mr toots's complaint

there was an empty room above-stairs at the wooden midshipman's, which, in days of yore, had been walter's bedroom. walter, rousing up the captain betimes in the morning, proposed that they should carry thither such furniture out of the little parlour as would grace it best, so that florence might take possession of it when she rose. as nothing could be more agreeable to captain cuttle than making himself very red and short of breath in such a cause, he turned to (as he himself said) with a will; and, in a couple of hours, this garret was transformed into a species of land-cabin, adorned with all the choicest moveables out of the parlour, inclusive even of the tartar frigate, which the captain hung up over the chimney-piece with such extreme delight, that he could do nothing for half-an-hour afterwards but walk backward from it, lost in admiration.

the captain could be indueed by no persuasion of walter's to wind up the big watch, or to take back the canister, or to touch the sugar-tongs and teaspoons. 'no, no, my lad;' was the captain's invariable reply to any solicitation of the kind, 'i've made that there little property over, jintly.' these words he repeated with great unction and gravity, evidently believing that they had the virtue of an act of parliament, and that unless he committed himself by some new admission of ownership, no flaw could be found in such a form of conveyance.

it was an advantage of the new arrangement, that besides the greater seclusion it afforded florence, it admitted of the midshipman being restored to his usual post of observation, and also of the shop shutters being taken down. the latter ceremony, however little importance the unconscious captain attached to it, was not wholly superfluous; for, on the previous day, so much excitement had been occasioned in the neighbourhood, by the shutters remaining unopened, that the instrument-maker's house had been honoured with an unusual share of public observation, and had been intently stared at from the opposite side of the way, by groups of hungry gazers, at any time between sunrise and sunset. the idlers and vagabonds had been particularly interested in the captain's fate; constantly grovelling in the mud to apply their eyes to the cellar-grating, under the shop-window, and delighting their imaginations with the fancy that they could see a piece of his coat as he hung in a corner; though this settlement of him was stoutly disputed by an opposite faction, who were of opinion that he lay murdered with a hammer, on the stairs. it was not without exciting some discontent, therefore, that the subject of these rumours was seen early in the morning standing at his shop-door as hale and hearty as if nothing had happened; and the beadle of that quarter, a man of an ambitious character, who had expected to have the distinction of being present at the breaking open of the door, and of giving evidence in full uniform before the coroner, went so far as to say to an opposite neighbour, that the chap in the glazed hat had better not try it on there - without more particularly mentioning what - and further, that he, the beadle, would keep his eye upon him.

'captain cuttle,' said walter, musing, when they stood resting from their labours at the shop-door, looking down the old familiar street; it being still early in the morning; 'nothing at all of uncle sol, in all that time!'

'nothing at all, my lad,' replied the captain, shaking his head.

'gone in search of me, dear, kind old man,' said walter: 'yet never write to you! but why not? he says, in effect, in this packet that you gave me,' taking the paper from his pocket, which had been opened in the presence of the enlightened bunsby, 'that if you never hear from him before opening it, you may believe him dead. heaven forbid! but you would have heard of him, even if he were dead! someone would have written, surely, by his desire, if he could not; and have said, "on such a day, there died in my house," or "under my care," or so forth, "mr solomon gills of london, who left this last remembrance and this last request to you".'

the captain, who had never climbed to such a clear height of probability before, was greatly impressed by the wide prospect it opened, and answered, with a thoughtful shake of his head, 'well said, my lad; wery well said.'

'i have been thinking of this, or, at least,' said walter, colouring, 'i have been thinking of one thing and another, all through a sleepless night, and i cannot believe, captain cuttle, but that my uncle sol (lord bless him!) is alive, and will return. i don't so much wonder at his going away, because, leaving out of consideration that spice of the marvellous which was always in his character, and his great affection for me, before which every other consideration of his life became nothing, as no one ought to know so well as i who had the best of fathers in him,' - walter's voice was indistinct and husky here, and he looked away, along the street, - 'leaving that out of consideration, i say, i have often read and heard of people who, having some near and dear relative, who was supposed to be shipwrecked at sea, have gone down to live on that part of the sea-shore where any tidings of the missing ship might be expected to arrive, though only an hour or two sooner than elsewhere, or have even gone upon her track to the place whither she was bound, as if their going would create intelligence. i think i should do such a thing myself, as soon as another, or sooner than many, perhaps. but why my uncle shouldn't write to you, when he so clearly intended to do so, or how he should die abroad, and you not know it through some other hand, i cannot make out.'

captain cuttle observed, with a shake of his head, that jack bunsby himself hadn't made it out, and that he was a man as could give a pretty taut opinion too.

'if my uncle had been a heedless young man, likely to be entrapped by jovial company to some drinking-place, where he was to be got rid of for the sake of what money he might have about him,' said walter; 'or if he had been a reckless sailor, going ashore with two or three months' pay in his pocket, i could understand his disappearing, and leaving no trace behind. but, being what he was - and is, i hope - i can't believe it.'

'wal'r, my lad,' inquired the captain, wistfully eyeing him as he pondered and pondered, 'what do you make of it, then?'

'captain cuttle,' returned walter, 'i don't know what to make of it. i suppose he never has written! there is no doubt about that?'

'if so be as sol gills wrote, my lad,' replied the captain, argumentatively, 'where's his dispatch?'

'say that he entrusted it to some private hand,' suggested walter, 'and that it has been forgotten, or carelessly thrown aside, or lost. even that is more probable to me, than the other event. in short, i not only cannot bear to contemplate that other event, captain cuttle, but i can't, and won't.'

'hope, you see, wal'r,' said the captain, sagely, 'hope. it's that as animates you. hope is a buoy, for which you overhaul your little warbler, sentimental diwision, but lord, my lad, like any other buoy, it only floats; it can't be steered nowhere. along with the figure-head of hope,' said the captain, 'there's a anchor; but what's the good of my having a anchor, if i can't find no bottom to let it go in?'

captain cuttle said this rather in his character of a sagacious citizen and householder, bound to impart a morsel from his stores of wisdom to an inexperienced youth, than in his own proper person. indeed, his face was quite luminous as he spoke, with new hope, caught from walter; and he appropriately concluded by slapping him on the back; and saying, with enthusiasm, 'hooroar, my lad! indiwidually, i'm o' your opinion.' walter, with his cheerful laugh, returned the salutation, and said:

'only one word more about my uncle at present' captain cuttle. i suppose it is impossible that he can have written in the ordinary course - by mail packet, or ship letter, you understand - '

'ay, ay, my lad,' said the captain approvingly.

and that you have missed the letter, anyhow?'

