Evening star., 1925-12-06

and the rocks were black where they
showed through the growth, but the
groves went inland up two valleys
where the tree-ferns stood twice the
height Of man and where there was
wild pig to be found. also the finest
fruit we'd struck yet in the Pacific.
There was a tribe Of kanakas liv
ing in the place, but no whites. not
enough cocoanut trees and nothing
doing in the way of shell or turtle.
1t was poor island but the Kanalias
were about the deCenteSt lot I've ever
met. There were only 80 or so of
them, and they told us the population
had been pretty much the same for
years: you see. when they wanted
wives in that island they always went
to either of the other two islands for
them then they'd emigrate. and any
how, 1t came about that the popula-
ton always kept pretty steady and
pretty healthy. Then we found a
queer thing about them: they kept up
sort of post with their friends and
relations on the other two islands by
means of using frigate birds as car
rier pigeons. It's done i'll several
island groups, but it was new to us,
and when we came to poke into the
thing it turned out as intricate as the
New York telephone system, for there
were birds that went between North
and South Island without touching at
Naumoo. and birds that went from
North and South Island to Naumoo
and back and never further. Sru put
US wise on it. He was the chief of
the Naumooites. and nearly a hun
dred, and postmaster general as WELL
x x
"DAY before we were due out, sru
came on board with something
in his hand. Seems he had gone to
the tree where the messenger frigates
and found South Island bird, one
that wasn't due to stop at Naumoo
but to go right over to North Island.
1t had a folded paper with message
tied to its leg. and Sru took the mes
sage off but could make nothing of it,
as 1t was written in English. Before
he could restore it. the bird flew off
and there was Sru left with the paper
In his hand.
Now the bird had come from South
island. 1t was flying. evidently, for
North Island, when for some reason
1t dropped on Naumoo. Sru put these
facts together in his woolly head and
then he added another one. The mes
sage was evidently intended for the
trader on North Island, since it was
written in the language of the white
man. But there were no white men
on South Island. That got him SO bad
that he came right down to the beach
with the paper in his hand and pushed
off for the yacht. Burt and ] were on
deck under double awning when Sru
came over the side. Burt took the
pa per Sru handed to him and read
what was on it, then he handed it to
me. 1t was piece of paper ruled
with red lines and torn out of a note
book. and the message on il, done
with ink and evidently with a foun-
tain pen, was just five words.
Struck it today.-Old Chum.'
Nothing very exciting in that, was
there?
Then Sru begins his talk in Beche
de Mer. explaining how he'd taken
the thing off the bird and so on, and
Burt leads him out to the end and
then tells him that the message is
evidently meant for Carstairs on
North Island. but that it's not inn
portant, and sends him off the ship
with glass of gin inside him.
Il was sitting there in the deck
chair under the awning, smoking and
watching Burt whilst Sru was pad
ding ashore. Burt held the paper,
looking at 1t back and front, and read
ing it again; then he stuck it in his
pocketbook.
He goes to the rail and looks over
and then he comes to where I was
sitting and asks me what I make out
of that paper. Then without waiting
for an answer he says:
There are no whites living on
South Island, and South Island is the
only place that message can have
come from-get me? Well. since
that's SO. some ship must have put in
there and the chap on board must
have struck something worth making
a song about-what? Turtle-Beche
de Mer-copra-no, sir: treasure.
Some expedition has started to hunt
for that cache where the Spanish gold
was supposed to be hid. and found it
"The thing was plain enough, and
only for the hot weather making my
intellects work slow, I'd have seen it
as quick as him. 1t hit me now like
a belt on the head. and l jumped off
the chair like as if I'd been kicked.
Colds a powerful thing. beats
strychnine as a tonic, and so I stood
there with my back to the rail look
ing at Burt, I had all my starch back
in me and was ready for anything
The bother is Burt goes on,
what in the nation did they send that
message for? There's only one man it
could have reached, and that's Car
stairs. It's a thing they'd want to