太子爷小说网 > 英语电子书 > falk >

第7节

falk-第7节

小说: falk 字数: 每页4000字

按键盘上方向键 ← 或 → 可快速上下翻页,按键盘上的 Enter 键可回到本书目录页,按键盘上方向键 ↑ 可回到本页顶部!
————未阅读完?加入书签已便下次继续阅读!




and in itself; will always doubt whether it have not

perchance deserved its fate。  Sombre of mind and

without appetite; I struggled with the chop while

Mrs。 Schomberg sat with her everlasting stupid

grin and Schomberg's talk gathered way like a slide

of rubbish。



〃Let me tell you。  It's all about that girl。  I

don't know what Captain Hermann expects; but if

he asked me I could tell him something about Falk。

He's a miserable fellow。  That man is a perfect

slave。  That's what I call him。  A slave。  Last

year I started this table d'hote; and sent cards out

you know。  You think he had one meal in the

house?  Give the thing a trial?  Not once。  He has

got hold now of a Madras cooka blamed fraud

that I hunted out of my cookhouse with a rattan。

He was not fit to cook for white men。  No; not for

the white men's dogs either; but; see; any damned

native that can boil a pot of rice is good enough for

Mr。 Falk。  Rice and a little fish he buys for a few

cents from the fishing boats outside is what he lives

on。  You would hardly credit iteh?  A white

man; too。 。 。 。〃



He wiped his lips; using the napkin with indig…

nation; and looking at me。  It flashed through my

mind in the midst of my depression that if all the

meat in the town was like these table d'hote chops;

Falk wasn't so far wrong。  I was on the point of

saying this; but Schomberg's stare was intimidat…

ing。  〃He's a vegetarian; perhaps;〃 I murmured

instead。



〃He's a miser。  A miserable miser;〃 affirmed the

hotel…keeper with great force。  〃The meat here is

not so good as at homeof course。  And dear too。

But look at me。  I only charge a dollar for the tif…

fin; and one dollar and fifty cents for the dinner。

Show me anything cheaper。  Why am I doing it?

There's little profit in this game。  Falk wouldn't

look at it。  I do it for the sake of a lot of young

white fellows here that hadn't a place where they

could get a decent meal and eat it decently in good

company。  There's first…rate company always at

my table。〃



The convinced way he surveyed the empty chairs

made me feel as if I had intruded upon a tiffin of

ghostly Presences。



〃A white man should eat like a white man; dash

it all;〃 he burst out impetuously。  〃Ought to eat

meat; must eat meat。  I manage to get meat for my

patrons all the year round。  Don't I?  I am not ca…

tering for a dam' lot of coolies: Have another chop

captain。 。 。 。  No?  You; boytake away!〃



He threw himself back and waited grimly for the

curry。  The half…closed jalousies darkened the room

pervaded by the smell of fresh whitewash: a swarm

of flies buzzed and settled in turns; and poor Mrs。

Schomberg's smile seemed to express the quintes…

sence of all the imbecility that had ever spoken; had

ever breathed; had ever been fed on infamous buffalo

meat within these bare walls。  Schomberg did not

open his lips till he was ready to thrust therein a

spoonful of greasy rice。  He rolled his eyes ridicu…

lously before he swallowed the hot stuff; and only

then broke out afresh。



〃It is the most degrading thing。  They take the

dish up to the wheelhouse for him with a cover on it;

and he shuts both the doors before he begins to eat。

Fact!  Must be ashamed of himself。  Ask the engi…

neer。  He can't do without an engineerdon't you

seeand as no respectable man can be expected to

put up with such a table; he allows them fifteen dol…

lars a month extra mess money。  I assure you it is

so!  You just ask Mr。 Ferdinand da Costa。  That's

the engineer he has now。  You may have seen him

about my place; a delicate dark young man; with

very fine eyes and a little moustache。  He arrived

here a year ago from Calcutta。  Between you and

me; I guess the money…lenders there must have been

after him。  He rushes here for a meal every chance

he can get; for just please tell me what satisfaction

is that for a well…educated young fellow to feed all

alone in his cabinlike a wild beast?  That's what

Falk expects his engineers to put up with for fifteen

dollars extra。  And the rows on board every time a

little smell of cooking gets about the deck!  You

wouldn't believe!  The other day da Costa got the

cook to fry a steak for hima turtle steak it was

too; not beef at alland the fat caught or some…

thing。  Young da Costa himself was telling me of

it here in this room。  'Mr。 Schomberg'says he

'if I had let a cylinder cover blow off through the

skylight by my negligence Captain Falk couldn't

have been more savage。  He frightened the cook so

that he won't put anything on the fire for me now。'