'why, wal'r,' said the captain, turning his eyes upon him with a faint approach to a severe expression, 'ain't i been on the look-out for any tidings of that man o' science, old sol gills, your uncle, day and night, ever since i lost him? ain't my heart been heavy and watchful always, along of him and you? sleeping and waking, ain't i been upon my post, and wouldn't i scorn to quit it while this here midshipman held together!'

'yes, captain cuttle,' replied walter, grasping his hand, 'i know you would, and i know how faithful and earnest all you say and feel is. i am sure of it. you don't doubt that i am as sure of it as i am that my foot is again upon this door-step, or that i again have hold of this true hand. do you?'

'no, no, wal'r,' returned the captain, with his beaming

'i'll hazard no more conjectures,' said walter, fervently shaking the hard hand of the captain, who shook his with no less goodwill. 'all i will add is, heaven forbid that i should touch my uncle's possessions, captain cuttle! everything that he left here, shall remain in the care of the truest of stewards and kindest of men - and if his name is not cuttle, he has no name! now, best of friends, about - miss dombey.'

there was a change in walter's manner, as he came to these two words; and when he uttered them, all his confidence and cheerfulness appeared to have deserted him.

'i thought, before miss dombey stopped me when i spoke of her father last night,' said walter, ' - you remember how?'

the captain well remembered, and shook his head.

'i thought,' said walter, 'before that, that we had but one hard duty to perform, and that it was, to prevail upon her to communicate with her friends, and to return home.'

the captain muttered a feeble 'awast!' or a 'stand by!' or something or other, equally pertinent to the occasion; but it was rendered so extremely feeble by the total discomfiture with which he received this announcement, that what it was, is mere matter of conjecture.

'but,' said walter, 'that is over. i think so, no longer. i would sooner be put back again upon that piece of wreck, on which i have so often floated, since my preservation, in my dreams, and there left to drift, and drive, and die!'

'hooroar, my lad!' exclaimed the captain, in a burst of uncontrollable satisfaction. 'hooroar! hooroar! hooroar!'

'to think that she, so young, so good, and beautiful,' said walter, 'so delicately brought up, and born to such a different fortune, should strive with the rough world! but we have seen the gulf that cuts off all behind her, though no one but herself can know how deep it is; and there is no return.

captain cuttle, without quite understanding this, greatly approved of it, and observed in a tone of strong corroboration, that the wind was quite abaft.

'she ought not to be alone here; ought she, captain cuttle?' said walter, anxiously.

'well, my lad,' replied the captain, after a little sagacious consideration. 'i don't know. you being here to keep her company, you see, and you two being jintly - '

'dear captain cuttle!' remonstrated walter. 'i being here! miss dombey, in her guileless innocent heart, regards me as her adopted brother; but what would the guile and guilt of my heart be, if i pretended to believe that i had any right to approach her, familiarly, in that character - if i pretended to forget that i am bound, in honour, not to do it?'

'wal'r, my lad,' hinted the captain, with some revival of his discomfiture, 'ain't there no other character as - '

'oh!' returned walter, 'would you have me die in her esteem - in such esteem as hers - and put a veil between myself and her angel's face for ever, by taking advantage of her being here for refuge, so trusting and so unprotected, to endeavour to exalt myself into her lover? what do i say? there is no one in the world who would be more opposed to me if i could do so, than you.'

'wal'r, my lad,' said the captain, drooping more and more, 'prowiding as there is any just cause or impediment why two persons should not be jined together in the house of bondage, for which you'll overhaul the place and make a note, i hope i should declare it as promised and wowed in the banns. so there ain't no other character; ain't there, my lad?'

walter briskly waved his hand in the negative.

'well, my lad,' growled the captain slowly, 'i won't deny but what i find myself wery much down by the head, along o' this here, or but what i've gone clean about. but as to lady lass, wal'r, mind you, wot's respect and duty to her, is respect and duty in my articles, howsumever disapinting; and therefore i follows in your wake, my lad, and feel as you are, no doubt, acting up to yourself. and there ain't no other character, ain't there?' said the captain, musing over the ruins of his fallen castle, with a very despondent face.

'now, captain cuttle,' said walter, starting a fresh point with a gayer air, to cheer the captain up - but nothing could do that; he was too much concerned - 'i think we should exert ourselves to find someone who would be a proper attendant for miss dombey while she remains here, and who may be trusted. none of her relations may. it's clear miss dombey feels that they are all subservient to her father. what has become of susan?'

'the young woman?' returned the captain. 'it's my belief as she was sent away again the will of heart's delight. i made a signal for her when lady lass first come, and she rated of her wery high, and said she had been gone a long time.'

'then,' said walter, 'do you ask miss dombey where she's gone, and we'll try to find her. the morning's getting on, and miss dombey will soon be rising. you are her best friend. wait for her upstairs, and leave me to take care of all down here.'

the captain, very crest-fallen indeed, echoed the sigh with which walter said this, and complied. florence was delighted with her new room, anxious to see walter, and overjoyed at the prospect of greeting her old friend susan. but florence could not say where susan was gone, except that it was in essex, and no one could say, she remembered, unless it were mr toots.

with this information the melancholy captain returned to walter, and gave him to understand that mr toots was the young gentleman whom he had encountered on the door-step, and that he was a friend of his, and that he was a young gentleman of property, and that he hopelessly adored miss dombey. the captain also related how the intelligence of walter's supposed fate had first made him acquainted with mr toots, and how there was solemn treaty and compact between them, that mr toots should be mute upon the subject of his love.

the question then was, whether florence could trust mr toots; and florence saying, with a smile, 'oh, yes, with her whole heart!' it became important to find out where mr toots lived. this, florence didn't know, and the captain had forgotten; and the captain was telling walter, in the little parlour, that mr toots was sure to be there soon, when in came mr toots himself.

'captain gills,' said mr toots, rushing into the parlour without any ceremony, 'i'm in a state of mind bordering on distraction!'

mr toots had discharged those words, as from a mortar, before he observed walter, whom he recognised with what may be described as a chuckle of misery.

'you'll excuse me, sir,' said mr toots, holding his forehead, 'but i'm at present in that state that my brain is going, if not gone, and anything approaching to politeness in an individual so situated would be a hollow mockery. captain gills, i beg to request the favour of a private interview.'

'why, brother,' returned the captain, taking him by the hand, 'you are the man as we was on the look-out for.'

'oh, captain gills,' said mr toots, 'what a look-out that must be, of which i am the object! i haven't dared to shave, i'm in that rash state. i haven't had my clothes brushed. my hair is matted together. i told the chicken that if he offered to clean my boots, i'd stretch him a corpse before me!'

all these indications of a disordered mind were verified in mr toots's appearance, which was wild and savage.

'see here, brother,' said the captain. 'this here's old sol gills's nevy wal'r. him as was supposed to have perished at sea'

mr toots took his hand from his forehead, and stared at walter.

