“Outcastyourself，GrishChunder！Youeatcow-beefeveryday。
Let’sthinkthethingoverTheboyremembershisincarnations。”
“Doesheknowthat？”saidGrishChunder，quietly，swingingh’slegsashesatonmytableHewasspeakinginEnglishnow。
“HedoesnotknowanythingWouldIspeaktoyouifhedid？Goon！”
“ThereisnogoingonatallIfyoutellthattoyourfriendstheywillsayyouaremadandputitinthepapersSuppose，now，youprosecuteforlibel。”
“Let’sleavethatoutofthequestionentirelyIsthereanychanceofhisbeingmadetospeak？”
“ThereisachanceOsh，yess！Butifhespokeitwouldmeanthatallthisworldwouldendnow-instanto-falldownonyourhead。
Thesethingsarenotallowed，youknowAsIsaid，thedoorisshut。”
“Notaghostofachance？”
“Howcantherebe？YouareaChristi-an，anditisforbiddentoeat，inyourbooks，oftheTreeofLife，orelseyouwouldneverdie。
Howshallyouallfeardeathifyouallknowwhatyourfrienddoesnotknowthatheknows？Iamafraidtobekicked，butIamnotafraidtodie，becauseIknowwhatIknowYouarenotafraidtobekicked，butyouareafraidtodieIfyouwerenot，byGod！youEnglishwouldbeallovertheshopinanhour，upsettingthebalancesofpower，andmakingcommotionsItwouldnotbegoodButnofearHewillrememberalittleandalittleless，andhewillcallitdreamsThenhewillforgetaltogetherWhenI
passedmyFirstArtsExaminationinCalcuttathatwasallinthecram-bookonWordsworthTrailingcloudsofglory，youknow。”
“Thisseemstobeanexceptiontotherule。”
“TherearenoexceptionstorulesSomearenotsohard-lookingasothers，buttheyareallthesamewhenyoutouchIfthisfriendofyourssaidso-and-soandso-and-so，indicatingthatherememberedallhislostlives，oronepieceofalostlife，hewouldnotbeinthebankanotherhourHewouldbewhatyoucalledsackbecausehewasmad，andtheywouldsendhimtoanasylumforlunaticsYoucanseethat，myfriend。”
“OfcourseIcan，butIwasn’tthinkingofhimHisnameneedneverap~pearinthestory。”
“Ah！IseeThatstorywillneverbewrittenYoucantry。”
“Iamgoingto。”
“Foryourowncreditandforthesakeofmoney，ofcourse？”
“NoForthesakeofwritingthestoryOnmyhonorthatwillbeall。”
“EventhenthereisnochanceYoucannotplaywiththeGodsItisaveryprettystorynowAstheysay，Letitgoonthat-ImeanatthatBequick；hewillnotlastlong。”
“Howdoyoumean？”
“WhatIsayHehasnever，sofar，thoughtaboutawoman。”
“Hasn’thethough！”IrememberedsomeofCharlie’sconfidences。
“ImeannowomanhasthoughtabouthimWhenthatcomes；
bus-hogya-allup’IknowTherearemillionsofwomenhere。
Housemaids，forin-stance。”
Iwincedatthethoughtofmystorybeingruinedbyahousemaid。
Andyetnothingwasmoreprobable。
GrishChundergrinned。
“Yes-alsoprettygirls-cousinsofhishouse，andperhapsnotofhishouseOnekissthathegivesbackagainandrememberswillcureallthisnonsenseorelse“-
“Orelsewhat？Rememberhedoesnotknowthatheknows。”
“IknowthatOrelse，ifnothinghappenshewillbecomeimmersedinthetradeandthefinancialspeculationsliketherest。
ItmustbesoYoucanseethatitmustbesoButthewomanwillcomefirst，Ithink。”
Therewasarapatthedoor，andCharliechargedinimpetuously。
Hehadbeenreleasedfromoffice，andbythelookinhiseyesI
couldseethathehadcomeoverforalongtalk；mostprobablywithpoemsinhispocketsCharlie’spoemswereverywearying，butsometimestheyledhimtotalkaboutthegalley。
GrishChunderlookedathimkeenlyforaminute。
“Ibegyourpardon。”Charliesaid，uneasily；“Ididn’tknowyouhadanyonewithyou。”
“Iamgoing。”saidGrishChunder。
Hedrewmeintothelobbyashedeparted。
