第10章

Herthoughts，likeafascinatedmoth，wentflutteringtowardthatlight——thatman——thatgirl，whohadknownwar，danger，seendeathnear，hadobtainedevidentlythedevotionofthatman。Theoccurrencesoftheafternoonhadbeenstrangeinthemselves，butwhatstruckherartisticsensewasthevigouroftheirpresentation。Theyoutlinedthemselvesbeforehermemorywiththeclearsimplicityofsomeimmortallegend。Theyweremysterious，butshefeltcertaintheywereabsolutelytrue。Theyembodiedartlessandmasterfulfeelings；such，nodoubt，ashadswayedmankindinthesimplicityofitsyouth。Sheenvied，foramoment，thelotofthathumbleandobscuresister。Nothingstoodbetweenthatgirlandthetruthofhersensations。Shecouldbesincerelycourageous，andtenderandpassionateand——well——ferocious。Whynotferocious？Shecouldknowthetruthofterror——andofaffection，absolutely，withoutartificialtrammels，withoutthepainofrestraint。

ThinkingofwhatsuchlifecouldbeMrs。Traversfeltinvadedbythatinexplicableexaltationwhichtheconsciousnessoftheirphysicalcapacitiessooftengivestointellectualbeings。Sheglowedwithasuddenpersuasionthatshealsocouldbeequaltosuchanexistence；andherheartwasdilatedwithamomentarylongingtoknowthenakedtruthofthings；thenakedtruthoflifeandpassionburiedunderthegrowthofcenturies。

Sheglowedand，suddenly，shequiveredwiththeshockofcomingtoherselfasifshehadfallendownfromastar。Therewasasoundofripplingwaterandashapelessmassglidedoutofthedarkvoidsheconfronted。Avoicebelowherfeetsaid：

"Imadeoutyourshape——onthesky。"Acryofsurpriseexpiredonherlipsandshecouldonlypeerdownward。Lingard，aloneinthebrig’sdinghy，withanotherstrokesentthelightboatnearlyundertheyacht’scounter，laidhisscullsin，androsefromthethwart。Hisheadandshouldersloomedupalongsideandhehadtheappearanceofstandinguponthesea。InvoluntarilyMrs。Traversmadeamovementofretreat。

"Stop，"hesaid，anxiously，"don’tspeakloud。Noonemustknow。

Wheredoyourpeoplethinkthemselves，Iwonder？Inadockathome？Andyou——"

"Myhusbandisnotonboard，"sheinterrupted，hurriedly。

"Iknow。"

Shebentalittlemoreovertherail。

"Thenyouarehavinguswatched。Why？"

"Somebodymustwatch。Yourpeoplekeepsuchagoodlook—out——don’tthey？Yes。Eversincedarkoneofmyboatshasbeendodgingasternhere，inthedeepwater。IsworetomyselfI

wouldneverseeoneofyou，neverspeaktooneofyouhere，thatIwouldbedumb，blind，deaf。And——hereIam！"

Mrs。Travers’alarmandmistrustwerereplacedbyanimmensecuriosity，burning，yetquiet，too，asifbeforetheinevitableworkofdestiny。ShelookeddownwardatLingard。Hisheadwasbared，and，withonehandupontheship’sside，heseemedtobethinkingdeeply。

"Becauseyouhadsomethingmoretotellus，"Mrs。Traverssuggested，gently。

"Yes，"hesaidinalowtoneandwithoutmovingintheleast。

"Willyoucomeonboardandwait？"sheasked。

"Who？I！"Heliftedhisheadsoquicklyastostartleher。"I

havenothingtosaytohim；andI’llneverputmyfootonboardthiscraft。I’vebeentoldtogo。That’senough。"

"Heisaccustomedtobeaddresseddeferentially，"shesaidafterapause，"andyou——"

