Collected Stories

  The officer quickly pulled himself together. ‘I didn’t want to upset you,’ he said, ‘I know it is impossible to make those days credible now. Anyhow, the machine is still working and it is still effective in itself. It is effective in itself even though it stands alone in this valley. And the corpse still falls at the last into the pit with an incomprehensibly gentle wafting motion, even though there are no hundreds of people swarming around like flies as formerly. In those days we had to put a strong fence around the pit, it has long since been torn down.’

  The explorer wanted to withdraw his face from the officer and looked around him at random. The officer thought he was surveying the valley’s desolation; so he seized him by the hands, turned him around to meet his eyes, and asked: ‘Do you realize the shame of it?’

  But the explorer said nothing. The officer left him alone for a little; with legs apart, hands on hips, he stood very still, gazing at the ground. Then he smiled encouragingly at the explorer and said: ‘I was quite near you yesterday when the Commandant gave you the invitation. I heard him giving it. I know the Commandant. I divined at once what he was after. Although he is powerful enough to take measures against me, he doesn’t dare to do it yet, but he certainly means to use your verdict against me, the verdict of an illustrious foreigner. He has calculated it carefully: this is your second day on the island, you did not know the old Commandant and his ways, you are conditioned by European ways of thought, perhaps you object on principle to capital punishment in general and to such mechanical instruments of death in particular, besides you will see that the execution has no support from the public, a shabby ceremony – carried out with a machine already somewhat old and worn – now, taking all that into consideration, would it not be likely (so thinks the Commandant) that you might disapprove of my methods? And if you disapprove, you wouldn’t conceal the fact (I’m still speaking from the Commandant’s point of view), for you are a man to feel confidence in your own well-tried conclusions. True, you have seen and learned to appreciate the peculiarities of many peoples, and so you would not be likely to take a strong line against our proceedings, as you might do in your own country. But the Commandant has no need of that. A casual, even an unguarded remark will be enough. It doesn’t even need to represent what you really think, so long as it can be used speciously to serve his purpose. He will try to prompt you with sly questions, of that I am certain. And his ladies will sit around you and prick up their ears; you might be saying something like this: “In our country we have a different criminal procedure,” or “In our country the prisoner is interrogated before he is sentenced,” or “We haven’t used torture since the Middle Ages.” All these statements are as true as they seem natural to you, harmless remarks that pass no judgment on my methods. But how would the Commandant react to them? I can see him, our good Commandant, pushing his chair away immediately and rushing onto the balcony, I can see his ladies streaming out after him, I can hear his voice – the ladies call it a voice of thunder – well, and this is what he says: “A famous Western investigator, sent out to study criminal procedure in all the countries of the world, has just said that our old tradition of administering justice is inhumane. Such a verdict from such a personality makes it impossible for me to countenance these methods any longer. Therefore from this very day I ordain …” and so on. You may want to interpose that you never said any such thing, that you never called my methods inhumane, on the contrary your profound experience leads you to believe they are most humane and most in consonance with human dignity, and you admire the machine greatly – but it will be too late; you won’t even get onto the balcony, crowded as it will be with ladies; you may try to draw attention to yourself; you may want to scream out; but a lady’s hand will close your lips – and I and the work of the old Commandant will be done for.’

  The explorer had to suppress a smile; so easy, then, was the task he had felt to be so difficult. He said evasively: ‘You overestimate my influence; the Commandant has read my letters of recommendation, he knows that I am no expert in criminal procedure. If I were to give an opinion, it would be as a private individual, an opinion no more influential than that of any ordinary person, and in any case much less influential than that of the Commandant, who, I am given to understand, has very extensive powers in this penal colony. If his attitude to your procedure is as definitely hostile as you believe, then I fear the end of your tradition is at hand, even without any humble assistance from me.’

  Had it dawned on the officer at last? No, he still did not understand. He shook his head emphatically, glanced briefly around at the condemned man and the soldier, who both flinched away from the rice, came close up to the explorer, and without looking at his face but fixing his eye on some spot on his coat said in a lower voice than before: ‘You don’t know the Commandant; you feel yourself – forgive the expression – a kind of outsider so far as all of us are concerned; yet, believe me, your influence cannot be rated too highly. I was simply delighted when I heard that you were to attend the execution all by yourself. The Commandant arranged it to aim a blow at me, but I shall turn it to my advantage. Without being distracted by lying whispers and contemptuous glances – which could not have been avoided had a crowd of people attended the execution – you have heard my explanations, seen the machine, and are now in course of watching the execution. You have doubtless already formed your own judgment; if you still have some small uncertainties the sight of the execution will resolve them. And now I make this request to you: help me against the Commandant!’

  The explorer would not let him go on. ‘How could I do that,’ he cried, ‘it’s quite impossible. I can neither help nor hinder you.’

