第20章

"Yes……？"sheaccentuatedinterrogatively。

"Youhavetheawfulnessofthepredestined。You，too，arethepreyofdreams。"

"NotoftheMoors，then，"sheuttered，calmly，beginningtheotherplait。D’Alcacerfollowedtheoperationtotheend。Closeagainsther，herdiaphanousshadowonthemuslinreproducedherslightestmovements。D’Alcacerturnedhiseyesaway。

"No！Nobarbarianshalltouchyou。BecauseifitcomestothatI

believeHEwouldbecapableofkillingyouhimself。"

Aminuteelapsedbeforehestoleaglanceinherdirection。Shewasleaningbackagain，herhandshadfallenonherlapandherheadwithaplaitofhaironeachsideofherface，herheadincrediblychangedincharacterandsuggestingsomethingmedieval，ascetic，droopeddreamilyonherbreast。

D’Alcacerwaited，holdinghisbreath。Shedidn’tmove。Inthedimgleamofjewelledclasps，thefaintsheenofgoldembroideriesandtheshimmerofsilks，shewaslikeafigureinafadedpainting。Onlyherneckappeareddazzlinglywhiteinthesmokyrednessofthelight。D’Alcacer’swonderapproachedafeelingofawe。HewasonthepointofmovingawayquietlywhenMrs。

Travers，withoutstirringintheleast，lethimhearthewords：

"Ihavetoldhimthateverydayseemedmoredifficulttolive。

Don’tyouseehowimpossiblethisis？"

D’AlcacerglancedrapidlyacrosstheCagewhereMr。Traversseemedtobeasleepallinaheapandpresentingaruffledappearancelikeasickbird。Nothingwasdistinctofhimbutthebaldpatchonthetopofhishead。

"Yes，"hemurmured，"itismostunfortunate……Iunderstandyouranxiety，Mrs。Travers，but……"

"Iamfrightened，"shesaid。

Hereflectedamoment。"Whatanswerdidyouget？"heasked，softly。

"Theanswerwas：’Patience。’"

D’Alcacerlaughedalittle。——"Youmaywelllaugh，"murmuredMrs。

Traversinatoneofanguish。——"That’swhyIdid，"hewhispered。

"Patience！Didn’theseethehorrorofit？"——"Idon’tknow。Hewalkedaway，"saidMrs。Travers。Shelookedimmovablyatherhandsclaspedinherlap，andthenwithaburstofdistress，"Mr。

d’Alcacer，whatisgoingtohappen？"——"Ah，youareaskingyourselfthequestionatlast。THATwillhappenwhichcannotbeavoided；andperhapsyouknowbestwhatitis。"——"No。Iamstillaskingmyselfwhathewilldo。"——"Ah，thatisnotformetoknow，"declaredd’Alcacer。"Ican’ttellyouwhathewilldo，butIknowwhatwillhappentohim。"——"Tohim，yousay！Tohim！"shecried。——"Hewillbreakhisheart，"saidd’Alcacer，distinctly，bendingalittleoverthechairwithaslightgaspathisownaudacity——andwaited。

"Croyez—vous？"cameatlastfromMrs。Traversinanaccentsocoldlylanguidthatd’Alcacerfeltashudderrundownhisspine。

Wasitpossiblethatshewasthatkindofwoman，heaskedhimself。Didsheseenothingintheworldoutsideherself？Wassheabovethecommonestkindofcompassion？Hecouldn’tsuspectMrs。Traversofstupidity；butshemighthavebeenheartlessand，likesomewomenofherclass，quiteunabletorecognizeanyemotionintheworldexceptherown。D’Alcacerwasshockedandatthesametimehewasrelievedbecauseheconfessedtohimselfthathehadventuredveryfar。However，inherhumanityshewasnotvulgarenoughtobeoffended。Shewasnottheslaveofsmallmeannesses。Thisthoughtpleasedd’Alcacerwhohadschooledhimselfnottoexpecttoomuchfrompeople。Buthedidn’tknowwhattodonext。Afterwhathehadventuredtosayandafterthemannerinwhichshehadmethisaudacitytheonlythingtodowastochangetheconversation。Mrs。Traversremainedperfectlystill。"IwillpretendthatIthinksheisasleep，"hethoughttohimself，meditatingaretreatontip—toe。

