Introductory material (continued 2)

"And then?"

I heard her grind her little white teeth viciously.

"There will be no then, Dr. De Normanville, so we need not talk of it; while I live they will never catch me, and when I am dead it cannot matter who has possession of my body. Good-night!"

Before I could answer she had left me and vanished down the companion ladder. I turned to the sea and my own thoughts. The ship's bell struck four (ten o'clock), the lookout at the fo'c's'le-head cried, "All's well!" silence reigned, a wonderful quiet broken only by the humming of the breeze in the shrouds, and the tinkling of the water alongside. I leant against the rail and considered the life of the Beautiful White Devil as I had heard it from her own lips.

CHAPTER IV.

THE HOME OF THE BEAUTIFUL WHITE DEVIL.

The sun next morning had scarcely made his appearance when I awoke to a knowledge of the fact that the yacht was stationary. Such a circumstance could have but one meaning: we had arrived at our destination. As soon, therefore, as this idea became properly impressed upon my mind, I sprang from my bunk, made for the port-hole, and, drawing back the little curtain that covered it, gazed out upon the world. And what a picture met my eager eyes! What a scene to paint in words or pigments! But oh, how difficult! If I were a literary craftsman of more than ordinary ability, I might possibly be able to give you some dim impression of what I saw. But being only an amateur word-painter of the sorriest sort, I very much fear it is a task beyond my capabilities. However, for the sake of my story, I suppose I must try.

To begin with, you must endeavour to imagine a small harbour, at most half a mile long by three-quarters wide, having upon the side towards which I looked a wide plateau extending almost to the sands that fringe the water's edge. Picture this tableland, or plateau, as I have called it, backed by a tall, forest-crowned hill, almost a mountain, which soars up and up a couple of thousand feet or more into the azure sky; while peering out of the jungle that ornaments its base may be seen the white roofs of houses, with, here and there, the thatch of a native hut of the kind usually met with on the west coast of Borneo and the islands thereabout.

So strikingly beautiful was the view, and so great was my curiosity to examine for myself this home of the Beautiful White Devil, for such I could not help feeling convinced it was, that I dressed with all possible speed and repaired on deck.

From this point of vantage the prospect was even more pleasingly picturesque than it had been from the port-hole of my cabin.

All round us the water was smooth as green glass, and so wonderfully transparent that, on leaning over the starboard bulwark, I could plainly discern the flaking of the sand at the bottom and the brilliant colours of the snout-nosed fishes as they swam past, at least a dozen fathoms below the surface.

To my surprise the harbour was entirely landlocked, and, though I searched for some time, I could discern no opening in the amphitheatre of hills through which a vessel of even the smallest size could pass in from the sea. But being more taken up with the beautiful scenery of the bay than its harbour facilities, I did not puzzle over this for very long.

So still was the morning that the smoke of the huts ashore went up straight and true into the air, the pale blue contrasting admirably with the varied greens of the foliage out of which it rose. Overhead, and around us, flocks of gulls, of kinds hitherto unknown to me, wheeled and screamed, while at intervals gorgeously-plumed parrots flew across our bows from shore to shore. Once a small green bird, apparently of the finch tribe, settled on the foreyard foot-rope, and a little later a tiny sand-piper came aboard, and hopped about the fo'c's'le as calmly as if he had been doing nothing else all his life.

When first I came on deck, with the exception of the cook in his galley, not a soul was to be seen. But presently, while I was watching the antics of the bird I have just described, my old acquaintance Walworth joined me at the rail, and laid himself out for conversation.

"Doctor," he said, "I want you to tell me candidly, if, in all your experience of the world, you have ever looked upon a fairer scene than that you have before you now?"

"No; I don't think I have," I answered. "It is marvellously beautiful, but all the same, I must own one or two things about it rather puzzle me."

"And what are they?"

"Well! in the first place, since I can see no opening in the hills, how did we get in here?"

"Ah! you have been thinking about that, have you? Well, to save you any further trouble on that score, let me tell you that if you were to look for a hundred years from where you stand now you would not be able to discover it. And, unless her ladyship gives permission, it would be as much as my life is worth for me to tell you. Now for your second question?"

"Well, I can see, say, a dozen huts, all told, over yonder," I answered. "Surely they don't constitute the settlement of which you spoke to me?"

"No; they do not. Those you see over there are only the outlying portions of the village, meant to deceive the crew of any vessel who might land and find their way in here; the real place itself lies five miles inland, round that hill, through the gap you can just make out alongside that bit of terra-cotta coloured cliff yonder."

"I see! And now, to change the subject. With regard to that lymph you procured for me in Hong Kong, where is it?"

"It has already been sent to your bungalow with the rest of the medical paraphernalia we brought with us."

"And her ladyship?"

"Went ashore as soon as we came to anchor. If I mistake not that's her boat coming off to us now."

As he spoke, a large white surf-boat put off from the beach, and, under the sturdy arms of her crew, came swiftly across the stretch of blue towards us. As she ranged alongside, I carefully examined the men rowing. They were of medium size, and evidently of the Dyak race, being taller than the average Malay, and inclining more to the build of the Solomon Islander than to any other class I could think of. They were bright, intelligent-looking fellows, and evidently well cared for. As soon as they had hitched on to the gangway, the coxswain came aboard, and said something in native to my companion, who, in reply, pointed to me.

Thereupon the man drew a note from his turban, and handed it to me with the confidence and easy bearing of one gentleman rendering a service to another. It was addressed in Alie's handwriting.

Though a considerable time has elapsed since my receipt of that little note, I can plainly recall the thrill that went through me as I opened it. It ran as follows:

Dear Dr. De Normanville:

I beg you will forgive my not remaining on board to welcome you to my home, but as you will readily imagine I was most anxious to see for myself, at once, how things were progressing ashore. Unfortunately, however, I have nothing favourable to report. Will you come and breakfast with me immediately on receipt of this? My coxswain will show you the way. Then, afterward, I could take you, myself, round the settlement.

With very kind regards, Believe me, truly your friend, Alie.

I thrust the note into my pocket, and having told Walworth what I was about to do, went below to my cabin to prepare for my excursion. Then returning to the deck I descended into the boat alongside, and we set off for the shore. As we rowed I was able to look back and observe, for the first time, the proportions and symmetry of the beautiful craft I had just left.

Indeed, a prettier picture than the Lone Star presented at that moment could not possibly be imagined. Her tall masts and rigging showed out clear-cut against the blue sky, while her exquisitely-modelled hull was reflected, with mirror-like distinctness, in the placid water around her; the brasswork upon her binnacle and wheel shone like burnished gold, and so clear was the water, that the whole of her bright copper sheathing, and even the outline of her keel, could plainly be distinguished.

Within five minutes of leaving her, our coxswain had deftly brought us alongside a small, but neatly-constructed, wooden jetty. Here I disembarked, and, escorted by that amiable individual, set off at once on our journey to the dwelling of my mysterious hostess.

Leaving the white, sandy foreshore of the bay, we passed by a well made track through the forest in a due northerly direction. And such a forest as it was! Such wealth of timber, such varieties of woods, shrubs, creepers, orchids, and flowers. On one hand, perhaps, an iron tree of imperial growth would tower above us; on another an enormous teak, with here and there the curious leaves and twisted outline of a gutta-percha—all mixed up with pipa palms, camphor trees, canes and bamboos of every possible hue and description. From tree to tree, across our path, birds of all kinds, including paddi birds, green pigeons, flycatchers, barbets, and sunbirds flew with discordant cries, while not once, but more often than I could count, hordes of monkeys swung themselves wildly from branch to branch overhead, chattering and calling to each other as if the whole wide world were there to applaud their antics. Our path was indeed a varied one; one moment we were surrounded on all sides by the forest, the next we were out on the bare face of the hill looking down upon the tops of trees. The bright sunshine flooded everything; while the fresh breeze from the sea was just cool enough to make the exertion of walking pleasant. Indeed, so enjoyable was it, that I was almost sorry when we left the forest for the last time and emerged on to a small plain, bounded by the scrub on one side and by the mountain on the other. On this I could discern a collection of huts and houses to the number of perhaps three hundred. But what struck me as most remarkable about them was the fact that they were arranged in streets, and that the majority of them were built on European lines; also in almost every case—and I was able to verify this later on—each one possessed a well-kept and apparently productive garden, varying in extent from a quarter up to as much in some cases as an acre. On the other side of the village furthest from where I stood, the forest began again, and ran in an unbroken mass up to the high mountain land before referred to. On the right side of this mountain, and distinctly visible from every part of the village, was a fine waterfall, perhaps a couple of hundred feet high, from which rose continually a heavy mist, catching in the sunlight every known colour of the rainbow. Altogether, a more picturesque little place could not have been discovered. It was quite in keeping with the woman, the yacht, the forest, and the harbour. And to think that this was the home of the Beautiful White Devil, the home of that mysterious woman whose so-called crimes and acts of daring were common gossip from Colombo to the farthest Saghalien coast.

