XVI
It had never occurred to Ka-kee-ta's frizzled head that Tessie couldleave the royal suite without his knowledge, not while he stood besidethe door. He did not understand that the suite was a corner one withexits on two corridors, and no one had thought it necessary to tell him.So when he saw Tessie come in with Mr. Bill, when he thought that shewas with Granny in the room, he gave a howl of surprise and stared ather as if she were a ghost instead of a flesh-and-blood girl in a whitedinner frock and a rose wrap. Tessie frowned.
"Do be quiet, Ka-kee-ta!" she ordered impatiently. "He always makes methink of a dog," she said to Mr. Bill. "At night, you know, he justcurls up here beside the door and goes to sleep. He is always here! It'sso tiresome. I do think that queens have to put up with an awful lot ofdisagreeable things!" And she sighed.
"They get an awful lot, too," reminded Mr. Bill with a grin. "And as ourwise young friend, Joseph Cary, so truthfully remarks, you have to payfor everything you get. Having Ka-kee-ta as a doormat isn't much of aprice to pay for all the romance and the luxury and the----"
"Oh, isn't it!" interrupted Tessie, her nose in the air. "I'll lend himto you, and you can see what fun it is to have him at your heels all thetime."
"He wouldn't be lent!" declared Mr. Bill hastily, for in spite of hiswords, he did not want Ka-kee-ta at his heels for a minute. It was allright for Tessie to have a bodyguard, but it would be far from all rightfor the basement floorwalker of the Evergreen to be so attended. "Whatwas your uncle afraid of in his islands that he trained a man to standbeside him with an ax in his hand?" he asked curiously.
"The people!" Tessie told him in a whisper. "That's another reason whyI'm not so crazy over this queen business as I was. I never used to beafraid of anything, and now I'm afraid of almost everything!"
Mr. Bill laughed indulgently because he was not afraid of anything, andadmiringly because Tessie was so adorable when she was afraid of almosteverything. He took her hand and pressed it. Immediately Ka-kee-ta, whostood in the open door watching them with the wide questioning eyes of achild, gave another howl. Mr. Bill hastily jumped away from Tessie.
"The dickens!" he exclaimed.
"You see how it is!" Tessie shrugged her shoulders as she clasped thehand Mr. Bill had squeezed. "He is just impossible! Sometimes," shelowered her voice as if she would not for the world let Ka-kee-ta hearwhat she was going to say, "I have a mind to give the whole thing up!"
Mr. Bill stared at her in horrified astonishment. "Your kingdom?" hegasped.
She nodded.
"You couldn't do it!"
"Why couldn't I?"
Mr. Bill's reason was not a very good one. "Because," he said vaguely.But when Tessie showed an impatient dissatisfaction with it he foundanother reason. "It isn't done, you know! Kings and queens have to stayon their thrones as long as the people want them there."
"That's exactly the idea," mourned Tessie. "As long as the people wantthem on thrones! But suppose the people don't want them?" She shiveredas she remembered what Mr. Pracht had said happened when the SunshineIslanders did not want the king who was on their throne.
Mr. Bill was puzzled. "What is it?" he demanded sharply. "What'shappened? I could see all evening that something was the matter. When weplayed hearts you acted as if your mind was miles away. You let dad giveyou every heart in the pack. What is it? Has the special representativecome? What makes you talk as if your people didn't want you for theirqueen?" He started to go closer and then remembered the watch-dog andwalked to the door and shut it almost on Ka-kee-ta's tattooed nose."What is it?" he asked again, and now he was very close to Tessie. Helooked anxiously into her troubled face. He wanted to help her. He hadnever wanted to help a girl as he wanted to help Tessie.
Tessie's voice shook as she answered him. "The special representative isa prisoner in the islands. The Sons of Sunshine--I told you aboutthem?--have captured him and locked him up. They don't want a whiteruler--a white queen! And I heard to-day that when the Sunshine Islandspeople don't like their king, they boil him in oil!" Her lip quivered.Her eyes were big and frightened as she looked at Mr. Bill.
"I don't believe it!" declared Mr. Bill quickly. "I don't believe a wordof it! Such things aren't done now! Maybe in the Dark Ages, but not now!Take it from me! It sounds like a rank movie!" he insisted.
Tessie smiled wanly. It was cheering to hear Mr. Bill declare with somuch warm emphasis that he did not believe the Sunshine Islanders keptup their ancient customs. "It made me want to sell the islands rightaway," she faltered.
"Sell the islands!" He was shocked. "You can't do that!" he exclaimed."Dad wouldn't let you!"
