butCharliealludedtoitoneveryoccasion，alwaysasastoryfromwhichmoneywastobemade。
“IthinkIdeservetwenty-fivepercent。，don’tI，atleast。”besaid，withbeautifulfrankness“Isuppliedalltheideas，didn’tI？”
ThisgreedinessforsilverwasanewsideinhisnatureIassumedthatithadbeendevelopedintheCity，whereCharliewaspickingupthecuriousnasaldrawloftheunderbredCityman。
“Whenthething’sdonewe’lltalkaboutitIcan’tmakeanythingofitatpresentRed-hairedorblack-hairedheroareequallydifficult。”
Hewassittingbythefirestaringattheredcoals“Ican’tunderstandwhatyoufindsodifficultIt’sallascleanasmudtome。”herepliedAjetofgaspuffedoutbetweenthebars，tooklightandwhistledsoftly“Supposewetakethered-hairedhero’sadventuresfirst，fromthetimethathecamesouthtomygalleyandcaptureditandsailedtotheBeaches。”
IknewbetternowthantointerruptCharlieIwasoutofreachofpenandpaper，anddarednotmovetogetthemlestIshouldbreakthecurrentThegas-jetpuffedandwhinnied，Charlie’svoicedroppedalmosttoawhisper，andhetoldataleofthesailmgofanopengalleytoFurdurstrandi，ofsunsetsontheopensea，seenunderthecurveoftheonesaileveningafteteveningwhenthegalley’sbeakwasnotchedintothecentreofthesinkingdisc，and“wesailedbythatforwehadnootherguide。”quothCharlieHespokeofalandingonanislandandexplorationsinitswoods，wherethecrewkilledthreemenwhomtheyfoundasleepunderthepinesTheirghosts，Charliesaid，followedthegalley，swimmingandchokinginthewater，andthecrewcastlotsandthrewoneoftheirnumberoverboardasasacrificetothestrangegodswhomtheybadoffendedThentheyatesea-weedwhentheirprovisionsfailed，andtheirlegsswelled，andtheirleader，thered-hairedman，killedtworowerswhomutinied，andafterayearspentamongthewoodstheysetsailfortheirowncountry，andawindthatneverfailedcarriedthembacksosafelythattheyallsleptatnightThisandmuchmoreCharlietoldSometimesthevoicefellsolowthatIcouldnotcatchthewords，thougheverynervewasonthestrainHespokeoftheirleader，thered-hairedman，asapaganspeaksofhisGod；foritwashewhocheeredthemandslewthemimpartiallyashethoughtbestfortheirneeds；anditwashewhosteeredthemforthreedaysamongfloatingice，eachfloecrowdedwithstrangebeaststhat“triedtosailwithus，’saidCharlie，“andwebeatthembackwiththehandlesoftheoars。”
Thegas-jetwentout，aburnedcoalgaveway，andthefiresettleddownwithatinycrashtothebottomofthegrateCharlieceasedspeaking，andIsaidnoword。
“ByJove！”hesaid，atlast，shakinghishead“I’vebeenstaringatthefiretillI’mdizzyWhatwasIgoingtosay。
“Somethingaboutthegalley。”
“IremembernowIt’s25percentoftheprofits，isn’tit？”
“It’sanythingyoulikewhenI’vedonethetale。”
“IwantedtobesureofthatImustgonowI’ve，I’veanappointment。”Andheleftme。
HadmyeyesnotbeenheldImighthaveknowthatthatbrokenmutteringoverthefirewastheswan-songofCharlieMearsButI
thoughtitthepreludetofullerrevelationAtlastandatlastI
shouldcheattheLordsofLifeandDeath！
WhennextCharliecametomeIreceivedhimwithraptureHewasnervousandembarrassed，buthiseyeswereveryfulloflight，andhislipsalittleparted。
“I’vedoneapoem。”hesaid；andthenquickly：“it’sthebestI’veeverdoneReadit。”Hethrustitintomyhandandretreatedtothewindow。
IgroanedinwardlyItwouldbetheworkofhalfanhourtocriticise-thatistosaypraise-thepoemsufficientlytopleaseCharlieThenIhadgoodreasontogroan，forCharli...完整阅读请扫描二维码下载丁香书院APP免费看：