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diff --git a/.gitattributes b/.gitattributes index 6833f05..d7b82bc 100644 --- a/.gitattributes +++ b/.gitattributes @@ -1,3 +1,4 @@ -* text=auto -*.txt text -*.md text +*.txt text eol=lf +*.htm text eol=lf +*.html text eol=lf +*.md text eol=lf diff --git a/78475-0.txt b/78475-0.txt deleted file mode 100644 index 8c8e9c8..0000000 --- a/78475-0.txt +++ /dev/null @@ -1,1988 +0,0 @@ -*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK 78475 *** - - - - - - - The Gray God - - By J. ALLAN DUNN - - _Author of "The Cardinal's Curse," - "Whirlwind Walsh," etc._ - - _Broke and almost "on the beach" in the - Fiji Islands, Bob Stanton hardly guessed - that just around the corner lay the maddest - adventure life could offer in the tropics._ - - _Novelette--Complete_ - - [Transcriber's Note: This etext was produced from - Argosy All-Story Weekly March 16 1929.] - - - - - - - CHAPTER I. - - "TYPICAL TROPICAL TRAMP!" - - -Bob Stanton walked along the main street of Suva, painfully conscious -that people looked at him as if he was a beach comber. He was not quite -that--yet--though he was not many degrees removed from it, he told -himself. His ducks and his linen, if they were frayed, were clean; -he managed, with old blades and the horrible soap supplied by his -landlady, to keep shaved; the soles of his shoes were broken, but the -uppers were carefully pipe-clayed. He was still respectable, but his -hair needed cutting and his browned features were beginning to wear an -expression that made even the kilted native police look at him askance. - -Not to mention the tourists. A steamer was in. Men and women were -strolling or driving, tropic clad, agog for entertainment, planning -luncheon. Some had _lei_ garlands about their necks placed there by -welcoming friends. Friends! There were certainly times when a fellow -needed one, Stanton reflected. There might be Americans in that -laughing crowd intent upon enjoyment. Perhaps if they knew the plight -he was in, from no fault of his own-- - -He shoved his hands deeper in his empty pockets, crossing over from the -row of stores with plate glass fronts, hotels and clubs, to the shore -side of the street. He walked in the checkered, changing shadow of the -palms and poincianas, which patterned the path with purple and gold. - -Across the stretch of seagrass lawn the Goro Sea showed incredibly -blue, blue as laundry blueing. The sky was hardly less vivid. Cliffs of -pearly trade wind clouds lifted on the horizon. The breeze raised the -banners of bananas, rustled in the fronds of coconut and royal palms, -sent down a drift of scarlet poinciana blossoms like carnival confetti. -A glorious, gorgeous mockery of a day. - -He had the makings of two cigarettes, perhaps three thin ones, and that -was all. No tobacco, no money to buy any. He was three weeks in debt -to his half-caste landlady, three weeks in board-arrears to Cheung Li. -Broke. Stony broke. - -They hadn't said a thing about it yet, but they would not, could not -trust him forever. - -There was the sting of it; they had trusted him. He had not lied to -them about coming remittances, but had frankly said he was flat, and -they had smiled and said he was an American and they knew he would pay -them when he could. That seemed a long way off right now. - -A girl was coming toward him, from the steamer, unaccompanied. She was -simply dressed, she was slender, but walked with a certain agile vigor -that distinguished her. Stanton almost bumped into her on the narrow -path in his absorption. He got a glimpse of a pair of dark blue eyes, -large, clear, but not carefree; a short nose, red lips that drooped a -little, a hint of coppery hair under the close-fitting hat. - -He raised his own, in apology, and the girl bowed. She did not smile, -but looked at him curiously, sympathetically. He did not analyze that -look for a few minutes. Then he realized that her face, like his own, -must have betrayed worriment, was not in accord with the gorgeous day. -She was in trouble of some sort, even as he was, and she had recognized -the latter fact. - - * * * * * - -About ten paces behind the girl a man was walking with a curious ease -of gait, pantherish, slightly furtive for all his swagger, for all -his linen tunic and pants, his silk shirt and cummerbund, the smart -puggaree on his hat of woven palm fiber, the short gold-tipped malacca -cane, the silken socks and shoes of buckskin and tan leather. - -His skin was the color of saddle leather, splotched by darker blots, -like freckles. His eyes were jet-black, set aslant, the lids smooth and -unwrinkled, the mouth full-lipped, cruel. A cunning, sensual "breed," -half Chinese and half native, swaggering along with a knife under his -cummerbund, and gambler's gold in his pockets, Stanton fancied. - -The American suddenly wondered, with a hunch that flashed into his -mind, whether the man was following the girl. For a moment Stanton -halted, rolling his cigarette, looking back. The girl had crossed the -street, the half-breed kept straight on. He might be following her, but -he did not seem inclined to annoy her. Too careful of his own skin, -Stanton decided. He would behave himself in the open, but he was no -more to be trusted in the shadows than a roving shark in a lagoon. - -Stanton knew him by name--Loo Fong--and by his reputation, or lack of -it, along the waterfront where Stanton had his cheap but clean room -with Panakaloa, the stout half-white widow of a trading skipper. - -Loo Fong, petty pirate, smuggler, gambler, half Malay, half Manchu, -and treacherous as a snake, was just back from one of his occasional -disappearances. He had given Stanton a look, tinged with a sneer of -derision on his twisting mouth, that made the American's fists double -automatically. - -He crossed the street himself, caught sight of his reflection in a -store window as he checked to let a jovial group pass out of the car -that had brought them from the ship and enter the Victoria Hotel. - -A woman glanced at him and said something in a whisper to her escort. -The man was less tactful of tone in his answer. - -"T.T.T.," he replied. "Eh, what? Typical Tropical Tramp! Beach bum! -Never has worked, can't get work, and doesn't want to." The woman -looked at him again and shrank a little. It was then the plate glass -revealed to Stanton his mask of a face, grim, almost haggard, the long -hair covering the collar of his coat, the set jaws and smoldering eyes. - -"Got to snap out of that," he told himself. "You're nursing a grouch. -It won't get you a thing, not a damn' thing, Bob Stanton! It's the grin -that wins." - -He was not so sure of that. He had been grinning a long time, but -the grin had frayed, like the bottoms of his pants and the cuffs of -his coat and shirts. There was no job in Suva, in all the Fijis, for -a "Yank." It was fair enough, perhaps. Jobs seemed to be scarce and -anything that a self-respecting white man would do was held out for a -Britisher. - -He had come out to join a man he had known in the States. They had been -comrades in the Argonne, as a matter of fact. It was after an Armistice -Day dinner that Raymond had told him of his plan to log and ship the -valuable hardwoods of the Fijis to American cabinet-makers. The islands -off the north and west of Viti Levu were crammed with such trees, it -appeared. Stanton had put in his share for preliminaries and had left -for Fiji after the jubilant letter saying that the lease was secured -and the prospects rosy. It had taken almost all he had by the time he -reached Suva and, while he was _en route_, the bubble had been pricked. - -The British commissioner had received word from the colonial secretary -that no leases or concessions were to be granted on Fijian products -to other than _bona-fide_ British concerns. The bill had passed "as -of" a date before that of Raymond's concessions. It was a washout. -The commissioner was polite, bored, and his expressed sorrow was -tinged with a suggestion that Americans had better stick to their own -possessions. - -There were hardwoods, the commissioner believed, in the Philippines. -Whether or not he knew the Washington policies that protected the -countrymen of Aguinaldo to the exclusion of all outside capital, they -did not learn. - -Raymond cursed heartily and ingeniously, outside the commissioner's -stately residence. He offered Stanton his fare back, but Stanton knew -his friend had little enough left for himself. The lure of the tropics -had gripped Stanton, and he had no doubt but that he could get along. -He had, for twelve weeks of enforced loafing, on fifty dollars. - - * * * * * - -It looked like the bush or the beach for him, living on fruit and fish, -a down-and-outer. It was getting hard to be philosophical, to believe -in such platitudes as "It is always darkest before the dawn," and -"Every cloud has a silver lining." - -Nevertheless, after that self-revealing glance at the grim mask that -was his face, Bob Stanton mentally girded up his loins and marched on, -resolved to borrow a pair of scissors from Panakaloa to trim the frayed -edges of his garments and essay a haircut. He was getting morbid. He -whistled as he marched along and looked a sergeant of police squarely -in the eyes. Lately he had been bothering a bit about deportation, or a -request to move on. - -Confound that fellow with his T.T.T. What did he know about them? -T.T.T.'s were the salt of the earth, often prosperous, always -efficient, cursed or blessed with the roving heel. The chap had said -Stanton didn't want to work, whereas he had been hunting it high and -low until he could feel the grit working through his shoes at every -step. He whistled the swinging march song: - - _Pack all your troubles in your old kit-bag,_ - _And smile, smile, smile._ - -Lots of craft in the harbor, freight steamers, sailing ships, the -big passenger boat, native craft, launches shuttling back and forth. -Usually they made him restless, emphasized his marooned condition. Now -he grinned at them. Much magic in a grin, after all. But he didn't get -his haircut. - -He reached the wharf and swung south to where Panakaloa's little house -was set among scrubs and papaia trees on the limits of white residency. -A topsail schooner was moored to bollards, her cargo of copra and -turtle shell being discharged. - -A black man lay on a bale, shivering in the sun. He was almost a dwarf, -a Melanesian, not a Fijian. His frizzy hair was dull red from lime -bleaching, his dark skin showed tribal weals and other scars. His only -clothing was a scanty loin-cloth. The lobes of his ears were stretched -to flaps of torn leather, a short clap pipe thrust through one of -the convenient holes. A South Sea savage, sick and shuddering, ugly, -ill-shaped, dirty. His ribs showed like those of a starved dog. His -eyes were closed and his limbs were huddled about his emaciated body. - -Any blackbirder would have despised him. Stanton wondered how he had -come to Suva, derelict and unhappy as a mangy cur. - -A man in a peaked cap, dressed in dungarees and a grimy pyjama top -was directing the last of the unloading, chewing and spitting tobacco -between curses in beach-English. As the file-closer of the Kanakas -he had been bossing disappeared into the warehouse shed, the man, -apparently mate of the schooner, turned and saw the wretched figure -on the bale. He had a rope's end tucked in his belt, a length of coil -ending in a turkshead knot, symbol of authority over his Solomon Island -crew. - -He swung it aloft and brought it down on the cowering creature who woke -to his shouted oaths. It curled with a vicious hiss and sounded like a -drum-stroke as it raised a blistering mark. - -"You walk along damn' quick out of this, you blasted stowaway monkey, -before I flay you," he cried and swung up his arm again as the man -leaped from the bale and crouched, long apelike arms wrapped about his -head, jabbering something inarticulate. The rope's end writhed around -his ribs with the same hideous strum. The third blow did not fall. The -mate's arm remained aloft as he gazed in astonishment at the sudden -appearance of Stanton between him and his victim. - -"Git out of here, you lousy beach bum!" the mate yelled. He started to -say more, but Stanton's fist muzzled him. - - * * * * * - -Indignation at the wanton cruelty had caused Stanton to interfere, but -all the resentment he had swallowed in the sneer of Loo Fong and the -words of the woman's escort outside the hotel, went into that wallop -when the mate called him a bum. He had been hard up, but, thanks to -Cheung and Panakaloa, he had not starved or lacked decent quarters. He -was husky and he knew how to use his fists. The mate didn't. He was a -bucko, a good brawler, and he was tough, inside and out, but he made a -serious first mistake in underestimating his adversary, and rushing him. - -Stanton ducked neatly and smote him hard over the liver as the mate's -haymaker swung overhead and the mate swung with it, off balance, -staggering sidewise with a clip on the side of the jaw. He went to one -knee and hand, and Stanton let him up, which was chivalrous but wasted. - -"Get up, you coward, and take a licking from a 'bum!'" Stanton snapped, -while the mate spat blood and tobacco from his battered lips, uttered a -roar and rushed again. The seaman got a straight left to his face which -checked him, but he closed in, bellowing and bludgeoning. The Kanakas -had come out of the warehouse and were looking on, eyes rolling, -grinning. The cook came out of the schooner's galley and stood with -folded arms, another spectator who seemed not opposed to the prospects -of the mate's getting trimmed. - -They clinched and Stanton appreciated what a bucko might do at close -quarters. The mate got his arms about his ribs and nearly cracked them -as he forged on with the advantage of his weight, using his knee, -trying to trip, cursing constantly, threatening, putting out his full -strength. Stanton beat a tattoo on his kidneys and he didn't like it. -They struck the stringpiece and went down together, rolling over and -over, rebounding as the side of the schooner saved them from the water. - -As they rolled the mate made another mistake. Every time Stanton was on -top he slogged at the bucko's head and jaws, and hurt him badly enough -to make the mate try the same tactics. The bucko got home more than -once, but it gave Stanton the chance to get up and away. He intended -to keep away. The mate was as hard as an automobile tire, strong as -a gorilla; he had the weight and superior strength. Stanton had the -science and the better wind. The other was blowing as he got to his -feet and, before he got set, Stanton got in a jolt to the belly and a -second smash over the mouth. - -The combination settled it, together with the quid the mate had -neglected to eject. The force of the blow sent it into his windpipe, -choking and half strangling him. Upset muscular control juggled it into -his gullet and Stanton's third and final blow in that rally drove it -deep. His disturbed stomach received and ejected it. His tanned face -turned a sickly green. He heaved violently and was distressingly and -unpleasantly sick, teetering up the gangway, using the scupperway, -weaving down the companionway to his cabin. - -Stanton straightened his clothes, felt gingerly a fiery ear and a -bruised cheek, looking for the cause of his interference. - -"You did 'm in proper, mister. You 'andled your dukes pretty. It served -the bloody blighter right," said the cook. "I'm quittin' 'ere. 'E ain't -got no idea of decency, 'e ain't. Called my grub 'stinkin' 'ash.' I -'ope the beggar 'eaves up his spotted soul." - -The miserable black was clasping Stanton's knees, jabbering at him, his -eyes moist with gratitude. It embarrassed the American. The Kanakas -were gathered in an uncertain knot, but the cook shouted at them and -they went aboard. - -"Looks like you 'ad 'im on your 'ands, mister," the cook said to -Stanton. "All syme stray dorg. You'll 'ave a 'ard time gittin' rid of -'im." - -"Where did he come from? What's the matter with him?" - -"We figger 'e must 'ave swum off and 'id aboard, the time we watered -at Tuimoto. Probably was in wrong with 'is wizard. Thought the ship -'u'd be better than the ovens. I'll bet 'e's changed 'is mind more'n -once. We was glad enough to git clear without trouble. Tuimoto is no -picnic-ground. The skipper was sick--island fever--an' mate run things. -'E kicked the daylights out of that boy. Come night throwin' 'im -overboard to the sharks. 'E ain't 'ad too much to eat. Don't like white -man's _kaikai_ an' the Kanakas wouldn't share theirs with 'im. That's -part of what's the matter with 'im. And 'e's got yaws. You better tyke -my tip and 'and 'im over to the police, mister. 'E belongs in the -'orsepittle, 'e does. Croak on your 'ands if you don't. 'Is nyme's Tiki -and I bet 'e's full of 'em." - -A muffled roar came from below and the cook winked at Stanton. - -"That's the mate," he said. "Wants a nurse. I'll nurse 'im!" He -sauntered aft. - -The miserable devil who seemed to have been wished on Stanton, -ill-treated and frightened by his surroundings, groveled at his feet. -He shivered like a frightened dog when Stanton put a hand on his skinny -shoulder. He didn't quite know what to do with the wretch--he'd die in -the hospital from sheer loneliness. Turn his face to the wall and let -his soul leach out of him. - -Stanton could put a meal into him, let him know he had a friend. His -own plight was pleasant compared to that of this spiritless remnant of -humanity. Perhaps Panakaloa would let him stay, give him something he -could assimilate. - -"You come with me," he said. "We get _kaikai_." - -Tiki understood the meaning and followed him like a black dog, his eyes -shining. Panakaloa was a bit difficult. She wanted no black fellows, -she declared, but at last Stanton persuaded her to let Tiki--who stood -on one bow leg, scratching with the toes of the other at his yaws -while they discussed him--stay in a shed in the little garden on some -old matting. He lay down, curled up, sacking over him and presently -Panakaloa set down beside him a bowl of native _poi_ and some dried -fish. His eyes glittered. His spirit revived. He was in the house of -friends and he ate avidly. Stanton went off to his own meal. - - - - - CHAPTER II. - - CHEUNG'S PLAN. - - -Cheung Li's restaurant did not cater to the social element of Suva, -but it was neat and clean, the food savory, wholesome and cheap, so -that he did a good waterfront business with white skippers, mates and -supercargoes. - -He lived above the place, a placid, stout, sphinx-faced Chinaman -with a dignity all his own, getting together his fortune. Some said -the restaurant was a blind for his other affairs, but no one seemed -to definitely know what they might be. He extended credit from time -to time and seemed to find it profitable in the long run. It was he -himself who had suggested to Stanton that he need not worry about his -bill. - -"Some time soon, something come along," he told him. "You 'Melican. You -make good bimeby." - -He presided over the restaurant at rush hours, leaving its conduct the -rest of the time to two assistants. One of these, Moy, long, sallow, -cadaverous and chary of any speech but his own, set before Stanton -his meal. There was real turtle soup, excellent fish, turtle steak -with boiled _taro_-root and greens, fresh coconut pudding with caramel -sauce, and coffee the Ritz patrons might have envied. All for fifty -cents; a dollar and twenty cents for three daily meals, seven dollars a -week. - -When Moy brought the pudding he had a message. - -"Cheung Li like speak along of you topside when you finish up," he said. - -It spoiled the dessert for Stanton. It must mean that his credit was -over. It had to come. Cheung had been mighty decent. But it looked like -the beach. He couldn't stay at Panakaloa's and not eat. He couldn't -honestly stay there any longer and pile up a debt he saw no means of -paying off. Panakaloa could always rent her rooms. He saw himself for -a moment roaming the beach with Tiki at his heels, adventuring in the -bush with a cannibal. Tiki would know more about making a living there -than he did. - -He shrugged his shoulders, his hands steady as he rolled his second -cigarette. There was not enough left for a third, so he made this fat -and smoked it slowly with long inhalations before he got up, unable -to tip Moy. An outside staircase led to a balcony that ran all round -the house, covered and awninged. At the rear it looked over a compound -garden behind a high plank wall where Cheung took his ease with his -family. - -Stanton had never mounted before. He was surprised at the signs of -comfort, of taste, even of luxury. There were easy chairs of bamboo, -stands of teak that held flowering plants, big vases of porcelain with -foliage shrubs and ferns in them, rugs, cushions, two Java thrushes -singing in cages, a gorgeous blue macaw in a ring, statuesque, -disdainful. - -The front veranda, where Stanton thought the entrance must be, looked -over the harbor and the shipping, and across Kadavu Passage to the -distant isles of Ono and Kadavu, almost sixty miles away. The lure of -the horizon, of the unknown tropics, savage but fascinating, gripped -him hard. Then sliding glass doors opened and Cheung asked him inside. - -He had never before seen Cheung except in white clothes, and he was -surprised at the quiet richness of his brocades, the assurance of -his manner, polite, unostentatious. He might have been greeting a -distinguished official rather than a man whose clothing proclaimed his -poverty. - -He offered Stanton a deep and cosy seat and a cheroot faintly smelling -of tea, gratifying of flavor. Then he poured out two tiny goblets of -amber fluid that scented the whole room as if with orange groves and -tasted like sublimated Chartreuse. - -His English was not perfect, but he spoke without hesitation, straight -to the purpose. It was as if he guessed Stanton's interpretation of the -request for the visit, and wished to relieve him promptly. The shady -chamber had an atmosphere of courtesy. From the interior Stanton heard -the tinkle of a stringed instrument, the sudden laughter of a child. -The Java thrushes were singing madly. - -"I tell you some time, soon, something come along," said Cheung in his -mellow tones. "I not know then this come. One time, some one tell me -about one place where there are plenty pearl, on island where nobody -go. No landing there, no loadstead, no lagoon. Leef come up close, -evely place. Native not live that place now. Name Motutabu. Plenty -magic along that place. Bad magic. Maybe you not believe that?" - -"I don't know," said Stanton simply. "I've heard a lot of curious -things." - -Cheung grunted as if satisfied with the answer. - -"This black man's magic," he said. "Not evil to white man, yellow man -unless they too much meddle. You savvy?" - -"I savvy," said Stanton. His pulses were quickening, his blood -beginning to tingle. He felt that he was on the threshold of adventure, -mysterious, dangerous. - - * * * * * - -"On that island one big image," Cheung went on. "Not idol, all same -symbol. Symbol of evil spilits native men speak velley soft along, make -gift so he leave alone. Some one meddle along that god, not savvy how, -die velly quick. Suppose you go this place, you leave god alone. I send -white man I know along this Motutabu--that mean fo'bidden island. He is -good man, I tlust him plenty. I send Kanaka with him to dive. No one -come back. Long time now they should come back. Something happen. Maybe -he meddle too much along that god, maybe all get sick, maybe schooner -get on leef. I not know. - -"I am li'l' aflaid some one else speak along the Kanaka who tell me -about that place. Li'l' while since he speak with me, they find him -dead along beach. Maybe because he talk, maybe because he no talk. -Nobody savvy who kill him. I no savvy. I think maybe one man, half -Chinaman, he savvy something. Maybe he go along Motutabu, but suppose -he did he not find pearl. If he find pearl he not come back to Suva. He -go to Sigapo'. Belong that place. But I like find out." - -Singapore! Stanton had the flash, half intuition, half reasoning, -that is called a hunch. Singapore meant the Malay Peninsula. In his -mind's eye he saw the lithe figure of the Malay-Manchu, swaggering but -furtive, like a stalking panther, trailing the girl. He did not know -then how illuminating his hunch had been. But the name came to his -lips. "Loo Fong!" - -Cheung grunted again. - -"I always think you smaht," he said. "Li'l' bad luck, maybe, jus' now. -Loo Fong come back. I think he been along that island. Maybe he kill. -But I think he no find pearl. I like send you." - -"I'm no sailor," Stanton disclaimed. "I've knocked about in a pleasure -boat or two, yachting, but I'm no navigator." - -"I give you ship," Cheung purred on. "Captain and clew all same, they -lun ship. Chinamen. On island you boss. You find out what happen. Man -I send to island is 'Melican, all same you 'Melican. Suppose I send -Chinamen, suppose Loo Fong been that place, my man no tlust any one -but white man. His name Haines. I pay you good. Suppose you bling back -pearls, I give you plenty." - -"You don't know anything about me," said Stanton. He was not demurring -to the proposition, but it had taken him off his feet a bit. It sounded -like a large order. - -He did not lack confidence in himself, but this was a strange situation -he was asked to take command of. He could not immediately see himself -on a boat manned by Chinese, going to an island where some god, some -symbol of evil, was supposed to reign with malign influence; where -murder might have been done. He wanted to think it over, though he -wanted to go, aside from obliging Cheung. - -"I savvy plenty," Cheung went on suavely. "You have bad luck; you live -cheap, not dlink, not lun up big bill at big hotel. You tly all time -find any kind of job. Not easy fo' 'Melican along this place. Li'l' -time ago you fight mate of Lehua. I like 'Melican who not blag, not -dlink, can fight. I like you velly much to go this tlip." - -Stanton wondered a little at the other's knowledge of the fight, but it -was not surprising. Such news traveled fast. The restaurant was a sort -of club, in some ways. He was to wonder more how closely Cheung had -studied him. - -"To-day steameh come," Cheung went on. "Haines, he had bad luck too, -long time. He tlade in copla, have bad luck. He go fo' shell an' pearl, -have bad luck. Lose schooneh, find shell eaten by oyster worm. His -wife die in United States. Then he catch job with me. He lite back to -his daughteh, pletty soon he make money. She no heah flom him long time -befo'. Now velly glad. She come to Suva. Come to-day. She nice gel. I -tell about her fatheh. She wollied, but she keep up chin all same you, -'Melican fashion. She want to go look fo' him. I say she can go along -with you." - -Stanton gasped. Things were developing fast. He knew who the girl was. -She would recognize him when she saw him. He guessed why Loo Fong had -trailed her. Loo Fong knew of the island if he had not been there. It -was likely he had tried to pump the native who had first given Cheung -the information, and killed the poor devil. Why the latter had chosen -to confide in Cheung did not matter now. It was Cheung's affair. -Probably the man was indebted to him. - -"I saw Loo Fong following a girl who came in on the Austral, I think," -he said. Again Cheung gave one of his soft grunts of comprehension. - -"Loo Fong plenty slick," he said. "I think he savvy gel ask fo' me. She -go along hotel now she come my place. Mo' betteh she stay this place. -Loo Fong savvy that, savvy you come see me, maybe savvy why. _Maskee!