Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1907-01-13
Copyright. 1906. by c. J. Cutlire Hyne.)

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Miss O'Nein tapped at her firm white
teeth with the end of the pencil. You're
quoting from the Royal Geographical map,
she suggested.
We'll, miss. 1 am" Capt. Image admitted,
land | know it's lust about as Inaccurate
as magazine fiction in a whole lot of places.
But l shouldn't set myself up to buck
against Royal Geographical map unless l
knew"
Neither should l. But you see maps
have ALWAYS been fad with me, and since
Mr.. Godfrey died. and l had the whole
weight of O'Neill and Craven landed upon
my one pair of shoulders whether l liked 1t
or not. | looked upon maps from very
different point of view. AS everybody on
the coast knows everybody else's business,
l need hardly point out to you that during
Mr.. Godfrey's latter days O'Neill and Cra-
ven had been allowed to run down pretty
badly, and when | took hold.tI the firm was
well, what shallI say?"
'Dicky," suggested Capt Image kindly.
But | can quite understand all the hard
words you'd like to let out if l wasn't
here
The girl laughed well, we'll put it.
captain. that the firm was decidedly dicky,
and I've had a most interesting time In
pulling it onto its feet Incidentally I've
given up drawing maps from an amateur
point of view. and have been drawing them
with an entire eve to business In the
future. You've no idea how Interesting it
is to business woman. captain, when
some special information comes to her and
she is able to go to her map and fill in a
mile or so of river that she'd had to leave
a gap for, or sketch in a newly discovered
trade route through what thought to
be hopeless swamp. or fill in part of the
boundary line of territory that up to then
had merely merged off into blank space
My crumbs said Capt. Image, admir-
ingly, but you are daisy. Miss Kate.
1t was only the day before l left Liver
pool that l got news of where the Okky
territory ended. The French have been
tpr in al O
back there for purposes of their own, and
the officer in command very unwisely caned
the only other white man with him, who
was a ZouaVe. and wasn't really white at
all. He wanted revenge. so he came to me
and told, and got fifty pounds. and said he'd
never enjoyed letting off spite so much in
his life before.
Capt. Image smacked his knee. Daisy
isn't the word for you, miss" he affirmed,
you can tell people | said so. If you like.
young lady that can pull the leg of these
beastly foreigners in that way is worth
going a long way to meet. You oughtnt
to come out here to the coast. You ought
to stay at home. Miss Kate, and marry
member of parliament"
Pooh. | wouldn't for worlds. They're
all too pompous and too dull. They only
talk and pose for the newspapers; they
never really do anything constructive in
the house. Now, l like to do things; and
if ever l marry, it will be man who can
do things that I've tried at rather better
than l can do them myself. But were
getting away from the factory al Mokki.
Now, the German agent doesn't know 1t,
and / didn't feel called upon to tell him,
but it's quite possible to open up trade
routes to that point that don't pass
through the Okky country at ALL SO that
upsets the old kings notion of stopping
the roads at present, and in the future,
when he gets tired of cutting off his nose
to spite his face, and tries to set trade
going again, he'll find the stuff is being
carried round very comfortably outside his
hnt1 nAnr nd hot fhnra &c Nn.-a n
mail to collect. How does that strike you,
captain? Now, am l a crazy woman who
is bound to bust up O'Neill and Cravens
if l am left long enough to it?'
II never said that" Capt Image pro-
tested violently, land I'll wiring that pious
old Crewdson's neck next time l see him.
That man can't carry corn. He evidently
gets a heap too loose tongue if you offer
him just little civility."
well. / really am awfuly glad you're
going to be nice" said Miss O'Neill as she
handed back her tea cup with sigh of re-
lief, land steam off up to the creeks to
Mokh when you've finished working the
cargo here"
Capt Image stood with the empty tea
cup in his hand, revolving in his mind
many things, and some of his muttered
comments were profane. He carried
throughout all the seaboard of west Africa
a reputation for a hard obstinacy of which
in his way he was not a little proud, as
men can be of assets whose value is more
than doubtful; and he arrived at the idea
that this pretty young woman in the crisp
grass green muslin twisting him
round to carry out her own peculiar wishes
with ridiculous ease. Its enough to make
any man swear" declared Capt. Image,
as final summing up of his sentiments
II agree with you cordially" said Miss
O'Neill, land 1 am sure that you must
have done tremendous violence to your
feelings in letting me have so much of my
own way, I'll just let you swear as re-
ward"
mo, I'm damned If 1 do, Miss Kate"
said Image politely. II shouldn't dream
of forgetting what is due to lady. But
don't you be too sure Of having your whim
gratifed even now. 1 don't see any way
of getting the Mposo to Mokki up those
bits Of creeks unless we put wheels under
her and pull her there through the bush"
Have you ever seen steamer called
the Frau Pobst?"
II have. She's funny old brig-rigged
relic. with sawn-off smokestacks and no
boats"
mo boats?"
"Oh, she started with some In the year
when she was built, but as they al
found herself in a seaway, 1 guess they
grew tired of replacing them. I believe
she does carry some patent folding con-
certinas tied up somewhere near her
of trade. They amt for use. Yes, know
the old Frau Pobst. She generally wants
two crews each voyage"
'How's that?" asked Kate, with a
twinkle.
Goes SO slow, the first lot die of old
age" Capt Image smacked his lips over
the pleasantly.
What a labor It must have been to get
old tub like that up to Mokki."
1T would take her as many days as 1t
would take hours in the Mposo" said
Image, and could have bitten out his
tongue when the words escaped. But Kate
O'Neill had got up from the settee and
was shaking his hand. Il believe in real
ity, captain, you're just as keen a business
man as 1 am a business woman Only
you're shockingly shy about showing it.
No, don't get up. I'm just going to run
back ashore again to finish things up
here. I'll be back by the time you've got
steam Please don't get up
by Crumbs, Miss Kate, but don't you
try to dictate to me about that. I'm going
to see you off from the front doorsteps
myself. BY Crumbs, there isn't another
lady in Africa admire half as much"