The excitement of disembarking over, the girls had time to look around them, and there were “Ohs!” and “Ahs!” of surprise and pleasure from everybody. The launch slipped through the narrow entrance to the harbor, and skirted the long, low island that sheltered it and shut it in from the open sea. The shores of this island were covered with a luxuriant growth of bushes, not distinctively tropical in appearance; but the island across the way—Mr. Wales explained that it was called New Providence, and that Nassau was the name of its town, which was also the capital of the Bahama group of islands—New Providence was dotted with groups of tall palms, a queer old fort crowned the hill, and the houses that lined the water-front and straggled up the steep streets toward the fort, had an unmistakably foreign air.
“You’d know in a minute that you were out of the United States,” said Betty.
“‘The States,’ you must call them down here,” corrected Mr. Wales.
But it was the harbor, more than the town, that had made “The Merry Hearts” wonder and exclaim. Its opalescent waters sparkled and shimmered in the sunlight, showing every conceivable shade and tint of blue, green and purple. Patches of green so pale as to be almost white lay close to pools stained a rich, deep purple. Why was it? It could not be the effect of cloud shadows, for there was not a cloud in the sky.
Mr. Wales, being appealed to, explained that the iridescence was due to the remarkable clearness of the water. Sand, white coral rock, reefs coated with sponges or with dark sea-weeds,—each showed its color through the perfectly transparent water of the harbor.
The launch was steered by a bright-looking mulatto boy, who had listened intently to the conversation. When Mr. Wales had finished his explanation, he smiled broadly and joined in the talk.
“They do tell an awful funny story ’bout that water, mass’r,” he began. “Onct a woman come down here from the States. She buy shells and sponges to tek home, but she lak the water bes’ of all. So she get some little bottles, and she hire a black boy to fill ’em with all the diff’rent kinds, and she label ’em and tek ’em home. An’ when she pour ’em out to show her fren’s, they all come white—all jus’ the same. An’ the lady she awful sorry.”
Everybody laughed and Mrs. Wales said she hoped the poor woman hadn’t had to pay duty on her water.
Just as she had finished speaking, there was a loud splash in front of the boat, and the girls looked around to see three black men swimming toward them.