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The excerpt represents the core issue or deciding factor on which you must meditate, and is drawn from Youth by Joseph Conrad: with a key in my hand to unlock the forepeak scuttle,
intending to serve the water out of a spare tank we kept
there.
"The smell down below was as unexpected as it was
frightful. One would have thought hundreds of par-
affin-lamps had been flaring and smoking in that hole
for days. I was glad to get out. The man with me
coughed and said, 'Funny smell, sir.' I answered negli-
gently, 'It's good for the health, they say,' and walked
aft.
"The first thing I did was to put my head down the
 Youth |