisisthelasteccentricityI
shallbeguiltyof。DonotimagineforamomentthatIcareahang；butheisverymuchregrettedattennis-parties，andformyownsakeI’vetoldaplausiblelieattheclub……“Iflungtheletterasideandstartedlookingthroughthebatchonmytable，tillIcameuponJim’shandwriting。
Wouldyoubelieveit？Onechanceinahundred!Butitisalwaysthathundredthchance!ThatlittlesecondengineerofthePatnahadturnedupinamoreorlessdestitutestate，andgotatemporaryjoboflookingafterthemachineryofthemill。“Icouldn’tstandthefamiliarityofthelittlebeast，“Jimwrotefromasea-portsevenhundredmilessouthoftheplacewhereheshouldhavebeeninclover。“IamnowforthetimewithEgstrom&；Blake，ship-chandlers，astheir——well——runner，tocallthethingbyitsrightname。ForreferenceIgavethemyourname，whichtheyknowofcourse，andifyoucouldwriteawordinmyfavouritwouldbeapermanentemployment。“Iwasutterlycrushedundertheruinsofmycastle，butofcourseIwroteasdesired。Beforetheendoftheyearmynewchartertookmethatway，andIhadanopportunityofseeinghim。
`HewasstillwithEgstrom&；Blake，andwemetinwhattheycalled“ourparlour“openingoutofthestore。Hehadthatmomentcomeinfromboardingaship，andconfrontedmeheaddown，readyforatussle。“Whathaveyougottosayforyourself？“Ibeganassoonaswehadshakenhands。
“WhatIwroteyou——nothingmore，“hesaidstubbornly。“Didthefellowblab——orwhat？“Iasked。Helookedupatmewithatroubledsmile。“Oh，no!Hedidn’t。
Hemadeitakindofconfidentialbusinessbetweenus。HewasmostdamnablymysteriouswheneverIcameovertothemill；hewouldwinkatmeinarespectfulmanner——asmuchastosay，“Weknowwhatweknow。“Infernallyfawningandfamiliar——andthatsortofthing。“Hethrewhimselfintoachairandstareddownhislegs。“Onedaywehappenedtobealoneandthefellowhadthecheektosay，`Well，Mr。James’——IwascalledMr。JamesthereasifIhadbeentheson——`herewearetogetheroncemore。Thisisbetterthantheoldship——ain’tit？’……Wasn’titappalling，eh？Ilookedathim，andheputonaknowingair。`Don’tyoubeuneasy，sir，’hesays。`IknowagentlemanwhenIseeone，andIknowhowagentlemanfeels。Ihope，though，youwillbekeepingmeonthisjob。Ihadahardtimeofit，too，alongofthatrottenoldPatnaracket。’Jove!Itwasawful。Idon’tknowwhatIshouldhavesaidordoneifIhadnotjustthenheardMr。Denvercallingmeinthepassage。Itwastiffin-time，andwewalkedtogetheracrosstheyardandthroughthegardentothebungalow。Hebegantochaffmeinhiskindlyway……Ibelievehelikedme……“
`Jimwassilentforawhile。
“`Ik
