When I spoke to him
he was astonished.
"Who would have thought of seeing you here!" he exclaimed, after
returning my good evening.
"I told him I had run in for company. It was rigorously true."
"You knew I was here?" he exclaimed.
"Of course," I said. "I tell you I came in for company."
"He is a really good fellow," went on Marlow. "And his capacity for
astonishment is quickly exhausted, it seems. It was in the most matter-
of-fact manner that he said, 'Come on board of me, then; I have here
enough supper for two.' He was holding a bulky parcel in the crook of
his arm. I did not wait to be asked twice, as you may guess. His cutter
has a very neat little cabin, quite big enough for two men not only to
sleep but to sit and smoke in. We left the scuttle wide open, of course.
As to his provisions for supper, they were not of a luxurious kind. He
complained that the shops in the village were miserable. There was a big
village within a mile and a half. It struck me he had been very long
doing his shopping; but naturally I made no remark. I didn't want to
talk at all except for the purpose of setting him going.
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