第11章

“Youweresayingjustnowyoudidn’tunderstand，“hewentonslowly，withoutlookingup；“soyoumusttakeyourownbearingsfromwhatI’mtellingyou。WhenImetyouthatnightIhadjustarrivedfromMelbourne。IhadbeenluckyinsometradingspeculationsIhadoutthere，andIhadsomebillswithme，butnomoneyexceptwhatIhadtuckedintheskinofthatportmanteauandafewpapersconnectedwithmyfamilyathome。WhenamanlivestherovingkindoflifeIhave，helearnstokeepallthathecaresforunderhisownhat，andisn’tapttoblabtofriends。ButitgotoutinsomewayonthevoyagethatIhadmoney，andastherewasamixedlotof’Sydneyducks’and’ticketofleavemen’onboard，itseemstheyhatchedanicelittleplottowaylaymeonthewharfonlanding，robme，anddropmeintodeepwater。Tomakeitseemlesssuspicious，theyassociatedthemselveswithalotofcrimpswhowereonthelookoutforoursailors，whoweregoingashorethatnighttoo。I’dmysuspicionsthatacoupleofthosemenmightbewaitingformeattheendofthewharf。Ilefttheshipjustaminuteortwobeforethesailorsdid。ThenImetyou。 Thatmeeting，mylad，wasmyfirststeptowardsalvation。Forthetwomenletyoupasswithmyportmanteau，whichtheydidn’trecognize，asIknewtheywouldME，andsupposedyouwereastranger，andlaylow，waitingforme。I，whowentintothegin- millwiththeothersailors，wasfoolishenoughtodrink，andwasdruggedandcrimpedastheywere。Ihadn’tthoughtofthat。A poordevilofaticketofleaveman，aboutmysize，wasknockeddownforme，and，“headded，suppressingalaugh，“willbeburied，deeplylamented，inthechancelofDorntonChurch。Whiletherowwasgoingon，theskipper，fearingtoloseothermen，warpedoutintothestream，andsoknewnothingofwhathappenedtome。Whentheyfoundwhattheythoughtwasmybody，hewaswillingtoidentifyitinthehopethatthecrimemightbechargedtothecrimps，andsodidtheothersailorwitnesses。ButmybrotherBill，whohadjustarrivedherefromCallao，wherehehadbeenhuntingforme，hushedituptopreventascandal。Allthesame，Billmighthaveknownthebodywasn’tmine，eventhoughhehadn’tseenmeforyears。“ “Butitwasfrightfullydisfigured，sothatevenI，whosawyouonlyonce，couldnothaveswornitwasNOTyou，“saidRandolphquickly。 “Humph！“saidCaptainDorntonmusingly。“Billmayhaveactedonthesquare——thoughhewasinad——dhurry。“ “But，“saidRandolpheagerly，“youwillputanendtoallthisnow。 Youwillassertyourself。Youhavewitnessestoproveyouridentity。“ “Steady，lad，“saidthecaptain，wavinghispipegently。“OfcourseIhave。But“——hestopped，laiddownhispipe，andputhishandsdoggedlyinhispockets——“ISITWORTHIT？“SeeingthelookofamazementinRandolph’sface，helaughedhislowlaugh，andsettledhimselfbackinhischairagain。“No，“hesaidquietly，“ifitwasn’tformyson，andwhat’sduehimasmyheir，Isuppose—— IreckonI’djustchuckthewholed——dthing。“ “What！“saidRandolph。“Giveuptheproperty，thetitle，thefamilyhonor，thewrongdonetoyourreputation，thepunishment“—— Hehesitated，fearinghehadgonetoofar。 CaptainDorntonwithdrewhispipefromhismouthwithagestureofcaution，andholdingitup，said:“Steady，lad。We’llcometoTHAT byandby。Astothepropertyandtitle，IcutandrunfromTHEM tenyearsago。Tometheymeantonlytheoldthing——thelifeofacountrygentleman，thehunting，theshooting，thewholebeastlybusinessthattheland，overthere，hangslikeamillstoneroundyourneck。Theymeantallthistome，wholovedadventureandtheseafrommycradle。Icuttheproperty，forIhatedit，andIhateitstill。IfIwentbackIshouldheartheseacallingmedayandnight；Ishouldfeelthebreathofthesouthwesttradesineverywindthatblewoverthattightlittleislandyonder；Ishouldbealwaysscentingtheoldtrail，lad，thetrailthatleadsstraightoutoftheGatetoswoopdowntotheSouthSeas。Doyouthinkamanwhohasfelthisship’sbowsheaveandplungeunderhiminthelongPacificswell——justaheadofhimareefbreakingwhiteintothelagoon，andbeyondafenceoffeatherypalms——carestofollowhoundsovergrayhedgesunderagrayNovembersky？Andthesociety？Amanwho’sgotaspeakingacquaintanceineveryportfromAcapulcotoMelbourne，whoknowseverydenandeverylongshoremaninitfromaSouthAmericantiendatoaSamoanbeach- comber’shut，——whatdoeshewantwithsociety？“HepausedasRandolph’seyeswerefixedwonderinglyonthefirstsignofemotiononhisweather-beatenface，whichseemedforamomenttoglowwiththestrengthandfreshnessofthesea，andthensaid，withalaugh: “Youstare，lad。Well，foralltheDorntonsareratherproudoftheirfamily，likeasnottherewassomebeastlyoldDanishpirateamongthemlongago，andI’vegotatasteofhisbloodinme。