The Narrow Corner

Somerset Maugham

Description

On his way home from a remote Pacific island, Dr Saunders travels with two strangers: the treacherous Captain Nichols, and Fred, a handsome Australian with a shadowy past. Driven to shelter from a storm on the island of Kanda, the trio meet good-natured Erik Christessen and his fiancée, the cool and beautiful Louise. A tense, exotic tale of love, jealousy, murder and suicide...

Sujets

• Policier & Thriller
• Policier
• Thrillers
• Crime
• Fiction

Informations

• Publié par: eBookIt.com
• Date de parution: 04 février 2021
• Nombre de lectures: 1
• EAN13: 9781456636647
• Langue: English

Extrait

The Narrow Corner
by W. Somerset Maugham
Subjects: Fiction -- Satire; Lawyers & Criminals; Crime; Thrillers; Romance; Indonesia

First published in 1932
This edition published by Reading Essentials
Victoria, BC Canada with branch offices in the Czech Republic and Germany
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All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage or retrieval system, except in the case of excerpts by a reviewer, who may quote brief passages in a review.
The Narrow Corner





W. Somerset Maugham

Short, therefore, is man’s life, and
narrow is the corner of the earth
wherein he dwells.
I
All this happened a good many years ago.

II
Dr. Saunders yawned. It was nine o’clock in themorning. The day lay before him and he had nothing inthe world to do. He had already seen a few patients.There was no doctor on the island and on his arrivalsuch as had anything the matter with them seized theopportunity to consult him. But the place was notunhealthy and the ailments he was asked to cure werechronic, and he could do little; or they were trifling, andresponded quickly to simple remedies. Dr. Saundershad practised for fifteen years in Fu-chou and hadacquired a great reputation among the Chinese for hisskill in dealing with the ills that affect the eye, and itwas to remove a cataract for a rich Chinese merchantthat he had come to Takana. This was an island in theMalay Archipelago, a long way down, and the distancefrom Fu-chou was so great that at first he had refused togo. But the Chinese, Kim Ching by name, was himselfa native of that city and two of his sons lived there.He was well-acquainted with Dr. Saunders, and onhis periodical visits to Fu-chou had consulted him onhis failing sight. He had heard how the doctor, bywhat looked like a miracle, had caused the blind to see,and when in due course he found himself in such a statethat he could only tell day from night, he was preparedto trust no one else to perform the operation which hewas assured would restore his sight. Dr. Saunders hadadvised him to come to Fu-chou when certain symptomsappeared, but he had delayed, fearing the surgeon’sknife, and when at last he could no longer distinguishone object from another the long journey made himnervous and he bade his sons persuade the doctor tocome to him.
Kim Ching had started life as a coolie, but by hardwork and courage, aided by good luck, cunning andunscrupulousness, he had amassed a large fortune. Atthis time, a man of seventy, he owned large plantationson several islands; his own schooners fished for pearl,and he traded extensively in all the products of theArchipelago. His sons, themselves middle-aged men,went to see Dr. Saunders. They were his friendsand patients. Two or three times a year they invitedhim to a grand dinner, when they gave him bird’s-nestsoup, shark fins, bêche de mer and many otherdelicacies; singing girls engaged at a high price entertainedthe company with their performances; andeveryone got tight. The Chinese liked Dr. Saunders.He spoke the dialect of Fu-chou with fluency. He lived,not like the other foreigners in the settlement, but in theheart of the Chinese city; he stayed there year in andyear out and they had become accustomed to him. Theyknew that he smoked opium, though with moderation,and they knew what else there was to be known abouthim. He seemed to them a sensible man. It did notdisplease them that the foreigners in the communityturned a cold shoulder on him. He never went to theclub but to read the papers when the mail came in, andwas never invited to dinner by them; they had theirown English doctor and called in Dr. Saunders onlywhen he was away on leave. But when they hadanything the matter with their eyes they put theirdisapproval in their pockets and came down fortreatment to the shabby little Chinese house over theriver where Dr. Saunders dwelt happily amid thestenches of a native city. They looked about them withdistaste as they sat in what was both the doctor’sconsulting-room and parlour. It was furnished in theChinese style but for a roll-top desk and a couple ofrocking-chairs much the worse for wear. On thediscoloured walls Chinese scrolls, presented by gratefulpatients, contrasted oddly with the sheet of cardboardon which were printed in different sizes andcombinations the letters of the alphabet. It alwaysseemed to them that there hung about the housefaintly the acrid scent of opium.
But this the sons of Kim Ching did not notice, and ifthey had it would not have incommoded them. Afterthe usual compliments had passed and Dr. Saundershad offered them cigarettes from a green tin, theyset forth their business. Their father had bidden themsay that now, too old and too blind to make the journeyto Fu-chou, he desired Dr. Saunders to come toTakana and perform the operation which he had saidtwo years before would be necessary. What would behis fee? The doctor shook his head. He had a largepractice in Fu-chou and it was out of the questionfor him to absent himself for any length of time.He saw no reason why Kim Ching should not comethere; he could come on one of his own schooners.If that did not suit him he could get a surgeon fromMacassar, who was perfectly competent to perform theoperation. The sons of Kim Ching, talking veryvolubly, explained that their father knew that there wasno one who could do the miracles that Dr. Saunderscould, and he was determined that no one else shouldtouch him. He was prepared to double the sumthat the doctor reckoned he could earn at Fu-chouduring the period he would be away. Dr. Saunderscontinued to shake his head. Then the two brotherslooked at one another and the elder took out from aninner pocket a large and shabby wallet of black leatherbulging with the notes of the Chartered Bank. Hespread them out before the doctor, a thousand dollars,two thousand dollars; the doctor smiled and his sharp,bright eyes twinkled; the Chinese continued to spreadout the notes; the two brothers were smiling too,ingratiatingly, but they keenly watched the doctor’s faceand presently they were conscious of a change inhis expression. He did not move. His eyes kept theirtolerant good humour, but they felt in their bones thathis interest was aroused. Kim Ching’s elder son pausedand looked inquiringly into his face.
“I can’t leave all my patients for three solid months,”said the doctor. “Let Kim Ching get one of the Dutchdoctors from Macassar or Amboyna. There’s a fellow atAmboyna who’s quite all right.”
The Chinese did not reply. He put more notes onthe table. They were hundred-dollar bills and hearranged them in little packets of ten. The walletbulged less. He laid the packets side by side and at lastthere were ten of them.
“Stop,” said the doctor. “That’ll do.”

