Hehadmadenosound：CaptainWhalley，however，seemedtohaveobservedthemovementsofhisSerang.
　　Holdinghisheadrigidly，heaskedwithamerestirofhislips——
　　"Goingaheadstill，Serang？"
　　"Stillgoingalittle，Tuan，"answeredtheMalay.
　　Thenaddedcasually，"Sheisover."
　　Theleadconfirmedhiswords;thedepthofwaterin—
　　creasedateverycast，andthesoulofexcitementde—
　　partedsuddenlyfromthelascarswunginthecanvasbeltovertheSofala’sside.CaptainWhalleyor—
　　deredtheleadin，settheenginesaheadwithouthaste，andavertinghiseyesfromthecoastdirectedtheSerangtokeepacourseforthemiddleoftheen—
　　trance.
　　Massybroughtthepalmofhishandwithaloudsmackagainsthisthigh.
　　"Yougrazedonthebar.Justlookasternandseeifyoudidn’t.Lookatthetracksheleft.Youcanseeitplainly.Uponmysoul，Ithoughtyouwould！Whatmadeyoudothat？Whatonearthmadeyoudothat？
　　Ibelieveyouaretryingtoscareme."
　　Hetalkedslowly，asitwerecircumspectly，keepinghisprominentblackeyesonhiscaptain.Therewasalsoaslightplaintivenoteinhisrisingcholer，for，primarily，itwastheclearsenseofawrongsufferedundeservedlythatmadehimhatethemanwho，forabeggarlyfivehundredpounds，claimedasixthpartoftheprofitsunderthethreeyears’agreement.Wheneverhisresent—
　　mentgotthebetteroftheawethepersonofCaptainWhalleyinspiredhewouldpositivelywhimperwithfury.
　　"Youdon’tknowwhattoinventtoplaguemylifeoutofme.Iwouldnothavethoughtthatamanofyoursortwouldcondescend"
　　Hepaused，halfhopefully，halftimidly，wheneverCaptainWhalleymadetheslightestmovementinthedeck—chair，asthoughexpectingtobeconciliatedbyasoftspeechorelserusheduponandhuntedoffthebridge.
　　"Iampuzzled，"hewentonagain，withthewatchfulunsmilingbaringofhisbigteeth."Idon’tknowwhattothink.Idobelieveyouaretryingtofrightenme.
　　Youverynearlyplantedheronthebarforatleasttwelvehours，besidesgettingtheengineschokedwithmud.Shipscan’taffordtolosetwelvehoursonatripnowadays——asyououghttoknowverywell，anddoknowverywelltobesure，only"
　　Hisslowvolubility，thesidewayscraningsofhisneck，theblackglancesoutoftheverycornersofhiseyes，leftCaptainWhalleyunmoved.Helookedatthedeckwithaseverefrown.Massywaitedforsomelittletime，thenbegantothreatenplaintively.
　　"Youthinkyou’vegotmeboundhandandfootinthatagreement.Youthinkyoucantormentmeinanywayyouplease.Ah！Butrememberithasanothersixweekstorunyet.There’stimeformetodismissyoubeforethethreeyearsareout.Youwilldoyetsomethingthatwillgivemethechancetodismissyou，andmakeyouwaitatwelvemonthforyourmoneybeforeyoucantakeyourselfoffandpulloutyourfivehundred，andleavemewithoutapennytogetthenewboilersforher.Yougloatoverthatidea——don’tyou？Idobe—
　　lieveyousitheregloating.It’sasifIhadsoldmysoulforfivehundredpoundstobeeverlastinglydamnedintheend"
　　Hepaused，withoutapparentexasperation，thencon—
　　tinuedevenly——
　　"Withtheboilerswornoutandthesurveyhang—
　　ingovermyhead，CaptainWhalley——CaptainWhalley，Isay，whatdoyoudowithyourmoney？Youmusthavestacksofmoneysomewhere——amanlikeyoumust.Itstandstoreason.Iamnotafool，youknow，CaptainWhalley——partner."
