第17章

sheet)underthecompellingspellofwizardPinkerton。DollarsofmineweretackingofftheshoresofMexico，inperilofthedeepandtheguarda-costas；theyrangonsaloon-countersinthecityofTombstone，Arizona；theyshoneinfaro-tentsamongthemountaindiggings；theimaginationflaggedinfollowingthem，sowideweretheydiffused，sobrisklytheyspantotheturningofthewizard’scrank。Buthere，there，oreverywhereIcouldstilltellmyselfitwasallmine，andwhatwasmoreconvincing，drawsubstantialdividends。Myfortune，Icalledit；anditrepresented，whenexpressedindollars，orevenBritishpounds，anhonestpotofmoney；whenextendedintofrancs，averitablefortune。PerhapsIhaveletthecatoutofthebag；perhapsyouseealreadywheremyhopeswerepointing，andbegintoblamemyinconsistency。ButImustfirsttellyoumyexcuse，andthechangethathadbefallenPinkerton。

AboutaweekafterthepicnictowhichheescortedMamie，Pinkertonavowedthestateofhisaffections。FromwhatIhadobservedonboardthesteamer，wheremethoughtMamiewaitedonhimwithherlimpideyes，Iencouragedthebashfullovertoproceed；andtheverynexteveninghewascarryingmetocallonhisaffianced。

“Youmustbefriendher，Loudon，asyouhavealwaysbefriendedme。”hesaid，pathetically。

“Bysayingdisagreeablethings？Idoubtifthatbethewaytoayounglady’sfavour。”Ireplied；“andsincethispicnickingI

begintobeamanofsomeexperience。”

“Yes，youdonoblythere；Ican’tdescribehowIadmireyou。”hecried。“Notthatshewilleverneedit；shehashadeveryadvantage。GodknowswhatIhavedonetodeserveher。O

man，whataresponsibilitythisisforaroughfellowandnotalwaystruthful！”

“Braceup，oldman，braceup！”saidI。

ButwhenwereachedMamie’sboarding-house，itwasalmostwithtearsthathepresentedme。“HereisLoudon，Mamie。”

werehiswords。“Iwantyoutolovehim；hehasagrandnature。”

“Youarecertainlynostrangertome，Mr。Dodd。”washergraciousexpression。“Jamesisneverwearyofdescantingonyourgoodness。”

“Mydearlady。”saidI，“whenyouknowourfriendalittlebetter，youwillmakealargeallowanceforhiswarmheart。Mygoodnesshasconsistedinallowinghimtofeedandclotheandtoilformewhenhecouldillaffordit。IfIamnowalive，itistohimIoweit；nomanhadakinderfriend。Youmusttakegoodcareofhim。”Iadded，layingmyhandonhisshoulder，“andkeephimingoodorder，forheneedsit。”

Pinkertonwasmuchaffectedbythisspeech，andso，Ifear，wasMamie。Iadmititwasatactlessperformance。“Whenyouknowourfriendalittlebetter。”wasnothappilysaid；andeven“keephimingoodorder，forheneedsit“mightbeconstruedintomatterofoffence；butIlayitbeforeyouinallconfidenceofyouracquittal：wasthegeneraltoneofit“patronising“？Evenifsuchwastheverdictofthelady，Icannotbutsupposetheblamewasneitherwhollyhersnorwhollymine；IcannotbutsupposethatPinkertonhadalreadysickenedthepoorwomanofmyveryname；sothatifIhadcomewiththesongsofApollo，shemuststillhavebeendisgusted。

Here，however，weretwofinger-poststoParis。Jimwasgoingtobemarried，andsohadthelessneedofmysociety。Ihadnotpleasedhisbride，andsowas，perhaps，betterabsent。LateoneeveningIbroachedtheideatomyfriend。Ithadbeenagreatdayforme；Ihadjustbankedmyfivethousandcatamountaindollars；andasJimhadrefusedtolayafingeronthestock，riskandprofitwerebothwhollymine，andIwascelebratingtheeventwithstoutandcrackers。Ibeganbytellinghimthatifitcausedhimanypainoranyanxietyabouthisaffairs，hehadbuttosaytheword，andheshouldhearnomoreofmyproposal。

HewasthetruestandbestfriendIeverhadorwaseverliketohave；anditwouldbeastrangethingifIrefusedhimanyfavourhewassurehewanted。AtthesametimeIwishedhimtobesure；formylifewaswastinginmyhands。Iwaslikeonefromhome；allmytrueinterestssummonedmeaway。Imustremindhim，besides，thathewasnowabouttomarryandassumenewinterests，andthatourextremefamiliaritymightbeevenpainfultohiswife——“Ono，Loudon；Ifeelyouarewrongthere。”heinterjectedwarmly；“sheDOESappreciateyournature。”——Somuchthebetter，then，Icontinued；andwentontopointoutthatourseparationneednotbeforlong；that，inthewayaffairsweregoing，hemightjoinmeintwoyearswithafortune，small，indeed，fortheStates，butinFrancealmostconspicuous；thatwemightuniteourresources，andhaveonehouseinParisforthewinterandasecondnearFontainebleauforsummer，wherewecouldbeashappyasthedaywaslong，andbringuplittlePinkertonsaspracticalartisticworkmen，farfromthemoney-hungeroftheWest。“Letmegothen。”I

concluded；“notasadeserter，butasthevanguard，toleadthemarchofthePinkertonmen。”

