"What isit that thou art saying to the doctor?" asked Ata suspiciously. "Thouwilt not go?"

"If itplease thee I will stay, poor child. "

Ata flungherself on her knees before him, and clasped his legs with her arms and kissedthem. Strickland looked at Dr. Coutras with a faint smile.

"In theend they get you, and you are helpless in their hands. White or brown, they areall the same. "

Dr. Coutrasfelt that it was absurd to offer expressions of regret in so terrible a disaster,and he took his leave. Strickland told Tane, the boy, to lead him to thevillage. Dr. Coutras paused for a moment, and then he addressed himself to me.

"I did notlike him, I have told you he was not sympathetic to me, but as I walked slowlydown to Taravao I could not prevent an unwilling admiration for the stoicalcourage which enabled him to bear perhaps the most dreadful of humanafflictions. When Tane left me I told him I would send some medicine that mightbe of service; but my hope was small that Strickland would consent to take it,and even smaller that, if he did, it would do him good. I gave the boy amessage for Ata that I would come whenever she sent for me. Life is hard, andNature takes sometimes a terrible delight in torturing her children. It waswith a heavy heart that I drove back to my comfortable home in Papeete. "

For a long timenone of us spoke.

“你在同医生说什么？”爱塔有些怀疑地问他，“你不走吧？”

“如果你愿意的话，我就不走，可怜的孩子。”

爱塔一下子跪在他的脚下，两臂抱紧他的双腿，拼命地吻他。思特里克兰德看着库特拉斯医生，脸上带着一丝微笑。

“最后他们还是要把你抓住，你怎么挣扎也白费力气。白种人也好，棕种人也好，到头来都是一样的。”

库特拉斯医生觉得对于这种可怕的疾病说一些同情的话是很荒唐的，他决定告辞。思特里克兰德叫那个名叫塔耐的男孩子给他领路，带他回村子去。说到这里，库特拉斯医生停了一会儿。最后他对我说：

“我不喜欢他，我已经告诉过你，我对他没有什么好感。但是在我慢慢走回塔拉窝村的路上，我对他那种自我克制的勇气却不由自主地产生了敬佩之情。他忍受的也许是一种最可怕的疾病。当塔耐和我分手的时候，我告诉他我会送一些药去，对他的疾病也许会有点儿好处。但是我也知道，思特里克兰德是多半不肯服我送去的药的，至于这种药——即使他服了——有多大效用，我就更不敢希望了。我让那孩子给爱塔带了个话，不管她什么时候需要我，我都会去的。生活是严酷的，大自然有时候竟以折磨自己的儿女为乐趣，在我坐上马车驶回我在帕皮提的温暖的家庭时，我的心是沉重的。”

很长一段时间，我们谁都没有说话。