Leaving the village on our left, we ascended the mountain side for a short distance by a well-worn track, then turning sharply to our left hand, wound round it to where another large plateau began. Reaching this, midway between the village and the waterfall, we saw before us a high and well-made picket fence in which was a gate. Through this gate we passed, and after carefully closing it behind us, followed a short track along a lovely avenue of Areca palms and india rubber trees towards a house we could just discern through the foliage; then, having ascended a flight of broad stone steps, flanked with quaint stone gods and images, we stood before the dwelling of the Beautiful White Devil.

I fear, deeply as the memory of it is impressed upon my mind, it is hardly in my power to convey to you any real impression of the building I had come so far to see, and in which I was destined to spend so many hours. Suffice it that it was an adobe construction—one story high, and designed on somewhat the same plan as an Indian bungalow; the walls were of great thickness, the better to withstand the heat, I suppose; the rooms presented the appearance of being lofty and imposing, while one and all opened by means of French windows on to the broad verandah which ran round the house upon every side. This verandah, and indeed the whole house, was embowered in dense masses of different-coloured creepers, which in the brilliant sunshine presented a most charming and novel effect. From the verandah on the left, or south, side, another broad flight of stone steps, similarly adorned with stone carvings, conducted one to the garden, while to the right, and scarcely more than a couple of hundred yards distant, crashed the waterfall I had seen from the hill, with a roar that could have been heard many miles away, down into the black pool two hundred feet below.

At the foot of the first steps my guide left me and returned to the harbour by the road along which he had come. I paused to recover my breath and watched him out of sight, then turning to the house ascended the flight of steps. Just as I reached the top, and was wondering how I might best make my presence known to those inside, I heard the rustling of a dress in the verandah; next moment Alie herself, clad in white from top to toe, as was her custom, came round the corner, followed by her enormous bulldog, and confronted me. I can see her now, and even after this lapse of time can feel the influence of her wonderful personality upon me just as plainly as if it were but yesterday I stood before her. Seeing me she said something to the dog,—who had uttered a low growl,—and stretched out her hand.

"Good-morning, Dr. De Normanville," she said, smiling as no other woman could ever do; "you received my note, then? I am glad to see you, and I make you welcome to my home."

"A Garden of Eden I should be inclined to call it," I answered, looking about me. "How many of us would be glad to dwell in it!"

She looked at me for a moment, and then asked somewhat bitterly:

"Pray is that pretty speech meant for Alie or the Beautiful White Devil? There is a difference, you know."

Then, not permitting me time to answer, she changed the subject by saying:

"Breakfast is on the table, I believe. Let us go in to it. Will you give me your arm?"

I did so, and together we passed from the creeper-covered verandah into a room straight before us.

In the previous chapter I have described to you Alie's cabin on board the Lone Star, and, in doing it, almost beggared myself of language; now I can only ask you to believe that rich as that cabin was in its appointments, in its arrangements, its curios and articles of vertu, the room which we entered now eclipsed it in every particular. Indeed, such another I never remember to have seen. From floor to ceiling it was filled with curiosities and articles of the greatest beauty and value. Rich Persian, Indian, Chinese, and Japanese hangings covered the walls, interspersed with such articles of pottery, silver, and china, as made me break the Tenth Commandment every time I looked at them. Native weapons of all kinds and of every nationality, some with plain, others with superbly jewelled, hilts; Indian, Cinghalese, Burmese, Siamese, Japanese, and Chinese bric-a-brac; two large cases of mineral specimens, comprising many precious stones; quite a dozen pictures of rare value, one looking suspiciously like a Titian; while fully a couple of hundred books, a grand piano, and at least half-a-dozen other musical instruments, including a harp and a guitar, helped to complete the furniture.

In the centre of the room stood the breakfast table, covered with an exquisitely embroidered white linen cloth, on which was displayed such a collection of beautiful gold and silver ware as I had never seen on a table before. Three heaps of fruit, consisting of durians, pisangs, bananas, mangoes, mangosteens, and custard apples were piled upon three lovely Sèvres dishes in the centre, flanked by two quaintly-shaped decanters filled with wine.

We seated ourselves at either end of the table, and my hostess struck a tiny silver gong by her side. Breakfast was instantly served by the same impassive servant who had waited upon us on board the yacht. If he felt any surprise at my presence on this occasion, he did not show it; indeed, it would almost have seemed as if he were not aware that I was the same person.

And now a word as to the déjeuner itself. It has been my good fortune to have breakfasted at most of the famous restaurants in Europe, that is to say, in London, Paris, Rome, and Vienna, but I am prepared to state, and I put it forward believing it to be true, that the meal of which I partook that morning in the Beautiful White Devil's bungalow excelled any I had ever partaken of before. From beginning to end it was perfect in every way. The fish, evidently but lately caught, could only have been called a poem of culinary art, the omelets were Parisian in their daintiness and serving, the cutlets were of the right size and done to a turn, the wine (for the meal was served after the French fashion) was worthy of imperial cellars, and the fruit had evidently been in the garden less than half an hour before. My hostess noticed the surprise with which I regarded these things; for extraordinary it certainly was to sit down to such a breakfast on an island in the North Pacific.

"You are evidently wondering at the civilisation of my surroundings," she said, as the man servant poured her out a glass of Tokay.

"Indeed, yes!" I answered. "I must own I had no notion I should find anything in any way approaching it in these seas. Your cook must be a wonder."

"Well, perhaps he is rather extraordinary!" she continued. "But I doubt if you will deem it so wonderful when I tell you that he is a Frenchman of the French, who was once in the service of Victor Emanuel. How I came to obtain the benefit of his skill is, of course, another matter."

"And will he stay with you, do you think? Are you not sometimes afraid that your servants will want to leave you, and return to civilisation again?"

"My servants never leave me," she answered, with an emphasis there was no mistaking. "And for the best of reasons. No! I certainly have no fear on that score."

"You are able to place implicit trust in them, then?" I asked, amazed at the confidence with which she spoke.

"The most implicit trust," she said. "My servants are carefully chosen. They give their services cheerfully, and, like my dog there, they would obey me at any cost, however great, to themselves. Would you like an example?"

"Very much, if you will favour me," I answered.

"Then watch me closely. In the first place you must understand that, next to myself, my bulldog's greatest friend and companion is my butler—the man who has just left the room. Well, I will ring for him."

She did so, and, as soon as the bell had stopped ringing, called the dog to her side and said something to him in the same curious language she had employed before. Thereupon he went over to the door, and, laying himself down about a yard from it, watched it intently. He had not been there a half minute before the door opened, and the servant stood upon the threshold.

Immediately the dog saw him he rose to his feet, every bristle erect, showing all his teeth, and growling savagely. At first the man did not know what to make of this behaviour. Then he spoke to the animal, and at the same time attempted to pass him. But this the beast would not permit. His upper lip drew further back, and he showed unmistakably that if the man advanced another step he would bite, and bite severely. All this time his mistress lay back in her chair, toying with a spoon upon the table, and watching the pair out of half-closed eyes, according to her peculiar habit. Then she spoke to the man.

"I have told the dog," she said in English, for my benefit, I suppose, "to seize you by the throat if you attempt to enter the room. You know that he will do what I tell him. Very well then, come in!"

Dangerous as was his position, so great was the influence the Beautiful White Devil exercised over her dependents that the man did not hesitate or wait to be bidden twice, but at once complied with her order. He had not advanced two steps, however, before the dog had sprung into the air, and had his mistress not called to him in time, would have taken the unfortunate domestic by the throat. As it was he stopped midway in his spring, and a moment later was back again crouching at her side. Then having addressed some words of explanation to the frightened man, she turned to me and said:

"Are you satisfied with that practical proof, Dr. De Normanville, or do you want another? You are satisfied? I am glad of that, for I tell you just as that man obeyed my orders, regardless of the consequences, so would every other man in my employ, from my chief officer down to the little native lad who pulls the punkah."

"It is very wonderful!"

"On the contrary, it is very simple."

"I'm afraid I do not quite understand?"