SoIarguedandpleaded，notwithoutemotion；myfriendsittingopposite，restinghischinuponhishandand(butforthatsingleinterjection)silent。“Ihavebeenlookingforthis，Loudon。”saidhe，whenIhaddone。“Itdoespainme，andthat’sthefact——I’msomiserablyselfish。AndIbelieveit’sadeathblowtothepicnics；forit’sidletodenythatyouweretheheartandsoulofthemwithyourwandandyourgallantbearing，andwitandhumourandchivalry，andthrowingthatkindofsocietyatmosphereaboutthething。Butforallthat，you’reright，andyououghttogo。Youmaycountonfortydollarsaweek；andifDepewCity——oneofnature’scentresforthisState——panouttheleastasIexpect，itmaybedouble。Butit’sfortydollarsanyway；andtothinkthattwoyearsagoyouwerealmostreducedtobeggary！”

“IWASreducedtoit。”saidI。

“Well，thebrutesgaveyounothing，andI’mgladofitnow！”

criedJim。“It’sthetriumphantreturnIgloryin！Thinkofthemaster，andthatcold-bloodedMynertoo！Yes，justlettheDepewCityboomgetonitslegs，andyoushallgo；andtwoyearslater，dayforday，I’llshakehandswithyouinParis，withMamieonmyarm，Godblessher！”

Wetalkedinthisveinfarintothenight。Iwasmyselfsoexultantinmynew-foundliberty，andPinkertonsoproudofmytriumph，sohappyinmyhappiness，insowarmaglowaboutthegallantlittlewomanofhischoice，andtheveryroomsofilledwithcastlesintheairandcottagesatFontainebleau，thatitwaslittlewonderifsleepfledoureyelids，andthreehadfollowedtwoupontheofficeclockbeforePinkertonunfoldedthemechanismofhispatentsofa。

Itisverymuchthecustomtoviewlifeasifitwereexactlyruledintwo，likesleepandwaking；theprovincesofplayandbusinessstandingseparate。ThebusinesssideofmycareerinSanFranciscohasbeennowdisposedof；Iapproachthechapterofdiversion；anditwillbefoundtheyhadaboutanequalshareinbuildingupthestoryoftheWrecker——agentlemanwhoseappearancemaybepresentlyexpected。

Withallmyoccupations，somesixafternoonsandtwoorthreeoddeveningsremainedatmydisposaleveryweek：acircumstancethemoreagreeableasIwasastrangerinacitysingularlypicturesque。FromwhatIhadoncecalledmyself，TheAmateurParisian，Igrew(ordeclined)intoawatersideprowler，alingereronwharves，afrequenterofshyneighbourhoods，ascraperofacquaintancewitheccentriccharacters。IvisitedChineseandMexicangambling-hells，Germansecretsocieties，sailors’boarding-houses，and“dives“

ofeverycomplexionofthedisreputableanddangerous。IhaveseengreasyMexicanhandspinnedtothetablewithaknifeforcheating，seamen(whenblood-moneyranhigh)knockeddownuponthepublicstreetandcarriedinsensibleonboardshort-

handedships，shotsexchanged，andthesmoke(andthecompany)dispersingfromthedoorsofthesaloon。Ihaveheardcold-mindedPolacksdebateuponthereadiestmethodofburningSanFranciscototheground，hot-headedworkingmenandwomenbawlandswearinthetribuneattheSandlot，andKearneyhimselfopenhissubscriptionforagallows，namethemanufacturerswhoweretograceitwiththeirdanglingbodies，andreadaloudtothedelightedmultitudeatelegramofadhesionfromamemberoftheStatelegislature：allwhichpreparationsofproletarianwarwere(inamoment)breatheduponandabolishedbythemerenameandfameofMr。

Coleman。ThatlionoftheVigilanteshadbuttorousehimselfandshakehisears，andthewholebrawlingmobwassilenced。

Icouldnotbutreflectwhatastrangemannerofmanthiswas，tobelivingunremarkedthereasaprivatemerchant，andtobesofearedbyawholecity；andifIwasdisappointed，inmycharacteroflooker-on，tohavethematterendingloriouslywithoutthefiringofashotorthehangingofasinglemillionnaire，philosophytriedtotellmethatthissightwastrulythemorepicturesque。InathousandtownsanddifferentepochsImighthavehadoccasiontobeholdthecowardiceandcarnageofstreetfighting；whereelse，butonlythereandthen，couldIhaveenjoyedaviewofColeman(theintermittentdespot)walkingmeditativelyuphillinaquietpartoftown，withaveryrollinggait，andslappinggentlyhisgreatthigh？

