The Moon And Sixpence 46.2

My friend'sappearance suggested that he was now in the same predicament, and I preparedmyself to cultivate an agreeable acquaintance. The society of beach-combersalways repays the small pains you need be at to enjoy it. They are easy ofapproach and affable in conversation. They seldom put on airs, and the offer ofa drink is a sure way to their hearts. You need no laborious steps to enterupon familiarity with them, and you can earn not only their confidence, buttheir gratitude, by turning an attentive ear to their discourse. They look uponconversation as the great pleasure of life, thereby proving the excellence oftheir civilisation, and for the most part they are entertaining talkers. Theextent of their experience is pleasantly balanced by the fertility of theirimagination. It cannot be said that they are without guile, but they have atolerant respect for the law, when the law is supported by strength. It ishazardous to play poker with them, but their ingenuity adds a peculiar excitementto the best game in the world. I came to know Captain Nichols very well beforeI left Tahiti, and I am the richer for his acquaintance. I do not consider thatthe cigars and whisky he consumed at my expense (he always refused cocktails,since he was practically a teetotaller), and the few dollars, borrowed with acivil air of conferring a favour upon me, that passed from my pocket to his,were in any way equivalent to the entertainment he afforded me. I remained hisdebtor. I should be sorry if my conscience, insisting on a rigid attention tothe matter in hand, forced me to dismiss him in a couple of lines. 从我这位朋友的仪表来看，今天他的境遇一点也不比那时好；我决定同他交个朋友。同这些在南海群岛的流浪汉相处，尽管得付出一点小代价，但总不会叫你吃亏的。这些人很容易接近，谈起话来很殷勤。他们很少摆架子，只要一杯水酒，就一定能把他们的心打动。要想同他们混熟，用不着走一段艰辛的路途，只要对他们的闲扯洗耳恭听，他们就不但对你非常信任，而且还会对你满怀感激。他们把谈话看做是生活的最大乐趣，用以证明自己出色的修养。这些人大多数谈话都很有风趣。他们的阅历很广，又善于运用丰富的想象力。不能说这些人没有某种程度的欺诈，但是他们对法律还是非常容忍，尽量遵守，只要法律有强大靠山的时候。同他们玩牌是件危险的勾当，但是他们那种头脑敏捷会使这一最有趣的游戏平添了极大的刺激。在我离开塔希提之前，已经同尼柯尔斯船长混得很熟了，我同他的这段交情只有使我的经验更加丰富。尽管我招待了他许多雪茄和威士忌（他从来不喝鸡尾酒，因为他实际上是个戒酒主义者），尽管他带着一副施恩于人的温文有礼的神气向我借钱，好几块银币从我的口袋转到了他的口袋里去，我还是觉得他让我享受到的乐趣大大超过了我付出的代价。自始至终他都是我的债主。如果我听从作者的良心，不肯走离本题，只用几行简单的文字就把尼柯尔斯打发掉，我会感到对不起他的。