Twixt Land & Sea_ Tales

ct than a girl's determination that "poor papa" should not be worried, and her anxiety that the man of her choice should be kep

the girl's self-reliant temperament, and the general unwillingness of

not fly ashore before his anchor touched the ground as Jasper used to do. On the contrary, he hung about his quarter-deck mumbling to himself; and when he ordered his boat to be manned

ing the question somewhat amusing. He looked humorously down into Heemskirk's boat, and answered, in the most amiable modulations of his beautiful voice: "Captain

ead of going to the house, stride a

imple happiness. He sat down by the old chap, and by the sort of talk which he knew was best calculated for the purpose, reduced him before long to a state of concealed and perspiring nervousness. It was a horrid talk of "authorities," and old Nelson tried to def

end-eh? You have let in a lot of these Englishmen into this part. You ought

o friend at all-at all. He had bought three tons of rice from him to feed his workpeople on. What sort of evid

that girl of yours. I am speaking to you as a friend,

world. But his girl didn't care for the fellow, and was too sensible to fall in love with any one. He was very earnest in impressing on

bout it," he gru

e wanted to resist the doubts arising in his own mind. "My own daughter! In

ily. "I suppose they are together now," he added, feeling a pang wh

at bottom shocked at this insistence, and was even

a drop of gin-and-bitters before dinner. Ask for Freya. I must see the l

not a longing for drink, however. Old Nelson shouted solicitously after his broad back a rec

thinking, was fitted with stout blinds of sailcloth. The north verandah was not a verandah at all, really. It was more like a long balcony. It did not communicate with the other two, and could only be approached by a passage inside the house. Thus it

n two places at once nor yet two bodies can be in one place at the same time. They had been sitting together all the afternoon, and I won't say that their talk had been without sense. Loving him with a little judicious anxiety lest in his elation he should break his heart over some mishap, Freya naturally would

possessing himself of Freya's hands, was kissing them one after another, while she smiled and looked down at his

he was walking to and fro in the dusky grove with a flower in her hair, and singing softly to herself, when suddenly, within a foot of her, the lieutenant appeared from behind a tree. She

ake a noise I'll

a's golden head with another head very close to it. He dragged the unresisting maid with him by a circuitous way into t

ut a sound from that thick, short, black-eyed man with a cruel grip of fingers like a vice. Quaking all

ad. Two white figures, distinct against the light, stood in an unmistakable attitude. Freya's arms were round Jasper's neck. Their faces were characteristically superimposed on each other, and Heemskirk went on, his throat choked with a sudden rising of curses, till on the west verandah he stumbled blindly again

a little and thr

holding her clasped closely to his breast, and

r fa

but she had not the heart absolute

eemskirk," she br

iet rapture, was provoked to a vag

murmured. He attached no other meaning to Heemskirk's existence;

and, stepping back at once, continued his contemplation of her face un

she was gone and then to slip on to the back veran

ing," was her last recomme

shake down the folds of the looped-up curtains at the end of the passage so as to cover Jasper's retreat from the bo

itated

f the deep verandah. He dared not trust himself to speak, his rage at what he had seen was so great. And when she added with ser

had a talk in the sheds. He told me s

s afraid of was some foolish or awkward complication. But she could not conceive how much he

now from Palem

ha! You know what your father said? He said he was

o impart some useful information to Jasper if possible. At the same time she was alway

k growle

it's very quiet for you here. I tell you what, Miss Freya. There isn't such a quiet

rvant, came in with the lights. She addressed him at once with voluble directions where to put t

to yourself, Mr. Heemski

ah before her father and the lieutenant met again. She relied on herself to regulate that evening's intercourse betwee

ike a tiger," said the girl, laugh

, glaring at her in the light of the lamps, was so repulsively comical that she could not help a smiling grimace. Then she became anxious. The absurdities of three men were forcing this anxiety upon her: Jasper's impetuosity,

ehensible to a girl like Freya. His chin was resting on his chest, his eyes gazed stonily at his shoes. Freya examined him from behind the curtain. He didn't stir. He was ridiculous. B

d. He was by her

is it?" h

let Jasper know that they had been seen. But she was by no means certain that Heemskirk would tell her father-and at any ra

oing?" asked Jasper

here looking cross. But you know

unreasonable," pronou

off on the girl since she had to live with it day after day. "I don't know. Papa's afraid of being reduce

ide and his eyes on his brig, anticipating a blissful future. His silence was eloquent with disappointme

he house," she argued in a low, hurried voice. "So what's the good of y

r loitering," murmured Jasp

at daylight," recommende

without struggling because it was hard for her to repulse h

he world, all the life-" And then he flashed out: "I wonder I can wait! I feel as if I must carry you off