　　Againhepaused，asthoughhehaddoneforgood.
　　Hepassedhistongueoverhislips，gaveabackwardglanceattheSerangconningtheshipwithquietwhis—
　　persandslightsignsofthehand.Thewashofthepropellersentaswiftripple，crestedwithdarkfroth，uponalongflatspitofblackslime.TheSofalahadenteredtheriver;thetrailshehadstirredupoverthebarwasamileasternofhernow，outofsight，haddis—
　　appearedutterly;andthesmooth，emptyseaalongthecoastwasleftbehindintheglitteringdesolationofsun—
　　shine.Oneachsideofher，lowdown，thegrowthofsombertwistedmangrovescoveredthesemi—liquidbanks;
　　andMassycontinuedinhisoldtone，withanabruptstart，asifhisspeechhadbeengroundoutofhim，likethetuneofamusic—box，byturningahandle.
　　"Thoughifanybodyevergotthebestofme，itisyou.
　　Idon’tmindsayingthis.I’vesaidit——there！Whatmorecanyouwant？Isn’tthatenoughforyourpride，CaptainWhalley.Yougotovermefromthefirst.It’sallofapiece，whenIlookbackatit.Youallowedmetoinsertthatclauseaboutintemperancewithoutsayinganything，onlylookingverysickwhenImadeapointofitgoinginblackonwhite.HowcouldItellwhatwaswrongaboutyou.There’sgenerallysomethingwrongsomewhere.And，loandbehold！whenyoucomeonboarditturnsoutthatyou’vebeeninthehabitofdrinkingnothingbutwaterforyearsandyears."
　　Hisdogmaticreproachfulwhinestopped.Hebroodedprofoundly，afterthemannerofcraftyandunintelli—
　　gentmen.ItseemedinconceivablethatCaptainWhalleyshouldnotlaughattheexpressionofdisgustthatoverspreadtheheavy，yellowcountenance.ButCaptainWhalleyneverraisedhiseyes——sittinginhisarm—chair，outraged，dignified，andmotionless.
　　"Muchgooditwastome，"Massyremonstratedmonotonously，"toinsertaclausefordismissalforin—
　　temperanceagainstamanwhodrinksnothingbutwater.
　　Andyoulookedsoupset，too，whenIreadmydraftinthelawyer’sofficethatmorning，CaptainWhalley，——
　　youlookedsocrestfallen，thatImadesureIhadgonehomeonyourweakspot.Ashipownercan’tbetoocarefulastothesortofskipperhegets.YoumusthavebeenlaughingatmeinyoursleevealltheblessedtimeEh？Whatareyougoingtosay？"
　　CaptainWhalleyhadonlyshuffledhisfeetslightly.
　　AdullanimositybecameapparentinMassy’ssidewaysstare.
　　"Butrecollectthatthereareothergroundsofdis—
　　missal.There’shabitualcarelessness，amountingtoin—
　　competence——there’sgrossandpersistentneglectofduty.Iamnotquiteasbigafoolasyoutrytomakemeouttobe.Youhavebeencarelessoflate——leavingeverythingtothatSerang.Why！I’veseenyoulet—
　　tingthatoldfoolofaMalaytakebearingsforyou，asifyouweretoobigtoattendtoyourworkyourself.
　　Andwhatdoyoucallthatsillytouch—and—gomannerinwhichyoutooktheshipoverthebarjustnow？Youexpectmetoputupwiththat？"
　　Leaningonhiselbowagainsttheladderabaftthebridge，Sterne，themate，triedtohear，blinkingthewhilefromthedistanceatthesecondengineer，whohadcomeupforamoment，andstoodintheengine—roomcompanion.Wipinghishandsonabunchofcottonwaste，helookedaboutwithindifferencetotherightandleftattheriverbanksslippingasternoftheSofalasteadily.
