herent in our earthly condition. Mediocrity is our mark. And perhaps
it's just as well, since, for the most part, we cannot be certain of the
effect of our actions."

"I don't know about the effect," the other stood up to Marlow manfully.
"What effect did you expect anyhow? I tell you he did something
uncommonly kind."

"He did what he could," Marlow retorted gently, "and on his own showing
that was not a very great deal. I cannot help thinking that there was
some malice in the way he seized the opportunity to serve you. He
managed to make you uncomfortable. You wanted to go to sea, but he
jumped at the chance of accommodating your desire with a vengeance. I am
inclined to think your cheek alarmed him. And this was an excellent
occasion to suppress you altogether. For if you accepted he was relieved
of you with every appearance of humanity, and if you made objections
(after requesting his assistance, mind you) it was open to him to drop
you as a sort of impostor. You might have had to decline that berth for
some very valid reason. From sheer necessity perhaps. The notice was
too uncommonly short. But under the circumstances you'd have covered
yourself with ignominy."

Our new friend knocked the ashes out of his pipe.

"Quite a mistake," he said. "I am not of the declining sort, though I'll
admit it was something like telling a man that you would like a bath and
in consequence being instantly knocked overboard to sink or swim with
your clothes on. However, I didn't feel as if I were in deep water at
first. I left the shipping office quietly and for a time strolled along
the street as easy as if I had a week before me to fit myself out. But
by and by I reflected that the notice was even shorter than it looked.
The afternoon was well advanced; I had some things to get, a lot of small
matters to attend to, one or two persons to see. One of them was an aunt
of mine, my only relation, who quarrelled with poor father as long as he
lived about some silly matter that had neither right nor wrong to it. She
left her money to me when she died. I used always to go and see her for
decency's sake. I had so much to do before night that I didn't know
where to begin. I felt inclined to sit down on the kerb and hold my head
in my hands. It was as if an engine had been started going under my
skull. Finally I sat down in the first cab that came along and it was a
hard matter to keep on sitting there I can tell you