Lord Jim

第32章

enthusiasm,hewouldhavefailed。DainWaris,thedistinguishedyouth,wasthefirsttobelieveinhim;theirswasoneofthesestrange,profound,rarefriendshipsbetweenbrownandwhite,inwhichtheverydifferenceofraceseemstodrawtwohumanbeingscloserbysomemysticelementofsympathy。OfDainWaris,hisownpeoplesaidwithpridethatheknewhowtofightlikeawhiteman。Thiswastrue;hehadthatsortofcourage——thecourageintheopen,Imaysay——buthehadalsoaEuropeanmind。Youmeetthemsometimeslikethat,andaresurprisedtodiscoverunexpectedlyafamiliarturnofthought,anunobscuredvision,atenacityofpurpose,atouchofaltruism。Ofsmallstature,butadmirablywellproportioned,DainWarishadaproudcarriage,apolished,easybearing,atemperamentlikeaclearflame。Hisduskyface,withbigblackeyes,wasinactionexpressive,andinreposethoughtful。Hewasofasilentdisposition;afirmglance,anironicsmile,acourteousdeliberationofmannerseemedtohintatgreatreservesofintelligenceandpower。SuchbeingsopentotheWesterneye,sooftenconcernedwithmeresurfaces,thehiddenpossibilitiesofracesandlandsoverwhichhangsthemysteryofunrecordedages。HenotonlytrustedJim,heunderstoodhim,Ifirmlybelieve。Ispeakofhimbecausehehadcaptivatedme。His——ifImaysayso——hiscausticplacidity,andatthesametime,hisintelligentsympathywithJim’saspirations,appealedtome。Iseemedtobeholdtheveryoriginoffriendship。IfJimtookthelead,theotherhadcaptivatedhisleader。Infact,Jimtheleaderwasacaptiveineverysense。Theland,thepeople,thefriendship,thelove,werelikethejealousguardiansofhisbody。Everydayaddedalinktothefettersofthatstrangefreedom。Ifeltconvincedofit,asfromdaytodayIlearnedmoreofthestory。

`Thestory!Haven’tIheardthestory?I’vehearditonthemarch,incamp(hemademescourthecountryafterinvisiblegame);I’velistenedtoagoodpartofitononeofthetwinsummits,afterclimbingthelasthundredfeetorsoonmyhandsandknees。Ourescort(wehadvolunteerfollowersfromvillagetovillage)hascampedmeantimeonabitoflevelgroundhalf-wayuptheslope,andinthestillbreathlesseveningthesmellofwood-smokereachedournostrilsfrombelowwiththepenetratingdelicacyofsomechoicescent。Voicesalsoascended,wonderfulintheirdistinctandimmaterialclearness。Jimsatonthetrunkofafelledtree,andpullingouthispipebegantosmoke。Anewgrowthofgrassandbusheswasspringingup;thereweretracesofanearthworkunderamassofthornytwigs。“Itallstartedfromhere,“hesaid,afteralongandmeditativesilence。Ontheotherhill,twohundredyardsacrossasombreprecipice,Isawalineofhighblackenedstakes,showinghereandthereruinously——theremnantsofSherifAli’simpregnablecamp。

`Butithadbeentaken,though。Thathadbeenhisidea。HehadmountedDoramin’soldordnanceonthetopofthathill;tworustyironseven-pounders,alotofsmallbrasscannon——currencycannon。Butifthebrassgunsrepresentwealth,theycanalso,whencrammedrecklesslytothemuzzle,sendasolidshottosomelittledistance。Thethingwastogetthemupthere。Heshowedmewherehehadfastenedthecables,explainedhowhehadimprovisedarudecapstanoutofahollowedlogturninguponapointedstake,indicatedwiththebowlofhispipetheoutlineoftheearthwork。Thelasthundredfeetoftheascenthadbeenthemostdifficult。Hehadmadehimselfresponsibleforsuccessonhisownhead。Hehadinducedthewarpartytoworkhardallnight。Bigfireslightedatintervalsblazedalldowntheslope,“butuphere,“heexplained,“thehoistingganghadtoflyaroundinthedark。“

Fromthetophesawmenmovingonthehill-sidelikeantsatwork。Hehimselfonthatnighthadkeptonrushingdownandclimbinguplikeasquirrel,directing,encouraging,watchingallalongtheline。OldDoraminhadhimselfcarriedupthehillinhisarm-chair。Theyputhimdownonthelevelplaceupontheslope,andhesatthereinthelightofoneofthebigfires——“amazingoldchap——realoldchieftain,“saidJim,“withhislittlefierceeyes——apairofimmenseflintlockpistolsonhisknees。Magnificentthings,ebony,silver-mounted,withbeautifullocksandacalibrelikeanoldblunderbuss。

ApresentfromStein,itseems——inexchangeforthatring,youknow。UsedtobelongtogoodoldM`Neil。Godonlyknowshowhecamebythem。

Therehesat,movingneitherhandnorfoot,aflameofdrybrushwoodbehindhim,andlotsofp

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