"Then I'm sorry to say I must for the present leave you in your ignorance. Some day I may afford you another example which will perhaps enlighten you more fully."

For a few moments she sat wrapped in thought, looking at a flower she had taken from a vase; then she lifted her eyes again and addressed me with an air of authority that sat well upon her.

"We have finished our breakfast, I think," she said. "Now I imagine you will be anxious to inspect your patients. Well, if you will wait ten minutes while I transact a little legal business, I will accompany you."

So saying she led me out into the verandah, where we seated ourselves in long cane chairs. A tall native was in waiting, and when she had said something to him he withdrew.

"Now you will have an opportunity of witnessing a little piece of retributive justice," she observed; "and also of observing how I treat those who misconduct themselves in my domains."

She had hardly spoken before the tramp of feet sounded from round the corner, and next moment two stalwart natives appeared escorting a young man, also an islander, whose bright attractive countenance won my regard from the first. Behind this party came the complainant, an elderly native, whose puckered and wrinkled face was about as unprepossessing as the other's was pleasing. Seeing their ruler before them they prostrated themselves with one accord, and remained in that position until they were told to rise. When they had done so, Alie narrated the features of the case to me in English. The old man, it appeared, had a young wife; the prisoner was her cousin, and, if the complainant could be believed, had shown himself fonder of her than was comfortable for the husband's peace of mind. Age proving jealous, and at the same time suspicious of the motive of Youth's cousinly affection, had trumped up a charge of stealing gardening implements against him, and had brought sworn testimony to prove that the stolen articles had been found in his possession. But it so happened that Alie had been aware for some time past that the real object of the youth's affection was one of her own domestics, a comely enough damsel, employed in the house. The upshot of it all was that the charge was dismissed; the old man had to listen to a short homily on jealousy; the young couple were married there and then, and given a hut in the township for their own use, while the old man was ordered, by way of compensation for the false accusation he had brought, to provide them, that self-same day, with certain goods and chattels necessary to their housekeeping. As for the three false witnesses, who had placed so small a value upon their reputations for veracity as to allow themselves to be suborned against an innocent man, their case was somewhat harder; they were taken to the rear of the house, where they received ten strokes of the rod apiece, well laid on, as a warning to them against future dealings in unsound evidence.

This case finished, Alie made another sign to one of her men, who instantly disappeared. Then she settled herself in her chair, and I noticed that a harder look came into her face.

"You have witnessed how I conduct one side of my court," she said. "Now you shall see the other."

Again the tramp of feet was heard, and once more guards and prisoner made their appearance round the corner. To my surprise, the latter was none other than my old acquaintance Kwong Fung, the notorious Chinese pirate. But though he must have remembered me, his sullen, evil face betrayed no sign of surprise. He only stood between his guards watching my hostess and waiting for her to speak. Presently she did so, in Chinese, and once, only once, did he answer her. During the harangue I glanced at her face, and was amazed at the change in it. The old soft expression was completely gone, and in its place had come one that, to tell the honest truth, even frightened me. Never before or since have I seen such a perfect exhibition of self-contained, but all-consuming, rage. Once more she spoke to the prisoner, who refused to answer. She instantly addressed herself to the escort. The man in command was in the act of replying when the prisoner, by some means which I shall never be able to explain, raised his right arm before his guards could stop him. In the palm of his hand lay a knife, somewhat resembling a Malay krise, but with a shorter and straighter blade. With the swiftness of thought the hand seemed to drop back and instantly resume its upright position. The impetus thus given sent the weapon flying along the verandah toward us, and if I had not thrown my left arm before her, there could be no doubt that it would have found a scabbard in Alie's breast. As it was it stuck in the sleeve of my white jacket, passing through the fabric without even scratching the flesh. Unnerving as the incident was, the Beautiful White Devil did not show the slightest sign of fear, but simply said "Thank you!" to me, and then resumed her instructions to the guard. Kwong Fung was immediately led away.

For some seconds after his departure neither of us spoke, then, noticing that her face was regaining its old expression, I took courage enough to inquire my enemy's fate.

"Death," she answered. "I have forgiven that man times out of number; I have helped him when he was in distress, and once I rescued him when he was within an ace of being executed. But since he has murdered one of my bravest subjects in cold blood, and cannot respect the orders I have given, but must needs attempt the lives of those I have sworn to protect, he must be prevented from doing any more harm by the safest means we can employ."

She was silent again for a few moments, then picking up the dagger, which had fallen on the floor, she looked me steadily in the face, and said:

"Dr. De Normanville, I owe you my life. If ever the opportunity arrives you will not find me ungrateful. It was a near escape, was it not? I shall have to change my servants if they cannot see that their prisoners are unarmed."

I was about to reply, but was interrupted by the arrival of a second batch of litigants, who were followed by a third. They were all natives, for, as I discovered later, there was not one single instance on record, in the history of the island, of the white population having found it necessary to resort to law to settle their differences. A more peaceable, happy, and law-abiding community could not be found. One thing was very noticeable in each of these cases, and that was the pacific reception of, and the resignation with which, the decisions of their ruler were received. She spoke to them, chided them, sympathised with them, and smoothed down their ruffled feathers just as if they had in reality been what she had called them—her children. And as a result, in each case plaintiff and defendant went off together, their differences settled and their former animosity quite forgotten. When the last case was concluded, Alie put on her large white hat, which throughout the legal business had been lying beside her, and we were in the act of setting out for the village, accompanied by the dog, when an incident occurred which was fraught with as much interest to me, in my study of her extraordinary position and character, as anything else I had so far met with during my stay in the island.

We were descending the long stone steps before described, when a young and attractive native woman hove in sight, carrying in her arms a bundle, which on her nearer approach proved to be a baby. Arriving at the steps she halted and knelt at Alie's feet, kissing the hem of her dress, and at the same time saying something to her in the soft native tongue I have so repeatedly admired.

When she had finished Alie turned to me and said:

"Doctor, this is your first case; and a sad one. Will you tell me if you can do anything for this poor creature's child?"

Turning to the woman I signed to her to let me look at the infant. The poor little thing was in the last stage of confluent small-pox, and presented a sickening appearance.

"Is it a hopeless case?" Alie asked, with almost an entreat in her voice, a note that had certainly not been there a quarter of an hour before, when she had sent Kwong Fung to his doom.

"Quite hopeless," I answered; "but I will endeavour to make death as painless as possible. Will you tell the poor soul to bring the child to me in half an hour in the village?"

Alie translated my speech and must have given the mother some encouragement, for she fell at my feet, and in the deepest reverence kissed my boots. Then with an obeisance to my companion she passed down a side path and disappeared among the trees.

Alie turned to me and said, with a deep sigh:

"Now, Dr. De Normanville, if you are ready we will set off on our tour of inspection."

I agreed, and accordingly we passed through the gate and went down the path towards the settlement.

CHAPTER V.

HOW WE FOUGHT THE PLAGUE.

Leaving the house behind us we made our way by means of a circuitous path, round the base of the majestic waterfall before described, down towards the buildings on the plain. The route chosen was a perfect one in every way, not only for observing the excellent placing of the township on the plateau, but for noting the beauties of nature along the path. As in the jungle through which I had passed to approach the house, lovely creepers twined from tree to tree, orchids gaped from every crevice, some of them almost human in their quaintness; while mixed up with them in marvellous profusion were palms, ferns, shrubs, and bamboos of every known hue and description. Butterflies and beetles, of colourings so glorious that my fingers positively itched for my collecting box, fluttered from flower to flower, while parrots (Palædinis longianda), Nikobar pigeons, and the darter, or snake bird, were so frequently met with as to lose all their charm of novelty. Sometimes we would be in places where the wealth of greenery shut out all view of the sky; a moment later we could look through the leaves at the great mountain pushing its head up into what seemed the azure vault of heaven itself. But beautiful as all this was, not the least lovely part of it was the mysterious woman walking by my side.

As we made our way down the path we talked on many subjects, European politics, of which her knowledge was extensive, the beauties of the East, literature and art; but, somehow or another, however far we might wander from it, the conversation invariably came back to the epidemic that was the occasion of my presence in the settlement.

At last we left the jungle and prepared to descend the precipitous hillside by means of a long flight of wooden steps, which ended at the commencement of the main street. In the brilliant sunlight the township looked a pretty enough little place, with its well laid-out and nicely planted thoroughfares, neatly built European houses, and picturesque native huts. It was hard to believe that, clean and healthy as it all looked, it had lost more than a quarter of its population by the ravages of one of the most awful pestilences human flesh is heir to. Indeed, so much impressed was I with its beauty that for a moment or two I stood watching it, unable to say a word. Then I looked at my companion. She, like myself, had been very silent for the last hundred yards, and now, as she looked down at her kingdom, I saw her beautiful eyes fill with tears.