_ -I think maybe you have to kill Loo Fong some time." - - * * * * * - -He spoke placidly enough, but, to Stanton, the room seemed suddenly -filled with a mist in which vague, battling figures moved, while in -the background there loomed the statue of a great, gray god and the -suggestion of fantastic cliffs and jungle. - -He was looking on, now, but he was about to be involved in this. -Pearls, magic, murder. Mystery and sudden death. Romance. The girl's -face with the big eyes that had changed when they saw him, as if there -had been between them some affinity, was plain before him. He heard -Cheung clap his hands, and then the girl herself was in the room, in -the flesh, gazing at him as he rose. - -"Missy Haines," Cheung was saying. "This Misteh Stanton. I think he go -along Motutabu fo' me." - -Her hand was in his, cool and firm, her gaze was searching him, frank, -friendly. - -"You don't mind if I go along?" she said. "I want to know what has -happened to my father, I want to see him again. He left me in school, -six years ago." - -"Mind?" Stanton was filled with an idiotic desire to say the things -that crowded his brain, to give utterance to the impulses that thrilled -him. To acknowledge the joy that surged through him at the prospect of -being her knight-errant, her champion. There was no question now of his -not going. If Cheung had reserved this argument for the last, he had -chosen wisely. Stanton's actual answer was stiff, awkward. - -"I shall be glad to serve you, if I can, to help your father, to be of -use to Cheung Li, who has befriended me." - -"As he did my father," said the girl. Stanton thought he heard Cheung -chuckle, but his face was immobile. - -"That settled," he said. "Now Stanton, talk business along with me. -Much to fix, quick as possible. To-mollow, maybe nex' day, you go." - -The girl left and Cheung talked business. His schooner, with the -Chinese skipper and crew, were at Levuka on the island of Ovalau, -former capital of Fiji. It was not far away, less than fifty miles, and -he had sent word to them, expecting them to-morrow. He gave Stanton -money to buy necessary personal things, promising to furnish him -weapons. Motutabu was not on the regulation charts. It lay far to the -south and west, below the Kermadec Islands. Cheung showed its position -on a chart. At the end of the interview he gave certain grave warnings. - -"I think Loo Fong go that place," he said. "Not find pearl. If he savvy -I send you I think he go back. Follow you, make plenty tlouble. Much -betteh he stay along that place." - -There was a grim note in his voice that more than hinted his meaning. -Cheung had not attempted to dodge the fact that the trip was dangerous. -He seemed at once to value life and consider it of little value, like -the money changer who promptly throws out spurious coin. The crew of -his schooner would be armed. He had not sent Chinese in the first -place because natives were better divers; his own men were unused -to pearling, he used them for inter-island trading. But they were -fighters. They were his men. - -Stanton was convinced that those who worked for Cheung were loyal, -bound by a fealty that went beyond pay. He saw depths to this man who -was running a lowly restaurant and living in something close to luxury. -He realized that the restaurant was a clearing house for gossip, -valuable to such a person as Cheung; shrewd, daring, efficient, he bent -his energies toward fortune, but was endowed with philosophy, a mode of -thought and life that raised him far above the ordinary. - -"You not meddle along that god," Cheung said, the last thing. "And you -look out along of Loo Fong. You look out along that mate you fight. -Suppose you want take along that Tiki, can do. Maybe he can be useful -along in bush. That mate name Johnson. Schooneh Lehua. Captain Fenwick, -he sick, he stay in Suva. Cook quit too. Loo Fong he hold share in -Lehua. You look out. Take this now." - -He took from a drawer in a lacquered cabinet a flat automatic of German -make, a vicious-looking thing of heavy caliber. As it lay cold in -Stanton's palm it seemed like some sort of fetish that was a tangible -link connecting him with the adventure, making it real. Cheung gave him -extra clips. - -"Knife betteh," he said. "Make no noise. Suppose you have to shoot, may -make tlouble. But knife need plactice. You take. Johnson got no use fo' -you. Loo Fong may think you savvy where to find pearl. I no savvy that. -I think Haines hide all time, but I not know what place. Suppose he -dead, you tly find pearl. I see you this time to-mollow." - - * * * * * - -Stanton slid the automatic away into his hip pocket, and Cheung shook -his head. - -"Pocket no good," he said. "Wait, I find." - -He opened a chest and produced a spring clip-holder and leather -shoulder-harness which Stanton fitted then and there, taking off his -coat. The flat weapon lay close to his chest, snug and handy. There -would be other revolvers on board, with belts and holsters for open -use, but this manner was best, when one wore a coat, in Suva. - -The police did not like foreigners to swank about with visible weapons. -It was an orderly and peaceful town, but many strange things went on -near by. There was the Rewa River, up which there was said to be a -hidden headquarters for fugitives and outlaws of all kinds and races, -waiting for secret transportation beyond extradition. Back of that, -in the mountains, drums sounded on certain moonlit midnights, and the -natives were still said to practice ancient and horrible rites of -cannibalism and sacrifice. - -Suva was civilized. Fiji was pacified. But savagery lurked on every -hand. - -Stanton made his purchases unostentatiously. He held the notion that he -was shadowed. He saw nothing of Loo Fong, but that crafty individual -had his following, who might be trailing Stanton for him. Stanton -was barbered, reclothed, reshod, his own man again. His account with -Cheung's restaurant was wiped out. He paid Panakaloa, together with a -present of a vivid scarf which she draped proudly across her ample -bosom, tears in her eyes as she thanked him and applauded his turn of -fortune. - -He had native tobacco and a new pipe for Tiki, with cloth for a _sulu_ -kilt with which to replace his inadequate G-string. The old pipe had -been smashed on the wharf, he had not tasted the flavor of tobacco or -its smoke for weeks, and his gratitude was inordinate. It was dark by -then, and Stanton left him curled up on his mats, smoking blissfully. - -Stanton stayed close that night, sitting in Panakaloa's little garden, -smoking and thinking over the swift changes of chance. He had turned -a sudden corner and he did not know what lay ahead, save that it was -a man's work, savored with excitement and peril, heightened by the -entrance of the girl. - -He slept with the automatic on his chest, over his pyjama top. It was -heavy but handy, and he did not take Cheung's warnings lightly. Loo -Fong might well believe, as Cheung had suggested, that Stanton was -going to Motutabu and knew where to find the pearls Cheung was sure -Haines had gathered. - -In such a case they might decide to try to force that information out -of him, kidnap and torture him, rather than risk losing a race to the -island. - -So Loo Fong had a share in the Lehua. The mate was in actual charge of -the schooner, to all intents and purposes its skipper. Loo Fong and the -mate would almost certainly get together. Johnson had his own grudge -against Stanton, which might materialize on its own account or join -forces with Loo Fong in his plans. - -It seemed very likely indeed to Stanton that the Lehua might have been -to Motutabu on the trip from which she had just returned, with Loo Fong -in her. The cargo was more or less of a blind, picked up after the -trail for the pearls had failed. - -If Tiki had been able to talk anything but his uncouth dialect Stanton -might have been able to find out from him. The cook would know; he was -probably leaving for some more definite reason than Johnson's slurs -on his cooking. If anything serious had happened on Motutabu the cook -might have decided to draw the line at piracy and quit while his neck -was still unstretched, in which case it was not likely that he would -talk. He had not been very prepossessing, as Stanton recollected. It -was a rough outfit. - - * * * * * - -Cheung would undoubtedly find out all that it was possible to gather. -Stanton felt that Cheung had not fully divulged himself in their talk, -that he knew or suspected far more than he had mentioned. And Stanton -was convinced that there had been grim doings on Motutabu and would be -more. It seemed doubtful if the girl's father was still alive. If he -were not, it would be no easy task to find the pearls. There would be -the girl to comfort and protect. If Loo Fong followed and was again -frustrated of the gems, he might consider the girl a secondary prize, -so much loot for his personal gratification and disposal. - -Small doubt of that, Stanton fancied, remembering the way in which the -half-caste had trailed her. This mission was not the sort in which -a girl should be involved, but he knew that she was fully committed -to it, that Cheung was either willing she should go, or had tried to -dissuade her and failed. Tonight she was safe enough at Cheung's. -Cheung's measure of precaution would baffle even Loo Fong, Stanton felt -certain, and took comfort from it. - -Panakaloa's house was far from a fortress, built in flimsy, tropic -fashion. It held no treasures, the window fastenings were light, the -doors had no bolts. The one to the back garden did not even have a key, -and the garden fence was easily scaled. - -Stanton was a light sleeper. He held a hunch that the night was -breeding some sort of attempt, and he hoped to be ready for it when it -appeared. He dozed in cat-naps, waking intermittently, dropping off -again. Then, a little after midnight, he was roused by some unusual -sound that brought him standing to the floor, gun in hand, listening, -watching. Whatever had wakened him was veiled by sleep, but his -consciousness insisted there had been something. - -There was no moon. The garden lay in mellow, tropic starlight, filled -with deep, soft shadows that shifted shape as the land wind moved -fronds and leafage. He saw nothing else; he stole to the door and -listened, opening it suddenly, finger on trigger. - -It looked as if a great dog were lying down on the threshold. In the -vague light from the window he saw the faint glint of uprolled eyes. It -was Tiki. From gratitude or fidelity, prompted perhaps by some sense -developed in his savage subconsciousness of impending peril, he had -come in from his shed to get as close to his protector as he could. - -"All right, Tiki," Stanton said quietly. "Good boy." It was like -talking to a dog, using tone to convey meaning. Tiki clucked something -in his throat as Stanton closed the door. - -It was not easy to doze again after the thorough rousing. The actions -of the day, filmed in his brain, were automatically projected on the -mental screen. - -He was no longer a derelict. No one would venture to call him or -describe him as a beach bum now. He had decent clothes, money in his -pocket, had fought and won, acquired a cannibal Man Friday, met a girl -who stirred feelings within him that he had never before experienced, -and he was embarked upon a wild enterprise in a savage setting. At last -the flickering flash-backs died out, and his mind became a blank. - -The next thing he knew was a faint draft of air. The door was -open, a dark space where its paint had shown gray. The windows, -opening lengthwise, were apart. He could smell the night blossoms, -_ylang-ylang_, _frangipani_. As he swung off the bed something touched -his arm. It was Tiki, crouching low, hardly visible, pointing an arm, -vaguely silhouetted, at the window. Then he darted off, merging with -the gloom, back toward the open door. - - * * * * * - -The tops of croton bushes came above the sill. The wind moved them, -or was it something else? Stanton sat on the edge of the bed, his gun -ready to cover any intruder, remembering Cheung's caution that shooting -would bring trouble, wondering if he could be plainly seen. He felt -eyes watching him from the shrubbery, thought he could make out some -solid bulk amid the leaves. It was so still, so charged with suspense, -that he could hear the ticking of his watch. - -Then there came a scuffle in the passage. Tiki had attacked, or been -attacked. At any rate, fed, and fortified by having a friendly master, -Tiki was fighting fiercely. Two struggling figures, locked in desperate -battle, rolled into the room. - -Stanton caught the gleam of steel. Tiki had no weapon. He launched -himself from the edge of the bed, smashing at the hand that held the -blade with the muzzle of his gun, trying to locate the intruder's head. -It was an impossible task in the darkness and the fury of the combat. -He could tell only that the man was far bigger than Tiki, and at that, -like Tiki, he was practically naked. He could smell the rank sweat of -him. - -For the moment he had forgotten the window, been forced to leave it -unguarded, suddenly aware of forms rising, writhing over the sill as he -whirled. - -One of them was clothed and burly, the other a stinking savage, rancid -with palm oil, slippery as an eel. A sleeved arm was flung in front of -Stanton, thrust hard against his throat to cut off his wind. He broke -into tumultuous action, grasping the thick wrist with both hands, -turning, stooping, putting all he had into a heaving pull of his back -and shoulders. The weight of his adversary bore him down to one knee, -but Stanton flung him heels over head, crashing into the flimsy bureau; -then Stanton dived for the legs of the third man, and brought him -down across the bed, close to the foot of it, bounding on the springs -beneath the mattress. - -Stanton leaped on him before he could get up or free the knife he -surely carried in his loin-cloth. The native's hands clawed for -Stanton's throat, lacerating the flesh. Stanton gripped one arm, bent -it backward on the iron railing of the bed, bent it until it cracked. -The savage yelled, leaping convulsively in his pain, and rolled to the -floor. - -Tiki and his man were in the doorway again. Stanton heard their panting -grunts, and marveled at Tiki's resistance. The big man he had thrown -was getting up. There was electricity in Suva, and Panakaloa had bulbs -in her house. Stanton had no chance to get at his switch, but suddenly -the passage was illumined and an Amazonian voice angrily demanded what -was going on. - -Panakaloa appeared, a shawl over her voluminous nightgown. She was -brandishing a club that had been part of her skipper husband's -collection of island weapons. The man had Tiki by the throat, squeezing -him until his eyes bulged from their sockets, his tongue protruding. -Panakaloa's club thudded down, and the seeming victor collapsed. -Stanton saw the other native scramble over the sill dangling his broken -arm. The clothed man rose from the ruins of the bureau and flung a -chair at Stanton before he followed. It came legs first, hard enough to -check Stanton's leap. - -The two were gone, smashing through the shrubbery, up to the roof of -Tiki's shed by means of the rain-barrel Panakaloa used for watering her -garden, and over the fence. - - * * * * * - -Panakaloa and the light had routed them, aside from her by no means to -be despised club. They had no desire for the publicity her indignant -voice and arm might evoke. Stanton did not get a clear look at the face -of the man who had thrown the chair, the room was still in partial -shadow, but he was almost certain it had been Johnson, mate of the -Lehua, and the other two were Solomon Islanders, members of the crew. - -The one still lay senseless from the blow of the hardwood club. He was -as black as Tiki, but bigger; his sharp filed teeth showing in the -relaxed jaw. For a moment Stanton thought Panakaloa had killed him, and -said so. She shook her head. - -"Too much thick, that skull," she answered. "Maybe I crack it li'l. -Serve him right. You want I call police, Sanatoni?" she asked shrewdly. - -"I'd rather not," he answered; and she nodded. - -"We take that trash outside, then," she said. "A fine cheek they got to -come along my house." - -"It's my fault," he told her. "They were after me." - -Whether the mate had been bent on private reprisal or was in league -with Loo Fong to knock him senseless and take him prisoner was -uncertain, and not pertinent now they were foiled. Tiki had balked -their attempt in the beginning; Panakaloa, with her unexpected sortie, -had completed the rout. - -Tiki was massaging his throat, but he grinned. The fight had not -exhausted him. Now that he had become attached to some one, he had shed -much of his misery like an old garment. He helped the two of them bear -the sagging body of the still unconscious man out into the deserted -street and set it down in the lee of a cereus hedge that topped a stone -wall. There was no one in sight, no sound of the other two, and they -left him there. - -"I owe you a bureau, Panakaloa," said Stanton. "I owe you more than -that. You came just in time." - -"Ugh!" grunted Panakaloa contemptuously. "That bureau not much good. -I pay four dollar for that along of junkman." She sat down and began -to laugh, her stout body shaking like a jelly, her eyes rolling upward -while Tiki surveyed her in awe and amazement. "Too much I fool that -_kaikanaka_. My old man, the _kapitani_, one time he hit me with that -club. This time I get even. When that black trash wake up he think the -house fall in on him." - -Tiki did not understand what she said, but he grinned widely at her -tone. She insisted upon opening beer for herself and Stanton, and she -gave Tiki a glass, which he tasted suspiciously and then swallowed it -with a comical grimace of surprised delight as he rubbed his stomach. -Native fashion, Panakaloa had strengthened the brew with a slug of -Hollands gin. - -It was beginning to get light when she left them, still chuckling over -her prowess, vastly pleased with herself. Tiki was too proud at what -Stanton said to him, patting his shoulder the while. It was Greek to -the islander, but he knew it for praise. - - - - - CHAPTER III. - - THE RACE TO MOTUTABU. - - -Cheung's schooner arrived from Levuka early the next morning, mooring -in the stream at first, then, as the tide served, going to a wharf -remote from the main one where the Lehua still lay. Stanton did not -go near her, but stayed at Cheung's house after breakfast, at the -latter's suggestion, talking with Lucy Haines. From behind the tatties -of split bamboo they saw Loo Fong pass by and glance up, later to -return again. - -Stanton said nothing of what had happened the night before. It did -not seem necessary. Cheung had gone to see about getting the schooner -ready. Tiki was in his shed, waiting to be called for, smoking his new -pipe, a stray no longer. - -Stanton and the girl told each other something of their early life. -Mention of the impending trip made her grave, brought worry to her -eyes. He could tell that she was fighting off doubts of finding her -father. Several times they sat silent, but not out of accord. - -Cheung came back at noon and said they would leave on the ebb after -nightfall. He too had seen Loo Fong. A scout he had sent out reported -that they were taking stores aboard the Lehua. The skipper had gone to -the hospital, Johnson was in command, and the cook had left. - -"They savvy Fahine, my ship," said Cheung. "They savvy she come in. -They watch all same we watch along of them. Maybe we get staht. Long -way to Motutabu; Fahine mo' fast than Lehua. My captain good man. -Suppose wind blow light, you leach island befo' them." - -It was dark when they went on board. The Chinese skipper talked -"pidgin" that was comprehensible. He found a few words of dialect that -Tiki understood, to the black's delight, and sent him forward. The -Chinese sailors, naked above the waist, their feet bare, their heads -bound with bright bandannas, were a piratical-looking lot though their -ordinary occupation was peaceful trading. But they were efficient, -getting the schooner under way to singsong orders from mate and -boatswain, with his whistle, as the captain showed the girl and Stanton -to their quarters. - -The schooner was plainly fitted up, and it smelled of ancient cargoes -of copra, of _bêche-de-mer_, sharks' fins, turtle shell and pearl -shell, but Cheung had evidently been at some pains to make them -comfortable. There were two cabins aft for them, and the girl's, -especially, had been brightened with rugs and cushions. - -In the main cabin there was a rack for rifles, filled with well oiled -weapons. Stanton had noted appreciatively the tall masts, the narrow -beam, the clean entry and fine lines of the ship. Speed evidently -counted in Cheung's business. In a rush for competitive trade or to be -the first at a new pearling ground, the Fahine would not be a laggard. - -She was well-found, decks clear and clean of litter, ropes coiled, the -ends seized and the rigging well set up. He could hear the quick tread -of the yellow-skinned sailors as they went about the familiar tasks. -Soon she was under way, the wharf sliding past, the lights of Suva -gleaming through the ports. - -The captain came below, deferential. - -"Suppose you likee go topside?" he said. "Can do." - -He was in Chinese clothes, his feet shod; a muscular man with a -typically Mongolian face, sure of himself and authoritative, but -plainly considering them as allies, friends of Cheung Li. - -The wind was fresh from the land, striking them a little abaft the -beam, and they slipped fast through the water, with sheets well -started. Stanton, watching the way she answered helm, surmised that -her bottom was clean. She showed no lights anywhere. The captain took -night-glasses from a hook in the companionway and surveyed the reach -behind them. They were well out of the shipping. - -"No one come," he said laconically. "You like look-see?" - -Stanton took the binoculars, focused them, swept the water between them -and the land. There was nothing moving there. They had got a start, at -least. - -He wondered if the Chinese skipper had been to Motutabu before. -Probably not. But he would have its position, and the Lehua's previous -trip would not advantage them much. - -Their direct course was southeast, the distance something over six -hundred miles. It might take them anywhere from a week to a fortnight -to cover it, for the winds were variable, there were tantalizing calms -and strong currents set up by the action of the tides over the varying -depths and contour of the bottom, where vast expanses of shallows -suddenly changed to vast abysses cleft by submarine peaks and ranges. -Neither schooner had an engine. Luck or fate was going to enter largely -into the affair. - -They lost the land wind and ran into a calm inside of two hours, -working through it at last to strike the southeast trade. The Fahine -was close-hauled and clawed into it, making eight knots, slogging -along at a lively clip with the sheer bows buried at every plunge. It -stiffened to a squall, and the schooner leaned against it, the mainsail -reefed two points, and only a small staysail forward. - -Stanton was a good sailor, and the next morning proved Lucy Haines -was another. All that day they sailed fast under a bright sky, the -crested seas dark sapphires, save where the foam creamed or was blown -in spindrift, and the sun flashed back golden from the facets of the -waves. All day the horizon stayed clear of smoke or sail. The girl's -spirits rose. It began to look