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第4节

falk-第4节

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the open skylight in the strong glare of the lamp。

Hermann walked in first; starting in the very door…

way to pull off his coat; and encouraging me with

loud; hospitable ejaculations: 〃Come in!  This

way!  Come in; captain!〃  At once; coat in hand;

he began to tell his wife all about it。  Mrs。 Hermann

put the palms of her plump hands together; I

smiled and bowed with a heavy heart: the niece got

up from her sewing to bring Hermann's slippers

and his embroidered calotte; which he assumed pon…

tifically; talking (about me) all the time。  Billows

of white stuff lay between the chairs on the cabin

floor; I caught the words 〃Zwei und dreissig

Pfund〃 repeated several times; and presently came

the beer; which seemed delicious to my throat;

parched with running and the emotions of the chase。



I didn't get away till well past midnight; long

after the women had retired。  Hermann had been

trading in the East for three years or more; carry…

ing freights of rice and timber mostly。  His ship

was well known in all the ports from Vladivostok to

Singapore。  She was his own property。  The profits

had been moderate; but the trade answered well

enough while the children were small yet。  In an…

other year or so he hoped he would be able to sell the

old Diana to a firm in Japan for a fair price。  He

intended to return home; to Bremen; by mail boat;

second class; with Mrs。 Hermann and the children。

He told me all this stolidly; with slow puffs at his

pipe。  I was sorry when knocking the ashes out he

began to rub his eyes。  I would have sat with him

till morning。  What had I to hurry on board my

own ship for?  To face the broken rifled drawer in

my state…room。  Ugh!  The very thought made me

feel unwell。



I became their daily guest; as you know。  I think

that Mrs。 Hermann from the first looked upon me

as a romantic person。  I did not; of course; tear my

hair coram populo over my loss; and she took it for

lordly indifference。  Afterwards; I daresay; I did

tell them some of my adventuressuch as they were

and they marvelled greatly at the extent of my

experience。  Hermann would translate what he

thought the most striking passages。  Getting up on

his legs; and as if delivering a lecture on a phenom…

enon; he addressed himself; with gestures; to the

two women; who would let their sewing sink slowly

on their laps。  Meantime I sat before a glass of

Hermann's beer; trying to look modest。  Mrs。 Her…

mann would glance at me quickly; emit slight

〃Ach's!〃  The girl never made a sound。  Never。

But she too would sometimes raise her pale eyes to

look at me in her unseeing gentle way。  Her glance

was by no means stupid; it beamed out soft and dif…

fuse as the moon beams upon a landscapequite

differently from the scrutinising inspection of the

stars。  You were drowned in it; and imagined your…

self to appear blurred。  And yet this same glance

when turned upon Christian Falk must have been

as efficient as the searchlight of a battle…ship。



Falk was the other assiduous visitor on board;

