第39章 THE ISLE OF VOICES.(3)

"You may do what you like,"said she;"but as sure as you thwart my father,you will be no more heard of.Think of this person,and that person;think of Hua,who was a noble of the House of Representatives,and went to Honolulu every year;and not a bone or a hair of him was found.Remember Kamau,and how he wasted to a thread,so that his wife lifted him with one hand.Keola,you are a baby in my father's hands;he will take you with his thumb and finger and eat you like a shrimp."Now Keola was truly afraid of Kalamake,but he was vain too;and these words of his wife's incensed him.

"Very well,"said he,"if that is what you think of me,I will show how much you are deceived."And he went straight to where his father-in-law was sitting in the parlour.

"Kalamake,"said he,"I want a concertina."

"Do you,indeed?"said Kalamake.

"Yes,"said he,"and I may as well tell you plainly,I mean to have it.A man who picks up dollars on the beach can certainly afford a concertina.""I had no idea you had so much spirit,"replied the sorcerer."Ithought you were a timid,useless lad,and I cannot describe how much pleased I am to find I was mistaken.Now I begin to think Imay have found an assistant and successor in my difficult business.

A concertina?You shall have the best in Honolulu.And to-night,as soon as it is dark,you and I will go and find the money.""Shall we return to the beach?"asked Keola.

"No,no!"replied Kalamake;"you must begin to learn more of my secrets.Last time I taught you to pick shells;this time I shall teach you to catch fish.Are you strong enough to launch Pili's boat?""I think I am,"returned Keola."But why should we not take your own,which is afloat already?""I have a reason which you will understand thoroughly before to-morrow,"said Kalamake."Pili's boat is the better suited for my purpose.So,if you please,let us meet there as soon as it is dark;and in the meanwhile,let us keep our own counsel,for there is no cause to let the family into our business."Honey is not more sweet than was the voice of Kalamake,and Keola could scarce contain his satisfaction.

"I might have had my concertina weeks ago,"thought he,"and there is nothing needed in this world but a little courage."Presently after he spied Lehua weeping,and was half in a mind to tell her all was well.

"But no,"thinks he;"I shall wait till I can show her the concertina;we shall see what the chit will do then.Perhaps she will understand in the future that her husband is a man of some intelligence."As soon as it was dark father and son-in-law launched Pili's boat and set the sail.There was a great sea,and it blew strong from the leeward;but the boat was swift and light and dry,and skimmed the waves.The wizard had a lantern,which he lit and held with his finger through the ring;and the two sat in the stern and smoked cigars,of which Kalamake had always a provision,and spoke like friends of magic and the great sums of money which they could make by its exercise,and what they should buy first,and what second;and Kalamake talked like a father.

Presently he looked all about,and above him at the stars,and back at the island,which was already three parts sunk under the sea,and he seemed to consider ripely his position.

"Look!"says he,"there is Molokai already far behind us,and Maui like a cloud;and by the bearing of these three stars I know I am come where I desire.This part of the sea is called the Sea of the Dead.It is in this place extraordinarily deep,and the floor is all covered with the bones of men,and in the holes of this part gods and goblins keep their habitation.The flow of the sea is to the north,stronger than a shark can swim,and any man who shall here be thrown out of a ship it bears away like a wild horse into the uttermost ocean.Presently he is spent and goes down,and his bones are scattered with the rest,and the gods devour his spirit."Fear came on Keola at the words,and he looked,and by the light of the stars and the lantern,the warlock seemed to change.

"What ails you?"cried Keola,quick and sharp.

"It is not I who am ailing,"said the wizard;"but there is one here very sick."With that he changed his grasp upon the lantern,and,behold I as he drew his finger from the ring,the finger stuck and the ring was burst,and his hand was grown to be of the bigness of three.

At that sight Keola screamed and covered his face.

But Kalamake held up the lantern."Look rather at my face!"said he -and his head was huge as a barrel;and still he grew and grew as a cloud grows on a mountain,and Keola sat before him screaming,and the boat raced on the great seas.

"And now,"said the wizard,"what do you think about that concertina?and are you sure you would not rather have a flute?

No?"says he;"that is well,for I do not like my family to be changeable of purpose.But I begin to think I had better get out of this paltry boat,for my bulk swells to a very unusual degree,and if we are not the more careful,she will presently be swamped."With that he threw his legs over the side.Even as he did so,the greatness of the man grew thirty-fold and forty-fold as swift as sight or thinking,so that he stood in the deep seas to the armpits,and his head and shoulders rose like a high isle,and the swell beat and burst upon his bosom,as it beats and breaks against a cliff.The boat ran still to the north,but he reached out his hand,and took the gunwale by the finger and thumb,and broke the side like a biscuit,and Keola was spilled into the sea.And the pieces of the boat the sorcerer crushed in the hollow of his hand and flung miles away into the night.

"Excuse me taking the lantern,"said he;"for I have a long wade before me,and the land is far,and the bottom of the sea uneven,and I feel the bones under my toes."And he turned and went off walking with great strides;and as often as Keola sank in the trough he could see him no longer;but as often as he was heaved upon the crest,there he was striding and dwindling,and he held the lamp high over his head,and the waves broke white about him as he went.