XIV
Joe Cary's rude and reckless words had an effect, although perhaps notthe one he had hoped. But they did make Tessie think of somethingbesides Mr. Bill, her new frocks and her new pleasures. The interruptionof the Evergreen banquet did not bother her long, for that was a problemfor the store detective to solve. But Joe Cary made her realize that theSunshine Islands were more than a throne and a bank for their queen. Itwas odd that, when Tessie returned to the Waloo, she should find Grannyreading one of the big books in which there was an entire chapterdevoted to "The Pearl of the Pacific--The Sunshine Islands." Grannylooked up from a picture of sea and palms when Tessie came in.
"Tessie," she began at once, "are you sure you're going to like being aqueen for a lot of naked cannibals?"
"Why, Granny!" Tessie stood still and stared at her. What did Grannymean? Of course Joe Cary had been talking to her, and for a momentTessie hated him. She didn't care if he had been her only friend whenshe was a salesgirl at the Evergreen. She quite forgot that he had takenher to a moving-picture show once in two weeks. "What's the matternow?" she asked impatiently. "Have people been complaining aboutKa-kee-ta again?" For there were people who had complained of Ka-kee-ta,and it must be confessed that it was disconcerting to a timid woman, oreven a brave man, to walk down a dimly lighted corridor and find oneselfface to face with a bare-footed colored man, in loosely fitting blueclothes; a man with a tattooed nose and frizzled hair stiffened withcocoanut oil, and carrying a shining ax. Tessie herself would haveshrieked if she had come upon such a man in a dimly lighted corridor. Asit was, she often felt like screaming when she saw him, and just now,after her talk with Joe, she was impatient. "What is it now, Granny?"she wanted to know. A lot of her nervous impatience was in her voice asshe stood in front of Granny, and there was more nervous impatience inher frowning little face.
Granny looked up and sighed as she saw the slim little creature in avery modish frock and a very modish hat. Tessie was very, very differentfrom the shabby little girl in the cheap black cotton dress, but thatwas no reason why Granny should sigh mournfully as she looked at her.Surely Granny did not want Tessie to be the shabby little girl of thoseold days!
"I was just wondering," Granny said meekly, "as I read this book if youhad learned to eat raw fish yet?"
An angry flush stained Tessie's face, and she stamped her high-heeledshoe.
"No, I don't like raw fish!" she cried stormily. "And I don't everexpect to like raw fish! Why should I? Can't I have somebody cook fishfor me?" she demanded haughtily.
"In the Sunshine Islands it's the custom to eat it raw," Granny saidvery gently, for she could recognize the beginning of a tantrum as wellas any one. "And there isn't anything that's harder to change than acustom. When I read about the food and some other things in this book,and looked at a few of these pictures, I got to wondering how we aregoing to like those islands and the customs the people have there. Youknow, Tessie," she went on, when Tessie said never a word, but juststood sulkily tapping the rug with the pointed toe of her shoe, "whenyou came home from the Evergreen that day and told me about your UnclePete and how he had died and made you a queen, I couldn't think ofanything but how wonderful it was. My boy a king! And my girl a queen!And I pictured those Sunshine Islands like England and Italy, andperhaps a little like the United States, even if the United States ain'tgot crowned kings and queens. It was so wonderful that I was all puffedup like bread sponge. But since we came to the Waloo, and I got so muchtime, no washing or cooking to do, I've looked into some of these booksand talked to Ka-kee-ta as much as a body can talk to a critter thatdon't know more than the rudiments of real language, and I can't findthat these islands are like any place I ever heard of. I don't know aswe're going to like them. The folks don't all wear clothes," sheconfided to Tessie in a dubious whisper.
"I can teach them to wear clothes," Tessie said coldly. "I've talked toMr. Kingley, and he's going to send me some clothes from the Evergreen.We're going to begin with bathing suits."
