“Ye-es，butwhat’stheuseofshowingit？It’sonlyalotofscratchesAllthesame，wemighthave’emreproducedinthebookonthefrontpage。”
“I’llattendtothosedetailsShowmewhatyourmenwrote。”
Hepulledoutofhispocketasheetofnote-paper，withasinglelineofscratchesuponit，andIputthiscarefullyaway。
“WhatisitsupposedtomeaninEnglish？”Isaid。
“Oh，Idon’tknowPerhapsitmeans’I’mbeastlytired。’It’sgreatnonsence。”herepeated，“butallthosemenintheshipseemasrealpeopletomeDodosomethingtothenotionsoon；Ishouldliketoseeitwrittenandprinted。”
“Butallyou’vetoldmewouldmakealongbook。”
“MakeitthenYou’veonlytositdownandwriteitout。”
“GivemealittletimeHaveyouanymorenotions？”
“NotjustnowI’mreadingallthebooksI’veboughtThey’resplendid。”
WhenhehadleftIlookedatthesheetofnote-paperwiththeinscriptionuponitThenItookmyheadtenderlybetweenbothhands，tomakecertainthatitwasnotcomingofforturninground。
ThenbutthereseemedtobenointervalbetweenquittingmyroomsandfindingmyselfarguingwithapolicemanoutsideadoormarkedPrivateinacorridoroftheBritishMuseumAllI
demanded，aspolitelyaspossible，was“theGreekantiquityman。”
ThepolicemanknewnothingexcepttherulesoftheMuseum，anditbecamenecessarytoforagethroughallthehousesandofficesinsidethegatesAnelderlygentlemancalledawayfromhislunchputanendtomysearchbyholdingthenote-paperbetweenfingerandthumbandsniffingatitscornfully。
“Whatdoesthismean？H’mm。”saidhe“SofarasIcanascertainitisanattempttowriteextremelycorruptGreekonthepart“-hereheglaredatmewithintention-“ofanextremelyilliterate-ah-
person。”Hereadslowlyfromthepaper，“Pollock，Erckman，Tauchnitz，Henniker“-fournamesfamiliartome。
“Canyoutellmewhatthecorruptionissupposedtomean-thegistofthething？”Iasked。
“Ihavebeen-manytimes-overcomewithwearinessinthisparticularemploymentThatisthemeaning。”Hereturnedmethepaper，andIfledwithoutawordofthanks，explanation，orapology。
ImighthavebeenexcusedforforgettingmuchTomeofallmenhadbeengiventhechancetowritethemostmarveloustaleintheworld，nothinglessthanthestoryofaGreekgalley-slave，astoldbyhimselfSmallwonderthathisdreaminghadseemedrealtoCharlieTheFatesthataresocarefultoshutthedoorsofeachsuccessivelifebehindushad，inthiscase，beenneglectful，andCharliewaslooking，thoughthathedidnotknow，wherenevermanhadbeenpermittedtolookwithfullknowledgesinceTimebeganAboveallhewasabsolutelyignorantoftheknowledgesoldtomeforfivepounds；andhewouldretainthatignorance，forbank-clerksdonotunderstandmetempsychosis，andasoundcommercialeducationdoesnotincludeGreekHewouldsupplym~hereIcaperedamongthedumbgodsofEgyptandlaughedintheirbatteredfaces-withmaterialtomakemytalesur~sosurethattheworldwouldhailitasanimpudentandvampedfict~onAndI-Ialonewouldknowthatitwasabsolutelyandliterallytrue1，-I
aloneheldthisjeweltomyhandforthecuttingandpolishing。
ThereforeIdancedagainamongthegodstillapolicemansawmeandtookstepsinmydirection。
ItremainednowonlytoencourageCharlietotalk，andheretherewasnodifficultyButIhadforgottenthoseaccursedbooksofpoetryHecametometimeaftertime，asuselessasasurchargedphonograph-drunkonByron，Shelley，orKeatsKnowingnowwhattheboyhadbeeninhispastlives，anddesperatelyanxiousnottoloseonewordofhisbabble，IcouldnothidefromhimmyrespectandinterestHemisconstruedbothintorespectforthepresentsoulofCharlieMears，towhomlifewasasnewasitwastoAdam，andinterestinhisreadings；andstretchedmypatiencetobreakingpointbyrecitingpoetry-nothisownnow，butthatofothersIwishedeveryEnglishpoetblottedoutofthememoryofmankindIblasphemedthemightiestnamesofsongbecausetheyhaddrawnCharliefromthepathofdirectnarrative，andwould，later，spurhimtoimitatethem；butIchokeddownmyimpatienceuntilthefirstfloodofenthusiasmshouldhavespentitselfandtheboyreturnedtohisdreams。