"Whoishe？"askedLingard，simply。

Thesethreewordsseemedtohertoscatterherpastintheair——likesmoke。Theyrobbedallthemultitudeofmankindofeveryvestigeofimportance。Shewasamazedtofindthatonthisnight，inthisplace，therecouldbenoadequateanswertothesearchingnaivenessofthatquestion。

"Ididn’taskformuch，"Lingardbeganagain。"DidI？Onlythatyouallshouldcomeonboardmybrigforfivedays。That’sall……DoIlooklikealiar？TherearethingsIcouldnottellhim。

Icouldn’texplain——Icouldn’t——nottohim——tonoman——tonomanintheworld——"

Hisvoicedropped。

"Nottomyself，"heendedasifinadream。

"Wehaveremainedunmolestedsolonghere，"beganMrs。Traversalittleunsteadily，"thatitmakesitverydifficulttobelieveindanger，now。Wesawnooneallthesedaysexceptthosetwopeoplewhocameforyou。Ifyoumaynotexplain——"

"Ofcourse，youcan’tbeexpectedtoseethroughawall，"brokeinLingard。"Thiscoast’slikeawall，butIknowwhat’sontheotherside……Ayachthere，ofallthingsthatfloat！WhenI

seteyesonherIcouldfancyshehadn’tbeenmorethananhourfromhome。Nothingbutthelookofhersparsmademethinkofoldtimes。Andthenthefacesofthechapsonboard。Iseemedtoknowthemall。ItwaslikehomecomingtomewhenIwasn’tthinkingofit。AndIhatedthesightofyouall。"

"Ifweareexposedtoanyperil，"shesaidafterapauseduringwhichshetriedtopenetratethesecretofpassionhiddenbehindthatman’swords，"itneednotaffectyou。OurotherboatisgonetotheStraitsandeffectivehelpissuretocomeverysoon。"

"Affectme！Isthatpreciouswatchmanofyourscomingaft？I

don’twantanybodytoknowIcamehereagainbegging，evenofyou。Ishecomingaft？……Listen！I’vestoppedyourotherboat。"

Hisheadandshouldersdisappearedasthoughhehaddivedintoadenserlayerofobscurityfloatingonthewater。Thewatchman，whohadtheintentiontostretchhimselfinoneofthedeckchairs，catchingsightoftheowner’swife，walkedstraighttothelampthathungundertheridgepoleoftheawning，andafterfumblingwithitforatimewentawayforwardwithanindolentgait。

"Youdared！"Mrs。Traverswhispereddowninanintensetone；anddirectly，Lingard’sheademergedagainbelowherwithanupturnedface。

"Itwasdare——orgiveup。ThehelpfromtheStraitswouldhavebeentoolateanyhowifIhadn’tthepowertokeepyousafe；andifIhadthepowerIcouldseeyouthroughit——alone。Iexpectedtofindareasonablemantotalkto。Ioughttohaveknownbetter。Youcomefromtoofartounderstandthesethings。Well，I

dared；I’vesentafteryourotherboatafellowwho，withmeathisback，wouldtrytostopthegovernoroftheStraitshimself。

Hewilldoit。Perhapsit’sdonealready。Youhavenothingtohopefor。ButIamhere。YousaidyoubelievedImeantwell——"

"Yes，"shemurmured。

"That’swhyIthoughtIwouldtellyoueverything。Ihadtobeginwiththisbusinessabouttheboat。Andwhatdoyouthinkofmenow？I’vecutyouofffromtherestoftheearth。Youpeoplewoulddisappearlikeastoneinthewater。Youleftoneforeignportforanother。Who’stheretotroubleaboutwhatbecameofyou？Whowouldknow？Whocouldguess？Itwouldbemonthsbeforetheybegantostir。"

"Iunderstand，"shesaid，steadily，"wearehelpless。"

"Andalone，"headded。

Afterapauseshesaidinadeliberate，restrainedvoice：

"Whatdoesthismean？Plunder，captivity？"

"ItwouldhavemeantdeathifIhadn’tbeenhere，"heanswered。

"Butyouhavethepowerto——"

