A Queer Race: The Story of a Strange People — page 121: what you’re looking at

Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.

118 A QUEER RACE. the treasure rightly his, he thought I should have claimed it on his behalf. | All this both annoyed and grieved me, not only because I had a sincere respect for old Tom, but because I began to fear that we should not find it very easy to get away from Fair Island, and that unless we pulled together we might not get away at all. | After we had been on board some three hours, and everything was in readiness, Queen Mab arrived in a large boat, manned by half a dozen slaves, which was speedily followed by two other boats, bringing a brave company of men and women, principally composed, as | afterward learned, of members of the Fane family and — their kindred. When I had shown them round the decks, I took them into the engine-room, and explained, as well as I con'd, how the engine worked, ‘Then the capstan was manned and the anchor weighed. ‘Tom took the wheel and I started the engine. I need not repeat the exclamations of surprise which this proceeding called forth, nor the thou- sand and one questions which I had to answer. ‘To use a somewhat trite phrase, they may be more easily imug- ined than described. The most curious of the company was Queen Mab. After going on deck to make sure that the ship really moved and see how it did move, she returned to the engine-room, plied me with questions, watched every- thing J did, and remained with me until we reached the mouth of the cove, wnere (the place being well shel- tered) we had decided to let go the anchor. ft was still early in the day, and I thought the best thing we could now do was to overhaul a part of the cargo, so we opened the hold,. rigged a derrick, and hoisted up a few of the cases. The first we opened was a case of Manchester prints; the next contained silks and mixed goods. Mab and all the women on board were in eestasies. The island did not produce silk, and none of them had ever seen a piece of print in their lives before. The queen took one of the prettiest (by no means the gaudiest; she showed good taste), and drawing it round her like a robe, asked the others how it suited her. _ “‘Tf you will come with me into the saloon,” I said, “‘ vou shall see for yourself.” Gom C JOO KS eGom