“`Thefellowstartedatthis，“saidBrown，relatingtometheopeningofthisstrangeconversationbetweenthosetwomen，separatedonlybythemuddybedofacreek，butstandingontheoppositepolesofthatconceptionoflifewhichincludesallmankind——“Thefellowstartedatthisandgotveryredintheface。Toobigtobequestioned，Isuppose。Itoldhimthatifhelookeduponmeasadeadmanwithwhomyoumaytakeliberties，hehimselfwasnotawhitbetteroffreally。Ihadafellowuptherewhohadabeaddrawnonhimallthetime，andonlywaitedforasignfromme。Therewasnothingtobeshockedatinthis。Hehadcomedownofhisownfreewill。`Letusagree，’saidI，`thatwearebothdeadmen，andletustalkonthatbasis，asequals。Weareallequalbeforedeath，’Isaid。IadmittedIwastherelikearatinatrap，butwehadbeendriventoit，andevenatrappedratcangiveabite。Hecaughtmeupinamoment。`Notifyoudon’tgonearthetraptilltheratisdead。’Itoldhimthatsortofgamewasgoodenoughforthesenativefriendsofhis，butIwouldhavethoughthimtoowhitetoserveevenaratso。Yes，Ihadwantedtotalkwithhim。
　　Nottobegformylife，though。Myfellowswere——well——whattheywere——menlikehimself，anyhow。Allwewantedfromhimwastocomeoninthedevil’snameandhaveitout。`Godd——nit，’saidI，whilehestoodthereasstillasawoodenpost，`youdon’twanttocomeouthereeverydaywithyourglassestocounthowmanyofusareleftonourfeet。Come。Eitherbringyourinfernalcrowdalongorletusgooutandstarveintheopensea，byGod!Youhavebeenwhiteonce，forallyourtalltalkofthisbeingyourownpeopleandyoubeingonewiththem。Areyou？Andwhatthedevildoyougetforit；whatisityou’vefoundherethatissod——dprecious？
　　Hey？Youdon’twantustocomedownhereperhaps——doyou？Youaretwohundredtoone。Youdon’twantustocomedownintotheopen。Ah!Ipromiseyouweshallgiveyousomesportbeforeyou’vedone。Youtalkaboutmemakingacowardlysetuponunoffendingpeople。What’sthattomethattheyareunoffendingwhenIamstarvingfornexttonooffence？ButIamnotacoward。
　　Don’tyoubeone。Bringthemalongor，byallthefiends，weshallyetmanagetosendhalfyourunoffendingtowntoheavenwithusinsmoke!“’
　　`Hewasterrible——relatingthistome——thistorturedskeletonofamandrawnuptogetherwithhisfaceoverhisknees，uponamiserablebedinthatwretchedhovel，andliftinghisheadtolookatmewithmalignanttriumph。
　　“`That’swhatItoldhim——Iknewwhattosay，“hebeganagain，feeblyatfirst，butworkinghimselfupwithincrediblespeedintoafieryutteranceofhisscorn。“`Wearen’tgoingintotheforesttowanderlikeastringoflivingskeletonsdroppingoneafteranotherforantstogotoworkuponusbeforewearefairlydead。Oh，no!’……`Youdon’tdeserveabetterfate，’hesaid。`Andwhatdoyoudeserve，’Ishoutedathim，`youthatIfindskulkingherewithyourmouthfullofyourresponsibility，ofinnocentlives，ofyourinfernalduty？WhatdoyouknowmoreofmethanIknowofyou？Icamehereforfood。D’yehear？——foodtofillourbellies。Andwhatdidyoucomefor？Whatdidyouaskforwhenyoucamehere？Wedon’taskyouforanythingbuttogiveusafightoraclearroadtogobackwhencewecame……’`Iwouldfightwithyounow，’sayshe，pullingathislittlemoustache。`AndIwouldletyoushootme，andwelcome，’Isaid。
