One evening, Marlow overhears the uncle and nephew talking about Kurtz, who has rejected the Company’s recent communications and remained far up the river; he continues to send a vast quantity of ivory to the Company even though he has taken ill. There has been no news for nine months. The two men conspire, but Marlow does not understand the full details of their plan. They notice Marlow and depart silently; the Eldorado Expedition leaves the camp a few days later. Long afterwards, Marlow hears that all their donkeys died. Marlow is excited by the prospect of meeting Kurtz.

Very soon, he gets his wish. Two months later, having set off upriver, Marlow and his crew arrive on the bank beside Kurtz’s Inner Station. To get there, he travels through “an empty stream, a great silence, an impenetrable forest” (106). Marlow must watch the river closely, as it is filled with dangerous impediments that might scuttle his boat. His crew is made from Company men and locals recruited along the way. They pass by European camps and native villages; Marlow has no time to assure them as he is occupied by keeping the steam engine in working order.