第3章

“Iwaslookingforworklastnightonthewharf。Heemployedmetocarryhisbagtothehotel，sayingIwastowaitforhim。Ihavewaitedsincenineo’clocklastnightinhisroom，andhehasnotcome。“ “Whatareyouinsuchad——dhurryfor？He’strustedyou；can’tyoutrusthim？You’vegothisbag？“returnedthepresident。 Randolphwassilentforamoment。“Iwanttoknowwhattodowithit，“hesaid。 “Hangontoit。What’sinit？“ “Someclothesandapursecontainingaboutseventydollars。“ “Thatoughttopayyouforcarryingitandstorageafterward，“saidthepresidentdecisively。“Whatmadeyoucomehere？“ “Ifoundthisaddressinthepurse，“saidRandolph，producingit。 “Isthatall？“ “Yes。“ “Andthat’stheonlyreasonyoucamehere，tofindanownerforthatbag？“ “Yes。“ Thepresidentdisengagedhimselffromthecounter。 “I’msorrytohavegivenyousomuchtrouble，“saidRandolphconcludingly。“Thankyouandgood-morning。“ “Good-morning。“ AsRandolphturnedawayherememberedtheadvertisementforthenightwatchman。Hehesitatedandturnedback。Hewasalittlesurprisedtofindthatthepresidenthadnotgoneaway，butwaslookingafterhim。 “Ibegyourpardon，butIseeyouwantanightwatchman。CouldI do？“saidRandolphresolutely。 “No。You’reastrangerhere，andwewantsomeonewhoknowsthecity，——Dewslake，“hereturnedtothereceivingteller，“who’stakenLarkin’splace？“ “Nooneyet，“returnedtheteller，“but，“headdedparenthetically，“JudgeBoompointer，youknow，wasspeakingtoyouabouthisson。“ “Yes，Iknowthat。“ToRandolph:“Goroundtomyprivateroomandwaitforme。Iwon’tbeaslongasyourfriendlastnight。“Thenheaddedtoanegroporter，“Showhimroundthere。“ Hemovedaway，stoppingatoneortwodeskstogiveanordertotheclerks，andoncebeforetherailingtospeaktoadepositor。 Randolphfollowedthenegrointothehall，througha“boardroom，“ andintoahandsomelyfurnishedoffice。Hehadnottowaitlong。 Inafewmomentsthepresidentappearedwithanoldermanwhosegraysidewhiskers，cutwithacertainprecision，andwhoseblackandwhitecheckedneckerchief，tiedinaformalbow，proclaimedtheEnglishrespectabilityoftheperiod。Atthepresident’sdictationhetookdownRandolph’sname，nativity，lengthofresidence，andoccupationinCalifornia。Thisconcluded，thepresident，glancingathiscompanion，saidbriefly，—— “Well？“ “Hehadbettercometo-morrowmorningatnine，“wastheanswer。 “AndaskforMr。Dingwall，thedeputymanager，“addedthepresident，withagesturethatwasatonceanintroductionandadismissaltoboth。 RandolphhadheardbeforeofthisstartlingbrevityofSanFranciscobusinessdetail，yethelingereduntilthedoorclosedonMr。Dingwall。Hisheartwashonestlyfull。 “Youhavebeenverykind，sir，“hestammered。 “Ihaven’trunhalftherisksofthatchaplastnight，“saidthepresidentgrimly，theleasttremorofasmileonhissetmouth。 “IfyouwouldonlyletmeknowwhatIcandotothankyou，“ persistedRandolph。 “Trustthemanthattrustsyou，andhangontoyourtrust，“returnedthepresidentcurtly，withapartingnod。 ElatedandfilledwithhighhopesasRandolphwas，hefeltsometrepidationinreturningtohishotel。Hehadtofacehislandlordwithsomeexplanationofthebank’sinquiry。Thelandlordmightconsiderhimanimpostor，andrequesthimtoleave，or，moredreadfulstill，insistuponkeepingthebag。Hethoughtofthepartingwordsofthepresident，andresolvedupon“hangingontohistrust，“whateverhappened。Buthewasagreeablysurprisedtofindthathewasreceivedattheofficewithacertainrespectnotusuallyshowntothecasualvisitor。“Yourcallerturnedupto- day“——Randolphstarted——“fromtheEurekabank，“continuedtheclerk。“Sorrywecouldnotgiveyourname，butyouknowyouonlyleftadepositinyourletterandsentamessengerforyourkeyyesterdayafternoon。Whenyoucameyouwentstraighttoyourroom。 Perhapsyouwouldliketoregisternow。“Randolphnolongerhesitated，reflectingthathecouldexplainitalllatertohisunknownbenefactor，andwrotehisnameboldly。Buthewasstillmoreastonishedwhentheclerkcontinued:“Ireckonitwasacaseofidentifyingyouforadraft——itoftenhappenshere——andwe’dhavebeengladtodoitforyou。Butthebankclerkseemedsatisfiedwithoutdescriptionofyou——you’reeasilydescribed，youknow(thisinaparenthesis，complimentarilyintended)——“soit’sallright。Wecangiveyouabetterroomlowerdown，ifyou’regoingtostaylonger。