"Dr. De Normanville," she said, as we arrived at the bottom of the steps, "if you will allow me, some day, when we are a little better acquainted, I will tell you the story of this place and the influence it has had upon my life. Then you will be able to understand how it is that I am so much affected by my people's sufferings."

I murmured an appropriate reply and we entered the village. Our arrival had been anxiously expected, and at the gate of the first house we were met by an old man, who was evidently a person of considerable importance in the place. He had a white skin and a slightly Scandinavian cast of countenance, and, though he spoke Chinese and the native tongue with unusual fluency, was evidently more than half an Englishman. On seeing my companion he raised his hat politely and waited for her to speak.

"Mr. Christianson," she said, holding out her hand, "this is Dr. De Normanville, who has been kind enough to come to our assistance from Hong Kong. I don't think it is necessary for me to assure him that you will give him your entire assistance in this terrible crisis, in the same manner as you have hitherto given it to me."

The old man bowed to me, and then addressed my companion.

"We have done our best in your absence," he said sorrowfully; "but it seems as if Fate were against us. There are at the present moment one hundred and thirty cases all told, of which eighty-four are men, twenty-three women, and the remainder children. Yesterday there were eighteen deaths—among them your old coxswain, Kusae, who died at seven in the morning, and Ellai, the wife of Attack, who followed him within an hour. The Englishman, Brandon, died at midday, his wife during the afternoon, and their only child this morning, scarcely an hour ago. Doctor, is there any hope at all of our being able to stop this awful plague?"

I assured him we would do our best, and he agreed that no man could ask or expect us to do more. By the time our conversation was finished I had taken a decided fancy to the old fellow, and with Alie's permission enrolled him there and then as my second in command.

"Now," I said, turning to her, "before we commence our work let me exactly understand my position. With what powers am I invested?"

"With full and complete authority," she answered promptly. "Whatever you may deem best for my unfortunate people, please do without consulting anyone. Believe me, no one will attempt to dispute your right."

"That is as it should be, and I thank you," I said. "Now, will you tell me where my own abode is to be? It should be as far removed from the centre of the infected district as possible, yet, at the same time, central enough to be convenient for all the inhabitants."

"I thought that house on the mound at the foot of the hill," she answered, pointing with her beautiful hand to a neat weather-board structure about a couple of hundred yards from the place where we were then standing; "in fact, I have even gone so far as to give orders that it should be prepared for you. Shall we go and examine it?"

Accordingly, accompanied by the old man, we set out for it, eagerly watched by a crowd of natives, who, from the expressions on their faces, had come quite to look upon me as their deliverer.

The house proved to be a most commodious little place of four rooms, and, from the luxury with which the two living apartments were furnished, it was evident that considerable trouble and care had been bestowed upon them. When we entered, an intelligent native lad was called from an inner room and informed in English that I was his new master, and that he was to see that I wanted for nothing. It is only fair to add that during my stay in the island no man could have desired a better and more trustworthy servant.

From the bedroom and sitting-room we passed on to the room at the end of the verandah, which I found had been set apart for, and equipped as, a surgery. Neatly arranged around the walls, on shelves, were enough drugs of all sorts and descriptions to stock half a dozen chemist's shops, while my instruments, cases, and other paraphernalia were spread out upon the table in the centre. Altogether the arrangements were most satisfactory and complete, and I intimated as much to Alie, who stood watching me from the window.

"It is all Mr. Christianson's doing," she said. "You must thank him."

I did so, and then proposed that we should set about our work at once.

"In the first place, Mr. Christianson," I began, "have you had any symptoms of the disease yourself?"

"Not one! Since it started I have been as well as I remember ever to have been in my life."

"When were you vaccinated last?"

I put the question with some little timidity, for I feared lest by so doing I might wake some unpleasant memory in the old man's mind. But, whatever his past may have been,—and there were few men in the settlement, I afterwards found, who had not more or less of a romantic history,—he answered without hesitation:

"I was vaccinated in Liverpool, twelve years ago next March."

"Then, with your permission, I'll do it for you again. After that we'll call up the heads of the village and I'll operate on them."

So saying, I unpacked my things, and, having done so, vaccinated my second in command. When this was accomplished, he gave me a list he had prepared of the half-dozen principal inhabitants. They were immediately sent for, and as soon as they arrived my position was explained to them in a short speech by Alie.

"Now, gentlemen," I said, when her address was finished, "in view of the serious nature of our position and the necessity for a well-organized attack upon the disease which has so decimated your population, I propose to enrol you as my staff. You will each of you have special duties assigned to you, and I need not say that I feel sure you will fulfil them to the very best of your ability. Before we go any further, as I hear none of you have taken the disease, I propose vaccinating you all, as I have just done Mr. Christianson. When that has been accomplished we will get properly to work."

In half an hour or so this was done, and I was free to enter upon my next course of action.

"We will now," I said, after a little consultation with Alie, "assemble the healthy folk of the village on the green yonder."

This was soon done, and, at the word of command, the entire population able to get about assembled themselves on the open space before my verandah—blacks and whites, yellow and copper colour, all mixed up, higgledy-piggledy, in glorious confusion. From a cursory glance at them they appeared to come from all countries and from all parts of the globe. I could distinguish Englishmen, Frenchmen, Germans, Swedes, Italians, Portuguese, Spaniards, Russians, Hindoos, Malays, Dyaks, and even Chinamen. The dusky population, however, predominated.

The first business to be performed, when they were all before me, was to separate the men from the women, and, as soon as this was accomplished, to carefully examine each in turn; after that I singled out those who were skilled in carpentering and hut-building, and kept them on one side. Fortunately, I was able to procure nearly thirty who were in some degree efficient. All of these—I mean of course those who had not had the disease—were forthwith vaccinated and despatched, under the leadership of one of my six lieutenants, to a site I had chosen on the hillside for the hospital. There they were employed erecting huts with all possible despatch.

When the remainder had undergone the necessary operation, volunteers were requested to enrol themselves for the work of nursing the sick, and for this duty no less than twenty held up their hands, eight of whom had themselves been victims of the pestilence.

Long before I had completed my work of vaccination, the sun had disappeared behind the hill, and it was time for the evening meal. But tired as we all were, it was useless to think of stopping, so after we had broken our fast, the work of hut-building and vaccination proceeded again by torch and lamp light, until long after midnight. By the time my last patient was dismissed I was utterly worn out. But this was not the case with Alie, who throughout the day, and up to the very last moment at night, had never abated one jot of her energy. Encouraging the women, cheering the men, weighing out stores, and measuring cloth, she had been occupied without ceasing. Her enthusiasm was like a stimulant, and it had the effect of one upon all concerned. When my arms ached and my brain seemed fagged out beyond all recouping with plotting, planning, and giving advice, it was like a breath of new life to see her moving about among her people, taking no thought of herself, or of the danger she was running, thinking only of the terror-stricken wretches who turned to her in their hour of trouble for sympathy and help. And certainly as she passed about among them, Beelzebub, the bulldog, slouching along at her heels, it was wonderful to see how their faces would brighten, and the light of fear for the moment die out of their eyes. Nothing in my science had the power to do as much for them.

As I put down my implements and received Christianson's report that the fourth hut was ready for occupation, the clock on the mantelpiece of my sitting room struck a quarter to one. Bidding him good-night, and warning him to be early astir on the morrow, I took my hat, and prepared to accompany Alie on her homeward journey.

Following the path behind my house, we ran it round the foot of the falls, and up through the jungle to her gate. By the time we reached the spot where I had first looked down at the settlement that morning the moon was sailing high in a cloudless sky, and the whole of our world was bathed in its pale, mysterious light. The scene was indescribably beautiful, and perhaps the exquisite softness of the night, and the thought of the sickness raging in the valley below us, may have had something to do with the silence that followed our arrival at the top. We were standing at the gate, looking down upon the white roofs, showing like flakes of silver through the sea of dark jungle. For some time neither of us spoke. Then it was Alie who began the conversation.

"Dr. De Normanville," she said,—and it must not be thought conceited on my part to repeat it,—"I want to thank you from the bottom of my heart for the way in which you have taken up your work of mercy. I cannot say what I would like to do, because my heart is too full for utterance; but if you could only realise what a relief it is to me to know that you are here to conduct matters, you would understand something of the gratitude I feel."