  ‘Yes, you can,’ the officer said. The explorer saw with a certain apprehension that the officer had clenched his fists. ‘Yes, you can,’ repeated the officer, still more insistently. ‘I have a plan that is bound to succeed. You believe your influence is insufficient. I know that it is sufficient. But even granted that you are right, is it not necessary, for the sake of preserving this tradition, to try even what might prove insufficient? Listen to my plan, then. The first thing necessary for you to carry it out is to be as reticent as possible today regarding your verdict on these proceedings. Unless you are asked a direct question you must say nothing at all; but what you do say must be brief and general; let it be remarked that you would prefer not to discuss the matter, that you are out of patience with it, that if you are to let yourself go you would use strong language. I don’t ask you to tell any lies; by no means; you should only give curt answers, such as: “Yes, I saw the execution,” or “Yes, I had it explained to me.” Just that, nothing more. There are grounds enough for any impatience you betray, although not such as will occur to the Commandant. Of course, he will mistake your meaning and interpret it to please himself. That’s what my plan depends on. Tomorrow in the Commandant’s office there is to be a large conference of all the high administrative officials, the Commandant presiding. Of course the Commandant is the kind of man to have turned these conferences into public spectacles. He has had a gallery built that is always packed with spectators. I am compelled to take part in the conferences, but they make me sick with disgust. Now, whatever happens, you will certainly be invited to this conference; if you behave today as I suggest, the invitation will become an urgent request. But if for some mysterious reason you’re not invited, you’ll have to ask for an invitation; there’s no doubt of your getting it then. So tomorrow you’re sitting in the Commandant’s box with the ladies. He keeps looking up to make sure you’re there. After various trivial and ridiculous matters, brought in merely to impress the audience – mostly harbor works, nothing but harbor works! – our judicial procedure comes up for discussion too. If the Commandant doesn’t introduce it, or not soon enough, I’ll see that it’s mentioned. I’ll stand up and report that today’s execution has taken place. Quite briefly, only a statement. Such a statement is not usual, but I shall make it. The Commandant thanks me, as always, with a
n amiable smile, and then he can’t restrain himself, he seizes the excellent opportunity. “It has just been reported,” he will say, or words to that effect, “that an execution has taken place. I should like merely to add that this execution was witnessed by the famous explorer who has, as you all know, honored our colony so greatly by his visit to us. His presence at today’s session of our conference also contributes to the importance of this occasion. Should we not now ask the famous explorer to give us his verdict on our traditional mode of execution and the procedure that leads up to it?” Of course there is loud applause, general agreement, I am more insistent than anyone. The Commandant bows to you and says: “Then in the name of the assembled company, I put the question to you.” And now you advance to the front of the box. Lay your hands where everyone can see them, or the ladies will catch them and press your fingers. – And then at last you can speak out. I don’t know how I’m going to endure the tension of waiting for that moment. Don’t put any restraint on yourself when you make your speech, publish the truth aloud, lean over the front of the box, shout, yes indeed, shout your verdict, your unshakable conviction, at the Commandant. Yet perhaps you wouldn’t care to do that, it’s not in keeping with your character, in your country perhaps people do these things differently, well, that’s all right too, that will be quite as effective, don’t even stand up, just say a few words, even in a whisper, so that only the officials beneath you will hear them, that will be quite enough, you don’t even need to mention the lack of public support for the execution, the creaking wheel, the broken strap, the filthy gag of felt, no, I’ll take all that upon me, and, believe me, if my indictment doesn’t drive him out of the conference hall, it will force him to his knees to make the acknowledgment: Old Commandant, I humble myself before you. – That is my plan; will you help me to carry it out? But of course you are willing, what is more, you must.’ And the officer seized the explorer by both arms and gazed, breathing heavily, into his face. He had shouted the last sentence so loudly that even the soldier and the condemned man were startled into attending; they had not understood a word but they stopped eating and looked over at the explorer, chewing their previous mouthfuls.

  From the very beginning the explorer had no doubt about what answer he must give; in his lifetime he had experienced too much to have any uncertainty here; he was fundamentally honorable and unafraid. And yet now, facing the soldier and the condemned man, he did hesitate, for as long as it took to draw one breath. At last, however, he said, as he had to: ‘No.’ The officer blinked several times but did not turn his eyes away. ‘Would you like me to explain?’ asked the explorer. The officer nodded wordlessly. ‘I do not approve of your procedure,’ said the explorer then, ‘even before you took me into your confidence – of course I shall never in any circumstances betray your confidence – I was already wondering whether it would be my duty to intervene and whether my intervention would have the slightest chance of success. I realized to whom I ought to turn: to the Commandant, of course. You have made that fact even clearer, but without having strengthened my resolution, on the contrary, your sincere conviction has touched me, even though it cannot influence my judgment.’

