The Moon And Sixpence 47.5

Now and thenthey made a bit of money. Sometimes a mail steamer would come in, and CaptainNichols, having scraped acquaintance with the timekeeper, would succeed ingetting the pair of them a job as stevedores. When it was an English boat, theywould dodge into the forecastle and get a hearty breakfast from the crew. Theytook the risk of running against one of the ship's officers and being hustleddown the gangway with the toe of a boot to speed their going."There'sno harm in a kick in the hindquarters when your belly's full, " saidCaptain Nichols, "and personally I never take it in bad part. An officer'sgot to think about discipline. "I had a livelypicture of Captain Nichols flying headlong down a narrow gangway before theuplifted foot of an angry mate, and, like a true Englishman, rejoicing in thespirit of the Mercantile Marine.There wereoften odd jobs to be got about the fish-market. Once they each of them earned afranc by loading trucks with innumerable boxes of oranges that had been dumpeddown on the quay. One day they had a stroke of luck: one of theboarding-masters got a contract to paint a tramp that had come in fromMadagascar round the Cape of Good Hope, and they spent several days on a plankhanging over the side, covering the rusty hull with paint. It was a situationthat must have appealed to Strickland's sardonic humour. I asked CaptainNichols how he bore himself during these hardships."Neverknew him say a cross word, " answered the Captain. "He'd be a bitsurly sometimes, but when we hadn't had a bite since morning, and we hadn'teven got the price of a lie down at the Chink's, he'd be as lively as acricket. "I was notsurprised at this. Strickland was just the man to rise superior to circumstances,when they were such as to occasion despondency in most; but whether this wasdue to equanimity of soul or to contradictoriness it would be difficult to say.偶然他们也有机会挣到一点儿钱。有时候一艘邮轮开进港，尼柯尔斯船长同雇用计时员攀上交情，会给两人找个临时装卸工的活儿。如果是一艘英国船，他们会溜进前甲板下面的舱房里，在水手那里饱餐一顿。当然，这样做要冒一定的风险，如果遇见船上的高级船员，他们就要从跳板上被赶下来，为了催他们动作快一些，屁股后面还要挨一靴子。“一个人只要肚子吃饱，屁股叫人踢一脚算不得什么，”尼柯尔斯船长说，“拿我个人说，我是从来不生气的。高级船员理应考虑船上的风纪的。”我的脑子里活生生地出现一幅图画：一个气冲冲的大副飞起一脚，尼柯尔斯船长脑袋朝下地从窄窄的跳板上滚下来；象一个真正的英国人那样，他对英国商船队的这种纪律严明的精神非常高兴。在鱼市场里也不时能够找点零活儿干。还有一次，卡车要把堆在码头上的许多筐桔子运走，思特里克兰德同尼柯尔斯船长帮助装车，每人挣了一法郎。有一天两人很走运：一条从马达加斯加绕过好望角开来的货轮需要上油漆，一个开寄宿店的老板弄到包工合同，他们两个人一连几天站在悬在船帮旁边的一条木板上，往锈迹斑斑的船壳上涂油漆。这件差事肯定很投合思特里克兰德的惯受讽嘲的脾气。我向尼柯尔斯船长打听，在那困顿的日子里，思特里克兰德有什么反应。“从来没听他说过一句丧气话，”船长回答说，“有时候他有点儿闷闷不乐，但是就是在我们整天吃不到一口饭，连在中国佬那里歇宿的房钱都弄不到手的时候，他仍然象蛐蛐一样欢蹦乱跳。”我对此并不觉得惊奇。思特里克兰德正是超然于周围环境之外的人，就是在最沮丧的情况下也是如此。这到底是由于心灵的宁静还是矛盾对立，那是难以说清的。