'good gracious me!' stammered mr toots. 'what a complication of misery! how-de-do? i - i - i'm afraid you must have got very wet. captain gills, will you allow me a word in the shop?'

he took the captain by the coat, and going out with him whispered:

'that then, captain gills, is the party you spoke of, when you said that he and miss dombey were made for one another?'

'why, ay, my lad,' replied the disconsolate captain; 'i was of that mind once.'

'and at this time!' exclaimed mr toots, with his hand to his forehead again. 'of all others! - a hated rival! at least, he ain't a hated rival,' said mr toots, stopping short, on second thoughts, and taking away his hand; 'what should i hate him for? no. if my affection has been truly disinterested, captain gills, let me prove it now!'

mr toots shot back abruptly into the parlour, and said, wringing walter by the hand:

'how-de-do? i hope you didn't take any cold. i - i shall be very glad if you'll give me the pleasure of your acquaintance. i wish you many happy returns of the day. upon my word and honour,' said mr toots, warming as he became better acquainted with walter's face and figure, 'i'm very glad to see you!'

'thank you, heartily,' said walter. 'i couldn't desire a more genuine and genial welcome.'

'couldn't you, though?' said mr toots, still shaking his hand. 'it's very kind of you. i'm much obliged to you. how-de-do? i hope you left everybody quite well over the - that is, upon the - i mean wherever you came from last, you know.'

all these good wishes, and better intentions, walter responded to manfully.

'captain gills,' said mr toots, 'i should wish to be strictly honourable; but i trust i may be allowed now, to allude to a certain subject that - '

'ay, ay, my lad,' returned the captain. 'freely, freely.'

'then, captain gills,' said mr toots, 'and lieutenant walters - are you aware that the most dreadful circumstances have been happening at mr dombey's house, and that miss dombey herself has left her father, who, in my opinion,' said mr toots, with great excitement, 'is a brute, that it would be a flattery to call a - a marble monument, or a bird of prey, - and that she is not to be found, and has gone no one knows where?'

'may i ask how you heard this?' inquired walter.

'lieutenant walters,' said mr toots, who had arrived at that appellation by a process peculiar to himself; probably by jumbling up his christian name with the seafaring profession, and supposing some relationship between him and the captain, which would extend, as a matter of course, to their titles; 'lieutenant walters, i can have no objection to make a straightforward reply. the fact is, that feeling extremely interested in everything that relates to miss dombey - not for any selfish reason, lieutenant walters, for i am well aware that the most able thing i could do for all parties would be to put an end to my existence, which can only be regarded as an inconvenience - i have been in the habit of bestowing a trifle now and then upon a footman; a most respectable young man, of the name of towlinson, who has lived in the family some time; and towlinson informed me, yesterday evening, that this was the state of things. since which, captain gills - and lieutenant walters - i have been perfectly frantic, and have been lying down on the sofa all night, the ruin you behold.'

'mr toots,' said walter, 'i am happy to be able to relieve your mind. pray calm yourself. miss dombey is safe and well.'

'sir!' cried mr toots, starting from his chair and shaking hands with him anew, 'the relief is so excessive, and unspeakable, that if you were to tell me now that miss dombey was married even, i could smile. yes, captain gills,' said mr toots, appealing to him, 'upon my soul and body, i really think, whatever i might do to myself immediately afterwards, that i could smile, i am so relieved.'

'it will be a greater relief and delight still, to such a generous mind as yours,' said walter, not at all slow in returning his greeting, 'to find that you can render service to miss dombey. captain cuttle, will you have the kindness to take mr toots upstairs?'

the captain beckoned to mr toots, who followed him with a bewildered countenance, and, ascending to the top of the house, was introduced, without a word of preparation from his conductor, into florence's new retreat.

poor mr toots's amazement and pleasure at sight of her were such, that they could find a vent in nothing but extravagance. he ran up to her, seized her hand, kissed it, dropped it, seized it again, fell upon one knee, shed tears, chuckled, and was quite regardless of his danger of being pinned by diogenes, who, inspired by the belief that there was something hostile to his mistress in these demonstrations, worked round and round him, as if only undecided at what particular point to go in for the assault, but quite resolved to do him a fearful mischief.

'oh di, you bad, forgetful dog! dear mr toots, i am so rejoiced to see you!'

'thankee,' said mr toots, 'i am pretty well, i'm much obliged to you, miss dombey. i hope all the family are the same.'

mr toots said this without the least notion of what he was talking about, and sat down on a chair, staring at florence with the liveliest contention of delight and despair going on in his face that any face could exhibit.

'captain gills and lieutenant walters have mentioned, miss dombey,' gasped mr toots, 'that i can do you some service. if i could by any means wash out the remembrance of that day at brighton, when i conducted myself - much more like a parricide than a person of independent property,' said mr toots, with severe self-accusation, 'i should sink into the silent tomb with a gleam of joy.'

'pray, mr toots,' said florence, 'do not wish me to forget anything in our acquaintance. i never can, believe me. you have been far too kind and good to me always.'

'miss dombey,' returned mr toots, 'your consideration for my feelings is a part of your angelic character. thank you a thousand times. it's of no consequence at all.'

'what we thought of asking you,' said florence, 'is, whether you remember where susan, whom you were so kind as to accompany to the coach-office when she left me, is to be found.'

'why i do not certainly, miss dombey,' said mr toots, after a little consideration, 'remember the exact name of the place that was on the coach; and i do recollect that she said she was not going to stop there, but was going farther on. but, miss dombey, if your object is to find her, and to have her here, myself and the chicken will produce her with every dispatch that devotion on my part, and great intelligence on the chicken's, can ensure.

mr toots was so manifestly delighted and revived by the prospect of being useful, and the disinterested sincerity of his devotion was so unquestionable, that it would have been cruel to refuse him. florence, with an instinctive delicacy, forbore to urge the least obstacle, though she did not forbear to overpower him with thanks; and mr toots proudly took the commission upon himself for immediate execution.

'miss dombey,' said mr toots, touching her proffered hand, with a pang of hopeless love visibly shooting through him, and flashing out in his face, 'good-bye! allow me to take the liberty of saying, that your misfortunes make me perfectly wretched, and that you may trust me, next to captain gills himself. i am quite aware, miss dombey, of my own deficiencies - they're not of the least consequence, thank you - but i am entirely to be relied upon, i do assure you, miss dombey.'

with that mr toots came out of the room, again accompanied by the captain, who, standing at a little distance, holding his hat under his arm and arranging his scattered locks with his hook, had been a not uninterested witness of what passed. and when the door closed behind them, the light of mr toots's life was darkly clouded again.

'captain gills,' said that gentleman, stopping near the bottom of the stairs, and turning round, 'to tell you the truth, i am not in a frame of mind at the present moment, in which i could see lieutenant walters with that entirely friendly feeling towards him that i should wish to harbour in my breast. we cannot always command our feelings, captain gills, and i should take it as a particular favour if you'd let me out at the private door.'