  The officer remained mute, turned to the machine, caught hold of a brass rod, and then, leaning back a little, gazed at the Designer as if to assure himself that all was in order. The soldier and the condemned man seemed to have come to some understanding; the condemned man was making signs to the soldier, difficult though his movements were because of the tight straps; the soldier was bending down to him; the condemned man whispered something and the soldier nodded.

  The explorer followed the officer and said: ‘You don’t know yet what I mean to do. I shall tell the Commandant what I think of the procedure, certainly, but not at a public conference, only in private; nor shall I stay here long enough to attend any conference; I am going away early tomorrow morning, or at least embarking on my ship.’

  It did not look as if the officer had been listening. ‘So you did not find the procedure convincing,’ he said to himself and smiled, as an old man smiles at childish nonsense and yet pursues his own meditations behind the smile.

  ‘Then the time has come,’ he said at last, and suddenly looked at the explorer with bright eyes that held some challenge, some appeal for cooperation. ‘The time for what?’ asked the explorer uneasily, but got no answer.

  ‘You are free,’ said the officer to the condemned man in the native tongue. The man did not believe it at first. ‘Yes, you are set free,’ said the officer. For the first time the condemned man’s face woke to real animation. Was it true? Was it only a caprice of the officer’s that might change again? Had the foreign explorer begged him off? What was it? One could read these questions on his face. But not for long. Whatever it might be, he wanted to be really free if he might, and he began to struggle so far as the Harrow permitted him.

  ‘You’ll burst my straps,’ cried the officer, ‘lie still! We’ll soon loosen them.’ And signing the soldier to help him, he set about doing so. The condemned man laughed wordlessly to himself, now he turned his face left toward the officer, now right toward the soldier, nor did he forget the explorer.

  ‘Draw him out,’ ordered the officer. Because of the Harrow this had to be done with some care. The condemned man had already torn himself a little in the back through his impatience.

  From now on, however, the officer paid hardly any attention to him. He went up to the explorer, pulled out the small leather wallet again, turned over the papers in it, found the one he wanted, and showed it to the explorer. ‘Read it,’ he said. ‘I can’t,’ said the explorer, ‘I told you before that I can’t make out these scripts.’ Try taking a close look at it,’ said the officer and came quite near to the explorer so that they might read it together. But when even that proved useless, he outlined the script with his little finger, holding it high above the paper as if the surface dared not be sullied by touch, in order to help the explorer to follow the script in that way. The explorer did make an effort, meaning to please the officer in this respect at least, but he was quite unable to follow. Now the officer began to spell it, letter by letter, and then read out the words. ‘ “BE JUST!” is what is written there,’ he said, ‘surely you can read it now.’ The explorer bent so close to the paper that the officer feared he might touch it and drew it farther away; the explorer made no remark, yet it was clear that he still could not decipher it. ‘ “BE JUST!” is what is written there,’ said the officer once more. ‘Maybe,’ said the explorer, ‘I am prepared to believe you.’ ‘Well, then,’ said the officer, at least partly satisfied, and climbed up the ladder with the paper; very carefully he laid it inside the Designer and seemed to be changing the disposition of all the cogwheels; it was a troublesome piece of work and must have involved wheels that were extremely small, for sometimes the officer’s head vanished altogether from sight inside the Designer, so precisely did he have to regulate the machinery.

  The explorer, down below, watched the labor uninterruptedly, his neck grew stiff and his eyes smarted from the glare of sunshine over the sky. The soldier and the condemned man were now busy together. The man’s shirt and trousers, which were already lying in the pit, were fished out by the point of the soldier’s bayonet. The shirt was abominably dirty and its owner washed it in the bucket of water. When he put on the shirt and trousers both he and the soldier could not help guffawing, for the garments were of course slit up behind. Perhaps the condemned man felt it incumbent on him to amuse the soldier, he turned around and around in his slashed garments before the soldier, who squatted on the ground beating his knees with mirth. All the same, they presently controlled their mirth out of respect for the gentlemen.

  When the officer had at length finished his task aloft, he surveyed the machinery in all its details once more, with a smile, but this time shut the lid of the Designer, which had stayed open till now, climbed down, looked into the pit and then at the condemned man, noting with satisfaction that the clothin
g had been taken out, then went over to wash his hands in the water bucket, perceived too late that it was disgustingly dirty, was unhappy because he could not wash his hands, in the end thrust them into the sand – this alternative did not please him, but he had to put up with it – then stood upright and began to unbutton his uniform jacket. As he did this, the two ladies’ handkerchiefs he had tucked under his collar fell into his hands. ‘Here are your handkerchiefs,’ he said, and threw them to the condemned man. And to the explorer he said in explanation: ‘A gift from the ladies.’