Page 111 - HEART OF DARKNESS

Heart of Darkness

harm,’ he said; and as I stared he corrected himself, ‘Not
exactly.’ Then vivaciously, ‘My faith, your pilot-house
wants a clean-up!’ In the next breath he advised me to
keep enough steam on the boiler to blow the whistle in

case of any trouble. ‘One good screech will do more for
you than all your rifles. They are simple people,’ he
repeated. He rattled away at such a rate he quite
overwhelmed me. He seemed to be trying to make up for
lots of silence, and actually hinted, laughing, that such was
the case. ‘Don’t you talk with Mr. Kurtz?’ I said. ‘You
don’t talk with that man—you listen to him,’ he
exclaimed with severe exaltation. ‘But now—’ He waved
his arm, and in the twinkling of an eye was in the
uttermost depths of despondency. In a moment he came
up again with a jump, possessed himself of both my hands,
shook them continuously, while he gabbled: ‘Brother
sailor … honour … pleasure … delight … introduce
myself … Russian … son of an arch-priest …
Government of Tambov … What? Tobacco! English
tobacco; the excellent English tobacco! Now, that’s
brotherly. Smoke? Where’s a sailor that does not smoke?’
‘The pipe soothed him, and gradually I made out he
had run away from school, had gone to sea in a Russian
ship; ran away again; served some time in English ships;

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