No one would
employ us. And moreover no ship navigated and sailed in the happy-go-
lucky manner people conduct their business on shore would ever arrive
into port."
Since he had retired from the sea he had been astonished to discover that
the educated people were not much better than the others. No one seemed
to take any proper pride in his work: from plumbers who were simply
thieves to, say, newspaper men (he seemed to think them a specially
intellectual class) who never by any chance gave a correct version of the
simplest affair. This universal inefficiency of what he called "the
shore gang" he ascribed in general to the want of responsibility and to a
sense of security.
"They see," he went on, "that no matter what they do this tight little
island won't turn turtle with them or spring a leak and go to the bottom
with their wives and children."
From this point the conversation took a special turn relating exclusively
to sea-life. On that subject he got quickly in touch with Marlow who in
his time had followed the sea. They kept up a lively exchange of
reminiscences while I listened.
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