The Hurricane by Charles Brown, Jr Read online

  Adventure, 2nd September, 1917

  ROUCHED miserably in the long

  she was fleeing.

  grass, Kalputa, the Melanesian

  On the outer edge of the canefields

  C woman, loosened her blue wrapper and but a short distance above the surf-at the throat and removed it carefully back beaten beach she saw the trading station. It over her shoulder. The blood had stopped

  was a tiny bungalow with stilty legs and a

  running from the deep wound above the

  low white oblong roof. Through the paw-

  armpit, and her shoulder was beginning to

  paw trees behind the station she saw the

  swell.

  long-legged houses of the Fijians, and the

  Hurriedly she broke leaves from the

  villagers moving about their daily tasks.

  yellow bush beside her, squeezed them into

  When she again turned her eyes to

  a thick pad and laid it on the wound, tying the trading station, Kalputa saw Captain

  it with long strips of cloth torn from the

  Barker, the only American trader on Flenga

  hem of her skirt. Then she let her young

  Island, crash across the palm-thatched

  head fall on her knees, moaning in a cold,

  veranda and around to the grove of paw-

  frightened way.

  paw trees, brandishing a long knife. He was Her big melancholy eyes did not

  over six feet, and wide across the chest.

  look at the sun as it rose over the tall green Kalputa knew that he was looking for her,

  coconut -palms above the beach nor at .the

  and she sprang to her feet and fled toward

  smoke which curled thin and blue from

  the gray-green forest on the far end of the under the deep thatched roofs beyond the

  island.

  canefields; but she went on moaning and

  Because of the pain in her shoulder

  wailing, her voice full of terror. It was not she had found the way difficult the minute

  until the bronze sea-hawks, hovering and

  she left the station. Many times during the veering above the calm blue sea in front of long chill-hour that comes just before dawn her, noisily resumed their fishing that she she had crouched among the thick tufts of

  lifted her head and looked back at the place cane-grass or beneath a yam bush, her head

  Adventure

  2

  falling on her knees, too full of-pain to go drinking, and immediately he broke into a

  on.

  paroxysm of rage, striking her in the face

  Always, as she crouched in a small

  with his iron-hard fist. Then all her love for blue heap, a vague sort of fear came over

  him went out like a candle in the wind.

  her. For she could not help wondering what

  After that life in the trading station

  her people, to whom she was fleeing, changed.. More than once Kalputa thought would say and do to her when she told

  of running away—of going back either to

  them that after enduring Captain Barker’s

  the mission house at Suva, where she had

  abuse for two years she had at last revolted studied for seven months, or to her people

  and run away.

  who lived in the village around by the

  Of all the people in her home forest. But she had endured Captain Barker village she feared most Old Lu the sorcerer.

  until the night before.

  It was he who, for five sticks of traders’

  When he insisted upon her drinking

  tobacco, had brought about her marriage

  French rum with him, she said that rum

  with Captain Barker the day the captain

  made her sick and she wanted no more of

  walked down the white coral gravel of the

  it. Then he grew ugly and, in the struggle

  village street, looking for a wife. Never did that followed, slashed her above the armpit a Flenga Island woman revolt and run away

  with His Canario knife. She lay on the floor when a white man abused her; always she

  in the store-room until just before dawn.

  submitted to her fate and said nothing. But And now, no matter what the

  not so with Kalputa.

  consequences might be, she would not go

  At one time she had been happy

  back to him—not even if he came after her.

  with Captain Barker. That was after he had

  She was positive of that.

  sold his schooner and stocked a trading

  The hush of noon was on all the

  station on the island, with her as his wife village when Kalputa limped into the main

  and go-between or agent among the street which lay beneath the burning sun natives.

  like a wide river of white fire. On the edge She watched the business grow in

  of the village she stopped in front of a

  its fair way; wore blood-red hibiscus thatched-roof house built high in the air on blossoms in her black hair, and a pearl-long thin piles and looked about her.

  shell necklace to delight him; and gleefully It was the lonely hour; of Flenga

  clapped her tiny bronze hands when, at

  Island. There was not a sign of life. The

  night on the veranda in the silver villagers were either asleep in their brown moonlight, he talked of taking her to houses or at rest in the shade of the forest.

  Sydney some time and from there up to the

  In the giant coconut-palms on either side of States “to show her the world.”

  the street the leaves hung motionless. The

  Her man-child came toward the end

  native dogs slept in the dark shadows

  of that period. He lived only four weeks.

  beneath the house; and the tame parrots and They buried the thin little brown baby in

  cockatoos had ceased their screaming in the the grove of paw-paw trees in the rear of

  windows and disappeared to drowse under

  the station.

  the eaves.

