The Moon And Sixpence 20.2

He moved apiece and straightway became absorbed in the game. Poor Stroeve gave me atroubled look, but I was not disconcerted by so little. I ordered something todrink, and waited quietly till Strickland had finished. I welcomed theopportunity to examine him at my ease. I certainly should never have known him.In the first place his red beard, ragged and untrimmed, hid much of his face,and his hair was long; but the most surprising change in him was his extremethinness. It made his great nose protrude more arrogantly; it emphasized hischeekbones; it made his eyes seem larger. There were deep hollows at histemples. His body was cadaverous. He wore the same suit that I had seen him infive years before; it was torn and stained, threadbare, and it hung upon himloosely, as though it had been made for someone else. I noticed his hands,dirty, with long nails; they were merely bone and sinew, large and strong; butI had forgotten that they were so shapely. He gave me an extraordinaryimpression as he sat there, his attention riveted on his game -- an impressionof great strength; and I could not understand why it was that his emaciationsomehow made it more striking.

Presently,after moving, he leaned back and gazed with a curious abstraction at his antagonist.This was a fat, bearded Frenchman. The Frenchman considered the position, thenbroke suddenly into jovial expletives, and with an impatient gesture, gatheringup the pieces, flung them into their box. He cursed Strickland freely, then,calling for the waiter, paid for the drinks, and left. Stroeve drew his chaircloser to the table.

"Now Isuppose we can talk, " he said.

他走了一步棋，马上就全神贯注到面前的一局棋上。可怜的施特略夫心怀焦虑地望了我一眼，但是我却没有觉得有任何不自在。我要了一点喝的东西，静静地坐在那里等着思特里克兰德下完棋。对于这样一个可以从容地观察他的机会，我毋宁说是欢迎的。如果是我一个人来，我肯定认不出他了。首先，我发觉他的大半张脸都遮在乱蓬蓬的胡须底下，他的头发也非常长；但是最令人吃惊的变化还是他的极度削瘦，这就使得他的大鼻子更加傲慢地翘起来，颧骨也更加突出，眼睛显得比从前更大了。在他的太阳穴下面出现了两个深坑。他的身体瘦得只剩了皮包骨头，穿的仍然是五年前我见到的那身衣服，只不过已经破破烂烂，油迹斑斑，而且穿在身上晃晃荡荡，仿佛原来是给别人做的似的。我注意到他的两只手不很干净，指甲很长，除了筋就是骨头，显得大而有力，但是我却不记得过去他的手形曾经这么完美过。他坐在那里专心致志地下棋，给我一种很奇特的印象——仿佛他身体里蕴藏着一股无比的力量。我不知道为什么，他的削瘦使这一点更加突出了。

他走过一步棋后，马上把身体往后一靠，凝视着他的对手，目光里带着一种令人奇怪的心不在焉的神情。与他对棋的人是一个蓄着长胡须的肥胖的法国人。这个法国人察看了一下自己的棋势，突然笑呵呵地破口骂了几句，气恼地把棋子收在一起，扔到棋盒里去。他一点也不留情面地咒骂着思特里克兰德，接着就把侍者叫来，付了两人的酒账，离开了。施特略夫把椅子往桌边挪了挪。

“我想现在咱们可以谈话了，”他说。