""Why，doyouthink，youarealiveyet？"hecried。"Jorgensonhasbeenarguingwiththemonshore，"hewenton，morecalmly，withaswingofhisarmtowardwherethenightseemeddarkest。"Doyouthinkhewouldhavekeptthembackiftheyhadn’texpectedmeeveryday？Hiswordswouldhavebeennothingwithoutmyfist。"

Sheheardadullblowstruckonthesideoftheyachtandconcealedinthesamedarknessthatwrappedtheunconcernoftheearthandsea，thefuryandthepainofhearts；shesmiledabovehishead，fascinatedbythesimplicityofimagesandexpressions。

Lingardmadeabrusquemovement，thelivelylittleboatbeingunsteadyunderhisfeet，andshespokeslowly，absently，asifherthoughthadbeenlostinthevaguenessofhersensations。

"Andthis——this——Jorgenson，yousaid？Whoishe？"

"Aman，"heanswered，"amanlikemyself。"

"Likeyourself？"

"Justlikemyself，"hesaidwithstrangereluctance，asifadmittingapainfultruth。"Moresense，perhaps，butlessluck。

Though，sinceyouryachthasturneduphere，Ibegintothinkthatmyluckisnothingmuchtoboastofeither。"

"Isourpresenceheresofatal？"

"Itmaybedeathtosome。Itmaybeworsethandeathtome。Anditrestswithyouinaway。Thinkofthat！Icanneverfindsuchanotherchanceagain。Butthat’snothing！AmanwhohassavedmylifeonceandthatIpassedmywordtowouldthinkIhadthrownhimover。Butthat’snothing！Listen！AstrueasIstandhereinmyboattalkingtoyou，Ibelievethegirlwoulddieofgrief。"

"Youloveher，"shesaid，softly。

"Likemyowndaughter，"hecried，low。

Mrs。Traverssaid，"Oh！"faintly，andforamomenttherewasasilence，thenhebeganagain：

"Lookhere。WhenIwasaboyinatrawler，andlookedatyouyachtpeople，intheChannelports，youwereasstrangetomeastheMalaysherearestrangetoyou。Ilefthomesixteenyearsagoandfoughtmywayallroundtheearth。IhadthetimetoforgetwhereIbegan。Whatareyoutomeagainstthesetwo？IfIwastodiehereonthespotwouldyoucare？Noonewouldcareathome。

Nooneinthewholeworld——butthesetwo。"

"WhatcanIdo？"sheasked，andwaited，leaningover。

Heseemedtoreflect，thenliftinghishead，spokegently：

"Doyouunderstandthedangeryouarein？Areyouafraid？"

"Iunderstandtheexpressionyouused，ofcourse。Understandthedanger？"shewenton。"No——decidedlyno。And——honestly——Iamnotafraid。"

"Aren’tyou？"hesaidinadisappointedvoice。"Perhapsyoudon’tbelieveme？Ibelievedyou，though，whenyousaidyouweresureI

meantwell。Itrustedyouenoughtocomehereaskingforyourhelp——tellingyouwhatnooneknows。"

"Youmistakeme，"shesaidwithimpulsiveearnestness。"Thisissoextraordinarilyunusual——sudden——outsidemyexperience。"

"Aye！"hemurmured，"whatwouldyouknowofdangerandtrouble？

You！Butperhapsbythinkingitover——"

"Youwantmetothinkmyselfintoafright！"Mrs。Traverslaughedlightly，andinthegloomofhisthoughtthisflashofjoyoussoundwasincongruousandalmostterrible。Nextmomentthenightappearedbrilliantasday，warmassunshine；butwhensheceasedthereturningdarknessgavehimpainasifithadstruckheavilyagainsthisbreast。"Idon’tthinkIcoulddothat，"shefinishedinaserioustone。