'brother,' returned the captain, 'you shall shape your own course. wotever course you take, is plain and seamanlike, i'm wery sure.

'captain gills,' said mr toots, 'you're extremely kind. your good opinion is a consolation to me. there is one thing,' said mr toots, standing in the passage, behind the half-opened door, 'that i hope you'll bear in mind, captain gills, and that i should wish lieutenant walters to be made acquainted with. i have quite come into my property now, you know, and - and i don't know what to do with it. if i could be at all useful in a pecuniary point of view, i should glide into the silent tomb with ease and smoothness.'

mr toots said no more, but slipped out quietly and shut the door upon himself, to cut the captain off from any reply.

florence thought of this good creature, long after he had left her, with mingled emotions of pain and pleasure. he was so honest and warm-hearted, that to see him again and be assured of his truth to her in her distress, was a joy and comfort beyond all price; but for that very reason, it was so affecting to think that she caused him a moment's unhappiness, or ruffled, by a breath, the harmless current of his life, that her eyes filled with tears, and her bosom overflowed with pity. captain cuttle, in his different way, thought much of mr toots too; and so did walter; and when the evening came, and they were all sitting together in florence's new room, walter praised him in a most impassioned manner, and told florence what he had said on leaving the house, with every graceful setting-off in the way of comment and appreciation that his own honesty and sympathy could surround it with.

mr toots did not return upon the next day, or the next, or for several days; and in the meanwhile florence, without any new alarm, lived like a quiet bird in a cage, at the top of the old instrument-maker's house. but florence drooped and hung her head more and more plainly, as the days went on; and the expression that had been seen in the face of the dead child, was often turned to the sky from her high window, as if it sought his angel out, on the bright shore of which he had spoken: lying on his little bed.

florence had been weak and delicate of late, and the agitation she had undergone was not without its influences on her health. but it was no bodily illness that affected her now. she was distressed in mind; and the cause of her distress was walter.

interested in her, anxious for her, proud and glad to serve her, and showing all this with the enthusiasm and ardour of his character, florence saw that he avoided her. all the long day through, he seldom approached her room. if she asked for him, he came, again for the moment as earnest and as bright as she remembered him when she was a lost child in the staring streets; but he soon became constrained - her quick affection was too watchful not to know it - and uneasy, and soon left her. unsought, he never came, all day, between the morning and the night. when the evening closed in, he was always there, and that was her happiest time, for then she half believed that the old walter of her childhood was not changed. but, even then, some trivial word, look, or circumstance would show her that there was an indefinable division between them which could not be passed.

and she could not but see that these revealings of a great alteration in walter manifested themselves in despite of his utmost efforts to hide them. in his consideration for her, she thought, and in the earnestness of his desire to spare her any wound from his kind hand, he resorted to innumerable little artifices and disguises. so much the more did florence feel the greatness of the alteration in him; so much the oftener did she weep at this estrangement of her brother.

the good captain - her untiring, tender, ever zealous friend - saw it, too, florence thought, and it pained him. he was less cheerful and hopeful than he had been at first, and would steal looks at her and walter, by turns, when they were all three together of an evening, with quite a sad face.

florence resolved, at last, to speak to walter. she believed she knew now what the cause of his estrangement was, and she thought it would be a relief to her full heart, and would set him more at ease, if she told him she had found it out, and quite submitted to it, and did not reproach him.

it was on a certain sunday afternoon, that florence took this resolution. the faithful captain, in an amazing shirt-collar, was sitting by her, reading with his spectacles on, and she asked him where walter was.

'i think he's down below, my lady lass,' returned the captain.

'i should like to speak to him,' said florence, rising hurriedly as if to go downstairs.

'i'll rouse him up here, beauty,' said the captain, 'in a trice.'

thereupon the captain, with much alacrity, shouldered his book - for he made it a point of duty to read none but very large books on a sunday, as having a more staid appearance: and had bargained, years ago, for a prodigious volume at a book-stall, five lines of which utterly confounded him at any time, insomuch that he had not yet ascertained of what subject it treated - and withdrew. walter soon appeared.

'captain cuttle tells me, miss dombey,' he eagerly began on coming in - but stopped when he saw her face.

'you are not so well to-day. you look distressed. you have been weeping.'

he spoke so kindly, and with such a fervent tremor in his voice, that the tears gushed into her eyes at the sound of his words.

'walter,' said florence, gently, 'i am not quite well, and i have been weeping. i want to speak to you.'

he sat down opposite to her, looking at her beautiful and innocent face; and his own turned pale, and his lips trembled.

'you said, upon the night when i knew that you were saved - and oh! dear walter, what i felt that night, and what i hoped!' - '

he put his trembling hand upon the table between them, and sat looking at her.

- 'that i was changed. i was surprised to hear you say so, but i understand, now, that i am. don't be angry with me, walter. i was too much overjoyed to think of it, then.'

she seemed a child to him again. it was the ingenuous, confiding, loving child he saw and heard. not the dear woman, at whose feet he would have laid the riches of the earth.

'you remember the last time i saw you, walter, before you went away?'

he put his hand into his breast, and took out a little purse.

'i have always worn it round my neck! if i had gone down in the deep, it would have been with me at the bottom of the sea.'

'and you will wear it still, walter, for my old sake?'

'until i die!'

she laid her hand on his, as fearlessly and simply, as if not a day had intervened since she gave him the little token of remembrance.

'i am glad of that. i shall be always glad to think so, walter. do you recollect that a thought of this change seemed to come into our minds at the same time that evening, when we were talking together?'

'no!' he answered, in a wondering tone.

'yes, walter. i had been the means of injuring your hopes and prospects even then. i feared to think so, then, but i know it now. if you were able, then, in your generosity, to hide from me that you knew it too, you cannot do so now, although you try as generously as before. you do. i thank you for it, walter, deeply, truly; but you cannot succeed. you have suffered too much in your own hardships, and in those of your dearest relation, quite to overlook the innocent cause of all the peril and affliction that has befallen you. you cannot quite forget me in that character, and we can be brother and sister no longer. but, dear walter, do not think that i complain of you in this. i might have known it - ought to have known it - but forgot it in my joy. all i hope is that you may think of me less irksomely when this feeling is no more a secret one; and all i ask is, walter, in the name of the poor child who was your sister once, that you will not struggle with yourself, and pain yourself, for my sake, now that i know all!'

walter had looked upon her while she said this, with a face so full of wonder and amazement, that it had room for nothing else. now he caught up the hand that touched his, so entreatingly, and held it between his own.

