第10章

类别:其他 作者:Ralph Connor字数:9788更新时间:19/01/07 15:02:13
CHAPTERIX SUBMARINES,BULLPUPS,ANDOTHERTHINGS Along,weirdblastfromthefoghorn,followedbytwoshort,sharptoots,recalledBarryfromhismorningdream。 \"Fog,\"hegrumbled,andturnedovertore—capturetheenchantmentoftheAthabascarapids,andhisdancingcanoe。 Overheadtheresoundedthetramplingoffeet。 \"Submarines,doc,\"heshoutedandleapedtothefloorbroadawake。 \"What’stherow?\"murmuredtheM。O。,whowasaheavysleeper。 Foranswer,Barryrippedtheclothesfromthedoctor’sbed。 \"Submarines,doc,\"heshoutedagain,andbucklingonhisSamBrown,andseizinghislifebelt,hestoodreadytogo。 \"What!yourbootsoff,doc?\" Intheordersofthedaybeforehadbeenanannouncementthatofficersandmenweretosleepfullydressed。 \"Oh,thedevil!\"exclaimedthedoctor,huntingthroughhisbedclothesindesperation。\"Ican’tsleepinmyboots。Where’smytunic?Goon,oldfellow,I’llfollowyou。\" Barryheldhistunicforhim。 \"Hereyouare!Wakeup,doc!Andhere’syourSamBrown。\" Barrydroppedtolacethedoctor’sboots,whilethelatterwasbucklingontherestofhisequipment。 \"Allright,\"criedthedoctor,rushingfromtheroomandleavinghislifebeltbehindhim。 Barrycaughtupthelifebeltandfollowed。 \"Yourlifebelt,doc,\"hesaid,astheypassedupthecompanionway。 \"Oh,I’mapeachofasoldier,\"saidthedoctor,strugglingintohislifebelt,andswearingdeeplythewhile。 \"Stopswearing,doc!It’sawasteofenergy。\" \"Oh,gotohell!\" \"No,IpreferHeaven,ifImustleavethisship,butforthepresent,IbelieveI’mneededhere,andsoareyou,doc。Lookthere!\" Thedoctorglancedoutuponthedeck。 \"ByJove!You’reright,oldman,weareneededandbadly。Isay,oldchap,\"hesaid,pausingforamomenttoturntoBarry,\"youareadearoldthing,aren’tyou?\" Thedeckwasamassofsoldiersstruggling,swearing,fightingtheirwaytotheirvariousstations。Officers,halfdressedandhalfawake,wererushinghitherandthither,seekingtheirunits,swearingatthemenandshoutingmeaninglessorders。Overallthestentorianvoiceofthesergeantmajorwasvainlytryingtomakeitselfunderstood。 Intheconfusionthecrywasraised:\"We’retorpedoed!We’regoingdown!\" Therewasagreatrushforthenearestboats。Menflungdisciplinetothewindsandbeganfightingforachanceoftheirlives。Itwasaterrificandhumiliatingscene。 Suddenly,overthetumult,washeardaloud,ringinglaugh。 \"Oh,Isay,Duff!Notthatway!Notthatway!\" Againcametheringinglaugh。 Immediatelyasilencefelluponthestrugglingcrowd,andforamomenttheystoodlookinginquiringlyateachother。Thatmomentofsilencewasseizedbythesergeantmajor。Likeatrumpethissonorousvoicerangoutsteadyandclear。 \"Fallin,men!Boatquarters!Silencethere!\" Hefollowedthiswithsharp,intelligiblecommandstohisN。C。O。’s。 Likemagic,orderfellupontheturbulent,strugglingcrowd。 \"Standsteady,youthere!\"roaredthesergeantmajor,whohavinggotcontrolofhismen,begantoindulgehimselfinafewtellinganddescriptiveadjectives。 Inlessthantwominutes,themenwerestandingsteadyasarockandthepanicwaspassed。 \"Whowasitthatlaughedupthereinthatstampede?\"inquiredtheO。C。,whentheofficersweregatheredabouthimintheorderlyroom。 \"IthinkitwastheSkyPilot,sir——thechaplain,sir,\"saidLieutenantStewartDuff。 \"Wasityouthatlaughed,CaptainDunbar?\"askedthecolonel,turninguponBarry。 \"PerhapsIdid,sir。I’msorryif——\" \"Sorry!\"exclaimedthecolonel。\"Dammit,sir,yousavedthesituationforusall。Whotoldyouitwasafalsealarm?\" \"Noone,sir。Ididn’tknowitwasafalsealarm。