Part 33 (1/2)

”Goodness gracious!” exclaimed Tessie, who was not at all sure that she liked to have Mr. Pitts issue orders and let a brown-and-green snake loose.

”His methods were clumsy,” Mr. Pitts said flatly, ”from the beginning when he stole the records from the Mifflin court house. And they were clumsy when he had his native servant ransack your house for the Tear of G.o.d. The fellow was knocked on the head by Ka-kee-ta who was prowling around to see you, Miss Gilfooly, and who was frightened at what he had done and ran away. It was clumsy of Pracht to think that he could steal the jewel from you at the Evergreen banquet, where he acted as a waiter.

And clumsier still to threaten you as he did and to kidnap you. That must have been his servant at the window when you thought you saw Ka-kee-ta. Pracht should have used a little tact. Tact is far more necessary than force in negotiations of this sort.” He looked at Tessie and nodded his head to a.s.sure her that he had no intention of using force. Tact was the weapon that he would always use.

There was a slight pause which Mr. Kingley broke with a cough. The cough might have been a signal for, as soon as he heard it, Mr. Marvin looked at Mr. Pitts.

”If you have brought information from the Suns.h.i.+ne Islands for Queen Teresa, you might give it to her now,” he said. ”We are all her friends.” And he smiled at Her Majesty.

”Oh, yes!” breathed Queen Teresa on pins and needles to hear about the Suns.h.i.+ne Islands. She regarded her friends with s.h.i.+ning eyes. They were friends to be very proud of, every one of them.

Mr. Pitts let his glance roam from one to another also, and his s.h.a.ggy brows drew together until they made a black line above his keen penetrating eyes.

”I find,” he began slowly, carefully weighing each word before he offered it to Tessie and her friends, ”that you have no idea of what the Suns.h.i.+ne Islands actually are. You seem to regard them as you would England or any other European kingdom. Of course a king is a king, or in this case, I should say a queen is a queen, but there is a difference between a first-rate power and a group of Pacific islands. I understand from Ka-kee-ta that you have looked upon Miss Gilfooly as you would upon Queen Mary, for instance, and I am afraid that you have prepared her for nothing but disappointment.”

Tessie's heart jumped into her mouth. Wasn't she a queen then, after all? Her face, which had been as pink as a rose, turned as white as the flower on Mr. Marvin's desk.

Joe Cary gave a low whistle. ”I thought so!” he exclaimed, and he glared at Mr. Kingley.

No one paid any attention to him. Every one was too interested in Mr.

Pitts and his words to have even a small portion of interest for whistling Joe Cary.

”I don't understand,” went on Mr. Pitts even more carefully, ”why you thought best to shower Miss Gilfooly with such royal honors and homage--just why you took that point of view--” he hesitated again.

”You tell us, Mr. Kingley,” begged Joe. ”You tell us how that mistake was made.”

Mr. Kingley flushed and eyed Joe as if he wished that Joe were where he belonged--behind a drawing-board in the advertising department of the Evergreen--instead of in the office of Marvin, Phelps & Stokes, heckling the owner of the Evergreen.

”I happened to be with Mr. Marvin, when he received the papers from the Honolulu lawyer who brought Ka-kee-ta here,” he said a little reluctantly, although the reluctance disappeared as he told his story.

”They said that the King of the Suns.h.i.+ne Islands--I remember that the word king was distinctly used--had died and made the eldest child of his brother, John Gilfooly of Waloo, his heir. I knew that there was a Miss Gilfooly on the Evergreen pay roll. The name had been unusual enough to attract my attention. And it occurred to me if that Gilfooly should prove to be the heir, she would be a queen and we could obtain some mighty effective publicity for the Evergreen. Business had been dull, we were feeling the general depression, and we needed something to boost trade. Mr. Marvin has been my friend for many years, and he consented to let me use the information. I don't see yet that any harm has been done,” he told Joe defiantly.

”I don't either,” murmured Tessie, with a shy glance at Mr. Bill, who looked at her anything but shyly.

Mr. Kingley regarded Tessie with hearty approval before he went on. ”Mr.

Marvin's man located the eldest child of John Gilfooly in Miss Teresa Gilfooly, who sold aluminum in the Evergreen bas.e.m.e.nt. We arranged to notify her of her good fortune while she was at work, and naturally I made the most of the story. And no one can say I haven't treated Miss Gilfooly like a queen!” He dared Joe to say it. ”I confess that I used the romantic and dramatic events which followed to benefit the Evergreen, but any man would have done that if he was any kind of a business man at all. I even helped Miss Gilfooly raise a large fund for the poor children of the islands,” he boasted.

”There are no poor in the Suns.h.i.+ne Islands!” Mr. Pitts spoke indignantly. ”Every one is rich and happy there, for people are rich and happy when they have all they want. They may not have much, but they have what they want, and I guess that is all any of us work for. I suppose this is a disappointment to you, Miss Gilfooly?” He turned to Tessie with kindly concern.

”No,” she told him a little slowly. ”It isn't exactly. You see, I know something about these Sons of Suns.h.i.+ne! and when I was kidnaped, I did a lot of thinking I hadn't had time to do before. I remembered what happens to kings and queens when the people don't want them. Joe Cary had told me all about that. I'm not sure I want to be a queen and perhaps some day find myself in boiling oil.” She shuddered. ”Mr. Pracht said that was what they do in the Suns.h.i.+ne Islands when they don't like their kings.”

”It has been done,” admitted Mr. Pitts, ”but not lately. I think you are right. You wouldn't be happy in the Islands. According to their laws, a queen from another tribe, which is what you would be, must marry the most powerful man on the islands.”

”Oh!” Tessie's eyes grew so big and round that there seemed to be nothing in her face but two big blue eyes. ”I couldn't do that! I never could do that!” And she looked appealingly at Mr. Bill.

”No, of course you couldn't. And you couldn't stay on the Islands twenty-four hours unless you did. Here is a shot I took at the man you would have to marry, if you remain the queen.” He handed Tessie a photograph of a big strapping native, who looked enough like Ka-kee-ta to be his twin brother. He had the same frizzled hair, the same tattooed nose.

Tessie turned away from it with a shriek and a shudder. ”I never could!

Never!” she declared. ”I couldn't ever marry any one but----”

”Me!” interrupted Mr. Bill proudly. Mr. Bill was immensely pleased with Mr. Pitts' report of the Suns.h.i.+ne Islands. It promised to remove many of the difficulties from the path which led to Tessie. ”Perhaps this isn't the time to speak of it, but you might as well know that Miss Gilfooly is going to marry me some day soon.”

There was a gasp and a gurgle from Mr. Kingley. He stumbled to his feet and stared at his son and then at his former employee. He was unable to utter one of the words which rushed to his lips. He could only stare at his son, and wonder what on earth his son's mother would say.