"Couldn’tyou？"Hehesitated，perplexed。"Thingsarebadenoughtomakeitnoshame。Itellyou，"hesaid，rapidly，"andIamnotatimidman，Imaynotbeabletodomuchifyoupeopledon’thelpme。"

"YouwantmetopretendIamalarmed？"sheasked，quickly。

"Aye，topretend——aswellyoumay。It’salottoaskofyou——whoperhapsneverhadtomake—believeathinginyourlife——isn’tit？"

"Itis，"shesaidafteratime。

TheunexpectedbitternessofhertonestruckLingardwithdismay。

"Don’tbeoffended，"heentreated。"I’vegottoplanawayoutofthismess。It’snoplayeither。Couldyoupretend？"

"Perhaps，ifItriedveryhard。Buttowhatend？"

"Youmustallshiftaboardthebrig，"hebegan，speakingquickly，"andthenwemaygetoverthistroublewithoutcomingtoblows。

Now，ifyouweretosaythatyouwishit；thatyoufeelunsafeintheyacht——don’tyousee？"

"Isee，"shepronounced，thoughtfully。

"Thebrigissmallbutthecuddyisfitforalady，"wentonLingardwithanimation。

"Hasitnotalreadyshelteredaprincess？"shecommented，coolly。

"AndIshallnotintrude。"

"Thisisaninducement。"

"Nobodywilldaretointrude。Youneedn’tevenseeme。"

"Thisisalmostdecisive，only——"

"Iknowmyplace。"

"Only，Imightnothavetheinfluence，"shefinished。

"ThatIcannotbelieve，"hesaid，roughly。"Thelongandtheshortofitisyoudon’ttrustmebecauseyouthinkthatonlypeopleofyourownconditionspeakthetruthalways。"

"Evidently，"shemurmured。

"Yousaytoyourself——here’safellowdeepinwithpirates，thieves，niggers——"

"Tobesure——"

"AmanIneversawthelikebefore，"wentonLingard，headlong，"a——ruffian。"

Hecheckedhimself，fullofconfusion。Afteratimeheheardhersaying，calmly：

"Youarelikeothermeninthis，thatyougetangrywhenyoucannothaveyourwayatonce。"

"Iangry！"heexclaimedindeadenedvoice。"Youdonotunderstand。Iamthinkingofyoualso——itishardonme——"

"Imistrustnotyou，butmyownpower。YouhaveproducedanunfortunateimpressiononMr。Travers。"

"Unfortunateimpression！HetreatedmeasifIhadbeenalong—shoreloafer。Nevermindthat。Heisyourhusband。Fearinthoseyoucareforishardtobearforanyman。Andso，he——"

"WhatMachiavellism！"

"Eh，whatdidyousay？"

"Ionlywonderedwhereyouhadobservedthat。Onthesea？"

"Observedwhat？"hesaid，absently。Thenpursuinghisidea——"Onewordfromyououghttobeenough。"

"Youthinkso？"

"Iamsureofit。Why，evenI，myself——"

"Ofcourse，"sheinterrupted。"Butdon’tyouthinkthatafterpartingwithyouonsuch——such——inimicalterms，therewouldbeadifficultyinresumingrelations？"

"Amanlikemewoulddoanythingformoney——don’tyousee？"

Afterapausesheasked：

"Andwouldyoucareforthatargumenttobeused？"

"Aslongasyouknowbetter！"

Hisvoicevibrated——shedrewbackdisturbed，asifunexpectedlyhehadtouchedher。

"Whatcantherebeatstake？"shebegan，wonderingly。

"Akingdom，"saidLingard。

Mrs。Traversleanedfarovertherail，staring，andtheirfaces，oneabovetheother，cameveryclosetogether。

"Notforyourself？"shewhispered。

Hefeltthetouchofherbreathonhisforeheadandremainedstillforamoment，perfectlystillasifhedidnotintendtomoveorspeakanymore。