I uttered some commonplace reply, all the time watching the wistful look upon her face. Then she said suddenly:

"We have scarcely known each other three days yet, but somehow I feel as if, despite all you have heard of me, you are my friend."

"And you are quite right in so feeling," I said. "Believe me, I have forgotten all the foolish stories I have heard about you."

"No, no! I don't know that you ought to do that," she continued, "because, you see, a great number of them are true."

"You wish me to remember them, then?" I cried, in some surprise.

"Yes!" she answered. "I think you ought to get a clue for your own guidance out of them. But in saying that, I wish you to understand why I do so. To do that involves my telling you my history. Are you too tired to listen to it to-night?"

"Of course I am not," I answered quickly, only too glad of the opportunity of hearing a story that others would have given anything to have had related to them. "But if it means recalling unhappy memories, why tell it me? I shall serve you just as faithfully without knowing it."

"I do not doubt that for an instant," she said. "But you must surely see, Dr. De Normanville, that being brought into contact with you as much as I am, I want to set myself right with you. I want you to know all about me. Hitherto you have only thought of me, remember, as—well, as a beautiful woman, whose pleasure in life it is to rob and blackmail innocent and unsuspecting folk in this distant portion of the globe. Having seen your kindness and gentleness to my unfortunate people to-day, and honouring you for it as I do, is it to be wondered at that I want you to understand my work in life properly? May I tell you my story?"

"Please do! It will interest me deeply."

She moved over from the gate to the broad wooden rail that ran along the path side, and which had evidently been placed there to protect foot passengers from the abyss. Leaning on it, she scanned the moonlit valley for some moments without speaking. Then turning her face toward me, she began:

"My father, you must know, Dr. De Normanville, was a typical Englishman; he came of a good old Yorkshire family, and was an officer in Her Majesty's navy; he was also remarkable for his great height, strength, and wonderful personal beauty. He was very popular with his fellow-officers and men, and in the early part of his career saw a good deal of active service in various parts of the globe. It was during the time that he was stationed in the West Indies, and soon after he was made commander of his ship, that he met my mother, a beautiful Creole, and married her. From the moment of his marriage the good luck which had hitherto attended his career seemed to desert him; he lost his ship on an uncharted rock, and, when he was appointed to another, was ordered to a bad station, where he nearly lost his wife and his own life of fever. With his recovery came the most unfortunate part of his career. For just as he was about to be relieved, a charge was preferred against him by the admiral of the station, of so base and wicked a description that all those who heard it refused at first to entertain the notion. He was court-martialled and expelled the service. Since then the charge has been proved to have been entirely without foundation, but by the time that was known my poor father had died in exile. He appealed, but what was the use of that? To a proud, headstrong man, conscious of his innocence, such disgrace was unbearable, and he at length fled from England, resolved to shake its dust for ever off his feet. He went to India, but the result of the trial was known there, and every post was barred to him. He passed on to Singapore, and finally to Hong Kong, but always with the same result. By this time everything that was obstinate and worst in him was roused; and when the admiral, the same who had brought the charge against him, was transferred to the China station, my father sought him out in Shanghai, decoyed him outside the city, requested him to publicly admit that the charges he had brought against him were false, and on his refusing, produced pistols, invited him to a duel, and shot him dead. Then, while the police were hunting for him, he fitted out a boat, with a large sum of money that had some time before been left him, collected a dozen other men as desperate as himself, tested them thoroughly before he trusted them, and, having bound them to secrecy, set off to find an island where they could lead their own lives unhindered by the outside world. This was the place they came to, and those old houses near the harbour were their first dwellings. Once in every six months my father went off to Hong Kong for supplies, and it was during one of these excursions that he met the man whose destiny it was to recognise him, and so hasten the trouble that lay before him. High words passed between them, and the result was a betrayal, and a fight with the police, in which two men were left dead upon the beach. That was the beginning of the end. The same night a boatload of marines put off to arrest my father, who was in the act of getting his schooner under weigh. When they came within hailing distance they were challenged and asked their business. The officer in charge replied that he held a warrant for my father's arrest. But the latter had no desire to fall into the authorities' hands again, so he bade them stand off. The officer, however, ordered his men to board. Again they were warned not to approach, but they paid no heed; the result may be imagined: a volley was fired from the schooner, and four men out of the six constituting the boat's crew, including the officer in charge, fell dead. Without more ado my father got under weigh, and raced for his life out of the harbour, pursued by three shots from the cruiser in the bay. From that day forward he was a proscribed man. Rewards were offered for his capture in all the principal ports of the East, not only by the English Government, but by the rich residents of Singapore, Hong Kong, and the treaty ports. Considering that it was not their affair, this action on the part of his former friends so enraged my father, that he swore that if ever one of the signatories fell into his hands, he would make him pay dearly for his action. It may interest you to know that Mr. Vesey, the man whom you perhaps remember I abducted, was the chairman of the meeting that offered the first reward for my father, and years afterwards for me.

"Well, months went by, and once more the stores on the island began to run short. It became imperatively necessary that a fresh supply should be obtained. To do this my father repainted and rerigged his boat, disguised himself and his men, and sailed off for Shanghai. Reaching that port, he sent his mate ashore to make the purchases. But suspicion seems to have been aroused, the man was arrested, and had not my father been warned in time and put to sea, he would have shared the same fate. But he was resolved not to be beaten, and at the risk of his life he went back and ashore. By means of a subterfuge, which it would take me too long to explain, he succeeded in rescuing his companion. In the course of the rescue, however, a man was killed, and this closed the treaty ports even more firmly to him than before.

"The matter had become terribly serious now. He could not go into any port for fear of being arrested, and yet stores had to be obtained for the starving island. To a headstrong man like my father, rendered desperate by deliberate injustice, there was only one natural way out of it. He made for Hong Kong, chose a dark night, went down the harbour in a junk, boarded a trading boat, confined the skipper in his cabin, and took possession of his cargo, for which, it is only fair to say, he paid the full market price. The skipper, however, for some purpose of his own, forgot the incident of payment, went ashore in the early morning and proclaimed the fact to the police that he had been robbed of his cargo under the very noses of the cruisers. The description of the robber tallied with that of my father, and the hue and cry began again. Thenceforward he declared himself openly in opposition to society, collected round him all the men who were worth anything, and whose lives were as desperate as his own, and levied toll on the ships of all nations whenever occasion offered. He ran many risks, for often he was sighted and chased by cruisers. It was on one of these occasions that my poor mother died, killed by an English bullet. Three months later my father caught the fever in the Manillas and followed her to the grave, bidding me, a girl of eighteen, keep up this settlement and carry on the war he had begun. Ever since then the island has been my tenderest care. I have watched over it and guarded it as a mother guards her child. But at the same time, as you know, I have not spared my enemies. My first adventure proved successful, my second well-nigh ruined me. My father's death had become known by some mysterious means, and, when it was discovered that I was carrying on his trade, a supreme effort was made by the authorities to capture me. But they have not succeeded yet. The same year I had the Lone Star, the boat you found me on, built in Scotland, and began my work in earnest. Ever since then I have had a price upon my head; but, as I told you on board the Lone Star, I can truthfully say that I have never knowingly robbed a poor man, and as you have seen for yourself, I have materially helped a good many. In some cases, too,—the Sultan of Surabaya, for instance,—I have gone out of my way to assist the oppressed, and have taught wholesome lessons to their rulers and oppressors. Now you know my story. It may be that you take a different view of my life and would call it by a harsh name. I should be sorry to think that. I simply remember how my father's life was ruined by his enemies, and that I have never been given a chance, even if I would have taken it. The English, French, and Chinese governments are my natural enemies, as they were my father's before me. If the innocent suffer by what I do, I am deeply sorry for them. But do your nations in their wars heed the peasantry of either side, even as much as I do? I think not. Dr. De Normanville, most of those white people you saw to-day have curious histories. Do not suppose for an instant that I receive anyone here without strict inquiry into his temperament and antecedents. But, on the other hand, when I do take him in, I never swerve from my duty towards him. Now, what have you to say?"

"I can only answer that I think your character has been grossly maligned."

"No, don't say that, for you are only speaking on the impulse of the moment; and, besides, you must remember that those who speak against me in that fashion look upon my actions from their own point of view. However, you will not think so badly of me for the future, will you?"

As she said this she came a little closer to me and looked me in the face. Never before had I seen her look so beautiful.

"No, I can safely promise you I won't," I answered stoutly. "I am your champion for the future, come what may."

"You are very good to me. Now, as we are both tired, had we not better say good-night?"

