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the wide base of the group; the submerged level of



broken waste and refuse left over from the building of



the coast near by; projecting its dangerous spurs; all



awash; far into the channel; and bristling with wicked



long spits often a mile long: with deadly spits made of



froth and stones。







And even nothing more than a brisk breezeas on



that morning; the voyage before; when the Sofala left



Pangu bay early; and Mr。 Sterne's discovery was to



blossom out like a flower of incredible and evil aspect



from the tiny seed of instinctive suspicion;even such



a breeze had enough strength to tear the placid mask



from the face of the sea。  To Sterne; gazing with indif…



ference; it had been like a revelation to behold for the



first time the dangers marked by the hissing livid



patches on the water as distinctly as on the engraved



paper of a chart。  It came into his mind that this was



the sort of day most favorable for a stranger attempt…



ing the passage: a clear day; just windy enough for



the sea to break on every ledge; buoying; as it were;



the channel plainly to the sight; whereas during a calm



you had nothing to depend on but the compass and the



practiced judgment of your eye。  And yet the suc…



cessive captains of the Sofala had had to take her



through at night more than once。  Nowadays you could



not afford to throw away six or seven hours of a



steamer's time。  That you couldn't。  But then use is



everything; and with proper care 。 。 。  The channel



was broad and safe enough; the main point was to hit



upon the entrance correctly in the darkfor if a man



got himself involved in that stretch of broken water



over yonder he would never get out with a whole ship



if he ever got out at all。







This was Sterne's last train of thought independent



of the great discovery。  He had just seen to the secur…



ing of the anchor; and had remained forward idling



away a moment or two。  The captain was in charge on



the bridge。  With a slight yawn he had turned away



from his survey of the sea and had leaned his shoulders



against the fish davit。







These; properly speaking; were the very last moments



of ease he was to know on board the Sofala。  All the



instants that came after were to be pregnant with pur…



pose and intolerable with perplexity。  No more idle;





random thoughts; the discovery would put them on the



rack; till sometimes he wished to goodness he had been



fool enough not to make it at all。  And yet; if his



chance to get on rested on the discovery of 〃something



wrong;〃 he could not have hoped for a greater stroke



of luck。











X







The knowledge was too disturbing; really。  There was



〃something wrong〃 with a vengeance; and the moral



certitude of it was at first simply frightful to contem…



plate。  Sterne had been looking aft in a mood so idle;



that for once he was thinking no harm of anyone。  His



captain on the bridge presented himself naturally to



his sight。  How insignificant; how casual was the



thought that had started the train of discoverylike an



accidental spark that suffices to ignite the charge of a



tremendous mine!







Caught under by the breeze; the awnings of the fore…



deck bellied upwards and collapsed slowly; and above



their heavy flapping the gray stuff of Captain Whalley's



roomy coat fluttered incessantly around his arms and



trunk。  He faced the wind in full light; with his great



silvery beard blown forcibly against his chest; the eye…



brows overhung heavily the shadows whence his glance



appeared to be staring ahead piercingly。  Sterne could



just detect the twin gleam of the whites shifting under



the shaggy arches of the brow。  At short range these



eyes; for all the man's affable manner; seemed to look



you through and through。  Sterne never could defend



himself from that feeling when he had occasion to speak



with his captain。  He did not like it。  What a big



heavy man he appeared up there; with that little



shrimp of a Serang in close attendanceas was usual



in this extraordinary steamer!  Confounded absurd cus…



tom that。  He resented it。  Surely the old fellow could



have looked after his ship without that loafing native



at his elbow。  Sterne wriggled his shoulders with dis…



gust。  What was it?  Indolence or what?







That old skipper must have been growing lazy for



years。  They all grew lazy out East here (Sterne was



very conscious of his own unimpaired activity); they



got slack all over。  But he towered very erect on the



bridge; and quite low by his side; as you see a small



child looking over the edge of a table; the battered soft



hat and the brown face of the Serang peeped over the



white canvas screen of the rail。







No doubt the Malay was standing back; nearer to the



wheel; but the great disparity of size in close associa…



tion amused Sterne like the observation of a bizarre fact



in nature。  They were as queer fish out of the sea as



any in it。







He saw Captain Whalley turn his head quickly to



speak to his Serang; the wind whipped the whole white



mass of the beard sideways。  He would be directing the



chap to look at the compass for him; or what not。  Of



course。  Too much trouble to step over and see for him…



self。  Sterne's scorn for that bodily indolence which



overtakes white men in the East increased on reflection。



Some of them would be utterly lost if they hadn't all



these natives at their beck and call; they grew perfectly



shameless about it too。  He was not of that sort; thank



God!  It wasn't in him to make himself dependent for



his work on any shriveled…up little Malay like that。  As



if one could ever trust a silly native for anything in



the world!  But that fine old man thought differently;



it seems。  There they were together; never far apart;



a pair of them; recalling to the mind an old whale at…



tended by a little pilot…fish。







The fancifulness of the comparison made him smile。



A whale with an inseparable pilot…fish!  That's what



the old man looked like; for it could not be said he



looked like a shark; though Mr。 Massy had called him



that very name。  But Mr。 Massy did not mind what he



said in his savage fits。  Sterne smiled to himselfand



gradually the ideas evoked by the sound; by the im…



agined shape of the word pilot…fish; the ideas of aid; of



guidance needed and received; came uppermost in his



mind: the word pilot awakened the idea of trust; of



dependence; the idea of welcome; clear…eyed help brought



to the seaman groping for the land in the dark: groping



blindly in fogs: feeling their way in the thick weather



of the gales that; filling the air with a salt mist blown



up from the sea; contract the range of sight on all



sides to a shrunken horizon that seems within reach of



the hand。







A pilot sees better than a stranger; because his local



knowledge; like a sharper vision; completes the shapes



of things hurriedly glimpsed; penetrates the veils of



mist spread over the land by the storms of the sea; de…



fines with certitude the outlines of a coast lying under



the pall of fog; the forms of landmarks half buried in a



starless night as in a shallow grave。  He recognizes be…



cause he already knows。  It is not to his far…reaching



eye but to his more extensive knowledge that the pilot



looks for certitude; for this certitude of the ship's posi…



tion on which may depend a man's good fame and the



peace of his conscience; the justification of the trust



deposited in his hands; with his own life too; which is



seldom wholly his to throw away; and the humble lives



of others rooted in distant affections; perhaps; and made



as weighty as the lives of kings by the burden of the



awaiting mystery。  The pilot's knowledge brings relief



and certitude to the commander of a ship; the Serang;



however; in his fanciful suggestion of a pilot…fish at…



tending a whale; could not in any way be credited with



a superior knowledge。  Why should he have it?  These



two men had come on that run togetherthe white and



the brownon the same day: and of course a white man



would learn more in a week than the best native would



in a month。  He was made to stick to the skipper as



though he were of some useas the pilot…fish; they say;



is to the whale。  But howit was very markedhow?



A pilot…fisha pilota 。 。 。  But if not superior



knowledge then 。 

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