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第16节

falk-第16节

小说: falk 字数: 每页4000字

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luted conch of her rosy ear!  To pull her needle she

kept the little finger apart from the others; it

seemed a waste of power to see her sewingeter…

nally sewingwith that industrious and precise

movement of her arm; going on eternally upon all

the oceans; under all the skies; in innumerable har…

bours。  And suddenly I heard Falk's voice declare

that he could not marry a woman unless she knew

of something in his life that had happened ten

years ago。  It was an accident。  An unfortunate ac…

cident。  It would affect the domestic arrangements

of their home; but; once told; it need not be alluded

to again for the rest of their lives。  〃I should want

my wife to feel for me;〃 he said。  〃It has made me

unhappy。〃  And how could he keep the knowledge

of it to himselfhe asked usperhaps through

years and years of companionship?  What sort of

companionship would that be?  He had thought it

over。  A wife must know。  Then why not at once?

He counted on Hermann's kindness for presenting

the affair in the best possible light。  And Her…

mann's countenance; mystified before; became very

sour。  He stole an inquisitive glance at me。  I

shook my head blankly。  Some people thought;

Falk went on; that such an experience changed a

man for the rest of his life。  He couldn't say。  It

was hard; awful; and not to be forgotten; but he

did not think himself a worse man than before。

Only he talked in his sleep now; he believed。 。 。 。

At last I began to think he had accidentally killed

some one; perhaps a friendhis own father may…

be; when he went on to say that probably we were

aware he never touched meat。  Throughout he

spoke English; of course of my account。



He swayed forward heavily。



The girl; with her hands raised before her pale

eyes; was threading her needle。  He glanced at her;

and his mighty trunk overshadowed the table;

bringing nearer to us the breadth of his shoulders;

the thickness of his neck; and that incongruous; an…

chorite head; burnt in the desert; hollowed and lean

as if by excesses of vigils and fasting。  His beard

flowed imposingly downwards; out of sight; be…

tween the two brown hands gripping the edge of

the table; and his persistent glance made sombre by

the wide dilations of the pupils; fascinated。



〃Imagine to yourselves;〃 he said in his ordinary

voice; 〃that I have eaten man。〃



I could only ejaculate a faint 〃Ah!〃 of com…

plete enlightenment。  But Hermann; dazed by the

excessive shock; actually murmured; 〃Himmel!

What for?〃



〃It was my terrible misfortune to do so;〃 said

Falk in a measured undertone。  The girl; uncon…

scious; sewed on。  Mrs。 Hermann was absent in

one of the state…rooms; sitting up with Lena; who

was feverish; but Hermann suddenly put both his

hands up with a jerk。  The embroidered calotte

fell; and; in the twinkling of an eye; he had rum…

pled his hair all ends up in a most extravagant

manner。  In this state he strove to speak; with

every effort his eyes seemed to start further out of

their sockets; his head looked like a mop。  He

choked; gasped; swallowed; and managed to shriek

out the one word; 〃Beast!〃



From that moment till Falk went out of the cab…

in the girl; with her hands folded on the work lying

in her lap; never took her eyes off him。  His own;

in the blindness of his heart; darted all over the

cabin; only seeking to avoid the sight of Hermann's

raving。  It was ridiculous; and was made almost

terrible by the stillness of every other person pres…

ent。  It was contemptible; and was made appalling

by the man's overmastering horror of this awful

sincerity; coming to him suddenly; with the confes…

sion of such a fact。  He walked with great strides;

he gasped。  He wanted to know from Falk how

dared he to come and tell him this?  Did he think

himself a proper person to be sitting in this cabin

where his wife and children lived?  Tell his niece!