“What’stheuseofmytellingyouwhatIthink，whenthesechapswrotethingsfortheangelstoread？”hegrowled，oneevening。
“Whydon’tyouwritesomethingliketheirs？”
“Idon’tthinkyou’retreatingmequitefairly。”Isaid，speakingunderstrongrestraint。
“I’vegivenyouthestory。”hesaid，shortlyreplunginginto“Lara。”
“ButIwantthedetails。”
“ThethingsImakeupaboutthatdamnedshipthatyoucallagalley？They’requiteeasyYoucanjustmakeemupyourselfTurnupthegasalittle，Iwanttogoonreading。”
IcouldhavebrokenthegasglobeoverhisheadforhisamazingstupidityIcouldindeedmakeupthingsformyselfdidIonlyknowwhatCharliedidnotknowthatheknewButsincethedoorswereshutbehindmeIcouldonlywaithisyouthfulpleasureandstrivetokeephimingoodtemperOneminute’swantofguardmightspoilapricelessrevelation：nowandagainhewouldtosshisbooksaside-hekepttheminmyrooms，forhismotherwouldhavebeenshockedatthewasteofgoodmoneyhadsheseenthem-andlaunchedintohisseadreamsAgainIcursedallthepoetsofEnglandTheplasticmindofthebank-clerkhadbeenoverlaid，coloredanddistortedbythatwhichhehadread，andtheresultasdeliveredwasaconfusedtangleofothervoicesmostlikethemutteredsongthroughaCitytelephoneinthebusiestpartoftheday。
Hetalkedofthegalley-hisowngalleyhadhebutknownit-withillustrationsborrowedfromthe“BrideofAbydos。”Hepointedtheexperiencesofhisherowithquotationsfrom“TheCorsair。”andthrewindeepanddesperatemoralreflectionsfrom“Cain“and“Manfred。”expectingmetousethemallOnlywhenthetalkturnedonLongfellowwerethejarringcross-currentsdumb，andI
knewthatCharliewasspeakingthetruthasherememberedit。
“Whatdoyouthinkofthis？”Isaidoneevening，assoonasI
understoodthemediuminwhichhismemoryworkedbest，and，beforehecouldexpostulatereadhimthewholeof“TheSagofKingOlaf！”
Helistenedopen-mouthed，flushedhishandsdrummingonthebackofthesofawherehelay，tillIcametotheSongsofEmarTamberskelverandtheverse：
“Emarthen，thearrowtakingFromtheloosenedstring，Answered：’ThatwasNorwaybreaking’Neaththyhand，OKing。’“
Hegaspedwithpuredelightofsound。
“That’sbetterthanByron，alittle。”Iventured。
“Better？Whyit’strue！Howcouldhehaveknown？”
Iwentbackandrepeated：
“’Whatwasthat？’saidOlaf，standingOnthequarter-deck，’SomethingheardIlikethestrandingOfashatteredwreck。’“
“Howcouldhehaveknownhowtheshipscrashandtheoarsripoutandgoz-zzpallalongtheline？Whyonlytheothernight。
Butgobackpleaseandread’TheSkerryofShrieks’again。”
“No，I’mtiredLet’stalkWhathappenedtheothernight？”
“IhadanawfulnightmareaboutthatgalleyofoursIdreamedI
wasdrownedinafightYouseeweranalongsideanothershipinharborThewaterwasdeadstillexceptwhereouroarswhippeditupYouknowwhereIalwayssitinthegalley？”Hespokehaltinglyatfirst，underafineEnglishfearofbeinglaughedat。
“NoThat’snewstome。”Ianswered，meekly，myheartbeginningtobeat。
“OnthefourthoarfromthebowontherightsideontheupperdeckTherewerefourofusattheoar，allchainedIrememberwatchingthewaterandtryingtogetmyhandcuffsoffbeforetherowbeganThenweclosedupontheothership，andalltheirfightingmenjumpedoverourbulwarks，andmybenchbrokeandI
waspinneddownwiththethreeotherfellowsontopofme，andthebigoarjammedacrossourbacks。”
“Well？”Charlie’seyeswerealiveandalightHewaslookingatthewallbehindmychair。
“Idon’tknowhowwefoughtThemenweretramplingallovermyback，andIlaylowThenourrowersontheleftside-tiedtotheiroars，youknow-begantoyellandbackwaterIcouldhearthewatersizzle，andwespunroundlikeacockchaferandIknew，lyingwhereIwas，thattherewasagalleycomingupbow-on，toramusontheleftsideIcouldjustliftupmyheadandseehersailoverthebulwarksWewantedtomeetherbowtobow，butitwastoolateWecouldonlyturnalittlebitbecausethegalleyonourrighthadhookedherselfontousandstoppedourmovingThen，bygum！therewasacrash！Ourleftoarsbegantobreakastheothergalley，themovingoney’know，stuckhernoseintothem。
