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HemademesomadthatIhadtolaugh。`Can’tyoureallystoplongenoughtodrinkthisglassofbeerhere，youfunnybeggar，you？’Idon’tknowwhatcameoverhim；hedidn’tseemabletofindthedoor；somethingcomical，Icantellyou，captain。Idrankthebeermyself。`Well，ifyou’reinsuchahurry，here’slucktoyouinyourowndrink，’saysI；`only，youmarkmywords，ifyoukeepupthisgameyou’llverysoonfindthattheearthain’tbigenoughtoholdyou——that’sall。’Hegavemeoneblacklook，andoutherushedwithafacefittoscarelittlechildren。“
`Egstromsnortedbitterly，andcombedoneauburnwhiskerwithknottyfingers。“Haven’tbeenabletogetamanthatwasanygoodsince。It’snothingbutworry，worry，worryinbusiness。Andwheremightyouhavecomeacrosshim，captain，ifit’sfairtoask？“
“`HewasthemateofthePatnathatvoyage。“Isaid，feelingthatIowedsomeexplanation。ForatimeEgstromremainedverystill，withhisfingersplungedinthehairatthesideofhisface，andthenexploded。
“Andwhothedevilcaresaboutthat？““Idaresaynoone，“Ibegan……“Andwhatthedevilishe——anyhow——fortogoonlikethis？“Hestuffedsuddenlyhisleftwhiskerintohismouthandstoodamazed。“Jee!“heexclaimed，“Itoldhimtheearthwouldn’tbebigenoughtoholdhiscaper。“’
toldyouthesetwoepisodesatlengthtoshowhismannerofdealingwithhimselfunderthenewconditionsofhislife。
Thereweremanyothersofthesort，morethanIcouldcountonthefingersofmytwohands。
`Theywereallequallytingedbyahigh-mindedabsurdityofintentionwhichmadetheirfutilityprofoundandtouching。Toflingawayyourdailybreadsoastogetyourhandsfreeforagrapplewithaghostmaybeanactofprosaicherosim。Menhaddoneitbefore(thoughwewhohavelivedknowfullwellthatitisnotthehauntedsoulbutthehungrybodythatmakesanoutcast)，andmenwhohadeatenandmeanttoeateverydayhadapplaudedthecreditablefolly。Hewasindeedunfortunate，forallhisrecklessnesscouldnotcarryhimoutfromundertheshadow。Therewasalwaysadoubtofhiscourage。Thetruthseemstobethatitisimpossibletolaytheghostofafact。Youcanfaceitorshirkit——andIhavecomeacrossamanortwowhocouldwinkattheirfamiliarshades。ObviouslyJimwasnotofthewinkingsort；butwhatIcouldnevermakeupmymindaboutwaswhetherhislineofconductamountedtoshirkinghisghostortofacinghimout。
`Istrainedmymentaleyesightonlytodiscoverthat，aswiththecomplexionofallouractions，theshadeofdifferencewassodelicatethatitwasimpossibletosay。Itmighthavebeenflightanditmighthavebeenamodeofcombat。Tothecommonmindhebecameknownasarollingstone，becausethiswasthefunniestpart；hedidafteratimebecomeperfectlyknown，andevennotorious，withinthecircleofhiswanderings(whichhadadiameterof，say，threethousandmiles)，inthesamewayasaneccentriccharacterisknowntoawholecountryside。Forinstance，inBangkok，wherehefoundemploymentwithYuckerBrothers，charterersandteakmerchants，itwasalmostpathetictoseehimgoaboutinsunshinehugginghissecret，whichwasknowntotheveryup-countrylogsontheriver。Schomberg，thekeeperofthehotelwhereheboarded，ahirsuteAlsatianofmanlybearingandanirrepressibleretailerofallthescandalousgossipoftheplace，would，withbothelbowsonthetable，impartanadornedversionofthestorytoanyguestwhocaredtoimbibeknowledgealongwiththemorecostlyliquors。
“And，mindyou，thenicestfellowyoucouldmeet，“wouldbehisgenerousconclusion；“quitesuperior。“ItsaysalotforthecasualcrowdthatfrequentedSchomberg’sestablishmentthatJimmanagedtohangoutinBangkokforawholesixmonths。Iremarkedthatpeople，perfectstrangers，tooktohimasonetakestoanicechild。Hismannerwasreserved，butitwasasthoughhispersonalappearance，hishair，hiseyes，hissmile，madefriendsforhimwhereverhewent。And，ofcourse，hewasnofool。IheardSiegmundYucker(nativeofSwitzerland)，agentlecreatureravagedbyacrueldyspepsia，andsofrightfullylamethathisheadswungthroughaquarterofacircleateverystephetook，declareappreciativelythatforonesoyounghewas“ofgreatgabasidy，“asthoughithadbeenamerequestionofcubiccontents。“Whynotsendhimupcountry？“Isuggestedanxiously。(YuckerBrothershadconcessionsandteakforestsintheinterior。)“Ifhehascapacity，asyousay，hewillsoongetholdofthework。
