r.
Sometimes Ata would come down to the village at night and
arouse the trader, so that he might sell her various things of
which she stood in need. She knew that the natives looked
upon her with the same horrified aversion as they looked upon
Strickland, and she kept out of their way. Once some women,
venturing nearer than usual to the plantation, saw her
washing clothes in the brook, and they threw stones at her.
After that the trader was told to give her the message that if
she used the brook again men would come and burn down her house."

"Brutes," I said.

"<i Mais non, mon cher monsieur>, men are always the same.
Fear makes them cruel.... I decided to see Strickland, and
when I had finished with the chiefess asked for a boy to show
me the way. But none would accompany me, and I was forced to
find it alone."

When Dr. Coutras arrived at the plantation he was seized with
a feeling of uneasiness. Though he was hot from walking, he
shivered. There was something hostile in the air which made
him hesitate, and he felt that invisible forces barred his way.
Unseen hands seemed to draw him back. No one would go
near now to gather the cocoa-nuts, and they lay rotting on the
ground. Everywhere was desolation. The bush was encroaching,
and it looked as though very soon the primeval forest would
regain possession of that strip of land which had been
snatched from it at the cost of so much labour. He had the
sensation that here was the abode of pain. As he approached
the house he was struck by the unearthly silence, and at first
he thought it was deserted. Then he saw Ata. She was sitting
on her haunches in the lean-to that served her as kitchen,
watching some mess cooking in a pot. Near her a small boy was
playing silently in the dirt. She did not smile when she saw him.

"I have come to see Strickland," he said.

"I will go and tell him."

She went to the house, ascended the few steps that led to the
verandah, and entered. Dr. Coutras followed her, but waited
outside in obedience to her gesture. As she opened the door
he smelt the sickly sweet smell which makes the neighbourhood
of the leper nauseous. He heard her speak, and then he heard
Strickland's answer, but he did not recognise the voice.
It had become hoarse and indistinct. Dr. Coutras raised his
eyebrows. He judged that the disease had already attacked the
vocal chords. Then Ata came out again.

"He will not see you. You must go away