"Mr. Kingley's a real business man, ain't he? Always thinking of theEvergreen!" Granny had to admire Mr. Kingley's ability to think of hisbusiness at all times. She went on a bit sarcastically. "And is youngMr. Bill going to take charge and open a branch in the islands? It won'tpay in your lifetime, Tessie. You mustn't count on it! It'll take morethan Mr. Kingley's say-so to put even bathing suits on folks that don'twear anything but a bit of fringe around their waists. And it ain't onlyclothes," she added mournfully. "It's white ants and centipedes andsnakes and sharks and----"
"For goodness sakes, Granny!" Tessie jumped when Granny spoke of sharks,and she was almost at the end of her patience when there was a loudthump on the door. "I do wish," exclaimed Tessie, glad of a legitimatereason to let Granny see that she had reached the end of her patience,"that Ka-kee-ta would learn to knock. I hate to hear him hit the doorwith his old ax!"
"That's just what I've been telling you," began Granny. "You ain't goingto like the Sunshine Islands' way of doing things."
But Tessie did not listen to her. She walked to the door and threw itwide open. "Ka-kee-ta," she began sternly, but instead of facingKa-kee-ta she looked at a fat man with a light, oh very light, hair, anda big nose. "Oh," Tessie murmured feebly. "Oh!"
"Queen Teresa?" asked the stranger eagerly, although he knew very wellthat she was Queen Teresa. "Of the Sunshine Islands?" He came into theroom and shut the door carefully behind him.
A great hope dashed into Tessie's mind. He was the specialrepresentative from the Sunshine Islands, the man who was to escort herto her kingdom in obedience to the orders in her Uncle Pete's last willand testament. Of course he was the special representative. In spite ofthe fact that he made Tessie think that he must be made of tubs, largeand small, neatly piled upon one another. He had an air of greatassurance and greater authority. He could tell her all about the islandsand that it would not be necessary for her to eat native food nor tohave Ka-kee-ta bang on the door with his ax. He would tell hereverything. He looked as full of information as a complete set ofencyclopedia. And when he spoke, she was sure he was the specialrepresentative, for he said smilingly, ingratiatingly, "I have come totalk to you about the Sunshine Islands."
"Is that so!" exclaimed the Queen of the Sunshine Islands. She lookedtriumphantly at Granny. "Won't you sit down?" She hesitated in choosinga chair for herself and at last took one which stood near Granny. Aftershe was seated in it she moved it even closer to Granny as if she wantedher comfort or protection.
"You must think it is very romantic to be a queen," went on the tublikeman, still smiling pleasantly. "And it is romantic! I suppose youpicture your kingdom as another England or Spain or----"
"I don't," interrupted Granny. "Not any more. I might as well confessthat at first I did that very thing, but I've just read a few things inthese books about the Sunshine Islands, and I know now that they ain't abit like England or even Spain. I was just telling Tessie--thequeen--that when Ka-kee-ta knocked on the door with his ax."
"You are quite right!" He smiled at Granny and nodded his white thatchedhead. "But I can tell you much more than you will find in any book. Tobegin with, the pleasant parts of the islands are beautiful, verybeautiful. They are not large; you could crowd the half a dozen into thestate of Minnesota and have room to spare. But the climate! Ah, theclimate! It is perfect! The islands are south of Hawaii, you know, butnearer the United States--nearer Mexico would be more correct--but it isthe same thing. They are coral islands with cocoanut palms and bananaand breadfruit trees. The villages are made up of palm leaf huts with alarger hut on the largest island for the ruler."
"Isn't there any electric light or any gas or any city water?" askedGranny, who could not believe that there was any place without thosethree necessities.
"There is not. But there is a sky bluer than any sky you ever saw, andthe water in the lagoon is as clear as crystal and of a wonderfulblue-green color. The coral sand is so white that it makes your eyesache. The Sunshine Islands are rarely
beautiful, but they are notconvenient. It would be safe to say that they have not a singleconvenience," he insisted as Granny gasped and exclaimed:
"Not even in the king's palace?"
"Palace!" He laughed scornfully almost, as Joe Cary had laughed at kingsand palaces. "Palm-leaf huts," he explained. "And the people--you knowthey are cannibals?" He looked at Tessie, as if he were vastly amused toknow that her people were cannibals.
"Not cannibals now," faltered Tessie, almost in tears to hear how unlikeher dreams her kingdom was. "Uncle Pete civilized them and showed themhow wrong it was to eat each other."
"Not all," corrected the tubular blond. "The last election showed thatone out of every two inhabitants was a conservative--a cannibal."
