WE were all lying on the floor of Letonu’s big house, Tautala and I side by side, our heads both pillowed on the same bamboo. About us on the mats the whole family lay outstretched in slumber1, save little Titi, who was droning on a jews’-harp, and my coxswain, George Leapai, who was playing a game of draughts2 with the chief. The air was hot and drowsy3, and the lowered eaves let through streaks4 of burning sunshine, outlining a sort of pattern on an old fellow who moaned occasionally in his sleep.
“In the White Country,” said Tautala, “didst thou ever happen to meet a chief named Patsy?—a beautiful young man with sea-blue eyes and golden hair?”
“What was his other name?” I asked.
Tautala could not recall it, the foreign stutter being so unrememberable. Indeed, she doubted almost if she had ever heard it. “We called him Patsy,” she said, “and he used to tell us he was descended5 from a line of kings.”
“Wasn’t it O’ something?” I inquired.
No, she couldn’t remember. It was long ago, when she was a little child and knew nothing; but she had loved Patsy, and it was a sad day to her when the devil took him.
[214]“Tell me about it,” I said. “I have never heard that tala.”
“Oh, it is a true story,” she said; “for was not my own sister Java married to Patsy, and did I not see it all with my own eyes, from the beginning even to the end? But thou must strengthen thyself to hear it, for it is a tale of sadness.”
“I will strive to bear it,” I replied.
“Well, it was this way,” she began. “Many years ago a steamer reached our bay, and it was neither a man-of-war, nor a trading-vessel, nor a ship of pleasuring; and the hold of it was filled with nothing but rope, miles and miles of rope, all of a single piece like a ball of great string; nor was the least piece of it for sale; no, not even though a ton of coprah were offered for a single fathom7. The officers of the ship were most agreeable people, and so polite that, except for the colour of their skins, you would never think them white men at all; and the captain gave my father his photograph, and made for us a feast on board his ship, of sardines8 and tea, so that we were soon very friendly together and almost like members of one family. Then the captain begged my father’s permission to build a little house on the edge of the bay, which was no sooner asked than done; for behold9, it was in measured pieces for the building. Farther inland, near the old vi-tree, another house was raised, this also of boards previously10 cut and prepared. Then the end of the big rope was carried to the beach-house in a boat, and made fast to all manner of strange tongafiti within, some that ticked like clocks, and others that[215] went ‘whir, whir,’ like a bird with a broken wing. Here, in the middle of it all, a shining chair was prepared for Patsy to sit in and a big desk for Patsy to write at. But to the inland house was brought his bed, and countless11 cases of sardines and pea-soup, and all the many things needed for the comfort and well-being12 of a white man.
“When all was thus ready to the captain’s liking13, he blew his whistle and sailed out of the bay, leaving Patsy singly to take care of the end of the big rope. This Patsy did with assiduity, so that there was never a morning but found him sitting beside it, and seldom an afternoon or evening he did not visit it at intervals14. Sometimes the rope would hold him there the whole night, saying without end, ‘click, click, whir, whir,’ as its manner was, so that I would fall asleep with the light of Patsy’s lamp in my eyes, and wake again at dawn to find it still burning; and if we went down to the shore, as we often did at first in our curiosity, we would see the white man lying asleep in his chair, his cold pipe on the table beside him. People asked one another the meaning of a rope so singular, and wondered ceaselessly as to the nature of Patsy’s concern with it. From all the villages expeditions came in crowded boats to behold the marvel15 with their own eyes, so that they, too, might hear it say ‘click, click, whir, whir,’ as its manner was, and stare the while at Patsy through the window. Songs were made about the rope, some of them gay, others grave and beautiful, with parables16; it became a proverb hereabouts to say ‘as long as Patsy’s rope,’ meaning a[216] thing without end, as the perpetual crying of a child, or the love of a maid for a man.
“Thou must not think, Siosi, that Patsy was not often asked the reason of his strange employment, and a thousand questions besides about the wonderful rope; but at first he knew nothing of our language, and when people would point at it and say, ‘click, click, whir, whir,’ in mockery of what it uttered continually, Patsy would only smile and repeat back to them, ‘click, click, whir, whir,’ so that nothing was accomplished17. But he was so gentle and well-mannered, and so generous with his property, that one could hardly count him a white man at all; and those who had at first mistrusted his presence in our village began soon to love him like a relation. No music-box was sweeter than his voice, and often on a moonlight night the whole village would gather round his house to hear him sing, or to see him dance hornpipes on his verandah.