Hedidn’tknowthatMrs。Traverswassimplytryingtorecoverthefullcommandofherfaculties。Hiswordshadgivenheraterribleshock。Aftermanagingtoutterthisdefensive"croyez—vous"whichcameoutofherlipscoldandfaintasifinalasteffortofdyingstrength，shefeltherselfturnrigidandspeechless。Shewasthinking，stiffalloverwithemotion："D’Alcacerhasseenit！Howmuchmorehashebeenabletosee？"Shedidn’taskherselfthatquestioninfearorshamebutwitharecklessresignation。Outofthatshockcameasensationofpeace。A

glowingwarmthpassedthroughallherlimbs。Ifd’Alcacerhadpeeredbythatsmokylightintoherfacehemighthaveseenonherlipsafatalisticsmilecomeandgo。Butd’Alcacerwouldnothavedreamedofdoingsuchathing，and，besides，hisattentionjustthenwasdrawninanotherdirection。Hehadheardsubduedexclamations，hadnoticedastironthedecksoftheEmma，andevensomesortofnoiseoutsidetheship。

"Thesearestrangesounds，"hesaid。

"Yes，Ihear，"Mrs。Traversmurmured，uneasily。

VagueshapesglidedoutsidetheCage，barefooted，almostnoiseless，whisperingMalaywordssecretly。

"Itseemsasthoughaboathadcomealongside，"observedd’Alcacer，lendinganattentiveear。"Iwonderwhatitmeans。Inourposition……"

"Itmaymeananything，"interruptedMrs。Travers。

"Jaffirishere，"saidavoiceinthedarknessoftheafterendoftheship。Thenthereweresomemorewordsinwhichd’Alcacer’sattentiveearcaughttheword"surat。"

"Amessageofsomesorthascome，"hesaid。"TheywillbecallingCaptainLingard。Iwonderwhatthoughtsorwhatdreamsthiscallwillinterrupt。"Hespokelightly，lookingnowatMrs。Traverswhohadalteredherpositioninthechair；andbytheirtonesandattitudesthesetwomighthavebeenonboardtheyachtsailingtheseainperfectsafety。"You，ofcourse，aretheonewhowillbetold。Don’tyoufeelasortofexcitement，Mrs。Travers？"

"Ihavebeenlatelyexhortedtopatience，"shesaidinthesameeasytone。"IcanwaitandIimagineIshallhavetowaittillthemorning。"

"Itcan’tbeverylateyet，"hesaid。"Timewithushasbeenstandingstillforeversolong。Andyetthismaybethehouroffate。"

"Isthisthefeelingyouhaveatthisparticularmoment？"

"Ihavehadthatfeelingforaconsiderablenumberofmomentsalready。Atfirstitwasexciting。NowIamonlymoderatelyanxious。Ihaveemployedmytimeingoingoverallmypastlife。"

"Canonereallydothat？"

"Yes。Ican’tsayIhavebeenboredtoextinction。Iamstillalive，asyousee；butIhavedonewiththatandIfeelextremelyidle。ThereisonlyonethingIwouldliketodo。Iwanttofindafewwordsthatcouldconveytoyoumygratitudeforallyourfriendlinessinthepast，atthetimewhenyouletmeseesomuchofyouinLondon。IfeltalwaysthatyoutookmeonmyowntermsandthatsokindlythatoftenIfeltinclinedtothinkbetterofmyself。ButIamafraidIamwearyingyou，Mrs。Travers。"

"Iassureyouyouhaveneverdonethat——inthepast。AndastothepresentmomentIbegyounottogoaway。Staybymeplease。

Wearenotgoingtopretendthatwearesleepyatthisearlyhour。"