  One night before the rainy season

  No sounds came from the forest,

  set in, Captain Barker came through the

  while beneath the implacable sky the sea

  lone grove and found Kalputa there, crying

  dazzled like a mirror. And in the tall white in the blue-gray twilight. He had been sails of the three schooners lying far out in

  The Hurricane

  3

  the lagoon there was not a breath of wind.

  doorway and saw hanging above the arch a

  tightly netted white string bag. It was half AS KALPUTA turned to the verandaless

  full and almost bursting. Her brown, bosom

  house of her people, her face was all eyes

  heaving, she crawled across the floor and

  and fear. She entered the glaring sandy

  looked at the bag scrutinizingly. She

  yard and stopped at the foot of the bamboo

  touched it lightly with the tip of her tiny ladder which reached to the low doorway

  finger. Instantly something leaped in the

  of the house.

  bag, violently twisting itself over and over.

  The next instant, afraid of what her

  Kalputa’s eyes rounded with horror, and

  people might say and do to her, she moved

  she sucked her lips against her teeth.

  away, then stopped suddenly a
s she saw

  She dragged herself back to the

  almost at the end of the street one house

  wall. With her face pressed in her thin

  that was higher than any of the others.

  arms, she lay on the floor, sobbing

  Above its door were carved birds and piteously and shivering in every limb, like sharks, and on the very top of the roof was a fallen palm-leaf. She knew now that she

  a skull whiter than the belly of a fish.

  was doomed—that, try as hard as she

  Kalputa knew that this was the might, she could not run away from the house in which Old Lu the sorcerer lived,

  “touch of death” in the bag as she had from and it frightened her so, that she hastily

  Captain Barker. For the bag was a

  turned back to the house of her people. She sorcerer’s, and there was in the village but climbed the ladder and crawled in through

  one person to whom it belonged.

  the low doorway.

  Kalputa wished that she had hidden

  There was light enough in the house

  in the canefields or among the mangrove

  for Kalputa to look about her. At the first trees on the edge of the swamp until night.

  glance she saw that her people were not

  Then she could have crept down to the jetty there. As she crawled across the flimsy

  and paddled across the lagoon to one of the flooring of palm-sheath and sat with her

  trading schooners. She knew that she

  slender back to the wall, she told herself would not have found it difficult to hide

  that they were, in all probability, at rest among the copra and the bundles of sugar-with the other villagers in the cool shade of cane until the schooner reached Suva.

  the forest. She turned the pad on the wound Presently she began to wonder if

  above the armpit. Then she looked slowly

  she could run away from the “touch of

  about the lonely room.

  death” in the bag. Maybe she had been

  The place was high and almost wrong in thinking that she could not, she empty. Behind her was a window partly

  told herself. The next moment she asked a

  covered with overhanging thatch, through

  question: Why couldn’t some sort of harm

  which a soft light filtered. There was also a befall the “touch of death” and the one to

  window beside the door. On the floor lay

  whom it belonged?

  mats and big wooden sleeping pillows, and

  But she remembered with a start

  on the walls hung war spears and shields of that when noon came with its scorching

  a faraway time. A white cockatoo, looking

  white heat Old Lu the sorcerer carefully

  ghostly in the dim light, drowsed on a

  hung the charm-bag in the house he was

  beam above Kalputa.

  nearest and went to bathe in the tar-black

  Kalputa fastened her eyes on it for a

  bottomless pool in the forest. She felt that minute or more, then lowered them to the

  Old Lu would be returning for the bag at

  Adventure

  4

  any minute.

  Kalputa

  screamed.

  As she crawled to her feet and

  “Ooo!” exclaimed Old Lu the

  parted the overhanging thatch on the sorcerer, snatching up the reptile and window, Kalputa heard the island waken

  dropping, it into the bag. “Ooo! Ooo!”

  from its midday nap. On the edge of the

  He turned his black sparks of eyes

  forest a cockatoo screeched, screeched, and saw Kalputa crouching fearfully screeched. The men, women and little beneath the window. He recognized her children returning from the bush chattered

  immediately and broke into an ugly grin.

  in a faint chorus. A dog stirring out from

  “Kalputa ’ere?” he asked in pidgin

  shelter somewhere down the village street

  English, his voice growing loud and brassy.

  barked. The leaves in the palm-tree heads

  “What Kalputa wantum? Cap’n Barker

  rustled dryly. And....

  ’ere?”

  Kalputa heard a sound different

  He frowned at her from under his

  from all the others. It made her drop to her sullen brow and slipped a clawful of betel-hands and knees, afraid and shivering all

  nut into his frog-mouth.

  over. Some one was scuttling up the ladder.