"Elections!" Tessie did not know that elections were held in theSunshine Islands, and she wondered vaguely if she were a democrat or arepublican. She knew she was not a conservative! if conservatives werecannibals.
"The islands are really no place for a white woman, for a young andbeautiful white woman," the man said bluntly. He gazed at Tessie withsuch open admiration that she moved impatiently and wished that he wouldstop looking at her and look at Granny. "You can't live there, MissGilfooly--is that the name? I know. It's out of the question. I've spentmonths on Ta-ri-ha, that's the largest island, and I know what I'mtalking about when I say it is no place for a white woman. A white manmight keep the natives in hand if he were----"
"Big and strong and brutal," suggested Granny thoughtfully.
He turned to her. "I see you knew King Pete, madam?"
"I was his mother." Granny sighed as if she could remember times whenshe had found her son big and strong and brutal. "But if you don't thinkmy granddaughter should live on her islands what do you think sheshould do with them?" Granny believed in the straight line. She hadabsolutely no use for that beautiful curved line we are taught toadmire. Straight lines are so much more direct. She looked at thestranger, but she could not find any straight lines about him; he wasall curves.
"Granny!" exclaimed Tessie indignantly. The idea of Granny speaking asif there was even a possibility that she would not go to the SunshineIslands. In imagination Tessie saw herself on a great white ship whichwas drawing near a shore that bore a marked resemblance to the picturesshe had seen of New York harbor. And she saw great throngs of nativesclothed in queer shapeless garments--but fully clothed--and she heardtheir joyous shouts of welcome. She liked the picture her imaginationshowed her far better than she liked the one drawn by this white-headedstranger. In the back of her mind there was a faint memory of somethingunpleasant in connection with a fat, white-headed man with a big noseand freckles, but she could not think what it was while this manregarded her with such bright blue eyes. She wished she could, it mightbe easier to talk to him if she could remember.
"Who are you?" she asked suddenly, oddly uncomfortable under his steady,unblinking stare.
"My name is Pracht," he said frankly. "Frederic Pracht. I have lived inthe Sunshine Islands for months. I knew King Pete very well."
"Pracht," meditated Granny. "That sounds like a German name."
He stopped smiling at Tessie to smile at Granny, and Tessie drew a deepbreath of relief, as if at last she had more space about her.
"It is not strange that my name sounds German, because it is German,"Mr. Pracht explained to Granny. "My great-grandfather came fromFrankfort and settled in Pennsylvania. There are many German names inPennsylvania."
"H-m," muttered Granny, and she regarded him gravely, as if she were notquite satisfied with the explanation, as if she suspected that it wouldnot wear well--that it would shrink or fade. "My son Pete," she saidslowly, "he inherited the islands, didn't he?"
"From the old king. He cured the old king's toothache."
"Didn't the old king have any children?" Even if she suspected that hisinformation might not wear well, Granny thought it was just as well toobtain as much of it as she could.
"He had twenty-three."
"Twenty-three children!" Granny gasped. She had known large families inher day, but twenty-three children----
"Seventeen girls and six boys," was the ready response. "And thirty-onegrandchildren. I don't exactly know how many great-grandchildren thereare."
"Never mind." The old king's children interested Granny far more thanhis great grandchildren. "When there were twenty-three children, why didthe old king leave his kingdom to my son Pete?" That was the questionwhich did interest her, and while a toothache cure should be paid for, akingdom did seem rather a large price.
Mr. Pracht shrugged his shoulders. "That is what the twenty-threechildren would like to know. They declare that King Pete hypnotizedtheir father, or, as they put it, placed him under a spell. My privateopinion is that the old king quarreled with his family until he hatedevery one of his twenty-three children. And they hated him. They hatedeach other, too, until their father died and they came together to fighthis successor. That's why the Sons of Sunshine organized. You've heardof them?" He turned his bright blue eyes on Tessie again.
She nodded, but did not speak. Granny did not speak either for a moment;then she said slowly, as if she were trying to visualize her words:
"That's quite a family. Twenty-three children!"
"The old man had three wives," Mr. Pracht said with a little laugh.
"Three! Do you mean that a man can have more than one wife in mygranddaughter's kingdom?" If Granny's gray hair had not been held by anet, it would have risen with horror at such a thought.