D’Alcacerbroughtastoolclosetothelongchairandsatdownonit。"Oh，yes，thepossiblehouroffate，"hesaid。"Ihavearequesttomake，Mrs。Travers。Idon’taskyoutobetrayanything。Whatwouldbethegood？Theissuewhenitcomeswillbeplainenough。ButIshouldliketogetawarning，justsomethingthatwouldgivemetimetopullmyselftogether，tocomposemyselfasitwere。Iwantyoutopromisemethatifthebalancetipsagainstusyouwillgivemeasign。Youcould，forinstance，seizetheopportunitywhenIamlookingatyoutoputyourlefthandtoyourforeheadlikethis。ItisagesturethatIhaveneverseenyoumake，andso……"

"Jorgenson！"Lingard’svoicewasheardforwardwherethelightofalanternappearedsuddenly。Then，afterapause，Lingardwasheardagain："Here！"

Thenthesilentminutesbegantogoby。Mrs。Traversreclininginherchairandd’Alcacersittingonthestoolwaitedmotionlesswithoutaword。PresentlythroughthesubduedmurmursandagitationpervadingthedarkdeckoftheEmmaMrs。Traversheardafirmfootstep，and，lanterninhand，Lingardappearedoutsidethemuslincage。

"Willyoucomeoutandspeaktome？"hesaid，loudly。"Notyou。

Thelady，"headdedinanauthoritativetoneasd’Alcacerrosehastilyfromthestool。"IwantMrs。Travers。"

"Ofcourse，"mutteredd’AlcacertohimselfandasheopenedthedooroftheCagetoletMrs。Traversslipthroughhewhisperedtoher，"Thisisthehouroffate。"

Shebrushedpasthimswiftlywithouttheslightestsignthatshehadheardthewords。OntheafterdeckbetweentheCageandthedeckhouseLingardwaited，lanterninhand。Nobodyelsewasvisibleabout；butd’Alcacerfeltintheairthepresenceofsilentandexcitedbeingshoveringoutsidethecircleoflight。

LingardraisedthelanternasMrs。Traversapproachedandd’Alcacerheardhimsay：

"Ihavehadnewswhichyououghttoknow。Letusgointothedeckhouse。"

D’Alcacersawtheirheadslightedupbytheraisedlanternsurroundedbythedepthsofshadowwithaneffectofamarvellousandsymbolicvision。HeheardMrs。Traverssay"Iwouldrathernothearyournews，"inatonethatmadethatsensitiveobserverpurseuphislipsinwonder。Hethoughtthatshewasover—wrought，thatthesituationhadgrowntoomuchforhernerves。Butthiswasnotthetoneofafrightenedperson。Itflashedthroughhismindthatshehadbecomeself—conscious，andtherehestoppedinhisspeculation。Thatfriendofwomenremaineddiscreeteveninhisthoughts。HesteppedbackwardfurtherintotheCageandwithoutsurprisesawMrs。TraversfollowLingardintothedeckhouse。

IV

Lingardstoodthelanternonthetable。Itslightwasverypoor。

Hedroppedontothesea—chestheavily。He，too，wasover—wrought。Hisflannelshirtwasopenattheneck。Hehadabroadbeltroundhiswaistandwaswithouthisjacket。Beforehim，Mrs。Travers，straightandtallinthegaysilks，cottons，andmuslinsofheroutlandishdress，withtheendsofthescarfthrownoverherhead，hangingdowninfrontofher，lookeddimlysplendidandwithablackglanceoutofherwhiteface。Hesaid：

"Doyou，too，wanttothrowmeover？Itellyouyoucan’tdothatnow。"

"Iwasn’tthinkingofthrowingyouover，butIdon’tevenknowwhatyoumean。ThereseemtobenoendofthingsIcan’tdo。

Hadn’tyoubettertellmeofsomethingthatIcoulddo？Haveyouanyideayourselfwhatyouwantfromme？"

"Youcanletmelookatyou。Youcanlistentome。Youcanspeaktome。"

"Frankly，Ihavenevershirkeddoingallthosethings，wheneveryouwantedmeto。Youhaveledme……"

