ingrobes，sittinglikeaBiblicalfigure，incongruously，onayellowtintrunkcordedwitharopeoftwistedrattan.Thefather，unmoved，putouthishandtopatthelittleshavenpollprotectingly.
　　XI
　　Sternecrossedthedeckuponthetrackofthechiefengineer.Jack，thesecond，retreatingbackwardsdowntheengine—roomladder，andstillwipinghishands，treatedhimtoanincomprehensiblegrinofwhiteteethoutofhisgrimyhardface;Massywasnowheretobeseen.Hemusthavegonestraightintohisberth.
　　Sternescratchedatthedoorsoftly，then，puttinghislipstotheroseoftheventilator，said——
　　"Imustspeaktoyou，Mr.Massy.Justgivemeaminuteortwo."
　　"Iambusy.Goawayfrommydoor."
　　"Butpray，Mr.Massy"
　　"Yougoaway.D’youhear？Takeyourselfoffalto—
　　gether——totheotherendoftheship——quiteaway"
　　Thevoiceinsidedroppedlow."Tothedevil."
　　Sternepaused：thenveryquietly——
　　"It’sratherpressing.Whendoyouthinkyouwillbeatliberty，sir？"
　　Theanswertothiswasanexasperated"Never";andatonceSterne，withaveryfirmexpressionofface，turnedthehandle.
　　Mr.Massy’sstateroom——anarrow，one—berthcabin——
　　smeltstronglyofsoap，andpresentedtoviewaswept，dusted，unadornedneatness，notsomuchbareasbarren，notsomuchsevereasstarvedandlackinginhumanity，likethewardofapublichospital，orrather（owingtothesmallsize）likethecleanretreatofadesperatelypoorbutexemplaryperson.Notasinglephotographframeornamentedthebulkheads;notasinglearticleofclothing，notasmuchasasparecap，hungfromthebrasshooks.Alltheinsidewaspaintedinoneplaintintofpaleblue;twobigsea—chestsinsailclothcoversandwithironpadlocksfittedexactlyinthespaceunderthebunk.Oneglancewasenoughtoembraceallthestripofscrubbedplankswithinthefourunconcealedcorners.Theabsenceoftheusualsetteewasstriking;
　　theteak—woodtopofthewashing—standseemedhermeti—
　　callyclosed，andsowasthelidofthewriting—desk，whichprotrudedfromthepartitionatthefootofthebed—place，containingamattressasthinasapancakeunderathreadbareblanketwithafadedredstripe，andafoldedmosquito—netagainstthenightsspentinharbor.
　　Therewasnotascrapofpaperanywhereinsight，nobootsonthefloor，nolitterofanysort，notaspeckofdustanywhere;notracesofpipe—asheven，which，inaheavysmoker，wasmorallyrevolting，likeamanifesta—
　　tionofextremehypocrisy;andthebottomoftheoldwoodenarm—chair（theonlyseatthere），polishedwithmuchuse，shoneasifitsshabbinesshadbeenwaxed.
　　Thescreenofleavesonthebank，passingasifunrolledendlesslyintheroundopeningoftheport，sentawaver—
　　ingnetworkoflightandshadeintotheplace.
　　Sterne，holdingthedooropenwithonehand，hadthrustinhisheadandshoulders.AtthisamazingintrusionMassy，whowasdoingabsolutelynothing，jumpedupspeechless.
　　"Don’tcallnames，"murmuredSternehurriedly."I
　　won’tbecallednames.Ithinkofnothingbutyourgood，Mr.Massy."
　　Apauseasofextremeastonishmentfollowed.Theybothseemedtohavelosttheirtongues.Thenthematewentonwithadiscreetglibness.
　　"Yousimplycouldn’tconceivewhat’sgoingononboardyourship.Itwouldn’tenteryourheadforamoment.Youaretoogood——too——tooupright，Mr.
　　Massy，tosuspectanybodyofsuchaIt’senoughtomakeyourhairstandonend."
　　Hewatchedfortheeffect：Massyseemeddazed，un—
　　comprehending.Heonlypassedthepalmofhishandonthecoal—blackwispsplasteredacrossthetopofhishead.Inatonesuddenlychangedtoconfidentialau—
　　dacitySternehastenedon.
　　"Rememberthatthere’sonlysixweekslefttorun"Theotherwaslookingathimstonily
　　"soanyhowyoushallrequireacaptainfortheshipbeforelong."
　　Thenonly，asifthatsuggestionhadscarifiedhisfleshinthemannerofred—hotiron，Massygaveastartandseemedreadytoshriek.Hecontainedhimselfbyagreateffort.
