The Strange Adventure Of James Shervinton Read online

  CHAPTER III

  We, Niabon, Tematau and myself, were undisturbed by any visitorsduring the night, for the storm increased in violence, and, as daylightapproached, the clamour of the surf upon the reef was somethingterrific. About four in the morning, however, there came such athunderous, sudden boom that the island seemed shaken to its coralfoundations, and Niabon declared that the storm had broken.

  "That is what the people of the Tokelau Islands call _O le fati legalu_--the last great wave, that gathering itself together far out onthe ocean, rushes to the reef, and curling high up as the mast of aship, falls and shakes the land from one side to the other."

  The girl knew what she was talking about, for from that moment the furyof the wind sensibly decreased, and half an hour later we were ableto open the door and gaze out upon the sea, still seething white withbroken, tumbling surf?

  Walking down to my boat-house, I found that the boat herself was notinjured in any way, though most of the roof had been blown away. Thenfeeling that my usual attack of ague was coming on, I returned to thehouse, and found that Niabon had made my coffee.

  I drank it, and then wrapped myself up in a couple of blankets inreadiness for the first touch of that deadly, terrible chill whichseems to freeze the marrow in the bones of any one who is sufferingfrom malarial fever. Niabon watched me gravely, and then came and stoodbeside me.

  "Mr. Sherry," she said, this time speaking in English, "why don't youlet me give you some medicine to cure you of that fever? I _can_ cureyou."

  "I believe you can, Niabon," I replied; "you certainly mesmerised mewhen I was at Krause's station that day, and I awakened feeling a lotbetter."

  "What is 'mesmerise'?" she asked quickly.

  "Sending any one to sleep, as you did me."

  "I can always do that," she said simply, "and so could my mother."

  "Can you make me sleep now?"

  "Not just now. Wait till the col' fit has gone. And then when you arewake up I shall have some medicine ready for you, and then you shallhave no more fever."

  My attack of ague lasted about half an hour, and left me with the usualsplitting headache and aching bones. When I was able to turn myself, Isaw that Niabon was seated beside Tematau dressing his lacerated backwith some preparation of crushed leaves. She heard me move, turnedher head, and smiled, and said she would be with me in a few moments.Although my head was bursting with pain, I watched her with interest,noting the tenderness with which her smooth, brown fingers touched hercompanion's body. When she had finished she rose, carefully washed anddried her shapely hands, and came over to me.

  "Give me thy hand," she said in the native dialect, as she knelt besidemy couch.

  I gave her my left hand. She clasped it firmly but softly, and then thefingers of her right hand gently pressed down my eyelids.

  "Sleep, sleep long."

  As I felt the gentle pressure of her hand down my face, my throbbingtemples cooled, and in a minute, or even less, I sank into a dreamlessand profound slumber.

  When I awakened it was past nine o'clock, and I found that my own twonative servants, who slept in the village, had prepared my breakfast,and were seated beside Tematau, talking to him.

  "Where is Niabon?" I asked.

  They told me that she had gone away in search of some plant, or plants,with which to compound the medicine she was making for me. She returnedearly in the forenoon, carrying a small basket in which I saw a coil ofthe long creeping vine called '_At 'At_ by the natives, and which growsonly on the sandiest and most barren soil.

  "Have you been sleep well, Mr. Sherry?" she inquired.

  "Indeed I did sleep well," I replied, "and, more than that, I have eatena better breakfast than I have for many weeks."

  She nodded and showed me the contents of her basket, and then seatingherself at the table, ate a small piece of ship biscuit and drank a cupof coffee. It was then that I noticed for the first time that she was,if not beautiful, a very handsome woman. Her face and hands were areddish brown, darkened the more by the sun, for I could see under thethin muslin gown that she was wearing, that her arms and shoulders wereof a much lighter hue, and I felt sure that she had some white bloodin her veins. Her hair was, though somewhat coarse, yet long, wavy, andluxuriant, and was coiled loosely about her shapely head, one thick folddrooping over her left temple, and shading half of the smooth foreheadwith its jet-black and gracefully arched eyebrows. This is as much as Ican say about her looks, and as regards her dress, that is easyenough to describe. She invariably wore a loose muslin or print gown,waistless, and fastened at the neck; underneath this was the ordinarySamoan _lava lava_ or waist-cloth of navy blue calico. Her gown,however, was better made, and of far better material than those wornby the native women generally; in fact she and Mrs. Krause dressed muchalike, with the exception that the latter, of course, wore shoes,and Niabon's stockingless feet were protected only by rude sandals ofcoco-nut fibre such as are still worn by the natives of the Tokelaus andother isolated and low-lying islands of the Equatorial Pacific.