She held out her little hand, and for some reason, goodness only knows what, I took it and raised it to my lips. Then with another "good-night," she turned away from me and, with the dog at her heels, disappeared through the gate and up the path, among the bushes, that led to her abode.

When she had gone I stood for a few moments looking down upon the lovely panorama spread out before me, then I turned myself about and went down the hill to my residence at the foot. But though I went to bed it was not to sleep. The extraordinary story I had just been told, and the exciting events of the day, were not of a nature calculated to induce repose, and so I tossed and tumbled upon my couch hour after hour, till the first faint signs of dawn made their appearance. Then I had a bath in cool spring water, and, having dressed, went out and began to prepare my work for the day.

As the sun made his appearance above the tree-tops, Christianson and his colleagues, my trusty lieutenants, came up the path towards the house, and five minutes later Alie herself appeared upon the scene, eager to be employed. As she entered the verandah and greeted me I glanced at her face. But there was no trace there of the sadness of the previous night. Indeed, if the truth must be told, there was even a sort of distant haughtiness about her manner towards me, that was as unexpected as it was difficult to account for.

"Good-morning, Dr. De Normanville!" she said, as she put down on the table the parcel she had brought with her. "It is nearly five o'clock; are you ready to commence work?"

"Quite ready," I answered, turning to a man named Andrews. "To begin, sir, will you and your deputies hunt up the builders and continue the work at the huts till breakfast time?" Then turning to another, "Mr. Williams, you might take three men and erect four bed places in each hut. Mr. Christianson, and the remainder of you gentlemen, if you will accompany me, we will make a careful house-to-house inspection of the village."

Having despatched the others to their various employments, I set off, accompanied by Alie, to begin the ghastly work of inspection. It must not be supposed that I in any way induced her to run the risk; to tell the truth, I protested vigorously against it, but without result; her heart was set upon it, and she would not be deterred.

The first house we visited was a small one, built of adobe mixture and inhabited by three people, two of whom were down with the disease. There had originally been six in the family, but three had perished. I made my examination, noted their cases in my pocket-book, spoke some cheering words to them, and passed on to the next house. This was of wood, neatly built, and contained one patient who was quite alone, his wife and daughter having both succumbed to the plague. In the next there was no case, nor the next; but in the three following there were eight. Hardly a house was free from it, and in many cases, all the inhabitants being dead, the buildings were quite tenantless. By the time I had finished my inspection it was eight o'clock, and I was quite ready for breakfast. This disposed of, work was at once resumed.

Everyone toiled with a will, and the hut-builders to such good purpose, that by midday twelve fine huts were standing ready for occupation on the slope of the western hill. The real work was now about to commence. Summoning to my assistance those men and women who had volunteered to act as nurses, I had a number of stretchers made, and on these conveyed the sufferers to the hospitals. Four patients went to each hut. The men I sent to those on the right hand of the street, the women to those on the left. By this means forty-eight persons were disposed of, and by five o'clock sufficient huts were at my disposal to contain as many more. By sundown every sufferer in the place had been removed, the nurses were duly instructed in their duties and installed, and the real combating of the disease had commenced. But at this juncture a serious problem was presented for our consideration. Having removed the owners to places of safety, what were we to do with the old houses and their contents? Taking Alie into my confidence, I explained the situation to her, told her how loth I was to destroy so many good buildings, but at the same time pointed out to her how imperatively necessary it was that every dwelling and any article likely to harbour infection should be got rid of. To my satisfaction she met it in the proper spirit.

"If it is necessary for the safety of those who remain, there can be no doubt at all as to what course we should pursue," she answered. "The houses must go. And that being so, I must endeavour to make it up to the owners when they shall require them again. Will you give the necessary instructions?"

I did so forthwith, and in less than half an hour no less than eighty houses, with their contents, were blazing on the plain.

And so the week went on, and the next after that, with hardly a break in the routine of work. Out of one hundred cases treated, thirty succumbed in the first eight days, twelve in the remaining six, while fifteen more were added from the township during the same period.

And now I must say something about the care and attention bestowed on these patients by those who had volunteered for the arduous task of nursing. Indeed, I feel justified in saying that no better service could have been obtained in any London hospital. Fortunately, a sincere bond of affection seemed to bind all these people together, and this, taken with the influence exercised by the wonderful woman at their head, made its power thoroughly felt in everything they did. And here I should also like to put on record Alie's wonderful devotion to her people, during that time of awful anxiety. Day in, day out, night and morning alike, accompanied by her dog, she was occupied about the different huts, helping and reproving, chiding and encouraging. Her presence was like a ray of sunlight which seemed to light the place long after she had left it. The convalescent derived new vigour from her touch, the dying were soothed by her voice. Never once throughout the whole of the time did she think of herself; the path of what she considered to be her duty lay before her, and the Beautiful White Devil, the notorious adventuress, the abductor of rich merchants, the terror of the China seas, trod it without murmur or complaint. It was a wonderful exhibition of womanly gentleness, forbearance, and endurance. And when I saw her, tired and almost dispirited by the results of the struggle, and noted how she put all this aside, assumed a smiling face to speak words of comfort to some sufferer, and then remembered the accusations and stories to which I had listened in the Victoria Hotel that first evening, I felt almost as mean and contemptible as it was possible for a man to be.

And here, gentle reader, let me make a confession, though I doubt if it will come upon you as a surprise. Already, I expect, you have accused me of being in love with the Beautiful White Devil. I do not deny that I was. Where so many better men had succumbed, who was I that I should go free? And surely if so many others had fallen captive to her mere beauty, knowing next to nothing of her real merit, I, who had exceptional opportunities of studying her character under every aspect, who saw her grave and gay, passionate and self-sacrificing, imperious and the most humble of any, might claim for my affection that it was based on something more tangible than any mere personal beauty.

Yes! I was in love with Alie, and, what is more, I am in love with her now, as I shall be in love with her on my dying day, and afterwards if that be possible. And this I can say truthfully, that throughout my love for her, my heart has known no unworthy thought. I have loved her for her beautiful, noble, impulsive, generous self, and, if that be an offence, I can only say that I am proud to acknowledge it.

But though I was over head and ears in love with her, seeing no sun in heaven when she was not with me, no stars at night when I was not by her side, never once did I allow her to suspect my passion. I did my work as I had contracted to do it—that is, to the best of my ability. But hard as I worked, she worked harder. Day in, day out, she was never idle; she took her share of nursing, superintended the erection of huts and houses for those who had been deprived of them, and cheered and encouraged everyone with whom she came in contact. Beautiful White Devil, the Chinese called her. Beautiful White Angel would surely have been a better and more appropriate name.

CHAPTER VI.

A TRIP INTO THE COUNTRY.

Sixty-four days exactly after my taking charge of the health of the settlement, the last patient was discharged from the hospital, cured. Out of one hundred and ninety-five cases treated, one hundred and thirty-three had recovered; the rest lay in the little graveyard on the hillside to the eastward of the town. It had been a weary, harassing time from beginning to end, and the strain and responsibility had had a more severe effect upon me than I should have anticipated. Alie alone, of all the workers, seemed untouched. Her indomitable will would not permit her body to know such a thing as fatigue, and for this reason the last day of our work found her powers as keen and her energy as unabated as they had been on the first.

On the afternoon of the day following the discharge of my last patient, she came into the surgery, and, seating herself in my armchair, looked about her with that interest my medical affairs always seemed to inspire in her.

"Dr. De Normanville," she began, clasping her little white hands together on the arm of the chair; "I have been watching you lately, and I have come to the conclusion that you are thoroughly tired out. There is but one cure for that—rest and complete change of air and scene."

"And pray what makes you suppose I am worn out?" I asked, wiping a pair of forceps that I had been using on a native boy five minutes before, and putting them back into their case.

"The colour of your face for one thing," she answered, "and the way you move about for another. Your appetite, I have also noticed, has been gradually falling off of late. No, it won't do! My friend, you have been so good to us that we should be worse than ungrateful if we allowed you to get ill. So, without consulting you, I have arranged a little holiday for you!"

"That is very kind of you," I said; "and pray what is it to be?"

"I will tell you. You are an enthusiastic botanist and entomologist, are you not? Very well, then. This island abounds with unclassified flora and fauna. I will have an expedition fitted out to-day, and to-morrow morning we will leave the settlement and plunge into the interior. I expect a week's absence from worry will work a wonderful change in you. At any rate, we'll try it. What have you to say to my proposition?"

