Her greatest interest was in Annabel, the only highly cultured woman in our party, since the colony was composed of workers in practical industries. The two girls had no language in common, and appeared sharply different in temperament and training; yet there was visible between them a bond of feminine sympathy such as no man can understand. It was curious that the savage one was not abashed before her highly civilized sister. In the gentle eagerness with which she served Annabel, frankly studied her, and courted her notice, was something that looked pathetically like the yearning of a starved soul for what Annabel had—the enjoyment of a birthright. Annabel appeared to see that longing, and she stretched forth a friendly hand into the fan-bearer’s darkness.
Captain Mason, Christopher, and I formed a group. Despite the grief and anxiety on the sailor’s face, he betrayed his share of the sunshine that the girl bestowed on all. She came to us often, and there was a touch of shyness not visible when she flitted among the others. Virtually ignoring me, she gave some attention to the captain, and was particularly solicitous toward Christopher. She stuffed him, and laughed at him. Christopher enjoyed it, gazed up into her sparkling eyes, and strained his ribs with the food that she coaxingly urged upon him.
On one of her visits I smilingly handed her a little pocket toilet-case which I carried. She took it gingerly, examined it curiously, and with childish interest inspected its contents. Her surprise at discovering the mirror was not so great as I had expected, and did not look quite sincere. She held it up, made a grimace at her reflection, thrust out at it a tongue as sweet and pink as a baby’s, tossed the kit back at me, and went dancing off in a swirl of laughter.
Presently she demurely returned on a pretense of looking after Christopher’s wants, and of a sudden, brilliantly smiling, held out her hand for the trinket. I gave it to her. Her eyes fell when I looked up closely into them, and in agitation she thrust the case into her bosom. I discovered that Annabel was curiously observing her.
Captain Mason gazed thoughtfully after her as she left, and remarked:
“That girl is going to be mixed up with our fate.”
“What do you make of her?”
“An eaglet hatched by buzzards.”
Christopher’s evident regard for her was dazzled wonder.