Heart of Darkness, Joseph Conrad [simple e reader TXT] 📗

caused him to preside at certain midnight dances ending with unspeakable rites, which—as far as I reluctantly gathered from what I heard at various times—

were offered up to him—do you understand?—to Mr. Kurtz himself.

But it was a beautiful piece of writing. The opening paragraph, however, in the light of later information, strikes me now as ominous.

He began with the argument that we whites, from the point of development we had arrived at, `must necessarily appear to them [savages] in the nature of supernatural beings—we approach them with the might as of a deity,’ and so on, and so on. `By the simple exercise of our will we can exert a power for good practically unbounded,’

&c., &c. From that point he soared and took me with him.

The peroration was magnificent, though difficult to remember, you know. It gave me the notion of an exotic Immensity ruled by an august Benevolence. It made me tingle with enthusiasm.

This was the unbounded power of eloquence—of words—

of burning noble words. There were no practical hints to interrupt the magic current of phrases, unless a kind of note at the foot of the last page, scrawled evidently much later, in an unsteady hand, may be regarded as the exposition of a method.

It was very simple, and at the end of that moving appeal to every altruistic sentiment it blazed at you, luminous and terrifying, like a flash of lightning in a serene sky: `Exterminate all the brutes!’ The curious part was that he had apparently forgotten all about that valuable postscriptum, because, later on, when he in a sense came to himself, he repeatedly entreated me to take good care of `my pamphlet’ (he called it), as it was sure to have in the future a good influence upon his career.

I had full information about all these things, and, besides, as it turned out, I was to have the care of his memory.

I’ve done enough for it to give me the indisputable right to lay it, if I choose, for an everlasting rest in the dust-bin of progress, amongst all the sweepings and, figuratively speaking, all the dead cats of civilization. But then, you see, I can’t choose.

He won’t be forgotten. Whatever he was, he was not common.

He had the power to charm or frighten rudimentary souls into an aggravated witch-dance in his honor; he could also fill the small souls of the pilgrims with bitter misgivings: he had one devoted friend at least, and he had conquered one soul in the world that was neither rudimentary nor tainted with self-seeking. No; I can’t forget him, though I am not prepared to affirm the fellow was exactly worth the life we lost in getting to him.

I missed my late helmsman awfully,—I missed him even while his body was still lying in the pilot-house. Perhaps you will think it passing strange this regret for a savage who was no more account than a grain of sand in a black Sahara. Well, don’t you see, he had done something, he had steered; for months I had him at my back—a help—an instrument. It was a kind of partnership.

He steered for me—I had to look after him, I worried about his deficiencies, and thus a subtle bond had been created, of which I only became aware when it was suddenly broken.

And the intimate profundity of that look he gave me when he received his hurt remains to this day in my memory—like a claim of distant kinship affirmed in a supreme moment.

 

“Poor fool! If he had only left that shutter alone.

He had no restraint, no restraint—just like Kurtz—a tree swayed by the wind. As soon as I had put on a dry pair of slippers, I dragged him out, after first jerking the spear out of his side, which operation I confess I performed with my eyes shut tight.

His heels leaped together over the little doorstep; his shoulders were pressed to my breast; I hugged him from behind desperately.

Oh! he was heavy, heavy; heavier than any man on earth, I should imagine. Then without more ado I tipped him overboard.

The current snatched him as though he had been a wisp of grass, and I saw the body roll over twice before I lost sight of it for ever. All the pilgrims and the manager were then congregated on the awning-deck about the pilot-house, chattering at each other like a flock of excited magpies, and there was a scandalized murmur at my heartless promptitude.

What they wanted to keep that body hanging about for I can’t guess.

Embalm it, maybe. But I had also heard another, and a very ominous, murmur on the deck below. My friends the woodcutters were likewise scandalized, and with a better show of reason—

though I admit that the reason itself was quite inadmissible.

Oh, quite! I had made up my mind that if my late helmsman was to be eaten, the fishes alone should have him.

He had been a very second-rate helmsman while alive, but now he was dead he might have become a first-class temptation, and possibly cause some startling trouble. Besides, I was anxious to take the wheel, the man in pink pyjamas showing himself a hopeless duffer at the business.