  After making and smoking a cigarette she set about compounding my fevermixture by first crushing up the coil of '_At 'At_ and then expressingthe thick colourless jelly it contained into the half of a coco-nutshell, which she placed on some glowing embers, and fanned gently tillit began to give off steam. Then taking half a dozen ripe Chili berries,she pounded them into a pulp between two stones, added them to the '_At'At_, and stirred the mixture till it boiled.

  "That is all, Simi," she said, as she removed the shell from the fire,and set it aside; "when it is cool enough to drink, you must takeone-fourth part; another when the sun is _tu'u tonu iluga_ (rightoverhead), and the rest to-night."

  I thanked her, and promised to carry out her instructions, and thensaid--

  "Why do you talk to me in three different languages, Niabon? I like tohear you speak English best, you speak it so prettily."

  Not the ghost of a smile crossed her face, and she replied in Samoanthat she did not care to speak English to any one who understood Samoan,or indeed any other native language. "I am a native woman," she addedsomewhat abruptly, "and English cometh hard to my tongue."

  I said nothing further on the subject, fearing I might vex her, althoughI felt pretty sure that she was _not_ a full-blooded native. However,I had no right to worry her with questions, and if she preferred to bethought a native it was no business of mine.

  As soon as my medicine had cooled a little, I took my first dose. Ittasted like Hades boiled down, and made me gasp for breath. Then Niabonbade me wrap myself up in all the rugs and blankets I could procure,and undergo a good perspiration, assuring me that I should have no moreattacks of the dreaded ague after the second dose. Calling one of mynative servants, a big hulking native named Tepi, to come and roll me uppresently, I first went over to Tematau, and asked him how he was doing,and as I stooped down to examine his head, and see if the dressing wasall right, a heavy booted footstep sounded outside, and Krause walkedin.

  One look at his face showed me that he was labouring with suppressedpassion, though trying hard to conceal it.

  "Good morning," I said without advancing to him; "take that chair overthere, please. I just want to look at this fellow's head for a moment."

  He stalked over to the chair I indicated and sat down, and a suddenspasm of rage distorted his face when he saw Niabon. She was seated atthe further end of the room, her chin resting on her hand, and lookingat him so steadily and fixedly that he could not but have resented hergaze, even if his mind were undisturbed by passion. Tematau, too,turned his head, and shot his master a glance of such deadly fury that Imurmured to him to keep quiet. I rapidly revolved in my mind what courseto pursue with our visitor, who, though I could not see his face, was, Ifelt, watching my every movement.

  "That will do," I said to my patient in the island dialect, which Krauseunderstood and spoke thoroughly; "lie down again. In a few days thouwilt be able to walk."

  "By God, he's going to walk _now_," said Kr
ause, rising suddenly, andspeaking in a low, trembling tone. I motioned to him to sit down again.He shook his head and remained standing, his brawny hand grasping theback of the chair to steady himself, for every nerve in his body wasquivering with excitement.

  "What is the matter, Mr. Krause?" I said coldly, though I was hot enoughagainst him, for he was armed with a brace of navy revolvers, beltedaround his waist. "Won't you sit down?"

  "No, I won't sit down," he answered rudely.

  "Very well, then, stand," I said, seating myself near him.

  Then I pointed to the pistols in his belt. "Mr. Krause, before you tellme the business which has brought you here, I should like to know whyyou enter my house carrying arms? It is a most extraordinary thing thatone white man should call on another armed with a brace of pistols,especially when the island is quiet, and white men's lives are as safehere as they would be in London or Berlin."

  "I brought my pistols with me because I thought I might have troublewith the natives over that fellow there," he said sullenly, pointing toTematau.

  "Then you might have left them outside; I object most strongly to anyone marching into my house in the manner you have done."

  He unbuckled his belt, and with a contemptuous gesture threw the wholelot outside the door.

  "Thank you, Mr. Krause," I said, "I feel more at ease now, so will youkindly tell me the object of your visit?"

  "I've come to get that swine Tematau. I pay him. He is my man. I shalltolerate no interference. I shall take him back to Taritai" (the nameof the village where he lived) "if I have to fight my way out of thisvillage of yours and kill fifty of your niggers."

  "Steady yourself, Mr. Krause, and don't say 'your niggers' soemphatically. In the first place I have but two native servants, notfifty, but either of those two would very much resent your calling him a'nigger.' You know as well as I do that to call a native of this island,or of any other island of the group, a nigger, is so grossly insultingthat his knife would be out in an instant."