"I should like it above all things," I answered eagerly. And, indeed, apart from the scientific chances it would afford me, a trip anywhere in her company could not be anything else than delightful.

Having gained her point, she rose to go.

"I may consider it settled, I suppose?" she said. "At daybreak to-morrow morning we are to mount our ponies in the square down yonder, and set off. You need not bother about rifles or any impedimenta of that kind. I will see that you are well provided."

So saying she withdrew, and I saw no more of her that day. The rest of the afternoon I spent in preparing my specimen boxes for the trip, and when I sought my couch at night it was to dream of birds and beetles of the most glorious colouring, size, and variety.

True to our arrangement, daybreak next morning found me, booted and spurred, striding towards the village square. Early as I was at the rendezvous, Alie was there before me, mounted on a neat bay pony, and evidently awaiting my coming. She wished me "good morning," and then pointed to the group of pack-horses standing at a little distance in charge of half a dozen men.

"We shall not want for provisions during our travels," she said, with a happy laugh; and as she did so she signed to one of her attendants to lead up a pony she had reserved for my use. "The cook and his staff," she continued, "have gone on ahead of us to prepare our breakfast, so now if you are ready we'll start."

The order to march was thereupon given, and we immediately set off up the mountain track. Within five minutes of starting the settlement lay hidden behind the hill, with all its painful memories and anxieties, and we found ourselves surrounded by the primeval forest. The mysterious silence of the dawn still held the landscape, and all nature seemed waiting for the sun to make his appearance before beginning the business of the day. Here and there in the dips, and upon the pools, heavy mists wreathed and curled themselves, suggestive of malaria and a hundred other unpleasantnesses. Before we have been riding an hour, however, the sun rose in all his majesty; in a trice the forest woke to life and activity; hordes of monkeys leaped from branch to branch above our heads, in many cases racing us nearly a hundred yards before they left us; gigantic swine crashed through the undergrowth, almost under our ponies' noses; while birds of every plumage flew, from tree to tree, across our path. A moment before the world had seemed dead, now it was full and brimming over with vitality.

When the first half-dozen miles were overcome the aspect of the country began to change; it became more open, and we continually emerged from timber on to highly-grassed plains, where pig and deer of many kinds were to be seen feeding placidly. Towards eight o'clock the trend of the country lay upward, and continued so until we had mounted to a considerable elevation, when an extensive panorama was unfolded before us. The island must indeed have been a large one if it could be judged by the extensive views we had presented to us of it; only on the settlement side could I see the sea, while on the other the forest rolled away as far as the eye could reach.

At half-past eight, or between that and nine o'clock, we commenced to descend again, following the course of a pretty stream, until our guides came back to tell us that we were approaching the spot where it had been arranged we should partake of breakfast.

And surely enough, as we reached the bottom of the valley, the smoke of a fire rose above the palms before us, and, a few seconds later, we were permitted a view of an impromptu camp, with a blazing fire, and a white man actively engaged beside it, frying-pan in hand. As I looked at the little scene I could not help thinking of the many picnics I had assisted at in dear old England, and I naturally fell to comparing them with this one, at which I was the guest of so extraordinary a woman, under such novel and exciting circumstances.

Had I been told only half a year before that I should be picnicking on an island in the North Pacific, of which I knew neither the location nor the name, with a woman who had a reputation such as Alie unfortunately possessed, I should certainly have refused to believe it. Yet it was so, and, what was more to the point, I was not only picnicking, but was head over ears in love with that self-same woman, and, what was perhaps still more extraordinary, gloried in the fact.

As soon as breakfast was over we remounted our ponies and pushed on in the same fashion, through the same sort of country, with a brief halt at midday, until nightfall. Towards the middle of the afternoon the view once more began to change; craggy uplands rose on our right, while the same wonderful forest still continued on our left. What struck me as remarkable was the fact that so far we had seen no villages and encountered no natives. Could the island—if island it really were, and of that I was beginning to have my doubts—be inhabited only by the people of our settlement? It seemed scarcely probable, but if not, where were the rest of its aboriginal population?

A little before sundown, Alie informed me that we were close upon our destination. And surely enough, just as the orb of day disappeared behind the tree tops, we saw before us, on a small plateau, four or five large and exceedingly comfortable huts, which the men who had preceded us that morning had erected for our accommodation. They faced towards the east, and the view from the little terrace on which they stood was beautiful in the extreme. Across it, and for a short distance below, the land was open, then the undergrowth began again, gradually rising from small bushes to great trees, and afterwards continuing in one unbroken sea of green, away to where the faint outline of a mountain range peered up, upon the southeastern horizon. It was a picture to see and remember for ever.

Having dismounted from our ponies, we prepared to make ourselves comfortable. The distribution of huts was as follows: Alie took that to the right, I had a large one on the left, while that in the centre was set apart for our dining-room and sitting-room (if we wanted to be indoors, which was unlikely); the fourth was destined for the accommodation of the cook, and from it already resounded the clatter of pots and pans.

Full of curiosity to see in what sort of comfort Alie travelled, I entered my own hut, and was amazed at the completeness of the arrangements. A comfortable bed-place, with mosquito curtains, occupied one side; a square of matting covered the floor, a portable wash-hand stand stood near the bed; while against the opposite wall, neatly arranged in a rack, were my guns and specimen cases. By the time I had washed off the stains of travel, and exchanged my riding costume for a lounge suit, the native gong had summoned us to dinner, and Alie and I, meeting on the terrace, entered the centre hut together.

If I had been surprised at the completeness of the arrangements of my own hut, how much more astonished was I now. Indeed, had it not been for the walls, which were covered, with some peculiar sort of tapestry, and the different ceiling, I should hardly have known that we were not in the bungalow at the settlement. The white cloth, the glittering glass and silver, the costly ornaments and the profusion of dishes, were the same; and when the same impassive servant entered to wait upon us, clad in his usual white livery, my astonishment was complete. Alie was in exceptionally good spirits and for this reason the meal proceeded in a most delightful fashion.

When it was over we drew our chairs outside into the gathering gloom, and sat watching the fire-flies dashing in and out amid the tangle of dark forest across the plateau. It was indeed a night to be remembered. Overhead the tropic stars shone in all their beauty; around us were the unfathomable depths of the forest; from the right sounded the tinkling music of a stream; while now and again out of the darkness would come the deep note of some forest animal, or the melancholy hoot of an owl or other night bird.

Later on, by Alie's orders, enormous fires were lit at intervals all round the circle of the camp, and these not only failed to detract from, but succeeded in adding to, the weird picturesqueness of the scene. From the darkness behind us we could catch the subdued voices of our followers, varied now and again by the occasional snorting and stamping of the picketed ponies.

"How beautiful it all is!" said Alie, looking up at the winking stars. Then, as if to herself, "If only we could always be as peaceable as this, how much happier we should be!"

"Do you really think we should?" I answered. "Don't you think it is the wild unrest and turmoil of the world, to say nothing of that constant struggling, which makes existence so sweet to us?"

"Ah! You speak of your own world," she said sadly. "Think what my world is? Continual plotting, endless striving, with always the one great dread of capture hanging over me. Oh! Dr. De Normanville, you little know the sort of life I lead!"

"Then why do you go on with it? If only I might——"

I checked myself suddenly. Another moment and the fatal words would have passed my lips. But to see her thus and not to tell her of my love was almost more than I could bear. I kept a tight rein upon myself, however, and crammed the words back into my heart. She had paused, and was looking away towards the dark forest.

"Why do I go on with it?" she answered, a few moments later. "Because I must! Because there is no one else to guide and care for them but me."

"But supposing you were caught? They would have to shift for themselves then."

"I shall never be taken alive. That is, except by treachery. No, Dr. De Normanville, come what may, I can never forsake them. My duty lies before me, and as I have endeavoured to do it in the past, so I must strive to do it in the future. But it is getting late, and we have travelled a long distance to-day. Don't you think we had better bid each other good-night?"

As she spoke she rose, and I followed her example. Then she shook hands, wished me good-night, and disappeared into her own hut, her dog at her heels. When she had gone I reseated myself, lit another cigar, and fell to work upon my thoughts. Away in the darkness beyond the leaping fires, a Sambhur deer, probably disturbed by our lights, was barking to his mate, and in a tree near at hand a night bird hooted dolefully. The first sweetness of the evening had passed, and now an unutterable melancholy seemed to have laid its hand upon it. When my cigar was finished I passed into my hut, glanced at my rifles to see that they were ready to my hand in case of need, and, having disrobed myself, went to bed. Tired as I was, my slumbers were almost dreamless, and it seemed but a few minutes from the time I laid my head upon my pillow before my servant was waking me to the new-born day.