Tessie looked at him quickly, almost suspiciously. "What do you mean?What has your father and the Evergreen to do with my islands?"
Mr. Bill flushed and stammered. "Nothing of course," he said. "Only heis awfully interested! He's tried to help you in every way, given youunlimited credit and advice and everything. And he wouldn't like you todo anything without his per--I mean without talking to him. I wouldn'twant you to sell your islands, either. I like to think of you as aqueen! You are such a peach! You should be a queen!" And his hand shotout again, and it would have found her fingers if she had not moved awayfrom him.
"I think," she said with a quick catch of her breath, "you had bettergo. It must be Ka-kee-ta's bedtime!" she insisted, when he showed nosign of going.
"Darn Ka-kee-ta!" he exclaimed somewhat rudely.
But he had to go away, and when he had reluctantly said good night anddisappeared down the corridor, Tessie turned impatiently to herbodyguard, who was yawning beside the door.
"You see, Ka-kee-ta," she said slowly and distinctly so that he would besure to understand her, "nothing happened to me when I went away withoutyou. I think I shall leave you at home often."
Ka-kee-ta shook his frizzled head and waved his ax. "The Tear of God!"he rumbled. "The king's jewel!"
Tessie looked at him, and her eyes widened. "If I leave the Tear of Godwith you will it be all right?" she guessed. "You aren't looking afterme, are you, Ka-kee-ta? It's the king's jewel you are taking care of."And when he said never a word, but just stood and gaped at her, sheplucked courage to ask him in a frightened whisper; "Ka-kee-ta, did youever see any one boiled in oil?"
The words were scarcely across her lips before she discovered that shedid not want to hear what Ka-kee-ta had seen. She did not want to knowhow savage her people could be. She shut the door and went to her ownroom, the most puzzled little queen in the world.
There were many questions to puzzle her, questions concerning theislands and Joe Cary, who was so anxious for her to abandon the islands,and Mr. Bill, and old Mr. Kingley, who was so eager for her to keep herinheritance. What difference did it make to old Mr. Kingley whether shewas a queen or not? She could understand why Joe Cary wanted her toabdicate. Joe didn't believe in queens nor in kings. But Mr. Kingley--What business was it of his? And Mr. Bill! He had said he didn't believethe Sunshine Islanders were savage or cannibal. She would believe Mr.Bill, she decided with a fluttering heart. Of course he knew. And he wasright! So long as she remained in Waloo the Sunshine Islanders--even therevolutionary Sons of Sunshine--could not harm her. But she couldn'tremain in Waloo forever and be the queen of the Sunshine Islands, too!That wouldn't be fair. Joe Cary said it wouldn't be fair. She would askMr. Bill the very first thing in the morning. Mr. Bill really knew moreabout kings and queens than Joe Cary anyway. He had seen some of them.Mr. Bill's own mother had told her that he had seen Queen Mary ofEngland. Oh, dear! Wouldn't she ever go to sleep?
It was a long time before her busy little brain would let her go tosleep, and it seemed no time at all after she was asleep before she waswakened by Granny, who handed her a letter. The sun was streamingthrough the open window with a dash and a vigor which made Tessie'ssleepy eyes blink. So she had slept after all, for it was black nightwhen she had closed her eyes and now it was bright day. She looked atthe letter.
"What is it?" she asked sleep
ily.
"It was just sent up from the office. And it's marked important." Grannysounded important as she showed Tessie the word scrawled on theenvelope. "I thought perhaps it might be something about that specialrepresentative. Maybe he has escaped from those rebels!" suggestedGranny, eager to know what was inside the letter which was so importanton the outside. "Really, Tessie, when I think of those Sons of SunshineI wish Johnny was here instead of at that Boy Scout camp. I've got moreconfidence in a good strong American boy than I have in all thefrizzle-headed, tattooed natives in the world! Even if they do carryaxes in their hand."
Tessie scarcely heard Granny. She had opened the letter, but somethingin the black writing made her face turn white.
"What is it, Tessie?" Granny caught her shoulder. "Tell Granny what itis? Drat that Pete!" she murmured under her breath. "I wish he had runaway with a circus, instead of to sea to be washed up on that island andmake trouble for us all."
"It's--it's from that Mr. Pracht!" gulped Tessie. "And he says I canhave until night to make up my mind to sell the islands. And he says heforgot to say that sometimes usurpers are sent to live in a lepercolony. I don't want to be a leper, Granny!" And she clung to the stronghands which had reached out to clasp her.
