下载辰思小说免费APP
toldmefurtherthathedidn’tknowwhatmadehimhangon——butofcoursewemayguess。Hesympathizeddeeplywiththedefencelessgirl，atthemercyofthat“mean，cowardlyscoundrel。“ItappearsCorneliusledheranawfullife，stoppingonlyshortofactualill-usage，forwhichhehadnotthepluck，Isuppose。Heinsisteduponhercallinghimfather——“andwithrespect，too——withrespect，“hewouldscream，shakingalittleyellowfistinherface。“Iamarespectableman，andwhatareyou？Tellme——whatareyou？YouthinkIamgoingtobringupsomebodyelse’schildandnottobetreatedwithrespect？YououghttobegladIletyou。
Come——say，Yes，father……No？……Youwaitabit。“Thereuponhewouldbegintoabusethedeadwoman，tillthegirlwouldrunoffwithherhandstoherhead。Hepursuedher，dashinginandoutandroundthehouseandamongstthesheds，woulddriveherintosomecorner，whereshewouldfallonherkneesstoppingherears，andthenhewouldstandatadistanceanddeclaimfilthydenunciationatherbackforhalfanhouratastretch。
“Yourmotherwasadevil，adeceitfuldevil——andyou，too，areadevil，“
hewouldshriekinafinaloutburst，pickupabitofdryearthorahandfulofmud(therewasplentyofmudaroundthehouse)，andflingitintoherhair。Sometimes，though，shewouldholdoutfullofscorn，confrontinghiminsilence，herfacesombreandcontracted，andonlynowandthenutteringawordortwothatwouldmaketheotherjumpandwrithewiththesting。
Jimtoldmethesesceneswereterrible。Itwasindeedastrangethingtocomeuponinawilderness。Theendlessnessofsuchasubtlycruelsituationwasappalling——ifyouthinkofit。TherespectableCornelius(Inchi’NelyustheMalayscalledhim，withagrimacethatmeantmanythings)wasamuchdisappointedman。Idon’tknowwhathehadexpectedwouldbedoneforhiminconsiderationofhismarriage；butevidentlythelibertytosteal，andembezzle，andappropriatetohimselfformanyyearsandinanywaythatsuitedhimbest，thegoodsofStein’sTradingCompany(Steinkeptthesupplyupunfalteringlyaslongashecouldgethisskipperstotakeitthere)
didnotseemtohimafairequivalentforthesacrificeofhishonourablename。JimwouldhaveenjoyedexceedinglythrashingCorneliuswithinaninchofhislife；ontheotherhand，thesceneswereofsopainfulacharacter，soabominable，thathisimpulsewouldbetogetoutofearshot，inordertosparethegirl’sfeelings。Theyleftheragitated，speeches，clutchingherbosomnowandthenwithastony，desperateface，andthenJimwouldloungeupandsayunhappily，“Now——come——really——what’stheuse——youmusttrytoeatabit，“orgivesomesuchmarkofsympathy。Corneliuswouldkeeponslinkingthroughthedoorways，acrosstheverandaandbackagain，asmuteasafish，andwithmalevolent，mistrustful，underhandglances。
“Icanstophisgame，“Jimsaidtoheronce。“Justsaytheword。“Anddoyouknowwhatsheanswered？Shesaid——Jimtoldmeimpressively——thatifshehadnotbeensurehewasintenselywretchedhimself，shewouldhavefoundthecouragetokillhimwithherownhands。“Justfancythat!Thepoordevilofagirl，almostachild，beingdriventotalklikethat，“
heexclaimedinhorror。Itseemedimpossibletosavehernotonlyfromthatmeanrascalbutevenfromherself!Itwasn’tthathepitiedhersomuch，heaffirmed；itwasmorethanpity；itwasasifhehadsomethingonhisconscience，whilethatlifewenton。Toleavethehousewouldhaveappearedabasedesertion。Hehadunderstoodatlastthattherewasnothingtoexpectfromalongerstay，neitheraccountsnormoney，nortruthofanysort，buthestayedon，exasperatingCorneliustotheverge，Iwon’tsayofinsanity，butalmostofcourage。Meantimehefeltallsortsofdangersgatheringobscurelyabouthim。DoraminhadsentovertwiceatrustyservanttotellhimseriouslythathecoulddonothingforhissafetyunlesshewouldrecrosstheriveragainandliveamongsttheBugisasatfirst。Peopleofeveryconditionusedtocall，ofteninthedeadofnight，inordertodisclosetohimplotsforhisassassination。Hewastobepoisoned。Hewastobestabbedinthebath-house。Arrangementswerebeingmadetohavehimshotfromaboatontheriver。Eachoftheseinformantsprofessedhimselftobehisverygoodfriend。Itwasenough——hetoldme——tospoilafellow’srestforever。Somethingofthekindwasextremelypossible——may，probable——butthelyingwarningsgavehimonlythesenseofdeadlyscheminggoingonallaroundhim，onallsides，inthedark。Nothingmorecalculatedtoshakethebestofnerve。Finally，onenight，Corneliushimself，withagreatapparatusofalarmandsecrecy，unfoldedinsolemnwheedlingtonesalittleplanwhereinforonehundreddollars——orevenforeighty；let’ssayeighty——he，Cornelius，wouldprocureatrustworthymantosmuggleJimoutoftheriver，allsafe。Therewasnothingelseforitnow——ifJimcaredapinforhislife。What’seightydollars？Atrifle。Aninsignificantsum。Whilehe，Cornelius，whohadtoremainbehind，wasabsolutelycourtingdeathbyhisproofofdevotiontoMr。Stein’syoungfriend。Thesightofhisabjectgrimacingwas——Jimtoldme——veryhardtobear：heclutchedathishair，beathisbreast，rockedhimselftoandfrowithhishandspressedt
