"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。