"Thosethings，"hebegan，suddenly，"comeinyourway，whenyoudon’tthink，andtheygetallroundyoubeforeyouknowwhatyoumeantodo。WhenIwentintothatbayinNewGuineaIneverguessedwherethatcoursewouldtakemeto。Icouldtellyouastory。Youwouldunderstand！You！You！"

Hestammered，hesitated，andsuddenlyspoke，liberatingthevisionsoftwoyearsintothenightwhereMrs。Traverscouldfollowthemasifoutlinedinwordsoffire。

VII

Histalewasasstartlingasthediscoveryofanewworld。Shewasbeingtakenalongtheboundaryofanexcitingexistence，andshelookedintoitthroughtheguilelessenthusiasmofthenarrator。Theheroicqualityofthefeelingsconcealedwhatwasdisproportionateandabsurdinthatgratitude，inthatfriendship，inthatinexplicabledevotion。Theheadlongfiercenessofpurposeinvestedhisobscuredesignofconquestwiththeproportionsofagreatenterprise。Itwasclearthatnovisionofasubjugatedworldcouldhavebeenmoreinspiringtothemostfamousadventurerofhistory。

Fromtimetotimeheinterruptedhimselftoask，confidently，asifhehadbeenspeakingtoanoldfriend，"Whatwouldyouhavedone？"andhurriedonwithoutpausingforapproval。

Itstruckherthattherewasagreatpassioninallthis，thebeautyofanimplantedfacultyofaffectionthathadfounditself，itsimmediateneedofanobjectandthewayofexpansion；

atendernessexpressedviolently；atendernessthatcouldonlybesatisfiedbybackinghumanbeingsagainsttheirowndestiny。

Perhapsherhatredofconvention，trammellingthefranknessofherownimpulses，hadrenderedhermorealerttoperceivewhatisintrinsicallygreatandprofoundwithintheformsofhumanfolly，sosimpleandsoinfinitelyvariedaccordingtotheregionoftheearthandtothemomentoftime。

Whatofitthatthenarratorwasonlyarovingseaman；thekingdomofthejungle，themenoftheforest，thelivesobscure！

Thatsimplesoulwaspossessedbythegreatnessoftheidea；

therewasnothingsordidinitsflamingimpulses。Whensheonceunderstoodthat，thestoryappealedtotheaudacityofherthoughts，andshebecamesocharmedwithwhatsheheardthatsheforgotwhereshewas。Sheforgotthatshewaspersonallyclosetothattalewhichshesawdetached，farawayfromher，truthorfiction，presentedinpicturesquespeech，realonlybytheresponseofheremotion。

Lingardpaused。Inthecessationoftheimpassionedmurmurshebegantoreflect。Andatfirstitwasonlyanoppressivenotionoftherebeingsomesignificancethatreallymatteredinthisman’sstory。Thatmatteredtoher。Forthefirsttimetheshadowofdangeranddeathcrossedhermind。Wasthatthesignificance？

Suddenly，inaflashofacutediscernment，shesawherselfinvolvedhelplesslyinthatstory，asoneisinvolvedinanaturalcataclysm。

Hewasspeakingagain。Hehadnotbeensilentmorethanaminute。

ItseemedtoMrs。Traversthatyearshadelapsed，sodifferentnowwastheeffectofhiswords。Hermindwasagitatedasifhiscomingtospeakandconfideinherhadbeenatremendousoccurrence。Itwasafactofherownexistence；itwaspartofthestoryalso。Thiswasthedisturbingthought。Sheheardhimpronounceseveralnames：Belarab，Daman，Tengga，Ningrat。Thesebelongednowtoherlifeandshewasappalledtofindshewasunabletoconnectthesenameswithanyhumanappearance。Theystoodoutalone，asifwrittenonthenight；theytookonasymbolicshape；theyimposedthemselvesuponhersenses。Shewhisperedasifpondering："Belarab，Daman，Ningrat，"andthesebarbaroussoundsseemedtopossessanexceptionalenergy，afatalaspect，thesavourofmadness。