"Iledyou！"criedLingard。

"Oh！Itwasmyfault，"shesaid，withoutanger。"Imusthavedreamedthenthatitwasyouwhocametomeinthedarkwiththetaleofyourimpossiblelife。CouldIhavesentyouaway？"

"Iwishyouhad。Whydidn’tyou？"

"Doyouwantmetotellyouthatyouwereirresistible？HowcouldIhavesentyouaway？Butyou！Whatmadeyoucomebacktomewithyourveryheartonyourlips？"

WhenLingardspokeafteratimeitwasinjerkysentences。

"Ididn’tstoptothink。Ihadbeenhurt。Ididn’tthinkofyoupeopleasladiesandgentlemen。IthoughtofyouaspeoplewhoselivesIheldinmyhand。Howwasitpossibletoforgetyouinmytrouble？ItisyourfacethatIbroughtbackwithmeonboardmybrig。Idon’tknowwhy。Ididn’tlookatyoumorethanatanybodyelse。Ittookmeallmytimetokeepmytemperdownlestitshouldburnyouallup。Ididn’twanttoberudetoyoupeople，butIfounditwasn’tveryeasybecausethreatsweretheonlyargumentIhad。WasIveryoffensive，Mrs。Travers？"

Shehadlistenedtenseandveryattentive，almoststern。Anditwaswithouttheslightestchangeofexpressionthatshesaid：

"IthinkthatyouboreyourselfappropriatelytothestateoflifetowhichithaspleasedGodtocallyou。"

"Whatstate？"mutteredLingardtohimself。"IamwhatIam。TheycallmeRajahLaut，KingTom，andsuchlike。Ithinkitamusedyoutohearit，butIcantellyouitisnojoketohavesuchnamesfastenedonone，eveninfun。Andthoseverynameshaveinthemsomethingwhichmakesallthisaffairherenosmallmattertoanybody。"

Shestoodbeforehimwithaset，severeface。——"Didyoucallmeoutinthisalarmingmanneronlytoquarrelwithme？"——"No，butwhydoyouchoosethistimetotellmethatmycomingforhelptoyouwasnothingbutimpudenceinyoursight？Well，Ibegyourpardonforintrudingonyourdignity。"——"Youmisunderstoodme，"

saidMrs。Travers，withoutrelaxingforamomenthercontemplativeseverity。"Suchaflatteringthinghadneverhappenedtomebeforeanditwillneverhappentomeagain。Butbelieveme，KingTom，youdidmetoomuchhonour。Jorgensonisperfectlyrightinbeingangrywithyouforhavingtakenawomanintow。"——"Hedidn’tmeantoberude，"protestedLingard，earnestly。Mrs。Traversdidn’tevensmileatthisintrusionofapointofmannersintotheatmosphereofanguishandsuspensethatseemedalwaystoarisebetweenherandthismanwho，sittingonthesea—chest，hadraisedhiseyestoherwithanairofextremecandourandseemedunabletotakethemoffagain。Shecontinuedtolookathimsternlybyatremendouseffortofwill。

"Howchangedyouare，"hemurmured。

Hewaslostinthedepthsofthesimplestwonder。Sheappearedtohimvengefulandasifturnedforeverintostonebeforehisbewilderedremorse。Forever。SuddenlyMrs。Traverslookedroundandsatdowninthechair。Herstrengthfailedherbutsheremainedausterewithherhandsrestingonthearmsofherseat。

Lingardsigheddeeplyanddroppedhiseyes。Shedidnotdarerelaxhermusclesforfearofbreakingdownaltogetherandbetrayingarecklessimpulsewhichlurkedatthebottomofherdismay，toseizetheheadofd’Alcacer’sManofFate，pressittoherbreastonce，flingitfaraway，andvanishherself，vanishoutoflifelikeawraith。TheManofFatesatsilentandbowed，yetwithasuggestionofstrengthinhisdejection。"IfIdon’tspeak，"Mrs。Traverssaidtoherself，withgreatinwardcalmness，"Ishallburstintotears。"Shesaidaloud，"Whatcouldhavehappened？Whathaveyoudraggedmeinherefor？Whydon’tyoutellmeyournews？"

