The Thousand Autumns of Jacob De Zoet: A Novel Read Online Free PDF Page A

bladder-full of grog in him.'

    'Fine thing I happened along,' says a wheezing voice, ten paces later. 'A cove'll lose his way on Dejima faster'n shit through a goose. Arie Grote's my name an' you 'll be' - he thumps Jacob's shoulder - 'Jacob de Zoet of Zeeland the Brave an', my oh my, Snitker did put your nose out of joint, didn't he?'
    Arie Grote has a grin full of holes and a hat made of shark-hide.
    'Like my hat, do you? Boa Constrictor, this was, in the jungles of Ternate, what slunk one night into my hut what I shared with my three native maids. My first thought was, well, one of my bed-mates was wakin' me gentle to toast my beans, eh? But no no no, there's this tightenin' an' my lungs're squeezed tight an' three of my ribs go pop! snap! crack! an' by the light o' the Southern Cross, eh, I see him gazin' into my bulgin' eyes - an' that , Mr de Z., was the squeezy bugger's downfall. My arms was locked behind me but my jaws was free an' oh I bit the beggar's head that ' ard . . . A screamin' snake ain't a sound you'll forget in an hurry! Squeezy Bugger squeezed me tighter - he weren't done yet - so I went for the worm's jugular an' bit it clean through . The grateful villagers made me a robe of its skin and coronated me, eh, Lord of Ternate - that snake'd been the terror of their jungle - but . . .' Grote sighs '. . . a sailor's heart's the sea's plaything, eh? Back in Batavia a milliner turned my robe to hats what fetched ten rix-dollars a throw . . . but nothing'd splice me from this last one ' cept , mayhap, a favour to welcome a young cove whose need be sharper'n mine, eh? This beauty's yours not for ten rix-dollars, no no no, not eight but five stuivers. As good a price as none.'
    'The milliner switched your Boa skin for poorly cured shark-hide, alas.'
    'I'll wager you rise from the card table,' Arie Grote looks pleased, 'with a well-fed purse. Most of us hands gather of an evenin' in my humble billet, eh, for a little hazard 'n' companionship, an' as you plainly ain't no Stuffed-Shirt Hoity-Toity, why not join us?'
    'A pastor's son like me would bore you, I fear: I drink little and gamble less.'
    'Who ain't a gambler in the Glorious Orient, with his very life? Of every ten coves who sail out, six 'll survive to make what hay they may, eh, but four'll sink into some swampy grave an' forty-sixty is damn poor odds. By-the-by, for every jewel or ducatoon sewn into coat lining, eleven get seized at the Sea-Gate, and only a one slips through. They're best poked up yer fig-hole an' by-the-by should your cavity, eh, be so primed, Mr de Z., I can get you the best price of all . . .'
    At the Crossroads, Jacob stops: ahead, Long Street continues its curve.
    'That's Bony Alley,' Grote points to their right, 'goin' to Sea Wall Lane: an' that aways,' Grote points left, 'is Short Street; and the Land-Gate . . .'
    . . . and beyond the Land-Gate , thinks Jacob, is the Cloistered Empire .
    'Them gates'll not budge for us, Mr de Z., no no no. The Chief, Deputy an' Dr M. pass through from time to time, aye, but not us. "The Shogun's hostages" is what the natives dub us an' that's the size of it, eh? But listen,' Grote propels Jacob forwards, 'it ain't just gems and coins I deal in, let me tell yer. Just yesterday,' he whispers, 'I earned a select client aboard the Shenandoah a box of purest camphor crystals for some ratty bagpipes what you'd not fish from a canal back home.'
    He's dangling bait , Jacob thinks, and replies, 'I do not smuggle, Mr Grote.'
    'Strike me dead afore I'd accuse yer'f malpractice , Mr de Z.! Just in form in' you, eh, as how my commission is one quarter o' the selling price, regular-like: but a smart young cove like you 'll keep seven slices per pie o' ten for I'm partial to feisty Zeelanders, eh? 'Twill be a pleasure to handle your pox-powder, too' - Grote has the casual tone of a man masking something crucial - 'what with certain merchants who call me "Brother" beatin' up the price faster an' fatter'n a