"There, there, my lamb!" crooned Granny. "Of course you don't! And youshan't be a leper! You leave it to Granny, and get up and get dressed soyou'll be ready for what comes. And that Pracht might as well understandthat he's going the wrong way. He can't scare a Gilfooly. Maybe he cansurprise 'em, but he can't scare 'em! Look at your Uncle Pete! Died aking! All the rebels in six cannibal islands didn't scare him a mite! Ifthose Sunshine Islands are worth buying, they're worth holding on tountil we know more about them. You just write this Pracht man a letterand tell him you aren't selling any islands to-day. Perhaps then he'lloffer more," she added shrewdly.
"I don't care what he offers, he can't buy my islands!" exclaimedTessie, gathering courage from Granny's proud boast that a Gilfooly wasnot to be frightened. "A queen can't resign her job unless her peopleask her to, and Mr. Pracht isn't one of my people. He's a PennsylvaniaGerman. He said so."
"That's it! That's it!" declared Granny, delighted to see that Tessie'swhite face had turned pink again. "You just put that in the letter! Whatwe got to do, Tessie Gilfooly, is to find out why he wants to buy thoseislands, and then we'll know more about selling them."
Tessie slipped into her gorgeous negligee of pink georgette and lace,thrust her feet into pink satin mules, and sat at her desk to write toMr. Pracht that she would never think of selling her islands to anybody,that she hoped he would say no more about it. As for leper colonies andshark's oil, she was not afraid. She was a Gilfooly, of the same bloodas King Pete, and the Gilfoolys were not afraid of anything or anybody.
"That's right!" indorsed Granny, who was looking over Tessie's shoulder."They aren't!"
"E-ven reb--" Tessie's hurried pen halted, and Tessie looked at Granny."One l or two in rebels, Granny?" she asked uncertainly.
"It don't make any difference," exclaimed Granny, "so long as there'splenty of courage in the Gilfoolys."
"Perhaps I'd better let Norah Lee write it on the typewriter." Tessieeyed her letter dubiously.
"Don't you do it, dearie! Just sign your name and put it in thisenvelope. There are some letters that secretaries shouldn't write. Youjust finish it as good as you begun it, and I guess Mr. Pracht willunderstand it, no matter how many l's you put in rebels."
Tessie sighed gently. "I often wish I'd finished high school, Granny,"she said slowly. "Mr. Bill went to college," she added sadly as shesigned her letter "Queen Teresa of the Sunshine Islands." "There!" sheslipped the letter into an envelope and ran her pink tongue over thegummed flap. "If you'll give that to Ka-kee-ta and ask him to take it toMr. Pracht. To Mr. Pracht himself!" she insisted. "When Mr. Pracht seesKa-kee-ta and his ax, perhaps he won't be so free with his words. Andwhile Ka-kee-ta is out, tell him to buy me some chocolates. He might aswell get a five-pound box, and they can put it on the bill," she saidwith a right royal disregard for payment.
As she went back to her room, she passed a long mirror which flashedher a picture of a slim little girl in a lovely pink negligee, with atousled head and a flushed face. She went back and looked in the mirroragain. Suddenly she remembered that a month ago she had no lovely pinknegligee, no pink satin mules, and that at this time of the morning shewould have been selling aluminum in the Evergreen basement for hours.How wonderful it was! She smiled radiantly and blew a kiss to the girlin the mirror, who was smiling, too.
"Oh, Granny!" Tessie hugged her Granny. "Can you believe it? Isn't itgreat to be a queen?"
Granny hugged her. "I wonder," she said absently, "what Mr. Pracht willsay when he reads your letter?"
Tessie snapped her fingers. She was a Gilfooly, you know, and theGilfoolys were a fearless race.
"That for Mr. Pracht!" she exclaimed. "And that for his threats!" Shesnapped her fingers again. "Isn't there a law, Granny," she askedsuddenly, "that protects people from threats? I'm going to ask Mr.Bill!"
"Ask Joe Cary," advised Granny. "He'll know more about law than Mr.Bill. I wouldn't be surprised if there was such a law, Tessie, and ifthere ain't there ought to be. It was like your wise little head tothink of it. Mr. Pracht will feel smart if he finds himself in jail,won't he? Now what are you going to have for breakfast? I had somestrawberries, some ham and eggs and some hot cakes."
"I'll have some, too," Tessie said, after she had giggled at theattractive picture Granny had painted of the disturbing Mr. Prachttightly locked in jail. "And don't forget the cream! I like a lot ofcream."
The Amazing Inheritance Page 16