onsent, he would do it. He was capable of doing it-without touching the earth. She closed her eyes and smiled in the dark, abandoning herself in a delightful giddines

y the deep sigh which floated up to her from

the sort of girl that gets carried off." His white form seemed to shrink a little before the force of that assertion and

ndearing word, a

get up the side-by myself, and walk up to you on the deck and say: 'Here I am, kid.' And then-and then I shall be carr

a physical collision. What a horrible situation! But, even putting aside that awful extremity, she shrank from having to live for some three months with a wretched, tormented, angry, distracted, absurd man. And when the day came, the day and the hour, what should she do if h

ude; only his cap had fallen off his stomach and was lying on the floor. His thick black eyebrows were knitted by a frown, while he looked at her out of the corners of his eyes. And their sideways glance in conjunction with the hooked nose, the whol

The recollection of her arms round Jasper's neck still irritated and excited him. "The hussy!" he thought. "Smiling-eh? That's how you are amusing yourself. Fooling your father finely, aren't you? You have a taste for tha

nds lying one on top of the other in her lap. . . "Odious creature," she thought. Her face coloured

uncing these unexpected words, startled him extremely. He jerked up

ave bruised her arm. W

f amazement. He blinked like an owl. He was funny. Freya, like al

elf. She laughed outright, a clear, nervous laugh in wh

tars, and in the blue velvety night the cove below had a denser blackness, in which the riding-lights of the brig and of the gunboat glimmered redly, like suspended sparks. "Next time this riding-light glimmers down there, I'll be waiting for her on the quarter-deck to come and say 'Here I am,'" Jasper thought; and his heart seemed to grow bigger in his chest, dilated by an oppressiv

our was exemplary. He kept his eyes under control, basking in the sense of Freya's nearness, as people bask in the sun without looking up

th you." He had begun a professional conversation about the dangers of the New Guinea coast, and wanted to relate to Jasper some experience of his own "over there." Jasper was such a good listener! Freya made as if to accompan

lobes of his unpleasant big ears with deeply folded rims were crimson. They quite flamed in the neighbourhood of the flat, sallow cheeks. For a considerable time he did not raise his heavy brown eyelids. To be at the mercy of such a creature was humiliating; and Freya, who always ended by being frank with herself, thought regretfully: "If only I had been open with papa from the first! But then what an impossible life he would have led me!" Yes. Men were absurd

tly drunk, but he was sufficiently primed to make the suggestions of his excited imagination seem perfectly feasible and even clever; beautifully, unscrupulously clever. Freya, aware that he had stopped just behind her, went on playing without turning her head. She played with spir

ormous difference. That sort of thing. . . . Come! One isn't made of stone. And when a man has been worried by a girl as I have been worried by you, Miss Freya-sl

k her head negatively, and in desperation put on the loud pedal, bu

ese islands. I would make short work of such trash! While you have here a good friend, a gentleman ready to worship at

ter to jump up and run away. It seemed to her, too, that if she did move there was no saying what might happen. Presently her father would be back, and then the other would hav

reya . . . Hey! You Scandinavian Goddess of Love! Stop! Do you hear? That's what you are-of love. But the heathen gods are o

dress; the sleeves stopped short at the elbows in an edging of lace. A satin ribbon encircled her waist. In an access of irresistible, reckless hopefulness he clapped both his hands on that waist-and then the irritating music stopped at last. But, quic

ly. She had not uttered a sound. She faced him, steadying herself on the corner of the piano with one

have any of that nonsense. You don't mean to say a kiss frightens you so much

ee it distinctly. Everything round him was rather misty. He forgot the overturned stool,

ally. You try a few

of his face, which had taken on suddenly a dusky brick-red tinge. Freya, very erect, her violet eyes darkened, her palm still tingling from the blow, a sort of restrained determined smile showing a tiny gleam of her white teeth, heard her father's rapid, heavy tread on the path below the verandah. Her expression l

nd, innocent stare of amazement cut her to the quick. But he was not looking at her. His stare was directed to Heemskirk, who, with his back to him and w

asked old Nelson, v

them at least was on board out of the way. She only wished he were a hundred miles off. And yet she was not certain that she did. Had Jasper been mysteriously

specting Nelson, getting quite excited. "On

was also fascinated by that black, evil, glaring eye), only nodde

ed old Nelson. "I s

ith both feet where he stood. The indignity of the blow, the rage of baffled purpose, the ridicule of the e

the verandah as though he meant to drive

Get some brandy, quick, Freya. . . . You are subject to it, lieutenant? Fiendish, eh? I know, I know! Used to go crazy all of a sudden myself

ld have demanded a preternatural acuteness to hit upon the true cause. Freya had not moved. She watched Heemskirk's savagely inquiring, black stare directed stealthily upon herself. "Aha, you would like to be let off!"

