."

CHAPTER VII

"Twenty dollars is not much of a stand-by in a town like Apia or
Levuka," I said gravely, as I looked at her now animated features.
"Living there is very expensive--as I know to my sorrow--and unless you
have friends at either place, you would have to go to an hotel in the
first place."

"I am not afraid, Mr. Sherry. And I am not jesting about the hat-making.
All of my mother's family were very expert at it, and quite often I have
seen as much as twenty-five or thirty Mexican dollars paid for one of
our hats. We could have sold ten times the number had we been able to
have made more."

"Where was this?" I asked, with interest.

"At Agana, in the Marianas. My father lived there for many years. He was
a very poor man, and had a hard struggle to get along with such a
large family. So we all had to help him as much as we could. He was
an Englishman named Arundel, and was in some Government employment
in Rangoon. I do not remember exactly what it was, but think he was
connected with maritime matters, for I remember that he had many
nautical books, and used to go away frequently in the Government
steamers to Perak and Singapore. I can scarcely remember my mother, for
she died when I, who was the youngest of the family, was about six years
old. But I think she was of Dutch-Javanese parentage, for sometimes she
would speak to us children in both languages, and I remember her being
very dark. Soon after she died, my father--who was always of a restless
disposition I suppose--either gave up, or lost his employment in
Rangoon, and taking us with him, settled on Tinian, in the Marianas,
where he had something to do with cattle. But we did not remain
there permanently; we were always moving about from one island to
another--sometimes we would be living at Saipan, sometimes at Rota, and
sometimes at Agana, in Guam. At this last place--which I love dearly--we
were very happy, although we were so poor."

She stopped somewhat abruptly, and added that it was at this place she
had met Krause, who came to the Marianas from Manila, on behalf of his
firm, who had a large establishment at the latter city.

"I should like to see the Marianas--or the Ladrones, as we traders call
them," I said. "There is a very dear friend of mine now living at San
Anlaccio in Guam----"

"What is his name?" she asked quickly.

"Jose Otano. He was mate of a New Bedford whaler."

"I know him, I know him," she cried excitedly, "h