"It is well, little one," answered Mrs. Tracey, putting her arm round the girl"s naked waist; "all is well with him, and here, in this writing which he hath sent me, he sayeth that the time is drawing near when the evil captain of the ship and those with him shall be crushed and broken."
Pani"s eyes glistened. "Oh, would that I could be there to see it all, for there will be a great fight! He is a great man this Parri, and hath kind eyes and a strong, handsome body. . . . Alisi?" and the girl turned her pretty brown face on one side and looked inquiringly into Mrs. Tracey"s eyes.
"Pani?"
"Alisi, dost love Parri? Will he be thy man[1] when thou leavest us?"
"Nay, how can that be, little one? Did I not tell thee and Toea long ago that he loveth a woman who dwells in my own land, and who awaiteth his return from the sea?"
Toea threw away her cigarette and swiftly settled herself on the other side of Mrs. Tracey, pushing aside Pani in mock jealousy, and, taking her mistress"s hand, hugged it to her full and rounded bosom.
"Alisi? tell me. Will Parri be thy man?"
"_Gao!_" and Mrs. Tracey flicked Toea"s ear. "Be not so silly ye two.
Have I not said that Parri is bound to another woman? He careth nought for me, and it is not the fashion in my country for strangers to wed."
"Hath he told thee that he cares not for thee?" enquired Pani.
"Foolish child. He is my friend--not a lover. And my husband is but dead a little time."
"How can he be thy friend and not thy lover?" persisted Pani. "Thou art a fair, good woman and he a strong, fine man. Surely he will be thy man and think no more of this woman who liveth so far away. Hast ever borne a child, Alisi?"
Mrs. Tracey sighed, and then smiled again. "Never."
"Ah, that was because of some witchcraft, for thy husband who is dead was a strong, thick man, and thou art one who should bear many children. Some evil person hath practised witchcraft on thee. But thou wilt be wife to this man Parri and bear him children. Old Tuna--she who was mother to Gurden"s wife--hath told us that this Parri will be thy man."
A vivid flush dyed Alice Tracey"s cheeks. "Tuna talks foolishly. I tell thee both that there is a girl fair to look upon to whom this man is bound, and that he careth nought for me but as a friend."
Pani shook her head gravely. "Tuna is a wise old woman, she can do many things. She can foretell when death cometh, and can see many things in the night; she can make the barren woman fruitful and can bring the rain. And she hath said that this man Parri will be thy husband, and----"
Mrs. Tracey rose quickly. "Tell me not such foolish things! Come, let us walk upon the beach a little time ere we sleep."
Barry received an answer from her the following evening.
"I am so glad to know," she wrote, "that all is going well, for at times I cannot help a feeling of dread taking possession of me, especially if I am alone for any length of time, and sometimes I am afraid to sleep, for I have such dreadful dreams about these men, Chase, the Greek, and Rawlings. The two girls, Pani and Toea, are, however, a great comfort to me, and if all goes well I shall ask you a favour. I want to take one of them away with me in the _Mahina_. . . .
Do you know how I spend my time, or most of it? Very much as you do during the day, watching the natives bringing in the sh.e.l.l and trying to imagine how many go to a ton. Then at night-time I am the grand dame of Tebuan. I light up my mansion of thatch, and all the women of the village come in and gossip for an hour or two with me, the men sitting outside in a circle. Last night I divided two hundred sticks of the tobacco you sent me among them, and in return they honoured me with a dance. Am I not very childish? I am sure you will think so, but then I feel so much happier every day now in spite of the horrible dreams which sometimes torment and make me miserable.
"We have, I should say, quite forty tons of beautiful sh.e.l.l here now, either cleaned, or rotting out at various places on the beach. Last week the people told me that they were diving three miles from here, and could see the brig"s masts quite distinctly. I warned them to be careful. As for the pearls, I am afraid I must show them to you after all, I am so tired of looking at them by myself. There are over sixty now for the necklace--nearly every one of which is a perfect match with the rest. I have them apart from the others in a box of soft white wood which Pani made for me, and I have called the box "Rose Maynard"s Dot."
"Now I must tell you some other news. Yesterday two ships were seen a long, long way off to the westward. I have no doubt but they are the first of the sperm whalers making south again towards New Caledonia and the New Hebrides. We are sure to see several more, and if any of them come within eight or ten miles, I could have a letter sent off for you--it would perhaps get to Sydney long before the _Mahina_--and just imagine how delighted _some one_ would be to hear from you."