as if the Lehua had not got away. Flying -fish rose from the brine, pursued by rushing dolphins; frigate birds -soared free. - - * * * * * - -The trade set them down, and they regained their easting with short -legs. They had crossed the Kadavu Passage north of the Astrolabe Reefs, -passing between Totoya and Matuku. Now there was no land in sight, -would not be if they kept anywhere near their true course until they -sighted the island of their quest. The Tongas were far to the north -as they headed to cross the Tropic of Capricorn. The wide expanse of -ocean, the run of sparkling water, the clean wind blowing between sea -and sky--it was all physically exhilarating, mentally stimulating, a -tonic for doubt, strengthened by the lonely horizon. - -The two of them had their own mess. The rest ate Chinese food, but they -were served a menu to suit their occidental tastes. Cheung's orders, no -doubt. It was excellently cooked and served. Things aboard the Fahine -ran like clockwork. There was never any confusion. The yellow men went -about their tasks with a will the moment an order was given, without -fumbling, knowing what was wanted. - -It blew harder, the seas mounted, still under the blue sky and bright -sun. They had to lower the mainsail at last and mount a storm staysail -between the two masts, balanced by a rag of a jib. They made more -leeway now. The wind remained southeast, blowing from the quarter they -sought to penetrate as if it was determined to hold them off. It might -have been the breath of the great gray god defending his _tabu_. But -any wind was better than no wind, unless they had to run before it, and -it did not come to that. - -The weather modified swiftly with a blazing sunset. Stanton came on -deck at midnight to find a heavy swell running, the schooner under -full sail but with only a few flaws of wind that sent her forward -spasmodically. The captain was aft by the starboard rail, motionless. -Stanton offered him one of the cheroots with which Cheung had supplied -him, and the other took it silently. - -He lit it before he spoke. - -"Lil time ago we see ship," he said. "All same this. Gone now. Long way -off." - -"You think it was the Lehua?" - -"No can tell. Maybe. _Maskee._" - -It was not indifference. Only the tacit acceptance of conditions, the -Oriental touch of fatalism. He pointed to where a new moon hung like a -nail-paring. - -"Wind go soon. Maybe they get, maybe we catch. _Maskee._" - -The word summed up Chinese philosophy. The equivalent of the Russian -_nitchevo_. It was not the time for direct action, save for the -handling of the ship, which was the plaything of the weather. But later -in the night Stanton, restless, unable to share the _maskee_-ism of the -skipper, smelled incense. The captain was burning punk sticks before -the joss in the gilded shrine in the cabin. He had his superstitions, -or his faiths. - -The next three days saw them almost motionless. The sea had gone down -and was like glass, reflecting the fiery glare of the sun. Now and then -they saw distant squalls, bursts of rain, ruffled patches of sea, but -they got no breath of wind. - -The horizon was clear again. The Lehua--Stanton held no doubt that the -vessel they had sighted was that schooner, with Loo Fong aboard--might -be experiencing the same conditions, or she might be bowling along out -of the baffling strip. - -A current was steadily setting them east. He envied the -imperturbability of the Chinese; they were used to the vagaries of -the sea, and accepted what they could not alter; but he chafed with -impatience. Lucy Haines kept to her cabin, her meals served there. -Stanton did not disturb her. She was sick, not of body, but of heart. -The punk sticks burned constantly. - -On the fourth morning trade clouds appeared aft, in the northwest. It -was the time of the monsoon changes of wind caused by the difference -in temperature between air and water. There was wind in those vaporous -heights. It revealed itself in a dark line on the water that came fast -toward them as the skipper gave an order and they swung out the booms -in readiness. The breeze caught them, urged them on, sailing wing and -wing, the canvas bellying taut as drums, the lively sea seething all -about them, a broad wake behind, on their course once more, headed -straight for Motutabu. - - * * * * * - -Stanton noticed Tiki at his usual post, far forward, his eyes always -turned south. He was a different looking savage from the sick creature -curled up on the bale. His skin was glossy and his eyes were bright. -His broad nostrils dilated as if he smelled familiar odors. Stanton -wondered what he was thinking about. If the cook of the Lehua had -spoken truly, his own island held peril for him, but there was no fear -in his eyes. Whenever they looked at Stanton they held gratitude, but -there was a difference, a measure of pride. - -That afternoon the captain cast a light on Tiki. - -"I speak with Tiki," he said, "No savvy too much, but he say one time -he live along Motutabu. His father _tahunga_, all same wiza'd. Tiki all -same _tahunga_ himself. He speak Motutabu velly bad place stop along. -All time too much bad magic along of big god live that place." - -There was more than that that the skipper had found out by signs and -certain words they both understood. Stanton retailed it later to the -girl, who was again on deck. - -Apparently Tiki's father had run the tribe. Tiki seemed to have been -trained to take his place. Then the god had turned malignant. It was -one of the deities of the South Sea pantheon that had to be placated, -and the sacrifices had failed. There had been an earthquake--"Velly -much shake that island," was the way the captain interpreted it. The -top of a mountain had fallen off and a cape had slid into the sea. The -wizard was blamed. The population escaped in canoes, after killing the -man whose magic had gone wrong. Tiki had been spared for some reason -which was obscure, perhaps because of his youth or because the women -hid him. - -On the tribe's new home he had been suffered to live. A new wizard -manifested himself. There was no god on this island. All went well -save that Tiki was in bad odor. He was an hereditary _tahunga_, of an -ancient line of wizards, and the new one feared him. Tiki had lived by -himself in the bush, periodically hunted and sought for a sacrifice, -blamed by the new _tahunga_ for every sickness and death. So Tiki had -stolen aboard the Lehua, hoping to escape to some friendlier place at -which they might touch, not knowing what sort of man was in command or -what kind of men were on the ship. - -The curious thing was that he did not seem alarmed because they were -going to Motutabu. The god was an evil god, but he believed fully in -the magic of his dead father. It was the plotting of the man who later -set himself up as _tahunga_ that had annoyed the deity. His father had -understood the god, had taught Tiki secrets concerning it. None but the -ancient line of wizards dared approach it. Its shadow was death to all -others. - -Stanton could see no particular bearing in all this concerning the -finding of Haines and the pearls. But he remembered the warnings of -Cheung not to meddle with the god, and it was evident that the skipper -had gone to much pains to talk with Tiki. Tiki seemed to be acquiring -importance, a card whose value Stanton could not judge, though he -sensed that he might have done something far more significant than -he guessed when he rescued him from the cruelty of the mate. He had -much to learn about Motutabu, much to learn about the god. Even now he -could not quite shake off the feeling that Cheung had not spoken idly. -Strange things happened in the South Seas. - -He understood it a little better with his first close glimpse of -Motutabu. - - - - - CHAPTER IV. - - THE JUNGLE TRAIL. - - -They sighted it at dawn. It revealed itself in the growing light, -before the sun rose above the sea-line, like an image developing on a -negative in the dark room, somber, gradually acquiring definite shape, -a blot against the purple-black of the sky where the stars were winking -out. - -The skipper had found it unerringly; he told them he expected to pick -it up at daylight, and here it was, darkly sinister, spray booming -along iron-bound cliffs, heights veiled in mist. The sound of the surf -rolled back to them as they skirted the coast to the east, seeking for -some place to land. It was not going to be easy, and they held off -until the light strengthened. - -It came with a rush as the disk of the sun rolled up from the tumbling -sea rim, day instantly proclaimed. The island woke to life. Myriads of -birds rose from the cliffs and from tiny, outlying islets; gulls and -gannets, squas and boobies, whirling and screeching, then winging out -to sea to some shoal where they would find good fishing. - -There were other birds, of the land, squawking parrots above the thick -forest that verged the iron walls rising sheer from the spouting sea. -Above the bush lofted three torn pinnacles, fangs that tore the vapors -writhing about them. There were deep cañons here and there, dark in -shadow; small coves; waterfalls, leaping to the beach over sheer -precipices. - -Then they saw the god. A cliff was sharply set back, and they only saw -the upper part of the image, flaring livid red in the sunrise, carved, -it seemed, from the living rock. It was of gigantic proportions, the -art primitive, so primitive it might have been the work of some -futurist, striving to simplify curves and lines, to crystallize -expressions. - -The face was long, a long nose, flattened, bridgeless, but with flaring -nostrils. A wide mouth, thin-lipped, austere, yet subtly sensual, with -the hint of a cruel sneer at the corners. The eyes were carved so that -they suggested a malignant glance as the crimson light blazed full upon -them. The ears touched the narrow shoulders. - -The body, what they saw of it, was misshapen, out of all proportion, -small arms, with the hands resting on knees far apart, deep shadow -between them. It stood out of the cliff in full and startling relief, -infinitely evil, leering. It had a sort of crown, hewn from the summit -of the cliff and the foliage back of this looked like plumes. The whole -aspect was baleful, brooding, gazing out to sea like the old gods at -Easter Island, whose origin and purpose no man has yet discovered. - -The Chinese gazed at it stolidly. The man at the helm paid no attention -and the captain was occupied with the shore line, looking for some spot -where he could send a boat ashore. There was no indication of a lagoon. -The island rose straight from the waves that ravened all about it. - -Tiki's attitude was curious. He squatted on deck and bowed his head to -the planks, in deference rather than fealty. This was his fetish, but -he did not seem to be afraid. The priests of Moloch may have felt no -terror at their horrible, blood-demanding image. - -The girl shuddered, and Stanton had to tell himself sharply that here -was only a thing hewn from lifeless stone. It glared at them and, as -the morning clouds dissolved under the sun, its lips seem to quiver -scornfully. - -"Lifeless, I am," it seemed to say, "yet man-made from things he -sensed, the brooding influences of this solitary isle, born of fire and -smoke, delivered in water. Influences that may still be conjured from -the sea, the sky, the core of the earth. I represent them and I bid you -beware." - -Bizarre and fantastic thoughts these; but the image itself was only -concrete thought. It seemed to proclaim the place dangerous, cynically -warning the intruder. It appeared to hold many tragic secrets, reaching -back through the centuries. - - * * * * * - -A spur of land, a cape like a high fin, reached out far into the sea. -As they passed it a putrid smell enveloped them. It was like the odor -of a glue factory and it pursued them on the breeze until distance made -it bearable. This was the stench from piles of shell set out long since -to rot so that the shells might be more readily searched for pearls. -The shell itself was valuable. - -Here there was a deep indentation in the island, and placid water -showed behind a foaming barrier of lava reef, not coral, that -paralleled the shore. This must have been the diving ground for the -precious bivalves. The skipper surveyed it narrowly, seeking an -entrance. The reef ended presently, and he came about, hugging the -land, one man casting the lead from the bobstay and chanting out the -depth. It was satisfactory and the tide was with them as they glided -along between the barrier and the shore, once more encountering the -foul odor of decay until they tacked into the cleft and made slowly up -it, foresail down and mainsail peaked, with the current. - - * * * * * - -They were in a somber water cañon, still in shadow, though, higher up -the fanged peaks glowed in the sunrise and the timber on the loftier -slopes took on vivid coloring. The ravine turned sharply and they saw -a narrow beach lined with dark-green mangroves from which a stream -issued. There were signs of habitation here, a long shed of thatched -roof and wattled walls, two houses of the same type. But there was no -indication of life, no hail. The place lay wrapped in silence as the -Fahine glided slowly on. - -The masts of a vessel showed their tops above water a hundred yards -out--a sunken schooner. It was a depressing sight, but Stanton twisted -a measure of hope from it which he handed to the girl. - -"Loo Fong didn't find the pearls," he said. "I think this means that -your father is still on the island. They sank his ship to prevent his -leaving." - -He tried to make it convincing, and Lucy Haines essayed a pitiful smile. - -"I hope so," she replied, "but why doesn't he show himself? Why doesn't -some one answer?" - -"They may be asleep," he said, and shouted. The echo came back from -the cliff, rebounded from the opposing one. The Chinese captain found -bottom to his liking, the cable slipped out to twelve fathoms, and a -boat was lowered. It was impossible to tell from those yellow faces -what they thought of the situation, but the rowers took rifles with -them, pistols holstered at their belts. Stanton took his automatic and -another revolver. He had shortened a belt for the girl and she also -carried a gun at her hip. - -She had dressed for the landing in breeches and high-laced boots, and -she looked like a tight-lipped boy, her expression much as Stanton -had seen it on the street in Suva. Tiki slid down the fall rope and -squatted in the bows. The captain had given him a knife and a leather -belt in which he thrust it above his _sulu_ kilt. - -The silence was profound. The sea birds had gone, the land birds -settled down. The only sound was the melancholy cooing of doves. In the -water appeared the scything fins of sharks on some mysterious patrol. - -The boat grounded and the rowers hauled it beyond the rise of the -flooding tide. Crabs scuttled along the shingle. Blocks of lava -protruded here and there. Beach vines straggled over black sand. - -Stanton tried to save the girl the sight of the skeletons. There were -six of them, the bones scattered, picked clean by crabs, in front of -the long shed. They lay in plain view, and she uttered a low cry and -halted, then started to hurry forward, checked by Stanton's hand on her -arm. - -"There's no clothing," he said. "Your father's not there." It was scant -comfort. There were a few lengths of cloth, but he thought these the -loin coverings of the men Haines had with him. The grisly objects were -separated as if they had fallen making a stand against invaders. The -yellow men investigated as Stanton led the girl aside. Tiki looked at -the skeletons incuriously. - -The captain reported briefly: - -"They all Kanaka. Some got hole in head. Bullet make. No white man -there." - -Nor anywhere else, it seemed, as they searched the shed, half full of -lustrous shells; the two houses, one of which held some of Haines's -belongings that brought tears to the girl's eyes, though she strove -to check them. Both huts showed signs of search. The winds had erased -all footprints. The shell was valuable, but it had been disdained. It -looked as if the dead men had been wantonly shot down at the first -encounter. - -"He got away," said Stanton. "We'll find him somewhere." But he held -faint hope of finding Haines alive. The atmosphere of murder and sudden -death possessed the place. - -"We'll stay here until we've searched the island," he said to the -captain. - -"Can do," the skipper answered. It seemed a stupendous, futile task. -Towering cliffs, dense jungle and barren, precipitous crags, deep -clefts, hidden valleys, caverns: a myriad places where a man might stow -himself away, or lie dead. - -They spread out, hallooing, looking in all likely spots. The captain -made Tiki understand what they were seeking and he nodded, came to -Stanton, took his hand and set it on his breast, starting off on a -quest of his own, trotting along the beach, disappearing up a ravine -choked with guava scrub. They saw no more of him that day as they -searched without finding any trace of Haines, living or dead. Night -fell with tropic swiftness on their utter lack of success. - - * * * * * - -The skipper, at least, looked also for the pearls. He had his own -instructions. To Stanton, the discovery of Haines was more important, -even aside from thought of the girl, who had stayed beside him all day -as they tried in vain to solve the riddle of what had happened to her -father. Let them find Haines and, if he was alive, the pearls would be -forthcoming. - -The fear grew on him--he knew it grew on the girl also--that Haines had -been killed by the raiders because he refused to give them up or tell -where he kept them. Only the lack of a body offset this dread and a -body was easily disposed of. He did not try to comfort Lucy Haines; to -do that would be practically an acknowledgment there was no hope. He -got her to eat on the plea that she must keep her strength for renewal -of search the next day. - -They slept aboard. No sail had been in sight up to nightfall. A lookout -had been maintained on a cliff and, since the search had extended to -the crags, they had seen the whole circle of the horizon. They had won -the race down, but their advantage was checked by the search. When Loo -Fong arrived, with Johnson, there was going to be trouble. - -Stanton was up at dawn. He dressed swiftly, going on deck. The girl -was already there, pale from a sleepless night. She was gazing at the -island with an expression of hopelessness that she tried to banish as -she saw Stanton. - -"I'm not going to leave here until I know what has happened to him," -she said, her voice firm, her mouth and chin resolute as she finished -the determined sentence. He did not answer her. There was nothing -to say. He was not going to let her stay alone. The question of -conventions did not enter into the matter. Conventions vanished in -these latitudes. - -"He's all I have," she said. It was in his mind, his heart, to deny -this, but it was not the time for it. Complications were likely to -settle matters, not as they would have them, but as the fates willed. -Motutabu lay in sunshine, but it was emphatically a savage place. The -Chinese had buried the skeletons, but they were not to be forgotten. -Tragedy brooded over the island. - -"We'll have to arrange some sort of systematic search," he said, -foreseeing how impossible was the task. An army, seeking for weeks, -might not hope to unearth the secrets of the wild jungle, impenetrable -in most places. The seabirds were winging out, others shrilling their -morning ecstasy; fish leaped in the water while, up and down, two -sharks roved as if they had tasted blood and scented more. - -"We've got to eat," he said. "It's just a question of fuel." - -"I suppose so," she answered wearily. - -They went below and breakfast was served. Overhead the crew padded -about their tasks, washing down the decks, ordinary duties that they -carried on. Stanton saw two tears on her cheeks as she tried to drink -the strong coffee. She wiped them away, but the drink choked her. - -There was a singsong cry on deck that had a stirring note in it. -Stanton thought that the Lehua must have been sighted. - -"Something's happened," he said. "I'll see what it is." The girl looked -at him, startled. For a moment hope flashed in her eyes and died out -at the sight of his grim face. The captain came hurrying down the -companionway. - -"Tiki!" he said. "He come along beach. I think he find something." - -They raced on deck. The shore boat was ready, the armed rowers in it. -Tiki was at the water's edge, gesticulating, pointing to the heights. -The girl was trembling as the oars bent to the short, sturdy strokes. -She set her hand on Stanton's arm, and he laid his own over it. Her -lips moved silently. He knew that she was praying that her father was -still alive, fighting off the thought of other news. - -"Call to him, please," she asked the skipper, "Ask him if--if--" - -The captain stood up in the stern, handling the steering sweep, and -shouted a few syllables. Tiki shouted back. - -"He alive," said the skipper, and the girl broke down as Stanton put -his arm about her and she set her head against his shoulder and wept in -the revulsion of relief. - -Tiki had found him, with his knowledge of jungle craft, looking for -sign by instinct, finding it where others would have sought in vain. He -pointed out certain places as they trailed him up the ravine in which -he had vanished the night before. Stanton could see little. A fragment -of broken lava, a snapped stem, but the savage had read all unerringly. - - * * * * * - -They climbed high, following an ancient path hacked through the -bush, the ground hard-beaten, a relic of the time when Tiki lived on -Motutabu. The trees, matted and bound together with undergrowth and -vines, rose on either side like walls. Great orchids swung, brilliant -butterflies hovered about them like living flowers. - -They came to where the trail forked and here was a pyramid of -crumbling skulls. Tiki took the right-hand path. It led to a deserted, -half-ruined village back of walls of coral, in which bamboos grew along -the top. There was a heavy gateway, sagging now, stilted houses, whose -roofs had decayed, the wattled walls torn by the weather, rotting from -the rains. - -There was a sing-sing ground with a great banyan tree, whose boughs -were decked with strings of skulls. One great building had collapsed. -Two stone images had fallen on their faces, tall drumlogs, carven like -totem poles, lay prone. The earthquake had flung them down. The place -was littered with signs of hasty, frenzied flight. - -Tiki led them through this abandoned capital of Motutabu, pressing -on ever upward by paths that the jungle was already reclaiming. They -climbed above the forest and crossed a plateau of high yellow grass -that terminated at a great rift, at the bottom of which was a lake of -dark water, divided into unequal parts by a sharp ridge that led to the -other side. There the crags began. - -It was a narrow and perilous crossing. The volcanic rock was badly -decomposed and it scaled and broke as they passed, the fragments -bounding down to the still water, far below. - -On the other side they came to a ledge and Tiki turned and made -gestures, nodding at them, talking in excited gutturals. - -"He speak we soon find," the captain interpreted. - -They had to go in single file along that narrow way. Once Tiki pointed -to some dark marks on the rock. - -"That blood," said the captain. The girl shuddered and Stanton steadied -her. It was the dry season. Such stains would linger. Haines had been -wounded. Suddenly Tiki stopped where a tangle of vines cascaded down -the cliff that backed the ledge. He drew them aside and disclosed a -narrow cleft, a fissure made ages past in some upheaval. - -It led to a little glen that was merely an oval enlargement of the -fissure. Its sides were thick with moss. Water trickled down and formed -a pool. There was shrubbery, a few trees, guava scrub. The sun never -reached this hidden place in which Haines had found sanctuary. They saw -a little shelter of boughs by the pool and saw him lying there, gaunt, -haggard, his face covered with a beard, his eyes deep sunken, but with -light in them, as the girl gave a cry and ran forward to kneel beside -him. - -He was reduced almost to skin and bone. One shoulder and a foot were -crudely bandaged. His voice was barely audible. - -Stanton had brought along a first-aid kit and a flask of brandy. Lucy -gave some to her father and a faint flush came into his hollow cheeks. - -"I thought you were a ghost," he said faintly. "How did you come here? -It was just in time. I wouldn't have lasted--much longer--my dear." - -He closed his eyes and Stanton thought he was gone, but the pulse still -fluttered feebly. The girl gave him more brandy. - -"He's starved," she said. "We must get him down to the boat. Thank God -he's still alive!" The pearls were forgotten. The Chinese captain had -got a fire started. One of the crew put on some water to heat. - -"We'll have to be careful how we feed him," said Stanton. "I've got -some beef cubes. We'll have to make a litter, and those wounds should -be looked to. He doesn't seem to have any fever." - -In the hope of Tiki's discovery they had brought up certain equipment, -including the utensil in which the water was warming. The girl -dissolved the cubes and added a little brandy, while Stanton unbound -the foot. A bullet had gone through the small bones. The wound showed -in a purple pucker. There had been inflammation, but, with the fever, -it had been starved out of him. The lead had passed through and