“One day, in a boat from Safotulafai, there arrived a native of this island who had long been absent, sailing in the white men’s ships. This man being, of course, familiar with the white stutter, it occurred to Nehemiah the pastor18 (who had long been troubled by the matter of the rope) that here, at last, was the means of learning the truth from Patsy. Whereupon a meeting of the village chiefs was summoned in the house of Nehemiah; and after a great deal of speech-making it was determined19 to wait on Patsy in a body, Tomasi, the seaman20, going with them to interpret.
“Patsy was at his usual place beside the big rope,[217] smoking his pipe and hearkening to the voice as it said ‘click, click, whir, whir,’ as its manner was. My father, Letonu, was the first to speak; then Nehemiah the pastor; Tomasi translating every word, as had been previously agreed. They both asked for an explanation of the great rope, and why it had been made fast to our island, and where it went to underneath21 the sea, and the reason of its continually saying ‘click, click, whir, whir.’
“Patsy took some thought to answer, and when at last he spoke22, his words overwhelmed every one with astonishment23 and fear. It seemed that the devil was afraid that our village was becoming too good; for being himself so busy in Tonga and Fiji and the White Country, he could not give our place the proper oversight24; and was mortified25 to see that every Aunu’u dead person went straight to heaven. Thereupon he had run this cable from hell, and had hired Patsy for a hundred dollars a month to warn him when anything bad was happening. Patsy explained that the great rope was like a dog: one pinched his tail here and he barked there; thus signals were exchanged, as had been earlier agreed upon, so that two barks meant A, and three meant B, and so on through the alafapeta.
“Then Nehemiah asked him in a trembling voice (for horror of the devil was upon them all) how dared he serve the Evil One for the sake of a few dollars this month and that, thus imperilling his own immortal26 soul for ever. But Patsy answered that the White Country was cold and barren, and fuller of men than[218] our beach of grains of sand. He said that the lands, such as they were, belonged only to a few, and those who possessed27 none must needs seek a living where they could, or die of hunger in the road. All this was borne out by Tomasi, who himself had seen old white chieftainesses begging for food in the White Country, and little children perishing unrelieved. Patsy said that when a man was wanted to do a thing for hire, a hundred offered themselves only to be turned away, so great was the misery28 of the White Country, so mean the hearts of those who were rich. Whereupon, said Patsy, he had been glad to take the devil’s money and do the devil’s work, for other choice there was none.
“Then said Letonu, my father, ‘Patsy, thou must leave the devil and cease to do his bidding; and though we have no hundred dollars, we can give thee, here in Aunu’u, everything else the heart of man desires: taro29, breadfruit, yams, pigs, valo, squid, and chickens, wild doves in their season, and good fish for every day of the year; and I will take thee to be my son, to live with me in my fine house and share with me everything I possess.’
“But Patsy only shook his head, and the rope, seemingly terrified lest it were about to lose him, began to click convulsively and without ceasing. Patsy kept hearkening to it while he listened also to my father, which he did with a divided face, like one hearing two voices at once. He said he thanked my father very much for his kindness, but the fact was, he liked the devil, who was now to him almost a member of his[219] own family, and unfailing with the money, one hundred dollars this month and that. Then Nehemiah made another speech, full of piety30 and warning, and thereupon finding that nothing could turn Patsy’s rock-like heart, he rose slowly to his feet and led the party out of doors. There a new discussion took place, the pastor proposing to kill Patsy that night and burn down his house; my father resisting him and saying that he would permit no harm to come to his friend the white man, whether he belonged to the devil or not.
“I don’t know how it was, but from the day of that meeting Patsy began greatly to love my father, and half his time he spent in our house and near him, so that the neighbours marvelled31 about it and were crazed with envy. He gave my father a black coat to wear on Sundays, and cartridges32 for his gun, and nightly they took lessons together in our language, Letonu teaching him to say our words, while Patsy wrote them down on a sheet of paper. Nehemiah preached against us in the church, and would have stopped my father’s communion ticket, but Letonu said he would shoot him, if he did, with both barrels of his gun.
“One day my sister Java returned from Savalalo, where she had been living in the family of my uncle. She was a girl beautiful to look at, and so tall and graceful33 that there was not a young man in the village but whose heart burned at the sight of her. Of them all Patsy alone seemed not to care; and in the evenings, when his devil work was done and he would[220] romp34 with us on the mats or talk with my father about foreign countries, he never had as much as a glance for my sister; while she, on her side, treated him always with disdain35, and often kept away from the house when she knew him to be there. I think Patsy must somehow have found this out, for one night he told us that he would never come back again, as Java hated him; and he kissed us all, and departed sorrowfully into the darkness. After that, when he was not busy in the devil-house, he took long walks into the bush with his gun, or sat solitary36 on his verandah, reading a book; at night he sang no more, nor danced hornpipes, but read and read with a sad face, like a person who mourned a relation.