IwaslookingatLieutenantDuff——\"Hecheckedhimselfpromptly。\"Imean,sir—— well,itseemedagoodplacetolaugh,soIjustletitcome。\" Thecolonel’seyesrestedwithcuriousinquiryupontheserenefaceofthechaplain,withitsglowingeyesandcandidexpression。\"A goodplaceforalaugh?Itwasadamnedgoodplaceforalaugh,andgentlemen,IthankGodIhaveoneofficerwhofindsinthefaceofsuddendangeragoodplaceforalaugh。AndnowIhavesomethingtosaytoyou。\" TheO。C。’sremarksdidnotimprovetheofficers’opinionofthemselves,andtheyslunkoutoftheroom——nootherwordproperlydescribesthecowedandshamedappearanceofthatcompanyofmen—— theyslunkoutoftheroom。TheyhadfailedtoplaythepartofBritishofficersinthefaceofsuddenperil。 Inhisspeechtothemen,theC。O。madeonlyasinglereferencetotheincident,butthatreferencebitdeep。 \"Men,Iamthoroughlyashamedanddisappointed。Youacted,notlikesoldiers,butlikeaherdofsteers。Thedifferencebetweenaherdofsteersandabattalionofsoldiers,inthefaceofsuddendanger,isonlythis:——thesteersbreakblindlyforGodknowswhere,andendpiledupoveracutbank;soldiersstandsteadylisteningforthewordofcommand。\" IftheO。C。handledthemenwithalighthand,thesergeantmajordidnot。Histongueraspedthemtotheraw。NooneknowsasoldierasdoeshisN。C。O。,andnoN。C。O。isqualifiedtosetforththesoldier’scharacteristicswiththeintimateknowledgeandadequatefluencyofthesergeantmajor。Onebyonehepeeledfromtheirshiveringsoulsthevariouslayersoftheirmoralcuticle,untiltheystood,intheirownandineachother’seyes,objectsofcommiseration。 \"There’sjustonethingmoreIwadliketasaytoye。\"Thesergeantmajor’stendencytoDoricwasmorenoticeableinhismomentsofdeeperfeeling,\"butit’ssomethingforyouladstogiveheedta。 Whenyewerescrammlin’upyonder,likealoto’mavericksatabrandin’,andyowlin’likeabuncho’coyotes,therewasonemanintheregimentwhocouldlaugh。There’slotso’animalsthattheAlmightymadecanyowl,butthere’sonlyonecanlaugh,andthat’samon。ForGod’ssake,men,whenye’reinatightplace,tryalaugh。\" Forsomeweeksafterthiseventthechaplainwasknownthroughoutthebattalionas\"themanthatcanlaugh,\"andcertainitisthatfromthatdaythereexistedbetweentheM。O。andthechaplainanewbondoffriendship。 Astheshipadvanceddeeperintothesubmarinezone,thesoletopicofthoughtandofconversationcametobetheconvoy。Wherewasthatconvoyanyway?Whilethedaylightlasted,athousandpairsofeyessweptthehorizon,andtheinterveningspacesoftossing,blue—greywater,forthesightofasinisterperiscope,orforthesmudgeofafriendlycruiser,andwhennightfell,athousandpairsofearslistenedwithstrainedintentnessfortheimpactofthedeadlytorpedoorforthesignaloftheprotectingconvoy。 Whilestilladayandanightoutfromland,Barryawokeinthedimlightofamistymorning,andproceededtothedeckforhisconstitutional。TherehefellinwithCaptainNeilFraserandCaptainHopetonpacingupanddown。 \"Comealong,Pilot!\"saidCaptainNeil,heartily,betweenwhomandthechaplainduringthelastfewdaysacordialfriendshiphadsprungup。\"We’relookingforsubmarines。ThisistheplaceandthetimeforFritz,ifheisgoingtogetusatall。\" Arminarmtheymadethecircleofthedeck。Themist,lyinglikeabankuponthesea,shiftedthehorizontowithinathousandyardsoftheship。 \"IwishIknewjustwhatliesbehindthatbankthere,\"saidCaptainHopeton,pointingoverthebow。 Forsomemomentstheystood,peeringidlyintothemist。 \"ByJove,thereISsomethingthere,\"saidBarry,whohadahawk’seye。 \"You’vegot’emtoo,eh,\"laughedHopeton。\"I’vehad’emforthelastforty—eighthours。