'I strained my mental eyesight only to discover that, as with the complexion11 of all our actions, the shade of difference was so delicate that it was impossible to say. It might have been flight and it might have been a mode of combat. To the common mind he became known as a rolling stone, because this was the funniest part: he did after a time become perfectly12 known, and even notorious, within the circle of his wanderings (which had a diameter of, say, three thousand miles), in the same way as an eccentric character is known to a whole countryside. For instance, in Bankok, where he found employment with Yucker Brothers, charterers and teak merchants, it was almost pathetic to see him go about in sunshine hugging his secret, which was known to the very up-country logs on the river. Schomberg, the keeper of the hotel where he boarded, a hirsute13 Alsatian of manly14 bearing and an irrepressible retailer15 of all the scandalous gossip of the place, would, with both elbows on the table, impart an adorned16 version of the story to any guest who cared to imbibe17 knowledge along with the more costly18 liquors. "And, mind you, the nicest fellow you could meet," would be his generous conclusion; "quite superior." It says a lot for the casual crowd that frequented Schomberg's establishment that Jim managed to hang out in Bankok for a whole six months. I remarked that people, perfect strangers, took to him as one takes to a nice child. His manner was reserved, but it was as though his personal appearance, his hair, his eyes, his smile, made friends for him wherever he went. And, of course, he was no fool. I heard Siegmund Yucker (native of Switzerland), a gentle creature ravaged19 by a cruel dyspepsia, and so frightfully lame20 that his head swung through a quarter of a circle at every step he took, declare appreciatively that for one so young he was "of great gabasidy," as though it had been a mere21 question of cubic contents. "Why not send him up country?" I suggested anxiously. (Yucker Brothers had concessions22 and teak forests in th
e interior.) "If he has capacity, as you say, he will soon get hold of the work. And physically23 he is very fit. His health is always excellent." "Ach! It's a great ting in dis goundry to be vree vrom tispep-shia," sighed poor Yucker enviously24, casting a stealthy glance at the pit of his ruined stomach. I left him drumming pensively25 on his desk and muttering, "Es ist ein' Idee. Es ist ein' Idee." Unfortunately, that very evening an unpleasant affair took place in the hotel.
'I don't know that I blame Jim very much, but it was a truly regrettable incident. It belonged to the lamentable26 species of barroom scuffles, and the other party to it was a cross-eyed Dane of sorts whose visiting-card recited, under his misbegotten name: first lieutenant27 in the Royal Siamese Navy. The fellow, of course, was utterly28 hopeless at billiards29, but did not like to be beaten, I suppose. He had had enough to drink to turn nasty after the sixth game, and make some scornful remark at Jim's expense. Most of the people there didn't hear what was said, and those who had heard seemed to have had all precise recollection scared out of them by the appalling30 nature of the consequences that immediately ensued. It was very lucky for the Dane that he could swim, because the room opened on a verandah and the Menam flowed below very wide and black. A boat-load of Chinamen, bound, as likely as not, on some thieving expedition, fished out the officer of the King of Siam, and Jim turned up at about midnight on board my ship without a hat. "Everybody in the room seemed to know," he said, gasping31 yet from the contest, as it were. He was rather sorry, on general principles, for what had happened, though in this case there had been, he said, "no option." But what dismayed him was to find the nature of his burden as well known to everybody as though he had gone about all that time carrying it on his shoulders. Naturally after this he couldn't remain in the place. He was universally condemned32 for the brutal33 violence, so unbecoming a man in his delicate position; some maintained he had been disgracefully drunk at the time; others criticised his want of tact34. Even Schomberg was very much annoyed. "He is a very nice young man," he said argumentatively to me, "but the lieutenant is a first-rate fellow too. He dines every night at my table d'hote, you know. And there's a billiard-cue broken. I can't allow that. First thing this morning I went over with my apologies to the lieutena nt, and I think I've made it all right for mysel
f; but only think, captain, if everybody started such games! Why, the man might have been drowned! And here I can't run out into the next street and buy a new cue. I've got to write to Europe for them. No, no! A temper like that won't do!" . . . He was extremely sore on the subject.
'This was the worst incident of all in his -- his retreat. Nobody could deplore35 it more than myself; for if, as somebody said hearing him mentioned, "Oh yes! I know. He has knocked about a good deal out here," yet he had somehow avoided being battered36 and chipped in the process. This last affair, however, made me seriously uneasy, because if his exquisite37 sensibilities were to go the length of involving him in pot-house shindies, he would lose his name of an inoffensive, if aggravating38, fool, and acquire that of a common loafer. For all my confidence in him I could not help reflecting that in such cases from the name to the thing itself is but a step. I suppose you will understand that by that time I could not think of washing my hands of him. I took him away from Bankok in my ship, and we had a longish passage. It was pitiful to see how he shrank within himself. A seaman40, even if a mere passenger, takes an interest in a ship, and looks at the sea-life around him with the critical enjoyment41 of a painter, for instance, looking at another man's work. In every sense of the expression he is "on deck"; but my Jim, for the most part, skulked42 down below as though he had been a stowaway43. He infected me so that I avoided speaking on professional matters, such as would suggest themselves naturally to two sailors during a passage. For whole days we did not exchange a word; I felt extremely unwilling44 to give orders to my officers in his presence. Often, when alone with him on deck or in the cabin, we didn't know what to do with our eyes.
'I placed him with De Jongh, as you know, glad enough to dispose of him in any way, yet persuaded that his position was now growing intolerable. He had lost some of that elasticity45 which had enabled him to rebound46 back into his uncompromising position after every overthrow47. One day, coming ashore48, I saw him standing49 on the quay50; the water of the roadstead and the sea in the offing made one smooth ascending51 plane, and the outermost52 ships at anchor seemed to ride motionless in the sky. He was waiting for his boat, which was being loaded at our feet with packages of small stores for some vessel53 ready to leave. After exchanging greetings, we remained silent -- side by side. "Jove!" he said suddenly, "this is killing54 work."
'He smiled at me; I must say he generally could manage a smile. I made no reply. I knew very well he was not alluding55 to his duties; he had an easy time of it with De Jongh. Nevertheless, as soon as he had spoken I became completely convinced that the work was killing. I did not even look at him. "Would you like," said I, "to leave this part of the world altogether; try California or the West Coast? I'll see what I can do . . ." He interrupted me a little scornfully. "What difference would it make?" . . . I felt at once convinced that he was right. It would make no difference; it was not relief he wanted; I seemed to perceive dimly that what he wanted, what he was, as it were, waiting for, was something not easy to define -- something in the nature of an opportunity. I had given him many opportunities, but they had been merely opportunities to earn his bread. Yet what more could any man do? The position struck me as hopeless, and poor Brierly's saying recurred56 to me, "Let him creep twenty feet underground and stay there." Better that, I thought, than this waiting above ground for the impossible. Yet one could not be sure even of that. There and then, before his boat was three oars57' lengths away from the quay, I had made up my mind to go and consult Stein in the evening.
'This Stein was a wealthy and respected merchant. His "house" (because it was a house, Stein & Co., and there was some sort of partner who, as Stein said, "looked after the Moluccas") had a large inter-island business, with a lot of trading posts established in the most out-of-the-way places for collecting the produce. His wealth and his respectability were not exactly the reasons why I was anxious to seek his advice. I desired to confide39 my difficulty to him because he was one of the most trustworthy men I had ever known. The gentle light of a simple, unwearied, as it were, and intelligent goodnature illumined his long hairless face. It had deep downward folds, and was pale as of a man who had always led a sedentary life -- which was indeed very far from being the case. His hair was thin, and brushed back from a massive and lofty forehead. One fancied that at twenty he must have looked very much like what he was now at threescore. It was a student's face; only the eyebrows58 nearly all white, thick and bushy, together with the resolute59 searching glance that came from under them, were not in accord with his, I may say, learned appearance. He was tall and loose-jointed; his slight stoop, together with an innocent smile, made him appear benevolently60 ready to lend you his ear; his long arms with pale big hands had rare deliberate gestures of a pointing out, demonstrating kind. I speak of him at length, because under this exterior61, and in conjunction with an upright and indulgent nature, this man possessed62 an intrepidity63 of spirit and a physical courage that could have been called reckless had it not been like a natural function of the body -say good digestion64, for instance -- completely unconscious of itself. It is sometimes said of a man that he carries his life in his hand. Such a saying would have been inadequate65 if applied66 to him; during the early part of his existence in the East he had been playing ball with it. All this was in the past, but I knew the story of his life and the origin of his fortune. He was
also a naturalist67 of some distinction, or perhaps I should say a learned collector. Entomology was his special study. His collection of Buprestidae and Longicorns -beetles all -- horrible miniature monsters, looking malevolent68 in death and immobility, and his cabinet of butterflies, beautiful and hovering69 under the glass of cases on lifeless wings, had spread his fame far over the earth. The name of this merchant, adventurer, sometime adviser70 of a Malay sultan (to whom he never alluded71 otherwise than as "my poor Mohammed Bonso"), had, on account of a few bushels of dead insects, become known to learned persons in Europe, who could have had no conception, and certainly would not have cared to know anything, of his life or character. I, who knew, considered him an eminently72 suitable person to receive my confidences about Jim's difficulties as well as my own.'
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1
dealing
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| n.经商方法，待人态度 | |
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2
tinged
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| v.（使）发丁丁声( ting的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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3
absurdity
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| n.荒谬，愚蠢；谬论 | |
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futility
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| n.无用 | |
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touching
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| adj.动人的，使人感伤的 | |
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prosaic
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| adj.单调的，无趣的 | |
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heroism
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| n.大无畏精神，英勇 | |
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folly
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| n.愚笨，愚蠢，蠢事，蠢行，傻话 | |
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wink
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| n.眨眼，使眼色，瞬间；v.眨眼，使眼色，闪烁 | |
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winking
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| n.瞬眼，目语v.使眼色( wink的现在分词 )；递眼色（表示友好或高兴等）；（指光）闪烁；闪亮 | |
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11
complexion
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| n.肤色；情况，局面；气质，性格 | |
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perfectly
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| adv.完美地，无可非议地，彻底地 | |
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13
hirsute
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| adj.多毛的 | |
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manly
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| adj.有男子气概的；adv.男子般地，果断地 | |
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retailer
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| n.零售商(人) | |
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adorned
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| [计]被修饰的 | |
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17
imbibe
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| v.喝，饮；吸入，吸收 | |
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18
costly
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| adj.昂贵的，价值高的，豪华的 | |
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19
ravaged
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| 毁坏( ravage的过去式和过去分词 )； 蹂躏； 劫掠； 抢劫 | |
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20
lame
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| adj.跛的，(辩解、论据等)无说服力的 | |
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mere
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| adj.纯粹的；仅仅，只不过 | |
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concessions
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| n.（尤指由政府或雇主给予的）特许权( concession的名词复数 )；承认；减价；（在某地的）特许经营权 | |
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physically
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| adj.物质上，体格上，身体上，按自然规律 | |
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enviously
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| adv.满怀嫉妒地 | |
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pensively
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| adv.沉思地，焦虑地 | |
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lamentable
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| adj.令人惋惜的，悔恨的 | |
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lieutenant
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| n.陆军中尉，海军上尉；代理官员，副职官员 | |
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utterly
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| adv.完全地，绝对地 | |
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billiards
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| n.台球 | |
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appalling
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| adj.骇人听闻的，令人震惊的，可怕的 | |
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gasping
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| adj. 气喘的, 痉挛的 动词gasp的现在分词 | |
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32
condemned
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| adj. 被责难的, 被宣告有罪的 动词condemn的过去式和过去分词 | |
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brutal
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| adj.残忍的，野蛮的，不讲理的 | |
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tact
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| n.机敏，圆滑，得体 | |
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deplore
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| vt.哀叹，对...深感遗憾 | |
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battered
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| adj.磨损的；v.连续猛击；磨损 | |
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exquisite
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| adj.精美的；敏锐的；剧烈的，感觉强烈的 | |
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aggravating
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| adj.恼人的，讨厌的 | |
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confide
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| v.向某人吐露秘密 | |
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seaman
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| n.海员，水手，水兵 | |
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enjoyment
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| n.乐趣；享有；享用 | |
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42
skulked
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| v.潜伏，偷偷摸摸地走动，鬼鬼祟祟地活动( skulk的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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43
stowaway
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| n.（藏于轮船，飞机中的）偷乘者 | |
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44
unwilling
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| adj.不情愿的 | |
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45
elasticity
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| n.弹性，伸缩力 | |
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46
rebound
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| v.弹回；n.弹回，跳回 | |
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47
overthrow
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| v.推翻，打倒，颠覆；n.推翻，瓦解，颠覆 | |
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48
ashore
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| adv.在(向)岸上，上岸 | |
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49
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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50
quay
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| n.码头，靠岸处 | |
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51
ascending
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| adj.上升的，向上的 | |
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52
outermost
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| adj.最外面的，远离中心的 | |
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53
vessel
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| n.船舶；容器，器皿；管，导管，血管 | |
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54
killing
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| n.巨额利润；突然赚大钱，发大财 | |
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55
alluding
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| 提及，暗指( allude的现在分词 ) | |
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56
recurred
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| 再发生，复发( recur的过去式和过去分词 )； 治愈 | |
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oars
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| n.桨，橹( oar的名词复数 )；划手v.划（行）( oar的第三人称单数 ) | |
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58
eyebrows
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| 眉毛( eyebrow的名词复数 ) | |
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59
resolute
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| adj.坚决的，果敢的 | |
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60
benevolently
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| adv.仁慈地，行善地 | |
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exterior
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| adj.外部的，外在的；表面的 | |
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possessed
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| adj.疯狂的；拥有的，占有的 | |
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intrepidity
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| n.大胆，刚勇；大胆的行为 | |
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digestion
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| n.消化，吸收 | |
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inadequate
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| adj.(for,to)不充足的，不适当的 | |
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applied
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| adj.应用的；v.应用，适用 | |
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naturalist
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| n.博物学家(尤指直接观察动植物者) | |
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malevolent
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| adj.有恶意的，恶毒的 | |
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69
hovering
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| 鸟( hover的现在分词 )； 靠近（某事物）； （人）徘徊； 犹豫 | |
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adviser
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| n.劝告者，顾问 | |
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alluded
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| 提及，暗指( allude的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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eminently
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| adv.突出地；显著地；不寻常地 | |
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