end of the tether-第18章

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indignation　perhaps；　but　held　his　ground。　　Massy's



downward　glance　wandered　right　and　left；　as　though　the



deck　all　round　Sterne　had　been　bestrewn　with　eggs　that



must　not　be　broken；　and　he　had　looked　irritably　for



places　where　he　could　set　his　feet　in　flight。　　In　the　end



he　too　did　not　move；　though　there　was　plenty　of　room



to　pass　on。







〃I　heard　you　say　up　there；〃　went　on　the　mate〃and



a　very　just　remark　it　was　toothat　there's　always



something　wrong。　。　。　。〃







〃Eavesdropping　is　what's　wrong　with　YOU；　Mr。



Sterne。〃







〃Now；　if　you　would　only　listen　to　me　for　a　moment；



Mr。　Massy；　sir；　I　could　。　。　。〃







〃You　are　a　sneak；〃　interrupted　Massy　in　a　great



hurry；　and　even　managed　to　get　so　far　as　to　repeat；　〃a



common　sneak；〃　before　the　mate　had　broken　in　argu…



mentatively







〃Now；　sir；　what　is　it　you　want？　　You　want　。　。　。〃







〃I　wantI　want；〃　stammered　Massy；　infuriated　and



astonished〃I　want。　　How　do　you　know　that　I　want



anything？　　How　dare　you？　。　。　。　　What　do　you



mean？　。　。　。　　What　are　you　afteryou　。　。　。〃







〃Promotion。〃　　Sterne　silenced　him　with　a　sort　of



candid　bravado。　　The　engineer's　round　soft　cheeks　quiv…



ered　still；　but　he　said　quietly　enough







〃You　are　only　worrying　my　head　off；〃　and　Sterne



met　him　with　a　confident　little　smile。







〃A　chap　in　business　I　know　（well　up　in　the　world



he　is　now）　used　to　tell　me　that　this　was　the　proper　way。



'Always　push　on　to　the　front；'　he　would　say。　　'Keep



yourself　well　before　your　boss。　　Interfere　whenever　you



get　a　chance。　　Show　him　what　you　know。　　Worry　him



into　seeing　you。'　　That　was　his　advice。　　Now　I　know



no　other　boss　than　you　here。　　You　are　the　owner；　and



no　one　else　counts　for　THAT　much　in　my　eyes。　　See；　Mr。



Massy？　　I　want　to　get　on。　　I　make　no　secret　of　it　that



I　am　one　of　the　sort　that　means　to　get　on。　　These　are



the　men　to　make　use　of；　sir。　　You　haven't　arrived　at



the　top　of　the　tree；　sir；　without　finding　that　outI



dare　say。〃







〃Worry　your　boss　in　order　to　get　on；〃　mumbled



Massy；　as　if　awestruck　by　the　irreverent　originality　of



the　idea。　　〃I　shouldn't　wonder　if　this　was　just　what　the



Blue　Anchor　people　kicked　you　out　of　the　employ　for。



Is　that　what　you　call　getting　on？　　You　shall　get　on　in



the　same　way　here　if　you　aren't　carefulI　can　promise



you。〃







At　this　Sterne　hung　his　head；　thoughtful；　perplexed；



winking　hard　at　the　deck。　　All　his　attempts　to　enter　into



confidential　relations　with　his　owner　had　led　of　late



to　nothing　better　than　these　dark　threats　of　dismissal；



and　a　threat　of　dismissal　would　check　him　at　once　into



a　hesitating　silence　as　though　he　were　not　sure　that



the　proper　time　for　defying　it　had　come。　　On　this　occa…



sion　he　seemed　to　have　lost　his　tongue　for　a　moment；　and



Massy；　getting　in　motion；　heavily　passed　him　by　with



an　abortive　attempt　at　shouldering。　　Sterne　defeated　it



by　stepping　aside。　　He　turned　then　swiftly；　opening



his　mouth　very　wide　as　if　to　shout　something　after　the



engineer；　but　seemed　to　think　better　of　it。







Alwaysas　he　was　ready　to　confesson　the　lookout



for　an　opening　to　get　on；　it　had　become　an　instinct　with



him　to　watch　the　conduct　of　his　immediate　superiors　for



something　〃that　one　could　lay　hold　of。〃　　It　was　his



belief　that　no　skipper　in　the　world　would　keep　his　com…



mand　for　a　day　if　only　the　owners　could　be　〃made　to



know。〃　　This　romantic　and　naive　theory　had　led　him



into　trouble　more　than　once；　but　he　remained　incorrigi…



ble；　and　his　character　was　so　instinctively　disloyal　that



whenever　he　joined　a　ship　the　intention　of　ousting　his



commander　out　of　the　berth　and　taking　his　place　was



always　present　at　the　back　of　his　head；　as　a　matter　of