Expected him to tell his niece!  His own brother's

daughter!  Shameless!  Did I ever hear tell of such

impudence?he appealed to me。  〃This man here

ought to have gone and hidden himself out of sight

instead of 。 。 。〃



〃But it's a great misfortune for me。  But it's a

great misfortune for me;〃 Falk would ejaculate

from time to time。



However; Hermann kept on running frequently

against the corners of the table。  At last he lost a

slipper; and crossing his arms on his breast; walked

up with one stocking foot very close to Falk; in or…

der to ask him whether he did think there was any…

where on earth a woman abandoned enough to mate

with such a monster。  〃Did he?  Did he?  Did

he?〃  I tried to restrain him。  He tore himself out

of my hands; he found his slipper; and; endeavour…

ing to put it on; stormed standing on one leg

and Falk; with a face unmoved and averted

eyes; grasped all his mighty beard in one vast

palm。



〃Was it right then for me to die myself?〃 he

asked thoughtfully。  I laid my hand on his shoul…

der。



〃Go away;〃 I whispered imperiously; without

any clear reason for this advice; except that I

wished to put an end to Hermann's odious noise。

〃Go away。〃



He looked searchingly for a moment at Hermann

before he made a move。  I left the cabin too to see

him out of the ship。  But he hung about the quar…

ter…deck。



〃It is my misfortune;〃 he said in a steady

voice。



〃You were stupid to blurt it out in such a man…

ner。  After all; we don't hear such confidences

every day。〃



〃What does the man mean?〃 he mused in deep

undertones。  〃Somebody had to diebut why

me?〃



He remained still for a time in the darksilent;

almost invisible。  All at once he pinned my elbows

to my sides。  I felt utterly powerless in his grip;

and his voice; whispering in my ear; vibrated。



〃It's worse than hunger。  Captain; do you know

what that means?  And I could kill thenor be

killed。  I wish the crowbar had smashed my skull

ten years ago。  And I've got to live now。  Without

her。  Do you understand?  Perhaps many years。

But how?  What can be done?  If I had allowed

myself to look at her once I would have carried her

off before that man in my handslike this。〃



I felt myself snatched off the deck; then suddenly

droppedand I staggered backwards; feeling

bewildered and bruised。  What a man!  All was

still; he was gone。  I heard Hermann's voice de…

claiming in the cabin; and I went in。



I could not at first make out a single word; but

Mrs。 Hermann; who; attracted by the noise; had

come in some time before; with an expression of

surprise and mild disapproval; depicted broadly on

her face; was giving now all the signs of profound;

helpless agitation。  Her husband shot a string of

guttural words at her; and instantly putting out

one hand to the bulkhead as if to save herself from

falling; she clutched the loose bosom of her dress

with the other。  He harangued the two women ex…

traordinarily; with much of his shirt hanging out of

his waistbelt; stamping his foot; turning from one

to the other; sometimes throwing both his arms to…

gether; straight up above his rumpled hair; and

keeping them in that position while he uttered a

passage of loud denunciation; at others folding

them tight across his breastand then he hissed

with indignation; elevating his shoulders and pro…

truding his head。  The girl was crying。



She had not changed her attitude。  From her

steady eyes that; following Falk in his retreat; had

remained fixed wistfully on the cabin door; the

tears fell rapid; thick; on her hands; on the work in

her lap; warm and gentle like a shower in spring。

She wept without grimacing; without noisevery

touching; very quiet; with something more of pity

than of pain in her face; as one weeps in compassion

rather than in griefand Hermann; before her;

declaimed。  I caught several times the word

〃Mensch;〃 man; and also 〃Fressen;〃 which last I

looked up afterwards in my dictionary。  It means

〃Devour。〃  Hermann seemed to be requesting an

answer of some sort from her; his whole body

swayed。  She remained mute and perfectly still;

at last his agitation gained her; she put the palms

of her hands together; her full lips parted; no

sound came。  His voice scolded shrilly; his arms

went like a windmillsuddenly he shook a thick

fist at her。  She burst out into loud sobs。  He

seemed stupefied。



Mrs。 Hermann rushed forward babbling rap…

dly。  The two women fell on each other's necks;

and; with an arm round her niece's waist; she led her

away。  Her own eyes were simply streaming; her

face was flooded。  She shook her head back at me

negatively; I wonder why to this day。  The girl's

head dropped heavily on her shoulder。  They dis…

appeared。



Then Hermann sat down and stared at the cabin

floor。



〃We don't know all the circumstances;〃 I ven…

tured to break the silence。  He retorted tartly that

he didn't want to know of any。

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