ng every moment to hear the
captain's footsteps behind me. For I made sure he was coming on deck.
Presently I thought I had rather meet him face to face and I walked
slowly aft prepared to see him emerge from the companion before I got
that far. I even thought of his having detected me by some means. But
it was impossible, unless he had eyes in the top of his head. I had
never had a view of his face down there. It was impossible; I was safe;
and I felt very mean, yet, explain it as you may, I seemed not to care.
And the captain not appearing on deck, I had the impulse to go on being
mean. I wanted another peep. I really don't know what was the beastly
influence except that Mr Franklin's talk was enough to demoralise any
man by raising a sort of unhealthy curiosity which did away in my case
with all the restraints of common decency.

"I did not mean to run the risk of being caught squatting in a
suspicious attitude by the captain. There was also the helmsman to
consider. So what I did--I am surprised at my low cunning--was to sit
down naturally on the skylight-seat and then by bending forward I found
that, as I expected, I could look down through the upper part of the
end-pane. The worst that could happen to me then, if I remained too
long in that position, was to be suspected by the seaman aft at the
wheel of having gone to sleep there. For the rest my ears would give me
sufficient warning of any movements in the companion.

"But in that way my angle of view was changed. The field too was
smaller. The end of the table, the tray and the swivel-chair I had
right under my eyes. The captain had not come back yet. The piano I
could not see now; but on the other hand I had a very oblique downward
view of the curtains drawn across the cabin and cutting off the forward
part of it just about the level of the skylight-end and only an inch or
so from the end of the table. They were heavy stuff, travelling on a
thick brass rod with some contrivance to keep the rings from sliding to
and fro when the ship rolled. But just then the ship was as still
almost as a model shut up in a glass case while the curtains, joined
closely, and, perhaps on purpose, made a little too long moved no more
than a solid wall."

Marlow got up to get another cigar. The night was getting on to what I
may call its deepest hour, the hour most favourable to evil purposes of
men's hate, despair or greed--to whatever can whisper into their ear