there -was no infection. It was the same with the shoulder. Haines was -terribly weak, but he had been a strong man and he had survived. - -He managed to swallow the beef tea. It was all they dared allow him. -Stanton cleansed the wounds and temporarily dressed and bandaged them. -The litter was being made by the sailors. Haines insisted upon talking. -Stanton thought it might be better for him than repression. - - * * * * * - -"They nearly got me," he said. "They got my men. They'd have had me but -for chance. They came early in the morning expecting to catch us all -asleep, and they butchered my boys, without giving them a chance. I saw -it and could do nothing. They were after the pearls. They couldn't have -found them. They tortured two of my men to find out, but they didn't -know. It was the Lehua. They were all in it, but it was Loo Fong who -brought them. I nearly got him. It was this way--let me talk, Lucy, I -haven't talked for days, not since I went out of my head. - -"I wanted meat. There are goats up here in the crags and I came up -overnight to get a kid or two. We were running short of grub, you see, -and were pretty well fed up on fish. We were going back in a few days. -We cleaned the patches and were rotting out the last of the shell. A -lot of pearls. We're rich, Lucy. Luck's turned, after all. - -"I saw the schooner coming in. I didn't recognize it. Thought at first -Cheung had sent it. I didn't suspect anything, but started down the -mountain. There's a place across the grass where you can see the beach. -Time I got there, they had anchored and were sending a boat ashore. -They were all like ants from the height. I saw my men come out of their -hut and run back again. Those devils were armed, of course, and they -didn't even wait to parley. Some of them went to my house. Then the -butchery started. My boys were not armed. I had my rifle with me. I had -one extra clip along. It was all over in a few minutes and I couldn't -help them. They'd have got me if I had been there. I ran down the trail -when I saw what was happening and then they started up after me. I -suppose they got out of one of my men that I was up here after goats. -They burned the men's feet in the fire, damn them. - -"One has to keep to the trails. I started back for the crags. They -beat all through the grass and then they started to cross the big gap. -I fired at them, hit one of them. He fell into the lake. That was a -mistake, I suppose; it gave me away; but I was seeing red. On the -next shot my rifle jammed. They came over and they hunted me all day, -spreading out. The crew were black men and it was easy work for them. -They sighted me three times. Once they hit me, in the shoulder. - -"I saw they'd get me sooner or later. I couldn't stay in the crags. -They had me nearly surrounded, but I got past them, down to the ledge -just below here. My only chance was to bolt across the ridge. But they -spotted me. They had me on the ledge. I knew who they were then. It -was Loo Fong who hit me in the foot as I bolted for cover. I didn't -feel it for the moment, though I had a shoeful of blood. I was bleeding -from the shoulder, weak. I dodged out of sight and then I saw my last -chance. I knew the cleft, though I had never been up it. A wounded dove -flew into it one day and I had gone after it. I thought the vines might -hide me. There was a loose bowlder on the ledge and I shoved it over -and dodged into the crevice. The rock went crashing down to the lake -and they thought it was my body. - -"They came down to the ledge and looked at the place. I heard Loo Fong -cursing. They stayed there for a little while and then went away, -swearing. I suppose they tried to find the pearls, but they couldn't -get down to the lake. I crawled up to this place presently, bandaged -my foot at the pool, and my shoulder. They both got pretty bad after -awhile. I made this shelter, I got some guavas, and lived off them and -the _olehau_ berries. I couldn't walk, and fever set in. I don't know -how long I've been here; I was delirious." - -The litter was ready. They set Haines in it, a light weight for all -his big frame, and he lay there exhausted as two of the crew swung him -up and they started down, Lucy as close to her father as the trail -permitted. - -They crossed the ridge and the grassy plain, coming to the place he had -spoken of where they could see the beach and their schooner. There was -another ship coming round the bend--the Lehua! They saw the two men -left on board the Fahine jump into a small boat and row ashore. They -were fired at from the Lehua. The reports came up in tiny cracks of -sound, but the two reached the beach and bolted for the jungle. - -A boat crammed with men put off from the raiding vessel. - -They were hampered with the wounded Haines. They had to get him into -safety. Stanton's blood boiled at sight of the invaders. - -"We fight them," said the skipper. "Can do. If not, they sink ship, all -same his." Tiki was jabbering. - -"He say take him along god," said the captain. "He speak it safe place. -He speak God fixee. Cave along that place." - -Tiki nodded emphatically. Stanton thought of Cheung's warning, spoke of -it to the captain. - -"I savvy. All same I think Tiki talk plopeh." - - - - - CHAPTER V. - - THE SHADOW OF THE GOD. - - -There was no time for delay. They had to do something. To take the -offensive was the best plan. Tiki pointed out the opening of an almost -closed jungle trail. They went into it, going as fast as they dared, -working toward the far side of the promontory, making for the image. - -They came out beneath it at last, at the foot of the towering -sculpture. It stood facing a paved terrace, set with flat stones. Great -stones had been piled in two walls that left a passageway to the feet -of the god. There was a space between his knees. Tiki led the way in. - -It was a high chamber into which light filtered down from some opening -above where growth masked it. The sides were roughly hewn here and -there into dim shapes. There was a flat rock near the entrance on which -was set another one from which protruded long timbers, capstan fashion. -Tiki pointed to these. - -"He say can fixee tlap so no one come in," said the skipper. - -Tiki nodded, gesturing. Stanton thought he grasped his meaning. - -"All right," he said. "Better send out your men to try and flank that -outfit. I'll stay here with Miss Haines and her father. We'll keep -Tiki." - -They went out, going along the terrace, disappearing in the trees, -yellow men intent on battle. The litter was set down on the cavern -floor. - -Tiki caught hold of one of the timbers set in the stone, motioning to -Stanton who set his chest against one opposite. The girl did the same -thing with a third. They heaved, without result, put out all their -strength in straining effort. The stone began to turn, more readily -after the first movement. There was a grating sound beneath their feet. - -Tiki stepped back, grinning. Sweat covered him. Stanton and the girl -were panting with their efforts, their clothing wet with perspiration. -Tiki beckoned Stanton to come to the mouth of the cave and he followed -him. There was nothing to see but the empty terrace, the waving woods. -But Tiki was satisfied. He pointed at the great slabs before them, -gesturing. - -Doves cooed. The girl was ministering to her father who was saying -something. Then there came the sound of shots, close at hand. Report -after report, singly and scattering volleys. They were quite a distance -off, but they came nearer. Then died away. Again they broke out, down -by the beach, it seemed. - -Then the two Chinese who had come ashore bolted out of the bush, -carrying their rifles, glancing back. They looked toward the image and -sped on without seeing Stanton or Tiki. Tiki grasped him by the arm -and drew him in the shadows. He did not want the Chinese to enter the -cavern. The girl came and stood beside Stanton. - -"Father is sleeping," she said. "I heard the shots." - -"We're safe, so far," he said. "Tiki and the god have set some sort of -a trap. The trouble is, it may work both ways." Whatever the device -was he could see that they might be besieged, held there, without -provisions, without water, unless the yellow men conquered. - -The Chinese were willing enough, capable enough, he fancied, though he -had never seen them shoot. On the other hand, the crew of the Lehua -were Solomon Islanders, used to brush warfare, trained fighters, a -savage and blood-thirsty outfit, though the Chinese might match them -there. When they took to piracy or banditry they were ruthless enough. -He imagined the forces might be about evenly matched, but the nature -of the ground would break the fighting up more or less into individual -skirmishes. - -There was silence again. Haines was resting. With care there would be -no question of his recovery, but if Loo Fong got the best of it their -fates would all be sealed. What would happen to Lucy he dared not -consider. They could put up a desperate fight at the last, if they got -a chance. There was no exit to the cave, no possible way to climb to -the rift. - -Doves cooed. The shadows shifted. Once in awhile they heard a distant -shot. The forces were split up now, it seemed. Stanton thought of the -captain's fear their schooner might be sunk, as Haines's had been. It -was a very real peril. He wanted to be out in the vessel, but he could -not leave the girl or Haines alone. - -Tiki was complacent. He seemed assured that the god in whose belly they -were hidden, would properly protect them. He had gone inside, to squat -in front of one of the carved figures, passing from that to another. -They could hear him chanting monotonously. He had come back to his old -home again and he was renewing fealty. This had been the fetish of his -father, the wizard, and Tiki was a born _tahunga_, in his veins the -blood of generations of sorcerers who had served a weird priesthood to -this ancient statue which far antedated their own original migration to -this island. - - * * * * * - -It was cool inside. Without, the sun blazed down fiercely. The shadows -retreated as the fiery orb mounted toward the zenith. It wheeled out of -their sight and the shadow of the cliff, the shadow of the image, began -to stretch out over the paving between the walls of stone that shut out -much of their view. - -Tiki came back to the entrance, hunkering down. From some place known -to him he had taken weird paraphernalia. He had daubed himself with -white and yellow and black, there was an apron about his middle that -was made of human hair. He wore a necklace of knuckle-bones, a skullpan -hung upon his chest and his arms and legs were decked with circlets -of shell and bone and fiber. He had been in his father's make-up -repository, Stanton thought. - -With him he had brought something that looked like a queer-shaped -basket of plaited strips of pliable cane, like matting. He took no -notice of them apart, remote, droning out some incantations, watching -the creeping shadow. - -Stanton remembered something Cheung had said about the shadow of the -god. The shadows of all sacred things, even of chiefs, were _tabu_. To -walk in them was death. Yet the shadow of the god fell only at certain -hours. Tiki could not have timed any attack that might take place. The -combatants seemed to have lost sight of each other, hunting along the -trails, hiding in the bush. But Tiki seemed waiting for something with -a curious certainty. To him the god was infallible. - -Stanton told himself that it was only a barbaric, colossal carving, but -even as he held the thought, another came, suggesting that he should -have faith. Civilization seemed now to be an unreal thing. They were -back in the stone age, to which the island and its departed inhabitants -belonged. A superstitious feeling possessed him, not one of fear. The -shadow lengthened and still the island was wrapped in silence. - -Suddenly he thought he saw the solid forest waver to and fro. The legs -of the god, portals to the cave, appeared to move. A tremor ran through -the ground and there was a low muttering as of thunder, a hollow -rumbling from inside the cave. The girl started up and would have gone -inside to her father, but he restrained her. The place might fall in. - -Motutabu had once flamed, been thrust up with its riven crags in smoke -and steam. Lava had flowed. Now those fires were clogged, the craters -choked, but, far below, the interior wrath still raged. This was a -_temblor_, one of the earthquakes that intermittently shook the peaks -that had been lifted from the sea. This was a slight shock. No other -followed and he let her enter. Haines was still sleeping. - -Tiki had risen. To him it was a manifestation that the god was pleased -that a faithful believer had returned. He stood erect with the dignity -of an oracle. As Stanton watched him he took the strange basketry and -placed it over his head. It was a hood that fell below his shoulders. -It had trunklike appendages, two holes for eyes that were glazed by -fish bladders. It turned him to a grotesque and terrible figure, like a -great squid. As he moved, the wicker tentacles writhed. - -Something was going to happen. Stanton felt it in his bones. Not -another quake. He saw the shadow vanish, melt away, as if the sun had -been veiled. Then it appeared again, sharp and distinct. Tiki's chant -grew louder, ceased as there came the sound of a brisk fusillade. - -Men were coming from the woods, firing back at enemies still hidden. -They came into view between the walls. The Chinese captain and his -men--fewer now--retreating, kneeling to take aim, then running to kneel -again. They passed and, with savage yells, the black men from the Lehua -burst into view, charging, Johnson and Loo Fong at their head. - -[Illustration: _With savage yells, the black men from the pirate -schooner burst into view._] - -Tiki sent out a yell of defiance, ululating, weird and shrill as it -issued from a reeded mouthpiece in the mask. Loo Fong halted and -turned, Johnson with him. They stared for a moment and then they saw -the girl, who had come, unnoticed by Stanton, to the entrance. Stanton -swept her aside, flattening her against the curve of the image's -colossal leg, taking place himself on the opposite side as bullets came -whining toward them. Tiki had seemingly betrayed them. - -He had not moved. He was untouched and again he sent out that piercing -challenge as Loo Fong cried out an order and the savage outfit came -racing up between the walls, firing their pistols. Now Tiki stepped -inside, unhit. - - * * * * * - -Stanton fired back to stem the stampede. They came leaping on. Lucy -Haines fired with him and a black staggered and fell. Johnson was -struck, but it did not check him. Their bullets were entering the -cave, splaying gray streaks on the rock. Stanton pulled trigger on his -last cartridge, missing Loo Fong whose evil face was lit with triumph. -They were on the last great slab when Tiki reappeared, sounding his -whistling howl. - -Stanton saw the rear half of the big slab tilt upward. The whole stone -was balanced and it rose smoothly, inexorably. A gulf opened and out of -it came a moaning sound like the wash of the sea, far below. - -Johnson and Loo Fong were pitched forward, their faces twisted with -sudden terror. The angle became acute, and they slid down, dropping -their weapons, crouching, clawing uselessly. The mate pitched forward, -plunged into the gap. Loo Fong made a desperate spring as he squatted -there like a toad. His fingers clutched the nigh edge, the sill of the -cave entrance, clung there. - -The stone swung on, up and over in a complete revolution. Its edge -smashed the fingers of the half-caste and the slab closed him in, -leaving bloody smears and remnants on the threshold. There were only -the black men left and they stood in a huddled mob before they broke -and ran, some trying to climb the walls, appalled at this manifestation -of the god. - -It was the slab of sacrifice, used on ceremonial occasions where -victims were demanded; set as a trap for the unwary, for meddlers. - -Tiki had lured them on. He had provided sacrifice. He had appeased the -long, unsated appetite of his god, and thus established his priesthood. -He had saved Haines, his daughter and Stanton, but they had been bait -for the victims. - -He had won the day. - -The yellow men were coming back, firing at the terrified blacks. The -fight had gone out of the islanders. They could not battle with gods. -Man after man went down, and then the slaughter swept past and out of -view. - -Tiki touched Stanton on the shoulder. He had taken off the mask and he -went back to the moving capstan stone that had triggered the trap. They -took hold of the pole and revolved it. - -The grating sound died away and Tiki walked through the entrance, out -on the slab, now firm again, turning to crouch and lower his head to -the rock in salutation and obeisance. - -A hail came from the end of the causeway. It was the Chinese skipper -with two of his men. Stanton advanced to meet them. - -"They all dead!" he said complacently. There was blood on his clothes -and his hands, but his face was clear of all emotion. "Tiki, he fixee. -All samee stone give way, I think." - -It was over. Two of the Chinese were wounded, one seriously. A third -was dead. The captain mentioned it casually. It was all in the day's -work. - -"Now we catch pearl and go," he said. "Mo' good we sink Lehua. No can -take. Too muchee talk, too muchee bobbely that make." - -Stanton had forgotten all about the pearls. It had probably been the -prime issue in the mind of the skipper. Haines was an incident. He -possessed a share if he lived, but that was Cheung's private business. -Bringing back the pearls was the captain's affair, whether he found -Haines or not. Stanton and the girl, Haines and Tiki, were pawns to the -captain. - -Cheung, Stanton fancied, was not so cold-blooded, but Cheung was an -exceptional Chinaman. - -They took up the litter as the rest arrived and marched back, past the -out-sprawled corpses of the black men, more sacrifices to the great, -gray god. Haines awakened from his semi-stupor, seemingly refreshed. He -would recover, though he would probably be lame. Stanton ordered him -sent off immediately to the ship with Lucy, to occupy Stanton's own -cabin. - -"Catch pearl first," said the captain. - -Haines smiled for the first time. - -"I think they're safe," he said. "There in that pool over there. It is -only half-filled at high tide. Moisture wouldn't hurt them, anyway. But -there's a crevice near the top, on this side. They're in there, in an -oilskin sack. The hole is plugged with seaweed." - -They were safe, a bag half-filled with softly shimmering gems of the -sea, slightly iridescent, oval, round, pear-shaped, symmetrical, a few -of them pink in luster. Stanton could not estimate them, but he knew -they represented a fortune. Haines fingered them. - -"You can keep some of them, my dear," he said to Lucy. "A third of them -are mine. We'll sell what you don't want." - -"Sell all of them," she said. "They have cost too much. I couldn't wear -them." - -The skipper talked with Tiki, who stood apart. Then he came to Stanton. - -"Tiki speak he stay along this place," he said. "He like we set up -those dlum and those image topside along sing-sing glound." - -Stanton looked at Tiki who walked toward him and once more took -Stanton's hand and placed it over his heart. Then he pointed to the -mountain, toward the god, now hidden by the cape. - -The gesture, the desire, were unmistakable. He had come home. Solitude -did not bother him. Later he might adventure, bring back a woman, or a -dusky harem, but this was his land, his god. - -He did not belong in Suva, nor on the other island from which he had -fled. Motutabu was his abidingplace, as priest to the graven image. - -They left him later, his wishes carried out, standing on the beach, -motionless. Stanton felt that they owed him much, but he had owed a -debt to Stanton for his rescue. He would have died in Suva. And he had -paid his debt. He and the god. - -The sunset was flaming back of the island when they made out to sea, -two sunken schooners in the bay. Tiki had been presented with the -stores of the Lehua, all that he selected. - -The face of the image was no longer flaming as they had first seen it. -It was gray now, somber but serene. From the mountain came the deep -sound of a reverberating drum. - - * * * * * - -"What you going to do now?" Cheung asked Stanton as they sat in the -chamber over the restaurant. Haines was under medical care, a rich man, -content to limp, since he could well afford to ride. - -"I don't know," Stanton answered. "I'm at a loose end." Cheung smiled, -nodded toward the inside rooms where Lucy Haines was talking with -Cheung's wife. - -"Suppose you ask missy?" he said. "These belong along you. If you like -I buy them flom you. Give good plice." - -He took a leather sack from his capacious sleeve and poured out pearls -into a lacquered bowl. They filled a third of it with milky radiance. - -"You, me, Haines, all same divide," said Cheung. "These velly fine -pearl. Fifty-sixty thousan' dollah. Why you not ask missy?" - -"I think I'll take your advice," said Stanton. The trip back had been a -happy one. He was not without foundation for the hope that Lucy might -be interested in what he did and where he went. - -He was no longer a derelict, no longer in danger of being a beach bum. -He was a man of substance. - -"You ask now," said Cheung. "I call my wife. I wish you plenty luckee." - - - THE END. - -*** END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK 78475 *** diff --git a/78475-h/78475-h.htm b/78475-h/78475-h.htm deleted file mode 100644 index 223d63e..0000000 --- a/78475-h/78475-h.htm +++ /dev/null @@ -1,2142 +0,0 @@ -<!DOCTYPE html> -<html lang="en"> -<head> - <meta charset="UTF-8"> - <title>The Gray God | Project Gutenberg</title> - <link rel="icon" href="images/cover.jpg" type="image/x-cover"> - - <meta name="DC.Creator" content="J. Allan Dunn"> - <meta name="DC.Title" content="The Gray God"> - <meta name="DC.Language" content="en"> - <meta name="DC.Created" content="1929"> - <meta name="DC.date.issued" content="1929"> - <meta name="DC.Subject" content="Adventure"> - <meta name="Tags" content="adventure, fiction, short story"> - <meta name="DC.Publisher" content="Distributed Proofreaders Canada"> - - <style> - -body { - margin-left: 10%; - margin-right: 10%; -} - - h1,h2,h3 { - text-align: center; /* all headings centered */ - clear: both; -} - -p { - margin-top: .51em; - text-align: justify; - margin-bottom: .49em; -} - -hr { - width: 33%; - margin-top: 2em; - margin-bottom: 2em; - margin-left: 33.5%; - margin-right: 33.5%; - clear: both; -} - -hr.tb {width: 45%; margin-left: 27.5%; margin-right: 27.5%;} -hr.chap {width: 65%; margin-left: 17.5%; margin-right: 17.5%;} -@media print { hr.chap {display: none; visibility: hidden;} } -hr.full {width: 95%; margin-left: 2.5%; margin-right: 2.5%;} -div.chapter {page-break-before: always;} -h2.nobreak {page-break-before: avoid;} - -x-ebookmaker-drop {display: none;} - -.center {text-align: center;} - -.right {text-align: right;} - -.smcap { font-variant:small-caps; } - -/* Images */ -.figcenter { - margin: auto; - text-align: center; - page-break-inside: avoid; - max-width: 100%; -} - -.caption p -{ - text-align: center; - text-indent: 0; - margin: 0.25em 0; - font-weight: bold; -} - -div.titlepage { - text-align: center; - page-break-before: always; - page-break-after: always; -} - -div.titlepage p { - text-align: center; - text-indent: 0em; - font-weight: bold; - line-height: 1.5; - margin-top: 3em; -} - -table { - margin-left: auto; - margin-right: auto; -} - -table.autotable { border-collapse: collapse; } -table.autotable td, -table.autotable th { padding: 4px; } - -.tdl {text-align: left;} -.tdr {text-align: right;} -.tdc {text-align: center;} - -.ph1 { text-align: center; text-indent: 0em; } -.ph1 { font-size: x-large; margin: .83em auto; } - -.ph2 { text-align: center; text-indent: 0em; } -.ph2 { font-size: medium; margin: .83em auto; } - -/* Poetry */ -.poetry-container {display: flex; justify-content: center;} -.poetry-container {text-align: center;} -.poetry {text-align: left; margin-left: 5%; margin-right: 5%;} -.poetry .stanza {margin: 1em auto;} -.poetry .verse {text-indent: -3em; padding-left: 3em;} -.poetry .indent0 {text-indent: -3em;} -.poetry .indent2 {text-indent: -2em;} - - </style> -</head> - -<body> -<div style='text-align:center'>*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK 78475 ***</div> - - -<div class="titlepage"> - -<h1>The Gray God</h1> - -<p class="ph1">By J. ALLAN DUNN</p> - -<p><i>Author of "The Cardinal's Curse,"<br> -"Whirlwind Walsh," etc.</i></p> - -<p><i>Broke and almost "on the beach" in the<br> -Fiji Islands, Bob Stanton hardly guessed<br> -that just around the corner lay the maddest<br> -adventure life could offer in the tropics.</i></p> - -<p><i>Novelette—Complete</i></p> - -<p>[Transcriber's Note: This etext was produced from<br> -Argosy All-Story Weekly March 16 1929.]</p> - -</div> - -<hr class="chap"> - -<h2>CONTENTS</h2> - -<table> -<tr><td class="tdr">I.</td> <td class="tdl"><a href="#CHAPTER_I">"TYPICAL TROPICAL TRAMP!"</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="tdr">II.</td> <td class="tdl"><a href="#CHAPTER_II">CHEUNG'S PLAN.</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="tdr">III.</td> <td class="tdl"><a href="#CHAPTER_III">THE RACE TO MOTUTABU.</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="tdr">IV.</td> <td class="tdl"><a href="#CHAPTER_IV">THE JUNGLE TRAIL.</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="tdr">V.</td> <td class="tdl"><a href="#CHAPTER_V">THE SHADOW OF THE GOD.