"A man can have as many wives as he can buy," explained Mr. Pracht. "Youremember I told you the islands were not like Minnesota and Waloo." Helaughed and showed two rows of big white teeth.
"They don't seem to be," murmured Granny, while Tessie gasped. "I mustconfess I am surprised. Ain't you surprised, Tessie, to hear all this? Ihad my suspicions after I got over my first surprise and had time toremember Pete, and to look into these books. But I thought you weregoing to tell us what you thought Tessie should do with these islandswhich her Uncle Pete left her when he died?" she said suddenly.
"There is but one thing to do," Mr. Pracht told her so suddenly andemphatically that she knew that he had given the question some study. Hewas not offering her any made-while-you-wait opinion. She should sellher rights in them, and sell as soon as she can. "Real estate valuesvary, you know, and just at present Miss Gilfooly could obtain a verygood price. If she waits I am afraid she will lose money. If she sellsher rights at once, I am quite sure that she will obtain enough toenable her to live like a queen wherever she pleases." He smiledpleasantly at Tessie, but Tessie frowned.
"I wouldn't be a queen if I sold my islands," she objected. Already herhead felt bare, as if a crown had been torn from it.
"Surely you would be a queen. A queen doesn't lose her title when sheloses her kingdom," declared Mr. Pracht, quick to see that honors meantmore to Tessie just then than lands. "Look at Kaiser Bill. And theFrench empress who died the other day. So long as you live, you will beQueen Teresa of the Sunshine Islands. But take my word for it that youwill find it much pleasanter to be Queen Teresa in London or Paris, oreven in Waloo, than you would in the Sunshine Islands. I can't think ofa thing you would like there--not one thing."
"Uncle Pete liked them!" flared Tessie, indignant at such contemptuousscorn of her kingdom. "He liked them well enough to live there years andyears."
"He probably had his reasons." There was a significance in Mr. Pracht'ssmooth voice that made Granny and Tessie look at each other. "And he wasa man," went on Mr. Pracht. "He never hesitated when it was necessary toput down rebellion."
"I bet he didn't!" agreed Granny.
"And you know there is a strong desire for a native ruler? The Sons ofSunshine are behind it. They will never permit you to land without afight. And you wouldn't be able to hold your throne," he grinned,"without bloodshed, I know!" And he told Tessie more about herkingdom--disagreeable things. By the time he finished Tessie was almostin tears.
"I
am prepared to offer you two hundred and fifty thousand dollars foryour rights in the Sunshine Islands," he said at last.
"Two hundred and fifty thousand dollars!" Tessie was on her feet andstaring at him indignantly.
"The lawyer said they were worth a million pounds!" Granny said sharply.Granny had learned to bargain in the old days, and some lessons arenever forgotten.
"A million pounds!" Mr. Pracht repeated. "That sounds like King Pete. Hewas not the man to put a low valuation on anything that belonged to him.But a million pounds! That is ridiculous! Two hundred and fifty thousanddollars is far more than they are worth, but I want Miss Gilfooly to becomfortable and have some luxuries. I want her to have an income thatwill let her live anywhere!" His face wore the kindliest, the mostbenevolent of expressions as he turned it to Tessie.
Tessie did not like his benevolent expression any more than she hadliked his admiring smile. The something in the back of her head whichconnected a fat, white-headed, big-nosed, freckled man with anunpleasant experience bothered her. She wished she could remember whatit was.
"Are you the special representative my Uncle Pete said was to come forme?" she asked suddenly.
"Special representative!" he repeated, and there was a vague uncertaintyin his voice which told Tessie at once that he knew even less of thespecial representative than she did.
Granny was still considering the two hundred and fifty thousand dollars.She sniffed at them.
"I never trust a man who pays more than a thing is worth," shecontemptuously told Mr. Pracht. "There's always a nigger in thewoodpile. Are you buying these islands for yourself?" she askedpleasantly, "or for the twenty-three children? Tessie would want to knowwho would look after the people if she should sell the islands."
"I sure would!" Tessie looked gratefully at Granny. Trust Granny to askleading questions.
