“All right, Cap’n,” he said. “We’ll try it.”
He went away to pick his men, and Bry returned to the kitchen galley and started dinner. Fortunately the Seagull was well provisioned and we had enough supplies to last our party for several months.
As Nux was laying the cabin table for the noonday meal I said to him:
“Why are the natives of Faytan called the Pearl People—and why should your tribe make such a desperate effort to conquer them?”
“’Roun’ dis island, Mars Sam,” said he, “is de fines’ pearls in all de world. Dey grow in a certain sort o’ clamshell what can’t be foun’ anywhere else. An’ de Faytan natives dey jus’ crazy ’bout dem pearls, an’ fish fer ’em all de time. But dey won’t sell none nor give ’em away; dey jus’ keeps ’em all heaped up in de Pearl City, an’ wears ’em on deyre bodies fer orn’ments. Dey worship de pearls in de great temple an’ believes dey gives ’em strength an’ health an’ makes ’em defeat all deyre enemies. If any boat comes here an’ sends anyone ashore dey kill ’em quick. Sometimes de tribes of other islands come in big numbers to try to get de pearls; but Faytans always too strong for ’em an’ kill ’em all.”
“Then how do you know about the pearls, and the Pearl City, and the Pearl Temple, and all that?” I inquired.
“How we know?”
“Yes. If no one ever gets away alive, how did you find out about these people?”
“I tell you,” said Nux. “Bry’s father he great chief of our people—what you call king. One day when he go with many canoe to fight the Grinto Islanders, a storm come up an’ drive him far away. All de canoe keep together with lines, an’ lay still on de water all night, floatin’ wherever de wind drive ’em. When day break in mornin’ he find two canoe from Faytan have drift in among ’em. When Faytan people see our canoe dey go fast to escape; but our warriors go faster. Dey catch Faytan canoe an’ de Pearl People fight us. Dey kill twenty-two of our warriors an’ we kill six Faytan people an’ make two prisoners. The prisoners we carry back home. Dey big fellows an’ don’t talk much; but dey brag of de Pearl People an’ say they rich an’ strong, an’ nobody can ever conquer dem an’ get de pearls. Sometimes dey tell us all about de Pearl City an’ de great temple, an’ all dat; an’ our chief ask ’em to show de way to Faytan an’ he prove he can conquer de Pearl People. Dey tell chief dey hate us so bad dey will show de way. So many young men of our tribe go in canoe, an’ de two Faytan natives go an’ show dem de way. I guess ’bout four hundred went, but only seven came back. All de res’ was murdered by de Pearl People. De prisoners try to escape in de fight an’ get to land; but our chief he kill ’em both an’ den escape himself an’ come home with six others.”
“That was hard luck,” I remarked.