登陆注册
4443800000021

第21章

He passed his tongue over his lips, gave a backward glance at the Serang conning the ship with quiet whis-pers and slight signs of the hand. The wash of the propeller sent a swift ripple, crested with dark froth, upon a long flat spit of black slime. The Sofala had entered the river; the trail she had stirred up over the bar was a mile astern of her now, out of sight, had dis-appeared utterly; and the smooth, empty sea along the coast was left behind in the glittering desolation of sun-shine. On each side of her, low down, the growth of somber twisted mangroves covered the semi-liquid banks; and Massy continued in his old tone, with an abrupt start, as if his speech had been ground out of him, like the tune of a music-box, by turning a handle.

"Though if anybody ever got the best of me, it is you.

I don't mind saying this. I've said it--there! What more can you want? Isn't that enough for your pride, Captain Whalley. You got over me from the first. It's all of a piece, when I look back at it. You allowed me to insert that clause about intemperance without saying anything, only looking very sick when I made a point of it going in black on white. How could I tell what was wrong about you. There's generally something wrong somewhere. And, lo and behold! when you come on board it turns out that you've been in the habit of drinking nothing but water for years and years."

His dogmatic reproachful whine stopped. He brooded profoundly, after the manner of crafty and unintelli-gent men. It seemed inconceivable that Captain Whalley should not laugh at the expression of disgust that overspread the heavy, yellow countenance. But Captain Whalley never raised his eyes--sitting in his arm-chair, outraged, dignified, and motionless.

"Much good it was to me," Massy remonstrated monotonously, "to insert a clause for dismissal for in-temperance against a man who drinks nothing but water.

And you looked so upset, too, when I read my draft in the lawyer's office that morning, Captain Whalley,--you looked so crestfallen, that I made sure I had gone home on your weak spot. A shipowner can't be too careful as to the sort of skipper he gets. You must have been laughing at me in your sleeve all the blessed time. . . . Eh? What are you going to say?"

Captain Whalley had only shuffled his feet slightly.

A dull animosity became apparent in Massy's sideways stare.

"But recollect that there are other grounds of dis-missal. There's habitual carelessness, amounting to in-competence--there's gross and persistent neglect of duty. I am not quite as big a fool as you try to make me out to be. You have been careless of late--leaving everything to that Serang. Why! I've seen you let-ting that old fool of a Malay take bearings for you, as if you were too big to attend to your work yourself.

And what do you call that silly touch-and-go manner in which you took the ship over the bar just now? You expect me to put up with that?"

Leaning on his elbow against the ladder abaft the bridge, Sterne, the mate, tried to hear, blinking the while from the distance at the second engineer, who had come up for a moment, and stood in the engine-room companion. Wiping his hands on a bunch of cotton waste, he looked about with indifference to the right and left at the river banks slipping astern of the Sofala steadily.

Massy turned full at the chair. The character of his whine became again threatening.

"Take care. I may yet dismiss you and freeze to your money for a year. I may . . ."

But before the silent, rigid immobility of the man whose money had come in the nick of time to save him from utter ruin, his voice died out in his throat.

"Not that I want you to go," he resumed after a si-lence, and in an absurdly insinuating tone. "I want nothing better than to be friends and renew the agree-ment, if you will consent to find another couple of hun-dred to help with the new boilers, Captain Whalley.

I've told you before. She must have new boilers; you know it as well as I do. Have you thought this over?"

He waited. The slender stem of the pipe with its bulky lump of a bowl at the end hung down from his thick lips. It had gone out. Suddenly he took it from between his teeth and wrung his hands slightly.

"Don't you believe me?" He thrust the pipe bowl into the pocket of his shiny black jacket.

"It's like dealing with the devil," he said. "Why don't you speak? At first you were so high and mighty with me I hardly dared to creep about my own deck.

Now I can't get a word from you. You don't seem to see me at all. What does it mean? Upon my soul, you terrify me with this deaf and dumb trick. What's go-ing on in that head of yours? What are you plotting against me there so hard that you can't say a word?

You will never make me believe that you--you--don't know where to lay your hands on a couple of hundred.

You have made me curse the day I was born. . . ."

"Mr. Massy," said Captain Whalley suddenly, with-out stirring.

The engineer started violently.

"If that is so I can only beg you to forgive me."

"Starboard," muttered the Serang to the helmsman; and the Sofala began to swing round the bend into the second reach.

"Ough!" Massy shuddered. "You make my blood run cold. What made you come here? What made you come aboard that evening all of a sudden, with your high talk and your money--tempting me? I always wondered what was your motive? You fastened yourself on me to have easy times and grow fat on my life blood, I tell you. Was that it? I believe you are the greatest miser in the world, or else why . . ."

"No. I am only poor," interrupted Captain Whalley, stonily.

"Steady," murmured the Serang. Massy turned away with his chin on his shoulder.

"I don't believe it," he said in his dogmatic tone.

Captain Whalley made no movement. "There you sit like a gorged vulture--exactly like a vulture."

He embraced the middle of the reach and both the banks in one blank unseeing circular glance, and left the bridge slowly.

