the research magnificent-第79部分

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se　BEASTLY　mortgages！〃　And　with　a　noble　and　dramatic　gesture　Benham　cast　his　handful　on　the　fire。　　The　assenting　faces　became　masks　of　horror。　　A　score　of　hands　clutched　at　those　precious　papers；　and　a　yell　of　dismay　and　anger　filled　the　room。　　Some　one　caught　at　his　throat　from　behind。　　〃Don't　kill　him！〃　cried　some　one。　　〃He　fought　for　us！〃

6

An　hour　later　Benham　returned　in　an　extraordinarily　dishevelled　and　battered　condition　to　his　hotel。　　He　found　his　friend　in　anxious　consultation　with　the　hotel　proprietor。　〃We　were　afraid　that　something　had　happened　to　you；〃　said　his　friend。　〃I　got　a　little　involved；〃　said　Benham。　〃Hasn't　some　one　clawed　your　cheek？〃　〃Very　probably；〃　said　Benham。　〃And　torn　your　coat？　　And　hit　you　rather　heavily　upon　the　neck？〃　〃It　was　a　complicated　misunderstanding；〃　said　Benham。　　〃Oh！　pardon！　I'm　rather　badly　bruised　upon　that　arm　you're　holding。〃

7

Benham　told　the　story　to　White　as　a　jest　against　himself。　〃I　see　now　of　course　that　they　could　not　possibly　understand　my　point　of　view；〃　he　said。　。　。　。　〃I'm　not　sure　if　they　quite　followed　my　German。　。　。　。　〃It's　odd；　too；　that　I　remember　saying；　‘Let's　burn　these　mortgages；'　and　at　the　time　I'm　almost　sure　I　didn't　know　the　German　for　mortgage。　。　。　。〃　It　was　not　the　only　occasion　on　which　other　people　had　failed　to　grasp　the　full　intention　behind　Benham's　proceedings。　　His　aristocratic　impulses　were　apt　to　run　away　with　his　conceptions　of　brotherhood；　and　time　after　time　it　was　only　too　manifest　to　White　that　Benham's　pallid　flash　of　anger　had　astonished　the　subjects　of　his　disinterested　observations　extremely。　　His　explorations　in　Hayti　had　been　terminated　abruptly　by　an　affair　with　a　native　policeman　that　had　necessitated　the　intervention　of　the　British　Consul。　　It　was　begun　with　that　suddenness　that　was　too　often　characteristic　of　Benham；　by　his　hitting　the　policeman。　　It　was　in　the　main　street　of　Cap　Haytit　of　representative　men。　　I　went　about　that　Westphalian　country　after　that；　with　the　conviction　that　headless；　soulless；　blood…drinking　metal　monsters　were　breeding　all　about　me。　　I　felt　that　science　was　producing　a　poisonous　swarm；　a　nest　of　black　dragons。　　They　were　crouching　here　and　away　there　in　France　and　England；　they　were　crouching　like　beasts　that　bide　their　time；　mewed　up　in　forts；　kennelled　in　arsenals；　hooded　in　tarpaulins　as　hawks　are　hooded。　。　。　。　　And　I　had　never　thought　very　much　about　them　before；　and　there　they　were；　waiting　until　some　human　fool　like　that　frock…coated　thing　of　spite；　and　fools　like　him　multiplied　by　a　million；　saw　fit　to　call　them　out　to　action。　　Just　out　of　hatred　and　nationalism　and　faction。　。　。　。〃　Then　came　a　queer　fancy。　〃Great　guns；　mines；　battleships；　all　that　cruelty…apparatus；　I　see　it　more　and　more　as　the　gathering　revenge　of　dead　joyless　matter　for　the　happiness　of　life。　　It　is　a　conspiracy　of　the　lifeless；　an　enormous　plot　of　the　rebel　metals　against　sensation。　　That　is　why　in　particular　half…living　people　seem　to　love　these　things。　　La　Ferriere　was　a　fastness　of　the　kind　of　tyranny　that　passes　out　of　human　experience；　the　tyranny　of　the　strong　man　over　men。　　Essen　comes；　the　new　thing；　the　tyranny　of　the　strong　machine。　。　。　。　〃Science　is　either　slave　or　master。　　These　peopleI　mean　the　German　people　and　militarist　people　generallyhave　no　real　mastery　over　the　scientific　and　economic　forces　on　which　they　seem　to　ren；　and　the　policeman　had　just　clubbed　an　unfortunate　youth　over　the　head　with　the　heavily　loaded　wooden　club　which　is　the　normal　instrument　of　Haytien　discipline。　　