Argosy All-Story Weekly — page 38: what you’re looking at

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

308 Savage as she was, womanly intuition may have spurred Faata’s intelligence, for she nodded and assumed her duties. “You go along outside now,” she said. _ “ Mary she like catch sleep. I like catch sleep.” Jimmy obeyed, getting blankets, resting cheerfully on the veranda mat, preferring it to the chair. “Peggy Dineen!” he said softly to the night in general. ‘A peach of a name! _ And a peach of a girl. Twenty-two? That blackguard Carter! Rest of ’em, for that matter. Ship ought to be pinched. “The way she looked at me. ing at stars in the lageon.” VI. jimmy woke a little after dawn. The faithful Faata was snoring inside. Tubi, reproachful for the disturbance of his do- - mestic arrangements, was squatting beneath the veranda looking at his “plenty fime ehipi.” A little smoke rolled out of her stack. A. few figures moved on deck, but it was plain that the passengers were a long way from rousing themselves. Thorpe called down to Tubi. “Tubi, you. go catch young nut, get orangi, catch mullet.” -“ Tide no good along mullet. No can catch um.” “You catch um all same. By an’ by you catchum two-three stick tebaki.” Tubi grinned at the prospect of reward and went his way. Thorpe knew a silver mullet would not be wanting for breakfast. His regular shaving things were in his room, but he used one of his trade outfits, then took his plunge and swim. Going back to the house he went aside to pick some passion fruit to add to the oranges, plucked a handful of the scarlet flowers for a table decoration, walking through the outer fringe of the bush back of the house. It was a wonderful tangle of graceful, lacey tree ferns, wild rubber, citron ind wild orange, tall shaddocks with great globes of deceiving grapefruit all pith and bitterness, croton and dracena shrubs in gorgeous motley of crimson and purple tikcte ARGOSY-ALLSTORY WEEKLY. and orange, tuberoses; hibiscus, blooms of yellow and pink on trees burdened with blossom, all tied together with the cordage of lianas that reached from the topmost boughs to the ground and ran along that. One of the vines was close to the path and covered with a delicate lilac flower. Thorpe discarded his searlet flowers for the daintier creeper, added a few tuberoses and astounded Faata by making a bouquet of them. — ‘““ White Mary she plenty sleep,” she said. ““T hear.” “You don’t mean she snores?” said Thorpe indignantly. ‘‘ You’ve been look- ing in at-her.”. Faata shook her head. “No look. White Mary no snore. I hear. She sleep plenty good.” Thorpe knew of the abnormal sense of smell and hearing of the natives and he was But content that Faata had not-disturbed his charge nor heard more than light regular breathing. Peggy Dineen would not snore. She couldn’t. He was fussy about that breakfast and the laying of the table, bringing up napery from the store. From time to time he looked at the yacht, which continued to show no signs of interior activity. It was eight o’clock when the girl ap- peared. Thorpe escorted her to where a mountain brook cascaded over a rock in a silver stream that tumbled twenty feet into a ferny pool. and soap. ‘““ Come back when you ’re ready,” he said and left her. “It’s too pretty to use as a washroom,” she said when she returned. “Is the island all as beautiful as that?” “* Most of it. Breakfast’s ready. They are still asleep aboard. We can watch them - from the table in the window. I usually eat on the veranda, but there’s no sense risk- ing anything. Of course they’ve no right to make you leave here, anyway.” She nodded at him over her orange. She was paler than she had been the night be- fore and she was serious and thoughtful. But she said that she had slept well. As they ate she encouraged him to talk about himself, and Thorpe was glad to do He took along fresh towels. (©) ECOMIG book SS