Immediately breakfast was over I took my specimen cases and a light rifle, and, accompanied by Alie and two of our native servants, dived into the forest on collecting thoughts intent. But the profusion of subjects was so vast that it was difficult to know quite where to begin. At every turn some peculiar grass, some plant, some shrub would arrest my attention, while in the air butterflies, beetles, and birds innumerable seemed to call upon me to catch and catalogue them without delay. Alie had quite recovered her good spirits by this time, and having once grasped the general idea, followed her new hobby with the same impassioned ardour that was noticeable in everything she undertook. By midday our cases were full to bursting, so we returned to the camp to lunch. In the afternoon we continued our work, but this time without our native followers, who, when all was said and done, preferred chattering to working, and in more ways than one were in the way.

Leaving the camp, we struck into the forest in a southeasterly direction, following the course of a tiny stream that evidently had its origin in the mountain range elsewhere described. Game of all sorts abounded; twice I saw herds of small deer alongside the river bank; wild swine we continually met with, and once I felt certain the spoor we saw round a big pool was that of an elephant. Indeed, Alie informed me that the natives had often informed her that in their hunting expeditions they had met with these gigantic beasts. This circumstance, perhaps more than anything else, set me wondering where Alie's marvellous island could be located.

By the time the sun declined upon the mountain our boxes were once more full, and we turned our heads campwards, following on our homeward route the course of the same stream we had pursued on our outward journey. It was warm work, and when about half our walk was done we stopped on a little rise to look about us.

Alie seated herself on a fallen tree, and I put down my boxes and took my place beside her. Throughout the afternoon she had been a little quiet, and I must own that my own spirits were none too lively. Enjoyable as our excursion had proved, it was nevertheless a fact that every day was bringing my stay in the island nearer to its close, and, under the circumstances, I could not help feeling that, my duty done, it behoved me to be moving on as soon as possible. And yet the thought of leaving this woman, into whose life I had flashed like a meteor, and whom I had come so desperately to love, was agonising to me.

Alie rolled a small stone into the foaming torrent below us and then turned to me.

"Dr. De Normanville," she began,—and it struck me that she hesitated a good deal over what she had to say,—"when my agent visited you in Hong Kong and induced you to come to our assistance, he promised that, as soon as your work was completed, you should be returned safe and sound to the place whence you started. Your work is completed, and now it only remains for you to say—well, to say when you wish to leave us."

This speech, following on top of what I had been thinking myself, put me in a strange position, and for a minute I did not know how to answer. Then a torrent of words and protestations rose upon my lips, but I pressed them back, and to gain time for reflection asked a question.

"I hope that I have done my work to your satisfaction?"

"How can you ask such a thing?" she answered promptly. "You have worked for us as few other men would ever have done. I cannot,"—here her voice trembled a little, and her beautiful eyes filled with tears,—"I cannot ever thank you as I would wish to do."

Either her tear-laden eyes or this expression of her gratitude must have deprived me of my self-control, for when she had finished speaking, my presence of mind completely deserted me, and without more ado I drew closer to her on the tree, and, taking her hand in mine, said, almost without thinking of my words:

"Alie, cannot you see that there can be no question of thanks between us? Cannot you see why I have worked so hard for you? Cannot you see that I would give my own existence to save for you even the life of the dog you loved? Have my actions not spoken for themselves?"

She rose to her feet, but I noticed that she turned her face away and would not look at me. I could feel that she was trembling violently. In spite of this I continued:

"Alie! You must see that I love you with my whole heart and soul. From the moment I first saw you on your yacht's deck I have been your slave. I know it is madness for a man like me to hope to win such a queen among women as yourself; but I cannot help it. Send me away from you if you will, but there is one thing beyond your power to do, and that is to take away from me my love."

"Hush, hush! for pity's sake!"

"No, Alie; I cannot stop. I have gone too far now to draw back. Day by day I have hidden away in my heart—I have tried to crush down and stifle, this love of mine; but it will not be hidden, it will not be crushed, it will not be stifled. Now the flood has risen, it has burst its bonds and washed away all thought of prudence. You have learned my secret. Alie, is there no hope at all for me? I know I am not worthy of you, but I am an honest man, and I love you with my whole heart and soul."

"Dr. De Normanville," she said slowly, turning her tear-stained face towards me, "I am sorry, more sorry than you will ever guess, that you should have told me this. Many men have let me know their love before now, and I was able to tell them without pain to myself that it could not be. Now, you love me, you who have been so true and so brave, and I have to make you see that what you wish can never be possible. Do not think I am insensible of the honour you have done me, for it would honour any woman to be asked to be your wife. Do not think that it does not pain me to hurt you so. But, oh, Dr. De Normanville, cannot you see that I can be no man's wife, much less yours?"

"And why, in Heaven's name, not?"

All this time she had not attempted to withdraw her hand from mine.

"Because, according to your lights, I am not worthy. You have this moment called yourself an honest man. Well, then, judged by your ideas of honesty, I am not an honest woman. Look at your own career; look at the name you have already created for yourself; think of your future; then how can I—a woman, hunted by every nation, a woman on whose head a price is set, who dares not show her face in a civilised country—allow herself to share that name and that future with you. Ask yourself that question, and answer it before you think of making me your wife."

"I can have no future without you!"

"That is no answer to my question. No, Dr. De Normanville, I am sorry, more sorry than you will ever know, that this trouble should have come upon you. But when you have time to reflect, you will see, as clearly as I do, that what you ask is impossible. It can never be!"

"One question before you say it cannot be!" I cried. "I will not insult you by imploring you to tell me the truth. You will do that without my asking. But we will suppose for the moment that you were not the outlaw you declare yourself to be, and I asked you the same question, will you tell me if you would give me the same answer, then?"

"It is unfair of you to put it in that way," she said, toying with a leaf. "But since you do ask, I will tell you truthfully. If I were in the position you describe, and you asked me to share your life with you, I would give you this answer, that I would be your wife or the wife of no other man."

"You love me then, Alie?"

My heart seemed to stop beating while I waited for her answer. When it did pass her lips, it was so soft that I could hardly hear it.

"Yes, I do love you."

Before she could prevent me I had taken her in my arms, and rained kisses upon her beautiful face. For a moment she did not resist. Then she withdrew herself, panting, from my arms.

"Let me go," she gasped; "you must not do this. No, no, no! What am I telling you. Oh, why cannot you see that what you wish is impossible?"

"As I live," I cried in return, "it is not impossible, and it never shall be! Since you own yourself that you love me, I will not live without you. I love you as I verily believe man never loved woman before. If I were a poet instead of a prosaic doctor, I should tell you, Alie, that to me your smile is like God's sunshine; I would tell you that the wind only blows to carry to the world the story of my love for you; I would tell you all this and more—yes, a thousand times more. But I am no poet, I am only a man who loves you for your own beautiful self, for your sweetness, your loneliness, your tenderness to those about you. What does fame mean for me! I want only you. Let me have you for my companion through life, and I will go with you where you wish, stay here with you, if you please, or go away, just as you may decide; I have but one ambition, and that is to be worthy of you, to help you to do good. All I ask is to be allowed to live the life you live yourself!"

"And you think that I would let you make this sacrifice for me? No! no! Oh, why cannot you see that it is impossible?"

Again I attempted to take her in my arms. But this time she eluded me, and with a choking sob fled through the scrub towards the camp. Seeing that it was useless to attempt to reason with her in her present state, I followed more leisurely, reaching the huts just as the gong was sounding for dinner. As soon as my ablutions were performed, I sought the dining hut, but my hostess was not there. I waited, and presently the servant arrived to inform me that she was not well, and would dine in her own apartment.

I was not prepared for this, and my thoughts during my solitary meal, and when I was smoking on the plateau before the huts afterwards, were by no means pleasant. Glad though I was that I had made her aware of my sentiments towards her, I almost began to wish, if she were going to avoid me, that I had deferred my explanation until we had reached the settlement again. But I was destined to see her that night after all.

About ten o'clock, just as I was thinking of retiring to my own hut, I heard a footstep behind my chair, and a moment later Alie, accompanied by her dog, stood before me.

"Dr. De Normanville," she said softly, "I cannot imagine what you must think of me? I have come to tell you that I felt I could not sleep until I had apologised to you."

Her penitence sat so prettily upon her that it was as much as I could do to prevent myself taking her in my arms and telling her so. But I managed somehow to keep myself within bounds, and only said in reply: