A Tale of a Tapu — Continued
TUESDAY, JULY 16. — It rained in the night, sudden and loud, in Gilbert Island fashion. Before the day, the crowing of a cock aroused me and I wandered in the compound and along the street. The squall was blown by, the moon shone with incomparable lustre2, the air lay dead as in a room, and yet all the isle3 sounded as under a strong shower, the eaves thickly pattering, the lofty palms dripping at larger intervals4 and with a louder note. In this bold nocturnal light the interior of the houses lay inscrutable, one lump of blackness, save when the moon glinted under the roof, and made a belt of silver, and drew the slanting5 shadows of the pillars on the floor. Nowhere in all the town was any lamp or ember; not a creature stirred; I thought I was alone to be awake; but the police were faithful to their duty; secretly vigilant6, keeping account of time; and a little later, the watchman struck slowly and repeatedly on the cathedral bell; four o’clock, the warning signal. It seemed strange that, in a town resigned to drunkenness and tumult7, curfew and reveille should still be sounded and still obeyed.
The day came, and brought little change. The place still lay silent; the people slept, the town slept. Even the few who were awake, mostly women and children, held their peace and kept within under the strong shadow of the thatch8, where you must stop and peer to see them. Through the deserted9 streets, and past the sleeping houses, a deputation took its way at an early hour to the palace; the king was suddenly awakened10, and must listen (probably with a headache) to unpalatable truths. Mrs. Rick, being a sufficient mistress of that difficult tongue, was spokeswoman; she explained to the sick monarch12 that I was an intimate personal friend of Queen Victoria’s; that immediately on my return I should make her a report upon Butaritari; and that if my house should have been again invaded by natives, a man-of-war would be despatched to make reprisals13. It was scarce the fact — rather a just and necessary parable1 of the fact, corrected for latitude14; and it certainly told upon the king. He was much affected15; he had conceived the notion (he said) that I was a man of some importance, but not dreamed it was as bad as this; and the missionary16 house was tapu’d under a fine of fifty dollars.
So much was announced on the return of the deputation; not any more; and I gathered subsequently that much more had passed. The protection gained was welcome. It had been the most annoying and not the least alarming feature of the day before, that our house was periodically filled with tipsy natives, twenty or thirty at a time, begging drink, fingering our goods, hard to be dislodged, awkward to quarrel with. Queen Victoria’s friend (who was soon promoted to be her son) was free from these intrusions. Not only my house, but my neighbourhood as well, was left in peace; even on our walks abroad we were guarded and prepared for; and, like great persons visiting a hospital, saw only the fair side. For the matter of a week we were thus suffered to go out and in and live in a fool’s paradise, supposing the king to have kept his word, the tapu to be revived and the island once more sober.
TUESDAY, JULY 23. — We dined under a bare trellis erected18 for the Fourth of July; and here we used to linger by lamplight over coffee and tobacco. In that climate evening approaches without sensible chill; the wind dies out before sunset; heaven glows a while and fades, and darkens into the blueness of the tropical night; swiftly and insensibly the shadows thicken, the stars multiply their number; you look around you and the day is gone. It was then that we would see our Chinaman draw near across the compound in a lurching sphere of light, divided by his shadows; and with the coming of the lamp the night closed about the table. The faces of the company, the spars of the trellis, stood out suddenly bright on a ground of blue and silver, faintly designed with palm-tops and the peaked roofs of houses. Here and there the gloss19 upon a leaf, or the fracture of a stone, returned an isolated20 sparkle. All else had vanished. We hung there, illuminated21 like a galaxy22 of stars IN VACUO; we sat, manifest and blind, amid the general ambush23 of the darkness; and the islanders, passing with light footfalls and low voices in the sand of the road, lingered to observe us, unseen.
On Tuesday the dusk had fallen, the lamp had just been brought, when a missile struck the table with a rattling24 smack25 and rebounded26 past my ear. Three inches to one side and this page had never been written; for the thing travelled like a cannon27 ball. It was supposed at the time to be a nut, though even at the time I thought it seemed a small one and fell strangely.
WEDNESDAY, JULY 24. — The dusk had fallen once more, and the lamp been just brought out, when the same business was repeated. And again the missile whistled past my ear. One nut I had been willing to accept; a second, I rejected utterly28. A cocoa-nut does not come slinging29 along on a windless evening, making an angle of about fifteen degrees with the horizon; cocoa-nuts do not fall on successive nights at the same hour and spot; in both cases, besides, a specific moment seemed to have been chosen, that when the lamp was just carried out, a specific person threatened, and that the head of the family. I may have been right or wrong, but I believed I was the mark of some intimidation30; believed the missile was a stone, aimed not to hit, but to frighten.
No idea makes a man more angry. I ran into the road, where the natives were as usual promenading31 in the dark; Maka joined me with a lantern; and I ran from one to another, glared in quite innocent faces, put useless questions, and proffered32 idle threats. Thence I carried my wrath33 (which was worthy34 the son of any queen in history) to the Ricks. They heard me with depression, assured me this trick of throwing a stone into a family dinner was not new; that it meant mischief35, and was of a piece with the alarming disposition36 of the natives. And then the truth, so long concealed37 from us, came out. The king had broken his promise, he had defied the deputation; the tapu was still dormant39, THE LAND WE LIVE IN still selling drink, and that quarter of the town disturbed and menaced by perpetual broils40. But there was worse ahead: a feast was now preparing for the birthday of the little princess; and the tributary41 chiefs of Kuma and Little Makin were expected daily. Strong in a following of numerous and somewhat savage42 clansmen, each of these was believed, like a Douglas of old, to be of doubtful loyalty43. Kuma (a little pot-bellied fellow) never visited the palace, never entered the town, but sat on the beach on a mat, his gun across his knees, parading his mistrust and scorn; Karaiti of Makin, although he was more bold, was not supposed to be more friendly; and not only were these vassals44 jealous of the throne, but the followers45 on either side shared in the animosity. Brawls46 had already taken place; blows had passed which might at any moment be repaid in blood. Some of the strangers were already here and already drinking; if the debauch47 continued after the bulk of them had come, a collision, perhaps a revolution, was to be expected.
The sale of drink is in this group a measure of the jealousy48 of traders; one begins, the others are constrained49 to follow; and to him who has the most gin, and sells it the most recklessly, the lion’s share of copra is assured. It is felt by all to be an extreme expedient50, neither safe, decent, nor dignified51. A trader on Tarawa, heated by an eager rivalry52, brought many cases of gin. He told me he sat afterwards day and night in his house till it was finished, not daring to arrest the sale, not venturing to go forth53, the bush all round him filled with howling drunkards. At night, above all, when he was afraid to sleep, and heard shots and voices about him in the darkness, his remorse54 was black.
‘My God!’ he reflected, ‘if I was to lose my life on such a wretched business!’ Often and often, in the story of the Gilberts, this scene has been repeated; and the remorseful55 trader sat beside his lamp, longing56 for the day, listening with agony for the sound of murder, registering resolutions for the future. For the business is easy to begin, but hazardous57 to stop. The natives are in their way a just and law-abiding people, mindful of their debts, docile58 to the voice of their own institutions; when the tapu is re — enforced they will cease drinking; but the white who seeks to antedate59 the movement by refusing liquor does so at his peril60.
Hence, in some degree, the anxiety and helplessness of Mr. Rick. He and Tom, alarmed by the rabblement of the SANS SOUCI, had stopped the sale; they had done so without danger, because THE LAND WE LIVE IN still continued selling; it was claimed, besides, that they had been the first to begin. What step could be taken? Could Mr. Rick visit Mr. Muller (with whom he was not on terms) and address him thus: ‘I was getting ahead of you, now you are getting ahead of me, and I ask you to forego your profit. I got my place closed in safety, thanks to your continuing; but now I think you have continued long enough. I begin to be alarmed; and because I am afraid I ask you to confront a certain danger’? It was not to be thought of. Something else had to be found; and there was one person at one end of the town who was at least not interested in copra. There was little else to be said in favour of myself as an ambassador. I had arrived in the Wightman schooner61, I was living in the Wightman compound, I was the daily associate of the Wightman coterie62. It was egregious63 enough that I should now intrude64 unasked in the private affairs of Crawford’s agent, and press upon him the sacrifice of his interests and the venture of his life. But bad as I might be, there was none better; since the affair of the stone I was, besides, sharp-set to be doing, the idea of a delicate interview attracted me, and I thought it policy to show myself abroad.
The night was very dark. There was service in the church, and the building glimmered65 through all its crevices66 like a dim Kirk Allowa’. I saw few other lights, but was indistinctly aware of many people stirring in the darkness, and a hum and sputter67 of low talk that sounded stealthy. I believe (in the old phrase) my beard was sometimes on my shoulder as I went. Muller’s was but partly lighted, and quite silent, and the gate was fastened. I could by no means manage to undo68 the latch69. No wonder, since I found it afterwards to be four or five feet long — a fortification in itself. As I still fumbled70, a dog came on the inside and sniffed71 suspiciously at my hands, so that I was reduced to calling ‘House ahoy!’ Mr. Muller came down and put his chin across the paling in the dark. ‘Who is that?’ said he, like one who has no mind to welcome strangers.
‘My name is Stevenson,’ said I.
‘O, Mr. Stevens! I didn’t know you. Come inside.’ We stepped into the dark store, when I leaned upon the counter and he against the wall. All the light came from the sleeping-room, where I saw his family being put to bed; it struck full in my face, but Mr. Muller stood in shadow. No doubt he expected what was Coming, and sought the advantage of position; but for a man who wished to persuade and had nothing to conceal38, mine was the preferable.
‘Look here,’ I began, ‘I hear you are selling to the natives.’
‘Others have done that before me,’ he returned pointedly72.
‘No doubt,’ said I, ‘and I have nothing to do with the past, but the future. I want you to promise you will handle these spirits carefully.’
‘Now what is your motive73 in this?’ he asked, and then, with a sneer74, ‘Are you afraid of your life?’
‘That is nothing to the purpose,’ I replied. ‘I know, and you know, these spirits ought not to be used at all.’
‘Tom and Mr. Rick have sold them before.’
‘I have nothing to do with Tom and Mr. Rick. All I know is I have heard them both refuse.’
‘No, I suppose you have nothing to do with them. Then you are just afraid of your life.’
‘Come now,’ I cried, being perhaps a little stung, ‘you know in your heart I am asking a reasonable thing. I don’t ask you to lose your profit — though I would prefer to see no spirits brought here, as you would — ’
‘I don’t say I wouldn’t. I didn’t begin this,’ he interjected.
‘No, I don’t suppose you did,’ said I. ‘And I don’t ask you to lose; I ask you to give me your word, man to man, that you will make no native drunk.’
Up to now Mr. Muller had maintained an attitude very trying to my temper; but he had maintained it with difficulty, his sentiment being all upon my side; and here he changed ground for the worse. ‘It isn’t me that sells,’ said he.
‘No, it’s that nigger,’ I agreed. ‘But he’s yours to buy and sell; you have your hand on the nape of his neck; and I ask you — I have my wife here — to use the authority you have.’
He hastily returned to his old ward17. ‘I don’t deny I could if I wanted,’ said he. ‘But there’s no danger, the natives are all quiet. You’re just afraid of your life.’
I do not like to be called a coward, even by implication; and here I lost my temper and propounded75 an untimely ultimatum76. ‘You had better put it plain,’ I cried. ‘Do you mean to refuse me what I ask?’
‘I don’t want either to refuse it or grant it,’ he replied.
