Kurtz and his Russian wanderer friend

Passage- Part III(page 54-55): "I looked at him...I said."
From the Russian's reflection of his relationship with Kurtz, Marlow somewhat gains a better understanding of who Kurtz is. Using a metaphor, Marlow compares "two ships becalmed near each other, and lay rubbing sides at last" to the Russian and Kurtz, suggesting that Kurtz and the Russian, on the same plane, both mutually gain from one another. Kurtz was able to captivate the Russian with his knowledge of "everything," while the Kurtz gained a worshiper and faithful audience. Kurtz's preaching made the Russian believe that Kurtz had made him "see things-things," although Marlow still views the him as a "pure, uncalculating, unpractical" "youth." The metaphor, putting them on the same plane, degrades Kurtz to the level of the wandering and young Russian.
Marlow though still unwilling to come to any conclusions as to the meaning of his observations, does note his feelings about the "land, this river, this jungle, the very arch of this blazing sky" appearing "hopeless and so dark, so impenetrable to human thought." The juxtaposition of Marlow's observation with the Russian's passionate recollections serve to show that although Kurtz's is the source of information for the Russian, his knowledge of the land and the wilderness is still far from a true understanding.