"Notoneofthembuthasaheavyscoretosettlewiththewhites。

What’sthattome！Ihadsomehowtogetmenwhowouldfight。I

riskedmylifetogetthatlot。ImadethempromiseswhichI

shallkeep——or——！CanyouseenowwhyIdaredtostopyourboat？

IaminsodeepthatIcarefornoSirJohnintheworld。WhenI

lookattheworkaheadIcarefornothing。Igaveyouonechance——onegoodchance。ThatIhadtodo。No！IsupposeIdidn’tlookenoughofagentleman。Yes！Yes！That’sit。YetIknowwhatagentlemanis。Ilivedwiththemforyears。Ichummedwiththem—

—yes——ongold—fieldsandinotherplaceswhereamanhasgottoshowthestuffthat’sinhim。Someofthemwritefromhometomehere——suchasyouseeme，becauseI——nevermind！AndIknowwhatagentlemanwoulddo。Come！Wouldn’thetreatastrangerfairly？

Wouldn’therememberthatnomanisaliartillyouprovehimso？

Wouldn’thekeephiswordwherevergiven？Well，Iamgoingtodothat。NotahairofyourheadshallbetouchedaslongasI

live！"

Shehadregainedmuchofhercomposurebutatthesewordsshefeltthatstaggeringsenseofutterinsecuritywhichisgivenonebythefirsttremorofanearthquake。Itwasfollowedbyanexpectantstillnessofsensations。Sheremainedsilent。Hethoughtshedidnotbelievehim。

"Come！Whatonearthdoyouthinkbroughtmehere——to——to——talklikethistoyou？TherewasHassim——RajahTulla，Ishouldsay——whowasaskingmethisafternoon：’Whatwillyoudonowwiththese，yourpeople？’IbelievehethinksyetIfetchedyouhereforsomereason。Youcan’ttellwhatcrookednotiontheywillgetintotheirthickheads。It’senoughtomakeoneswear。"Heswore。

"Mypeople！Areyou？Howmuch？Say——howmuch？You’renomoreminethanIamyours。Wouldanyofyoufinefolksathomefaceblackruintosaveafishingsmack’screwfromgettingdrowned？"

Notwithstandingthatsenseofinsecuritywhichlingeredfaintlyinhermindshehadnoimageofdeathbeforeher。Shefeltintenselyalive。Shefeltaliveinaflushofstrength，withanimpressionofnoveltyasthoughlifehadbeenthegiftofthisverymoment。Thedangerhiddeninthenightgavenosigntoawakenherterror，buttheworkingsofahumansoul，simpleandviolent，werelaidbarebeforeherandhadthedisturbingcharmofanunheard—ofexperience。Shewaslisteningtoamanwhoconcealednothing。Shesaid，interrogatively：

"Andyetyouhavecome？"

"Yes，"heanswered，"toyou——andforyouonly。"

Thefloodtiderunningstrongoverthebanksmadeaplacidtricklingsoundabouttheyacht’srudder。

"Iwouldnotbesavedalone。"

"Thenyoumustbringthemoveryourself，"hesaidinasombretone。"There’sthebrig。Youhaveme——mymen——myguns。Youknowwhattodo。

"Iwilltry，"shesaid。

"Verywell。Iamsorryforthepoordevilsforwardthereifyoufail。Butofcourseyouwon’t。Watchthatlightonthebrig。I

hadithoistedonpurpose。Thetroublemaybenearerthanwethink。Twoofmyboatsaregonescoutingandifthenewstheybringmeisbadthelightwillbelowered。Thinkwhatthatmeans。

AndI’vetoldyouwhatIhavetoldnobody。Thinkofmyfeelingsalso。ItoldyoubecauseI——becauseIhadto。"

Hegaveashoveagainsttheyacht’ssideandglidedawayfromunderhereyes。Aripplingsounddiedout。