</a></td></tr> -</table> - -<hr class="chap"> - -<div class="chapter"> -<h2 class="nobreak" id="CHAPTER_I">CHAPTER I.</h2> -</div> - -<h3>"TYPICAL TROPICAL TRAMP!"</h3> - - -<p>Bob Stanton walked along the main street of Suva, painfully conscious -that people looked at him as if he was a beach comber. He was not quite -that—yet—though he was not many degrees removed from it, he told -himself. His ducks and his linen, if they were frayed, were clean; -he managed, with old blades and the horrible soap supplied by his -landlady, to keep shaved; the soles of his shoes were broken, but the -uppers were carefully pipe-clayed. He was still respectable, but his -hair needed cutting and his browned features were beginning to wear an -expression that made even the kilted native police look at him askance.</p> - -<p>Not to mention the tourists. A steamer was in. Men and women were -strolling or driving, tropic clad, agog for entertainment, planning -luncheon. Some had <i>lei</i> garlands about their necks placed there by -welcoming friends. Friends! There were certainly times when a fellow -needed one, Stanton reflected. There might be Americans in that -laughing crowd intent upon enjoyment. Perhaps if they knew the plight -he was in, from no fault of his own—</p> - -<p>He shoved his hands deeper in his empty pockets, crossing over from the -row of stores with plate glass fronts, hotels and clubs, to the shore -side of the street. He walked in the checkered, changing shadow of the -palms and poincianas, which patterned the path with purple and gold.</p> - -<p>Across the stretch of seagrass lawn the Goro Sea showed incredibly -blue, blue as laundry blueing. The sky was hardly less vivid. Cliffs of -pearly trade wind clouds lifted on the horizon. The breeze raised the -banners of bananas, rustled in the fronds of coconut and royal palms, -sent down a drift of scarlet poinciana blossoms like carnival confetti. -A glorious, gorgeous mockery of a day.</p> - -<p>He had the makings of two cigarettes, perhaps three thin ones, and that -was all. No tobacco, no money to buy any. He was three weeks in debt -to his half-caste landlady, three weeks in board-arrears to Cheung Li. -Broke. Stony broke.</p> - -<p>They hadn't said a thing about it yet, but they would not, could not -trust him forever.</p> - -<p>There was the sting of it; they had trusted him. He had not lied to -them about coming remittances, but had frankly said he was flat, and -they had smiled and said he was an American and they knew he would pay -them when he could. That seemed a long way off right now.</p> - -<p>A girl was coming toward him, from the steamer, unaccompanied. She was -simply dressed, she was slender, but walked with a certain agile vigor -that distinguished her. Stanton almost bumped into her on the narrow -path in his absorption. He got a glimpse of a pair of dark blue eyes, -large, clear, but not carefree; a short nose, red lips that drooped a -little, a hint of coppery hair under the close-fitting hat.</p> - -<p>He raised his own, in apology, and the girl bowed. She did not smile, -but looked at him curiously, sympathetically. He did not analyze that -look for a few minutes. Then he realized that her face, like his own, -must have betrayed worriment, was not in accord with the gorgeous day. -She was in trouble of some sort, even as he was, and she had recognized -the latter fact.</p> - -<hr class="tb"> - -<p>About ten paces behind the girl a man was walking with a curious ease -of gait, pantherish, slightly furtive for all his swagger, for all -his linen tunic and pants, his silk shirt and cummerbund, the smart -puggaree on his hat of woven palm fiber, the short gold-tipped malacca -cane, the silken socks and shoes of buckskin and tan leather.</p> - -<p>His skin was the color of saddle leather, splotched by darker blots, -like freckles. His eyes were jet-black, set aslant, the lids smooth and -unwrinkled, the mouth full-lipped, cruel. A cunning, sensual "breed," -half Chinese and half native, swaggering along with a knife under his -cummerbund, and gambler's gold in his pockets, Stanton fancied.</p> - -<p>The American suddenly wondered, with a hunch that flashed into his -mind, whether the man was following the girl. For a moment Stanton -halted, rolling his cigarette, looking back. The girl had crossed the -street, the half-breed kept straight on. He might be following her, but -he did not seem inclined to annoy her. Too careful of his own skin, -Stanton decided. He would behave himself in the open, but he was no -more to be trusted in the shadows than a roving shark in a lagoon.</p> - -<p>Stanton knew him by name—Loo Fong—and by his reputation, or lack of -it, along the waterfront where Stanton had his cheap but clean room -with Panakaloa, the stout half-white widow of a trading skipper.</p> - -<p>Loo Fong, petty pirate, smuggler, gambler, half Malay, half Manchu, -and treacherous as a snake, was just back from one of his occasional -disappearances. He had given Stanton a look, tinged with a sneer of -derision on his twisting mouth, that made the American's fists double -automatically.</p> - -<p>He crossed the street himself, caught sight of his reflection in a -store window as he checked to let a jovial group pass out of the car -that had brought them from the ship and enter the Victoria Hotel.</p> - -<p>A woman glanced at him and said something in a whisper to her escort. -The man was less tactful of tone in his answer.</p> - -<p>"T.T.T.," he replied. "Eh, what? Typical Tropical Tramp! Beach bum! -Never has worked, can't get work, and doesn't want to." The woman -looked at him again and shrank a little. It was then the plate glass -revealed to Stanton his mask of a face, grim, almost haggard, the long -hair covering the collar of his coat, the set jaws and smoldering eyes.</p> - -<p>"Got to snap out of that," he told himself. "You're nursing a grouch. -It won't get you a thing, not a damn' thing, Bob Stanton! It's the grin -that wins."</p> - -<p>He was not so sure of that. He had been grinning a long time, but -the grin had frayed, like the bottoms of his pants and the cuffs of -his coat and shirts. There was no job in Suva, in all the Fijis, for -a "Yank." It was fair enough, perhaps. Jobs seemed to be scarce and -anything that a self-respecting white man would do was held out for a -Britisher.</p> - -<p>He had come out to join a man he had known in the States. They had been -comrades in the Argonne, as a matter of fact. It was after an Armistice -Day dinner that Raymond had told him of his plan to log and ship the -valuable hardwoods of the Fijis to American cabinet-makers. The islands -off the north and west of Viti Levu were crammed with such trees, it -appeared. Stanton had put in his share for preliminaries and had left -for Fiji after the jubilant letter saying that the lease was secured -and the prospects rosy. It had taken almost all he had by the time he -reached Suva and, while he was <i>en route</i>, the bubble had been pricked.</p> - -<p>The British commissioner had received word from the colonial secretary -that no leases or concessions were to be granted on Fijian products -to other than <i>bona-fide</i> British concerns. The bill had passed "as -of" a date before that of Raymond's concessions. It was a washout. -The commissioner was polite, bored, and his expressed sorrow was -tinged with a suggestion that Americans had better stick to their own -possessions.</p> - -<p>There were hardwoods, the commissioner believed, in the Philippines. -Whether or not he knew the Washington policies that protected the -countrymen of Aguinaldo to the exclusion of all outside capital, they -did not learn.</p> - -<p>Raymond cursed heartily and ingeniously, outside the commissioner's -stately residence. He offered Stanton his fare back, but Stanton knew -his friend had little enough left for himself. The lure of the tropics -had gripped Stanton, and he had no doubt but that he could get along. -He had, for twelve weeks of enforced loafing, on fifty dollars.</p> - -<hr class="tb"> - -<p>It looked like the bush or the beach for him, living on fruit and fish, -a down-and-outer. It was getting hard to be philosophical, to believe -in such platitudes as "It is always darkest before the dawn," and -"Every cloud has a silver lining."</p> - -<p>Nevertheless, after that self-revealing glance at the grim mask that -was his face, Bob Stanton mentally girded up his loins and marched on, -resolved to borrow a pair of scissors from Panakaloa to trim the frayed -edges of his garments and essay a haircut. He was getting morbid. He -whistled as he marched along and looked a sergeant of police squarely -in the eyes. Lately he had been bothering a bit about deportation, or a -request to move on.</p> - -<p>Confound that fellow with his T.T.T. What did he know about them? -T.T.T.'s were the salt of the earth, often prosperous, always -efficient, cursed or blessed with the roving heel. The chap had said -Stanton didn't want to work, whereas he had been hunting it high and -low until he could feel the grit working through his shoes at every -step. He whistled the swinging march song:</p> - -<div class="poetry-container"> -<div class="poetry"> - <div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent0"><i>Pack all your troubles in your old kit-bag,</i></div> - <div class="verse indent2"><i>And smile, smile, smile.</i></div> - </div> -</div> -</div> - -<p>Lots of craft in the harbor, freight steamers, sailing ships, the -big passenger boat, native craft, launches shuttling back and forth. -Usually they made him restless, emphasized his marooned condition. Now -he grinned at them. Much magic in a grin, after all. But he didn't get -his haircut.</p> - -<p>He reached the wharf and swung south to where Panakaloa's little house -was set among scrubs and papaia trees on the limits of white residency. -A topsail schooner was moored to bollards, her cargo of copra and -turtle shell being discharged.</p> - -<p>A black man lay on a bale, shivering in the sun. He was almost a dwarf, -a Melanesian, not a Fijian. His frizzy hair was dull red from lime -bleaching, his dark skin showed tribal weals and other scars. His only -clothing was a scanty loin-cloth. The lobes of his ears were stretched -to flaps of torn leather, a short clap pipe thrust through one of -the convenient holes. A South Sea savage, sick and shuddering, ugly, -ill-shaped, dirty. His ribs showed like those of a starved dog. His -eyes were closed and his limbs were huddled about his emaciated body.</p> - -<p>Any blackbirder would have despised him. Stanton wondered how he had -come to Suva, derelict and unhappy as a mangy cur.</p> - -<p>A man in a peaked cap, dressed in dungarees and a grimy pyjama top -was directing the last of the unloading, chewing and spitting tobacco -between curses in beach-English. As the file-closer of the Kanakas -he had been bossing disappeared into the warehouse shed, the man, -apparently mate of the schooner, turned and saw the wretched figure -on the bale. He had a rope's end tucked in his belt, a length of coil -ending in a turkshead knot, symbol of authority over his Solomon Island -crew.</p> - -<p>He swung it aloft and brought it down on the cowering creature who woke -to his shouted oaths. It curled with a vicious hiss and sounded like a -drum-stroke as it raised a blistering mark.</p> - -<p>"You walk along damn' quick out of this, you blasted stowaway monkey, -before I flay you," he cried and swung up his arm again as the man -leaped from the bale and crouched, long apelike arms wrapped about his -head, jabbering something inarticulate. The rope's end writhed around -his ribs with the same hideous strum. The third blow did not fall. The -mate's arm remained aloft as he gazed in astonishment at the sudden -appearance of Stanton between him and his victim.</p> - -<p>"Git out of here, you lousy beach bum!" the mate yelled. He started to -say more, but Stanton's fist muzzled him.</p> - -<hr class="tb"> - -<p>Indignation at the wanton cruelty had caused Stanton to interfere, but -all the resentment he had swallowed in the sneer of Loo Fong and the -words of the woman's escort outside the hotel, went into that wallop -when the mate called him a bum. He had been hard up, but, thanks to -Cheung and Panakaloa, he had not starved or lacked decent quarters. He -was husky and he knew how to use his fists. The mate didn't. He was a -bucko, a good brawler, and he was tough, inside and out, but he made a -serious first mistake in underestimating his adversary, and rushing him.</p> - -<p>Stanton ducked neatly and smote him hard over the liver as the mate's -haymaker swung overhead and the mate swung with it, off balance, -staggering sidewise with a clip on the side of the jaw. He went to one -knee and hand, and Stanton let him up, which was chivalrous but wasted.</p> - -<p>"Get up, you coward, and take a licking from a 'bum!'" Stanton snapped, -while the mate spat blood and tobacco from his battered lips, uttered a -roar and rushed again. The seaman got a straight left to his face which -checked him, but he closed in, bellowing and bludgeoning. The Kanakas -had come out of the warehouse and were looking on, eyes rolling, -grinning. The cook came out of the schooner's galley and stood with -folded arms, another spectator who seemed not opposed to the prospects -of the mate's getting trimmed.</p> - -<p>They clinched and Stanton appreciated what a bucko might do at close -quarters. The mate got his arms about his ribs and nearly cracked them -as he forged on with the advantage of his weight, using his knee, -trying to trip, cursing constantly, threatening, putting out his full -strength. Stanton beat a tattoo on his kidneys and he didn't like it. -They struck the stringpiece and went down together, rolling over and -over, rebounding as the side of the schooner saved them from the water.</p> - -<p>As they rolled the mate made another mistake. Every time Stanton was on -top he slogged at the bucko's head and jaws, and hurt him badly enough -to make the mate try the same tactics. The bucko got home more than -once, but it gave Stanton the chance to get up and away. He intended -to keep away. The mate was as hard as an automobile tire, strong as -a gorilla; he had the weight and superior strength. Stanton had the -science and the better wind. The other was blowing as he got to his -feet and, before he got set, Stanton got in a jolt to the belly and a -second smash over the mouth.</p> - -<p>The combination settled it, together with the quid the mate had -neglected to eject. The force of the blow sent it into his windpipe, -choking and half strangling him. Upset muscular control juggled it into -his gullet and Stanton's third and final blow in that rally drove it -deep. His disturbed stomach received and ejected it. His tanned face -turned a sickly green. He heaved violently and was distressingly and -unpleasantly sick, teetering up the gangway, using the scupperway, -weaving down the companionway to his cabin.</p> - -<p>Stanton straightened his clothes, felt gingerly a fiery ear and a -bruised cheek, looking for the cause of his interference.</p> - -<p>"You did 'm in proper, mister. You 'andled your dukes pretty. It served -the bloody blighter right," said the cook. "I'm quittin' 'ere. 'E ain't -got no idea of decency, 'e ain't. Called my grub 'stinkin' 'ash.' I -'ope the beggar 'eaves up his spotted soul."</p> - -<p>The miserable black was clasping Stanton's knees, jabbering at him, his -eyes moist with gratitude. It embarrassed the American. The Kanakas -were gathered in an uncertain knot, but the cook shouted at them and -they went aboard.</p> - -<p>"Looks like you 'ad 'im on your 'ands, mister," the cook said to -Stanton. "All syme stray dorg. You'll 'ave a 'ard time gittin' rid of -'im."</p> - -<p>"Where did he come from? What's the matter with him?"</p> - -<p>"We figger 'e must 'ave swum off and 'id aboard, the time we watered -at Tuimoto. Probably was in wrong with 'is wizard. Thought the ship -'u'd be better than the ovens. I'll bet 'e's changed 'is mind more'n -once. We was glad enough to git clear without trouble. Tuimoto is no -picnic-ground. The skipper was sick—island fever—an' mate run things. -'E kicked the daylights out of that boy. Come night throwin' 'im -overboard to the sharks. 'E ain't 'ad too much to eat. Don't like white -man's <i>kaikai</i> an' the Kanakas wouldn't share theirs with 'im. That's -part of what's the matter with 'im. And 'e's got yaws. You better tyke -my tip and 'and 'im over to the police, mister. 'E belongs in the -'orsepittle, 'e does. Croak on your 'ands if you don't. 'Is nyme's Tiki -and I bet 'e's full of 'em."</p> - -<p>A muffled roar came from below and the cook winked at Stanton.</p> - -<p>"That's the mate," he said. "Wants a nurse. I'll nurse 'im!" He -sauntered aft.</p> - -<p>The miserable devil who seemed to have been wished on Stanton, -ill-treated and frightened by his surroundings, groveled at his feet. -He shivered like a frightened dog when Stanton put a hand on his skinny -shoulder. He didn't quite know what to do with the wretch—he'd die in -the hospital from sheer loneliness. Turn his face to the wall and let -his soul leach out of him.</p> - -<p>Stanton could put a meal into him, let him know he had a friend. His -own plight was pleasant compared to that of this spiritless remnant of -humanity. Perhaps Panakaloa would let him stay, give him something he -could assimilate.</p> - -<p>"You come with me," he said. "We get <i>kaikai</i>."</p> - -<p>Tiki understood the meaning and followed him like a black dog, his eyes -shining. Panakaloa was a bit difficult. She wanted no black fellows, -she declared, but at last Stanton persuaded her to let Tiki—who stood -on one bow leg, scratching with the toes of the other at his yaws -while they discussed him—stay in a shed in the little garden on some -old matting. He lay down, curled up, sacking over him and presently -Panakaloa set down beside him a bowl of native <i>poi</i> and some dried -fish. His eyes glittered. His spirit revived. He was in the house of -friends and he ate avidly. Stanton went off to his own meal.</p> - - -<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop"> - -<div class="chapter"> -<h2 class="nobreak" id="CHAPTER_II">CHAPTER II.</h2> -</div> - -<h3>CHEUNG'S PLAN.</h3> - - -<p>Cheung Li's restaurant did not cater to the social element of Suva, -but it was neat and clean, the food savory, wholesome and cheap, so -that he did a good waterfront business with white skippers, mates and -supercargoes.</p> - -<p>He lived above the place, a placid, stout, sphinx-faced Chinaman -with a dignity all his own, getting together his fortune. Some said -the restaurant was a blind for his other affairs, but no one seemed -to definitely know what they might be. He extended credit from time -to time and seemed to find it profitable in the long run. It was he -himself who had suggested to Stanton that he need not worry about his -bill.</p> - -<p>"Some time soon, something come along," he told him. "You 'Melican. You -make good bimeby."</p> - -<p>He presided over the restaurant at rush hours, leaving its conduct the -rest of the time to two assistants. One of these, Moy, long, sallow, -cadaverous and chary of any speech but his own, set before Stanton -his meal. There was real turtle soup, excellent fish, turtle steak -with boiled <i>taro</i>-root and greens, fresh coconut pudding with caramel -sauce, and coffee the Ritz patrons might have envied. All for fifty -cents; a dollar and twenty cents for three daily meals, seven dollars a -week.</p> - -<p>When Moy brought the pudding he had a message.</p> - -<p>"Cheung Li like speak along of you topside when you finish up," he said.</p> - -<p>It spoiled the dessert for Stanton. It must mean that his credit was -over. It had to come. Cheung had been mighty decent. But it looked like -the beach. He couldn't stay at Panakaloa's and not eat. He couldn't -honestly stay there any longer and pile up a debt he saw no means of -paying off. Panakaloa could always rent her rooms. He saw himself for -a moment roaming the beach with Tiki at his heels, adventuring in the -bush with a cannibal. Tiki would know more about making a living there -than he did.</p> - -<p>He shrugged his shoulders, his hands steady as he rolled his second -cigarette. There was not enough left for a third, so he made this fat -and smoked it slowly with long inhalations before he got up, unable -to tip Moy. An outside staircase led to a balcony that ran all round -the house, covered and awninged. At the rear it looked over a compound -garden behind a high plank wall where Cheung took his ease with his -family.</p> - -<p>Stanton had never mounted before. He was surprised at the signs of -comfort, of taste, even of luxury. There were easy chairs of bamboo, -stands of teak that held flowering plants, big vases of porcelain with -foliage shrubs and ferns in them, rugs, cushions, two Java thrushes -singing in cages, a gorgeous blue macaw in a ring, statuesque, -disdainful.</p> - -<p>The front veranda, where Stanton thought the entrance must be, looked -over the harbor and the shipping, and across Kadavu Passage to the -distant isles of Ono and Kadavu, almost sixty miles away. The lure of -the horizon, of the unknown tropics, savage but fascinating, gripped -him hard. Then sliding glass doors opened and Cheung asked him inside.</p> - -<p>He had never before seen Cheung except in white clothes, and he was -surprised at the quiet richness of his brocades, the assurance of -his manner, polite, unostentatious. He might have been greeting a -distinguished official rather than a man whose clothing proclaimed his -poverty.</p> - -<p>He offered Stanton a deep and cosy seat and a cheroot faintly smelling -of tea, gratifying of flavor. Then he poured out two tiny goblets of -amber fluid that scented the whole room as if with orange groves and -tasted like sublimated Chartreuse.</p> - -<p>His English was not perfect, but he spoke without hesitation, straight -to the purpose. It was as if he guessed Stanton's interpretation of the -request for the visit, and wished to relieve him promptly. The shady -chamber had an atmosphere of courtesy. From the interior Stanton heard -the tinkle of a stringed instrument, the sudden laughter of a child. -The Java thrushes were singing madly.</p> - -<p>"I tell you some time, soon, something come along," said Cheung in his -mellow tones. "I not know then this come. One time, some one tell me -about one place where there are plenty pearl, on island where nobody -go. No landing there, no loadstead, no lagoon. Leef come up close, -evely place. Native not live that place now. Name Motutabu. Plenty -magic along that place. Bad magic. Maybe you not believe that?"</p> - -<p>"I don't know," said Stanton simply. "I've heard a lot of curious -things."</p> - -<p>Cheung grunted as if satisfied with the answer.</p> - -<p>"This black man's magic," he said. "Not evil to white man, yellow man -unless they too much meddle. You savvy?"</p> - -<p>"I savvy," said Stanton. His pulses were quickening, his blood -beginning to tingle. He felt that he was on the threshold of adventure, -mysterious, dangerous.</p> - -<hr class="tb"> - -<p>"On that island one big image," Cheung went on. "Not idol, all same -symbol. Symbol of evil spilits native men speak velley soft along, make -gift so he leave alone. Some one meddle along that god, not savvy how, -die velly quick. Suppose you go this place, you leave god alone. I send -white man I know along this Motutabu—that mean fo'bidden island. He is -good man, I tlust him plenty. I send Kanaka with him to dive. No one -come back. Long time now they should come back. Something happen. Maybe -he meddle too much along that god, maybe all get sick, maybe schooner -get on leef. I not know.</p> - -<p>"I am li'l' aflaid some one else speak along the Kanaka who tell me -about that place. Li'l' while since he speak with me, they find him -dead along beach. Maybe because he talk, maybe because he no talk. -Nobody savvy who kill him. I no savvy. I think maybe one man, half -Chinaman, he savvy something. Maybe he go along Motutabu, but suppose -he did he not find pearl. If he find pearl he not come back to Suva. He -go to Sigapo'. Belong that place. But I like find out."</p> - -<p>Singapore! Stanton had the flash, half intuition, half reasoning, -that is called a hunch. Singapore meant the Malay Peninsula. In his -mind's eye he saw the lithe figure of the Malay-Manchu, swaggering but -furtive, like a stalking panther, trailing the girl. He did not know -then how illuminating his hunch had been. But the name came to his -lips. "Loo Fong!"</p> - -<p>Cheung grunted again.</p> - -<p>"I always think you smaht," he said. "Li'l' bad luck, maybe, jus' now. -Loo Fong come back. I think he been along that island. Maybe he kill. -But I think he no find pearl. I like send you."</p> - -<p>"I'm no sailor," Stanton disclaimed. "I've knocked about in a pleasure -boat or two, yachting, but I'm no navigator."</p> - -<p>"I give you ship," Cheung purred on. "Captain and clew all same, they -lun ship. Chinamen. On island you boss. You find out what happen. Man -I send to island is 'Melican, all same you 'Melican. Suppose I send -Chinamen, suppose Loo Fong been that place, my man no tlust any one -but white man. His name Haines. I pay you good. Suppose you bling back -pearls, I give you plenty."</p> - -<p>"You don't know anything about me," said Stanton. He was not demurring -to the proposition, but it had taken him off his feet a bit. It sounded -like a large order.