s set with drink. His body was covered with grey hair and crawled
over by flies; one was in the corner of his eye--he never heeded; and
the mosquitoes hummed about the man like bees. Any clean-minded man
would have had the creature out at once and buried him; and to see him,
and think he was seventy, and remember he had once commanded a ship, and
come ashore in his smart togs, and talked big in bars and consulates,
and sat in club verandahs, turned me sick and sober.

He tried to get up when I came in, but that was hopeless; so he reached
me a hand instead, and stumbled out some salutation.

"Papa's[2] pretty full this morning," observed Case. "We've had an
epidemic here; and Captain Randall takes gin for a prophylactic--don't
you, Papa?"

"Never took such a thing in my life!" cried the captain indignantly.
"Take gin for my health's sake, Mr. Wha's-ever-your-name--'s a
precautionary measure."

"That's all right, Papa," said Case. "But you'll have to brace up.
There's going to be a marriage--Mr. Wiltshire here is going to get
spliced."

The old man asked to whom.

"To Uma," said Case.

"Uma!" cried the captain. "Wha's he want Uma for? 's he come here for
his health, anyway? Wha' 'n hell 's he want Uma for?"

"Dry up, Papa," said Case. "'Tain't you that's to marry her. I guess
you're not her godfather and godmother. I guess Mr. Wiltshire's going to
please himself."

With that he made an excuse to me that he must move about the marriage,
and left me alone with the poor wretch that was his partner and (to
speak truth) his gull. Trade and station belonged both to Randall; Case
and the negro were parasites; they crawled and fed upon him like the
flies, he none the wiser. Indeed, I have no harm to say of Billy
Randall beyond the fact that my gorge rose at him, and the time I now
passed in his company was like a nightmare.

The room was stifling hot and full of flies; for the house was dirty and
low and small, and stood in a bad place, behind the village, in the
borders of the bush, and sheltered from the trade. The three men's beds
were on the floor, and a litter of pans and dishes. There was no
standing furniture; Randall, when he was violent, tearing it to laths.
There I sat and had a meal which was served us by Case's wife; and there
I was entertained all day by that remains of man, his tongue stumbling
among low old jokes and long old stories, and his own wheezy laughter
always ready, so that he had no sense o