'oh, miss dombey,' he said, 'is it possible that while i have been suffering so much, in striving with my sense of what is due to you, and must be rendered to you, i have made you suffer what your words disclose to me? never, never, before heaven, have i thought of you but as the single, bright, pure, blessed recollection of my boyhood and my youth. never have i from the first, and never shall i to the last, regard your part in my life, but as something sacred, never to be lightly thought of, never to be esteemed enough, never, until death, to be forgotten. again to see you look, and hear you speak, as you did on that night when we parted, is happiness to me that there are no words to utter; and to be loved and trusted as your brother, is the next gift i could receive and prize!'

'walter,' said florence, looking at him earnestly, but with a changing face, 'what is that which is due to me, and must be rendered to me, at the sacrifice of all this?'

'respect,' said walter, in a low tone. 'reverence.

the colour dawned in her face, and she timidly and thoughtfully withdrew her hand; still looking at him with unabated earnestness.

'i have not a brother's right,' said walter. 'i have not a brother's claim. i left a child. i find a woman.'

the colour overspread her face. she made a gesture as if of entreaty that he would say no more, and her face dropped upon her hands.

they were both silent for a time; she weeping.

'i owe it to a heart so trusting, pure, and good,' said walter, 'even to tear myself from it, though i rend my own. how dare i say it is my sister's!'

she was weeping still.

'if you had been happy; surrounded as you should be by loving and admiring friends, and by all that makes the station you were born to enviable,' said walter; 'and if you had called me brother, then, in your affectionate remembrance of the past, i could have answered to the name from my distant place, with no inward assurance that i wronged your spotless truth by doing so. but here - and now!'

'oh thank you, thank you, walter! forgive my having wronged you so much. i had no one to advise me. i am quite alone.'

'florence!' said walter, passionately. 'i am hurried on to say, what i thought, but a few moments ago, nothing could have forced from my lips. if i had been prosperous; if i had any means or hope of being one day able to restore you to a station near your own; i would have told you that there was one name you might bestow upon - me - a right above all others, to protect and cherish you - that i was worthy of in nothing but the love and honour that i bore you, and in my whole heart being yours. i would have told you that it was the only claim that you could give me to defend and guard you, which i dare accept and dare assert; but that if i had that right, i would regard it as a trust so precious and so priceless, that the undivided truth and fervour of my life would poorly acknowledge its worth.'

the head was still bent down, the tears still falling, and the bosom swelling with its sobs.

'dear florence! dearest florence! whom i called so in my thoughts before i could consider how presumptuous and wild it was. one last time let me call you by your own dear name, and touch this gentle hand in token of your sisterly forgetfulness of what i have said.'

she raised her head, and spoke to him with such a solemn sweetness in her eyes; with such a calm, bright, placid smile shining on him through her tears; with such a low, soft tremble in her frame and voice; that the innermost chords of his heart were touched, and his sight was dim as he listened.

'no, walter, i cannot forget it. i would not forget it, for the world. are you - are you very poor?'

'i am but a wanderer,' said walter, 'making voyages to live, across the sea. that is my calling now.

'are you soon going away again, walter?'

'very soon.

she sat looking at him for a moment; then timidly put her trembling hand in his.

'if you will take me for your wife, walter, i will love you dearly. if you will let me go with you, walter, i will go to the world's end without fear. i can give up nothing for you - i have nothing to resign, and no one to forsake; but all my love and life shall be devoted to you, and with my last breath i will breathe your name to god if i have sense and memory left.'

he caught her to his heart, and laid her cheek against his own, and now, no more repulsed, no more forlorn, she wept indeed, upon the breast of her dear lover.

blessed sunday bells, ringing so tranquilly in their entranced and happy ears! blessed sunday peace and quiet, harmonising with the calmness in their souls, and making holy air around them! blessed twilight stealing on, and shading her so soothingly and gravely, as she falls asleep, like a hushed child, upon the bosom she has clung to!

oh load of love and trustfulness that lies to lightly there! ay, look down on the closed eyes, walter, with a proudly tender gaze; for in all the wide wide world they seek but thee now - only thee!

the captain remained in the little parlour until it was quite dark. he took the chair on which walter had been sitting, and looked up at the skylight, until the day, by little and little, faded away, and the stars peeped down. he lighted a candle, lighted a pipe, smoked it out, and wondered what on earth was going on upstairs, and why they didn't call him to tea.

florence came to his side while he was in the height of his wonderment.

'ay! lady lass!' cried the captain. 'why, you and wal'r have had a long spell o' talk, my beauty.'

florence put her little hand round one of the great buttons of his coat, and said, looking down into his face:

'dear captain, i want to tell you something, if you please.

the captain raised his head pretty smartly, to hear what it was. catching by this means a more distinct view of florence, he pushed back his chair, and himself with it, as far as they could go.

'what! heart's delight!' cried the captain, suddenly elated, 'is it that?'

'yes!' said florence, eagerly.

'wal'r! husband! that?' roared the captain, tossing up his glazed hat into the skylight.

'yes!' cried florence, laughing and crying together.

the captain immediately hugged her; and then, picking up the glazed hat and putting it on, drew her arm through his, and conducted her upstairs again; where he felt that the great joke of his life was now to be made.

'what, wal'r my lad!' said the captain, looking in at the door, with his face like an amiable warming-pan. 'so there ain't no other character, ain't there?'

he had like to have suffocated himself with this pleasantry, which he repeated at least forty times during tea; polishing his radiant face with the sleeve of his coat, and dabbing his head all over with his pocket-handkerchief, in the intervals. but he was not without a graver source of enjoyment to fall back upon, when so disposed, for he was repeatedly heard to say in an undertone, as he looked with ineffable delight at walter and florence:

'ed'ard cuttle, my lad, you never shaped a better course in your life, than when you made that there little property over, jintly!'

在木制海军军官候补生家中的顶楼里有一个空房间，过去是沃尔特的卧室。沃尔特一清早唤醒船长之后，建议把最好的家具从小客厅搬到那里去，把房间装饰得尽量漂亮一些，使弗洛伦斯起床以后就可以搬进去住。卡特尔船长搬得脸孔通红，气喘吁吁，但他觉得没有什么比这更使他愉快的了；用他自己的话来说，他是心甘情愿这样做的；两三个小时以后，这个顶楼就被改造成一个陆地上的船舱，用小客厅里最精美的物品装饰着；其中甚至包括那幅鞑靼人的快速帆船的画，船长把它挂在壁炉架上方，高兴极了；他离开它向后倒退，出神地赞赏它，在这之后的半个钟头内，其他什么事也干不了。

沃尔特不论怎么劝说，也不能使船长去把他的大表的发条拧紧，取回茶叶罐或动一动方糖箝子和茶匙。“不，不，我的孩子，”船长对这类恳求总是始终不变地回答道，“这份小小的财产我已转交给你们共同使用了。”他热心地、认真地重复着这些话，显然他相信它们具有议会法令一样的效力；除非他自己重新承认他享有所有权，否则这种转让财产的形式是找不出什么毛病来的。