  Kalputa made no answer, but

  The next second Old Lu the watched Old Lu spit big mouthfuls of gory sorcerer bolted in through the low door,

  juice at a crack in the floor. Then she

  like a rat. He was a small wiry old man

  lowered her eyes to the charm-bag and saw

  with skin as brown and tough as leather

  a way of procuring his help.

  and all shining with coconut-oil. His mouth

  “Kalputa go Suva tonight,” she

  was long and deep like a frog’s and his

  said, as she stared into the face of the

  sparse black hair was twisted into a mat on sorcerer, rapidly constructing her daring

  the very top of his head. Except for a

  scheme. “Capt’in Barker him have things at

  scarlet loin-cloth, he wore no clothes. Suva. Him ’fraid boat capt’in no come bac’

  Crushed tightly in one long black-nailed

  wi’ things. Him say Kalputa, ‘Kalputay go

  claw was some betel-nut he had brought

  Suva tonight. Bling bac’ flenty things.’

  from the forest.

  Him say things to bling.

  Kalputa, trembling with fear,

  “Then him say, ‘Kalputa, find Old

  watched him reach for the charm-bag. He

  Lu. Him give Kalputa two charm-stone out

  squatted on a mat and opened the bag,

  bag. Maybe all time water big an’ boat turn tumbling the contents on to the floor.

  down. Maybe shark behin’ boat when boat

  Instantly the “touch of death” turn down. Shark him eat Kalputa. Boat no sprang almost to the ceiling and buried its turn down when Kalputa have two charm-mouth hungrily in the white breast of the

  stone.’”

  sleeping cockatoo. The bird gave a wild

  She watched Old Lu cram another

  screech and fluttered dizzily in a circle.

  chew of betel-nut into his cheek, and heard Then it fell to the floor, breathing through him rattle the stones in the bag.

  its bill. In another minute it was dead.

  “Old Lu savvy? Two stone!”

  With white jaws open, the “touch of

  Kalputa was certain that she would succeed

  death” came down among the quartz in getting the charm-stones. “Capt’n Barker crystals, bits of carved wood, lizards’ tails him give Old Lu flerity salt an’ tobac’o.

  and odd-shaped stones; then leaped again.

  Savvy? Two stone, flenty salt an’ tobac’o!”

  It was a thick black snake with yellow

  For a minute or more Old Lu did

  rings extending half-way up its back.

  not reply. He remembered painfully that

  The Hurricane

  5

  while trying one morning at the station to

  His shirt and wrinkled white ducks

  get two more handfuls of salt before he

  were covered with dust, and his leather-

  would enter into a certain deal Captain tanned face was perspiring. As he looked Barker had kicked him off the veranda.

  angrily first at the house and then at the

  He was more than doubtful about

  forest behind the village, his eyes
glittered the proposition now before him, and like polished dark blue marbles.

  wanted to say “No savvee,” but the thought

  His arms were not folded across his

  of salt and tobacco was too good to wide chest as was his habit of standing relinquish from his mind for even a minute, when talking to any one, but they hung at

  especially when Captain Barker’s wife the sides of his huge body, their heavy fists assured him that they were his for two

  doubled to strike Old Lu at any instant. He charm-stones.

  looked menacingly at the sorcerer, his

  “Old Lu sawee,” he said at last,

  lower lip dropping until it exposed teeth as working two small white stones out of the

  white as a dog’s.

  bag. Then he scuttled across the floor.

  Kalputa saw Old Lu gesticulating

  “Two stone, flenty salt an’ wildly. He waved his hands in a queer sort tobac’o!”

  of a way and pointed momentarily to the

  With a piece of burned wood he

  farther end of the forest. His voice was

  drew a dark circle on the floor, and laid the loud enough for Kalputa to hear it.

  stones in the center of it. He crawled to the

  “Kalputa no com’ ’ere in mornin’.

  opposite side of the circle, whispering Kalputa go ’way to forest.” Old Lu moved mysteriously in Melanesian. Then he to one side of the street. “Old Lu savvee erased the circle, picked up the stones he

  place Kalputa hide in forest. Cap’n Barker, had charmed and turned to hand them to

  give Old Lu ten stick tobac’o an’ flenty

  Kalputa who had watched the weird salt. Then Old Lu show Cap’n Barker place performance, breathlessly.

  Kalputa hide.”

  Kalputa listened for Captain

  SUDDENLY his face grew very dark, and

  Barker’s reply. It was a quick glance at the he shot such a look of hate at Kalputa that houses on either side of the street, she saw.

  she drew into the corner and crouched very