同类推荐
  • 肩门

    肩门

    本书为公版书,为不受著作权法限制的作家、艺术家及其它人士发布的作品,供广大读者阅读交流。汇聚授权电子版权。
  • 妇人经脉门

    妇人经脉门

    本书为公版书,为不受著作权法限制的作家、艺术家及其它人士发布的作品,供广大读者阅读交流。汇聚授权电子版权。
  • 明道杂志

    明道杂志

    本书为公版书,为不受著作权法限制的作家、艺术家及其它人士发布的作品,供广大读者阅读交流。汇聚授权电子版权。
  • 笔札华梁

    笔札华梁

    本书为公版书,为不受著作权法限制的作家、艺术家及其它人士发布的作品,供广大读者阅读交流。汇聚授权电子版权。
  • 隆兴编年通论

    隆兴编年通论

    本书为公版书,为不受著作权法限制的作家、艺术家及其它人士发布的作品,供广大读者阅读交流。汇聚授权电子版权。
热门推荐
  • 穿越之三世为魔

    穿越之三世为魔

    学霸张凡穿越游戏世界,历尽艰辛终成一代大天魔尊。不料遭遇属下陷害,与四位正道武林魁首交战于雪寒峰顶。一场血战精疲力竭,待他醒来--已是三百年后,一副残弱的身躯中…
  • 快穿之宿主是妖精

    快穿之宿主是妖精

    某天,江落救了一个被系统称为主神的少年。不料几千年后,系统找上她说要收集主神碎片,于是江落就穿梭于各个时空位面。……
  • 重生之大少追妻日常

    重生之大少追妻日常

    (架空民国+男女主双洁1v1)一觉醒来整个世界都变了,曾经辉煌不可一世被封神的神话少女竟然变成了大帅府里寄人篱下的小可怜?!被人嘲笑被人嫌弃被人欺负还不敢反抗?不!怎么可能!想她霍晓曾经也是叱咤风云的一把手,怎么能被囚禁成个深闺小姐呢!还有这个未婚夫,您不是说不是不喜欢她吗?现在搂着她腰不放手是个什么意思啊喂!封大少:媳妇儿,爷错了,爷当初有眼无珠,爷当初死傲娇,全都是爷的错,爷这就回去家跪枪子儿!霍晓:滚!小副官在一旁偷笑:爷,傲娇一时爽,追妻……您可慢慢追呗!
  • 结局怎么会这样

    结局怎么会这样

    对李周周来说,平生最不能忍受的莫过于两件事:喜欢看的电视剧烂尾和喜欢看的小说太监。每当发生上述两件事的时候,作为戏精本人,她都要怒骂编剧作者三百遍,甚至恨不得自己能够亲自上阵给故事创造出一个幸福美满的完美结局。老天有眼,神佛垂怜,她真的得到了能够进入故事的机会,只是……结局怎么会这样?
  • 三国之大乱炖系统

    三国之大乱炖系统

    东汉末年,《大乱炖系统》凭空降临神州大地,无数不同时代,不同阵营的名臣猛将被强行拽入黄巾叛军与东汉王朝的纷争当中,关羽战秦琼、李元霸单挑吕布,张良智斗诸葛亮……一场比历史上任何一次战役都要来得猛烈与持久的大混战一触即发,而朱武作为一名来自现代的野鸡大学生,常年安逸于享受和平生活,乍然登上这群雄争霸的历史舞台,他又该何去何从呢……
  • 大穿越之我是传奇

    大穿越之我是传奇

    偶获神秘罗盘,获得神级技能——见人高一等功!穿梭于诸天万界。扫地僧,不好意思,我好像比你强一个等级。白胡子,啊,抱歉,一不小心就抢了“最强男人”的称号。吕布:“他不可能是人。”盘古大神:“怎么可能有人比我还猛!”……
  • 诗学第三辑

    诗学第三辑

    20世纪80年代,"归来"或"朦胧"又一次开启了中国新诗繁芜而动人的局面。但短暂的二十多年之后,激情澎湃的诗歌之音似乎早已游离人们的耳畔;那些关...
  • 第一婚宠:容少,请自重

    第一婚宠:容少,请自重

    易大小姐结婚当天,被继妹抢走了新郎,人人都说她活该,她转身就嫁给一个双腿残疾的经理。婚前,大小姐立法三章:我养你,不背叛你,但不爱你。俊美小白脸乖巧点头:可以,都行,没关系。当人人都欺负易大小姐堂堂豪门千金,却贱嫁给一个破公司小经理的时候,小经理走下轮椅,摇身一变成了z国第一豪门继承人,他冷笑:动她试试!(男强女强,绝对宠文,绝对爽快)
  • 追妻无门:女boss不好惹

    追妻无门:女boss不好惹

    青涩蜕变,如今她是能独当一面的女boss,爱了冷泽聿七年,也同样花了七年时间去忘记他。以为是陌路,他突然向他表白,扬言要娶她,她只当他是脑子抽风,他的殷勤她也全都无视。他帮她查她父母的死因,赶走身边情敌,解释当初拒绝她的告别,和故意对她冷漠都是无奈之举。突然爆出她父母的死居然和冷家有丝毫联系,还莫名跳出个公爵未婚夫,扬言要与她履行婚约。峰回路转,破镜还能重圆吗? PS:我又开新文了,每逢假期必书荒,新文《有你的世界遇到爱》,喜欢我的文的朋友可以来看看,这是重生类现言,对这个题材感兴趣的一定要收藏起来。
  • 怒天狂尊

    怒天狂尊

    天下万物,皆有其灵,亦有其魂!七情之绪,六欲之念,乃生魂之力。有上尊大能者,创不世功法《怒尊火印》,以炼怒气为手段,强身铸魂,睥睨天下!……少年许凌,得父亲遗物神秘紫石,从此开启逆天之路!以神怒之力,斩尽欺我之人。以狂尊之姿,踏临无上巅峰!我许凌之志,从来不在帝位!而是要踩爆云帝头颅,扯碎这无道苍天!”“能气死对手,何必血腥打死?”“我若低头,只为那朱唇温柔!”