　　`Thisisasgoodajumping-offplaceformeasanother。Iamsickofmyinfernalluck。Butitwouldbetooeasy。Therearemymeninthesameboat——and，byGod，Iamnotthesorttojumpoutoftroubleandleavetheminad——dlurch，’Isaid。HestoodthinkingforawhileandthenwantedtoknowwhatIhaddone`outthere，’hesays，tossinghisheaddownstreamtobehazedaboutso。`Havewemettotelleachotherthestoryofourlives？’Iaskedhim。`Supposeyoubegin。No？Well，IamsureIdon’twanttohear。Keepittoyourself。Iknowitisnobetterthanmine。I’velived——andsodidyouthoughyoutalkasifyouwereoneofthosepeoplethatshouldhavewingssoastogoaboutwithouttouchingthedirtyearth。Well——itisdirty。
　　Ihaven’tgotanywings。IamherebecauseIwasafraidonceinmylife。
　　Wanttoknowwhatof？Ofaprison。Thatscaresme，andyoumayknowit——ifit’sanygoodtoyou。Iwon’taskyouwhatscaredyouintothisinfernalhole，whereyouseemtohavefoundprettypickings。That’syourluckandthisismine——theprivilegetobegforthefavourofbeingshotquickly，orelsekickedouttogofreeandstarveinmyownway。“’……
　　`Hisdebilitatedbodyshookwithanexultationsovehement，soassured，andsomaliciousthatitseemedtohavedrivenoffthedeathwaitingforhiminthathut。Thecorpseofhismadself-loveuprosefromragsanddestitutionasfromthedarkhorrorsofatomb。ItisimpossibletosayhowmuchheliedtoJimthen，howmuchheliedtomenow——andtohimselfalways。Vanityplaysluridtrickswithourmemory，andthetruthofeverypassionwantssomepretencetomakeitlive。Standingatthegateoftheotherworldintheguiseofabeggar，hehadslappedthisworld’sface，hehadspatonit，hehadthrownuponitanimmensityofscornandrevoltatthebottomofhismisdeeds。Hehadovercomethemall——men，women，savages，traders，ruffians，missionaries——andJim——thatbeefy-facedbeggar。Ididnotbegrudgehimthistriumphinarticulomortis，thisalmostposthumousillusionofhavingtrampledalltheearthunderhisfeet。Whilehewasboastingtome，inhissordidandrepulsiveagony，Icouldn’thelpthinkingofthechucklingtalkrelatingtothetimeofhisgreatestsplendourwhen，duringayearormore，GentlemanBrown’sshipwastobeseen，formanydaysonend，hoveringoffanisletbefringedwithgreenuponazure，withthedarkdotofthemission-houseonawhitebeach；whileGentlemanBrown，ashore，wascastinghisspellsoveraromanticgirlforwhomMelanesiahadbeentoomuch，andgivinghopesofaremarkableconversiontoherhusband。Thepoorman，sometimeorother，hadbeenheardtoexpresstheintentionofwinning“CaptainBrowntoabetterwayoflife。“……“BagGentlemanBrownforGlory“——asaleery-eyedloaferexpresseditonce——“justtoletthemseeupabovewhataWesternPacifictradingskipperlookslike。“Andthiswastheman，too，whohadrunoffwithadyingwoman，andhadshedtearsoverherbody。
　　“Carriedonlikeabigbaby，“histhenmatewasnevertiredoftelling，“andwherethefuncameinmayIbekickedtodeathbydiseasedKanakasifIknow。Why，gents!shewastoofargonewhenhebroughtheraboardtoknowhim；shejustlaythereonherbackinhisbunkstaringatthebeamwithawfulshiningeyes——andthenshedied。Dam’badsortoffever，Iguess……“Irememberedallthesestorieswhile，wipinghismattedlumpofabeardwithalividhand，hewastellingmefromhisnoisomecouchhowhegotround，gotin，gothome，onthatconfounded，immaculate，don’t-you-touch-mesortoffellow。Headmittedthathecouldn’tbescared，buttherewasaway，“asbroadasaturnpike，togetinandshakehistwopennysoularoundandinsideoutandupsidedown——byGod!“’
