“Thechoiceisyours，gentlemen。”saidI，“and，Ibelieve，theeagerness。IamnotyetsurethatIhaveanythinginyourway；
evenifIhave，thereareahundredthingstobeconsidered；andIassureyouitisnotatallmyhabittodobusinesswithapistoltomyhead。”
“Thatisallveryproper，Mr。Dodd；thereisnowishtocoerceyou，believeme。”saidFowler；“only，pleaseconsiderourposition。Itisreallydangerous；wewerenottheonlypeopletoseeyourschooneroffWaimanolo。”
“Mr。Fowler。”Ireplied，“Iwasnotbornyesterday。Willyouallowmetoexpressanopinion，inwhichImaybequitewrong，buttowhichIamentirelywedded？Ifthecustom-houseofficershadbeencoming，theywouldhavebeenherenow。Inotherwords，somebodyisworkingtheoracle，andforagoodguess
hisnameisFowler。”
Bothmenlaughedloudandlong；andbeingsuppliedwithanotherbottleofLonghurst’schampagne，sufferedthecaptainandmyselftoleavethemwithoutfurtherword。
IgaveNaresthecorrespondence，andheskimmeditthrough。
“Now，captain。”saidI，“Iwantafreshmindonthis。Whatdoesitmean？”
“It’slargeenoughtext。”repliedthecaptain。“Itmeansyou’retostakeyourpileonSpeedy，handhimoverallyoucan，andholdyourtongue。Ialmostwishyouhadn’tshownitme。”headdedwearily。“Whatwiththespeciefromthewreckandtheopiummoney，itcomestoabiggishdeal。”
“That’ssupposingthatIdoit？”saidI。
“Exactly。”saidhe，“supposingyoudoit。”
“Andthereareprosandconstothat。”Iobserved。
“There’sSanQuentin，tostartinwith。”saidthecaptain；“andsupposeyouclearthepenitentiary，there’sthenastytasteinthemouth。Thefigure’sbigenoughtomakebadtrouble，butit’snotbigenoughtobepicturesque；andIshouldguessamanalwaysfeelskindofsmallwhohassoldhimselfundersixcyphers。Thatwouldbemyway，atleast；there’sanexcitementaboutamillionthatmightcarrymeon；buttheotherway，I
shouldfeelkindoflonelywhenIwokeinbed。Thenthere’sSpeedy。Doyouknowhimwell？”
“No，Idonot。”saidI。
“Well，ofcoursehecanvamoosewiththeentirespeculation，ifhechooses。”pursuedthecaptain，“andifhedon’tIcan’tseebutwhatyou’vegottosupportandbedandboardwithhimtotheendoftime。Iguessitwouldwearyme。Thenthere’sMr。
Pinkerton，ofcourse。He’sbeenagoodfriendtoyou，hasn’the？
Stoodbyyou，andallthat？andpulledyouthroughforallhewasworth？”
“Thathehas。”Icried；“Icouldneverbegintellingyoumydebttohim！”
“Well，andthat’saconsideration。”saidthecaptain。“Asamatterofprinciple，Iwouldn’tlookatthisbusinessatthemoney。’Notgoodenough，’wouldbemyword。Butevenprinciplegoesunderwhenitcomestofriends——therightsort，I
mean。ThisPinkertonisfrightened，andheseemssick；themedicodon’tseemtocareacentabouthisstateofhealth；andyou’vegottofigurehowyouwouldlikeitifhecametodie。
Remember，theriskofthislittleswindleisallyours；it’snosortofrisktoMr。Pinkerton。Well，you’vegottoputitthatwayplainly，andseehowyoulikethesoundofit：myfriendPinkertonisindangeroftheNewJerusalem，IamindangerofSanQuentin；whichriskdoIproposetorun？”
“That’sanuglywaytoputit。”Iobjected，“andperhapshardlyfair。There’srightandwrongtobeconsidered。”
“Don’tknowtheparties。”repliedNares；“andI’mcomingtothem，anyway。Foritstrikesme，whenitcametosmugglingopium，youwalkedrightup？”
“SoIdid。”Isaid；“sickIamtohavetosayit！”
“Allthesame。”continuedNares，“youwentintotheopium-
smugglingwithyourheaddown；andagooddealoffussingI’velistenedto，thatyouhadn’tmoreofittosmuggle。Now，maybeyourpartner’snotquitefixedthesameasyouare；
maybeheseespreciouslittledifferencebetweentheonethingandtheother。”
“Youcouldnotsaytruer：heseesnone，Idobelieve。”criedI；
“andthoughIseeone，Icouldnevertellyouhow。”