　　Massyturnedfullatthechair.Thecharacterofhiswhinebecameagainthreatening.
　　"Takecare.Imayyetdismissyouandfreezetoyourmoneyforayear.Imay"
　　Butbeforethesilent，rigidimmobilityofthemanwhosemoneyhadcomeinthenickoftimetosavehimfromutterruin，hisvoicediedoutinhisthroat.
　　"NotthatIwantyoutogo，"heresumedafterasi—
　　lence，andinanabsurdlyinsinuatingtone."Iwantnothingbetterthantobefriendsandrenewtheagree—
　　ment，ifyouwillconsenttofindanothercoupleofhun—
　　dredtohelpwiththenewboilers，CaptainWhalley.
　　I’vetoldyoubefore.Shemusthavenewboilers;youknowitaswellasIdo.Haveyouthoughtthisover？"
　　Hewaited.Theslenderstemofthepipewithitsbulkylumpofabowlattheendhungdownfromhisthicklips.Ithadgoneout.Suddenlyhetookitfrombetweenhisteethandwrunghishandsslightly.
　　"Don’tyoubelieveme？"Hethrustthepipebowlintothepocketofhisshinyblackjacket.
　　"It’slikedealingwiththedevil，"hesaid."Whydon’tyouspeak？AtfirstyouweresohighandmightywithmeIhardlydaredtocreepaboutmyowndeck.
　　NowIcan’tgetawordfromyou.Youdon’tseemtoseemeatall.Whatdoesitmean？Uponmysoul，youterrifymewiththisdeafanddumbtrick.What’sgo—
　　ingoninthatheadofyours？Whatareyouplottingagainstmetheresohardthatyoucan’tsayaword？
　　Youwillnevermakemebelievethatyou——you——don’tknowwheretolayyourhandsonacoupleofhundred.
　　YouhavemademecursethedayIwasborn"
　　"Mr.Massy，"saidCaptainWhalleysuddenly，with—
　　outstirring.
　　Theengineerstartedviolently.
　　"IfthatissoIcanonlybegyoutoforgiveme."
　　"Starboard，"mutteredtheSerangtothehelmsman;
　　andtheSofalabegantoswingroundthebendintothesecondreach.
　　"Ough！"Massyshuddered."Youmakemybloodruncold.Whatmadeyoucomehere？Whatmadeyoucomeaboardthateveningallofasudden，withyourhightalkandyourmoney——temptingme？Ialwayswonderedwhatwasyourmotive？Youfastenedyourselfonmetohaveeasytimesandgrowfatonmylifeblood，Itellyou.Wasthatit？Ibelieveyouarethegreatestmiserintheworld，orelsewhy"
　　"No.Iamonlypoor，"interruptedCaptainWhalley，stonily.
　　"Steady，"murmuredtheSerang.Massyturnedawaywithhischinonhisshoulder.
　　"Idon’tbelieveit，"hesaidinhisdogmatictone.
　　CaptainWhalleymadenomovement."Thereyousitlikeagorgedvulture——exactlylikeavulture."
　　Heembracedthemiddleofthereachandboththebanksinoneblankunseeingcircularglance，andleftthebridgeslowly.
　　IX
　　OnturningtodescendMassyperceivedtheheadofSternethemateloitering，withhisslyconfidentsmile，hisredmustachesandblinkingeyes，atthefootoftheladder.
　　SternehadbeenajuniorinoneofthelargershippingconcernsbeforejoiningtheSofala.Hehadthrownuphisberth，hesaid，"ongeneralprinciples."Thepro—
　　motionintheemploywasveryslow，hecomplained，andhethoughtitwastimeforhimtotryandgetonabitintheworld.Itseemedasthoughnobodywouldeverdieorleavethefirm;theyallstuckfastintheirberthstilltheygotmildewed;hewastiredofwaiting;andhefearedthatwhenavacancydidoccurthebestservantswerebynomeanssureofbeingtreatedfairly.Besides，thecaptainhehadtoserveunder——CaptainProvost——
　　wasanunaccountablesortofman，and，hefancied，hadtakenadisliketohimforsomereasonorother.Fordoingrathermorethanhisbaredutyaslikelyasnot.