　　thinkhecoulddomorethanperhapslookuponthatstraightpath。Heseemedtohavebeenpuzzledbywhathesaw，forheinterruptedhimselfinhisnarrativemorethanoncetoexclaim，“Henearlyslippedfrommethere。Icouldnotmakehimout。Whowashe？“
　　Andafterglaringatmewildlyhewouldgoon，jubilatingandsneering。
　　TometheconversationofthesetwoacrossthecreekappearsnowasthedeadliestkindofduelonwhichFatelookedonwithhercold-eyedknowledgeoftheend。No，hedidn’tturnJim’ssoulinsideout，butIammuchmistakenifthespiritsoutterlyoutofhisreachhadnotbeenmadetotastetothefullthebitternessofthatcontest。Theseweretheemissarieswithwhomtheworldhehadrenouncedwaspursuinghiminhisretreat。Whitemenfrom“outthere“wherehedidnotthinkhimselfgoodenoughtolive。
　　Thiswasallthatcametohim——amenace，ashock，adangertohiswork。
　　Isupposeitisthissad，half-resentful，half-resignedfeeling，piercingthroughthefewwordsJimsaidnowandthen，thatpuzzledBrownsomuchinthereadingofhischaracter。Somegreatmenowemostoftheirgreatnesstotheabilityofdetectinginthosetheydestinefortheirtoolstheexactqualityofstrengththatmattersfortheirwork，andBrown，asthoughhehadbeenreallygreat，hadasatanicgiftoffindingoutthebestandtheweakestspotinhisvictims。HeadmittedtomethatJimwasn’tofthesortthatcanbegotoverbytruckling，andaccordinglyhetookcaretoshowhimselfasamanconfrontingwithoutdismayill-luck，censure，anddisaster。
　　Thesmugglingofafewgunswasnogreatcrime，hepointedout。AstocomingtoPatusan，whohadtherighttosayhehadn’tcometobeg？Theinfernalpeoplehereletlooseathimfrombothbankswithoutstayingtoaskquestions。
　　Hemadethepointbrazenly，for，intruth，DainWaris’senergeticactionhadpreventedthegreatestcalamities；becauseBrowntoldmedistinctlythat，perceivingthesizeoftheplace，hehadresolvedinstantlyinhismindthatassoonashehadgainedafootinghewouldsetfirerightandleft，andbeginbyshootingdowneverythingthinglivinginsight，inordertocowandterrifythepopulation。Thedisproportionofforceswassogreatthatthiswastheonlywaygivinghimtheslightestchanceofattaininghisends——hearguedinafitofcoughing。Buthedidn’ttellJimthis。
　　Astothehardshipsandstarvationtheyhadgonethrough，thesehadbeenveryreal；itwasenoughtolookathisband。Hemade，atthesoundofashrillwhistle，allhismenappearstandinginarowonthelogsinfullview，sothatJimcouldseethem。Forthekillingoftheman，ithadbeendone——well，ithad——butwasnotthiswar，bloodywar——inacorner？andthefellowhadbeenkilledcleanly，shotthroughthechest，notlikethatpoordevilofhislyingnowinthecreek。Theyhadtolistentohimdyingforsixhours，withhisentrailstornwithslugs。Atanyratethiswasalifeforalife……Andallthiswassaidwiththeweariness，withtherecklessnessofamanspurredonandonbyill-lucktillhecaresnotwhereheruns。WhenheaskedJim，withasortofbrusquedespairingfrankness，whetherhehimself——straightnow——didn’tunderstandthatwhen“itcametosavingone’slifeinthedark，onedidn’tcarewhoelsewent——three，thirty，threehundredpeople“——itwasasifademonhadbeenwhisperingadviceinhisear。“Imadehimwince，“boastedBrowntome。“Heverysoonleftoffcomingtherighteousoverme。Hejuststoodtherewithnothingtosay，andlookingasblackasthunder——notatme——ontheground。“HeaskedJimwhetherhehadnothingfishyinhislifetorememberthathewassodamnedlyharduponamantryingtogetoutofadeadlyholebythefirstmeansthatcametohand——andsoon，andsoon。Andthereranthroughtheroughtalkaveinofsubtlereferencetotheircommonblood，anassumptionofcommonexperience；asickeningsuggestionofcommonguilt，ofsecretknowledgethatwaslikeabondoftheirmindsandoftheirhearts。