“Wenevercan。”saidtheoracularNares；“tasteisallamatterofopinion。Butthepointis，howwillyourfriendtakeit？Yourefuseafavour，andyoutakethehighhorseatthesametime；
youdisappointhim，andyouraphimovertheknuckles。Itwon’tdo，Mr。Dodd；nofriendshipcanstandthat。Youmustbeasgoodasyourfriend，orasbadasyourfriend，orstartonafreshdealwithouthim。”
“Idon’tseeit！”saidI。“Youdon’tknowJim！”
“Well，youWILLsee。”saidNares。“Andnow，here’sanotherpoint。ThisbitofmoneylooksmightybigtoMr。Pinkerton；itmayspelllifeorhealthtohim；butamongallyourcreditors，I
don’tseethatitamountstoahillofbeans——Idon’tbelieveit’llpaytheircar-faresallround。Anddon’tyouthinkyou’llevergetthanked。Youwereknowntopayalongpriceforthechanceofrummagingthatwreck；youdotherummaging，youcomehome，andyouhandovertenthousand——ortwenty，ifyoulike——apartofwhichyou’llhavetoownupyoumadebysmuggling；and，mind！you’llnevergetBillyFowlertostickhisnametoareceipt。Nowjustglanceatthetransactionfromtheoutside，andseewhataclearcaseitmakes。Yourtenthousandisasop；andpeoplewillonlywonderyouweresodamnedimpudentastooffersuchasmallone！Whicheverwayyoutakeit，Mr。Dodd，thebottom’soutofyourcharacter；sothere’sonethinglesstobeconsidered。”
“Idaresayyou’llscarcebelieveme。”saidI，“butIfeelthatapositiverelief。”
“Youmustbemadesomewaydifferentfromme，then。”
returnedNares。“And，talkingaboutme，ImightjustmentionhowIstand。You’llhavenotroublefromme——you’vetroubleenoughofyourown；andI’mfriendenough，whenafriend’sinneed，toshutmyeyesandgorightwherehetellsme。Allthesame，I’mratherqueerlyfixed。Myowners’llhavetorankwiththerestontheircharter-party。HereamI，theirrepresentative！
andIhavetolookovertheship’ssidewhilethebankruptwalkshisassetsashoreinMr。Speedy’shat-box。It’sathingI
wouldn’tdoforJamesG。Blaine；butI’lldoitforyou，Mr。
Dodd，andonlysorryIcan’tdomore。”
“Thankyou，captain；mymindismadeup。”saidI。“I’llgostraight，RUATCOELUM！Ineverunderstoodthatoldtagbeforeto-night。”
“Ihopeitisn’tmybusinessthatdecidesyou？”askedthecaptain。
“I’llneverdenyitwasanelement。”saidI。“Ihope，IhopeI’mnotcowardly；IhopeIcouldstealforJimmyself；butwhenitcomestodragginginyouandSpeedy，andthisoneandtheother，why，Jimhasgottodie，andthere’sanend。I’lltryandworkforhimwhenIgetto’Frisco，Isuppose；andIsupposeI’llfail，andlookonathisdeath，andkickmyself：itcan’tbehelped——I’llfightitonthisline。”
“Idon’tsayasyou’rewrong。”repliedNares，“andI’llbehangedifIknowifyou’reright。Itsuitsmeanyway。Andlookhere——
hadn’tyoubetterjustshowourfriendsovertheside？”headded；“nogoodofbeingattheriskandworryofsmugglingforthebenefitofcreditors。”
“Idon’tthinkofthecreditors。”saidI。“ButI’vekeptthispairsolong，Ihaven’tgotthebrasstofirethemnow。”
Indeed，Ibelievethatwasmyonlyreasonforenteringuponatransactionwhichwasnowoutsidemyinterest，butwhichasitchancedrepaidmefifty-foldinentertainment。FowlerandSharpewerebothpreternaturallysharp；theydidmethehonourinthebeginningtoattributetomyselftheirpropervices；andbeforeweweredonehadgrowntoregardmewithanesteemakintoworship。ThisproudpositionIattainedbynomorereconditearts，thantellingthemeretruthandunaffectedlydisplayingmyindifferencetotheresult。Ihavedoubtlessstatedtheessentialsofallgooddiplomacy，whichmayberatherregarded，therefore，asagraceofstate，thantheeffectofmanagement。Fortotellthetruthisnotinitselfdiplomatic，andtohavenocarefortheresultathinginvoluntary。WhenI