</p> - -<p>He did not lack confidence in himself, but this was a strange situation -he was asked to take command of. He could not immediately see himself -on a boat manned by Chinese, going to an island where some god, some -symbol of evil, was supposed to reign with malign influence; where -murder might have been done. He wanted to think it over, though he -wanted to go, aside from obliging Cheung.</p> - -<p>"I savvy plenty," Cheung went on suavely. "You have bad luck; you live -cheap, not dlink, not lun up big bill at big hotel. You tly all time -find any kind of job. Not easy fo' 'Melican along this place. Li'l' -time ago you fight mate of Lehua. I like 'Melican who not blag, not -dlink, can fight. I like you velly much to go this tlip."</p> - -<p>Stanton wondered a little at the other's knowledge of the fight, but it -was not surprising. Such news traveled fast. The restaurant was a sort -of club, in some ways. He was to wonder more how closely Cheung had -studied him.</p> - -<p>"To-day steameh come," Cheung went on. "Haines, he had bad luck too, -long time. He tlade in copla, have bad luck. He go fo' shell an' pearl, -have bad luck. Lose schooneh, find shell eaten by oyster worm. His -wife die in United States. Then he catch job with me. He lite back to -his daughteh, pletty soon he make money. She no heah flom him long time -befo'. Now velly glad. She come to Suva. Come to-day. She nice gel. I -tell about her fatheh. She wollied, but she keep up chin all same you, -'Melican fashion. She want to go look fo' him. I say she can go along -with you."</p> - -<p>Stanton gasped. Things were developing fast. He knew who the girl was. -She would recognize him when she saw him. He guessed why Loo Fong had -trailed her. Loo Fong knew of the island if he had not been there. It -was likely he had tried to pump the native who had first given Cheung -the information, and killed the poor devil. Why the latter had chosen -to confide in Cheung did not matter now. It was Cheung's affair. -Probably the man was indebted to him.</p> - -<p>"I saw Loo Fong following a girl who came in on the Austral, I think," -he said. Again Cheung gave one of his soft grunts of comprehension.</p> - -<p>"Loo Fong plenty slick," he said. "I think he savvy gel ask fo' me. She -go along hotel now she come my place. Mo' betteh she stay this place. -Loo Fong savvy that, savvy you come see me, maybe savvy why. <i>Maskee!</i> -I think maybe you have to kill Loo Fong some time."</p> - -<hr class="tb"> - -<p>He spoke placidly enough, but, to Stanton, the room seemed suddenly -filled with a mist in which vague, battling figures moved, while in -the background there loomed the statue of a great, gray god and the -suggestion of fantastic cliffs and jungle.</p> - -<p>He was looking on, now, but he was about to be involved in this. -Pearls, magic, murder. Mystery and sudden death. Romance. The girl's -face with the big eyes that had changed when they saw him, as if there -had been between them some affinity, was plain before him. He heard -Cheung clap his hands, and then the girl herself was in the room, in -the flesh, gazing at him as he rose.</p> - -<p>"Missy Haines," Cheung was saying. "This Misteh Stanton. I think he go -along Motutabu fo' me."</p> - -<p>Her hand was in his, cool and firm, her gaze was searching him, frank, -friendly.</p> - -<p>"You don't mind if I go along?" she said. "I want to know what has -happened to my father, I want to see him again. He left me in school, -six years ago."</p> - -<p>"Mind?" Stanton was filled with an idiotic desire to say the things -that crowded his brain, to give utterance to the impulses that thrilled -him. To acknowledge the joy that surged through him at the prospect of -being her knight-errant, her champion. There was no question now of his -not going. If Cheung had reserved this argument for the last, he had -chosen wisely. Stanton's actual answer was stiff, awkward.</p> - -<p>"I shall be glad to serve you, if I can, to help your father, to be of -use to Cheung Li, who has befriended me."</p> - -<p>"As he did my father," said the girl. Stanton thought he heard Cheung -chuckle, but his face was immobile.</p> - -<p>"That settled," he said. "Now Stanton, talk business along with me. -Much to fix, quick as possible. To-mollow, maybe nex' day, you go."</p> - -<p>The girl left and Cheung talked business. His schooner, with the -Chinese skipper and crew, were at Levuka on the island of Ovalau, -former capital of Fiji. It was not far away, less than fifty miles, and -he had sent word to them, expecting them to-morrow. He gave Stanton -money to buy necessary personal things, promising to furnish him -weapons. Motutabu was not on the regulation charts. It lay far to the -south and west, below the Kermadec Islands. Cheung showed its position -on a chart. At the end of the interview he gave certain grave warnings.</p> - -<p>"I think Loo Fong go that place," he said. "Not find pearl. If he savvy -I send you I think he go back. Follow you, make plenty tlouble. Much -betteh he stay along that place."</p> - -<p>There was a grim note in his voice that more than hinted his meaning. -Cheung had not attempted to dodge the fact that the trip was dangerous. -He seemed at once to value life and consider it of little value, like -the money changer who promptly throws out spurious coin. The crew of -his schooner would be armed. He had not sent Chinese in the first -place because natives were better divers; his own men were unused -to pearling, he used them for inter-island trading. But they were -fighters. They were his men.</p> - -<p>Stanton was convinced that those who worked for Cheung were loyal, -bound by a fealty that went beyond pay. He saw depths to this man who -was running a lowly restaurant and living in something close to luxury. -He realized that the restaurant was a clearing house for gossip, -valuable to such a person as Cheung; shrewd, daring, efficient, he bent -his energies toward fortune, but was endowed with philosophy, a mode of -thought and life that raised him far above the ordinary.</p> - -<p>"You not meddle along that god," Cheung said, the last thing. "And you -look out along of Loo Fong. You look out along that mate you fight. -Suppose you want take along that Tiki, can do. Maybe he can be useful -along in bush. That mate name Johnson. Schooneh Lehua. Captain Fenwick, -he sick, he stay in Suva. Cook quit too. Loo Fong he hold share in -Lehua. You look out. Take this now."</p> - -<p>He took from a drawer in a lacquered cabinet a flat automatic of German -make, a vicious-looking thing of heavy caliber. As it lay cold in -Stanton's palm it seemed like some sort of fetish that was a tangible -link connecting him with the adventure, making it real. Cheung gave him -extra clips.</p> - -<p>"Knife betteh," he said. "Make no noise. Suppose you have to shoot, may -make tlouble. But knife need plactice. You take. Johnson got no use fo' -you. Loo Fong may think you savvy where to find pearl. I no savvy that. -I think Haines hide all time, but I not know what place. Suppose he -dead, you tly find pearl. I see you this time to-mollow."</p> - -<hr class="tb"> - -<p>Stanton slid the automatic away into his hip pocket, and Cheung shook -his head.</p> - -<p>"Pocket no good," he said. "Wait, I find."</p> - -<p>He opened a chest and produced a spring clip-holder and leather -shoulder-harness which Stanton fitted then and there, taking off his -coat. The flat weapon lay close to his chest, snug and handy. There -would be other revolvers on board, with belts and holsters for open -use, but this manner was best, when one wore a coat, in Suva.</p> - -<p>The police did not like foreigners to swank about with visible weapons. -It was an orderly and peaceful town, but many strange things went on -near by. There was the Rewa River, up which there was said to be a -hidden headquarters for fugitives and outlaws of all kinds and races, -waiting for secret transportation beyond extradition. Back of that, -in the mountains, drums sounded on certain moonlit midnights, and the -natives were still said to practice ancient and horrible rites of -cannibalism and sacrifice.</p> - -<p>Suva was civilized. Fiji was pacified. But savagery lurked on every -hand.</p> - -<p>Stanton made his purchases unostentatiously. He held the notion that he -was shadowed. He saw nothing of Loo Fong, but that crafty individual -had his following, who might be trailing Stanton for him. Stanton -was barbered, reclothed, reshod, his own man again. His account with -Cheung's restaurant was wiped out. He paid Panakaloa, together with a -present of a vivid scarf which she draped proudly across her ample -bosom, tears in her eyes as she thanked him and applauded his turn of -fortune.</p> - -<p>He had native tobacco and a new pipe for Tiki, with cloth for a <i>sulu</i> -kilt with which to replace his inadequate G-string. The old pipe had -been smashed on the wharf, he had not tasted the flavor of tobacco or -its smoke for weeks, and his gratitude was inordinate. It was dark by -then, and Stanton left him curled up on his mats, smoking blissfully.</p> - -<p>Stanton stayed close that night, sitting in Panakaloa's little garden, -smoking and thinking over the swift changes of chance. He had turned -a sudden corner and he did not know what lay ahead, save that it was -a man's work, savored with excitement and peril, heightened by the -entrance of the girl.</p> - -<p>He slept with the automatic on his chest, over his pyjama top. It was -heavy but handy, and he did not take Cheung's warnings lightly. Loo -Fong might well believe, as Cheung had suggested, that Stanton was -going to Motutabu and knew where to find the pearls Cheung was sure -Haines had gathered.</p> - -<p>In such a case they might decide to try to force that information out -of him, kidnap and torture him, rather than risk losing a race to the -island.</p> - -<p>So Loo Fong had a share in the Lehua. The mate was in actual charge of -the schooner, to all intents and purposes its skipper. Loo Fong and the -mate would almost certainly get together. Johnson had his own grudge -against Stanton, which might materialize on its own account or join -forces with Loo Fong in his plans.</p> - -<p>It seemed very likely indeed to Stanton that the Lehua might have been -to Motutabu on the trip from which she had just returned, with Loo Fong -in her. The cargo was more or less of a blind, picked up after the -trail for the pearls had failed.</p> - -<p>If Tiki had been able to talk anything but his uncouth dialect Stanton -might have been able to find out from him. The cook would know; he was -probably leaving for some more definite reason than Johnson's slurs -on his cooking. If anything serious had happened on Motutabu the cook -might have decided to draw the line at piracy and quit while his neck -was still unstretched, in which case it was not likely that he would -talk. He had not been very prepossessing, as Stanton recollected. It -was a rough outfit.</p> - -<hr class="tb"> - -<p>Cheung would undoubtedly find out all that it was possible to gather. -Stanton felt that Cheung had not fully divulged himself in their talk, -that he knew or suspected far more than he had mentioned. And Stanton -was convinced that there had been grim doings on Motutabu and would be -more. It seemed doubtful if the girl's father was still alive. If he -were not, it would be no easy task to find the pearls. There would be -the girl to comfort and protect. If Loo Fong followed and was again -frustrated of the gems, he might consider the girl a secondary prize, -so much loot for his personal gratification and disposal.</p> - -<p>Small doubt of that, Stanton fancied, remembering the way in which the -half-caste had trailed her. This mission was not the sort in which -a girl should be involved, but he knew that she was fully committed -to it, that Cheung was either willing she should go, or had tried to -dissuade her and failed. Tonight she was safe enough at Cheung's. -Cheung's measure of precaution would baffle even Loo Fong, Stanton felt -certain, and took comfort from it.</p> - -<p>Panakaloa's house was far from a fortress, built in flimsy, tropic -fashion. It held no treasures, the window fastenings were light, the -doors had no bolts. The one to the back garden did not even have a key, -and the garden fence was easily scaled.</p> - -<p>Stanton was a light sleeper. He held a hunch that the night was -breeding some sort of attempt, and he hoped to be ready for it when it -appeared. He dozed in cat-naps, waking intermittently, dropping off -again. Then, a little after midnight, he was roused by some unusual -sound that brought him standing to the floor, gun in hand, listening, -watching. Whatever had wakened him was veiled by sleep, but his -consciousness insisted there had been something.</p> - -<p>There was no moon. The garden lay in mellow, tropic starlight, filled -with deep, soft shadows that shifted shape as the land wind moved -fronds and leafage. He saw nothing else; he stole to the door and -listened, opening it suddenly, finger on trigger.</p> - -<p>It looked as if a great dog were lying down on the threshold. In the -vague light from the window he saw the faint glint of uprolled eyes. It -was Tiki. From gratitude or fidelity, prompted perhaps by some sense -developed in his savage subconsciousness of impending peril, he had -come in from his shed to get as close to his protector as he could.</p> - -<p>"All right, Tiki," Stanton said quietly. "Good boy." It was like -talking to a dog, using tone to convey meaning. Tiki clucked something -in his throat as Stanton closed the door.</p> - -<p>It was not easy to doze again after the thorough rousing. The actions -of the day, filmed in his brain, were automatically projected on the -mental screen.</p> - -<p>He was no longer a derelict. No one would venture to call him or -describe him as a beach bum now. He had decent clothes, money in his -pocket, had fought and won, acquired a cannibal Man Friday, met a girl -who stirred feelings within him that he had never before experienced, -and he was embarked upon a wild enterprise in a savage setting. At last -the flickering flash-backs died out, and his mind became a blank.</p> - -<p>The next thing he knew was a faint draft of air. The door was -open, a dark space where its paint had shown gray. The windows, -opening lengthwise, were apart. He could smell the night blossoms, -<i>ylang-ylang</i>, <i>frangipani</i>. As he swung off the bed something touched -his arm. It was Tiki, crouching low, hardly visible, pointing an arm, -vaguely silhouetted, at the window. Then he darted off, merging with -the gloom, back toward the open door.</p> - -<hr class="tb"> - -<p>The tops of croton bushes came above the sill. The wind moved them, -or was it something else? Stanton sat on the edge of the bed, his gun -ready to cover any intruder, remembering Cheung's caution that shooting -would bring trouble, wondering if he could be plainly seen. He felt -eyes watching him from the shrubbery, thought he could make out some -solid bulk amid the leaves. It was so still, so charged with suspense, -that he could hear the ticking of his watch.</p> - -<p>Then there came a scuffle in the passage. Tiki had attacked, or been -attacked. At any rate, fed, and fortified by having a friendly master, -Tiki was fighting fiercely. Two struggling figures, locked in desperate -battle, rolled into the room.</p> - -<p>Stanton caught the gleam of steel. Tiki had no weapon. He launched -himself from the edge of the bed, smashing at the hand that held the -blade with the muzzle of his gun, trying to locate the intruder's head. -It was an impossible task in the darkness and the fury of the combat. -He could tell only that the man was far bigger than Tiki, and at that, -like Tiki, he was practically naked. He could smell the rank sweat of -him.</p> - -<p>For the moment he had forgotten the window, been forced to leave it -unguarded, suddenly aware of forms rising, writhing over the sill as he -whirled.</p> - -<p>One of them was clothed and burly, the other a stinking savage, rancid -with palm oil, slippery as an eel. A sleeved arm was flung in front of -Stanton, thrust hard against his throat to cut off his wind. He broke -into tumultuous action, grasping the thick wrist with both hands, -turning, stooping, putting all he had into a heaving pull of his back -and shoulders. The weight of his adversary bore him down to one knee, -but Stanton flung him heels over head, crashing into the flimsy bureau; -then Stanton dived for the legs of the third man, and brought him -down across the bed, close to the foot of it, bounding on the springs -beneath the mattress.</p> - -<p>Stanton leaped on him before he could get up or free the knife he -surely carried in his loin-cloth. The native's hands clawed for -Stanton's throat, lacerating the flesh. Stanton gripped one arm, bent -it backward on the iron railing of the bed, bent it until it cracked. -The savage yelled, leaping convulsively in his pain, and rolled to the -floor.</p> - -<p>Tiki and his man were in the doorway again. Stanton heard their panting -grunts, and marveled at Tiki's resistance. The big man he had thrown -was getting up. There was electricity in Suva, and Panakaloa had bulbs -in her house. Stanton had no chance to get at his switch, but suddenly -the passage was illumined and an Amazonian voice angrily demanded what -was going on.</p> - -<p>Panakaloa appeared, a shawl over her voluminous nightgown. She was -brandishing a club that had been part of her skipper husband's -collection of island weapons. The man had Tiki by the throat, squeezing -him until his eyes bulged from their sockets, his tongue protruding. -Panakaloa's club thudded down, and the seeming victor collapsed. -Stanton saw the other native scramble over the sill dangling his broken -arm. The clothed man rose from the ruins of the bureau and flung a -chair at Stanton before he followed. It came legs first, hard enough to -check Stanton's leap.</p> - -<p>The two were gone, smashing through the shrubbery, up to the roof of -Tiki's shed by means of the rain-barrel Panakaloa used for watering her -garden, and over the fence.</p> - -<hr class="tb"> - -<p>Panakaloa and the light had routed them, aside from her by no means to -be despised club. They had no desire for the publicity her indignant -voice and arm might evoke. Stanton did not get a clear look at the face -of the man who had thrown the chair, the room was still in partial -shadow, but he was almost certain it had been Johnson, mate of the -Lehua, and the other two were Solomon Islanders, members of the crew.</p> - -<p>The one still lay senseless from the blow of the hardwood club. He was -as black as Tiki, but bigger; his sharp filed teeth showing in the -relaxed jaw. For a moment Stanton thought Panakaloa had killed him, and -said so. She shook her head.</p> - -<p>"Too much thick, that skull," she answered. "Maybe I crack it li'l. -Serve him right. You want I call police, Sanatoni?" she asked shrewdly.</p> - -<p>"I'd rather not," he answered; and she nodded.</p> - -<p>"We take that trash outside, then," she said. "A fine cheek they got to -come along my house."</p> - -<p>"It's my fault," he told her. "They were after me."</p> - -<p>Whether the mate had been bent on private reprisal or was in league -with Loo Fong to knock him senseless and take him prisoner was -uncertain, and not pertinent now they were foiled. Tiki had balked -their attempt in the beginning; Panakaloa, with her unexpected sortie, -had completed the rout.</p> - -<p>Tiki was massaging his throat, but he grinned. The fight had not -exhausted him. Now that he had become attached to some one, he had shed -much of his misery like an old garment. He helped the two of them bear -the sagging body of the still unconscious man out into the deserted -street and set it down in the lee of a cereus hedge that topped a stone -wall. There was no one in sight, no sound of the other two, and they -left him there.</p> - -<p>"I owe you a bureau, Panakaloa," said Stanton. "I owe you more than -that. You came just in time."</p> - -<p>"Ugh!" grunted Panakaloa contemptuously. "That bureau not much good. -I pay four dollar for that along of junkman." She sat down and began -to laugh, her stout body shaking like a jelly, her eyes rolling upward -while Tiki surveyed her in awe and amazement. "Too much I fool that -<i>kaikanaka</i>. My old man, the <i>kapitani</i>, one time he hit me with that -club. This time I get even. When that black trash wake up he think the -house fall in on him."</p> - -<p>Tiki did not understand what she said, but he grinned widely at her -tone. She insisted upon opening beer for herself and Stanton, and she -gave Tiki a glass, which he tasted suspiciously and then swallowed it -with a comical grimace of surprised delight as he rubbed his stomach. -Native fashion, Panakaloa had strengthened the brew with a slug of -Hollands gin.</p> - -<p>It was beginning to get light when she left them, still chuckling over -her prowess, vastly pleased with herself. Tiki was too proud at what -Stanton said to him, patting his shoulder the while. It was Greek to -the islander, but he knew it for praise.</p> - - -<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop"> - -<div class="chapter"> -<h2 class="nobreak" id="CHAPTER_III">CHAPTER III.</h2> -</div> - -<h3>THE RACE TO MOTUTABU.</h3> - - -<p>Cheung's schooner arrived from Levuka early the next morning, mooring -in the stream at first, then, as the tide served, going to a wharf -remote from the main one where the Lehua still lay. Stanton did not -go near her, but stayed at Cheung's house after breakfast, at the -latter's suggestion, talking with Lucy Haines. From behind the tatties -of split bamboo they saw Loo Fong pass by and glance up, later to -return again.</p> - -<p>Stanton said nothing of what had happened the night before. It did -not seem necessary. Cheung had gone to see about getting the schooner -ready. Tiki was in his shed, waiting to be called for, smoking his new -pipe, a stray no longer.</p> - -<p>Stanton and the girl told each other something of their early life. -Mention of the impending trip made her grave, brought worry to her -eyes. He could tell that she was fighting off doubts of finding her -father. Several times they sat silent, but not out of accord.</p> - -<p>Cheung came back at noon and said they would leave on the ebb after -nightfall. He too had seen Loo Fong. A scout he had sent out reported -that they were taking stores aboard the Lehua. The skipper had gone to -the hospital, Johnson was in command, and the cook had left.</p> - -<p>"They savvy Fahine, my ship," said Cheung. "They savvy she come in. -They watch all same we watch along of them. Maybe we get staht. Long -way to Motutabu; Fahine mo' fast than Lehua. My captain good man. -Suppose wind blow light, you leach island befo' them."</p> - -<p>It was dark when they went on board. The Chinese skipper talked -"pidgin" that was comprehensible. He found a few words of dialect that -Tiki understood, to the black's delight, and sent him forward. The -Chinese sailors, naked above the waist, their feet bare, their heads -bound with bright bandannas, were a piratical-looking lot though their -ordinary occupation was peaceful trading. But they were efficient, -getting the schooner under way to singsong orders from mate and -boatswain, with his whistle, as the captain showed the girl and Stanton -to their quarters.</p> - -<p>The schooner was plainly fitted up, and it smelled of ancient cargoes -of copra, of <i>bêche-de-mer</i>, sharks' fins, turtle shell and pearl -shell, but Cheung had evidently been at some pains to make them -comfortable. There were two cabins aft for them, and the girl's, -especially, had been brightened with rugs and cushions.</p> - -<p>In the main cabin there was a rack for rifles, filled with well oiled -weapons. Stanton had noted appreciatively the tall masts, the narrow -beam, the clean entry and fine lines of the ship. Speed evidently -counted in Cheung's business. In a rush for competitive trade or to be -the first at a new pearling ground, the Fahine would not be a laggard.</p> - -<p>She was well-found, decks clear and clean of litter, ropes coiled, the -ends seized and the rigging well set up. He could hear the quick tread -of the yellow-skinned sailors as they went about the familiar tasks. -Soon she was under way, the wharf sliding past, the lights of Suva -gleaming through the ports.</p> - -<p>The captain came below, deferential.</p> - -<p>"Suppose you likee go topside?" he said. "Can do."</p> - -<p>He was in Chinese clothes, his feet shod; a muscular man with a -typically Mongolian face, sure of himself and authoritative, but -plainly considering them as allies, friends of Cheung Li.</p> - -<p>The wind was fresh from the land, striking them a little abaft the -beam, and they slipped fast through the water, with sheets well -started. Stanton, watching the way she answered helm, surmised that -her bottom was clean. She showed no lights anywhere. The captain took -night-glasses from a hook in the companionway and surveyed the reach -behind them. They were well out of the shipping.</p> - -<p>"No one come," he said laconically. "You like look-see?"</p> - -<p>Stanton took the binoculars, focused them, swept the water between them -and the land. There was nothing moving there. They had got a start, at -least.</p> - -<p>He wondered if the Chinese skipper had been to Motutabu before. -Probably not. But he would have its position, and the Lehua's previous -trip would not advantage them much.</p> - -<p>Their direct course was southeast, the distance something over six -hundred miles. It might take them anywhere from a week to a fortnight -to cover it, for the winds were variable, there were tantalizing calms -and strong currents set up by the action of the tides over the varying -depths and contour of the bottom, where vast expanses of shallows -suddenly changed to vast abysses cleft by submarine peaks and ranges. -Neither schooner had an engine. Luck or fate was going to enter largely -into the affair.