　　"Requireacaptain，"herepeatedwithscathingslow—
　　ness."Whorequiresacaptain？YoudaretotellmethatIneedanyofyouhumbuggingsailorstorunmyship.Youandyourlikeshavebeenfatteningonmeforyears.Itwouldhavehurtmelesstothrowmymoneyoverboard.Pam——pe——redus——e——lessf—f—f—frauds.Theoldshipknowsasmuchasthebestofyou."Hesnappedhisteethaudiblyandgrowledthroughthem，"Thesillylawrequiresacaptain."
　　Sternehadtakenheartofgracemeantime.
　　"Andthesillyinsurancepeopletoo，aswell，"hesaidlightly."Butnevermindthat.WhatIwanttoaskis：Whyshouldn’t_I_do，sir？Idon’tsaybutyoucouldtakeasteamerabouttheworldaswellasanyofussailors.Idon’tpretendtotellYOUthatitisaverygreattrick"Heemittedashort，hollowguffaw，familiarly"Ididn’tmakethelaw——butthereitis;andIamanactiveyoungfellow！Iquiteholdwithyourideas;Iknowyourwaysbythistime，Mr.Massy.
　　Iwouldn’ttrytogivemyselfairslikethat——that——erlazyspecimenofanoldmanupthere."
　　Heputamarkedemphasisonthelastsentence，toleadMassyawayfromthetrackincasebuthedidnotdoubtofnowholdinghissuccess.Thechiefengineerseemednonplused，likeaslowmaninvitedtocatchholdofawhirligigofsomesort.
　　"Whatyouwant，sir，isachapwithnononsenseabouthim，whowouldbecontenttobeyoursailing—master.
　　Quiteright，too.Well，IamfitfortheworkasmuchasthatSerang.Becausethat’swhatitamountsto.
　　Doyouknow，sir，thatadam’Malaylikeamonkeyisinchargeofyourship——andnooneelse.Justlistentohisfeetpit—pattingaboveusonthebridge——realofficerincharge.He’stakingheruptheriverwhilethegreatmaniswallowinginthechair——perhapsasleep;
　　andifheis，thatwouldnotmakeitmuchworseeither——
　　takemywordforit."
　　Hetriedtothrusthimselffartherin.Massy，withloweredforehead，onehandgraspingthebackofthearm—chair，didnotbudge.
　　"Youthink，sir，thatthemanhasgotyoutightinhisagreement"Massyraisedaheavysnarlingfaceatthis"Well，sir，onecan’thelphearingofitonboard.It’snosecret.Andithasbeenthetalkonshoreforyears;fellowshavebeenmakingbetsaboutit.No，sir！It’sYOUwhohavegothimatyourmercy.Youwillsaythatyoucan’tdismisshimforindolence.Difficulttoproveincourt，andsoon.Why，yes.Butifyousaytheword，sir，Icantellyousome—
　　thingabouthisindolencethatwillgiveyoutheclearrighttofirehimoutonthespotandputmeinchargefortherestofthisverytrip——yes，sir，beforeweleaveBatuBeru——andmakehimpayadollaradayforhiskeeptillwegetback，ifyoulike.Now，whatdoyouthinkofthat？Come，sir.Saytheword.It’sreallywellworthyourwhile，andIamquitereadytotakeyourbareword.Adefinitestatementfromyouwouldbeasgoodasabond."
　　Hiseyesbegantoshine.Heinsisted.Asimplestate—
　　ment，——andhethoughttohimselfthathewouldman—
　　agesomehowtostickinhisberthaslongasitsuitedhim.Hewouldmakehimselfindispensable;theshiphadabadnameinherport;itwouldbeeasytoscarethefellowsoff.Massywouldhavetokeephim.
　　"Adefinitestatementfrommewouldbeenough，"
　　Massyrepeatedslowly.
　　"Yes，sir.Itwould."Sternestuckouthischincheerilyandblinkedatclosequarterswiththatuncon—
　　sciousimpudencewhichhadthepowertoenrageMassybeyondanything.
　　Theengineerspokeverydistinctly.
　　"Listenwelltome，then，Mr.Sterne：Iwouldn’t——
　　d’yehear？——Iwouldn’tpromiseyouthevalueoftwopenceforanythingYOUcantellme."
　　HestruckSterne’sarmawaywithasmartblow，andcatchingholdofthehandlepulledthedoorto.Theterrificslamdarkenedthecabininstantaneouslytohiseyeasifaftertheflashofanexplosion.Atoncehedroppedintothechair."Oh，no！Youdon’t！"hewhisperedfaintly.