“Notknowingwhethertolaughortobeembarrassedatthisextraordinaryconclusionoftheblunder，Randolphansweredthathehadjustcomefromthebank，adding，withapardonabletouchofyouthfulpride，thathewasenteringthebank’semploymentthenextday。 Anotherequallyagreeablesurprisemethimonhisarrivaltherethenextmorning。Withoutanypreviousexaminationortrialhewasinstalledatonceasacorrespondingclerkintheplaceofonejustpromotedtoasub-agencyintheinterior。Hishandwriting，hisfacilityofcomposition，hadallbeentakenforgranted，orperhapspredicateduponsomethingthepresidenthaddiscernedinthatonequick，absorbingglance。Heventuredtoexpressthethoughttohisneighbor。 “Theboss，“saidthatgentleman，“cansizeamaninandout，andallthrough，inaboutthetimeitwouldtakeyouandmetotellthecolorofhishair。HEdon’tmakemistakes，youbet；butoldDingy—— thedep——yousettledwithyourclothes。“ “Myclothes！“echoedRandolph，withafaintflush。 “Yes，Englishcut——thatfetchedhim。“ Andsohisworkbegan。Hisliberalsalary，whichseemedtohimmunificentincomparisonwithhispreviousearningsinthemines，enabledhimtokeepthecontentsofthebuckskinpurseintact，andpresentlytoreturntheborrowedsuitofclothestotheportmanteau。Themysteriousownershouldfindeverythingaswhenhefirstplaceditinhishands。Withthequickmobilityofyouthandhisownrathermercurialnature，hehadbeguntoforget，orperhapstobealittleashamedofhiskeenemotionsandsufferingsthenightofhisarrival，untilthatnightwasrecalledtohiminasingularway。 OneSundayavaguesenseofdutytohisstillmissingbenefactorimpelledhimtospendpartofhisholidayuponthewharves。Hehadrambledawayamongtheshippingatthenewerpierslips，andhadgazedcuriouslyupondeckswhereafewseamenorofficersintheirSundayapparelsmoked，paced，oridled，tryingvainlytorecognizethefaceandfigurewhichhadoncebrieflyflashedoutundertheflickeringwharflamp。Wasthestrangerashipmasterwhohadsuddenlytransferredhimselftoanothervesselonanothervoyage？ Acrowdwhichhadgatheredaroundsomelandingstepsnearershorepresentlyattractedhisattention。Heloungedtowarditandlookedovertheshouldersofthebystandersdownuponthesteps。Aboatwaslyingthere，whichhadjusttowedinthebodyofamanfoundfloatingonthewater。Itsfeatureswerealreadyswollenanddefacedlikeahideousmask；itsbodydistendedbeyondallproportion，eventotheburstingofitssoddenclothing。A tremulousfascinationcameoverRandolphashegazed。Thebystandersmadetheirbriefcomments，afewauthoritativelyandwiththeairofnauticalexperts。 “Beeninthewateraboutaweek，Ireckon。“ “’Boutthattime；justruckedupandfloatedwiththetide。“ “Notmuchchanceo’spottin’himbyhislooks，eh？“ “Noranythingelse，youbet。Reg’larlycleanedout。Lookathispockets。“ “Wharf-ratsorshanghaimen？“ “Betwixtandbetween，Ireckon。Manwhofoundhimsayshe’sgotanuglycutjustbackofhishead。Yecan’tseeitforhisfloatinghair。“ “Wonderifhegotitbeforeorafterhegotinthewater。“ “That’sforthecoronertosay。“ “Muchheknowsorcares，“saidanothercynically。“It’lljustbeacaseof’Founddrowned’andtheregulartwenty-fivedollarstoHIM，andfivetothemanwhofoundthebody。That’senoughforhimtoknow。“ Thrilledwithavagueanxiety，Randolphedgedforwardforanearerviewofthewretchedderelictstillgentlyundulatingonthetowline。Thecloserhelookedthemorehewasimpressedbytheideaofsomefrightfulmaskthathidafacethatrefusedtoberecognized。Buthisattentionbecamefixedonamanwhowasgivingsomeadviceorordersandexaminingthebodyscrutinizingly。 Withoutknowingwhy，Randolphfeltasuddenaversiontohim，whichwasdeepenedwhentheman，liftinghishead，metRandolph’seyeswithapairofshiftingyetaggressiveones。Hebore，nevertheless，anodd，weirdlikenesstothemissingmanRandolphwasseeking，whichstrangelytroubledhim。Asthestranger’seyesfollowedhimandlingeredwithasingularcuriosityonRandolph’sdress，herememberedwithasuddenalarmthathewaswearingthesuitofthemissingman。Aquickimpulsetoconcealhimselfcameuponhim，butheasquicklyconqueredit，andreturnedtheman’scoldstarewithanangerhecouldnotaccountfor，butwhichmadethestrangeraverthiseyes。Thenthemangotintotheboatbesidetheboatman，andthetwoagaintowedawaythecorpse。Theheadroseandfellwiththeswell，asifnoddingafarewell。Butitwasstilldefiant，underitsshapelessmask，thatevenworeasmile，asiftriumphantinitshideoussecret。