</p> - -<p>They lost the land wind and ran into a calm inside of two hours, -working through it at last to strike the southeast trade. The Fahine -was close-hauled and clawed into it, making eight knots, slogging -along at a lively clip with the sheer bows buried at every plunge. It -stiffened to a squall, and the schooner leaned against it, the mainsail -reefed two points, and only a small staysail forward.</p> - -<p>Stanton was a good sailor, and the next morning proved Lucy Haines -was another. All that day they sailed fast under a bright sky, the -crested seas dark sapphires, save where the foam creamed or was blown -in spindrift, and the sun flashed back golden from the facets of the -waves. All day the horizon stayed clear of smoke or sail. The girl's -spirits rose. It began to look as if the Lehua had not got away. Flying -fish rose from the brine, pursued by rushing dolphins; frigate birds -soared free.</p> - -<hr class="tb"> - -<p>The trade set them down, and they regained their easting with short -legs. They had crossed the Kadavu Passage north of the Astrolabe Reefs, -passing between Totoya and Matuku. Now there was no land in sight, -would not be if they kept anywhere near their true course until they -sighted the island of their quest. The Tongas were far to the north -as they headed to cross the Tropic of Capricorn. The wide expanse of -ocean, the run of sparkling water, the clean wind blowing between sea -and sky—it was all physically exhilarating, mentally stimulating, a -tonic for doubt, strengthened by the lonely horizon.</p> - -<p>The two of them had their own mess. The rest ate Chinese food, but they -were served a menu to suit their occidental tastes. Cheung's orders, no -doubt. It was excellently cooked and served. Things aboard the Fahine -ran like clockwork. There was never any confusion. The yellow men went -about their tasks with a will the moment an order was given, without -fumbling, knowing what was wanted.</p> - -<p>It blew harder, the seas mounted, still under the blue sky and bright -sun. They had to lower the mainsail at last and mount a storm staysail -between the two masts, balanced by a rag of a jib. They made more -leeway now. The wind remained southeast, blowing from the quarter they -sought to penetrate as if it was determined to hold them off. It might -have been the breath of the great gray god defending his <i>tabu</i>. But -any wind was better than no wind, unless they had to run before it, and -it did not come to that.</p> - -<p>The weather modified swiftly with a blazing sunset. Stanton came on -deck at midnight to find a heavy swell running, the schooner under -full sail but with only a few flaws of wind that sent her forward -spasmodically. The captain was aft by the starboard rail, motionless. -Stanton offered him one of the cheroots with which Cheung had supplied -him, and the other took it silently.</p> - -<p>He lit it before he spoke.</p> - -<p>"Lil time ago we see ship," he said. "All same this. Gone now. Long way -off."</p> - -<p>"You think it was the Lehua?"</p> - -<p>"No can tell. Maybe. <i>Maskee.</i>"</p> - -<p>It was not indifference. Only the tacit acceptance of conditions, the -Oriental touch of fatalism. He pointed to where a new moon hung like a -nail-paring.</p> - -<p>"Wind go soon. Maybe they get, maybe we catch. <i>Maskee.</i>"</p> - -<p>The word summed up Chinese philosophy. The equivalent of the Russian -<i>nitchevo</i>. It was not the time for direct action, save for the -handling of the ship, which was the plaything of the weather. But later -in the night Stanton, restless, unable to share the <i>maskee</i>-ism of the -skipper, smelled incense. The captain was burning punk sticks before -the joss in the gilded shrine in the cabin. He had his superstitions, -or his faiths.</p> - -<p>The next three days saw them almost motionless. The sea had gone down -and was like glass, reflecting the fiery glare of the sun. Now and then -they saw distant squalls, bursts of rain, ruffled patches of sea, but -they got no breath of wind.</p> - -<p>The horizon was clear again. The Lehua—Stanton held no doubt that the -vessel they had sighted was that schooner, with Loo Fong aboard—might -be experiencing the same conditions, or she might be bowling along out -of the baffling strip.</p> - -<p>A current was steadily setting them east. He envied the -imperturbability of the Chinese; they were used to the vagaries of -the sea, and accepted what they could not alter; but he chafed with -impatience. Lucy Haines kept to her cabin, her meals served there. -Stanton did not disturb her. She was sick, not of body, but of heart. -The punk sticks burned constantly.</p> - -<p>On the fourth morning trade clouds appeared aft, in the northwest. It -was the time of the monsoon changes of wind caused by the difference -in temperature between air and water. There was wind in those vaporous -heights. It revealed itself in a dark line on the water that came fast -toward them as the skipper gave an order and they swung out the booms -in readiness. The breeze caught them, urged them on, sailing wing and -wing, the canvas bellying taut as drums, the lively sea seething all -about them, a broad wake behind, on their course once more, headed -straight for Motutabu.</p> - -<hr class="tb"> - -<p>Stanton noticed Tiki at his usual post, far forward, his eyes always -turned south. He was a different looking savage from the sick creature -curled up on the bale. His skin was glossy and his eyes were bright. -His broad nostrils dilated as if he smelled familiar odors. Stanton -wondered what he was thinking about. If the cook of the Lehua had -spoken truly, his own island held peril for him, but there was no fear -in his eyes. Whenever they looked at Stanton they held gratitude, but -there was a difference, a measure of pride.</p> - -<p>That afternoon the captain cast a light on Tiki.</p> - -<p>"I speak with Tiki," he said, "No savvy too much, but he say one time -he live along Motutabu. His father <i>tahunga</i>, all same wiza'd. Tiki all -same <i>tahunga</i> himself. He speak Motutabu velly bad place stop along. -All time too much bad magic along of big god live that place."</p> - -<p>There was more than that that the skipper had found out by signs and -certain words they both understood. Stanton retailed it later to the -girl, who was again on deck.</p> - -<p>Apparently Tiki's father had run the tribe. Tiki seemed to have been -trained to take his place. Then the god had turned malignant. It was -one of the deities of the South Sea pantheon that had to be placated, -and the sacrifices had failed. There had been an earthquake—"Velly -much shake that island," was the way the captain interpreted it. The -top of a mountain had fallen off and a cape had slid into the sea. The -wizard was blamed. The population escaped in canoes, after killing the -man whose magic had gone wrong. Tiki had been spared for some reason -which was obscure, perhaps because of his youth or because the women -hid him.</p> - -<p>On the tribe's new home he had been suffered to live. A new wizard -manifested himself. There was no god on this island. All went well -save that Tiki was in bad odor. He was an hereditary <i>tahunga</i>, of an -ancient line of wizards, and the new one feared him. Tiki had lived by -himself in the bush, periodically hunted and sought for a sacrifice, -blamed by the new <i>tahunga</i> for every sickness and death. So Tiki had -stolen aboard the Lehua, hoping to escape to some friendlier place at -which they might touch, not knowing what sort of man was in command or -what kind of men were on the ship.</p> - -<p>The curious thing was that he did not seem alarmed because they were -going to Motutabu. The god was an evil god, but he believed fully in -the magic of his dead father. It was the plotting of the man who later -set himself up as <i>tahunga</i> that had annoyed the deity. His father had -understood the god, had taught Tiki secrets concerning it. None but the -ancient line of wizards dared approach it. Its shadow was death to all -others.</p> - -<p>Stanton could see no particular bearing in all this concerning the -finding of Haines and the pearls. But he remembered the warnings of -Cheung not to meddle with the god, and it was evident that the skipper -had gone to much pains to talk with Tiki. Tiki seemed to be acquiring -importance, a card whose value Stanton could not judge, though he -sensed that he might have done something far more significant than -he guessed when he rescued him from the cruelty of the mate. He had -much to learn about Motutabu, much to learn about the god. Even now he -could not quite shake off the feeling that Cheung had not spoken idly. -Strange things happened in the South Seas.</p> - -<p>He understood it a little better with his first close glimpse of -Motutabu.</p> - - -<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop"> - -<div class="chapter"> -<h2 class="nobreak" id="CHAPTER_IV">CHAPTER IV.</h2> -</div> - -<h3>THE JUNGLE TRAIL.</h3> - - -<p>They sighted it at dawn. It revealed itself in the growing light, -before the sun rose above the sea-line, like an image developing on a -negative in the dark room, somber, gradually acquiring definite shape, -a blot against the purple-black of the sky where the stars were winking -out.</p> - -<p>The skipper had found it unerringly; he told them he expected to pick -it up at daylight, and here it was, darkly sinister, spray booming -along iron-bound cliffs, heights veiled in mist. The sound of the surf -rolled back to them as they skirted the coast to the east, seeking for -some place to land. It was not going to be easy, and they held off -until the light strengthened.</p> - -<p>It came with a rush as the disk of the sun rolled up from the tumbling -sea rim, day instantly proclaimed. The island woke to life. Myriads of -birds rose from the cliffs and from tiny, outlying islets; gulls and -gannets, squas and boobies, whirling and screeching, then winging out -to sea to some shoal where they would find good fishing.</p> - -<p>There were other birds, of the land, squawking parrots above the thick -forest that verged the iron walls rising sheer from the spouting sea. -Above the bush lofted three torn pinnacles, fangs that tore the vapors -writhing about them. There were deep cañons here and there, dark in -shadow; small coves; waterfalls, leaping to the beach over sheer -precipices.</p> - -<p>Then they saw the god. A cliff was sharply set back, and they only saw -the upper part of the image, flaring livid red in the sunrise, carved, -it seemed, from the living rock. It was of gigantic proportions, the -art primitive, so primitive it might have been the work of some -futurist, striving to simplify curves and lines, to crystallize -expressions.</p> - -<p>The face was long, a long nose, flattened, bridgeless, but with flaring -nostrils. A wide mouth, thin-lipped, austere, yet subtly sensual, with -the hint of a cruel sneer at the corners. The eyes were carved so that -they suggested a malignant glance as the crimson light blazed full upon -them. The ears touched the narrow shoulders.</p> - -<p>The body, what they saw of it, was misshapen, out of all proportion, -small arms, with the hands resting on knees far apart, deep shadow -between them. It stood out of the cliff in full and startling relief, -infinitely evil, leering. It had a sort of crown, hewn from the summit -of the cliff and the foliage back of this looked like plumes. The whole -aspect was baleful, brooding, gazing out to sea like the old gods at -Easter Island, whose origin and purpose no man has yet discovered.</p> - -<p>The Chinese gazed at it stolidly. The man at the helm paid no attention -and the captain was occupied with the shore line, looking for some spot -where he could send a boat ashore. There was no indication of a lagoon. -The island rose straight from the waves that ravened all about it.</p> - -<p>Tiki's attitude was curious. He squatted on deck and bowed his head to -the planks, in deference rather than fealty. This was his fetish, but -he did not seem to be afraid. The priests of Moloch may have felt no -terror at their horrible, blood-demanding image.</p> - -<p>The girl shuddered, and Stanton had to tell himself sharply that here -was only a thing hewn from lifeless stone. It glared at them and, as -the morning clouds dissolved under the sun, its lips seem to quiver -scornfully.</p> - -<p>"Lifeless, I am," it seemed to say, "yet man-made from things he -sensed, the brooding influences of this solitary isle, born of fire and -smoke, delivered in water. Influences that may still be conjured from -the sea, the sky, the core of the earth. I represent them and I bid you -beware."</p> - -<p>Bizarre and fantastic thoughts these; but the image itself was only -concrete thought. It seemed to proclaim the place dangerous, cynically -warning the intruder. It appeared to hold many tragic secrets, reaching -back through the centuries.</p> - -<hr class="tb"> - -<p>A spur of land, a cape like a high fin, reached out far into the sea. -As they passed it a putrid smell enveloped them. It was like the odor -of a glue factory and it pursued them on the breeze until distance made -it bearable. This was the stench from piles of shell set out long since -to rot so that the shells might be more readily searched for pearls. -The shell itself was valuable.</p> - -<p>Here there was a deep indentation in the island, and placid water -showed behind a foaming barrier of lava reef, not coral, that -paralleled the shore. This must have been the diving ground for the -precious bivalves. The skipper surveyed it narrowly, seeking an -entrance. The reef ended presently, and he came about, hugging the -land, one man casting the lead from the bobstay and chanting out the -depth. It was satisfactory and the tide was with them as they glided -along between the barrier and the shore, once more encountering the -foul odor of decay until they tacked into the cleft and made slowly up -it, foresail down and mainsail peaked, with the current.</p> - -<hr class="tb"> - -<p>They were in a somber water cañon, still in shadow, though, higher up -the fanged peaks glowed in the sunrise and the timber on the loftier -slopes took on vivid coloring. The ravine turned sharply and they saw -a narrow beach lined with dark-green mangroves from which a stream -issued. There were signs of habitation here, a long shed of thatched -roof and wattled walls, two houses of the same type. But there was no -indication of life, no hail. The place lay wrapped in silence as the -Fahine glided slowly on.</p> - -<p>The masts of a vessel showed their tops above water a hundred yards -out—a sunken schooner. It was a depressing sight, but Stanton twisted -a measure of hope from it which he handed to the girl.</p> - -<p>"Loo Fong didn't find the pearls," he said. "I think this means that -your father is still on the island. They sank his ship to prevent his -leaving."</p> - -<p>He tried to make it convincing, and Lucy Haines essayed a pitiful smile.</p> - -<p>"I hope so," she replied, "but why doesn't he show himself? Why doesn't -some one answer?"</p> - -<p>"They may be asleep," he said, and shouted. The echo came back from -the cliff, rebounded from the opposing one. The Chinese captain found -bottom to his liking, the cable slipped out to twelve fathoms, and a -boat was lowered. It was impossible to tell from those yellow faces -what they thought of the situation, but the rowers took rifles with -them, pistols holstered at their belts. Stanton took his automatic and -another revolver. He had shortened a belt for the girl and she also -carried a gun at her hip.</p> - -<p>She had dressed for the landing in breeches and high-laced boots, and -she looked like a tight-lipped boy, her expression much as Stanton -had seen it on the street in Suva. Tiki slid down the fall rope and -squatted in the bows. The captain had given him a knife and a leather -belt in which he thrust it above his <i>sulu</i> kilt.</p> - -<p>The silence was profound. The sea birds had gone, the land birds -settled down. The only sound was the melancholy cooing of doves. In the -water appeared the scything fins of sharks on some mysterious patrol.</p> - -<p>The boat grounded and the rowers hauled it beyond the rise of the -flooding tide. Crabs scuttled along the shingle. Blocks of lava -protruded here and there. Beach vines straggled over black sand.</p> - -<p>Stanton tried to save the girl the sight of the skeletons. There were -six of them, the bones scattered, picked clean by crabs, in front of -the long shed. They lay in plain view, and she uttered a low cry and -halted, then started to hurry forward, checked by Stanton's hand on her -arm.</p> - -<p>"There's no clothing," he said. "Your father's not there." It was scant -comfort. There were a few lengths of cloth, but he thought these the -loin coverings of the men Haines had with him. The grisly objects were -separated as if they had fallen making a stand against invaders. The -yellow men investigated as Stanton led the girl aside. Tiki looked at -the skeletons incuriously.</p> - -<p>The captain reported briefly:</p> - -<p>"They all Kanaka. Some got hole in head. Bullet make. No white man -there."</p> - -<p>Nor anywhere else, it seemed, as they searched the shed, half full of -lustrous shells; the two houses, one of which held some of Haines's -belongings that brought tears to the girl's eyes, though she strove -to check them. Both huts showed signs of search. The winds had erased -all footprints. The shell was valuable, but it had been disdained. It -looked as if the dead men had been wantonly shot down at the first -encounter.</p> - -<p>"He got away," said Stanton. "We'll find him somewhere." But he held -faint hope of finding Haines alive. The atmosphere of murder and sudden -death possessed the place.</p> - -<p>"We'll stay here until we've searched the island," he said to the -captain.</p> - -<p>"Can do," the skipper answered. It seemed a stupendous, futile task. -Towering cliffs, dense jungle and barren, precipitous crags, deep -clefts, hidden valleys, caverns: a myriad places where a man might stow -himself away, or lie dead.</p> - -<p>They spread out, hallooing, looking in all likely spots. The captain -made Tiki understand what they were seeking and he nodded, came to -Stanton, took his hand and set it on his breast, starting off on a -quest of his own, trotting along the beach, disappearing up a ravine -choked with guava scrub. They saw no more of him that day as they -searched without finding any trace of Haines, living or dead. Night -fell with tropic swiftness on their utter lack of success.</p> - -<hr class="tb"> - -<p>The skipper, at least, looked also for the pearls. He had his own -instructions. To Stanton, the discovery of Haines was more important, -even aside from thought of the girl, who had stayed beside him all day -as they tried in vain to solve the riddle of what had happened to her -father. Let them find Haines and, if he was alive, the pearls would be -forthcoming.</p> - -<p>The fear grew on him—he knew it grew on the girl also—that Haines had -been killed by the raiders because he refused to give them up or tell -where he kept them. Only the lack of a body offset this dread and a -body was easily disposed of. He did not try to comfort Lucy Haines; to -do that would be practically an acknowledgment there was no hope. He -got her to eat on the plea that she must keep her strength for renewal -of search the next day.</p> - -<p>They slept aboard. No sail had been in sight up to nightfall. A lookout -had been maintained on a cliff and, since the search had extended to -the crags, they had seen the whole circle of the horizon. They had won -the race down, but their advantage was checked by the search. When Loo -Fong arrived, with Johnson, there was going to be trouble.</p> - -<p>Stanton was up at dawn. He dressed swiftly, going on deck. The girl -was already there, pale from a sleepless night. She was gazing at the -island with an expression of hopelessness that she tried to banish as -she saw Stanton.</p> - -<p>"I'm not going to leave here until I know what has happened to him," -she said, her voice firm, her mouth and chin resolute as she finished -the determined sentence. He did not answer her. There was nothing -to say. He was not going to let her stay alone. The question of -conventions did not enter into the matter. Conventions vanished in -these latitudes.</p> - -<p>"He's all I have," she said. It was in his mind, his heart, to deny -this, but it was not the time for it. Complications were likely to -settle matters, not as they would have them, but as the fates willed. -Motutabu lay in sunshine, but it was emphatically a savage place. The -Chinese had buried the skeletons, but they were not to be forgotten. -Tragedy brooded over the island.</p> - -<p>"We'll have to arrange some sort of systematic search," he said, -foreseeing how impossible was the task. An army, seeking for weeks, -might not hope to unearth the secrets of the wild jungle, impenetrable -in most places. The seabirds were winging out, others shrilling their -morning ecstasy; fish leaped in the water while, up and down, two -sharks roved as if they had tasted blood and scented more.</p> - -<p>"We've got to eat," he said. "It's just a question of fuel."</p> - -<p>"I suppose so," she answered wearily.</p> - -<p>They went below and breakfast was served. Overhead the crew padded -about their tasks, washing down the decks, ordinary duties that they -carried on. Stanton saw two tears on her cheeks as she tried to drink -the strong coffee. She wiped them away, but the drink choked her.</p> - -<p>There was a singsong cry on deck that had a stirring note in it. -Stanton thought that the Lehua must have been sighted.</p> - -<p>"Something's happened," he said. "I'll see what it is." The girl looked -at him, startled. For a moment hope flashed in her eyes and died out -at the sight of his grim face. The captain came hurrying down the -companionway.</p> - -<p>"Tiki!" he said. "He come along beach. I think he find something."</p> - -<p>They raced on deck. The shore boat was ready, the armed rowers in it. -Tiki was at the water's edge, gesticulating, pointing to the heights. -The girl was trembling as the oars bent to the short, sturdy strokes. -She set her hand on Stanton's arm, and he laid his own over it. Her -lips moved silently. He knew that she was praying that her father was -still alive, fighting off the thought of other news.</p> - -<p>"Call to him, please," she asked the skipper, "Ask him if—if—"</p> - -<p>The captain stood up in the stern, handling the steering sweep, and -shouted a few syllables. Tiki shouted back.</p> - -<p>"He alive," said the skipper, and the girl broke down as Stanton put -his arm about her and she set her head against his shoulder and wept in -the revulsion of relief.</p> - -<p>Tiki had found him, with his knowledge of jungle craft, looking for -sign by instinct, finding it where others would have sought in vain. He -pointed out certain places as they trailed him up the ravine in which -he had vanished the night before. Stanton could see little. A fragment -of broken lava, a snapped stem, but the savage had read all unerringly.</p> - -<hr class="tb"> - -<p>They climbed high, following an ancient path hacked through the -bush, the ground hard-beaten, a relic of the time when Tiki lived on -Motutabu. The trees, matted and bound together with undergrowth and -vines, rose on either side like walls. Great orchids swung, brilliant -butterflies hovered about them like living flowers.</p> - -<p>They came to where the trail forked and here was a pyramid of -crumbling skulls. Tiki took the right-hand path. It led to a deserted, -half-ruined village back of walls of coral, in which bamboos grew along -the top. There was a heavy gateway, sagging now, stilted houses, whose -roofs had decayed, the wattled walls torn by the weather, rotting from -the rains.</p> - -<p>There was a sing-sing ground with a great banyan tree, whose boughs -were decked with strings of skulls. One great building had collapsed. -Two stone images had fallen on their faces, tall drumlogs, carven like -totem poles, lay prone. The earthquake had flung them down. The place -was littered with signs of hasty, frenzied flight.</p> - -<p>Tiki led them through this abandoned capital of Motutabu, pressing -on ever upward by paths that the jungle was already reclaiming. They -climbed above the forest and crossed a plateau of high yellow grass -that terminated at a great rift, at the bottom of which was a lake of -dark water, divided into unequal parts by a sharp ridge that led to the -other side. There the crags began.</p> - -<p>It was a narrow and perilous crossing. The volcanic rock was badly -decomposed and it scaled and broke as they passed, the fragments -bounding down to the still water, far below.</p> - -<p>On the other side they came to a ledge and Tiki turned and made -gestures, nodding at them, talking in excited gutturals.</p> - -<p>"He speak we soon find," the captain interpreted.</p> - -<p>They had to go in single file along that narrow way. Once Tiki pointed -to some dark marks on the rock.</p> - -<p>"That blood," said the captain. The girl shuddered and Stanton steadied -her. It was the dry season. Such stains would linger. Haines had been -wounded. Suddenly Tiki stopped where a tangle of vines cascaded down -the cliff that backed the ledge. He drew them aside and disclosed a -narrow cleft, a fissure made ages past in some upheaval.