“We were angry with Java for having driven Patsy away, and told her to go back to Savalalo and let us have our darling; but she seemed not to care for what we said, and only answered that she hoped never to see the devil’s white man again. My father, who loved Patsy, was greatly vexed37 with her, though he said little at first, thinking that our friend would soon return and that Java would grow ashamed. But when day after day passed and he stayed away continually, my father talked to Java with severity, and bade her go down to the devil-house and ask Patsy’s pardon for her wickedness. She was very loath38 to obey, and only went at last when Letonu threatened to send her lashed39 like a pig to a pole, and pretended to call his young men together for that purpose. I was told to go with her, for thou knowest our custom forbidding a young girl to go anywhere alone, lest people should talk and[221] take away her reputation. But I felt sorry for Patsy as I walked behind my sister down the path to his house, for she carried herself defiantly40, and there were tears of anger in her beautiful eyes.
“We found Patsy sitting, as usual, in the devil-house, the great rope tail clicking at his elbow with messages from hell; and though he sprang up smiling when Java opened the door, I thought his face looked sad and changed. She bade me stay outside, and as she seated herself in Patsy’s chair and began to explain the errand on which she had come, I could see that her lips were trembling. For a long time I heard them talking in low voices, and then, growing weary of waiting, I fell asleep on the warm door-step. I do not know how long I slept, but when I at last awoke I could still hear the unceasing murmur41 of their voices inside the room, sweet and soft, as of pigeons cooing in the mountains. I turned the knob of the door and went in; and there, to my astonishment, I beheld42 my sister in Patsy’s arms, her head buried in his breast, her hands clasped thus about his neck, while he was talking foolishly like a mother to her nursing child. At the sight of me they sprang apart, laughing loudly like children at play; and when I asked Java if she had given her message, they both laughed more than ever and caught each other’s hands.
“On our return, Java asked me to say nothing of what I had seen; and told me, in answer to my questions, that Patsy had been secretly breaking his heart for her, though she had never known it; and that she, no less, had been delirious43 for the love of him. She[222] said, too, that he was the most beautiful man in the world, and wise and good above all others, and that her love for him was so great that it almost choked her. When I spoke doubtfully of the devil, she said that was all a pepelo, a joke of Patsy’s; that the rope was what she called a telenafo, which ran under the sea from one country to another, telling the news of each. She said that Patsy had explained everything to her, and had even shown her the little pots of thunder and lightning with which the telenafo was controlled.
“It was not long after this that Patsy and Java were married by the pastor Nehemiah, my father giving them a wedding feast the like of which had never before been seen in Aunu’u, so innumerable were the pigs, so gorgeous the fine mats and offerings. Java went to live in the inland house, and wore a gold ring on her finger and new dresses every day. Patsy gave her another sewing-machine in the place of the old one, and a present of two chests for her clothes; and every day she ate sardines and salt beef like a white person. At first she was pleased with everything, and her face was always smiling with her happiness; but as days grew on she began to tire of the white way,—which, as thou knowest, Siosi, is relentless44 and unchanging,—and of the work, which is continual. A daughter of a chief lives easily in Rakahanga, and little is expected of her, for there are girls to wait on her and men to do the heavy labour. Java grew sad in her elegant house, and cared less and less to paint the stove with blacking and wash greasy45 dishes all day, while the village maids were sporting in the[223] lagoon46 or fishing by torch-light on the reef. She opened her distressed47 heart to Patsy, and old Ta’a was called in, at a monthly wage of three dollars, to carry the burden of these unending tasks. But old Ta’a was a busybody and a thief, and the lies she said with her tongue were worse to be endured than even the loss of kerosene48 and rice which took place continually. Every day something was taken, and when Patsy wondered and complained, the old one said the fault was Java’s for giving to her family like a delirious person. Were I to get a biscuit, the old one changed it into six; and were Letonu to beg a little tea and sugar for his cough, it became transformed in the telling into many basket-loads. On the other side, Ta’a slowly embittered49 Java’s mind against her husband, telling her that the marriage was no true marriage, and that when Patsy saw a prettier face he would not scruple50 to cast her off. So the old woman stayed on and thrived, like a fat maggot in a breadfruit, while Java cried in secret and Patsy grew daily more downcast and silent.
“At last the storm burst which had so long been gathering51, and the little house that had been so joyful52 now shook with the sound of quarrelling voices. Java took her golden ring and threw it on the floor, and with it her golden comb, her much-prized ear-rings, and the brooch which in years gone by had belonged to Patsy’s mother in the White Country; she stripped off her dress, her shoes and stockings, even the ribbon from her long black hair; and then, half naked, she returned to our father’s house.
