THE BROTHERS-IN-LAW: A TALE OF THE EQUATORIAL ISLANDS, and THE BRASS GUN OF THE BUCCANEERS
By Louis Becke




THE BROTHERS-IN-LAW: A TALE OF THE EQUATORIAL ISLANDS, and THE BRASS GUN OF THE BUCCANEERS

From "The Tapu Of Banderah and Other Stories"

By Louis Becke

C. Arthur Pearson Ltd.

1901




THE BROTHERS-IN-LAW: A TALE OF THE EQUATORIAL ISLANDS

"There," said Tвvita the teacher, pointing with his paddle to a long,
narrow peninsula which stretched out into the shallow waters of the
lagoon, "there, that is the place where the battle was fought. In those
days a village of thirty houses or more stood there; now no one liveth
there, and only sometimes do the people come here to gather cocoanuts."

The White Man nodded. "'Tis a fair place to look upon. Let us land and
rest awhile, for the sun is hot."

The native pastor swung the bow of the canoe round towards the shore,
and presently the little craft glided gently upon the hard, white sand,
and the two men got out, walked up to the grove of cocoa-palms, and sat
down under their shade to rest and smoke until the sun lost some of its
fierce intensity and they could proceed on their journey homeward to the
principal village.

The White Man was the one trader living in Peru,{*} the native was a
Samoan, and one of the oldest and bravest missionaries in the Pacific.
For twenty years he had dwelt among the wild, intractable, and savage
people of Peru--twenty years of almost daily peril, for in those days
the warlike people of the Gilbert Group resented the coming of the few
native teachers scattered throughout the archipelago, and only Tavita's
undaunted courage and genial disposition had preserved the lives of
himself and his family. Such influence as he now possessed was due, not
to his persistent attempts to preach Christianity, but to his reputation
for integrity of conduct and his skill as a fisherman and carpenter.

     * Francis Island, or Peru, is one of the largest atolls of
     the Gilbert Group in the South Pacific, about one hundred
     and twenty miles south of the Equator

The White Man and he were firm friends, and that day they had been down
to the north end of the lagoon to collect a canoe load of the eggs of
a small species of tern which frequented the uninhabited portion of the
island in myriad swarms.

Presently, as they sat and smoked, and lazily watched a swarm of the
silvery mullet called _kanae_ disporting themselves on the glassy
surface of the lagoon, the White Man said--

"Who were these white men, Tвvita, who fought in the battle?"

"Hast never heard the story?" inquired the teacher in Samoan.

The trader shook his head. "Only some of it--a little from one, a little
from another."

"Then listen," said Tвvita, re-filling his pipe and leaning his broad
back against the bole of a cocoa-palm.

*****

"It was nineteen years ago, and I had been living on the island but a
year. In those days there were many white men in these islands. Some
were traders, some were but _papalagi tafea_{*} who spent their days
in idleness, drunkenness, and debauchery, casting aside all pride and
living like these savage people, with but a girdle of grass around their
naked waists, their hands ever imbued in the blood of their fellow white
men or that of the men of the land.

     * Beachcombers.

"Here, on this island, were two traders and many beachcombers. One of
the traders was a man named Carter, the other was named West Carter
the people called 'Karta,' the other by his fore name, which was 'Simi'
(Jim). They came here together in a whaleship from the Bonin Islands
with their wives--two sisters, who were Portuguese half-castes, and both
very beautiful women. Carter's wife had no children; West, who was
the younger man, and who had married the younger sister, had two.
Both brought many thousands of dollars worth of trade with them to buy
cocoanut oil, for in those days these natives here did not make copra as
they do now--they made oil from the nuts.

"Karta built a house on the north end of the island, where there is the
best anchorage for ships, West chose to remain on the lee side where
he had landed, and bought a house near to mine. In quite a few days we
became friends, and almost every night we would meet and talk, and his
children and mine played together. He was quite a young man, and had
been, he told me, the third mate of an English ship which was cast away
on the Bonin Islands four years before, where he had met Karta, who was
a trader there, and whose wife's sister he married.