</p> - -<p>It led to a little glen that was merely an oval enlargement of the -fissure. Its sides were thick with moss. Water trickled down and formed -a pool. There was shrubbery, a few trees, guava scrub. The sun never -reached this hidden place in which Haines had found sanctuary. They saw -a little shelter of boughs by the pool and saw him lying there, gaunt, -haggard, his face covered with a beard, his eyes deep sunken, but with -light in them, as the girl gave a cry and ran forward to kneel beside -him.</p> - -<p>He was reduced almost to skin and bone. One shoulder and a foot were -crudely bandaged. His voice was barely audible.</p> - -<p>Stanton had brought along a first-aid kit and a flask of brandy. Lucy -gave some to her father and a faint flush came into his hollow cheeks.</p> - -<p>"I thought you were a ghost," he said faintly. "How did you come here? -It was just in time. I wouldn't have lasted—much longer—my dear."</p> - -<p>He closed his eyes and Stanton thought he was gone, but the pulse still -fluttered feebly. The girl gave him more brandy.</p> - -<p>"He's starved," she said. "We must get him down to the boat. Thank God -he's still alive!" The pearls were forgotten. The Chinese captain had -got a fire started. One of the crew put on some water to heat.</p> - -<p>"We'll have to be careful how we feed him," said Stanton. "I've got -some beef cubes. We'll have to make a litter, and those wounds should -be looked to. He doesn't seem to have any fever."</p> - -<p>In the hope of Tiki's discovery they had brought up certain equipment, -including the utensil in which the water was warming. The girl -dissolved the cubes and added a little brandy, while Stanton unbound -the foot. A bullet had gone through the small bones. The wound showed -in a purple pucker. There had been inflammation, but, with the fever, -it had been starved out of him. The lead had passed through and there -was no infection. It was the same with the shoulder. Haines was -terribly weak, but he had been a strong man and he had survived.</p> - -<p>He managed to swallow the beef tea. It was all they dared allow him. -Stanton cleansed the wounds and temporarily dressed and bandaged them. -The litter was being made by the sailors. Haines insisted upon talking. -Stanton thought it might be better for him than repression.</p> - -<hr class="tb"> - -<p>"They nearly got me," he said. "They got my men. They'd have had me but -for chance. They came early in the morning expecting to catch us all -asleep, and they butchered my boys, without giving them a chance. I saw -it and could do nothing. They were after the pearls. They couldn't have -found them. They tortured two of my men to find out, but they didn't -know. It was the Lehua. They were all in it, but it was Loo Fong who -brought them. I nearly got him. It was this way—let me talk, Lucy, I -haven't talked for days, not since I went out of my head.</p> - -<p>"I wanted meat. There are goats up here in the crags and I came up -overnight to get a kid or two. We were running short of grub, you see, -and were pretty well fed up on fish. We were going back in a few days. -We cleaned the patches and were rotting out the last of the shell. A -lot of pearls. We're rich, Lucy. Luck's turned, after all.</p> - -<p>"I saw the schooner coming in. I didn't recognize it. Thought at first -Cheung had sent it. I didn't suspect anything, but started down the -mountain. There's a place across the grass where you can see the beach. -Time I got there, they had anchored and were sending a boat ashore. -They were all like ants from the height. I saw my men come out of their -hut and run back again. Those devils were armed, of course, and they -didn't even wait to parley. Some of them went to my house. Then the -butchery started. My boys were not armed. I had my rifle with me. I had -one extra clip along. It was all over in a few minutes and I couldn't -help them. They'd have got me if I had been there. I ran down the trail -when I saw what was happening and then they started up after me. I -suppose they got out of one of my men that I was up here after goats. -They burned the men's feet in the fire, damn them.</p> - -<p>"One has to keep to the trails. I started back for the crags. They -beat all through the grass and then they started to cross the big gap. -I fired at them, hit one of them. He fell into the lake. That was a -mistake, I suppose; it gave me away; but I was seeing red. On the -next shot my rifle jammed. They came over and they hunted me all day, -spreading out. The crew were black men and it was easy work for them. -They sighted me three times. Once they hit me, in the shoulder.</p> - -<p>"I saw they'd get me sooner or later. I couldn't stay in the crags. -They had me nearly surrounded, but I got past them, down to the ledge -just below here. My only chance was to bolt across the ridge. But they -spotted me. They had me on the ledge. I knew who they were then. It -was Loo Fong who hit me in the foot as I bolted for cover. I didn't -feel it for the moment, though I had a shoeful of blood. I was bleeding -from the shoulder, weak. I dodged out of sight and then I saw my last -chance. I knew the cleft, though I had never been up it. A wounded dove -flew into it one day and I had gone after it. I thought the vines might -hide me. There was a loose bowlder on the ledge and I shoved it over -and dodged into the crevice. The rock went crashing down to the lake -and they thought it was my body.</p> - -<p>"They came down to the ledge and looked at the place. I heard Loo Fong -cursing. They stayed there for a little while and then went away, -swearing. I suppose they tried to find the pearls, but they couldn't -get down to the lake. I crawled up to this place presently, bandaged -my foot at the pool, and my shoulder. They both got pretty bad after -awhile. I made this shelter, I got some guavas, and lived off them and -the <i>olehau</i> berries. I couldn't walk, and fever set in. I don't know -how long I've been here; I was delirious."</p> - -<p>The litter was ready. They set Haines in it, a light weight for all -his big frame, and he lay there exhausted as two of the crew swung him -up and they started down, Lucy as close to her father as the trail -permitted.</p> - -<p>They crossed the ridge and the grassy plain, coming to the place he had -spoken of where they could see the beach and their schooner. There was -another ship coming round the bend—the Lehua! They saw the two men -left on board the Fahine jump into a small boat and row ashore. They -were fired at from the Lehua. The reports came up in tiny cracks of -sound, but the two reached the beach and bolted for the jungle.</p> - -<p>A boat crammed with men put off from the raiding vessel.</p> - -<p>They were hampered with the wounded Haines. They had to get him into -safety. Stanton's blood boiled at sight of the invaders.</p> - -<p>"We fight them," said the skipper. "Can do. If not, they sink ship, all -same his." Tiki was jabbering.</p> - -<p>"He say take him along god," said the captain. "He speak it safe place. -He speak God fixee. Cave along that place."</p> - -<p>Tiki nodded emphatically. Stanton thought of Cheung's warning, spoke of -it to the captain.</p> - -<p>"I savvy. All same I think Tiki talk plopeh."</p> - - -<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop"> - -<div class="chapter"> -<h2 class="nobreak" id="CHAPTER_V">CHAPTER V.</h2> -</div> - -<h3>THE SHADOW OF THE GOD.</h3> - - -<p>There was no time for delay. They had to do something. To take the -offensive was the best plan. Tiki pointed out the opening of an almost -closed jungle trail. They went into it, going as fast as they dared, -working toward the far side of the promontory, making for the image.</p> - -<p>They came out beneath it at last, at the foot of the towering -sculpture. It stood facing a paved terrace, set with flat stones. Great -stones had been piled in two walls that left a passageway to the feet -of the god. There was a space between his knees. Tiki led the way in.</p> - -<p>It was a high chamber into which light filtered down from some opening -above where growth masked it. The sides were roughly hewn here and -there into dim shapes. There was a flat rock near the entrance on which -was set another one from which protruded long timbers, capstan fashion. -Tiki pointed to these.</p> - -<p>"He say can fixee tlap so no one come in," said the skipper.</p> - -<p>Tiki nodded, gesturing. Stanton thought he grasped his meaning.</p> - -<p>"All right," he said. "Better send out your men to try and flank that -outfit. I'll stay here with Miss Haines and her father. We'll keep -Tiki."</p> - -<p>They went out, going along the terrace, disappearing in the trees, -yellow men intent on battle. The litter was set down on the cavern -floor.</p> - -<p>Tiki caught hold of one of the timbers set in the stone, motioning to -Stanton who set his chest against one opposite. The girl did the same -thing with a third. They heaved, without result, put out all their -strength in straining effort. The stone began to turn, more readily -after the first movement. There was a grating sound beneath their feet.</p> - -<p>Tiki stepped back, grinning. Sweat covered him. Stanton and the girl -were panting with their efforts, their clothing wet with perspiration. -Tiki beckoned Stanton to come to the mouth of the cave and he followed -him. There was nothing to see but the empty terrace, the waving woods. -But Tiki was satisfied. He pointed at the great slabs before them, -gesturing.</p> - -<p>Doves cooed. The girl was ministering to her father who was saying -something. Then there came the sound of shots, close at hand. Report -after report, singly and scattering volleys. They were quite a distance -off, but they came nearer. Then died away. Again they broke out, down -by the beach, it seemed.</p> - -<p>Then the two Chinese who had come ashore bolted out of the bush, -carrying their rifles, glancing back. They looked toward the image and -sped on without seeing Stanton or Tiki. Tiki grasped him by the arm -and drew him in the shadows. He did not want the Chinese to enter the -cavern. The girl came and stood beside Stanton.</p> - -<p>"Father is sleeping," she said. "I heard the shots."</p> - -<p>"We're safe, so far," he said. "Tiki and the god have set some sort of -a trap. The trouble is, it may work both ways." Whatever the device -was he could see that they might be besieged, held there, without -provisions, without water, unless the yellow men conquered.</p> - -<p>The Chinese were willing enough, capable enough, he fancied, though he -had never seen them shoot. On the other hand, the crew of the Lehua -were Solomon Islanders, used to brush warfare, trained fighters, a -savage and blood-thirsty outfit, though the Chinese might match them -there. When they took to piracy or banditry they were ruthless enough. -He imagined the forces might be about evenly matched, but the nature -of the ground would break the fighting up more or less into individual -skirmishes.</p> - -<p>There was silence again. Haines was resting. With care there would be -no question of his recovery, but if Loo Fong got the best of it their -fates would all be sealed. What would happen to Lucy he dared not -consider. They could put up a desperate fight at the last, if they got -a chance. There was no exit to the cave, no possible way to climb to -the rift.</p> - -<p>Doves cooed. The shadows shifted. Once in awhile they heard a distant -shot. The forces were split up now, it seemed. Stanton thought of the -captain's fear their schooner might be sunk, as Haines's had been. It -was a very real peril. He wanted to be out in the vessel, but he could -not leave the girl or Haines alone.</p> - -<p>Tiki was complacent. He seemed assured that the god in whose belly they -were hidden, would properly protect them. He had gone inside, to squat -in front of one of the carved figures, passing from that to another. -They could hear him chanting monotonously. He had come back to his old -home again and he was renewing fealty. This had been the fetish of his -father, the wizard, and Tiki was a born <i>tahunga</i>, in his veins the -blood of generations of sorcerers who had served a weird priesthood to -this ancient statue which far antedated their own original migration to -this island.</p> - -<hr class="tb"> - -<p>It was cool inside. Without, the sun blazed down fiercely. The shadows -retreated as the fiery orb mounted toward the zenith. It wheeled out of -their sight and the shadow of the cliff, the shadow of the image, began -to stretch out over the paving between the walls of stone that shut out -much of their view.</p> - -<p>Tiki came back to the entrance, hunkering down. From some place known -to him he had taken weird paraphernalia. He had daubed himself with -white and yellow and black, there was an apron about his middle that -was made of human hair. He wore a necklace of knuckle-bones, a skullpan -hung upon his chest and his arms and legs were decked with circlets -of shell and bone and fiber. He had been in his father's make-up -repository, Stanton thought.</p> - -<p>With him he had brought something that looked like a queer-shaped -basket of plaited strips of pliable cane, like matting. He took no -notice of them apart, remote, droning out some incantations, watching -the creeping shadow.</p> - -<p>Stanton remembered something Cheung had said about the shadow of the -god. The shadows of all sacred things, even of chiefs, were <i>tabu</i>. To -walk in them was death. Yet the shadow of the god fell only at certain -hours. Tiki could not have timed any attack that might take place. The -combatants seemed to have lost sight of each other, hunting along the -trails, hiding in the bush. But Tiki seemed waiting for something with -a curious certainty. To him the god was infallible.</p> - -<p>Stanton told himself that it was only a barbaric, colossal carving, but -even as he held the thought, another came, suggesting that he should -have faith. Civilization seemed now to be an unreal thing. They were -back in the stone age, to which the island and its departed inhabitants -belonged. A superstitious feeling possessed him, not one of fear. The -shadow lengthened and still the island was wrapped in silence.</p> - -<p>Suddenly he thought he saw the solid forest waver to and fro. The legs -of the god, portals to the cave, appeared to move. A tremor ran through -the ground and there was a low muttering as of thunder, a hollow -rumbling from inside the cave. The girl started up and would have gone -inside to her father, but he restrained her. The place might fall in.</p> - -<p>Motutabu had once flamed, been thrust up with its riven crags in smoke -and steam. Lava had flowed. Now those fires were clogged, the craters -choked, but, far below, the interior wrath still raged. This was a -<i>temblor</i>, one of the earthquakes that intermittently shook the peaks -that had been lifted from the sea. This was a slight shock. No other -followed and he let her enter. Haines was still sleeping.</p> - -<p>Tiki had risen. To him it was a manifestation that the god was pleased -that a faithful believer had returned. He stood erect with the dignity -of an oracle. As Stanton watched him he took the strange basketry and -placed it over his head. It was a hood that fell below his shoulders. -It had trunklike appendages, two holes for eyes that were glazed by -fish bladders. It turned him to a grotesque and terrible figure, like a -great squid. As he moved, the wicker tentacles writhed.</p> - -<p>Something was going to happen. Stanton felt it in his bones. Not -another quake. He saw the shadow vanish, melt away, as if the sun had -been veiled. Then it appeared again, sharp and distinct. Tiki's chant -grew louder, ceased as there came the sound of a brisk fusillade.</p> - -<p>Men were coming from the woods, firing back at enemies still hidden. -They came into view between the walls. The Chinese captain and his -men—fewer now—retreating, kneeling to take aim, then running to kneel -again. They passed and, with savage yells, the black men from the Lehua -burst into view, charging, Johnson and Loo Fong at their head.</p> - -<hr class="chap"> - -<div class="figcenter"> - <img src="images/illus.jpg" alt=""> - <div class="caption"> - <p><i>With savage yells, the black men from the pirate schooner burst into view.</i></p> - </div> -</div> - -<hr class="chap"> - -<p>Tiki sent out a yell of defiance, ululating, weird and shrill as it -issued from a reeded mouthpiece in the mask. Loo Fong halted and -turned, Johnson with him. They stared for a moment and then they saw -the girl, who had come, unnoticed by Stanton, to the entrance. Stanton -swept her aside, flattening her against the curve of the image's -colossal leg, taking place himself on the opposite side as bullets came -whining toward them. Tiki had seemingly betrayed them.</p> - -<p>He had not moved. He was untouched and again he sent out that piercing -challenge as Loo Fong cried out an order and the savage outfit came -racing up between the walls, firing their pistols. Now Tiki stepped -inside, unhit.</p> - -<hr class="tb"> - -<p>Stanton fired back to stem the stampede. They came leaping on. Lucy -Haines fired with him and a black staggered and fell. Johnson was -struck, but it did not check him. Their bullets were entering the -cave, splaying gray streaks on the rock. Stanton pulled trigger on his -last cartridge, missing Loo Fong whose evil face was lit with triumph. -They were on the last great slab when Tiki reappeared, sounding his -whistling howl.</p> - -<p>Stanton saw the rear half of the big slab tilt upward. The whole stone -was balanced and it rose smoothly, inexorably. A gulf opened and out of -it came a moaning sound like the wash of the sea, far below.</p> - -<p>Johnson and Loo Fong were pitched forward, their faces twisted with -sudden terror. The angle became acute, and they slid down, dropping -their weapons, crouching, clawing uselessly. The mate pitched forward, -plunged into the gap. Loo Fong made a desperate spring as he squatted -there like a toad. His fingers clutched the nigh edge, the sill of the -cave entrance, clung there.</p> - -<p>The stone swung on, up and over in a complete revolution. Its edge -smashed the fingers of the half-caste and the slab closed him in, -leaving bloody smears and remnants on the threshold. There were only -the black men left and they stood in a huddled mob before they broke -and ran, some trying to climb the walls, appalled at this manifestation -of the god.</p> - -<p>It was the slab of sacrifice, used on ceremonial occasions where -victims were demanded; set as a trap for the unwary, for meddlers.</p> - -<p>Tiki had lured them on. He had provided sacrifice. He had appeased the -long, unsated appetite of his god, and thus established his priesthood. -He had saved Haines, his daughter and Stanton, but they had been bait -for the victims.</p> - -<p>He had won the day.</p> - -<p>The yellow men were coming back, firing at the terrified blacks. The -fight had gone out of the islanders. They could not battle with gods. -Man after man went down, and then the slaughter swept past and out of -view.</p> - -<p>Tiki touched Stanton on the shoulder. He had taken off the mask and he -went back to the moving capstan stone that had triggered the trap. They -took hold of the pole and revolved it.</p> - -<p>The grating sound died away and Tiki walked through the entrance, out -on the slab, now firm again, turning to crouch and lower his head to -the rock in salutation and obeisance.</p> - -<p>A hail came from the end of the causeway. It was the Chinese skipper -with two of his men. Stanton advanced to meet them.</p> - -<p>"They all dead!" he said complacently. There was blood on his clothes -and his hands, but his face was clear of all emotion. "Tiki, he fixee. -All samee stone give way, I think."</p> - -<p>It was over. Two of the Chinese were wounded, one seriously. A third -was dead. The captain mentioned it casually. It was all in the day's -work.</p> - -<p>"Now we catch pearl and go," he said. "Mo' good we sink Lehua. No can -take. Too muchee talk, too muchee bobbely that make."</p> - -<p>Stanton had forgotten all about the pearls. It had probably been the -prime issue in the mind of the skipper. Haines was an incident. He -possessed a share if he lived, but that was Cheung's private business. -Bringing back the pearls was the captain's affair, whether he found -Haines or not. Stanton and the girl, Haines and Tiki, were pawns to the -captain.</p> - -<p>Cheung, Stanton fancied, was not so cold-blooded, but Cheung was an -exceptional Chinaman.</p> - -<p>They took up the litter as the rest arrived and marched back, past the -out-sprawled corpses of the black men, more sacrifices to the great, -gray god. Haines awakened from his semi-stupor, seemingly refreshed. He -would recover, though he would probably be lame. Stanton ordered him -sent off immediately to the ship with Lucy, to occupy Stanton's own -cabin.</p> - -<p>"Catch pearl first," said the captain.</p> - -<p>Haines smiled for the first time.</p> - -<p>"I think they're safe," he said. "There in that pool over there. It is -only half-filled at high tide. Moisture wouldn't hurt them, anyway. But -there's a crevice near the top, on this side. They're in there, in an -oilskin sack. The hole is plugged with seaweed."</p> - -<p>They were safe, a bag half-filled with softly shimmering gems of the -sea, slightly iridescent, oval, round, pear-shaped, symmetrical, a few -of them pink in luster. Stanton could not estimate them, but he knew -they represented a fortune. Haines fingered them.</p> - -<p>"You can keep some of them, my dear," he said to Lucy. "A third of them -are mine. We'll sell what you don't want."</p> - -<p>"Sell all of them," she said. "They have cost too much. I couldn't wear -them."</p> - -<p>The skipper talked with Tiki, who stood apart. Then he came to Stanton.</p> - -<p>"Tiki speak he stay along this place," he said. "He like we set up -those dlum and those image topside along sing-sing glound."</p> - -<p>Stanton looked at Tiki who walked toward him and once more took -Stanton's hand and placed it over his heart. Then he pointed to the -mountain, toward the god, now hidden by the cape.</p> - -<p>The gesture, the desire, were unmistakable. He had come home. Solitude -did not bother him. Later he might adventure, bring back a woman, or a -dusky harem, but this was his land, his god.</p> - -<p>He did not belong in Suva, nor on the other island from which he had -fled. Motutabu was his abidingplace, as priest to the graven image.</p> - -<p>They left him later, his wishes carried out, standing on the beach, -motionless. Stanton felt that they owed him much, but he had owed a -debt to Stanton for his rescue. He would have died in Suva. And he had -paid his debt. He and the god.</p> - -<p>The sunset was flaming back of the island when they made out to sea, -two sunken schooners in the bay. Tiki had been presented with the -stores of the Lehua, all that he selected.</p> - -<p>The face of the image was no longer flaming as they had first seen it. -It was gray now, somber but serene. From the mountain came the deep -sound of a reverberating drum.</p> - -<hr class="tb"> - -<p>"What you going to do now?" Cheung asked Stanton as they sat in the -chamber over the restaurant. Haines was under medical care, a rich man, -content to limp, since he could well afford to ride.</p> - -<p>"I don't know," Stanton answered. "I'm at a loose end." Cheung smiled, -nodded toward the inside rooms where Lucy Haines was talking with -Cheung's wife.</p> - -<p>"Suppose you ask missy?" he said. "These belong along you. If you like -I buy them flom you. Give good plice."</p> - -<p>He took a leather sack from his capacious sleeve and poured out pearls -into a lacquered bowl. They filled a third of it with milky radiance.</p> - -<p>"You, me, Haines, all same divide," said Cheung. "These velly fine -pearl. Fifty-sixty thousan' dollah. Why you not ask missy?"</p> - -<p>"I think I'll take your advice," said Stanton. The trip back had been a -happy one. He was not without foundation for the hope that Lucy might -be interested in what he did and where he went.</p> - -<p>He was no longer a derelict, no longer in danger of being a beach bum. -He was a man of substance.</p> - -<p>"You ask now," said Cheung. "I call my wife. I wish you plenty luckee."</p> - - -<p class="ph2">THE END.</p> -<div style='text-align:center'>*** END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK 78475 ***</div> -</body> -</html> diff --git a/78475-h/images/cover.jpg b/78475-h/images/cover.jpg Binary files differdeleted file mode 100644 index 12d8e99..0000000 --- a/78475-h/images/cover.jpg +++ /dev/null diff --git a/78475-h/images/illus.jpg b/78475-h/images/illus.jpg Binary files differdeleted file mode 100644 index d06bee9..0000000 --- a/78475-h/images/illus.jpg +++ /dev/null diff --git a/LICENSE.txt b/LICENSE.txt index 6c72794..b5dba15 100644 --- a/LICENSE.txt +++ b/LICENSE.txt @@ -7,5 +7,5 @@ the "Copyright How-To" at https://www.gutenberg.org. No investigation has been made concerning possible copyrights in jurisdictions other than the United States. Anyone seeking to utilize -this eBook outside of the United States should confirm copyright +this book outside of the United States should confirm copyright status under the laws that apply to them. @@ -1,2 +1,2 @@ -Project Gutenberg (https://www.gutenberg.org) public repository for eBook #78475 -(https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/78475) +Project Gutenberg (https://www.gutenberg.org) public repository for +book #78475 (https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/78475) diff --git a/README.txt b/README.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000..027c3bb --- /dev/null +++ b/README.txt @@ -0,0 +1 @@ +Removed as a duplicate of #77501.
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