Bartleby the Scrivener: A Tale of Wall Street

BENITO CERENO 91
malicious reflection upon his confessed inability thus
far to break down, at least, on a verbal summons, the
entrenched will of the slave. Deploring this supposed
misconception, yet despairing of correcting it, Captain
Delano shifted the subject ; but finding his companion
more than ever withdrawn, as if still sourly digesting
the lees of the presumed affront above mentioned, by
and by Captain Delano likewise became less talkative,
oppressed, against his own will, by what seemed the
secret vindictiveness of the morbidly sensitive Spaniard.
But the good sailor, himself of a quite contrary dis-
position, refrained, on his part, alike from the appearance
as from the feeling of resentment, and if silent,
was only so from contagion.
Presently the Spaniard, assisted by his servant, some-
what discourteously crossed over from his guest ; a
procedure which, sensibly enough, might have been
allowed to pass for idle caprice of ill-humour, had not
master and man, lingering round the corner of the
elevated skylight, began whispering together in low
voices. This was unpleasing. And more ; the moody
air of the Spaniard, which at times had not been without
a sort of valetudinarian stateliness, now seemed anything
while the menial familiarity of the servant
but dignified ;
lost its original charm of simple-hearted attachment.
In his embarrassment, the visitor turned his face to
the other side of the ship. By so doing, his glance acci-
dentally fell on a young Spanish sailor, a coil of rope in
his hand, just stepped from the deck to the first round
of the mizen-rigging. Perhaps the man would not
have been particularly noticed, were it not that, during
his ascent to one of the yards, he, with a sort of covert
intentness, kept his eye fixed on Captain Delano, from
whom, presently, it passed, as if by a natural sequence,
to the two whisperers.