mentioned，forinstance，thatIhadbuttwohundredandfortypoundsofdrug，mysmugglersexchangedmeaningglances，aswhoshouldsay，“Hereisafoemanworthyofoursteel！”ButwhenIcarelesslyproposedthirty-fivedollarsapound，asanamendmenttotheirofferedtwenty，andwoundupwiththeremark：“Thewholethingisamatterofmoonshinetome，gentlemen。Takeitorwantit，andfillyourglasses“——IhadtheindescribablegratificationtoseeSharpenudgeFowlerwarningly，andFowlerchokedownthejovialacceptancethatstoodreadyonhislips，andlamelysubstitutea“No——nomorewine，please，Mr。Dodd！”Norwasthisall：forwhentheaffairwassettledatfiftydollarsapound——ashrewdstrokeofbusinessformycreditors——andourfriendshadgotonboardtheirwhaleboatandshovedoff，itappearedtheywereimperfectlyacquaintedwiththeconveyanceofsounduponstillwater，andI
hadthejoytooverhearthefollowingtestimonial。
“Deepman，thatDodd。”saidSharpe。
Andthebass-tonedFowlerechoed，“DamnedifIunderstandhisgame。”
ThuswewereleftoncemorealoneupontheNorahCreina；andthenewsofthenight，andthelamentationsofPinkerton，andthethoughtofmyownharshdecision，returnedandbesiegedmeinthedark。AccordingtoalltherubbishIhadread，I
shouldhavebeensustainedbythewarmconsciousnessofvirtue。Alas，Ihadbuttheonefeeling：thatIhadsacrificedmysickfriendtothefearofprison-cellsandstupidstarers。Andnomoralisthasyetadvancedsofarastonumbercowardiceamongstthethingsthataretheirownreward。
Intheearlysunlightofthenextday，wetossedcloseoffthebuoyandsawthecitysparkleinitsgrovesaboutthefootofthePunch-bowl，andthemastsclusteringthickinthesmallharbour。Agoodbreeze，whichhadrisenwiththesea，carriedustriumphantlythroughtheintricaciesofthepassage；andwehadsoonbroughtupnotfarfromthelanding-stairs。I
remembertohaveremarkedanuglyhornedreptileofamodernwarshipintheusualmooringsacrosstheport，butmymindwassoprofoundlyplungedinmelancholythatIpaidnoheed。
Indeed，Ihadlittletimeatmydisposal。MessieursSharpeandFowlerhadleftthenightbeforeinthepersuasionthatIwasaliarofthefirstmagnitude；thegenialbeliefbroughtthemaboardagainwiththeearliestopportunity，profferinghelptoonewhohadprovedhowlittleherequiredit，andhospitalitytosorespectableacharacter。Ihadbusinesstomind，Ihadsomeneedbothofassistanceanddiversion；IlikedFowler——Idon’tknowwhy；andinshort，Iletthemdowithmeastheydesired。
Nocreditorintervening，IspentthefirsthalfofthedayinquiringintotheconditionsoftheteaandsilkmarketundertheauspicesofSharpe；lunchedwithhiminaprivateapartmentattheHawaiianHotel——forSharpewasateetotalerinpublic；andaboutfourintheafternoonwasdeliveredintothehandsofFowler。ThisgentlemanownedabungalowontheWaikikibeach；andthereincompanywithcertainyoungbloodsofHonolulu，Iwasentertainedtoasea-bathe，indiscriminatecocktails，adinner，ahula-hula，andtoroundoffthenight，pokerandassortedliquors。Tolosemoneyinthesmallhourstopale，intoxicatedyouth，hasalwaysappearedtomeapleasureoverrated。Inmythenframeofmind，IconfessI
founditevendelightful；putupmymoneyorrathermycreditors’，andputdownFowler’schampagnewithequalavidityandsuccess；andawokethenextmorningtoamildheadacheandtheratheragreeableleesofthelastnight’sexcitement。Theyoungbloods，manyofwhomwerestillfarfromsober，hadtakenthekitchenintotheirownhands，vicetheChinamandeposed；andsinceeachwasengageduponadishofhisown，andnonehadtheleastscrupleindemolishinghisneighbour’shandiwork，Ibecameearlyconvincedthatmanyeggswouldbebrokenandfewomeletsmade。Thediscoveryofajugofmilkandacrustofbreadenabledmetostaymyappetite；andsinceitwasSunday，whennobusinesscouldbedone，andthefestivitiesweretoberenewedthatnightintheabodeofFowler，itoccurredtometoslipsilentlyawayandenjoysomeairandsolitude。