‘You’ll find you have to do the one thing or the other, and right now!’ I cried, and then, striking into a happier vein77, ‘Come,’ said I, ‘you’re a better sort than that. I see what’s wrong with you — you think I came from the opposite camp. I see the sort of man you are, and you know that what I ask is right.’
Again he changed ground. ‘If the natives get any drink, it isn’t safe to stop them,’ he objected.
‘I’ll be answerable for the bar,’ I said. ‘We are three men and four revolvers; we’ll come at a word, and hold the place against the village.’
‘You don’t know what you’re talking about; it’s too dangerous!’ he cried.
‘Look here,’ said I, ‘I don’t mind much about losing that life you talk so much of; but I mean to lose it the way I want to, and that is, putting a stop to all this beastliness.’
He talked a while about his duty to the firm; I minded not at all, I was secure of victory. He was but waiting to capitulate, and looked about for any potent78 to relieve the strain. In the gush79 of light from the bedroom door I spied a cigar-holder on the desk. ‘That is well coloured,’ said I.
‘Will you take a cigar?’ said he.
I took it and held it up unlighted. ‘Now,’ said I, ‘you promise me.’
‘I promise you you won’t have any trouble from natives that have drunk at my place,’ he replied.
‘That is all I ask,’ said I, and showed it was not by immediately offering to try his stock.
So far as it was anyway critical our interview here ended. Mr. Muller had thenceforth ceased to regard me as an emissary from his rivals, dropped his defensive80 attitude, and spoke11 as he believed. I could make out that he would already, had he dared, have stopped the sale himself. Not quite daring, it may be imagined how he resented the idea of interference from those who had (by his own statement) first led him on, then deserted him in the breach81, and now (sitting themselves in safety) egged him on to a new peril, which was all gain to them, all loss to him! I asked him what he thought of the danger from the feast.
‘I think worse of it than any of you,’ he answered. ‘They were shooting around here last night, and I heard the balls too. I said to myself, “That’s bad.” What gets me is why you should be making this row up at your end. I should be the first to go.’
It was a thoughtless wonder. The consolation82 of being second is not great; the fact, not the order of going — there was our concern.
Scott talks moderately of looking forward to a time of fighting ‘with a feeling that resembled pleasure.’ The resemblance seems rather an identity. In modern life, contact is ended; man grows impatient of endless manoeuvres; and to approach the fact, to find ourselves where we can push an advantage home, and stand a fair risk, and see at last what we are made of, stirs the blood. It was so at least with all my family, who bubbled with delight at the approach of trouble; and we sat deep into the night like a pack of schoolboys, preparing the revolvers and arranging plans against the morrow. It promised certainly to be a busy and eventful day. The Old Men were to be summoned to confront me on the question of the tapu; Muller might call us at any moment to garrison83 his bar; and suppose Muller to fail, we decided84 in a family council to take that matter into our own hands, THE LAND WE LIVE IN at the pistol’s mouth, and with the polysyllabic Williams, dance to a new tune85. As I recall our humour I think it would have gone hard with the mulatto.
WEDNESDAY, JULY 24. — It was as well, and yet it was disappointing that these thunder-clouds rolled off in silence. Whether the Old Men recoiled86 from an interview with Queen Victoria’s son, whether Muller had secretly intervened, or whether the step flowed naturally from the fears of the king and the nearness of the feast, the tapu was early that morning re-enforced; not a day too soon, from the manner the boats began to arrive thickly, and the town was filled with the big rowdy vassals of Karaiti.
The effect lingered for some time on the minds of the traders; it was with the approval of all present that I helped to draw up a petition to the United States, praying for a law against the liquor trade in the Gilberts; and it was at this request that I added, under my own name, a brief testimony87 of what had passed; — useless pains; since the whole reposes88, probably unread and possibly unopened, in a pigeon-hole at Washington.