 

“This I did directly the simple funeral was over. We were going half-speed, keeping right in the middle of the stream, and I listened to the talk about me. They had given up Kurtz, they had given up the station; Kurtz was dead, and the station had been burnt—and so on—and so on.

The red-haired pilgrim was beside himself with the thought that at least this poor Kurtz had been properly revenged. `Say! We must have made a glorious slaughter of them in the bush. Eh? What do you think? Say?’ He positively danced, the bloodthirsty little gingery beggar. And he had nearly fainted when he saw the wounded man!

I could not help saying, `You made a glorious lot of smoke, anyhow.’

I had seen, from the way the tops of the bushes rustled and flew, that almost all the shots had gone too high. You can’t hit anything unless you take aim and fire from the shoulder; but these chaps fired from the hip with their eyes shut. The retreat, I maintained—

and I was right—was caused by the screeching of the steam-whistle. Upon this they forgot Kurtz, and began to howl at me with indignant protests.

 

“The manager stood by the wheel murmuring confidentially about the necessity of getting well away down the river before dark at all events, when I saw in the distance a clearing on the river-side and the outlines of some sort of building. `What’s this?’

I asked. He clapped his hands in wonder. `The station!’ he cried.

I edged in at once, still going half-speed.

 

“Through my glasses I saw the slope of a hill interspersed with rare trees and perfectly free from undergrowth. A long decaying building on the summit was half buried in the high grass; the large holes in the peaked roof gaped black from afar; the jungle and the woods made a background. There was no inclosure or fence of any kind; but there had been one apparently, for near the house half-a-dozen slim posts remained in a row, roughly trimmed, and with their upper ends ornamented with round carved balls.

The rails, or whatever there had been between, had disappeared.

Of course the forest surrounded all that. The river-bank was clear, and on the water-side I saw a white man under a hat like a cart-wheel beckoning persistently with his whole arm.

Examining the edge of the forest above and below, I was almost certain I could see movements—human forms gliding here and there.

I steamed past prudently, then stopped the engines and let her drift down. The man on the shore began to shout, urging us to land.

`We have been attacked,’ screamed the manager. `I know—I know.

It’s all right,’ yelled back the other, as cheerful as you please.

`Come along. It’s all right. I am glad.’

 

“His aspect reminded me of something I had seen—something funny I had seen somewhere. As I maneuvered to get alongside, I was asking myself, `What does this fellow look like?’ Suddenly I got it.

He looked like a harlequin. His clothes had been made of some stuff that was brown holland probably, but it was covered with patches all over, with bright patches, blue, red, and yellow,—patches on the back, patches on front, patches on elbows, on knees; colored binding round his jacket, scarlet edging at the bottom of his trousers; and the sunshine made him look extremely gay and wonderfully neat withal, because you could see how beautifully all this patching had been done.

A beardless, boyish face, very fair, no features to speak of, nose peeling, little blue eyes, smiles and frowns chasing each other over that open countenance like sunshine and shadow on a windswept plain.

`Look out, captain!’ he cried; `there’s a snag lodged in here last night.’ What! Another snag? I confess I swore shamefully.

I had nearly holed my cripple, to finish off that charming trip.

The harlequin on the bank turned his little pug nose up to me.

`You English?’ he asked, all smiles. `Are you?’ I shouted from the wheel.

The smiles vanished, and he shook his head as if sorry for my disappointment.

Then he brightened up. `Never mind!’ he cried encouragingly.

`Are we in time?’ I asked. `He is up there,’ he replied, with a toss of the head up the hill, and becoming gloomy all of a sudden.

His face was like the autumn sky, overcast one moment and bright the next.

 

“When the manager, escorted by the pilgrims, all of them armed to the teeth, had gone to the house, this chap came on board.

`I say, I don’t like this. These natives are in the bush,’

I said. He assured me earnestly it was all right.

`They are simple people,’ he added; `well, I am glad you came.

It took me all my time to keep them off.’ `But you said it was all right,’ I cried. `Oh, they meant no 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 … honor … 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; was now reconciled with the arch-priest. He made a point of that.

`But when one is young one must see things, gather experience, ideas; enlarge the mind.’ `Here!’ I interrupted.

`You can never tell! Here I have met Mr. Kurtz,’ he said,