　　Whenhehaddoneanythingwronghecouldtakeatalkingto，likeaman;butheexpectedtobetreatedlikeamantoo，andnottobeaddressedinvariablyasthoughhewereadog.HehadaskedCaptainProvostplumpandplaintotellhimwherehewasatfault，andCaptainProvost，inamostscornfulway，hadtoldhimthathewasaperfectofficer，andthatifhedislikedthewayhewasbeingspokentotherewasthegangway——
　　hecouldtakehimselfoffashoreatonce.ButeverybodyknewwhatsortofmanCaptainProvostwas.Itwasnouseappealingtotheoffice.CaptainProvosthadtoomuchinfluenceintheemploy.Allthesame，theyhadtogivehimagoodcharacter.Hemadeboldtosaytherewasnothingintheworldagainsthim，and，ashehadhappenedtohearthatthemateoftheSofalahadbeentakentothehospitalthatmorningwithasun—
　　stroke，hethoughttherewouldbenoharminseeingwhetherhewouldnotdo
　　HehadcometoCaptainWhalleyfreshlyshaved，red—
　　faced，thin—flanked，throwingouthisleanchest;andhadrecitedhislittletalewithanopenandmanlyas—
　　surance.Nowandthenhiseyelidsquiveredslightly，hishandwouldstealuptotheendoftheflamingmus—
　　tache;hiseyebrowswerestraight，furry，ofachestnutcolor，andthedirectnessofhisfrankgazeseemedtotrembleonthevergeofimpudence.CaptainWhalleyhadengagedhimtemporarily;then，theothermanhav—
　　ingbeenorderedhomebythedoctors，hehadremainedforthenexttrip，andthenthenext.Hehadnowat—
　　tainedpermanency，andtheperformanceofhisdutieswasmarkedbyanairofserious，single—mindedappli—
　　cation.Directlyhewasspokento，hebegantosmileattentively，withagreatdeferenceexpressedinhiswholeattitude;buttherewasintherapidwinkingwhichwentonallthetimesomethingquizzical，asthoughhehadpossessedthesecretofsomeuniversaljokecheatingallcreationandimpenetrabletoothermortals.
　　GraveandsmilinghewatchedMassycomedownstepbystep;whenthechiefengineerhadreachedthedeckheswungabout，andtheyfoundthemselvesfacetoface.
　　Matchedastoheightandutterlydissimilar，theycon—
　　frontedeachotherasiftherehadbeensomethingbe—
　　tweenthem——somethingelsethanthebrightstripofsunlightthat，fallingthroughthewidelacingoftwoawnings，cutcrosswisethenarrowplankingofthedeckandseparatedtheirfeetasitwereastream;somethingprofoundandsubtleandincalculable，likeanunex—
　　pressedunderstanding，asecretmistrust，orsomesortoffear.
　　AtlastSterne，blinkinghisdeep—seteyesandstickingforwardhisscraped，clean—cutchin，ascrimsonastherestofhisface，murmured——
　　"You’veseen？Hegrazed！You’veseen？"
　　Massy，contemptuous，andwithoutraisinghisyellow，fleshycountenance，repliedinthesamepitch——
　　"Maybe.Butifithadbeenyouwewouldhavebeenstuckfastinthemud."
　　"Pardonme，Mr.Massy.Ibegtodenyit.Ofcourseashipownermaysaywhathejollywellpleasesonhisowndeck.That’sallright;butIbegto"
　　"Getoutofmyway！"
　　Theotherhadaslightstart，theimpulseofsuppressedindignationperhaps，butheldhisground.Massy’sdownwardglancewanderedrightandleft，asthoughthedeckallroundSternehadbeenbestrewnwitheggsthatmustnotbebroken，andhehadlookedirritablyforplaceswherehecouldsethisfeetinflight.Intheendhetoodidnotmove，thoughtherewasplentyofroomtopasson.