SUNDAY, JULY 28. — This day we had the afterpiece of the debauch. The king and queen, in European clothes, and followed by armed guards, attended church for the first time, and sat perched aloft in a precarious89 dignity under the barrel-hoops. Before sermon his majesty90 clambered from the dais, stood lopsidedly upon the gravel91 floor, and in a few words abjured92 drinking. The queen followed suit with a yet briefer allocution. All the men in church were next addressed in turn; each held up his right hand, and the affair was over — throne and church were reconciled.
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parable
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| n.寓言，比喻 | |
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lustre
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| n.光亮，光泽；荣誉 | |
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isle
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| n.小岛，岛 | |
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intervals
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| n.[军事]间隔( interval的名词复数 )；间隔时间；[数学]区间；（戏剧、电影或音乐会的）幕间休息 | |
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slanting
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| 倾斜的，歪斜的 | |
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vigilant
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| adj.警觉的，警戒的，警惕的 | |
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tumult
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| n.喧哗；激动，混乱；吵闹 | |
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thatch
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| vt.用茅草覆盖…的顶部；n.茅草(屋) | |
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deserted
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| adj.荒芜的，荒废的，无人的，被遗弃的 | |
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awakened
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| v.（使）醒( awaken的过去式和过去分词 )；（使）觉醒；弄醒；（使）意识到 | |
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spoke
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| n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说 | |
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monarch
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| n.帝王，君主，最高统治者 | |
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reprisals
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| n.报复（行为）( reprisal的名词复数 ) | |
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latitude
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| n.纬度，行动或言论的自由(范围)，(pl.)地区 | |
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affected
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| adj.不自然的，假装的 | |
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missionary
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| adj.教会的，传教(士)的；n.传教士 | |
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ward
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| n.守卫，监护，病房，行政区，由监护人或法院保护的人（尤指儿童）；vt.守护，躲开 | |
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ERECTED
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| adj. 直立的，竖立的，笔直的 vt. 使 ... 直立，建立 | |
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gloss
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| n.光泽，光滑；虚饰；注释；vt.加光泽于；掩饰 | |
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isolated
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| adj.与世隔绝的 | |
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illuminated
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| adj.被照明的；受启迪的 | |
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galaxy
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| n.星系；银河系；一群(杰出或著名的人物) | |
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ambush
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rattling
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| adj. 格格作响的, 活泼的, 很好的 adv. 极其, 很, 非常 动词rattle的现在分词 | |
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smack
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| vt.拍，打，掴；咂嘴；vi.含有…意味；n.拍 | |
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rebounded
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| 弹回( rebound的过去式和过去分词 )； 反弹； 产生反作用； 未能奏效 | |
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cannon
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| n.大炮，火炮；飞机上的机关炮 | |
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utterly
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| adv.完全地，绝对地 | |
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slinging
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| 抛( sling的现在分词 )； 吊挂； 遣送； 押往 | |
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intimidation
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| n.恐吓，威胁 | |
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promenading
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| v.兜风( promenade的现在分词 ) | |
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proffered
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| v.提供，贡献，提出( proffer的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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wrath
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| n.愤怒，愤慨，暴怒 | |
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worthy
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| adj.(of)值得的，配得上的；有价值的 | |
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mischief
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| n.损害，伤害，危害；恶作剧，捣蛋，胡闹 | |
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disposition
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| n.性情，性格；意向，倾向；排列，部署 | |
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concealed
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| a.隐藏的，隐蔽的 | |
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conceal
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| v.隐藏，隐瞒，隐蔽 | |
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dormant
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| adj.暂停活动的；休眠的；潜伏的 | |
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broils
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| v.（用火）烤（焙、炙等）( broil的第三人称单数 )；使卷入争吵；使混乱；被烤（或炙） | |
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tributary
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| n.支流；纳贡国；adj.附庸的；辅助的；支流的 | |
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savage
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| adj.野蛮的；凶恶的，残暴的；n.未开化的人 | |
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loyalty
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| n.忠诚，忠心 | |
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vassals
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| n.奴仆( vassal的名词复数 )；（封建时代）诸侯；从属者；下属 | |
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followers