[224]“Letonu was, of course, much concerned, and went down immediately to see Patsy in order to make things smooth again. But the white man was sullen53 and proud, and would talk of nothing, except that Java could do as she pleased, and that it was the same to him whether she stayed or went. My father, who had been a handsome man in his youth and knew the ways of women, urged Patsy a thousand times to make it up quickly with his wife, telling him to put his arms round her and kiss her and all would be well. ‘Thou mayest know much about the telenafo, and how to keep thunder and lightning in pots,’ said my wise father, ‘but assuredly, Patsy, thou art ignorant of the hearts of women.’ He told him that Java was already repentant54 and ashamed, and, like a person on the top of a high wall, a push would send her either way. But Patsy, like a little sulky child, sat in his chair and refused to speak, while Ta’a rattled55 the dishes and laughed sideways to herself. It was sad, when my father returned, to see the look that Java gave him. Her hot fit was already past, and her face was full of longing56 and sorrow; and on his saying that nothing could be accomplished, she lay down on a mat, and remained there all day like a sick person. She lay thus for nearly a week; and if we asked her anything, she would only groan57 and turn away her head. She was waiting for her man to come to her; but to him there was no such intention; for he stayed shut up in the devil-house, or wandered uselessly in the bush by himself.
“At last she got up, more dead than living, so thin[225] she was and changed; and calling for food, she ate with the voracity58 of a starving person; and then she bathed, and did her hair with flowers, and put on the poor clothes she had worn as a maid. ‘Behold,’ she said, ‘I am now one of the aualuma and no longer married.’ And from that day she who had been the most circumspect59 girl in the village, and the best behaved, became swiftly a run-wild-in-the-bush, going everywhere unattended, and sitting up with the young men at night, so that people called her a paumotu, and her communion ticket was withdrawn60.
“Patsy never lacked for news of her down-going, for old Ta’a still kept house for him; and no tale was ever told of Java but the old one brought it to him, and more also, conceived by her lying heart. Patsy never tried to see his wife or to do anything to bring about peace between them; and if he passed her in the path he would turn away his head, even if it were night, and she alone with another man. Once, only, he showed that he still remembered her at all, at a time when she was possessed of a devil and like to die; then he came to our house, and felt her hands, and gave her medicines from a little box, and told my father to do this and that. And when she grew better and able to sit up, he sent us salt beef and sardines for her well-being.
“Now it happened there belonged to Ta’a’s family a girl named Sina, a thin, hungry piece with a canoe-nose like a white man’s, and a face so unsightly that it resembled a pig’s; and if she went anywhere the children would cry after her, ‘Pig-face, Pig-face![226]’ like that, so that her name of Sina was forgotten, and even members of her family called her unmindfully by the other. Compared to Java, who was tall and beautiful like a daughter of chiefs, this little Sina was no more than a half-grown child; and when she was stripped for bathing, behold, you could count the ribs61 of her body. But Ta’a brought her every day to Patsy’s house, so that by degrees he became accustomed to the sight of her; and all the time the old one kept telling him that the little Pig-face loved him—which, perhaps, indeed was true, for none of our young men ever looked twice her way, except to laugh, and she might have stayed out all night and no one would have thought to speak against her character. Patsy was kind and gentle to her, as he was to every one save poor Java; and the little Pig-face followed him like a dog, and lay at his feet at night, while he read and read on his front verandah. So slavish was her soul that she would have kissed his feet if he had kicked her, and nothing pleased her so much as to sit beside him when he slept and keep the flies from off his face. In the end, of course, there happened that which Ta’a had long been planning: Patsy took the little Pig-face to live with him, and pacified62 her father with two kegs of beef and fifteen silver dollars.
“When the news reached Java she was consumed with a frightful63 anger, and spoke wildly and murderously, like a drunken white man, clinching64 her fists and kicking with her legs. She set to sharpening a knife upon a stone, and we saw that she meant to cut off[227] the little Pig-face’s nose; for, as thou knowest, Siosi, such is our custom here when one woman wrongs another. She called together all the old ladies of the family, and they took counsel with one another in a secret place, arranging between them a scheme for Sina’s capture. But the little Pig-face was cowardly beyond anything ever before known; she bathed not, neither did she wash nor walk about, but lay all day, trembling and noisome65, at Patsy’s feet. Once, indeed, she was nearly caught, when upward of a month had passed and she had grown careless in her watching. In the middle of the night the house was set on fire, and as the two rushed out in confusion, Sina was seized in the arms of a dozen women. Had it not been for the darkness, which made seeing difficult, her canoe-nose would have been swiftly lost to her; but for light they had need to drag her to the burning house, she screaming the while like a hundred pigs. Patsy knew instantly what was happening, and began to fire his pistol in the air as he ran to his partner’s help, giving no thought at all to his perishing house. It was well for the little Pig-face that he did so, for the knife had already sunk below the skin, and a twist would have left her noseless.
