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- Джозеф Конрад
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A
slight
pause
,
then
Captain
Whalley
stepped
forward
heavily
.
As
to
the
regularity
of
the
service
,
for
the
future
he
made
himself
responsible
for
it
;
and
his
name
was
Whalley
--
perhaps
to
a
sailor
(
he
was
speaking
to
a
sailor
,
was
he
not
?
)
not
altogether
unfamiliar
.
There
was
a
lighthouse
now
,
on
an
island
.
Maybe
Mr.
Van
Wyk
himself
...
"
Oh
yes
.
Oh
indeed
.
"
Mr.
Van
Wyk
caught
on
at
once
.
He
indicated
a
chair
.
How
very
interesting
.
For
his
own
part
he
had
seen
some
service
in
the
last
Acheen
War
,
but
had
never
been
so
far
East
.
Whalley
Island
?
Of
course
.
Now
that
was
very
interesting
.
What
changes
his
guest
must
have
seen
since
.
"
I
can
look
further
back
even
--
on
a
whole
half-century
.
"
Captain
Whalley
expanded
a
bit
.
The
flavor
of
a
good
cigar
(
it
was
a
weakness
)
had
gone
straight
to
his
heart
,
also
the
civility
of
that
young
man
.
There
was
something
in
that
accidental
contact
of
which
he
had
been
starved
in
his
years
of
struggle
.
The
front
wall
retreating
made
a
square
recess
furnished
like
a
room
.
A
lamp
with
a
milky
glass
shade
,
suspended
below
the
slope
of
the
high
roof
at
the
end
of
a
slender
brass
chain
,
threw
a
bright
round
of
light
upon
a
little
table
bearing
an
open
book
and
an
ivory
paper-knife
.
And
,
in
the
translucent
shadows
beyond
,
other
tables
could
be
seen
,
a
number
of
easy-chairs
of
various
shapes
,
with
a
great
profusion
of
skin
rugs
strewn
on
the
teakwood
planking
all
over
the
veranda
.
The
flowering
creepers
scented
the
air
.
Their
foliage
clipped
out
between
the
uprights
made
as
if
several
frames
of
thick
unstirring
leaves
reflecting
the
lamplight
in
a
green
glow
.
Through
the
opening
at
his
elbow
Captain
Whalley
could
see
the
gangway
lantern
of
the
Sofala
burning
dim
by
the
shore
,
the
shadowy
masses
of
the
town
beyond
the
open
lustrous
darkness
of
the
river
,
and
,
as
if
hung
along
the
straight
edge
of
the
projecting
eaves
,
a
narrow
black
strip
of
the
night
sky
full
of
stars
--
resplendent
.
The
famous
cigar
in
hand
he
had
a
moment
of
complacency
.
"
A
trifle
.
Somebody
must
lead
the
way
.
I
just
showed
that
the
thing
could
be
done
;
but
you
men
brought
up
to
the
use
of
steam
can
not
conceive
the
vast
importance
of
my
bit
of
venturesomeness
to
the
Eastern
trade
of
the
time
.
Why
,
that
new
route
reduced
the
average
time
of
a
southern
passage
by
eleven
days
for
more
than
half
the
year
.
Eleven
days
!
It
's
on
record
.
But
the
remarkable
thing
--
speaking
to
a
sailor
--
I
should
say
was
...
"
He
talked
well
,
without
egotism
,
professionally
.
The
powerful
voice
,
produced
without
effort
,
filled
the
bungalow
even
into
the
empty
rooms
with
a
deep
and
limpid
resonance
,
seemed
to
make
a
stillness
outside
;
and
Mr.
Van
Wyk
was
surprised
by
the
serene
quality
of
its
tone
,
like
the
perfection
of
manly
gentleness
.
Nursing
one
small
foot
,
in
a
silk
sock
and
a
patent
leather
shoe
,
on
his
knee
,
he
was
immensely
entertained
.
It
was
as
if
nobody
could
talk
like
this
now
,
and
the
overshadowed
eyes
,
the
flowing
white
beard
,
the
big
frame
,
the
serenity
,
the
whole
temper
of
the
man
,
were
an
amazing
survival
from
the
prehistoric
times
of
the
world
coming
up
to
him
out
of
the
sea
.
Captain
Whalley
had
been
also
the
pioneer
of
the
early
trade
in
the
Gulf
of
Pe-tchi-li
.
He
even
found
occasion
to
mention
that
he
had
buried
his
"
dear
wife
"
there
six-and-twenty
years
ago
.
Mr.
Van
Wyk
,
impassive
,
could
not
help
speculating
in
his
mind
swiftly
as
to
the
sort
of
woman
that
would
mate
with
such
a
man
.
Did
they
make
an
adventurous
and
well-matched
pair
?
No
.
Very
possible
she
had
been
small
,
frail
,
no
doubt
very
feminine
--
or
most
likely
commonplace
with
domestic
instincts
,
utterly
insignificant
.
But
Captain
Whalley
was
no
garrulous
bore
,
and
shaking
his
head
as
if
to
dissipate
the
momentary
gloom
that
had
settled
on
his
handsome
old
face
,
he
alluded
conversationally
to
Mr.
Van
Wyk
's
solitude
.