　　Theshiphadinthatplacetoshavethebanksoclosethatthegiganticwallofleavescameglidinglikeashutteragainsttheport;thedarknessoftheprimevalforestseemedtoflowintothatbarecabinwiththeodorofrottingleaves，ofsoddensoil——thestrongmuddysmellofthelivingearthsteaminguncoveredafterthepass—
　　ingofadeluge.Thebushesswishedloudlyalongside;
　　abovetherewasaseriesofcracklingsounds，withasharprainofsmallbrokenbranchesfallingonthebridge;acreeperwithagreatrustlesnappedontheheadofaboatdavit，andalong，luxuriantgreentwigactuallywhippedinandoutoftheopenport，leavingbehindafewtornleavesthatremainedsuddenlyatrestonMr.Massy’sblanket.Then，theshipsheeringoutinthestream，thelightbegantoreturnbutdidnotaugmentbeyondasubduedclearness：forthesunwasverylowalready，andtheriver，wendingitssinuouscoursethroughamultitudeofseculartreesasifatthebottomofaprecipitousgorge，hadbeenalreadyin—
　　vadedbyadeepeninggloom——theswiftprecursorofthenight.
　　"Oh，no，youdon’t！"murmuredtheengineeragain.
　　Hislipstrembledalmostimperceptibly;hishandstoo，alittle：andtocalmhimselfheopenedthewriting—desk，spreadoutasheetofthingrayishpapercoveredwithamassofprintedfiguresandbegantoscanthemat—
　　tentivelyforthetwentiethtimethistripatleast.
　　Withhiselbowspropped，hisheadbetweenhishands，heseemedtolosehimselfinthestudyofanabstruseprobleminmathematics.Itwasthelistofthewinningnumbersfromthelastdrawingofthegreatlotterywhichhadbeentheoneinspiringfactofsomanyyearsofhisexistence.Theconceptionofalifedeprivedofthatperiodicalsheetofpaperhadslippedawayfromhimentirely，asanotherman，accordingtohisnature，wouldnothavebeenabletoconceiveaworldwithoutfreshair，withoutactivity，orwithoutaffection.A
　　greatpileofflimsysheetshadbeengrowingforyearsinhisdesk，whiletheSofala，drivenbythefaithfulJack，woreoutherboilersintrampingupanddowntheStraits，fromcapetocape，fromrivertoriver，frombaytobay;accumulatingbythathardlaborofanoverworked，starvedshiptheblackenedmassofthesedocuments.Massykeptthemunderlockandkeylikeatreasure.Therewasinthem，asintheexperienceoflife，thefascinationofhope，theexcitementofahalf—
　　penetratedmystery，thelongingofahalf—satisfieddesire.
　　Fordaystogether，onatrip，hewouldshuthimselfupinhisberthwiththem：thethumpofthetoilingenginespulsatedinhisear;andhewouldwearyhisbrainporingovertherowsofdisconnectedfigures，be—
　　wilderingbytheirsenselesssequence，resemblingthehazardsofdestinyitself.Henourishedaconvictionthattheremustbesomelogiclurkingsomewhereintheresultsofchance.Hethoughthehadseenitsveryform.Hisheadswam;hislimbsached;hepuffedathispipemechanically;acontemplativestuporwouldsoothethefretfulnessofhistemper，likethepassivebodilyquietudeprocuredbyadrug，whiletheintellectremainstenselyonthestretch.Nine，nine，aught，four，two.Hemadeanote.Thenextwinningnumberofthegreatprizewasforty—seventhousandandfive.ThesenumbersofcoursewouldhavetobeavoidedinthefuturewhenwritingtoManillaforthetickets.Hemumbled，pencilinhand"andfive.Hmhm."Hewettedhisfinger：thepapersrustled.Ha！Butwhat’sthis？Threeyearsago，intheSeptemberdrawing，itwasnumbernine，aught，four，twothattookthefirstprize.Mostremarkable.Therewasahintthereofadefiniterule！Hewasafraidofmissingsomereconditeprincipleintheoverwhelmingwealthofhismaterial.
　　Whatcoulditbe？andforhalfanhourhewouldremaindeadstill，bentlowoverthedesk，withouttwitchingamuscle.Athisbackthewholeberthwouldbethickwithaheavybodyofsmoke，asifabombhadburstinthere，unnoticed，unheard.