“As for the house, it burned and burned until nothing was left of it, though the most of what it held was carried out in safety. The next morning Patsy moved everything down to the devil-house, making of it a fort, with a high fence of wire all round, full of barbs66 and points for the lacerating of flesh. And the little Pig-face, with her nose tied up in cloths, ran this way[228] and that, helping67 him with nails, while Java and I lay in a hiding-place and counted her ribs.
“Thou wouldst have thought that Java might now have rested in her anger, for Patsy’s house was consumed and her rival had felt the sharp edge of her knife. But there was no appeasing68 Java’s heart; and wicked though she was herself, and misconducted, she still could not endure to be supplanted69 by another. My father spoke to her with severity, saying that she had done all that our custom demanded, and that there must now be peace and forgetting. But the blood came hotly into her face, and she answered not a word, nor made the least sign to obey Letonu’s words. Then I saw with a certainty that the war with Sina, far from being finished, was only just beginning; and my body quivered all over with the fear of what was to come.
“For a long time, however, Java did nothing, and went about as usual, seeming to take no further thought. The old women of the family returned to their ordinary occupations, and no longer lay banded in places where Sina might pass. It would have mattered nothing if they had, for the little Pig-face stuck to her house like a barnacle to a rock; and except on Sundays, when she went to church between Patsy and Ta’a, we never saw the least hair of her head. But Java knew of means more potent70 than knives for the undoing71 of a worthless person, and she sought out Malesa, the old wizard of Aleipata, to whom one went ordinarily for love-philters and medicines. For a dollar he gave Java a curse on a sheet of paper, and[229] told her to nail it to the church door on the following Sunday. This she did, to the great indignation of Nehemiah and the elders, though to no purpose so far as concerned the little Pig-face, who happened that day and all the Sundays after to keep away from church, like a heathen in the Black Islands. For what worth is a curse if thy enemy reads it not, nor goest even near the door on which it is placed? Is it not like firing a bullet in the air, hurting nothing?
“So Java returned again to Malesa the wizard, and, for lack of better gifts, she carried with her the sewing-machine she had possessed before her marriage. But the old man said he must have more, and spoke like one delirious, of a hundred dollars and a boat; and when she cried out, he laid his skinny hand on her shoulder and looked a long time into her eyes, and then turned the wheel of the sewing-machine to show that it was broken. But Java’s heart was stronger than a man’s and full of hatred72; so instead of shrinking back, as most women would have done, she told him boldly to name some other price, thinking, perhaps, to give a finger, as Fetuao had done when her husband was perishing with the measles73.
“‘Thy long, curly hair,’ said Tingelau, slowly, ‘and I will make of it a head-dress for my son.’
“‘I will give thee that and more, also,’ said Java, with the tears in her eyes, for there was to her nothing so beautiful as her hair.
“Then, behold, a strange thing happened, for as she knelt before the wizard and undid74 the knot of her hair, letting it tumble over her bosom75 like a cascade,[230] the old man touched it not with the scissors in his hand, no, not even cutting so much as a single hair.
“‘Java,’ he said, ‘thou art too beautiful to mar6. Some other girl must provide a head-dress for my son, and thou shalt return perfect as thou camest; though I shall retain the sewing-machine for my pains, and from time to time, without fail, thou shalt give me a silver dollar until five be reached. And for this small, insignificant76 reward I shall prepare thee a curse the like of which no wizard ever made before—a curse which beside the other shall be as a man to a child, so that the whole world shall tremble and the dead turn in their graves.’
“Accordingly, in three days my sister returned to Aleipata, where old Malesa, faithful to his word, handed her the curse he had been so assiduously preparing. Ah, Siosi, the reading of it was enough to make one’s blood run cold, and palsy the hand that held the written sheet. The little Pig-face was cursed outside and inside, in this world and the next world, part by part, so that nothing was forgotten, even to the lobes77 of her ears and the joints78 of her toes. There was nothing of her but what was to be scorched79 with fire, torn away with pincers, scratched, pierced, and destroyed with pointed80 sticks; lo, she would scream for death while the sharks fought for her dismembering flesh and squid sucked out her eyes, no one being at hand to give her the least assistance. Java smiled as she read the curse aloud, and took counsel with Tu, the brave and handsome, who had agreed to nail it to Patsy’s door.
