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第7节

the red one-第7节

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lurching litter and watched the fading of the passing world;

beholding for the last time the breadfruit tree before the devil…

devil house; the dim day beneath the matted jungle roof; the gloomy

gorge between the shouldering mountains; the saddle of raw

limestone; and the mesa of black volcanic sand。



Down the spiral path of the pit they bore him; encircling the

sheening; glowing Red One that seemed ever imminent to iridesce

from colour and light into sweet singing and thunder。  And over

bones and logs of immolated men and gods they bore him; past the

horrors of other immolated ones that yet lived; to the three…king…

post tripod and the huge king…post striker。



Here Bassett; helped by Ngurn and Balatta; weakly sat up; swaying

weakly from the hips; and with clear; unfaltering; all…seeing eyes

gazed upon the Red One。



〃Once; O Ngurn;〃 he said; not taking his eyes from the sheening;

vibrating surface whereon and wherein all the shades of cherry…red

played unceasingly; ever a…quiver to change into sound; to become

silken rustlings; silvery whisperings; golden thrummings of cords;

velvet pipings of elfland; mellow distances of thunderings。



〃I wait;〃 Ngurn prompted after a long pause; the long…handled

tomahawk unassumingly ready in his hand。



〃Once; O Ngurn;〃 Bassett repeated; 〃let the Red One speak so that I

may see it speak as well as hear it。  Then strike; thus; when I

raise my hand; for; when I raise my hand; I shall drop my head

forward and make place for the stroke at the base of my neck。  But;

O Ngurn; I; who am about to pass out of the light of day for ever;

would like to pass with the wonder…voice of the Red One singing

greatly in my ears。〃



〃And I promise you that never will a head be so well cured as

yours;〃 Ngurn assured him; at the same time signalling the

tribesmen to man the propelling ropes suspended from the king…post

striker。  〃Your head shall be my greatest piece of work in the

curing of heads。〃



Bassett smiled quietly to the old one's conceit; as the great

carved log; drawn back through two…score feet of space; was

released。  The next moment he was lost in ecstasy at the abrupt and

thunderous liberation of sound。  But such thunder!  Mellow it was

with preciousness of all sounding metals。  Archangels spoke in it;

it was magnificently beautiful before all other sounds; it was

invested with the intelligence of supermen of planets of other

suns; it was the voice of God; seducing and commanding to be heard。

And … the everlasting miracle of that interstellar metal! Bassett;

with his own eyes; saw colour and colours transform into sound till

the whole visible surface of the vast sphere was a…crawl and

titillant and vaporous with what he could not tell was colour or

was sound。  In that moment the interstices of matter were his; and

the interfusings and intermating transfusings of matter and force。



Time passed。  At the last Bassett was brought back from his ecstasy

by an impatient movement of Ngurn。  He had quite forgotten the old

devil…devil one。  A quick flash of fancy brought a husky chuckle

into Bassett's throat。  His shot…gun lay beside him in the litter。

All he had to do; muzzle to head; was to press the trigger and blow

his head into nothingness。



But why cheat him? was Bassett's next thought。  Head…hunting;

cannibal beast of a human that was as much ape as human;

nevertheless Old Ngurn had; according to his lights; played squarer

than square。  Ngurn was in himself a forerunner of ethics and

contract; of consideration; and gentleness in man。  No; Bassett

decided; it would be a ghastly pity and an act of dishonour to

cheat the old fellow at the last。  His head was Ngurn's; and

Ngurn's head to cure it would be。



And Bassett; raising his hand in signal; bending forward his head

as agreed so as to expose cleanly the articulation to his taut

spinal cord; forgot Balatta; who was merely a woman; a woman merely

and only and undesired。  He knew; without seeing; when the razor…

edged hatchet rose in the air behind him。  And for that instant;

ere the end; there fell upon Bassett the shadows of the Unknown; a

sense of impending marvel of the rending of walls before the

imaginable。  Almost; when he knew the blow had started and just ere

the edge of steel bit the flesh and nerves it seemed that he gazed

upon the serene face of the Medusa; Truth … And; simultaneous with

the bite of the steel on the onrush of the dark; in a flashing

instant of fancy; he saw the vision of his head turning slowly;

always turning; in the devil…devil house beside the breadfruit

tree。





Waikiki; Honolulu;