MinoraCanamus。ThishistoricfigurestalkssilentlythroughacorneroftheSanFranciscoofmymemory：therestisbric-a-

brac，thereminiscencesofavagrantsketcher。Mydelightwasmuchinslums。LittleItalywasahauntofmine；thereIwouldlookinatthewindowsofsmalleating-shops，transportedbodilyfromGenoaorNaples，withtheirmacaroni，andchiantiflasks，andportraitsofGaribaldi，andcolouredpoliticalcaricatures；or(enteringin)holdhighdebatewithsomeear-ringedfisherofthebayastothedesignsof“Mr。Owstria“

and“Mr。Rooshia。”Iwasoftentobeobserved(hadtherebeenanytoobserveme)inthatdis-peopled，hill-sidesolitudeofLittleMexico，withitscrazywoodenhouses，endlesscrazywoodenstairs，andperilousmountaingoat-pathsinthesand。

Chinatownbyathousandeccentricitiesdrewandheldme；I

couldneverhaveenoughofitsambiguous，interracialatmosphere，asofavitalisedmuseum；neverwonderenoughatitsoutlandish，necromantic-lookingvegetablessetforthtosellincommonplaceAmericanshop-windows，itstempledoorsopenandthescentofthejoss-stickstreamingforthontheAmericanair，itskitesofOrientalfashionhangingfouledinWesterntelegraph-wires，itsflightsofpaperprayerswhichthetrade-windhuntsanddissipatesalongWesterngutters。IwasafrequentwandereronNorthBeach，gazingatthestraits，andthehugeCape-Hornerscreepingouttosea，andimminentTamalpais。Thence，onmyhomewardway，Imightvisitthatstrangeandfilthyshed，earth-pavedandwalledwiththecagesofwildanimalsandbirds，whereataramshacklecounter，amidtheyellsofmonkeys，andapoignantatmosphereofmenagerie，forty-rodwhiskeywasadministeredbyaproprietorasdirtyashisbeasts。NordidIevenneglectNobHill，whichisitselfakindofslum，beingthehabitatofthemeremillionnaire。Theretheydwelluponthehill-top，highraisedaboveman’sclamour，andthetrade-windblowsbetweentheirpalacesaboutdesertedstreets。

ButSanFranciscoisnotherselfonly。SheisnotonlythemostinterestingcityintheUnion，andthehugestsmelting-potofracesandthepreciousmetals。Shekeeps，besides，thedoorsofthePacific，andistheportofentrytoanotherworldandanearlierepochinman’shistory。Nowhereelseshallyouobserve(intheancientphrase)somanytallshipsashereconvenefromroundtheHorn，fromChina，fromSydney，andtheIndies；butscarceremarkedamidthatcrowdofdeep-seagiants，anotherclassofcraft，theIslandschooner，circulates：lowinthewater，withloftysparsanddaintylines，riggedandfashionedlikeayacht，mannedwithbrown-skinned，soft-spoken，sweet-eyednativesailors，andequippedwiththeirgreatdouble-enderboatsthattellataleofboisteroussea-beaches。Thesestealoutandinagain，unnotedbytheworldoreventhenewspaperpress，saveforthelineintheclearingcolumn，“SchoonerSo-and-soforYapandSouthSeaIslands“——stealoutwithnondescriptcargoesoftinnedsalmon，gin，boltsofgaudycottonstuff，women’shats，andWaterburywatches，toreturn，afterayear，piledashighastotheeavesofthehousewithcopra，orwallowingdeepwiththeshellsofthetortoiseorthepearloyster。Tome，inmycharacteroftheAmateurParisian，thisislandtraffic，andeventheislandworld，werebeyondtheboundsofcuriosity，andhowmuchmoreofknowledge。IstoodthereontheextremeshoreoftheWestandofto-day。Seventeenhundredyearsago，andseventhousandmilestotheeast，alegionarystood，perhaps，uponthewallofAntoninus，andlookednorthwardtowardthemountainsofthePicts。Foralltheintervaloftimeandspace，I，whenIlookedfromthecliff-houseonthebroadPacific，wasthatman’sheirandanalogue：eachofusstandingonthevergeoftheRomanEmpire(or，aswenowcallit，Westerncivilization)，eachofusgazingonwardintozonesunromanised。

ButIwasdull。Ilookedratherbackward，keepingakindeyeonParis；anditrequiredaseriesofconvergingincidentstochangemyattitudeofnonchalanceforoneofinterest，andevenlonging，whichIlittledreamedthatIshouldlivetogratify。