Rites of Passage – William Golding - bzelbublive.info

the presence o n board o f a fair incognita lent an addedexhilaration to my animal spirits!Mr Taylor might have conducted me through the whole listof passengers; but as we were returning from the mainmastfor (it may be) the twentieth time, a - or rather, the-parsonwho had earlier spewed so copiously into his own facecame out of the lobby of the passenger accommodation.He was turning to ascend the ladder to the afterdeck, butseeing me between my young friends, and perceiving meto be of some consequence I suppose, h e paused andfavoured m e with a reverence. Observe I do not call it abow or greeting. It was a sinuous deflection of the wholebody, topped by a smile which was tempered by pallor andservility as his reverence was tempered by an uncertaintyas to the movements of our vessel. As a gesture calledforth by nothing more than the attire of a gentleman it couldnot but disgust. I acknowledged i t by the briefest lifting ofmy hand towards the brim of my beaver and looked himthrough. He ascended the ladder. His calves were in thick,worsted stockings, his heavy shoes went up one after theother at an obtuse angle; so that I believe his knees, thoughhis long, black coat covered them, must be by nature morethan usually far apart. He wore a round wig and a shovel hatand seemed, I thought, a man who would not improve onacquaintance. He was hardly out of earshot when Mr Taylorgave it as his opinion that the sky pilot was on his way tointerview Captain Anderson on the quarterdeck and thatsuch an approach would result in his instant destruction.