Poor da Costa had tears in his eyes。  Only try to

put yourself in his place; captain: a sensitive; gen…

tlemanly young fellow。  Is he expected to eat his

food raw?  But that's your Falk all over。  Ask any

one you like。  I suppose the fifteen dollars extra he

has to give keep on ranklingin there。〃



And Schomberg tapped his manly breast。  I sat

half stunned by his irrelevant babble。  Suddenly

he gripped my forearm in an impressive and cau…

tious manner; as if to lead me into a very cavern of

confidence。



〃It's nothing but enviousness;〃 he said in a low…

ered tone; which had a stimulating effect upon my

wearied hearing。  〃I don't suppose there is one

person in this town that he isn't envious of。  I tell

you he's dangerous。  Even I myself am not safe

from him。  I know for certain he tried to poi…

son 。 。 。 。〃



〃Oh; come now;〃 I cried; revolted。



〃But I know for certain。  The people themselves

came and told me of it。  He went about saying

everywhere I was a worse pest to this town than the

cholera。  He had been talking against me ever since

I opened this hotel。  And he poisoned Captain Her…

mann's mind too。  Last time the Diana was loading

here Captain Hermann used to come in every day

for a drink or a cigar。  This time he hasn't been

here twice in a week。  How do you account for

that?〃



He squeezed my arm till he extorted from me

some sort of mumble。



〃He makes ten times the money I do。  I've

another hotel to fight against; and there is no other

tug on the river。  I am not in his way; am I?  He

wouldn't be fit to run an hotel if he tried。  But that's

just his nature。  He can't bear to think I am mak…

ing a living。  I only hope it makes him properly

wretched。  He's like that in everything。  He

would like to keep a decent table well enough。

But nofor the sake of a few cents。  Can't do it。

It's too much for him。  That's what I call being a

slave to it。  But he's mean enough to kick up a row

when his nose gets tickled a bit。  See that?  That

just paints him。  Miserly and envious。  You can't

account for it any other way。  Can you?  I have

been studying him these three years。〃



He was anxious I should assent to his theory。

And indeed on thinking it over it would have been

plausible enough if there hadn't been always the

essential falseness of irresponsibility in Schom…

berg's chatter。  However; I was not disposed to in…

vestigate the psychology of Falk。  I was engaged

just then in eating despondently a piece of stale

Dutch cheese; being too much crushed to care what

I swallowed myself; let along bothering my head

about Falk's ideas of gastronomy。  I could expect

from their study no clue to his conduct in matters

of business; which seemed to me totally unrestrained

by morality or even by the commonest sort of de…

cency。  How insignificant and contemptible I must

appear; for the fellow to dare treat me like thisI

reflected suddenly; writhing in silent agony。  And

I consigned Falk and all his peculiarities to the devil

with so much mental fervour as to forget Schom…

berg's existence; till he grabbed my arm urgently。

〃Well; you may think and think till every hair of

your head falls off; captain; but you can't explain

it in any other way。〃



For the sake of peace and quietness I admitted

hurriedly that I couldn't: persuaded that now he

would leave off。  But the only result was to make

his moist face shine with the pride of cunning。  He

removed his hand for a moment to scare a black

mass of flies off the sugar…basin and caught hold of

my arm again。



〃To be sure。  And in the same way everybody is

aware he would like to get married。  Only he can't。

Let me quote you an instance。  Well; two years ago

a Miss Vanlo; a very ladylike girl; came from home

to keep house for her brother; Fred; who had an en…

gineering shop for small repairs by the water side。

Suddenly Falk takes to going up to their bunga…

low after dinner; and sitting for hours in the veran…

dah saying nothing。  The poor girl couldn't tell

for the life of her what to do with such a man; so she

would keep on playing the piano and singing to

him evening after evening till she was ready to

drop。  And it wasn't as if she had been a strong

young woman either。  She was thirty; and the cli…

mate had been play

返回目录 上一页 下一页 回到顶部 0 0

你可能喜欢的