　　Atlasthewouldlockupthedeskwiththedecisionofunshakenconfidence，jumpandgoout.Hewouldwalkswiftlybackandforthonthatpartoftheforedeckwhichwaskeptclearofthelumberandofthebodiesofthenativepassengers.Theywereagreatnuisance，buttheywerealsoasourceofprofitthatcouldnotbedis—
　　dained.HeneededeverypennyofprofittheSofalacouldmake.Littleenoughitwas，inallconscience！
　　Theincertitudeofchancegavehimnoconcern，sincehehadsomehowarrivedattheconvictionthat，inthecourseofyears，everynumberwasboundtohavehiswinningturn.Itwassimplyamatteroftimeandoftakingasmanyticketsashecouldaffordforeverydrawing.Hegenerallytookrathermore;alltheearn—
　　ingsoftheshipwentthatway，andalsothewagesheallowedhimselfaschiefengineer.Itwasthewageshepaidtoothersthathebegrudgedwithareasonedandatthesametimeapassionateregret.Hescowledatthelascarswiththeirdeckbrooms，atthequarter—
　　mastersrubbingthebrassrailswithgreasyrags;hewaseagertoshakehisfistandroarabuseinbadMalayatthepoorcarpenter——atimid，sickly，opium—fuddledChinaman，inloosebluedrawersforallcostume，whoinvariablydroppedhistoolsandfledbelow，withstream—
　　ingtailandshakingallover，beforethefuryofthat"devil."Butitwaswhenheraiseduphiseyestothebridgewhereoneofthesesailorfraudswasalwaysplantedbylawinchargeofhisshipthathefeltalmostdizzywithrage.Heabominatedthemall;itwasanoldfeud，fromthetimehefirstwenttosea，anun—
　　lickedcubwithagreatopinionofhimself，intheengine—room.Theslightsthathadbeenputuponhim.
　　Thepersecutionshehadsufferedatthehandsofskip—
　　pers——ofabsolutenobodiesinasteamshipafterall.
　　Andnowthathehadrisentobeashipownertheywerestillaplaguetohim：hehadabsolutelytopayawaypreciousmoneytotheconceiteduselessloafers：——Asifafullyqualifiedengineer——whowastheowneraswell——
　　werenotfittobetrustedwiththewholechargeofaship.Well！hemadeitprettywarmforthem;butitwasapoorconsolation.Hehadcomeintimetohatetheshiptoofortherepairssherequired，forthecoal—
　　billshehadtopay，forthepoorbeggarlyfreightssheearned.Hewouldclenchhishandashewalkedandhittherailasuddenblow，viciously，asthoughshecouldbemadetofeelpain.Andyethecouldnotdowithouter;heneededher;hemusthangontohertoothandnailtokeephisheadabovewatertilltheexpectedfloodoffortunecamesweepingupandlandedhimsafelyonthehighshoreofhisambition.
　　Itwasnowtodonothing，nothingwhatever，andhaveplentyofmoneytodoiton.Hehadtastedofpower，thehighestformofithislimitedexperiencewasawareof——thepowerofshipowning.Whatadeception！
　　Vanityofvanities！Hewonderedathisfolly.Hehadthrownawaythesubstancefortheshadow.Ofthegratificationofwealthhedidnotknowenoughtoexcitehisimaginationwithanyvisionsofluxury.Howcouldhe——thechildofadrunkenboiler—maker——goingstraightfromtheworkshopintotheengine—roomofanorth—countrycollier！Butthenotionoftheabsoluteidlenessofwealthhecouldverywellconceive.Hereveledinit，toforgethispresenttroubles;heimaginedhimselfwalkingaboutthestreetsofHull（heknewtheirgutterswellasaboy）withhispocketsfullofsov—
　　ereigns.Hewouldbuyhimselfahouse;hismarriedsisters，theirhusbands，hisoldworkshopchums，wouldrenderhiminfinitehomage.Therewouldbenothingtothinkof.Hiswordwouldbelaw.Hehadbeenoutofworkforalongtimebeforehewonhisprize，andherememberedhowCarloMariani（commonlyknownasPaunchyCharley），theMaltesehotel—keeperattheslummyendofDenhamStreet，hadcringedjoyfullybeforehimintheevening，whenthenewshadcome.
　　PoorCharley，thoughhemadehislivingbyministeringtovariousabjectvices，gavecreditfortheirfoodtomanyapieceofwhitewr...剩余内容请长按扫描二维码或下载丁香书院APP继续免费看：

前往下载：https://www.kanbaapp.com/share/