“This is Klinger’s work,” Alice declared. “The land is most valuable, cocoanut and banana groves, and worth a dollar a tree every year for the copra alone. There must be over a thousand trees on the land. It’s a fortune, and it is all that Tuamana’s family possesses.”
“Can nothing be done?” Sydney asked solicitously. “Where is it located?”
“Let’s go and look it over,” Phil suggested, “if it isn’t far away.”
The horses were quickly saddled and the four were soon on the way to visit the family estate of Tuamana, chief of Ukula.
It was near the sea beach, to the eastward of Matautu. As they approached the cocoanut grove they beheld a number of black boys[35] running barbed wire through new fence pales, recently set up.
“They are fencing it off already,” Alice exclaimed as they halted their ponies.
Avao pushed her pony across the wire that had not as yet been stretched, calling to the others to follow. Very soon they arrived in front of a very large native house. Several women sitting within quickly arose and greeted them.
Avao talked with them for several minutes.
“My relatives say that Missi Klinger has ordered them to move their house; that it is on the Kapuan firm’s property,” Avao said, her voice breaking in mortified anger.
They had all dismounted and several of the native men had climbed trees to gather fresh cocoanuts for their visitors.