这种新的安排有一个好处，就是除了使弗洛伦斯可以居住到更为隐僻的地方外，还可以把海军军官候补生重新安置到他经常的观察岗哨上去，而且店铺里的护窗板也可以拆下来了。心中毫无猜疑的船长对后一个措施不论多么不重视，但它决不是完全多余的，因为前一天护窗板一直关闭着，这在邻近的居民中引起了很大的哄动；仪器制造商的住宅荣幸地受到了公众异乎寻常的注意；从日出到日落，时时都有几群爱看热闹的人聚集在道路对面，密切注视着它。那些游手好闲的人和无赖们对船长的命运特别感兴趣，他们不时地趴在泥地上，通过店铺窗子下面地窖的格栅往里面探望，高兴地想象着船长在一个角落里上吊死了，他们可以看到他的外衣的一部分，可是另一伙人竭力反对对他的下落持这种看法，他们认为他被人用锤子暗杀了，现正躺在楼梯上。因此，当他们看到这些谣传的对象一清早站在店铺门口，身体十分硬朗，仿佛什么事情也没有发生过的一样，他们不免感到有些失望；这个区域的教区事务员是一位有野心的人，原先曾希望在把门强行砸开的时候他能光荣地在场，并穿上全套礼服到验尸官前去作证，这时竟然对对面的邻居说，这位戴着上了光的帽子的家伙最好别开这样的玩笑——他没有具体说明是什么玩笑——，还说他（教区事务员）要监视他。

“卡特尔船长，”当他们劳动之后，站在店铺门口休息，眺望着熟悉的老街道的时候，沃尔特沉思地说道，“这些时候一直来就没有听到所尔舅舅的一点音讯吗？”

“一点音讯也没有，我的孩子，”船长摇摇头，回答道。

“亲爱的、仁慈的老人出去寻找我，”沃尔特说道，“然而却没有给您写过一封信！可是为什么没有写呢？实际上，在您交给我的这个包裹里的信中，”他从衣袋中掏出那页当着聪明的邦斯贝的面拆开的信，“他说，如果当您打开它的时候，您听不到他的丝毫音讯的话，那么您可以相信他已死了。但愿上帝阻止这样的事情！但是即使他·确·实已经死了的话，那么您也是会·听·到他的音讯的！如果他自己不能写的话，那么也一定会有人按照他的愿望写信通知您：‘他已在某月某日死在我家里，’或‘他在我的照料下死去’，等等，‘伦敦人所罗门·吉尔斯先生要求向您转达他这个最后的问候和这个最后的请求’。”

船长以前从来没有攀登上这样开阔的可能性的高峰，现在对展现在他面前的宽广的前景产生了深刻的印象；他若有所思地摇着头，回答道，“说得好，我的孩子，说得很好。”

“在这难以入睡的夜里，我一直在想着这件事情；不过，”沃尔特红着脸，说道，“我也还想到其他一些事情；我不能不相信，卡特尔船长，我的所尔舅舅（愿上帝保佑他！）还活着；他将会回来。他的出走我并不感到很奇怪，因为，别提经常成为他性格特点的那种不可思议的东西，也别提他对我深厚的感情——在这种深厚的感情前面，他对他生命的其他考虑都是不值一顾的；要知道，我从他那里受到了世界上最好的父亲才会给予的关怀；没有任何人能比我对这一点了解得更清楚的了。”——这时沃尔特的干哑了，听不清了，他把眼睛转开，沿着街道望过去，“这一切都不去提了；我是说，我时常从书本中读到和听人说过，有些人有个什么亲近的亲爱的亲属可能在海上遭遇到船只失事，他们就迁居到海边的那些地方去，以便能早听到遇难船的消息，哪怕早听一、两个小时也好；他们或者甚至沿着航线走去，直到那条船的目的地为止，仿佛他们的旅行会产生出消息来似的。我想，我自己也会做这种事情，做得比别人一样快，也许比许多人还快一些。我的舅舅显然打算这样去做，可是这时候他为什么没有写信给您呢？再说，他怎么能在外面死去，而您却没有从别的什么人那里了解到这一点呢——我实在不明白！”

卡特尔船长摇摇头说，杰克·邦斯贝是一位能说出绝妙意见来的人，可是连他也不明白这一点。

“如果我的舅舅是一位粗心大意的年轻人的话，那么他的那些快活的朋友可能会把他诱骗到一个什么酒店里，把他收拾掉，以便抢占他身上的钱财；”沃尔特说道，“或者如果他是个冒冒失失的海员，口袋里装着两、三个月的工资，跑上岸去，那么我能明白他为什么销声匿迹的原因。可是他过去是那样的一个人——我希望，他现在也仍然是那样的一个人——，我就不能相信他会这样毫无音讯地死去。”

“沃尔，我的孩子，”船长在思索着、思索着的时候、愁闷地凝视着他，问道，“那么你是怎样解释这件事的呢？”

“卡特尔船长，”沃尔特回答道，“我不知道怎样解释这件事。我假定，他从来没有给您写过信！这没有什么可以怀疑的吧？”

“如果所尔·吉尔斯写过的话，我的孩子，”船长争辩地回答道，“那么他的信在哪里呢？”

“假定他把它托交给了什么人，”沃尔特假设着，说道，“而它被遗忘了或者被随便地扔在一旁，或者被丢失了。哪怕是这样的猜想在我看来也要比其他情况更可能发生。总之，我不仅忍受不了去揣摩其他情况，而且不能，也不想去揣摩。”“你知道，沃尔，这是希望，”船长像哲人一样说道，“希望！是它鼓舞了你。希望是个救生圈——请翻一下你的《小鸣禽》这本书中的感伤篇，就可以找到这句话，可是老天爷，我的孩子，希望就像其他的救生圈一样，只是漂浮在水面，而不能把它驾驶到哪里去。除了希望之神这个船头的雕塑外，还有锚，”船长继续说道，“可是如果我找不到海底的一个地方可以把它抛下去，我有一个锚又有什么好处呢？”

卡特尔船长的这些话与其说是以他本人独特的身份说的，还不如说是以一位有才智的公民与户主的身份，有责任把自己的点滴智慧传授给没有经验的年轻人，所以才说出的。可是他在说话的时候，确实由于从沃尔特那里获得新的希望而容光焕发，他轻轻地拍拍他的背，怀着热情，适当地结束他的话，说道，“万岁，我的孩子！我本人赞成你的意见。”

沃尔特用快乐的笑声回答了他的欢呼，说道：

“关于舅舅，我只想再讲一句话，卡特尔船长。我想，他通过通常的方式——通过邮局或邮船——来写信是不可能的，您懂得这一点。”