　　`AtlastBrownthrewhimselfdownfulllengthandwatchedJimoutofthecornersofhiseyes。Jimonhissideofthecreekstoodthinkingandswitchinghisleg。Thehousesinviewweresilent，asifapestilencehadsweptthemcleanofeverybreathoflife；butmanyinvisibleeyeswereturned，fromwithin，uponthetwomenwiththecreekbetweenthem，astrandedwhiteboat，andthebodyofthethirdmanhalfsunkinthemud。Ontherivercanoesweremovingagain。forPatusanwasrecoveringitsbeliefinthestabilityofearthlyinstitutionssincethereturnofthewhitelord。
　　Therightbank，theplatformsofthehouses，theraftsmooredalongtheshores，eventheroofsofbathing-huts，werecoveredwithpeoplethat，farawayoutofearshotandalmostoutofsight，werestrainingtheireyestowardstheknollbeyondtheRajah’sstockade。Withinthewideirregularringofforestsbrokenintwoplacesbythesheenoftherivertherewasasilence。“Willyoupromisetoleavethecoast？“Jimasked。Brownliftedandletfallhishand，givingeverythingupasitwere——acceptingtheinevitable。
　　“Andsurrenderyourarms？“Jimwenton。Brownsatupandglaredacross。
　　“Surrenderourarms!Nottillyoucometotakethemoutofourstiffhands。
　　YouthinkIamgonecrazywithfunk？Oh，no!ThatandtheragsIstandinisallIhavegotintheworld，besidesafewmorebreechloadersonboard；andIexpecttosellthelotinMadagascar，ifIevergetsofar——beggingmywayfromshiptoship。“
　　`Jimsaidnothingtothis。Atlast，throwingawaytheswitchheheldinhishand，hesaid，asifspeakingtohimself，“Idon’tknowwhetherIhavethepower。“……“Youdon’tknow!Andyouwantedmejustnowtogiveupmyarms!That’sgood，too，“criedBrown。“Supposetheysayonethingtoyou，anddotheotherthingtome。“Hecalmeddownmarkedly。“I
　　daresayyouhavethepower，orwhat’sthemeaningofallthistalk？“hecontinued。“Whatdidyoucomedownherefor？Topassthetimeofday？“
　　“`Verywell，“saidJim，liftinghisheadsuddenlyafteralongsilence。
　　“Youshallhaveaclearroadorelseaclearfight。“Heturnedonhisheelandwalkedaway。
　　`Browngotupatonce，buthedidnotgoupthehilltillhehadseenJimdisappearbetweenthefirsthouses。Heneversethiseyesonhimagain。
　　OnhiswaybackhemetCorneliusslouchingdownwithhisheadbetweenhisshoulders。HestoppedbeforeBrown。“Whydidn’tyoukillhim？“hedemandedinasour，discontentedvoice。“BecauseIcoulddobetterthanthat，“Brownsaidwithanamusedsmile。“Never!never!“protestedCorneliuswithenergy。
　　“Couldn’t。Ihavelivedhereformanyyears。“Brownlookedupathimcuriously。
　　Thereweremanysidestothelifeofthatplaceinarmsagainsthim；thingshewouldneverfindout。Corneliusslunkpastdejectedlyinthedirectionoftheriver。Hewasnowleavinghisnewfriends；heacceptedthedisappointingcourseofeventswithasulkyobstinacywhichseemedtodrawmoretogetherhislittleyellowoldface；andashewentdownheglancedaskanthereandthere，nevergivinguphisfixedidea。