Page:Barbour--Joan of the ilsand.djvu/201

Rh "Is there anything we can do?" the lieutenant asked, pointing to the little warship airily. "She's get teeth, and can bite, though you mightn't think so to look at her now. We had to give our black gentleman a pretty severe dose of shrapnel before he came to his senses. They're scared of shrapnel. It makes too much noise for their liking. Two mining prospectors disappeared on Marovo, and the Commissioner got wind that some of the natives were bragging that they'd added a couple of white heads to their collection. The chief swore by the weasand of his favourite wife that he'd seen nothing of the prospectors, till some of his pals gave him away. Then diplomatic relations were kind of severed, and we had to go and pump lead at him just to show that the Big White Chief doesn't permit his subjects to kai kai people. We blew the top off two grass huts and killed a pig or so. They tell me some more lunatics are off gold-hunting on Marovo soon, so I expect we'll get instructions before long to go and blow some more roofs off. Seriously, though, can we do anything for you here?"

"Thanks, no," Chester replied. "We gave 'em a good leathering. Since then they've cleared out in a boat."

"Won't you join us at lunch?" Joan asked. "We don't fare very sumptuously on Tao Tao, but if you care to bring a party up to the house we can