The current carried us slowly along the northwesterly side of the island. It was intensely hot. Teriaa, nephew of Miti, the skipper, was sluicing3 the blistered4 deck, but the water steamed out of the scuppers, and in a moment the planking was as dry and as hot to the touch as before. He soon left off and took refuge in the whaleboat, which he covered with a piece of canvas. I crawled in with him, but the suffocating5 shade was less endurable than the full glare of the sun. 322 Tane, the other sailor, a man of fifty, was below. He had remained there most of the time since our departure from Rutiaro, sleeping on a greasy6 mat, indifferent to the cockroaches—the place was alive with them by night—or the copra bugs7, which were a nuisance at all hours. The stench from the little cabin, filled almost to the ceiling with unsacked copra, was terrible; and it was not much better on deck. I took shelter beside Miti, who was sitting in the meager8 shade of the mainsail. Presently, pointing casually9 toward the shore, he said: "You see him? What he do there?"
I saw the man plainly enough, now that he was pointed10 out to me, standing11 with his arms folded, leaning lightly against a tree. I was limited to a hasty glance through my binoculars12, for he was looking toward us; but I saw that he was unmistakably white, although his skin seemed as dark as that of a native. He was barefoot, naked to the waist, and for a nether13 garment wore a pair of trousers chopped off at the knee.
I, too, wondered what a white man could be doing on an uninhabited island. Miti knew no more of the atoll than that it was or had formerly14 been uninhabited. It belonged, he said, to the natives of Nukatavake, which lay nine miles to the northwest. We could see this other atoll as we rode to the light swell15, a splotch of blue haze16 a nail's breadth wide, vanishing and reappearing against the clear line of the horizon. In two hours' time the current had carried us to the lee side of the island. It ran swiftly there, but in a more northerly direction, so that we were forced out of the main stream of it, and drifted gradually into quiet water near the shore. An anchor was carried to the 323 reef and we brought up to within thirty yards of it. With another anchor out forward, the schooner17 was safely berthed18 for the night.
I went ashore19 with the two sailors for a fresh supply of drinking coconuts20, but I gave no help in collecting them. A fire was going on the lagoon21 beach, and there I found the solitary22 resident frying some fish before a small hut built in the native fashion. He might have been of any age between thirty-five and forty-five; was powerfully built, with a body as finely proportioned as a Polynesian's. His voice was pleasant and his manner cordial as he gave me welcome, but a pair of the coldest blue eyes I have ever seen made me doubt the sincerity23 of it. I felt the need of making apologies for the intrusion, adding, lamely24, "I haven't seen a white man in three months, and our skipper speaks very little English."
"I was about to look you up," he said. "I can't say that I'm lonely here. I manage to get along without much companionship. But to be frank, I'm hungry for tobacco. There's none left at Nukatavake, and I've been sucking an empty pipe since last November. You haven't a fill in your pouch25 by any chance?"
I would have given something for his relish26 of the first pipeful, or the fifth, for that matter. Finally he said: "I imagine you are in for several days of Pinaki. You have noticed the sky? Not a sign of wind. I can't offer you much in the way of food; but the fishing is good, and if you care to you are welcome to stop ashore."
I accepted the invitation gladly; but as I walked back to the schooner for a few belongings27 and some more tobacco I questioned the propriety28 of my decision. 324 My prospective30 host was an Englishman by his accent, although, like my friend Crichton at Tanso, he was evidently long away from home. He struck me as being a good deal of the Crichton type, although he differed greatly from him outwardly. I remembered that Crichton, too, had been pleasant and friendly, once the ice was broken between us; but the prospect29 of an early parting and the certitude of our never meeting again had been the basis for the friendship in so far as he was concerned. This other Englishman was not living on an uninhabited atoll because of a liking31 for companionship. I was debating the matter of a return to shore when Tane crawled out of the cabin to make preparations for supper, and as he was a sufferer from elephantiasis, the sight of his immense swollen32 limbs and his greasy, sweating body decided33 me. Papeete was far distant, and I would have enough of Tane before we reached the end of the journey.
Supper was ready by the time I reached the hut. It consisted of fish deliciously broiled34, coconuts, and hard biscuit. Over it I gave my host an account of my stay at Rutiaro and of the unsuccessful experiment in solitude35.
"Yes," he said, "they are rather too sociable36, these natives. The people of Nukatavake used to bother me a good deal when I first came here. I thought nine miles of open sea would keep them away; but they often came over in sailing canoes—a dozen or two at a time when the wind favored; and they would stay until it shifted back into the southeast. I didn't encourage them. In fact, I made it quite plain that I preferred to be alone. The island is theirs, of course, 325 and I can't prevent them from coming during the copra-making season; but they no longer come at other times. Nine months out of the year I have the place to myself. But they are damnably inquisitive37. I don't like Kanakas in the aggregate38, although I have one or two good friends among them."
The dying fire lit us to bed about midnight. I lay awake for a long time after my host was sleeping. We had talked for three hours, chiefly about the islands. In fact, all that he told me of himself was that he was fond of fishing.