Thenthelower-deckoarsshotupthroughthedeck-planking，butfirst，andoneofthemjumpedcleanupintotheairandcamedownagainclosetomyhead。”
“Howwasthatmanaged？”
“Themovinggalley’sbowwasplunkingthembackthroughtheirownoarholes，andIcouldhearthedevilofashindyinthedecksbelowThenhernosecaughtusnearlyinthemiddle，andwetiltedsideways，andthefellowsintheright-handgalleyunhitchedtheirhooksandropes，andthrewthingsontoourupperdeck-arrows，andhotpitchorsomethingthatstung，andwewentupandupandupontheleftside，andtherightsidedipped，andItwistedmyheadroundandsawthewaterstandstillasittoppedtherightbulwarks，andthenitcurledoverandcrasheddownonthewholelotofusontherightside，andIfeltithitmyback，andIwoke。”
“Oneminute，CharlieWhentheseatoppedthebulwarks，whatdiditlooklike？”IhadmyreasonsforaskingAmanofmyacquaintancehadoncegonedownwithaleakingshipinastillsea，andhadseenthewater-levelpauseforaninstantereitfellonthedeck。
“Itlookedjustlikeabanjo-stringdrawntight，anditseemedtostaythereforyears。”saidCharlie。
Exactly！Theothermanhadsaid：
“Itlookedlikeasilverwirelaiddownalongthebulwarks，andI
thoughtitwasnevergoingtobreak。”Hehadpaideverythingexceptthebarelifeforthislittlevaluelesspieceofknowledge，andIhadtraveledtenthousandwearymilestomeethimandtakehisknowledgeatsecondhandButCharlie，thebank-clerk，ontwenty-fiveshillingsaweek，hewhobadneverbeenoutofsightofaLondonomnibus，knewitallItwasnoconsolationtomethatonceinhisliveshehadbeenforcedtodieforhisgainsIalsomusthavediedscoresoftimes，buthebiname，becauseIcouldhaveusedmyknowledge，thedoorswereshut。
“Andthen？”Isaid，tryingtoputawaythedevilofenvy。
“Thefunnythingwas，though，inallthemessIdidn’tfeelabitastonishedorfrightenedItseemedasifI’dbeeninagoodmanyfights，becauseItoldmynextmansowhentherowbeganButthatcadofanoverseeronmydeckwouldn’tunlooseourchainsandgiveusachanceHealwayssaidthatwe’dallhesetfreeafterabattle，butweneverwere；Weneverwere。”Charlieshookhisheadmournfully。
“Whatascoundrel！”
“IshouldsayhewasHenevergaveusenoughtoeat，andsometimesweweresothirstythatweusedtodrinksalt-waterI
cantastethatsalt-waterstill。’’
“Nowtellmesomethingabouttheharborwherethefightwasfought。”
“Ididn’tdreamaboutthatIknowitwasaharbor，though；becabseweweretieduptoaringonawhitewallandallthefaceofthestoneunderwaterwascoveredwithwoodtopreventourramgettingchippedwhenthetidemadeusrock。”
“That’scuriousOurherocommandedthegalley？Didn’the？”
“Didn’thejust！Hestoodbythebowsandshoutedlikeagood’un。
Hewasthemanwhokilledtheoverseer。”
“Butyouwerealldrownedtogether，Charlie，weren’tyou？”
“Ican’tmakethatfitquite。”hesaidwithapuzzledlook“ThegalleymusthavegonedownwithallhandsandyetIfancythattheherowentonlivingafterwardPerhapsheclimbedintotheattackingshipIwouldn’tseethat，ofcourseIwasdead，youknow。”
Heshiveredslightlyandprotestedthathecouldremembernomore。
Ididnotpresshimfurther，buttosatisfymyselfthathelayinignoranceoftheworkingsofhisownmind，deliberatelyintroducedhimtoMortimerCollins’s“Transmigration。”andgavehimasketchoftheplotbeforeheopenedthepages。
“Whatrotitallis！”hesaid，frankly，attheendofanhour“Idon’tunderstandhisnonsenseabouttheRedPlanetMarsandtheKing，andtherestofitChuckmetheLongfellowagain。”
IhandedhimthebookandwroteoutasmuchasIcouldrememberofhisdescriptionofthesea-fight，appealingtohimfromtimetotimeforconfirmationoffactordetailHewouldanswerwithoutraisinghiseyesfromthebook，asassuredlyasthoughallhisknowledgelaybeforeflintontheprintedpageIspokeunderthenormalkeyofmyvoicethatthecurrentmightnotbebroken，andI。