Shewalkedawayfromtherail。Thelampandtheskylightsshonefaintlyalongthedarkstretchofthedecks。Thiseveningwaslikethelast——likealltheeveningsbefore。

"IsallthisIhaveheardpossible？"sheaskedherself。"No——butitistrue。"

Shesatdowninadeckchairtothinkandfoundshecouldonlyremember。Shejumpedup。Shewassuresomebodywashailingtheyachtfaintly。Wasthatmanhailing？Shelistened，andhearingnothingwasannoyedwithherselfforbeinghauntedbyavoice。

"Hesaidhecouldtrustme。Now，whatisthisdanger？Whatisdanger？"shemeditated。

Footstepswerecomingfromforward。Thefigureofthewatchmanflittedvaguelyoverthegangway。Hewaswhistlingsoftlyandvanished。Hollowsoundsintheboatweresucceededbyasplashofoars。Thenightswallowedtheseslightnoises。Mrs。Traverssatdownagainandfoundherselfmuchcalmer。

Shehadthefacultyofbeingabletothinkherownthoughts——andthecourage。Shecouldtakenoactionofanykindtillherhusband’sreturn。Lingard’swarningswerenotwhathadimpressedhermost。Thismanhadpresentedhisinnermostselfunclothedbyanysubterfuge。Therewereinplainsighthisdesires，hisperplexities，affections，doubts，hisviolence，hisfolly；andtheexistencetheymadeupwaslawlessbutnotvile。Shehadtoomuchelevationofmindtolookuponhimfromanyotherbutastrictlyhumanstandpoint。Ifhetrustedher（howstrange；whyshouldhe？Washewrong？）sheacceptedthetrustwithscrupulousfairness。Andwhenitdawneduponherthatofallthemenintheworldthisunquestionablywastheonesheknewbest，shehadamomentofwonderfollowedbyanimpressionofprofoundsadness。

Itseemedanunfortunatematterthatconcernedheralone。

Herthoughtwassuspendedwhileshelistenedattentivelyforthereturnoftheyacht’sboat。Shewasdismayedatthetaskbeforeher。Notasoundbrokethestillnessandshefeltasifshewerelostinemptyspace。Thensuddenlysomeoneamidshipsyawnedimmenselyandsaid："Oh，dear！Oh，dear！"Avoiceasked："Ain’ttheybackyet？"Anegativegruntanswered。

Mrs。TraversfoundthatLingardwastouching，becausehecouldbeunderstood。Howsimplewaslife，shereflected。Shewasfrankwithherself。Sheconsideredhimapartfromsocialorganization。

Shediscoveredhehadnoplaceinit。Howdelightful！Herewasahumanbeingandthenakedtruthofthingswasnotsoveryfarfromhernotwithstandingthegrowthofcenturies。Thenitoccurredtoherthatthismanbyhisactionstrippedheratonceofherposition，ofherwealth，ofherrank，ofherpast。"Iamhelpless。Whatremains？"sheaskedherself。Nothing！Anybodytheremighthavesuggested："Yourpresence。"Shewastooartificialyettothinkofherbeauty；andyetthepowerofpersonalityispartofthenakedtruthofthings。

Shelookedoverhershoulder，andsawthelightatthebrig’sforeyard—armburningwithastrong，calmflameinthedustofstarlightsuspendedabovethecoast。Sheheardtheheavybumpasofaboatrunheadlongagainsttheladder。Theywereback！Sheroseinsuddenandextremeagitation。Whatshouldshesay？Howmuch？Howtobegin？Whysayanything？Itwouldbeabsurd，liketalkingseriouslyaboutadream。Shewouldnotdare！Inamomentshewasdrivenintoastateofmindborderingondistraction。Sheheardsomebodyrunupthegangwaysteps。Withtheideaofgainingtimeshewalkedrapidlyafttothetaffrail。Thelightofthebrigfacedherwithoutaflicker，enormousamongstthesunsscatteredintheimmensityofthenight。