[231]“It was black night when Tu made the attempt, holding the paper in his mouth like a dog as he climbed the scratching wall of wire. At every moment Java and I expected to hear the explosion of a gun or some sudden sound of awakening81 from within the devil-house; yet nothing reached our ears but the beating of our own anxious hearts. After a long while we heard Tu whispering in the darkness beside us, and our first thought was that he had failed. But we were wrong, for Tu had succeeded in every way, and that with the utmost secrecy82 and skill. Then we went and lay behind a big bush about a hundred fathoms83 inland of the house, so that we might see with advantage what was to happen in the morning; and Java and I petted Tu, and talked to him sweetly, for he had a brave heart, and his handsome body was everywhere torn with the points of wire.
“Panga! Siosi, never was a dawn so slow to come as the one we then waited for, nor any so bitter and chill. Our teeth clicked in our heads, and though we lay closer together than a babe to its nursing mother, or soldiers to one another in the bush, we nearly died with the cold, like people in the White Country. When at last the sun rose in a haze84 like that of blood and smoke commingled85, we felt, indeed, that the curse was already at work; for the air turned sultry beyond all believing, so that we breathed suffocatingly86, and endured the taste of matches in our throats and mouths. Tu said prayers—very good prayers and long, which he had learned in the missionary87 college before he had been expelled; all of them about the[232] beauty of holiness and well-doing. But Java attended to none of these things, nor seemed to care whether we ourselves lived or died, for her eyes were ever on Patsy’s house.
“Patsy himself was the first to come out, leaving the door open behind him, so that the curse was unluckily hidden from his view. He had clubs in his hands, which he twirled in the air as his manner was every morning for the strengthening of his arms. After a few movements he called out to the little Pig-face, saying, ‘Sina, Sina,’ like that. ‘Come out to thy work, thou idle one.’ Thereupon she too appeared, rubbing her eyes, and in her hands were two clubs like those of Patsy’s. But instead of leaving open the door, as her partner had done, she closed it with a push of her hand, and lo, the curse shone white upon it like a splash of lime on a dark cloth. At the sight of it she shrieked88 to Patsy, and together, side by side, they read what was there written, clinging to each other with fainting hearts.
“When Patsy had read it to an end, he uttered a great, mocking laugh, and struck the paper with his club, so that the whole house shook, and old Ta’a came tumbling out like a scared rat. Then he laughed again until the whole bay reëchoed round, and every time he laughed his voice grew more shrill89 and screaming, like that of a woman in a fit. But there was no laughter at all in the little Pig-face, who went and lay down in the sand, hiding her eyes with her hands. And old Ta’a, the thief, the evil-hearted, the out-islander, she tore down the curse with derisive90 shoutings,[233] and danced on it a shameful91 dance which is prohibited by the church. But for all that, we could see that she and Patsy were greatly discountenanced, as well they might have been; for who could read such a curse without trembling, or regard with calm the smoky air now thick with the smell of matches? As for the little Pig-face, she was helped inside the house like a drowning person from the sea, for her legs would no longer carry her, and she could not breathe for very terror. The clubs were left untouched where they had fallen; and when Patsy and Ta’a had carried Sina into the devil-house they shut the door and locked themselves within.
“I don’t know how long it was after this that we lay still spying from our ti’a, but it seemed to me like the space of many hours. For my part, I should have gladly returned home, for I was gnawed92 with hunger, and stiff with the cold night watching; so also was Tu, who spoke piteously of his love for Java, and how it might be the means, through this lawless dabbling93 with the unseen world, of cutting him off in his prime. But so rock-like was Java’s heart, so fierce the flame of her revenge, that she had no compassion94 for this beautiful young man, nor a single word for the comfort of his spirit. With her burning eyes fixed95 on Patsy’s house, she lay motionless on the ground like a dead person, her only thought to see the curse accomplished.
“Suddenly we were startled by a peal96 of thunder; low at first, and then tumultuously rising, which, with repeated explosions like those of cannon97, seemed to[234] shake the island to its bottommost roots. We jumped to our feet, clinging wildly to one another, while the earth shook under us like the sea, and the skies above were rent with a thousand burstings. Even as we stood there, swaying and horror-stricken, I felt Java’s fingers tighten98 on my arm and heard her voice in my ear, crying, ‘Look, look!’ And behold! what did I see but Patsy’s house rising in the air and darting99 seaward at the tail of the great rope, which, hand over fist, the devil was now pulling in from hell. The rope was covered with long, green sea-grass, and all manner of curious shells, which sparkled and twisted in the sun; and it went thus in jumps, like the crackling of a mighty100 whip; and with every jerk the house skimmed forward like a boatswain-bird, showing us at a broken window the faces of the accursed, who with frenzied101 movements climbed the one above the other, striving to escape like a tangle102 of worms in a pot, each one pushing away the other, until at last the water closed over them all. And from that day to this, Siosi, nothing has ever been seen of Ta’a, nor of Sina, nor of the devil’s white man.”