　　"Iheardyousayupthere，"wentonthemate——"andaveryjustremarkitwastoo——thatthere’salwayssomethingwrong"
　　"Eavesdroppingiswhat’swrongwithYOU，Mr.
　　Sterne."
　　"Now，ifyouwouldonlylistentomeforamoment，Mr.Massy，sir，Icould"
　　"Youareasneak，"interruptedMassyinagreathurry，andevenmanagedtogetsofarastorepeat，"acommonsneak，"beforethematehadbrokeninargu—
　　mentatively——
　　"Now，sir，whatisityouwant？Youwant"
　　"Iwant——Iwant，"stammeredMassy，infuriatedandastonished——"Iwant.HowdoyouknowthatIwantanything？Howdareyou？Whatdoyoumean？Whatareyouafter——you"
　　"Promotion."Sternesilencedhimwithasortofcandidbravado.Theengineer’sroundsoftcheeksquiv—
　　eredstill，buthesaidquietlyenough——
　　"Youareonlyworryingmyheadoff，"andSternemethimwithaconfidentlittlesmile.
　　"AchapinbusinessIknow（wellupintheworldheisnow）usedtotellmethatthiswastheproperway.
　　’Alwayspushontothefront，’hewouldsay.’Keepyourselfwellbeforeyourboss.Interferewheneveryougetachance.Showhimwhatyouknow.Worryhimintoseeingyou.’Thatwashisadvice.NowIknownootherbossthanyouhere.Youaretheowner，andnooneelsecountsforTHATmuchinmyeyes.See，Mr.
　　Massy？Iwanttogeton.ImakenosecretofitthatIamoneofthesortthatmeanstogeton.Thesearethementomakeuseof，sir.Youhaven’tarrivedatthetopofthetree，sir，withoutfindingthatout——I
　　daresay."
　　"Worryyourbossinordertogeton，"mumbledMassy，asifawestruckbytheirreverentoriginalityoftheidea."Ishouldn’twonderifthiswasjustwhattheBlueAnchorpeoplekickedyououtoftheemployfor.
　　Isthatwhatyoucallgettingon？Youshallgetoninthesamewayhereifyouaren’tcareful——Icanpromiseyou."
　　AtthisSternehunghishead，thoughtful，perplexed，winkinghardatthedeck.Allhisattemptstoenterintoconfidentialrelationswithhisownerhadledoflatetonothingbetterthanthesedarkthreatsofdismissal;
　　andathreatofdismissalwouldcheckhimatonceintoahesitatingsilenceasthoughhewerenotsurethatthepropertimefordefyingithadcome.Onthisocca—
　　sionheseemedtohavelosthistongueforamoment，andMassy，gettinginmotion，heavilypassedhimbywithanabortiveattemptatshouldering.Sternedefeateditbysteppingaside.Heturnedthenswiftly，openinghismouthverywideasiftoshoutsomethingaftertheengineer，butseemedtothinkbetterofit.
　　Always——ashewasreadytoconfess——onthelookoutforanopeningtogeton，ithadbecomeaninstinctwithhimtowatchtheconductofhisimmediatesuperiorsforsomething"thatonecouldlayholdof."Itwashisbeliefthatnoskipperintheworldwouldkeephiscom—
　　mandforadayifonlytheownerscouldbe"madetoknow."Thisromanticandnaivetheoryhadledhimintotroublemorethanonce，butheremainedincorrigi—
　　ble;andhischaracterwassoinstinctivelydisloyalthatwheneverhejoinedashiptheintentionofoustinghiscommanderoutoftheberthandtakinghisplacewasalwayspresentatthebackofhishead，asamatterofcourse.Itfilledtheleisureofhiswakinghourswiththereveriesofcarefulplansandcompromisingdiscov—
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