course。　　It　filled　the　leisure　of　his　waking　hours　with



the　reveries　of　careful　plans　and　compromising　discov…



eriesthe　dreams　of　his　sleep　with　images　of　lucky



turns　and　favorable　accidents。　　Skippers　had　been



known　to　sicken　and　die　at　sea；　than　which　nothing



could　be　better　to　give　a　smart　mate　a　chance　of　showing



what　he's　made　of。　　They　also　would　tumble　overboard



sometimes：　he　had　heard　of　one　or　two　such　cases。



Others　again　。　。　。　　But；　as　it　were　constitutionally；　he



was　faithful　to　the　belief　that　the　conduct　of　no　single



one　of　them　would　stand　the　test　of　careful　watching



by　a　man　who　〃knew　what's　what〃　and　who　kept　his



eyes　〃skinned　pretty　well〃　all　the　time。







After　he　had　gained　a　permanent　footing　on　board



the　Sofala　he　allowed　his　perennial　hope　to　rise　high。



To　begin　with；　it　was　a　great　advantage　to　have　an　old



man　for　captain：　the　sort　of　man　besides　who　in　the



nature　of　things　was　likely　to　give　up　the　job　before



long　from　one　cause　or　another。　　Sterne　was　greatly



chagrined；　however；　to　notice　that　he　did　not　seem　any…



way　near　being　past　his　work　yet。　　Still；　these　old　men



go　to　pieces　all　at　once　sometimes。　　Then　there　was　the



owner…engineer　close　at　hand　to　be　impressed　by　his　zeal



and　steadiness。　　Sterne　never　for　a　moment　doubted　the



obvious　nature　of　his　own　merits　（he　was　really　an　ex…



cellent　officer）；　only；　nowadays；　professional　merit　alone



does　not　take　a　man　along　fast　enough。　　A　chap　must



have　some　push　in　him；　and　must　keep　his　wits　at　work



too　to　help　him　forward。　　He　made　up　his　mind　to



inherit　the　charge　of　this　steamer　if　it　was　to　be　done



at　all；　not　indeed　estimating　the　command　of　the



Sofala　as　a　very　great　catch；　but　for　the　reason　that；



out　East　especially；　to　make　a　start　is　everything；　and



one　command　leads　to　another。







He　began　by　promising　himself　to　behave　with　great



circumspection；　Massy's　somber　and　fantastic　humors



intimidated　him　as　being　outside　one's　usual　sea　experi…



ence；　but　he　was　quite　intelligent　enough　to　realize　al…



most　from　the　first　that　he　was　there　in　the　presence　of



an　exceptional　situation。　　His　peculiar　prying　imagina…



tion　penetrated　it　quickly；　the　feeling　that　there　was



in　it　an　element　which　eluded　his　grasp　exasperated　his



impatience　to　get　on。　　And　so　one　trip　came　to　an　end；



then　another；　and　he　had　begun　his　third　before　he　saw



an　opening　by　which　he　could　step　in　with　any　sort　of



effect。　　It　had　all　been　very　queer　and　very　obscure；



something　had　been　going　on　near　him；　as　if　separated



by　a　chasm　from　the　common　life　and　the　working



routine　of　the　ship；　which　was　exactly　like　the　life　and



the　routine　of　any　other　coasting　steamer　of　that　class。







Then　one　day　he　made　his　discovery。







It　came　to　him　after　all　these　weeks　of　watchful　ob…



servation　and　puzzled　surmises；　suddenly；　like　the　long…



sought　solution　of　a　riddle　that　suggests　itself　to　the



mind　in　a　flash。　　Not　with　the　same　authority；　however。



Great　heavens！　　Could　it　be　that？　　And　after　remain…



ing　thunderstruck　for　a　few　seconds　he　tried　to　shake



it　off　with　self…contumely；　as　though　it　had　been　the



product　of　an　unhealthy　bias　towards　the　Incredible；



the　Inexplicable；　the　Unheard…ofthe　Mad！







Thisthe　illuminating　momenthad　occurred　the　trip



before；　on　the　return　passage。　　They　had　just　left　a



place　of　call　on　the　mainland　called　Pangu；　they　were



steaming　straight　out　of　a　bay。　　To　the　east　a　massive



headland　closed　the　view；　with　the　tilted　edges　of　the



rocky　strata　showing　through　its　ragged　clothing　of



rank　bushes　and　thorny　creepers。　　The　wind　had　begun



to　sing　in　the　rigging；　the　sea　along　the　coast；　green



and　as　if　sw