I’vebeen’seein’things’allnight。\" \"Butthereis,\"insistedBarry,pointingovertheportbow。 \"Whatisitlike?\"askedCaptainNeil,whileHopetonranforhisglass。 \"I’lltellyouwhatit’slike——exactlyliketheeyeofanoysterinitspulp。And,byJove,there’sanother!\"addedBarryexcitedly。 \"Ican’tseeanything,\"saidCaptainNeil。 \"ButIcan,\"insistedBarry。\"Lookthere,Hopeton!\" Hopetonfixedhisglassuponthemist,whereBarrypointed。 \"You’reright!Thereissomething,andtherearetwoofthem。\" \"GivethePilottheglass,Hopeton,\"saidNeil。\"He’sgotagoodeye。\" \"Therearetwoships,boys,asI’masinner,butwhattheyare,I don’tknow,\"criedBarryinavoicetensewithexcitement。\"Here,Neil,taketheglass。Youknowaboutships。\" Longandearnestly,CaptainNeilheldtheglassinthedirectionindicated。 \"Boys,byallthat’sholy,they’redestroyers,\"hesaidatlengthinalowvoice。 Evenastheygazed,thetwoblackdotsrapidlytookshape,growingoutofthemistintotwoseamonsters,allheadandshoulders,boringthroughtheseas,eachflinginghighahugecombofwhitespray,andwithanindescribablesuggestionofarrogant,resistlesspower,bearingdownupontheshipatfuriousspeed。 \"Destroyers!\"shoutedCaptainNeil,inavoicethatrangthroughtheship。\"Bygad,destroyers!\" Therewasnoquestionoffriendorfoe;onlyGreatBritain’snavyrodeoverthoseseasimmune。 Uponeveryhandthewordwascaughtupandpassedalong。Inamarvellouslyshortspaceoftime,therails,theboats,therigging,allthepointsofvantagewerethrongedwithmen,roaring,waving,cheering,likemad。 Withundiminishedspeed,eachenvelopedinitscloudofspray,thedestroyerscame,oneoneachside,rushedfoamingpast,sweptinacirclearoundtheshipandtooktheirstationsalongside,ridingquietlyathalfspeedlikebulldogstuggingataleash。 \"Greatheavens,whatasight!\"AtthecroakinHopeton’svoice,theothersturnedandlookedathim。 \"You’vegotittoo,eh!\"saidCaptainNeil,clearinghisownthroat。 \"I’vegotsomething,Godknows!\"answeredHopeton,wipinghiseyes。 \"I,too,\"saidBarry,swallowingtheproverbiallump。\"Thoselittle——little——\" \"Bulldogs,\"suggestedHopeton。 \"Bulldogpups,\"saidCaptainNeil。 \"That’sit,\"saidBarry。\"That’swhattheyare,littlebulldogpups,gotmebythethroatallright。\" \"Me,too,bygad!\"saidCaptainNeil。\"Ishouldhavehowledoutloudinanotherminute。\" \"Listentotheboys!\"criedBarry。 Fromendtoendoftheshiproseonecontinuousroar,\"GoodoldNavy!GoodoldJohnBull!\"whileHopeton,openlyabandoningthetraditionalreserveandself—controlsupposedtobeacharacteristicoftheEnglishpublicschoolboy,climbedupontherailand,hangingbyastanchionwithonehand,andwiththeotherfranticallywavinghiscapoverhishead,continuedtoshout: \"England!England!Englandforever!\" Thenabovethecheeringcrieswasheardthebattalionband,andfromathousandthroatsinsolemnchantthererosetheEmpire’snationalanthem,\"GodSavetheKing。\" ThatnighttheysteamedintooldPlymouthtown,andthefollowingmorningwereanchoredsafeatDevonportdock。Strictordersheldtheofficersandmenonboardshipuntilarrangementsfordebarkationshouldbecompleted,buttoBarryandthedoctor,theCommandingOfficergaveshoreleaveforanhour。 \"AndIwouldsuggest,\"hesaid,\"thatyougoandhaveatalkwiththatoldboywalkingupanddownthedockthere。YarntohimaboutCanada,he’swildtoknowaboutit。\" Theoldnavalofficerwasindeed\"wildtoknowaboutCanada,\"sothatthegreaterpartoftheirshoreleavewasspentinansweringhisquestions,andeagerthoughhewastoexploretheoldhistorictown,beforeBarryknewit,hewasinthefulltideofaglowingdescriptionofhisownProvinceofAlberta,extollingitsgreatranches,itssweepingvalleys,itsimmenseresources。 \"AndtothinkyouareallBritishoutthere,\"exclaimedtheoldsalt。 \"We’reallBritish,ofcourse,\"repliedBarry,\"butnotallfromBritain。\" \"Iknow,Iknow,\"saidtheofficer,\"butthatonlymakesitmorewonderful。\" \"Wonderful!Why,whyshoulditbewonderful?\" \"Yes,wonderful。Oh,youCanadians,\"criedtheoldsalt,impulsivelystretchingouthishandtoBarry。\"YouCanadians!\" Surprised,Barryglancedathisface。Thosehardblueeyeswerebrimmingwithtears;theleatherlikeskinwasworkingcuriouslyaboutthemouth。 \"Why,sir,Idon’tquiteunderstandwhatyoumean,\"saidBarry。 \"No,andyouneverwill。Thinkofit,rushingthreethousandmiles——\" \"Fivethousandforsomeofus,\"interruptedBarry。 \"Fancythat!Rushingfivethousandmilesinthisway,tohelpoldmotherEngland,andallofyourownfreewill。Wedidn’taskitofyou。Though,byheaven,we’regratefulforit。Ifinditdifficult,sir,tospeakquietlyofthis。\" NotuntilthatmomenthadBarrycaughttheBritishpointofview。 Tohim,astoallCanadians,ithadonlybeenaperfectlyreasonableandnaturalthingthatwhentheEmpirewasthreatened,theyshouldspringintothefight。Theysawnothingheroicinthat。Theyweredoingtheirsimpleduty。 \"Butthinkofthewonderofit,\"saidthenavalofficeragain,\"thatCanadashouldfeelinthatwayitsresponsetothecalloftheblood。\" Theoldman’slipswerestillquivering。 \"Thatistrue,sir,\"saidtheM。O。,joininginthetalk,\"butthereissomethingmore。Frankly,myopinionisthatthebiggestthing,sir,withsomeofusinCanada,isnotthatthemotherlandwasinneedofhelp,though,ofcourse,weallfeelthat,butthatthefreedomoftheworldisthreatened,andthatCanada,asoneofthefreenationsoftheworld,mustdoherpartinitsdefence。\" \"Afinespirit,\"saidtheoldgentleman。 \"Thisfight,\"continuedtheM。O。,\"isours,yousee,aswellasyours,andwehateabully。\" Theoldsaltsworeagreatoath,andsaid: \"Youarepupsoftheoldbreed,andyouruntruetotype。I’mgladtoknowyou,gentlemen,\"hecontinued,shakingthemwarmlybythehand。 AftertheyhadgoneafewstepshecalledBarrybacktohim。 \"That’smycard,sir。IshouldlikeyoutocometoseemeinLondonsometimewhenyouareonleave。\" Barryglancedatthecardandread,\"CommanderHowardVincent,R。N。R。\" \"Itwasverydecentoftheoldboy,\"hesaidtotheCommandingOfficerafterwards,whenrecountingtheinterview。\"Idon’tsupposeI’lleverusethecard,butIdothinkhereallymeantit。\" \"Meantit,\"exclaimedtheCommandingOfficer。\"Why,Dunbar,I’manoldcountryman,andIknow。Makenomistake。Thesepeople,andespeciallythesenavalpeople,donotthrowtheircardslooselyabout。Youwillundoubtedlyhearfromhim。\" \"It’snotlikely,\"repliedBarry,\"buttheoldgentlemanisgreatstuff,allright。\" Duringthelong,sunnyspringday,theirdinkylittletrainwhiskedthembrisklythroughthesweetandrestfulbeautyoftheEnglishsoutherncounties。Tothesemen,however,fromthewidesunbaked,windsweptplainsofwesternCanada,theEnglishlandscapesuggestedadaintypicture,doneinsoftgreysandgreens,withhereandthereavividsplashofcolour,wheretherichredsoilbrokethroughthegreen。Butitstinyfieldssetoffwithhedges,andlinesoftrees,itslittle,clean—sweptvillages,withtheirpicturesquechurchspires,itsparkswithdeerthatactuallystoodstilltolookatyou,itssplendidmanorhouses,and,atrareintervals,itsturretedcastles,gavethesemen,freshfromtheraw,unmeasuredandunmadewest,asenseofunreality。