ButI’mnotquiteasbadasthatyet。“ Helaughed，andcarelesslywenton:“Astothefamilyhonor，I don’tseethatitwillbehelpedbymyrippingupthewholethingandperhapsshowingthatBillwasalittletoopreviousinidentifyingme。Astomyreputation，thatwasgoneafterIlefthome，andifIhadn’tbeenthelegalheirtheywouldn’thavebotheredtheirheadsaboutme。Myfatherhadgivenmeuplongago，andthereisn’taman，woman，orchildthatwouldn’tnowwelcomeBillinmyplace。“ “Thereisonewhowouldn’t，“saidRandolphimpulsively。 “YoumeanCarolineAvondale？“saidCaptainDorntondryly。 Randolphcolored。“No；ImeanMissEversleigh，whowaswithyourbrother。“ CaptainDorntonreflected。“Tobesure！SibylEversleigh！I haven’tseenhersinceshewassohigh。Iusedtocallhermylittlesweetheart。SoSybbyrememberedCousinJackandcametofindhim？Butwhendidyoumeether？“heaskedsuddenly，asifthiswastheonlydetailofthepastwhichhadescapedhim，fixinghisfrankeyesuponRandolph。 TheyoungmanrecountedatsomelengththedinnerpartyatDingwall’s，hisconversationwithMissEversleigh，andhisinterviewwithSirWilliam，butspokelittleofMissAvondale。Tohissurprise，thecaptainlistenedsmilingly，andonlysaid:“ThatwaslikeBillytotakeariseoutofyoubypretendingyouweresuspected。That’shisway——alittleroughwhenyoudon’tknowhimandhe’sgotalittlegrogamidships。Allthesame，I’dhavegivensomethingtohaveheardhim’running’you，whenallthewhileyouhadthebiggestbulgeonhim，onlyneitherofyouknewit。“Helaughedagain，untilRandolph，amazedathislevityandindifference，losthispatience。 “Doyouknow，“hesaidbluntly，“thattheydon’tbelieveyouwerelegallymarried？“ ButCaptainDorntononlycontinuedtolaugh，until，seeinghiscompanion’shorrifiedface，hebecamedemure。“IsupposeBilldidn’t，forBillhadsenseenoughtoknowthatotherwisehewouldhavetotakeabackseattoBobby。“ “ButdidMissAvondaleknowyouwerelegallymarried，andthatyoursonwastheheir？“askedRandolphbluntly。 “Shehadnoreasontosuspectotherwise，althoughweweremarriedsecretly。Shewasanoldfriendofmywife，notparticularlyofmine。“ Randolphsatbackamazedandhorrified。ThosewereHERownwords。 Orwasthismandeceivinghimastheothershad？ Butthecaptain，eyinghimcuriously，butstillamusedly，added:“I eventhoughtofbringingherasoneofmywitnesses，until“—— “Untilwhat？“askedRandolphquickly，ashesawthecaptainhadhesitated。 “UntilIfoundshewasn’ttobetrusted；untilIfoundshewastoothickwithBill，“saidthecaptainbluntly。“Andnowshe’sgonetoEnglandwithhimandtheboy，Isupposeshe’llmakehimcometoterms。“ “Cometoterms？“echoedRandolph。“Idon’tunderstand。“Yethehadaninstinctivefearthathedid。 “Well，“saidthecaptainslowly，“supposeshemightpreferthechanceofbeingthewifeofagrown-upbaronettobeingthegovernessofonewhowasonlyaminor？She’sacutegirl，“headdeddryly。 “But，“saidRandolphindignantly，“youhaveotherwitnesses，I hope。“ “OfcourseIhave。I’vegottheSpanishrecordsnowfromtheCallaopriest，andthey’reputinasafeplaceshouldanythinghappentome——ifanythingcouldhappentoadeadman！“headdedgrimly。“TheseproofswereallIwaswaitingforbeforeImadeupmymindwhetherIshouldblowthewholething，orletitslide。“ Randolphlookedagainwithamazementatthisstrangemanwhoseemedsoindifferenttotheclaimsofwealth，position，andeventorevenge。Itseemedinconceivable，andyethecouldnothelpbeingimpressedwithhisperfectsincerity。Hewasrelieved，however，whenCaptainDorntonrosewithapparentreluctanceandputawayhispipe。 “Nowlookhere，mylad，I’mrightgladtohaveoverhauledyouagain，whateverhappenedorisgoingtohappen，andthere’smyhanduponit！Now，tocometobusiness。I’mgoingovertoEnglandonthisjob，andIwantyoutocomeandhelpme。“ Randolph’sheartleaped。Theappealrevivedallhisoldboyishenthusiasm，withhissecretloyaltytothemanbeforehim。Buthesuddenlyrememberedhispastillusions，andforaninstanthehesitated。 “Butthebank，“hestammered，scarceknowingwhattosay。 Thecaptainsmiled。“Iwillpayyoubetterthanthebank；andattheendoffourmonths，inwhateverwaythisjobturnsout，ifyoustillwishtoreturnhere，Iwillseethatyouaresecuredfromanyloss。Perhapsyoumaybeabletogetaleaveofabsence。Butyourrealobjectmustbekeptasecretfromeveryone。NotawordofmyexistenceormypurposemustbeblownbeforeIamready。YouandJackRedhillareallthatknowitnow。“ “Butyouhavealawyer？“saidthesurprisedRandolph。 “Notyet。I’mmyownlawyerinthismatteruntilIgetfairlyunderway。I’vestudiedthelawenoughtoknowthatassoonasI