Well-written but extremely depressing novella about an old sailor on the edge of penury, trying to hide a disability long enough to keep a job that will support his daughter. It's a quiet little story with very little melodrama, and the muted misery of it is far more effective than the repetition of horror in Heart of Darkness, for instance. Ultimately it's so unhappy a story that I don't think I'll read it again, but it's certainly affecting and the characterisation is excellent.