Tothemitseemedatoylandscapeforchildrentoplaywith,but,astheypassedthroughthebigtownsandcitieswiththeirtall,clusteringchimneys,theircrowdingpopulations,withunmistakableevidencesofgreatwealth,theirshipping,wheretheharboursbitintotheredcoastline,therebegantowakeninthemthethoughtthatthistinyEngland,sobeautifullyfinished,andsoneatlyadorned,wassomethingmightierthantheyhadeverknown。 Inthesetinyfields,inthesecleansweptvillages,inthesemanorhouses,inthesecastles,infactoryandinshipyard,werestruckdeeptherootsofanEnglandwhosegreatnesstheyhadneveryetguessed。 ThenextafternoonbroughtthemtothegreatmilitarycampatShorncliffe,inamistyrain,hungry,fortheirrationshadbeenexhaustedearlyintheday,wearyfromshipandtraintravel,andeagertogettheirfeetonceagainonmotherearth。 Atthelittlestationtheywerekeptwaitinginapouringrainforsomethingtohappen,theyknewnotwhat。TheR。T。O。,ayoungImperialofficer,blasewithhistenmonthsofwarinEngland,hadsomeoccultreasonfordelayingtheirdeparture。So,whilethenightgreweverymomentwetteranddarker,themensatontheirkit—bagsorfoundsuchshelterastheycouldinthetinystation,orintheleeofthe\"goodstrains\"blockingtherailroadtracks,growingmoreindignantandmoredisgustedwiththeBritishhighcommand,thewaringeneral,andregisteringwithincreasingintensityvowsofvengeanceagainsttheKaiser,who,inthelastanalysis,theyconsideredresponsiblefortheirmisery。 Atlengththe\"brasshat\"forwhomtheyhadbeenwaitingappeareduponthescene,notintheslightestdegreeapologetic,butverybusinesslike,andwithahighlyemphasisedmilitarymanner。AfteralittleconversationbetweenthebrasshatandtheirCommandingOfficer,thelattergavethecommandandofftheysetinthedarknessfortheirfirstroutemarchonEnglishsoil。 Throughmuddyroadsandlanes,overfields,slushyandsodden,uphillanddowndale,theyploddedsteadilyalong。AttherearofthecolunmmarchedBarrywiththeM。O。 Longbeforetheyreachedtheirdestination,theirconversationhadgivenout,theM。O。suckingsullenlyathispipe,thebowlupsidedown。Therearendofthecolumnwasveryfrayedandstraggling。 Whyitisthataperfectlyfitcompanywillinvariablyfrayoutifplacedattherearofamarchingcolumn,nomilitaryexperthasquitesucceededinsatisfactorilyexplaining。 Ashetrampedalonginthedarkbythesideoftheroad,theM。O。 stumbledoverasoldiersittinguponthesoggybank。 \"Whoareyou?\"heinquiredshortly。 \"CorporalThom,sir。\" \"What’sthematterwithyou?\" \"I’mallin,sir。I’vebeensickallday,sir。\" \"Whydidn’tyoureportsick,then?Can’tyougeton?\" \"Idon’tthinkso,sir。Notforawhile,atleast。\" \"Haveyouanypain,anynausea?\" \"No,sir,I’mjustallin。\" \"Doyouknowourroute?\" \"Yes,sir,I’vegottheturnsdown。\" \"Well,comealongthenwhenyoucan。I’llsendbackawaggonlater,butdon’twaitforthat。\" \"Yes,sir,\"saidCorporalThom。 \"Comeon,Dunbar!We’llsendawaggonbackforthesestragglers。 Therewillbeagoodmanyofthembeforelong。\" \"Yougoon,doc。I’llcomelater,\"saidBarry。\"I’llcatchuptoyou。\" ButtheM。O。,atthevarioushalts,waitedinvainforthechaplaintoappear。 Onarrivingatthecamp,afteralongstruggle,hesucceededinsendingbackanArmyServicewaggontobringinthestragglers,butjustasthewaggonwasabouttoleave,heheardcominguptheroad,apartysteppingoutbrisklytothemusicoftheirownwhistling。 Intherearofthepartymarchedthechaplain,ladendownwithoneman’srifleandanotherman’skit—bag。 \"They’reallhere,sir,\"saidCorporalThomtotheM。O。,withadistinctnoteoftriumphinhisvoice。