"Ithoughtyoudidn’twanttohear。Ibelieveyoureallydon’twantto。Whatisallthistoyou？Ibelievethatyoudon’tcareanythingaboutwhatIfeel，aboutwhatIdoandhowIend。I

verilybelievethatyoudon’tcarehowyouendyourself。I

believeyounevercaredforyourownoranybody’sfeelings。I

don’tthinkitisbecauseyouarehard，Ithinkitisbecauseyoudon’tknow，anddon’twanttoknow，andareangrywithlife。"

Heflourishedanarmrecklessly，andMrs。Traversnoticedforthefirsttimethatheheldasheetofpaperinhishand。

"Isthatyournewsthere？"sheasked，significantly。"It’sdifficulttoimaginethatinthiswildernesswritingcanhaveanysignificance。Andwhoonearthherecouldsendyounewsonpaper？

Willyouletmeseeit？CouldIunderstandit？IsitinEnglish？

Come，KingTom，don’tlookatmeinthisawfulway。"

Shegotupsuddenly，notinindignation，butasifattheendofherendurance。Thejewelledclasps，thegoldembroideries，gleamedelusivelyamongstthefoldsofherdraperieswhichemittedamysteriousrustle。

"Ican’tstandthis，"shecried。"Ican’tstandbeinglookedatlikethis。Nowomancouldstandit。Nowomanhaseverbeenlookedatlikethis。Whatcanyousee？HatredIcouldunderstand。Whatisityouthinkmecapableof？"

"Youareveryextraordinary，"murmuredLingard，whohadregainedhisself—possessionbeforethatoutburst。

"Verywell，andyouareextraordinary，too。That’sunderstood——herewearebothunderthatcurseandhavingtofacetogetherwhatevermayturnup。Butwhoonearthcouldhavesentyouthiswriting？"

"Who？"repeatedLingard。"Why，thatyoungfellowthatblunderedonmybriginthedark，bringingaboatloadoftroublealongsideonthatquietnightinCarimataStraits。ThedarkestnightIhaveeverknown。Anaccursednight。"

Mrs。Traversbitherlip，waitedalittle，thenaskedquietly：

"Whatdifficultyhashegotintonow？"

"Difficulty！"criedLingard。"Heisimmenselypleasedwithhimself，theyoungfool。Youknow，whenyousenthimtotalktomethateveningyoulefttheyacht，hecamewithaloadedpistolinhispocket。Andnowhehasgoneanddoneit。"

"Doneit？"repeatedMrs。Traversblankly。"Donewhat？"

ShesnatchedfromLingard’sunresistingpalmthesheetofpaper。

WhileshewassmoothingitLingardmovedroundandstoodcloseatherelbow。Sheranquicklyoverthefirstlines，thenhereyessteadied。AttheendshedrewaquickbreathandlookedupatLingard。TheirfaceshadneverbeensoclosetogetherbeforeandMrs。Travershadasurprisingsecondofaperfectlynewsensation。Shelookedaway。——"Doyouunderstandwhatthisnewsmeans？"hemurmured。Mrs。Traversletherhandfallbyherside。

"Yes，"shesaidinalowtone。"Thecompactisbroken。"

Carterhadbegunhisletterwithoutanypreliminaries：

Youclearedoutinthemiddleofthenightandtooktheladyawaywithyou。Youleftmenoproperorders。ButasasailormanI

lookeduponmyselfasleftinchargeoftwoshipswhilewithinhalfamileonthatsandbankthereweremorethanahundredpiraticalcut—throatswatchingmeascloselyassomanytigersabouttoleap。Dayswentbywithoutawordofyouorthelady。Toleavetheshipsoutsideandgoinlandtolookforyouwasnottobethoughtofwithallthosepirateswithinspringingdistance。

Putyourselfinmyplace。Can’tyouimaginemyanxiety，mysleeplessnights？Eachnightworsethanthenightbefore。Andstillnowordfromyou。Icouldn’tsitstillandworrymyheadoffaboutthingsIcouldn’tunderstand。Iamasailorman。Myfirstdutywastotheships。IhadtoputanendtothisimpossiblesituationandIhopeyouwillagreethatIhavedoneitinaseamanlikeway。OnemistymorningImovedthebrignearerthesandbankanddirectlythemistclearedIopenedfireontheprausofthosesavageswhichwereanchoredinthechannel。Weaimedwideatfirsttogivethosevagabondsthatwereonboardachancetoclearoutandjointheirfriendscampedonthesands。I

didn’twanttokillpeople。Thenwegotthelongguntobearandinaboutanhourwehadthebottomknockedoutofthetwopraus。

Thesavagesonthebankhowledandscreamedateveryshot。TheyaremightyangrybutIdon’tcarefortheirangernow，forbysinkingtheirprausIhavemadethemasharmlessasaflockoflambs。Theyneedn’tstarveontheirsandbankbecausetheyhavetwoorthreedugoutshauleduponthesandandtheymayferrythemselvesandtheirwomentothemainlandwhenevertheylike。

IfancyIhaveactedasaseamanandasaseamanIintendtogoonacting。NowIhavemadetheshipssafeIshallsetaboutwithoutlossoftimetryingtogettheyachtoffthemud。Whenthat’sdoneIshallarmtheboatsandproceedinshoretolookforyouandtheyacht’sgentry，andshan’tresttillIknowwhetheranyorallofyouareabovetheearthyet。

Ihopethesewordswillreachyou。JustaswehaddonethebusinessofthoseprausthemanyousentoffthatnightinCarimatatostopourchiefofficercamesailinginfromthewestwithourfirstgigintowandtheboat’screwallwell。YourserangtellsmeheisamosttrustworthymessengerandthathisnameisJaffir。Heseemsonlytooanxioustotrytogettoyouassoonaspossible。Irepeat，shipsandmenhavebeenmadesafeandIdon’tmeantogiveyouupdeadoralive。

"Youarequickintakingthepoint，"saidLingardinadullvoice，whileMrs。Travers，withthesheetofpapergrippedinherhand，lookedintohisfacewithanxiouseyes。"Hehasbeensmartandnomistake。"

"Hedidn’tknow，"murmuredMrs。Travers。

"No，hedidn’tknow。ButcouldItakeeverybodyintomyconfidence？"protestedLingardinthesamelowtone。"AndyetwhoelsecouldItrust？Itseemedtomethathemusthaveunderstoodwithoutbeingtold。Butheistooyoung。Hemaywellbeproudaccordingtohislights。Hehasdonethatjoboutsideverysmartly——damnhissmartness！Andherewearewithallourlivesdependingonmyword——whichisbrokennow，Mrs。Travers。Itisbroken。"

Mrs。Traversnoddedathimslightly。

"Theywouldsoonerhaveexpectedtoseethesunandthemoonfalloutofthesky，"Lingardcontinuedwithrepressedfire。NextmomentitseemedtohavegoneoutofhimandMrs。Traversheardhimmutteradisconnectedphrase……"Theworlddownaboutmyears。"

"Whatwillyoudo？"shewhispered。

"WhatwillIdo？"repeatedLingard，gently。"Oh，yes——do。Mrs。

Travers，doyouseethatIamnothingnow？Justnothing。"

Hehadlosthimselfinthecontemplationofherfaceturnedtohimwithanexpressionofawedcuriosity。TheshockoftheworldcomingdownabouthisearsinconsequenceofCarter’ssmartnesswassoterrificthatithaddulledhissensibilitiesinthemannerofagreatpainorofagreatcatastrophe。Whatwastheretolookatbutthatwoman’sface，inaworldwhichhadlostitsconsistency，itsshape，anditspromisesinamoment？