MAY 22; 1916。









STORY:  THE HUSSY









THERE are some stories that have to be true … the sort that cannot

be fabricated by a ready fiction…reckoner。  And by the same token

there are some men with stories to tell who cannot be doubted。

Such a man was Julian Jones。  Although I doubt if the average

reader of this will believe the story Julian Jones told me。

Nevertheless I believe it。  So thoroughly am I convinced of its

verity that I am willing; nay; eager; to invest capital in the

enterprise and embark personally on the adventure to a far land。



It was in the Australian Building at the Panama Pacific Exposition

that I met him。  I was standing before an exhibit of facsimiles of

the record nuggets which had been discovered in the goldfields of

the Antipodes。  Knobbed; misshapen and massive; it was as difficult

to believe that they were not real gold as it was to believe the

accompanying statistics of their weights and values。



〃That's what those kangaroo…hunters call a nugget;〃 boomed over my

shoulder directly at the largest of the specimens。



I turned and looked up into the dim blue eyes of Julian Jones。  I

looked up; for he stood something like six feet four inches in

height。  His hair; a wispy; sandy yellow; seemed as dimmed and

faded as his eyes。  It may have been the sun which had washed out

his colouring; at least his face bore the evidence of a prodigious

and ardent sun…burn which had long since faded to yellow。  As his

eyes turned from the exhibit and focussed on mine I noted a queer

look in them as of one who vainly tries to recall some fact of

supreme importance。



〃What's the matter with it as a nugget?〃  I demanded。



The remote; indwelling expression went out of his eyes as he boomed



〃Why; its size。〃



〃It does seem large;〃 I admitted。  〃But there's no doubt it's

authentic。  The Australian Government would scarcely dare … 〃



〃Large!〃 he interrupted; with a sniff and a sneer。



〃Largest ever discovered … 〃 I started on。



〃Ever discovered!〃  His dim eyes smouldered hotly as he proceeded。

〃Do you think that every lump of gold ever discovered has got into

the newspapers and encyclopedias?〃



〃Well;〃 I replied judicially; 〃if there's one that hasn't; I don't

see how we're to know about it。  If a really big nugget; or nugget…

finder; elects to blush unseen … 〃



〃But it didn't;〃 he broke in quickly。  〃I saw it with my own eyes;

and; besides; I'm too tanned to blush anyway。  I'm a railroad man

and I've been in the tropics a lot。  Why; I used to be the colour

of mahogany … real old mahogany; and have been taken for a blue…

eyed Spaniard more than once … 〃



It was my turn to interrupt; and I did。



〃Was that nugget bigger than those in there; Mr。 … er … ?〃



〃Jones; Julian Jones is my name。〃



He dug into an inner pocket and produced an envelope addressed to

such a person; care of General Delivery; San Francisco; and I; in

turn; presented him with my card。



〃Pleased to know you; sir;〃 he said; extending his hand; his voice

booming as if accustomed to loud noises or wide spaces。  〃Of course

I've heard of you; seen your picture in the papers; and all that;

and; though I say it that shouldn't; I want to say that I didn't

care a rap about those articles you wrote on Mexico。  You're wrong;

all wrong。  You make the mistake of all Gringos in thinking a

Mexican is a white man。  He ain't。  None of them ain't … Greasers;

Spiggoties; Latin…Americans and all the rest of the cattle。  Why;

sir; they don't think like we think; or reason; or act。  Even their

multiplication table is different。  You think seven times seven is

forty…nine; but not them。  They work it out different。  And white

isn't white to them; either。  Let me give you an example。  Buying

coffee retail for house…keeping in one…pound or ten…pound lots … 〃



〃How big was that nugget you referred to?〃 I queried firmly。  〃As

big as the biggest of those?〃



〃Bigger;〃 he said quietly。  〃Bigger than the whole blamed exhibit

of them put together; and then some。〃  He paused and regarded me

with a steadfast gaze。  〃I don't see no reason why I shouldn't go

into the matter with you。  You've got a reputation a man ought to

be able to trust; and I've read you've done some tall skylarking

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