“Thatisyourman。”hesaid，quickly“ItellyouhewillneverspeakallyouwishThatisrot-boshButhewouldbemostgoodtomaketoseethingsSupposenowwepretendthatitwasonlyplay“-IhadneverseenGrishChundersoexcited-“andpourtheink-poolintohishandEh，whatdoyouthink？ItellyouthathecouldseeanythingthatamancouldseeLetmegettheinkandthecamphorHeisaseerandhewilltellusverymanythings。”
“Hemaybeallyousay，butI’mnotgoingtotrusthimtoyourGodsanddevils。”
“ItwillnothurthimHewillonlyfeelalittlestupidanddullwhenhewakesupYouhaveseenboyslookintotheink-poolbefore。”
“ThatisthereasonwhyIamnotgoingtoseeitanymoreYou’dbettergo，GrishChunder。”
Hewent，declaringfardownthestaircasethatitwasthrowingawaymyonlychanceoflookingintothefuture。
Thisleftmeunmoved，forIwasconcernedforthepast，andnopeeringofhypnotizedboysintomirrorsandink-poolswouldhelpmedothatButIrecognizedGrishChunder’spointofviewandsympathizedwithit。
’~Whatabigblackbrutethatwas！”saidCharlie，whenIreturnedtohim“Well，lookhere，I’vejustdoneapoem；dilitinsteadofplayingdominoesafterlunchMayIreadit？”
“Letmereadittomyself。”
“ThenyoumisstheproperexpressionBesides，youalwaysmakemythingssoundasiftherhymeswereallwrong。
“Readitaloud，thenYou’reliketherestof’em。”
Charliemouthedmehispoem，anditwasnotmuchworsethantheaverageofhisversesHehadbeenreadinghisbookfaithfully，buthewasnotpleasedwhenItoldhimthatIpreferredmyLongfellowundilutedwithCharlie。
ThenwebegantogothroughtheMSlinebyline；Charlieparryingeveryobjectionandcorrectionwith：
“Yes，thatmaybebetter，butyoudon’tcatchwhatI’mdrivingat。”
Charliewas，inonewayatleast，verylikeonekindofpoet。
Therewasapencilscrawlatthebackofthepaperand“What’sthat？”Isaid。
“Ohthat’snotpoetry’tallIt’ssomerotIwrotelastnightbeforeI
wenttobedanditwastoomuchbothertohuntforrhymes；soI
madeitasortofablankverseinstead。”
HereisCharlie’s“blankverse“：
“Wepulledforyouwhenthewindwasagainstusandthesailswerelow。
Willyouneverletusgo？
Weatebreadandonionswhenyoutooktownsorranaboardquicklywhenyouwerebeatenbackbythefoe，Thecaptainswalkedupanddownthedeckinfairweathersingingsongs，butwewerebelow，Wefaintedwithourchinsontheoarsandyoudidnotseethatwewereidleforwestillswungtoandfro。
Willyouneverletusgo？
Thesaltmadetheoarhandleslikesharkskin；ourkneeswerecuttothebonewithsaltcracks；ourhairwasstucktoourforeheads；andourlipswerecuttoourgumsandyouwhippedusbecausewecouldnotrow。
Willyouneverletusgo？
Butinalittletimeweshallrunoutoftheportholesasthewaterrunsalongthroarblade，andthoughyoutelltheotherstorowafterusyouwillnevercatchustillyoucatchtheoar-threshandtieupthewindsinthebellyofthesailAho！
Willyouneverletusgo？”
“H’mWhat’soar-thresh，Charlie？”
“ThewaterwashedupbytheoarsThat’sthesortofsongtheymightsinginthegalley，y’knowAren’tyouevergoingtofinishthatstoryandgivemesomeoftheprofits？”
“ItdependsonyourselfIfyouhadonlytoldmemoreaboutyourherointhefirstinstanceitmighthavebeenfinishedbynow。
You’resohazyinyournotions。”
“Ionlywanttogiveyouthegeneralnotionofit-theknockingaboutfromplacetoplaceandthefightingandall“THEFINESTSTORYINTHEWORLD“183
~hatCan’tyoufillintherestyour-self？Maketheherosaveagirlonapirate-galleyandmarryherordosomething。”
’You’reareallyhelpfulcollaboratorIsupposetheherowentthroughsomefewadventuresbeforehemarried。”
“Wellthen，makehimaveryartfulcard-alowsortofman-asortofpoliticalmanwhowentaboutmakingtreatiesandbreakingthem-ablack-hairedchapwhohidbehindthemastwhenthefightingbegan。”
“Butyousaidtheotherdaythathewasred-haired。”
“Icouldn’thaveMakehimblack-hairedofcourseYou’venoimagination。”
