"Heart of Darkness"
by Joseph Conrad

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     "I authorize you to take all the risks," he said, after a short silence.

     "I refuse to take any," I said shortly; which was just the answer he expected, though its tone might have surprised him.

     "Well, I must defer to your judgment. You are captain," he said with marked civility.

     I turned my shoulder to him in sign of my appreciation, and looked into the fog. How long would it last? It was the most hopeless lookout.

 

     The approach to this Kurtz grubbing for ivory in the wretched bush was beset by as many dangers as though he had been an enchanted princess sleeping in a fabulous castle.

     "Will they attack, do you think?" asked the manager, in a confidential tone.

     I did not think they would attack, for several obvious reasons. The thick fog was one. If they left the bank in their canoes they would get lost in it, as we would be if we attempted to move. Still, I had also judged the jungle of both banks quite impenetrable -- and yet eyes were in it, eyes that had seen us.

 
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