\"Allhere,sir,\"herepeated,asheobservedthesergeantmajorstandingatthedoctor’sside。 \"Welldone,corporal,\"saidthesergeantmajor。\"Youbrought’emallin?Thatmeansthatnomanhasfallenoutonourfirstmarchinthiscountry。\" Thecorporalmadenoreply,butlateron,heexplainedthemattertothesergeantmajor。 \"It’sthatSkyPilotofours,sir,\"hesaid。\"Blowedifhe’dletusfallout。\" \"Keptyoumarching,eh?\" \"No,it’shischocolateandhisjaw,butmorehisjawthanhischocolate。He’sgotlotsofboth。Iwasallin。I’dbeensickalldayinthetrain。Couldn’teatabite。Well,thefirstthing,hegivesmeacakeofhischocolate。Thenhesetshimselfdowninthemudbesideme,andmewishin’allthetimehe’dgoonandleavemeforthewaggontopickup。Thenhegivesmeacigarette,andthenhebeginstotalk。\" \"Talk,whatabout?\" \"DamnedifIknow,butthefirstthingIknewIwastellin’himaboutthebronchobustin’,——that’smyjob,youknow——andhowIwonoutfromNiggerJakeintheCalgaryStampede,untilIwasthatstuckonmyselfthatIsaid:’Well,sir,we’dbettergetamoveon,’anduphegetswithmykit—bagonhisback。Byandby,wepicksupanotherlameduckandthenanother,feedin’’emwithchocolateandslingin’hisjaw,andwhenwewasatthelimit,hehaltsusoutsideoneofthemstoneshacksandknocksatthedoor。 ’Nosoldiershere,’snapsthered—headedangel,shuttin’thedoorrightinhisface。Thenheopensthedoorandstepsrightinwhereshecouldseehim,andstartstotalktoher,anduslisteningoutintherain。Say!Infifteenminuteswewasallstandin’uptoafeedofcoffeeandbuns,andthenhegetsHarryHobbswhistlin’andsingin’,anddernedifwecouldn’thavemarchedtoBerlin。Say! He’sagoodone,ain’tnoquitter,andhewon’tletnobodyelsebeaquitter。\" AndthusitcamethatwithCorporalThomandhisderelictsthechaplainmarchedintoanewplaceintheesteemofthemenofhisbattalion,andofitssergeantmajor。 Butofthis,ofcourse,Barryhadnoknowledge。Heknewthathehadmadesomelittleprogressintotheconfidenceofbothofficersandmeninhisbattalion。Hehadmade,too,somefirmfriendshipswhichhadrelieved,toacertainextent,thesenseofisolationandlonelinessthathadmadehisfirstmonthswiththebattalionsoappalling。Buttherestillremainedthesenseoffailureinasfarashisspecificdutyaschaplainwasconcerned。 TheexperiencesofthefirstweeksinEnglandonlyservedtodeepeninhimtheconvictionthathisinfluenceonthemenagainsttheevilswhichweretheirespecialsnarewasasthewindagainsttheincomingtide,beatinginfromtheNorthSea。Hecouldmakearipple,acertainamountoffussynoise,butthetideoftemptationrolledsteadilyonward,uncheckedinitsflow。 Theoldtemptationstoprofanity,drinkandlust,thathadhauntedthesoldiers’stepsathome,werefoundtobelyinginwaitforthemhereandinaggravatedform。True,inthemessandinhispresenceamongthementherewaslessprofanitythantherehadbeenatthefirst,butitfilledhimwithakindofragetofeelthatthischangewasduetonosenseoftheevilofthehabit,butsolelytoanunwillingnesstogiveoffencetoonewhommanyofthemwerecomingtoregardwithrespectandsomeevenwithaffection。 \"Ihatethat,\"hesaidtotheM。O。,towhomhewouldoccasionallyunburdenhissoul。\"You’dthinkIwasakindofpolicemanovertheirmorals。\" \"Oh,Iwouldn’tworryaboutthat,\"saidtheM。O。,towhomthehabitofprofanitywasaveryvenialsin。\"Yououghttobemightygladthatyourpresencedoesactasakindofmoralprophylactic。 Anditdoes,Iassureyou。IconfessthatsinceIhavecometobeassociatedwithyou,Iamconsciousofaveryreal,andattimes,distressinglimitationofmyvocabulary。Imaynotbemorevirtuous,butcertainlyIammorerespectable。\"