“是的，是的，我的孩子，”船长赞同地说道。

“您把信丢失也是不可能的，是不是？”

“什么，沃尔，”船长神色稍稍严肃起来，注视着他，说道，“从我失去这位通晓科学的人，老所尔·吉尔斯，你的舅舅的时候起，难道我不曾日日夜夜、眼巴巴地在盼望着他的消息吗？难道我的心不曾感到沉重，难道我不是一直在等候着他和你吗？难道我不论睡着还是醒着不都在坚守着我的岗位吗？难道在海军军官候补生还是完好无恙的时候，我不曾认为把它抛弃是卑鄙可耻的吗？”

“是的，卡特尔船长，”沃尔特紧握着他的手，回答道，“我知道您是会这样的。我也知道您所说的，所感觉的一切是多么忠实与真挚。我对这深信不疑。我相信它就像我相信我的脚踩在这门口的台阶上或我又握住了这只真诚的手一样，这一点您不会怀疑吧，是不是？”

“不会，不会，沃尔，”船长脸上喜气洋溢地回答道。

“我不再胡乱猜想了，”沃尔特热烈地握着船长坚硬的手，说道，船长也同样亲切地握着他的手。“我只想补充一句：我要是动一动我舅舅的财产，老天爷都不允许！他所留在这里的一切东西，将继续由世界上最诚实的管家和最厚道的人照管。这个人不是别人，他就姓卡特尔。现在，我最好的朋友，让我们谈谈——董贝小姐吧。”

沃尔特将要提到这四个字的时候，他的神态有些变化；当他把这四个字说出来的时候，他的信心与兴致似乎完全离开他了。

“昨天晚上当我提到董贝小姐的父亲的时候，她阻止了我，”沃尔特说道，“——您记得当时的情况吧？”

船长记得很清楚，所以点点头。

“在这之前，我原来的想法是，”沃尔特说道，“我们必须履行一个艰难的职责，就是劝说她跟她的朋友们通信，并回到家里去。”

船长用微弱的没了一声“等一等！”或“做好准备！”或在当时情况下同样恰当的什么话；可是由于他听到沃尔特宣布他的这个打算时心慌意乱，所以他的微弱极了，究竟他说了什么话，用只能猜测罢了。

“可是，”沃尔特说道，“那已经过去了。我现在不再那么想了。我宁肯重新待在那条遇难的船的碎片上（从我得救的时候起，我曾经多次在梦中在它上面漂流），我宁肯听凭风吹浪打，随波逐流，最后死去，也不愿意她回去！”

“万岁，我的孩子！”船长在难以抑制的称心满意的冲动下，大声喊叫道，“万岁！万岁！万岁！”

“只要想一想，她是那么年轻，那么善良，那么漂亮，”沃尔特说道，“过去是那么娇生惯养，生来是准备接受另一种命运的，如今却竟必须跟这残酷无情的世界进行斗争！那条把她和她过去的一切完全切断的鸿沟，虽然除了她本人之外，谁也不知道有多少深，可是我们已经看到它了。事态已经无法挽回。”

卡特尔船长不很明白这些话的含意，但却表示十分赞同，并用深表同感的语气说道，很顺风。

“她不应当一个人留在这里，是不是，卡特尔船长？”沃尔特焦急不安地问道。

“唔，我的孩子，”船长聪明地思索了一会儿之后，回答道，“这我不知道。你现在在这里，可以陪伴她，而当你们两人在一起的时候——”

“亲爱的卡特尔船长！”沃尔特提出异议道。“我在这里！董贝小姐在她纯洁、天真的心中，是把我认做她的哥哥的；可是如果我自以为我有权以这种身份放肆地接近她，如果我假装已经忘记我在道义上决不应该那样做的话，那么我的心该是多么的奸诈与有罪呢？”

“沃尔，我的孩子，”船长又露出有些心烦意乱的神色，暗示道，“难道就不能以任何别的身份了吗？”

“啊！”沃尔特回答道，“她这么信任、这么没有保护地到这里来避难，如果我利用这种机会，死乞白赖地向她求爱，成为她的情人的话，那么您是不是想使她不再尊敬我（是她那样的尊敬！），在我本人与她那天使般的脸孔中间永远挂下一块帷幕呢？我该怎么说？如果我能那样做的话，那么世界上没有什么人能比您更严厉地责备我了！”

“沃尔，我的孩子，”船长愈来愈意气消沉地说道，“如果有什么正当的理由或障碍使两个人不能在教堂里结合的话——你可以翻翻书本，找到这句话的时候请做个记号——，我希望我能在结婚预告中通告这一点。这么说，就没有别的身份了吗？难道就没有了吗，我的孩子？”

沃尔特敏捷地挥挥手，作了否定的回答。

“唔，我的孩子，”船长慢吞吞地，用低沉的说道，“我不想否认，我觉得我自己在这件事情上头脑有些糊涂。至于小姑娘夫人，沃尔，你听着，不论我多么失望，我认为尊敬她是我应尽的责任，因此，我跟随在你的后面航行，我的孩子，我觉得你做得很合适。这么说，就没有别的身份了吗？难道就没有了吗？”船长重复问道，一边心灰意冷地面对着他的倒塌了的城堡的废墟沉思着。

“卡特尔船长，”沃尔特用快活一些的神态，换了一个新的话题，使船长高兴起来——可是他太忧虑了，没有什么能使他高兴起来——“当董贝小姐住在这里的时候，我们应该设法找个人来，可以服侍她。这个人是可以信任的。她的亲属一个也不行。毫无疑问，董贝小姐觉得他们都是奉承她的父亲的。苏珊现在怎么样了？”

“那位姑娘吗？”船长回答道，“我相信她已被辞退了。当小姑娘夫人刚到这里来的时候，我发出了一个试探她情况的信号，小姑娘夫人对她的评价是很高的，说她好久以前就走了。”

“如果是这样的话，”沃尔特说道，“那么请您问一问董贝小姐，她到哪里去了，我们将设法把她找到。时间过得很快，董贝小姐不久就要起床了。您是她最好的朋友。请您在楼上等候她，楼下的一切都由我来照料。”

船长确实十分垂头丧气，沃尔特说完话时叹了一口气，船长跟着也叹了一口气，并答应照沃尔特的话去做。弗洛伦斯很喜欢她的新房间，急着想见到沃尔特；当知道今后有可能会见她的老朋友苏珊时，她开心得简直要发狂似的。可是弗洛伦斯说不出苏珊到哪里去了，而只知道她在埃塞克斯；她记得，除了图茨先生一人之外，谁也说不出她到哪里去了。

