Part 22 (2/2)

”Perhaps not,” I replied. ”I cannot enter quite so deeply as you do into the question. I can only say that the idea is too repugnant for me to consent to any such division of the 'necessary work' so please say no more about it, for my mind is made up, and I can be as stubborn as Bob himself upon occasion.”

”I quite believe you,” she retorted, half playfully and half disposed to be angry, ”though I do not consider Bob stubborn at all. _He_ always lets me do whatever I like; and what an original character he is. Do you know, I quite admire him. He is somewhat rough and unpolished, I admit, but he is as gentle to me as was my own dear mamma; and I hold to the opinion that a man who is gentle and courteous to women is a man of sterling worth, let his manner be as uncouth as it may. I believe that gentleness and courtesy to our s.e.x is the _first_ and most distinguis.h.i.+ng mark of nature's n.o.bility. But why do you permit him to be so familiar and disrespectful in his manner of addressing you?”

”I do not consider him in the slightest decree disrespectful,” I replied. ”He is much older than I am, and a man of far wider experience, at all events in all matters connected with our profession; and that, and our long and severely-tried friends.h.i.+p, abundantly justifies the familiarity of his mode of address. I dislike formality with every one except strangers. It is all very well as a means of keeping at a distance those you dislike and have no desire to become intimate with, but it is a rather formidable barrier to friends.h.i.+p.”

”So I think, responded Ella with animation. I _do_ so wish--”

”What?” I inquired. She hesitated a little and blushed a great deal, and then, apparently with some effort, replied:

”Well, I wish you would exchange the formal 'Miss Brand' for the more friendly and familiar 'Ella;' that is, if you consider me worthy of your friends.h.i.+p.”

”I will indeed,” I replied, ”with very great pleasure, if you will permit me to do so; and I trust that you, in return, will call me, as I love to be called by all my friends--Harry.”

”Very well,” she replied gaily, ”I will; that is, as long as you are good to me, and do not displease me in any way. The sign of my sovereign displeasure will be a return to the formality of 'Mr Collingwood.'”

We chatted blithely on after this upon all sorts of subjects, and I was both surprised and delighted at the depth and extent of my companion's information. She had evidently read much, and, what was more to the purpose, had selected her reading with sound judgment, storing her mind abundantly with useful facts which she always had ready for production in support of an argument, or by way of ill.u.s.tration, and she frequently graced her conversation with choice quotations, introduced in the best taste and with a manner as far as possible removed from anything like affectation or pedantry. I was charmed beyond measure, and over and over again thanked the lucky accident which had rendered it my good fortune to be put upon terms of such close intimacy with so fascinating a little creature.

At length we completed our tour of the northern end of the island, returning by way of the eastern sh.o.r.e, until we were abreast the clump of cocoa-nut trees; when we struck inland; and, after a somewhat tortuous course between the thick-growing shrubs, reached the beach on our own side once more.

Unfortunately for Ella's projected laundry operations, we had not been able to discover the slightest sign of a spring of fresh water anywhere.

When we arrived opposite the point where the _Water Lily_ rode peacefully at anchor, Bob was nowhere to be seen. The boat still remained moored to the shrub, as we had left her, so I concluded that he had grown tired of inactivity and had gone off, in the opposite direction to ourselves, for a stroll. I therefore proposed to Ella that she should rest awhile upon the soft, velvety turf, whilst I returned to the cutter for a piece of rope, to aid me in my ascent after the cocoa-nuts.

The rope was soon obtained; and, returning to the sh.o.r.e, I pa.s.sed it in a loose band round the trunk of one of the trees, leaving room in the band for the introduction of my own body.

By bearing against this whilst I raised my feet and then slipping the band up the tree, I was easily and quickly enabled to reach the fruit, from which I selected an abundant supply of the finest specimens and flung them to the ground.

Whilst thus engaged Bob hove in sight, and when I reached the ground again he reported that, having soon grown tired of doing nothing, he had started away on a walk to the southward, about half an hour after we left him, and had gone to the extreme end of the island; that he had enjoyed his walk amazingly, was excessively tired, and, like ourselves, had failed to find any fresh water.

Under these circ.u.mstances poor little Ella was compelled to postpone her was.h.i.+ng-day, I promising that she should have the necessary time allowed her at the first suitable island we happened to reach.

By this time the dinner-hour was approaching, and Ella desired to be put on board the cutter to make the few slight preparations for the meal which were necessary.

As soon as we had put her on board and whilst she was thus engaged, I took Bob away with me in the boat to try for a few oysters. We had no means of trawling for them; but I estimated that they lay in not more than about two and a half fathoms of water, and I considered myself quite diver enough to reach that distance.

As soon as we arrived at the spot I stripped and plunged in, taking down with me an old canvas clothes-bag, which I slung round my neck.

I soon found that I had been deceived, by the crystal transparency of the water, into underestimating the depth. It was fully four fathoms to the bottom; and this, together with the difficulty I experienced in keeping the mouth of the bag open, necessitated four plunges before I had obtained half the bag full. There was not time to do more just then, so I dressed, the bag was hauled up, and we returned with our prize to the cutter.

We resolved to commence dinner with a course of oysters, and I forthwith proceeded to open some, a task which gave me a very considerable amount of difficulty.

Imagine, if you can, my surprise and delight when on opening the second oyster I found that it contained several small pearls; the third was opened, and it also contained several the fourth had none, but the fifth on being opened revealed three beauties, each as large as the top of my middle finger. To be brief, I was soon satisfied that I had stumbled upon a bed of pearl-oysters, about half of the bivalves yielding when opened more or less pearls, the greater quant.i.ty being small, such as are set in rings; but several good-sized pearls were also found, and one magnificent fellow, as large as a cherry.

As may easily be imagined, we were all excitement after this; and I proposed that, as soon as dinner was over, we should move the cutter down and anchor her upon the bed, and devote the remainder of the afternoon to systematic pearl-fis.h.i.+ng. The proposition was rapturously received, Ella declaring that she had often read of pearl-fis.h.i.+ng, and should very much like to witness the operation.

Accordingly, dinner was no sooner over than we weighed and stood down to the spot under our jib, and having reached it the cutter was anch.o.r.ed as nearly as possible over the centre of the bed. I had hit upon a plan by which, I thought, some of my difficulties of the morning might be got over; and, as soon as we were brought up, Bob and I got our floating-anchor on deck, stretched the canvas upon it, and rigging out our spinnaker-boom, a rope was pa.s.sed through the sheave in the outer end of it, and bent to the crowfoot of the floating-anchor, which thus hung suspended, like a large tray, over the water. It was then lowered to the bottom; a small pig of ballast was got on deck and slung to another rope's-end, and I then went below and changed my dress for an old white s.h.i.+rt and duck trousers, buckling a belt round my waist, to which, as it happened, a strong sharp sheath-knife was attached.

Being now ready to descend I looked over the side, and satisfied myself that our floating-anchor lay all right at the bottom, and in such a manner as properly to perform its new functions as a tray. I then slipped over the side into the water, grasping firmly the rope to which the piece of ballast was attached; and, having well filled my lungs with air, I waved my disengaged hand. Bob let go the rope, and the ballast draped me swiftly to the bottom.

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