Answer:
B). The narrator believes his crewmembers to be skilled and competent, despite their different customs.
Explanation:
The given excerpt has been taken from Joseph Conrad popular fiction 'Heart of Darkness' and it primarily aims to portray the Marlowe's(as an outsider's) point of view of the African natives. Some of the natives were the crew members of Marlowe and his journey eventually made him realize that they were 'cannibals-in their place' and not that savage or barbaric as they are portrayed to be. This inference is supported by the descriptions 'they were men one could work with' which shows their comptence and 'his gratefulness towards them.' Thus, option B is the correct answer.