d Nelson shouted, as she d

heart's content, flinging to and fro the verandah and kicking chairs out of his way; while Nelson (or Nielsen), whose sympathy was

at it is. I used to frighten my poor wife somet

insane laugh. But his staggering host took it in good part; a m

d urgently. "Throw yourself on my bed. We

ry bed, on which Heemskirk, in a renewed access of rage, flung himself down wi

e brandy and the laudanum, very angry that so little alacrity was shown in relie

int, spasmodic sounds of a mysterious nature, between laughter and sobs. He fr

her white face and rippling down a dar

wards and forwards, uttering feeble moans. Old Nelson had not much experience in v

y displeasure. "What is there so amusing in a man bein

rangely in the semi-obscurity of the passage. "And then, y

t like him! Do you mean to say that, because you don't like him, you-Why, it's simply cruel! Do

Freya said with an effort, as if she w

ather was

ep friendly with him. It's like this, my girl: if that rajah of ours were to do something silly-and you know he is a sulky, rebellious begg

e, and discovered that he was angry, angry enough to achieve

ould bundle me out of here," he whispered forcibly; "without compensation, of course. I know these Dutch. And the lieutenant's just the fellow to start the

tention of telling him everything she had given it up now. It was impossi

e. "I've given him up my bed for the night. I shall sleep on my verandah, in the hammock. No; I can't say I like him either, but from that

iry moustache brushed her forehead in a good-night kiss. She closed the door, and went away from i

she repeated to herself. "I

moaned and giggled, and it was impossible to t

erical, for Freya, on fleeing into her room, had

you, my girl,"

onitions-"Ssh, not so loud! Be quiet!" on one part, and interlud

s limbs. Nothing could be more rational. And she thought him an evil man, because, to her eyes, he looked evil. No ground for an opinion could be sounder. In the dimness of

us run away at once-oh, let us run awa

o herself, without looking dow

aring vindictively in the darkness. Inflaming images and humiliating reflections succeeded each other in his mind, keeping up, augmenting his anger. A pretty tale this to get about! But it must not be allowed to get about. The outrage had to

e tormented lieutenant. "But I should like to pay

ad made up his mind to steal early out of the house. He did not th

e before the morning!" he muttered to himself, lying rigid

he end of the verandah. Freya made for that end hastily to watch the brig passing the point. She wore her dark dressing-gown; her feet were bare, because, having fallen asleep towards the morning, she ran out headlong in her fear of being too late. Heemskirk had never seen her looking like this, with her

on brackets high up the wall. The wide sleeve of the dressing-gown slipped back, uncovering her white arm as far as the sh

door move as she came out of the passage. She was aware of his eye

t, levelling the long glass

ected to the bungalow, she laid hers down and raised both her beautiful white arms above her head. In that attitude of supreme cry she stood still, glowing with the consciousness of Jasper's adoration going out to her figure held in the field of his glass away the

will-you must! Then yo

sy, her eyes shone. Her repeated, passionate gesture seemed to fling kisses by the hundred again and again and again, while the slowly ascending sun brought the glory of colour to

murmured with a

oint below hid the hull of the brig from her view. Then she turned away from the balustrade, and, passing slowly before the d

ined empty. Then the door of old Nelson's room came open suddenly, and Heemskirk staggered out. His hair was rumpled, his eyes bloodshot, his unshaven face looked very dark

hout after him would have been childish, crude-undignified. And to shout-what? What word? What phrase? No; it was impossible. Then how? . . . She frowned, discovered it, dashed at the piano, which had stood open all night, and made the rosewood monster growl savagery in an irritated bass. She struck chords as if firing shots after that straddling, broad figure in ample white trousers and a dark uniform jacket with gold shoulder-straps, and then she pursued him with the

was nearly drowned by the piano. "What

her soul were lost in her

on

t? . .

he floor or clinging to a wall. But a shrill whistle coming somewhere from below pierced the ample volume of sound rolling out of the piano in great, vibrating waves. The lieutenant was down at the cove, whistling for the boat to come and take him off to his ship

ouchy, too! I shouldn't wonder if it was your conduct last night that hurt his feelings? I noticed you, Freya. You as well as lau

iscontent, a nervous lassitude, as though she had passed through some exhausting crisis. O

ea? Do you hear, Freya? You have astonished me, I must say. I didn't think a young girl could be so unfeeling. And the lieutenant thinks himself a fr

listlessly; then added, i