There was not a hint of a breeze the next day, nor the next, nor the day after that. The sea was almost as calm as the lagoon, and the Potii Ravarava lay motionless at anchor as though frozen in a sheet of clear ice. Miti and the two sailors remained on board most of the time, sleeping during the heat of the day under a piece of canvas rigged over the main beam, and at night fishing over the side in dreamy contentment. If they came ashore at all it was only for a few moments, and they never crossed to the lagoon beach. During these three days I remained the Englishman's guest, and although I was out of patience with myself for my curiosity, it grew in spite of me. What under the sun was the man doing here? Evidently he had not come to an atoll, as my friend Crichton had, to do his writing and thinking undisturbed. Crichton had books, a practical interest in planting, and a cultural interest in Polynesian dialects. He would muse39 for hours over a word in one dialect which might or might not bear a remote resemblance to some other word in usage a thousand miles away. The study fascinated him. As he once told me, it gave his imagination 326 room to work in. I have no doubt that he made up for himself stories of the early Polynesian migrations40 vastly better than any romances he might have read. This other Englishman had no books; not so much as a scrap41 of writing paper. At least I saw none in his house, which was as bare as it was clean. There was a sleeping mat in one corner; a chest and some fishing gear against the wall; picks and shovels42 in a corner; a few old clothes hanging from nails driven into the supports, and absolutely nothing else. How did he put in his time? Fishing was a healthy interest, but it was not enough to keep a man sane43 for a period of seven years. He let that bit of information slip in one conversation I had with him.
He was not a taciturn chap. After our first evening he talked quite freely about his earlier adventures. He had spent three years in northern Australia, prospecting44 for gold, and he gave me an intensely interesting account of the aborigines there—of their marvelous skill at following a trail, no matter over what sort of country. I had heard that these people were biologically different from the rest of humankind and that their blood would not cross with white blood. This was not the case, he said. He had known white men animal enough to take the Australian blacks for wives, and had seen the children which they had by them. From Australia he had gone to New Guinea, still prospecting for gold, although at times he sought relief from the disappointment of it by making expeditions with the natives in search of bird-of-paradise feathers. But "gold" was the word that rang through all his talk. Several times it was on the tip of my tongue to say, "But there's no gold at Pinaki." I was able 327 to resist the temptation, remembering his remark about the damnable inquisitiveness45 of the people of Nukatavake. Then, on the morning of my third day on the island, an incident occurred which made the situation clear.
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1
extremity
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| n.末端，尽头；尽力；终极；极度 | |
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radius
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| n.半径，半径范围；有效航程，范围，界限 | |
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3
sluicing
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| v.冲洗( sluice的现在分词 )；（指水）喷涌而出；漂净；给…安装水闸 | |
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4
blistered
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| adj.水疮状的，泡状的v.（使）起水泡( blister的过去式和过去分词 )；（使表皮等）涨破，爆裂 | |
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5
suffocating
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| a.使人窒息的 | |
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6
greasy
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| adj. 多脂的，油脂的 | |
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7
bugs
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| adj.疯狂的，发疯的n.窃听器( bug的名词复数 )；病菌；虫子；[计算机]（制作软件程序所产生的意料不到的）错误 | |
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8
meager
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| adj.缺乏的，不足的，瘦的 | |
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9
casually
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| adv.漠不关心地，无动于衷地，不负责任地 | |
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10
pointed
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| adj.尖的，直截了当的 | |
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11
standing
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| n.持续，地位；adj.永久的，不动的，直立的，不流动的 | |
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12
binoculars
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| n.双筒望远镜 | |
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13
nether
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| adj.下部的，下面的；n.阴间；下层社会 | |
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14
formerly
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| adv.从前，以前 | |
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15
swell
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| vi.膨胀，肿胀；增长，增强 | |
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16
haze
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| n.霾，烟雾；懵懂，迷糊；vi.(over)变模糊 | |
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schooner
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| n.纵帆船 | |
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18
berthed
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| v.停泊( berth的过去式和过去分词 )；占铺位 | |
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ashore
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| adv.在(向)岸上，上岸 | |
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20
coconuts
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| n.椰子( coconut的名词复数 )；椰肉，椰果 | |
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21
lagoon
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| n.泻湖，咸水湖 | |
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22
solitary
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| adj.孤独的，独立的，荒凉的；n.隐士 | |
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23
sincerity
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| n.真诚，诚意；真实 | |
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24
lamely
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| 一瘸一拐地，不完全地 | |
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pouch
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| n.小袋，小包，囊状袋；vt.装...入袋中，用袋运输；vi.用袋送信件 | |
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26
relish
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| n.滋味，享受，爱好，调味品；vt.加调味料，享受，品味；vi.有滋味 | |
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27
belongings
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| n.私人物品，私人财物 | |
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28
propriety
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| n.正当行为；正当；适当 | |
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29
prospect
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| n.前景，前途；景色，视野 | |
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30
prospective
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| adj.预期的，未来的，前瞻性的 | |
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31
liking
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| n.爱好；嗜好；喜欢 | |
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32
swollen
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| adj.肿大的，水涨的；v.使变大，肿胀 | |
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33
decided
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| adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的 | |
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34
broiled
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| a.烤过的 | |
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35
solitude
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| n. 孤独; 独居,荒僻之地,幽静的地方 | |
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36
sociable
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| adj.好交际的，友好的，合群的 | |
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37
inquisitive
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| adj.求知欲强的，好奇的，好寻根究底的 | |
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38
aggregate
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| adj.总计的，集合的；n.总数；v.合计；集合 | |
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39
muse
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| n.缪斯（希腊神话中的女神），创作灵感 | |
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40
migrations
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| n.迁移，移居( migration的名词复数 ) | |
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41
scrap
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| n.碎片；废料；v.废弃，报废 | |
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42
shovels
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| n.铲子( shovel的名词复数 )；锹；推土机、挖土机等的)铲；铲形部份v.铲子( shovel的第三人称单数 )；锹；推土机、挖土机等的)铲；铲形部份 | |
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43
sane
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| adj.心智健全的，神志清醒的，明智的，稳健的 | |
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44
prospecting
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| n.探矿 | |
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45
inquisitiveness
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| 好奇，求知欲 | |
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