Mrs。Traverslookedaway。SheunderstoodthatshehadputtoLingardanimpossiblequestion。Whatwaspresentingitselftoherasaproblemwastothatmanacrisisoffeeling。ObviouslyCarter’sactionhadbrokenthecompactenteredintowithDaman，andshewasintelligentenoughtounderstandthatitwasthesortofthingthatcouldnotbeexplainedaway。Itwasn’thorrorthatshefelt，butasortofconsternation，somethinglikethediscomfitureofpeoplewhohavejustmissedtheirtrain。Itwasonlymoreintense。Therealdismayhadyettomakeitswayintohercomprehension。ToLingarditwasablowstruckstraightathisheart。

HewasnotangrywithCarter。Thefellowhadactedlikeaseaman。

Carter’sconcernwasfortheships。InthisfatalityCarterwasamereincident。Therealcauseofthedisasterwassomewhereelse，wasother，andmoreremote。AndatthesametimeLingardcouldnotdefendhimselffromafeelingthatitwasinhimself，too，somewhereintheunexploreddepthsofhisnature，somethingfatalandunavoidable。Hemutteredtohimself：

"No。Iamnotaluckyman。"

Thiswasbutafeebleexpressionofthediscoveryofthetruththatsuddenlyhadcomehometohimasifdrivenintohisbreastbyarevealingpowerwhichhaddecidedthatthiswastobetheendofhisfling。Buthewasnotthemantogivehimselfuptotheexaminationofhisownsensations。Hisnaturalimpulsewastograpplewiththecircumstancesandthatwaswhathewastryingtodo；buthemissednowthatsenseofmasterywhichishalfthebattle。Conflictofsomesortwastheveryessenceofhislife。

Butthiswassomethinghehadneverknownbefore。Thiswasaconflictwithinhimself。Hehadtofaceunsuspectedpowers，foesthathecouldnotgoouttomeetatthegate。Theywerewithin，asthoughhehadbeenbetrayedbysomebody，bysomesecretenemy。

Hewasreadytolookroundforthatsubtletraitor。Asortofblanknessfellonhismindandhesuddenlythought："Why！It’smyself。"

Immediatelyafterwardhehadaclear，mercilessrecollectionofHassimandImmada。Hesawthemfaroffbeyondtheforests。Oh，yes，theyexisted——withinhisbreast！

"Thatwasanight！"hemuttered，lookingstraightatMrs。

Travers。Hehadbeenlookingatherallthetime。Hisglancehadheldherunderaspell，butforawholeinterminableminutehehadnotbeenawareofheratall。Atthemurmurofhiswordsshemadeaslightmovementandhesawheragain。——"Whatnight？"shewhispered，timidly，likeanintruder。Shewasastonishedtoseehimsmile。——"Notlikethisone，"hesaid。"Youmademenoticehowquietandstillitwas。Yes。Listenhowstillitis。"

Bothmovedtheirheadsslightlyandseemedtolendanear。Therewasnotamurmur，sigh，rustle，splash，orfootfall。Nowhispers，notremors，notasoundofanykind。TheymighthavebeenaloneonboardtheEmma，abandonedevenbytheghostofCaptainJorgensondepartedtorejointheBarqueWildRoseontheshoreoftheCimmeriansea。——"It’slikethestillnessoftheend，"saidMrs。Traversinalow，equablevoice。——"Yes，butthat，too，isfalse，"saidLingardinthesametone。——"Idon’tunderstand，"

Mrs。Traversbegan，hurriedly，afterashortsilence。"Butdon’tusethatword。Don’tuseit，KingTom！Itfrightensmebyitsmeresound。"

Lingardmadenosign。HisthoughtswerebackwithHassimandImmada。TheyoungchiefandhissisterhadgoneupcountryonavoluntarymissiontopersuadeBelarabtoreturntohisstockadeandtotakeupagainthedirectionofaffairs。TheycarriedurgentmessagesfromLingard，whoforBelarabwastheveryembodimentoftruthandforce，thatunquestionedforcewhichhadpermittedBelarabtoindulgeinallhismelancholyhesitations。

Butthosetwoyoungpeoplehadalsosomepersonalprestige。TheywereLingard’sheart’sfriends。Theywerelikehischildren。Butbesidethat，theirhighbirth，theirwarlikestory，theirwanderings，adventures，andprospectshadgiventhemaglamouroftheirown。