She smiled. "Not in the least. But I like to speak to animals, when possible, in their own language. It saves time." By way of illustration, she clucked to a group of hens. She turned her back to me, and I was dismissed from her barefoot presence.
Stires was my logical goal after that, and I found him busy with the second mate of a tramp just in from Papua and bound for the Carolines. After the man had gone, I informed Stires of the episode. For a man who had damned Schneider up and down for making presents to a lady, Stires reacted disappointingly.
"He got his, eh?" was all he said.
"Evidently. You don't seem to be much affected."
"So long as she's shipped him, that's all right," he drawled.
"I can't make out what your interest in the matter is," I suggested.
"Sure you can't," Stires began to whistle creakily, and took up some nameless object to repair.
"How long is Schneider staying round these parts?"
"Not long, I guess. I heard he was leaving on the Sydney packet next week."