but from his behaviour he might have been coming

to see the quarter…deck capstan。  He certainly used

to stare at it a good deal when keeping us company

outside the cabin door; with one muscular arm

thrown over the back of the chair; and his big

shapely legs; in very tight white trousers; extended

far out and ending in a pair of black shoes as

roomy as punts。  On arrival he would shake Her…

mann's hand with a mutter; bow to the women; and

take up his careless and misanthropic attitude by

our side。  He departed abruptly; with a jump; go…

ing through the performance of grunts; hand…

shakes; bow; as if in a panic。  Sometimes; with a

sort of discreet and convulsive effort; he approached

the women and exchanged a few low words with

them; half a dozen at most。  On these occasions Her…

mann's usual stare became positively glassy and

Mrs。 Hermann's kind countenance would colour up。

The girl herself never turned a hair。



Falk was a Dane or perhaps a Norwegian; I

can't tell now。  At all events he was a Scandinavian

of some sort; and a bloated monopolist to boot。  It

is possible he was unacquainted with the word; but

he had a clear perception of the thing itself。  His

tariff of charges for towing ships in and out was

the most brutally inconsiderate document of the sort

I had ever seen。  He was the commander and owner

of the only tug…boat on the river; a very trim white

craft of 150 tons or more; as elegantly neat as a

yacht; with a round wheel…house rising like a glazed

turret high above her sharp bows; and with one slen…

der varnished pole mast forward。  I daresay there

are yet a few shipmasters afloat who remember Falk

and his tug very well。  He extracted his pound and

a half of flesh from each of us merchant…skippers

with an inflexible sort of indifference which made

him detested and even feared。  Schomberg used to

remark: 〃I won't talk about the fellow。  I don't

think he has six drinks from year's end to year's end

in my place。  But my advice is; gentlemen; don't

you have anything to do with him; if you can help

it。〃



This advice; apart from unavoidable business re…

lations; was easy to follow because Falk intruded

upon no one。  It seems absurd to compare a tug…

boat skipper to a centaur: but he reminded me some…

how of an engraving in a little book I had as a boy;

which represented centaurs at a stream; and there

was one; especially in the foreground; prancing bow

and arrows in hand; with regular severe features

and an immense curled wavy beard; flowing down

his breast。  Falk's face reminded me of that cen…

taur。  Besides; he was a composite creature。  Not

a man…horse; it is true; but a man…boat。  He lived

on board his tug; which was always dashing up and

down the river from early morn till dewy eve。



In the last rays of the setting sun; you could pick

out far away down the reach his beard borne high

up on the white structure; foaming up stream to

anchor for the night。  There was the white…clad

man's body; and the rich brown patch of the hair;

and nothing below the waist but the 'thwart…ship

white lines of the bridge…screens; that lead the eye

to the sharp white lines of the bows cleaving the

muddy water of the river。



Separated from his boat to me at least he seemed

incomplete。  The tug herself without his head and

torso on the bridge looked mutilated as it were。

But he left her very seldom。  All the time I re…

mained in harbour I saw him only twice on shore。

On the first occasion it was at my charterers; where

he came in misanthropically to get paid for towing

out a French barque the day before。  The second

time I could hardly believe my eyes; for I beheld

him reclining under his beard in a cane…bottomed

chair in the billiard…room of Schomberg's hotel。



It was very funny to see Schomberg ignoring

him pointedly。  The artificiality of it contrasted

strongly with Falk's natural unconcern。  The big

Alsatian talked loudly with his other customers; go…

ing from one little table to the other; and passing

Falk's place of repose with his eyes fixed straight

ahead。  Falk sat there with an untouched glass at

his elbow。  He must have known by sight and name

every white man in the room; but he never addressed

a word to anybody。  He acknowledged my presence

by a drop of his eyelids; and that was all。  Sprawl…

ing there in the chair; he would; now and again;

draw the palms of both his hands down his face;

giving at the same time a slight; almost impercepti…

ble; shudder。



It was a habit he had; and of course I was per…

fectly familiar with it; since you could not remain

an hour in his company without being made to won…

der at such a movement breaking some long period

of stillness。  it was a passionate and inexplicable

gesture。  He used to make it at all sorts of times;

as likely as not after he had been listening to little

Lena's chatter about the suffering doll; for instance。

The Hermann children always besieged him about

his legs closely; though; in a gentle way; he shrank

from them a little。  He seemed; however; to feel a

great affection for the whole family。  For Hermann

himself especially。  He sought his company。  In

this case; for instance; he must have been waiting

for him; because as soon as he appeared Falk rose

hastily; and they went out together。  Then Schom…

berg expounded in my hearing to three or four

people his theory that Falk was after Captain Her…

mann's niece; and asserted confidently that nothing

would come of it。  It was the same last year when

Captain Hermann was loading here; he said。



Naturally; I did not believe Schomberg; but I

own that for a time I observed closely what went

on。  All I discovered was some impatience on Her…

mann's part。  At the sight of Falk; stepping over

the gangway; the excellent man would begin to

mumble and chew be

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