SeeingthatIhadjustdiscoveredtheentireprinciplesuponwhichthehalf-memoryfalselycalledimaginationisbased，Ifeltentitledtolaugh，butforbore，forthesakeofthetale。
“You’rerightYou’rethemanwithimaginationAblack-hairedchapinadeckedship。”Isaid。
“No，anopenship-likeabigboat。”
Thiswasmaddening。
“Yourshiphasbeenbuiltanddesigned，closedanddeckedin；yousaidsoyourself。”Iprotested。
“No，no，notthatshipThatwasopen，orhalfdeckedbecauseByJoveyou’rerightYoumademethinkoftheheroasared-hairedchapOfcourseifhewerered，theshipwouldbeanopenonewithpaintedsails。”
Surely，Ithoughthewouldremembernowthathehadservedintwogalleysatleast-inathree-deckedGreekoneundertheblack-haired“politicalman。”andagaininaViking’sopensea-serpentundertheman“redasaredbear“whowenttoMarklandThedevilpromptedmetospeak。
“Why，’ofcourse，’Charlie？”saidI“Idon’tknowAreyoumakingfunofme？”
ThecurrentwasbrokenforthetimebeingItookupanotebookandpretendedtomakemanyentriesinit。
“It’sapleasuretoworkwithanimaginativechaplikeyourself。”I
saidafterapause“Thewaythatyou’vebroughtoutthecharacteroftheheroissimplywonderful。”
“Doyouthinkso？”heanswered，withapleasedflush“Ioftentellmyselfthatthere’smoreinmethanmym~thanpeoplethink。”
“There’sanenormousamountinyou。”
“Then，won’tyouletmesendanessayonTheWaysofBankClerkstoTit-Bits，andgettheguineaprize？”
“Thatwasn’texactlywhatImeant，oldfellow：perhapsitwouldbebettertowaitalittleandgoaheadwiththegalley-story。”
“Ah，butIsha’n’tgetthecreditofthatTit-BitswouldpublishmynameandaddressifIwinWhatareyougrinningat？Theywou’d。”
“IknowitSupposeyougoforawalkIwanttolookthroughmynotesaboutourstory。”
Nowthisreprehensibleyouthwholeftme，alittlehurtandputback，mightforaughtheorIknewhavebeenoneofthecrewoftheArgo-hadbeencertainlyslaveorcomradetoThorfinKarlsefneThereforehewasdeeplyinterestedinguineacompetitionsRememberingwhatGrishChunderhadsaidI
laughedaloudTheLordsofLifeandDeathwouldneverallowCharlieMearstospeakwithfullknowledgeofhispasts，andI
mustevenpieceoutwhathehadtoldmewithmyownpoorinventionswhileCharliewroteofthewaysofbank-clerks。
Igottogetherandplacedononefileallmynotes；andthenetresultwasnotcheeringIreadthemasecondtimeTherewasnothingthatmightnothavebeencompiledatsecond-handfromotherpeople’sbooks-except，perhaps，thestoryofthefightintheharborTheadventuresofaVikingbadbeenwrittenmanytimesbefore；thehistoryofaGreekgalley-slavewasnonewthing，andthoughIwroteboth，whocouldchallengeorconfirmtheaccuracyofmydetails？ImightaswelltellataleoftwothousandyearshenceTheLordsofLifeandDeathwereascunningasGrishChunderhadhintedTheywouldallownothingtoescapethatmighttroubleormakeeasythemindsofmenThoughIwasconvincedofthis，yetIcouldnotleavethetalealoneExaltationfollowedreaction，notonce，buttwentytimesinthenextfewweeksMymoodsvariedwiththeMarchsunlightandflyingcloudsBynightorinthebeautyofaspringmorningIperceivedthatIcouldwritethattaleandshiftcontinentstherebyInthewet，windyafternoons，Isawthatthetalemightindeedbewritten，butwouldbenothingmorethanafaked，false-varnished，sham-rustedpieceofWardourStreetworkattheendThenIblessedCharlieinmanyways-thoughitwasnofaultofhisHeseemedtobebusywithprizecompetitions，andIsawlessandlessofhimastheweekswentbyandtheearthcrackedandgrewripetospring，andthebudsswelledintheirsheathsHedidnotcaretoreadortalkofwhathehadread，andtherewasanewringofself-assertioninhisvoiceIhardlycaredtoremindhimofthegalleywhenwemet；