  "Ah, you and I have different ideas on the subject," he said sneeringly;"but that does not matter to me at the moment. My paid servant hasabsconded from my service, and I have come to get him. That is plainenough, isn't it?"

  "Quite. But I am an Englishman, Mr. Krause, and not to be easily bluffedbecause a man comes stamping into my house with a brace of pistols inhis belt."

  "I did not come here to argue. I came here for that nigger--myproperty."

  "Your _property!_ Is the man a slave? Now, look here, Mr. Krause; youhave used the man so brutally that he is unable to stand on his feet. Heand the girl----"

  "I don't want the girl, and I daresay you do," he said, with a sneeringlaugh that made me long to haul off and hit the fellow between the eyes;"she's a nuisance, and if I ever again see her prowling about my houseand practising her infernal fooleries on my wife, I'll put a bulletthrough her. But the man I _will_ have."

  "Stop!" I cried warningly, as he took a step toward the sick man, "stop,before you run yourself into mischief. Listen to me. I have but to raisemy hand and call, and you will find yourself trussed up fore and aft toa pole like a pig, and carried back to your village."

  "Out of my way," he shouted hoarsely, as with blazing eyes he tried tothrust me aside.

  "Back, man, back!" I cried. "Are you mad? The natives here will kill youif you attempt to force----"

  "And I'll kill you, you meddlesome English hog," he said through his setteeth, and, before I could guard, his right hand shot out and graspedme by the throat, and he literally swung me off my feet and dashed meagainst the centre posts of the house with such violence that I wentdown in a heap.

  Hand shot out and grasped me by the throat 054]

  When I came to a few minutes afterwards, Tepi was supporting me on hisknees, and Niabon was putting some brandy to my lips. The house wasfull of natives, who were speaking in suppressed but excited tones. Iswallowed the brandy, and then, as Tepi helped me to rise, the nativessilently parted to right and left, and I saw something that, half-dazedas I was, filled me with horror.

  Krause lay on his back in the centre of the room, his white duck clothessaturated with blood, which was still welling from three or four woundsin his deep, broad chest. I went over to him. He was dead.

  Krause lay on his back in the centre of the room 058]

  "Who hath done this?" I asked.

  "I, master," and Tematau placed an ensanguined hand on mine.

  "And I," said a softer voice, and Niabon's eyes met mine calmly."Tematau and I together each stabbed him twice."

  As soon as I was able to pull myself together, I desired all the nativesbut three of the head men to leave, and then, after the unfortunateGerman's body was covered from view by a large mat, I asked theprincipal man of the village to tell me what he knew of the tragedy.

  "I know nothing," was his reply. "Niabon can tell thee."

  Niabon, in response to my inquiring glance--I was shaking from head tofoot as I looked at her, but her calm, quiet eyes as she looked intomine restored my nerve--spoke clearly.

  "The German dashed thee against the centre posts of the house, Simi.Then he drew a little pistol from his breast and shot at me, and thebullet struck me on the neck. See," and she showed us a still bleedingscore on the right side of her neck, where a Derringer bullet had cutthrough the flesh. "And then he sprang at Tematau, but Tematau wason his feet and met him and stabbed him twice; and, as he fell I toostabbed him in the breast."

  "This is an evil day for me," I said to the three head men, "and I fearit will prove an evil day to the people of this village, for the wifeof the man who lies there told me that a ship of war of his country wassoon to be here at this island. And how shall we account for his death?"

  Niabon bent forward and spoke--

  "Have no fear, Simi. Neither thou, nor Tematau, nor the people of thisvillage, nor I, shall come to any harm from the German fighting-ship.For when it comes thou and I, and Tematau, and Tepi, who know of theblood let out this day upon the floor of thy house, will be far away.And when the captain of the fighting-ship questioneth, and sayeth to thepeople, 'Where is my countryman?' the people will shake their heads andsay, 'We know not. He and his wife, and the Englishman, and Tepi, andTematau, and the witch woman Niabon have gone. They have sailed away tobeyond the rim of the sea and the sky--we know not whither."

  I listened with all my faculties wide awake, and yet with a strangesense of helplessness overpowering me. Then Niabon made a swift gestureto the head men. They rose, and lifting the huge body of Krause, carriedit away.

  She came to me and pressed her hand on my forehead.

  "You are tired," she said in English. "Lie down."

  She took my hand and led me to my couch beside the window and then bentover me.

  "Sleep, sleep long. For now the time is near and thou must havestrength."