His　blow　was　a　repartee；　part　of　a　triangular　altercation　in　which　a　large；　voluble；　mahogany…coloured　lady　whose　head　was　tied　up　in　a　blue　handkerchief　played　a　conspicuous　part；　but　it　seemed　to　Benham　an　entirely　unjustifiable　blow。　He　allowed　an　indignation　with　negro　policemen　in　general　that　had　been　gathering　from　the　very　moment　of　his　arrival　at　Port…au…Prince　to　carry　him　away。　　He　advanced　with　the　kind　of　shout　one　would　hurl　at　a　dog；　and　smote　the　policeman　to　the　earth　with　the　stout　stick　that　the　peculiar　social　atmosphere　of　Hayti　had　disposed　him　to　carry。　　By　the　local　standard　his　blow　was　probably　a　trivial　one；　but　the　moral　effect　of　his　indignant　pallor　and　a　sort　of　rearing　tallness　about　him　on　these　occasions　was　always　very　considerable。　　Unhappily　these　characteristics　could　have　no　effect　on　a　second　negro　policeman　who　was　approaching　the　affray　from　behind；　and　he　felled　Benham　by　a　blow　on　the　shoulder　that　was　meant　for　the　head；　and　with　the　assistance　of　his　colleague　overpowered　him；　while　the　youth　and　the　woman　vanished。　The　two　officials　dragged　Benham　in　a　state　of　vehement　protest　to　the　lock…up；　and　only　there；　in　the　light　of　a　superior　officer's　superior　knowledge；　did　they　begin　to　realize　the　grave　fact　of　his　British　citizenship。　The　memory　of　the　destruction　of　the　Haytien　fleet　by　a　German　gunboat　was　still　vivid　in　Port…au…Prince；　and　to　that　Benham　owed　it　that　in　spite　of　his　blank　refusal　to　compensate　the　man　he　had　knocked　over；　he　was　after　two　days　of　anger；　two　days　of　extreme　insanitary　experience；　and　much　meditation　upon　his　unphilosophical　hastiness；　released。　Quite　a　number　of　trivial　incidents　of　a　kindred　sort　diversified　his　enquiries　into　Indian　conditions。　　They　too　turned　for　the　most　part　on　his　facile　exasperation　at　any　defiance　of　his　deep…felt　desire　for　human　brotherhood。　　At　last　indeed　came　an　affair　that　refused　ultimately　to　remain　trivial；　and　tangled　him　up　in　a　coil　that　invoked　newspaper　articles　and　heated　controversies。　The　effect　of　India　upon　Benham's　mind　was　a　peculiar　mixture　of　attraction　and　irritation。　　He　was　attracted　by　the　Hindu　spirit　of　intellectualism　and　the　Hindu　repudiation　of　brutality；　and　he　was　infuriated　by　the　spirit　of　caste　that　cuts　the　great　world　of　India　into　a　thousand　futile　little　worlds；　all　aloof　and　hostile　one　to　the　other。　　〃I　came　to　see　India；〃　he　wrote；　〃and　there　is　no　India。　There　is　a　great　number　of　Indias；　and　each　goes　about　with　its　chin　in　the　air；　quietly　scorning　everybody　else。〃　His　Indian　adventures　and　his　great　public　controversy　on　caste　began　with　a　tremendous　row　with　an　Indian　civil　servant　who　had　turned　an　Indian　gentleman　out　of　his　first…class　compartment；　and　culminated　in　a　disgraceful　fracas　with　a　squatting　brown　holiness　at　Benares；　who　had　thrown　aside　his　little　brass　bowlful　of　dinner　because　Benham's　shadow　had　fallen　upon　it。　〃You　unendurable　snob！〃　said　Benham；　and　then　lapsing　into　the　forceful　and　inadvisable：　〃By　Heaven；　you　SHALL　eat　it！　。　。　。〃

8

Benham's　detestation　of　human　divisions　and　hostilities　was　so　deep　in　his　character　as　to　seem　almost　instinctive。　　But　he　had　too　a　very　clear　reason　for　his　hostility　to　all　these　amazing　breaks　in　human　continuity　in　his　sense　of　the　gathering　dangers　they　now　involve。　　They　had　always；　he　was　convinced；　meant　conflict；　hatred；　misery　and　the　destruction　of　human　dignity；　but　the　new　conditions　of　life　that　have　been　brought　about　by　modern　science　were　making　them　far　more　dangerous　than　they　had　ever　been　before。　　He　believed　that　the　evil　and　horror　of　war　was　becoming　more　and　more　tremendous　with　every　deca