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| 追随者( follower的名词复数 )； 用户； 契据的附面； 从动件 | |
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brawls
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| 吵架，打架( brawl的名词复数 ) | |
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debauch
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| v.使堕落，放纵 | |
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jealousy
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| n.妒忌，嫉妒，猜忌 | |
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constrained
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| adj.束缚的,节制的 | |
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expedient
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| adj.有用的，有利的；n.紧急的办法，权宜之计 | |
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dignified
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| a.可敬的，高贵的 | |
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rivalry
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| n.竞争，竞赛，对抗 | |
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forth
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| adv.向前；向外，往外 | |
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remorse
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| n.痛恨，悔恨，自责 | |
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remorseful
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| adj.悔恨的 | |
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longing
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| n.（for）渴望 | |
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hazardous
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| adj.(有)危险的，冒险的；碰运气的 | |
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docile
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| adj.驯服的，易控制的，容易教的 | |
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antedate
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| vt.填早...的日期，早干，先干 | |
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peril
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| n.(严重的)危险；危险的事物 | |
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schooner
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| n.纵帆船 | |
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coterie
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| n.(有共同兴趣的)小团体，小圈子 | |
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egregious
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| adj.非常的，过分的 | |
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intrude
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| vi.闯入；侵入；打扰，侵扰 | |
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glimmered
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| v.发闪光，发微光( glimmer的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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crevices
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| n.（尤指岩石的）裂缝，缺口( crevice的名词复数 ) | |
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sputter
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| n.喷溅声；v.喷溅 | |
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undo
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| vt.解开，松开；取消，撤销 | |
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latch
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| n.门闩，窗闩；弹簧锁 | |
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fumbled
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| （笨拙地）摸索或处理（某事物）( fumble的过去式和过去分词 )； 乱摸，笨拙地弄； 使落下 | |
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sniffed
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| v.以鼻吸气，嗅，闻( sniff的过去式和过去分词 )；抽鼻子（尤指哭泣、患感冒等时出声地用鼻子吸气）；抱怨，不以为然地说 | |
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pointedly
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| adv.尖地，明显地 | |
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motive
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| n.动机，目的；adv.发动的，运动的 | |
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sneer
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| v.轻蔑；嘲笑；n.嘲笑，讥讽的言语 | |
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propounded
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| v.提出（问题、计划等）供考虑[讨论]，提议( propound的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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ultimatum
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| n.最后通牒 | |
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vein
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| n.血管，静脉；叶脉，纹理；情绪；vt.使成脉络 | |
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potent
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| adj.强有力的，有权势的；有效力的 | |
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gush
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| v.喷，涌；滔滔不绝(说话)；n.喷，涌流；迸发 | |
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defensive
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| adj.防御的；防卫的；防守的 | |
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breach
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| n.违反，不履行；破裂；vt.冲破，攻破 | |
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consolation
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| n.安慰，慰问 | |
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garrison
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| n.卫戍部队；驻地，卫戍区；vt.派(兵)驻防 | |
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decided
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| adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的 | |
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tune
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| n.调子；和谐，协调；v.调音，调节，调整 | |
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recoiled
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| v.畏缩( recoil的过去式和过去分词 )；退缩；报应；返回 | |
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testimony
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| n.证词；见证，证明 | |
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reposes
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| v.将（手臂等）靠在某人（某物）上( repose的第三人称单数 ) | |
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precarious
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| adj.不安定的，靠不住的；根据不足的 | |
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majesty
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| n.雄伟，壮丽，庄严，威严；最高权威，王权 | |
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gravel
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| n.砂跞；砂砾层；结石 | |
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abjured
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| v.发誓放弃( abjure的过去式和过去分词 )；郑重放弃（意见）；宣布撤回（声明等）；避免 | |
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