Серце темряви
Chapter 2
Hewas‘thatman.’Thehalf-caste,who,asfarasIcouldsee,hadconductedadifficulttripwithgreatprudenceandpluck,wasinvariablyalludedtoas‘thatscoundrel.’The‘scoundrel’hadreportedthatthe‘man’hadbeenveryill—hadrecoveredimperfectly...Thetwobelowmemovedawaythenafewpaces,andstrolledbackandforthatsomelittledistance.Iheard:‘Militarypost—doctor—twohundredmiles—quitealonenow—unavoidabledelays—ninemonths—nonews—strangerumours.’Theyapproachedagain,justasthemanagerwassaying,‘Noone,asfarasIknow,unlessaspeciesofwanderingtrader—apestilentialfellow,snappingivoryfromthenatives.’Whowasittheyweretalkingaboutnow?IgatheredinsnatchesthatthiswassomemansupposedtobeinKurtz’sdistrict,andofwhomthemanagerdidnotapprove.‘Wewillnotbefreefromunfaircompetitiontilloneofthesefellowsishangedforanexample,’hesaid.‘Certainly,’gruntedtheother;‘gethimhanged!Whynot?Anything—anythingcanbedoneinthiscountry.That’swhatIsay;nobodyhere,youunderstand,HERE,canendangeryourposition.Andwhy?Youstandtheclimate—yououtlastthemall.ThedangerisinEurope;buttherebeforeIleftItookcareto—’Theymovedoffandwhispered,thentheirvoicesroseagain.‘Theextraordinaryseriesofdelaysisnotmyfault.Ididmybest.’Thefatmansighed.‘Verysad.’