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1
slumber
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| n.睡眠，沉睡状态 | |
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2
draughts
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| n. <英>国际跳棋 | |
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drowsy
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| adj.昏昏欲睡的，令人发困的 | |
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4
streaks
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| n.（与周围有所不同的）条纹( streak的名词复数 )；（通常指不好的）特征（倾向）；（不断经历成功或失败的）一段时期v.快速移动( streak的第三人称单数 )；使布满条纹 | |
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descended
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| a.为...后裔的，出身于...的 | |
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mar
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| vt.破坏，毁坏，弄糟 | |
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7
fathom
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| v.领悟，彻底了解 | |
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8
sardines
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| n. 沙丁鱼 | |
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9
behold
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| v.看，注视，看到 | |
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10
previously
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| adv.以前，先前（地） | |
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11
countless
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| adj.无数的，多得不计其数的 | |
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12
well-being
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| n.安康，安乐，幸福 | |
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13
liking
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| n.爱好；嗜好；喜欢 | |
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14
intervals
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| n.[军事]间隔( interval的名词复数 )；间隔时间；[数学]区间；（戏剧、电影或音乐会的）幕间休息 | |
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15
marvel
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| vi.(at)惊叹vt.感到惊异；n.令人惊异的事 | |
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16
parables
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| n.（圣经中的）寓言故事( parable的名词复数 ) | |
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17
accomplished
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| adj.有才艺的；有造诣的；达到了的 | |
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18
pastor
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| n.牧师，牧人 | |
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19
determined
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| adj.坚定的；有决心的 | |
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20
seaman
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| n.海员，水手，水兵 | |
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21
underneath
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| adj.在...下面，在...底下；adv.在下面 | |
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22
spoke
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| n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说 | |
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23
astonishment
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| n.惊奇，惊异 | |
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24
oversight
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| n.勘漏，失察，疏忽 | |
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25
mortified
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| v.使受辱( mortify的过去式和过去分词 )；伤害（人的感情）；克制；抑制（肉体、情感等） | |
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26
immortal
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| adj.不朽的；永生的，不死的；神的 | |
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27
possessed
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| adj.疯狂的；拥有的，占有的 | |
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28
misery
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| n.痛苦，苦恼，苦难；悲惨的境遇，贫苦 | |
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29
taro
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| n.芋，芋头 | |
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30
piety
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| n.虔诚，虔敬 | |
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31
marvelled
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| v.惊奇，对…感到惊奇( marvel的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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32
cartridges
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| 子弹( cartridge的名词复数 )； （打印机的）墨盒； 录音带盒； （唱机的）唱头 | |
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33
graceful
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| adj.优美的，优雅的；得体的 | |
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34
romp
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| n.欢闹；v.嬉闹玩笑 | |
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35
disdain
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| n.鄙视，轻视；v.轻视，鄙视，不屑 | |
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36
solitary
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| adj.孤独的，独立的，荒凉的；n.隐士 | |
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37
vexed
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| adj.争论不休的；（指问题等）棘手的；争论不休的问题；烦恼的v.使烦恼( vex的过去式和过去分词 )；使苦恼；使生气；详细讨论 | |
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38
loath
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| adj.不愿意的；勉强的 | |
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39
lashed
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| adj.具睫毛的v.鞭打( lash的过去式和过去分词 )；煽动；紧系；怒斥 | |
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40
defiantly
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| adv.挑战地，大胆对抗地 | |
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41
murmur
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| n.低语，低声的怨言；v.低语，低声而言 | |
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42
beheld
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| v.看，注视( behold的过去式和过去分词 )；瞧；看呀；（叙述中用于引出某人意外的出现）哎哟 | |
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43
delirious
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| adj.不省人事的，神智昏迷的 | |
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44
relentless
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| adj.残酷的，不留情的，无怜悯心的 | |
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45
greasy
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| adj. 多脂的，油脂的 | |
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46
lagoon
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| n.泻湖，咸水湖 | |
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47
distressed
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| 痛苦的 | |
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48
kerosene
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| n.(kerosine)煤油，火油 | |
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49
embittered
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| v.使怨恨，激怒( embitter的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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50
scruple
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| n./v.顾忌，迟疑 | |
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51
gathering
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| n.集会，聚会，聚集 | |
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52
joyful