III
It was a complicated journey. From Fu-chou he wenton a Chinese vessel to Manila in the Philippines,and from there, after waiting a few days, by cargoboat to Macassar. Thence he took passage on theDutch ship that ran every other month to Merauke inNew Guinea, stopping at a great many places on theway, and thus at last landed at Takana. He travelledwith a Chinese boy who acted as his servant, gaveanæsthetics when required and made his pipes when hesmoked opium. Dr. Saunders performed a successfuloperation on Kim Ching, and now there was nothing forhim to do but sit and twiddle his thumbs till the Dutchship called on her way back from Merauke. The islandwas fairly large, but it was isolated and the DutchRégisseur visited it only at intervals. The governmentwas represented by a half-caste Javanese, who spoke noEnglish, and a few policemen. The town consisted of asingle street of shops. Two or three were owned byArabs from Baghdad, but the rest by Chinese. Therewas a small rest-house about ten minutes’ walk from thetown which the Régisseur inhabited on his periodicalvisits, and here Dr. Saunders had installed himself. Thepath that led to it ran on through plantations for threemiles, and then was lost in the virgin jungle.
When the Dutch ship came in, there was a certainanimation. The captain, one or two of the officers andthe chief engineer came ashore, and the passengers ifthere were any, and they sat in Kim Ching’s store anddrank beer, but they never stayed for more than threehours and when they got back into their boat and rowedaway the little town went to sleep again. It was in thedoorway of this store that Dr. Saunders sat now. Therewas a rattan awning that protected it from the sun, butin the street the sun beat down with a harsh glare. Amangy dog sniffed about some offal over which a swarmof flies was buzzing and looked for something to eat.Two or three chickens scratched about in the roadwayand one, squatting, ruffled her feathers in the dust. Outsidethe shop opposite a naked Chinese child with a distendedbelly was trying to make a sand castle out of thedust in the road. Flies flew about him, settling on him,but he did not mind them, and intent on his game didnot try to brush them away. Then a native passed, withnothing on but a discoloured sarong, and he carriedtwo baskets of sugar-cane suspended to each end of apole balanced on one shoulder. With his shuffling feethe kicked up the dust as he walked. Inside the store aclerk, hunched over a table, was busy with brush andink writing some document in Chinese characters. Acoolie sitting on the floor was rolling cigarettes andsmoking them one after the other. No one came in tobuy. Dr. Saunders asked for a bottle of beer. The clerkleft his writing and going to the back of the store took abottle out of a pail of water and brought it along with aglass to the doctor. It was pleasantly cool.
Time hung somewhat heavily on the doctor’s hands,but he was not discontented. He was able to amusehimself with little things, and the mangy dog, the thinchickens, the pot-bellied child all diverted him. Hedra