I could see that
his mind was deranged, and I dreaded some violent outbreak, such as
that which had come over him when, by his treachery, I was cast into
the sea. But Melannie showed no fear of him; in, her delight at being
with me upon the ocean away from the savages, among whom she had been
reared, she seemed to have forgotten his presence.
For the next week after leaving what had been once the Island of Gems,
we experienced a spell of fine weather, with bright sun and cool
breeze. The elements seemed kind to the exiled queen without a throne,
who had trusted herself to the wind and the sea, and but for the
anxiety which I felt for the future, the voyage would have been a
pleasant one.
In order to protect Melannie from the heat of midday, and to ensure her
some measure of privacy, I constructed a temporary cabin for her, with
some spare canvas which I found on board the boat, but at night she
preferred to sleep in the open so that she might watch the stars, which
shone with extraordinary brilliancy. It was then that I lowered the
sails when our boat drifted upon the moonlit sea. Melannie would at
such times creep into my arms, and with her head pillowed upon, my
breast would listen to the wonders I had to tell of the world of white
people to which I hoped I was taking her.
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