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| adj.欢乐的，令人欢欣的 | |
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53
sullen
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| adj.愠怒的，闷闷不乐的，(天气等)阴沉的 | |
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54
repentant
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| adj.对…感到悔恨的 | |
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55
rattled
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| 慌乱的，恼火的 | |
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56
longing
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| n.（for）渴望 | |
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57
groan
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| vi./n.呻吟，抱怨；(发出)呻吟般的声音 | |
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58
voracity
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| n.贪食，贪婪 | |
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59
circumspect
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| adj.慎重的，谨慎的 | |
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60
withdrawn
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| vt.收回；使退出；vi.撤退，退出 | |
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61
ribs
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| n.肋骨( rib的名词复数 )；（船或屋顶等的）肋拱；肋骨状的东西；（织物的）凸条花纹 | |
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62
pacified
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| 使（某人）安静( pacify的过去式和过去分词 )； 息怒； 抚慰； 在（有战争的地区、国家等）实现和平 | |
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63
frightful
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| adj.可怕的；讨厌的 | |
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64
clinching
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| v.（尤指两人）互相紧紧抱[扭]住( clinch的现在分词 )；解决（争端、交易），达成（协议） | |
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65
noisome
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| adj.有害的，可厌的 | |
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66
barbs
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| n.（箭头、鱼钩等的）倒钩( barb的名词复数 )；带刺的话；毕露的锋芒；钩状毛 | |
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67
helping
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| n.食物的一份&adj.帮助人的，辅助的 | |
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68
appeasing
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| 安抚，抚慰( appease的现在分词 )； 绥靖（满足另一国的要求以避免战争） | |
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69
supplanted
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| 把…排挤掉，取代( supplant的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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70
potent
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| adj.强有力的，有权势的；有效力的 | |
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71
undoing
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| n.毁灭的原因，祸根；破坏，毁灭 | |
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72
hatred
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| n.憎恶，憎恨，仇恨 | |
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73
measles
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| n.麻疹，风疹，包虫病，痧子 | |
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74
Undid
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| v. 解开, 复原 | |
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75
bosom
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| n.胸，胸部；胸怀；内心；adj.亲密的 | |
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76
insignificant
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| adj.无关紧要的，可忽略的，无意义的 | |
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77
lobes
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| n.耳垂( lobe的名词复数 )；（器官的）叶；肺叶；脑叶 | |
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78
joints
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| 接头( joint的名词复数 )； 关节； 公共场所（尤指价格低廉的饮食和娱乐场所） （非正式）； 一块烤肉 （英式英语） | |
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79
scorched
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| 烧焦，烤焦( scorch的过去式和过去分词 )； 使（植物）枯萎，把…晒枯； 高速行驶； 枯焦 | |
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80
pointed
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| adj.尖的，直截了当的 | |
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81
awakening
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| n.觉醒，醒悟 adj.觉醒中的；唤醒的 | |
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82
secrecy
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| n.秘密，保密，隐蔽 | |
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83
fathoms
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| 英寻( fathom的名词复数 ) | |
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84
haze
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| n.霾，烟雾；懵懂，迷糊；vi.(over)变模糊 | |
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85
commingled
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| v.混合，掺和，合并( commingle的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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86
suffocatingly
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| 令人窒息地 | |
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87
missionary
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| adj.教会的，传教(士)的；n.传教士 | |
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88
shrieked
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| v.尖叫( shriek的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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89
shrill
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| adj.尖声的；刺耳的；v尖叫 | |
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90
derisive
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| adj.嘲弄的 | |
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91
shameful
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| adj.可耻的，不道德的 | |
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92
gnawed
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| 咬( gnaw的过去式和过去分词 )； （长时间） 折磨某人； （使）苦恼； （长时间）危害某事物 | |
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93
dabbling
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| v.涉猎( dabble的现在分词 )；涉足；浅尝；少量投资 | |
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94
compassion
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| n.同情，怜悯 | |
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95
fixed
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| adj.固定的，不变的，准备好的；(计算机)固定的 | |
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96
peal
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| n.钟声；v.鸣响 | |
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97
cannon
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| n.大炮，火炮；飞机上的机关炮 | |
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98
tighten
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| v.(使)变紧；(使)绷紧 | |
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99
darting
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| v.投掷，投射( dart的现在分词 )；向前冲，飞奔 | |
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100
mighty
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| adj.强有力的；巨大的 | |
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101
frenzied
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| a.激怒的；疯狂的 | |
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102
tangle
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| n.纠缠；缠结；混乱；v.(使)缠绕；变乱 | |
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