得到这个消息之后，郁郁不乐的船长回到了沃尔特的身边，并让他了解，图茨先生就是他在门口的台阶上遇见的那位年轻的先生；他是他的一位朋友，自己有一份财产，并毫无希望地迷恋着董贝小姐。船长也谈到原以为沃尔特已经死去的消息怎样使他与图茨先生相识，以及他们两人怎样达成庄严的协议，图茨先生必须闭口不谈他的爱情问题。

接着的问题是，弗洛伦斯是不是能信赖图茨先生；弗洛伦斯笑嘻嘻地说道，“哦，我完全信赖！”，于是打听出图茨先生住在哪里就很重要了。弗洛伦斯不知道这一点，船长则已经忘记了；船长在小客厅里对沃尔特说，图茨先生一定很快就会到这里来的，正在这时候，图茨先生本人进来了。

“吉尔斯船长，”图茨先生不顾什么礼节，跑进客厅里，说道，“我已接近于精神错乱的地步了！”

图茨先生好像是从迫击炮里把这些话打出来似的，在这之后他才注意到沃尔特，并吃吃地笑了一声来打招呼，这笑声可以说是很可怜的。

“请原谅我，先生，”图茨先生抱住前额，说道，“可是我现在如果还没有失去理智的话，那么也正在失去它了；一个处于这种状态中的人如果还想讲究什么礼貌的话，那就是虚伪的嘲弄了。吉尔斯船长，我冒昧地请求您允许我单独跟您谈谈。”

“哎呀，老弟，”船长握住他的手，说道，“你正是我们想要寻找的人。”

“啊，吉尔斯船长，”图茨先生说道，“我都成了寻找的对象了，那该是什么样的寻找啊！我不敢刮胡子——我是处于这样忙忙乱乱的状态之中。我没有把我的衣服刷过。我的头发蓬乱成一团。我告诉斗鸡，如果他想把我的靴子擦干净的话，那么我就让他死在我面前！”

所有这些精神错乱的症状，从图茨先生那古怪的、野蛮的外貌中也得到了证实。

“看这里，老弟，”船长说道，“这是老所尔·吉尔斯的外甥沃尔，就是那位我们都以为已经在海上死去的人。”

图茨先生把手从前额上拿下来，目不转睛地看着沃尔特。

“我的天哪！”图茨先生结结巴巴地说道，“不幸的事情是多么错综复杂！您好！我——我——我担心您一定浑身湿透了。吉尔斯船长，您允许我在店铺里跟您说一句话吗？”

他抓住船长的外套，跟他出去的时候低声问道：

“这么说，吉尔斯船长，这就是您曾说过，他跟董贝小姐是天造地设的一对那个人吗？”

“唔，是的，我的孩子，”闷闷不乐的船长回答道，“我曾经一度这样想过。”

“偏偏在这个时候！”图茨先生又用手抱住前额，大声喊道，“而不是在其他任何时候！——一个可恨的情敌！”图茨先生重新思索了一下之后，突然停住，把手从前额上拿下来，说道，“至少，他对我来说不是个可恨的情敌；如果我的爱情真正是无私的话，那么我为什么要恨他呢？不！吉尔斯船长，现在让我来证明这一点吧！”

图茨先生突然间又冲进客厅，紧握着沃尔特的手，说道：“您好！我希望您别着凉了！如果您允许我跟您认识的话，那么我——我将感到很高兴。我祝您长命百岁。说实话，我以荣誉发誓，”图茨先生把沃尔特的脸孔与身材好好端详了一番之后，满脸通红地说道，“我很高兴见到您！”

“衷心感谢您，”沃尔特说道，“我不能指望得到比这更真诚、更友好的欢迎了。”

“真的吗？”图茨先生握着他的手，说道，“您真客气。我非常感谢您。您好吗？我希望，您走了以后所有的人都很健康，就是说，——您知道，我的意思是说，不论您最近从哪里来。”

沃尔特以男子汉大丈夫的气概回答了所有这些良好的祝愿和更良好的意愿。

“吉尔斯船长，”图茨先生说道，“我希望我能严格地遵守信义，但是我希望您能允许我现在提到某一个话题——”

“可以，可以，我的孩子，”船长回答道，“随便说吧，随便说吧。”

“那么我就说吧，吉尔斯船长和沃尔特斯上尉，”图茨先生说道，“你们可知道，董贝先生家里发生了一桩最可怕的事件：董贝小姐已经离开了她的父亲？在我看来，”图茨先生十分激动地说道，“她的父亲是一头畜牲！如果把他称为一块——一块大理石纪念碑或是一只猛禽，那就是对他的奉承了。

现在找不到她，谁也不知道她到哪里去了。”

“我是不是可以问一下，您怎么听到这个消息的？”沃尔特问道。

“沃尔特斯上尉，”图茨先生说道；他根据只有他自己才明白的独特的理由，采用了这个称呼，可能是把沃尔特的基督教名跟航海职业联系起来的缘故1，同时推测他跟船长有些亲戚关系，于是就自然而然地引伸出他们的职衔来2；“沃尔特斯上尉，我可以直截了当地回答您。事实是，由于我对董贝小姐有关的一切事情都极感兴趣——这决不是出于任何自私自利的原因，沃尔特斯上尉，因为我很清楚，我最能使所有各方都满意的事就是把我这个可以称为障碍的生命结束了——，我习惯于不时给一位仆人送点小费；他是一位品行端正的年轻人，姓托林森，在那个家里已服务很久了；昨天晚上托林森告诉我，事情的状况就是这样。从那时起，吉尔斯船长——和沃尔特斯上尉——我完全疯狂了，整夜躺在沙发上，现在你们看到的就是这个形容枯槁的骨头架子。”

--------

1在英文中，沃尔特（walter）与海水（waters），（音译为沃尔特斯）的字形与发音是相似的。

2在英文中，船长（captain）的另一意思为海军上校；图茨先生可能认为沃尔特比卡特尔船长年轻，职称应该低一些，所以称他为上尉。

“图茨先生，”沃尔特说道，“我很高兴能让您放心。请您平静下来。董贝小姐安全无恙。”

“先生！”图茨先生从椅子中跳了起来，喊道，一边重新跟他握手，“这真是个极大的、难以形容的安慰呀；如果您现在就是告诉我董贝小姐已经结婚了，那么我也能微笑了。是的，吉尔斯船长，”图茨先生对他说道，“以我的灵魂与肉体发誓，不论在这之后我紧接着会对自己做什么，我确实认为，我能微笑了，我是感到多么安慰啊。”

“您是个胸怀豁达的人，”沃尔特毫不迟疑地回答了他的问候，说道，“当您知道您可以为董贝小姐效劳时，您将会感到更大的安慰与喜悦的。卡特尔船长，劳驾您把图茨先生领到楼上去好吗？”

船长向图茨先生打了招呼，图茨先生露出困惑不