Mr. Pracht hesitated before he spoke in a most confidential manner, asif only to Granny and Tessie would he admit the truth. "I represent asyndicate which plans to develop the natural resources of the islands.The syndicate has no use for the title, so that Miss Gilfooly can remaina queen in name. And I can assure her that the people will be welllooked after. I might possibly," he frowned and spoke more slowly, "beable to offer two hundred and seventy-five thousand!" He looked atTessie as if he had made a wonderful offer, one that she could notafford to refuse. Surely when she heard that sum she would jump up andexclaim: "Yes, thank you. You may have my kingdom for two hundred andseventy-five thousand dollars!"
"Couldn't you make it three hundred thousand?" asked Granny, quite as ifshe were selling rags to the junk man and not bargaining with asyndicate for a kingdom.
He looked at her. "I should hate to say positively, but if that is theprice Miss Gilfooly will accept, I might--yes!" He took a suddendetermination. "I will assume the responsibility and offer you threehundred thousand dollars. It's a big price! The syndicate will losemoney, but----"
"Bosh!" exclaimed Granny, and she rose to her feet and stood besideTessie. "Bosh! Syndicates don't lose money! I don't know how QueenTeresa feels, but if I were in her shoes, I'd tell your syndicate to goto Jericho before I would sell an inch of my islands. That's what I'ddo!" And she snapped her fingers in his face.
"Madam!" He jumped back indignantly. He turned to Tessie. After all theSunshine Islands belonged to Tessie, not to her belligerentgrandmother.
"Of course I shan't sell my islands!" declared Tessie, flushed andindignant, that he should really think she would. "I wouldn't sell themfor a million! I have a duty to the people! It wouldn't be right to sellthem!"
An ugly look crept into Mr. Pracht's blue eyes. "You can refuse if youwish," he said, and there was an ugly note in his voice, far differentfrom his former suave, smooth manner. "I can only remind you again thatthe natives have sworn that they will never have another white ruler.And you will find that they will stop at nothing. They have severaldisagreeable customs in regard to those they consider usurpers. Boilingthem in shark oil is perhaps the simplest!" He bowed triumphantly andwalked toward the door.
"Is that so," remarked Granny coldly. "And may I ask you if you were atthe Evergreen banquet for the queen the other evening?"
"Banquet?" he swung around and looked at her. There was an oddexpression in his eyes.
"Yes, there was an unexpected guest who made things very disagreeablefor a minute. You sound as if you might have been him."
He shook his head. "I have no time for social gatherings," he saidcoldly. "But Miss Gilfooly had better consider my offer. As I said, thenatives will stop at nothing."
If he expected Tessie to call him back and whimper that she was afraidof the natives, and couldn't he do something to protect her he wassadly disappointed. He found himself on the other side of the doorwithout a word being spoken. As the door closed behind him Tessie turnedto her grandmother.
"Granny," she wailed, "did you hear what he said?" She caught Granny'shand and held it tight.
"Sure, I heard what he said!" Granny put a protecting arm around her."But I doubt if there is enough shark oil in the United States to boilanybody, my lamb. Don't you fret. Your Granny will take care of you!"
"I'm not fretting!" But she clung to Granny's hand. "And I'm glad heisn't one of my people! I wouldn't trust him! I don't like him!"
"I don't trust him, either. I bet he knows more about what happened atthe Evergreen banquet than we do. You'll see. We'll know all about itsome day. Did you take a good look at him, Tessie?"
Tessie nodded tearfully. "Fat and white, like a nasty worm," she gulped.
Granny added a feature to Tessie's sketch. "And a big nose! You rememberit was a man with white hair and a big nose that stole the record ofyour ma's and pa's wedding. Don't you forget that, Tessie Gilfooly! Thatman tried to make us think he was honest, coming here and offering tobuy your islands. But he ain't honest. You can tell that as soon as youlook at him. There's something queer in this business, Tessie! I don'tunderstand it, but you look out for that man. He's got a bad eye. Dear,dear, I wish Joe Cary was still boarding with us! I trusted Joe Cary!"
Tessie moved away impatiently, and then came back to kiss Granny'scheek. "Don't you fret, Granny," she said in her turn. "What could thatPracht man do to me?"
"He could kidnap you and turn you over to those cannibals!" Grannytremulously told her of one thing that Pracht could do. "And you heardhow they treat rulers they don't like? I declare, Tessie, I wish yourUncle Pete had left those islands to an orphan asylum instead of to you!It ain't going to be all pleasure being a queen!"