下载辰思小说免费APP
Hewas，ofcourse，anxioustodisclaimthisachievement。Thewholestockade——hewouldinsistonexplainingtoyou——wasapooraffair(SherifAlitrustedmainlytotheinaccessibleposition)；and，anyway，thethinghadbeenalreadyknockedtopiecesandonlyhungtogetherbyamiracle。Heputhisshouldertoitlikealittlefoolandwentinheadoverheels。Jove!Ifithadn’tbeenforDainWaris，apock-markettattooedvagabondwouldhavepinnedhimwithhisspeartoabaulkoftimberlikeoneofStein’sbeetles。Thethirdmanin，itseems，hadbeenTamb’Itam，Jim’sownservant。ThiswasaMalayfromthenorth，astrangerwhohadwanderedintoPatusan，andhadbeenforciblydetainedbyRajahAllangaspaddlerofoneofthestateboats。
Hehadmadeaboltofitatthefirstopportunity，andfindingaprecariousrefuge(butverylittletoeat)amongsttheBugissettlers，hadattachedhimselftoJim’sperson。Hiscomplexionwasverydark，hisfaceflat，hiseyesprominentandinjectedwithbile。Therewassomethingexcessive，almostfanatical，inhisdevotiontohis“whitelord。“HewasinseparablefromJimlikeamoroseshadow。Onstateoccasionshewouldtreadonhismaster’sheels，onehandonthehaftofhiskris，keepingthecommonpeopleatadistancebyhistruculentbroodingglances。Jimhadmadehimthehead-manofhisestablishment，andallPatusanrespectedandcourtedhimasapersonofmuchinfluence。Atthetakingofthestockadehehaddistinguishedhimselfgreatlybythemethodicalferocityofhisfighting。Thestorming-partyhadcomeonsoquick——Jimsaid——thatnotwithstandingthepanicofthegarrison，therewasa“hotfiveminuteshand-to-handinsidethatstockade，tillsomeballyasssetfiretothesheltersofboughsanddrygrass，andweallhadtoclearoutfordearlife。“
`Therout，itseems，hadbeencomplete。Doramin，waitingimmovablyinhischaironthehill-side，withthesmokeofthegunsspreadingslowlyabovehisbighead，receivedthenewswithadeepgrunt。Wheninformedthathissonwassafeandleadingthepursuit，he，withoutanothersound，madeamightyefforttorise；hisattendantshurriedtohishelp，and，heldupreverently，heshuffledwithgreatdignityintoabitofshadewherehelaidhimselfdowntosleepcoveredentirelywithapieceofwhitesheeting。InPatusantheexcitementwasintense。Jimtoldmethatfromthehill，turninghisbackonthestockadewithitsembers，blackashes，andhalf-consumedcorpses，hecouldseetimeaftertimetheopenspacesbetweenthehousesonbothsidesofthestreamfillsuddenlywithaseethingrushofpeopleandgetemptyinamoment。Hisearscaughtfeeblyfrombelowthetremendousdinofgongsanddrums；thewildshoutsofthecrowdreachedhiminburstsoffaintroaring。Alotofstreamersmadeaflutterasoflittlewhite，red，yellowbirdsamongstthebrownridgesofroofs。“Youmusthaveenjoyedit，“Imurmured，feelingthestirofsympatheticemotion。
“`Itwas……itwasimmense!Immense!“hecriedaloud，flinginghisarmsopen。ThesuddenmovementstartledmeasthoughIhadseenhimbarethesecretsofhisbreasttothesunshine，tothebroodingforests，tothesteelysea。Belowusthetownreposedineasycurvesuponthebanksofastreamwhosecurrentseemedtosleep。“Immense!“herepeatedforathirdtime，speakinginawhisper，forhimselfalone。
`Immense!Nodoubtitwasimmense；thesealofsuccessuponhiswords，theconqueredgroundforthesolesofhisfeet，theblindtrustofmen，thebeliefinhimselfsnatchedfromthefire，thesolitudeofhisachievement。
Allthis，asI’vewarnedyou，getsdwarfedinthetelling。Ican’twithmerewordsconveytoyoutheimpressionofhistotalandutterisolation。
Iknow，ofcourse，hewasineverysensealoneofhiskindthere，buttheunsuspectedqualitiesofhisnaturehadbroughthiminsuchclosetouchwithhissurroundingsthatthisisolationseemedonlytheeffectofhispower。Hislonelinessaddedtohisstature。Therewasnothingwithinsighttocomparehimwith，asthoughhehadbeenoneofthoseexceptionalmenwhocanbeonlymeasuredbythegreatnessoftheirfame；andhisfame，remember，wasthegreatestthingaroundformanyaday’sjourney。Youwouldhavetopaddle，pole，ortrackalongwearywaythroughthejunglebeforeyoupassedbeyondthereachofitsvoice。Itsvoicewasnotthetrumpetingofthedisreputablegoddessweallknow——notblatant——notbrazen。Ittookitstonefromthestillnessandgloomofthelandwithoutapast，wherehiswordwastheonetruthofeverypassingday。Itsharedsomethingofthenatureofthatsilencethroughwhichitaccompaniedyouintounexploreddepths，heardcontinuouslybyyourside，penetrating，far-reaching——tingedwithwonderandmysteryonthelipsofwhisperingmen。’
defeatedSherifAlifledthecountrywithoutmakinganotherstand，andwhenthemiserablehuntedvillagersbegantocrawloutofthejunglebacktotheirrottinghouses，itwasJimwho，inconsultationwithDainWaris，appointedthehead-men。Thushebecamethevirtualruleroftheland。AstooldTunkuAllang，hisfearsatfirsthadknownnobounds。Itissaidthatattheintelligenceofthesuccessfulstormingofthehillheflunghimself，facedown，onthebamboofloorofhisaudience-hall，andlaymotionlessforawholenightandawholeday，
