Серце темряви
Chapter 1
‘Everybodyhadbehavedsplendidly!splendidly!’—‘youmust,’hesaidinagitation,‘goandseethegeneralmanageratonce.Heiswaiting!’
"Ididnotseetherealsignificanceofthatwreckatonce.IfancyIseeitnow,butIamnotsure—notatall.Certainlytheaffairwastoostupid—whenIthinkofit—tobealtogethernatural.Still...Butatthemomentitpresenteditselfsimplyasaconfoundednuisance.Thesteamerwassunk.Theyhadstartedtwodaysbeforeinasuddenhurryuptheriverwiththemanageronboard,inchargeofsomevolunteerskipper,andbeforetheyhadbeenoutthreehourstheytorethebottomoutofheronstones,andshesanknearthesouthbank.IaskedmyselfwhatIwastodothere,nowmyboatwaslost.Asamatteroffact,Ihadplentytodoinfishingmycommandoutoftheriver.Ihadtosetaboutittheverynextday.That,andtherepairswhenIbroughtthepiecestothestation,tooksomemonths.
"Myfirstinterviewwiththemanagerwascurious.Hedidnotaskmetositdownaftermytwenty-milewalkthatmorning.Hewascommonplaceincomplexion,infeatures,inmanners,andinvoice.Hewasofmiddlesizeandofordinarybuild.Hiseyes,oftheusualblue,wereperhapsremarkablycold,andhecertainlycouldmakehisglancefallononeastrenchantandheavyasanaxe.Butevenatthesetimestherestofhispersonseemedtodisclaimtheintention.Otherwisetherewasonlyanindefinable,faintexpressionofhislips,somethingstealthy—asmile—notasmile—Irememberit,butIcan’texplain.