So Barry wrote two long letters, one to Rose, and one to Watson, telling them both that he hoped to see them in less than six months.
To Watson he told the whole of the strange tragedy of the _Mahina_, and of the marvellous escape of Mrs. Tracey.
"Do not tell Miss Maynard all these horrors," he added; "it would only cause her intense anxiety, and I have only said that Mrs. Tracey"s husband is dead, and that she is returning to Sydney in the brig. I am in hopes we may run across a man-of-war; if so I can get rid of these gallows" birds for a time, at any rate, before they are brought to trial. Good-bye and good luck."
He sent the letters down to Tebuan by Velo that night, and then work went on with renewed energy--Barry with the boats, Rawlings and the Greek amid the stench of the decaying oysters on the sandbank; and Barradas, silent, grim, and determined, attended to the brig, and began to prepare her for sea again, a.s.sisted by the four white seamen.
Then came the time when the divers ceased from work, and the last boatloads of sh.e.l.l were landed on the islet; for the little brig had as much as she could carry with safety stowed in her holds, and was deeper in the water than she had ever been since the day she was launched.
And that evening, whilst Rawlings and the boatswain were ash.o.r.e at the village, bathing in fresh water from a native well, Barradas and the steward were quietly at work in the trade room, opening a case of Snider carbines, quickly cleaning and oiling the breeches, and then pa.s.sing them, with an ample supply of cartridges, into the eager hands of Joe and Velo, by whom they were carried into the foc"s"le, and given to those others of the crew then on board. Each man received his weapon in silence, and hid it under the mats of his bunk.
"When is it to be, Velo?" asked one of the divers.
"It may be to-night," replied the Samoan. "Be ye ready when the time comes."
Returning to the trade room the empty case was nailed up again, and another full one lifted on top of it. In the main cabin itself there was a stand of twenty rifles with cutla.s.ses, but these were not disturbed for the time, as the absence of even one would most likely be noticed by Rawlings" eye.
After they had finished their bath the captain and Paul, carrying their towels in their hands, strolled up to Barry"s house. He had just lit his lamp, and with a native sailor helping him was packing up his traps, for this was his last night on sh.o.r.e.
"Ah! putting your house in order, Barry?" said Rawlings blandly.
"Yes, just straightening up a bit, and getting my gear ready to take it on board," he replied.
"We must have a little bit of a celebration tonight, I think," resumed Rawlings, "and let the men have a final fling too. They have worked splendidly under your management; and our success is largely due to you."
Barry nodded. "Yes, they"ve worked very well indeed. And I think we might have a bit of a celebration, as you suggest. Let us say tomorrow night. I"m a bit too tired to-night, and at daylight I"ll start off with Velo and shoot a couple of pigs for the men. They"ll think a lot of that."
"Quite so! A first-rate idea, Mr. Barry. They can have the whole day and night to themselves." Then after a pause he began to discuss with his officer the probabilities of the future--the return of the _Mahina_ and the establishment of a permanent pearling station on the lagoon.
Barry listened, now and then making a suggestion of his own, for which, as usual, Rawlings thanked him effusively.
"And you think, Mr. Barry, that this lagoon can be fished for many years?" he inquired.
"Certain. It would take us four or five years as we have been working, without touching the deep-water patches. The bottom of this lagoon is paved with sh.e.l.l. There are hundreds of thousands of pounds" worth of sh.e.l.l in it yet, let alone the pearls."
The Greek"s greedy eyes lit up and his white teeth set. "Ah, ah, ah!"
he said pantingly.
"Well, we will have our celebration to-morrow night, Mr. Barry," said Rawlings genially.
"Yes, we will wind up everything by a good time to-morrow night,"
answered the mate with unusual warmth, as after some further talk he walked down to the boat and went off on board with them.
Just before supper he strolled along the main deck. Barradas was in the waist leaning over the bulwarks, smoking and watching the movements of some large fish in the phosph.o.r.escent water. He raised his head as the mate came near, and looked at him inquiringly.
"Not to-night," said Barry in a low voice, as he pa.s.sed; "but is everything ready?"
The second mate nodded.
"Let the men go ash.o.r.e if they wish."