"One day they heard from the captain of a whaleship that there was much
money to be made on this island of Peru, for although there were many
beachcombers living here there was no trader to whom the people could
sell their oil. So that was why they came here.

"Now, although these two men were married to two sisters, there was but
little love between them, and then as time went on came distrust, and
then hatred, born out of Karta's jealousy and wicked heart; but until
they came to live here on Peru there had been no bad blood--not even
enough to cause a bitter word, though even then the younger man did not
like Karta, who was a man of violent temper, unfaithful to his wife,
and rude and insulting in his manner to most men, white or brown. And
Serena, his wife, hated him, but made no sign.

"As time went on, both men prospered, for there was much oil to be had,
and at the end of the first year a schooner came from Sydney and bought
it I went on board with Simi, after the oil had been rafted off to the
ship's side. Karta, too, came on board to be paid for his oil. He had
been drinking much grog and his face was flushed and angry. With him
were three beachcombers whose foul language and insolent demeanour
angered both the captain and Simi, who were quiet men. There were six or
seven of these beachcombers living on the island, and they all disliked
Simi, who would have none of their company; but in Karta's house they
were made welcome. Night after night they would gather there and drink
and gamble, for some of them had bags of dollars, for dissolute and idle
as they were for the most of their time they could make money easily
by acting as interpreters for the natives, to the captains of the
whaleships, or as pilots to the trading vessels sailing northward to the
Marshall Islands.

"The captain paid Simi partly in money and partly in trade goods, for
the two hundred casks of oil he bought, and then Simi and I turned to go
on shore. Karta had scarce spoken ten words to Simi, who yet bore him no
ill-will, although for many months tales had come to us of the evil life
he led and the insults he put upon his wife Serena.

"But after he had bidden farewell to the captain, Simi held out his
hand to his brother-in-law and said--'My wife Luisa sendeth love and
greetings to Serena. Is she in good health?'

"Karta would not take the hand held out to him.

"'What is that to thee or thy wife either?' he answered rudely. 'Look to
thy own business and meddle not with mine.'

"Simi's face grew red with anger, but he spoke quietly and reproved his
brother-in-law for his rude speech. 'Why insult me needlessly before so
many strangers?' he said. 'What harm have I or my wife Luisa ever done
to thee?'

"'Curse thee and Luisa, thy wife,' said Karta again; 'she and thee, aye,
and Serena too, are well matched, for ye be all cunning sneaks and fit
company for that fat-faced Samoan psalm-singer who stands beside thee.'

"At these words the three beachcombers laughed, and when they saw that
Simi made no answer, but turned aside from Karta in contempt, one of
them called him a coward.

"He turned upon him quickly. 'Thou liest, thou drunken, useless cumberer
of the earth,' he said, looking at him scornfully; 'no coward am I, nor
a noisy boaster like thee. This is no place for us to quarrel. But say
such a thing to me on the beach if ye dare.'

"'He is my friend/ said Karta, speaking with drunken rage, and thrusting
his face into Simi's, 'he is as good a man as thee any day. To strike
him or any one of us thou art afraid, thou cat-hearted coward and
miser.'

"Simi clenched his hands, but suddenly thrust them into his pockets and
looked at the captain and the officers of the ship.

"'This is no place for me,' he again said in a low voice; 'come, Tavita,
let us go,' and without even raising his eyes to Karta and the three
other men he went out of the cabin.

"That night he, Luisa, and I and my wife sat talking; and in the fulness
of her anger at the insults heaped upon her husband, Luisa told us of
some things.

"'This man Karta hateth both my sister and myself, as well as my
husband. He hateth me because that it was I whom he desired to marry,
four years ago; but I feared him too much to become his wife, for
even in those days I knew him to be a drunkard and a gambler, and a
licentious man. Then although she loved him not my sister Serena became
his wife, for he was a man of good property, and promised to give over
his evil ways and be a good husband to her. And he hateth her and would
gladly see her dead, for she hath borne him no children. He is for
ever flinging cruel words at her, and hath said to her before me that a
childless man is a thing of scorn and disgrace even to the savage people
of this island. And he makes no secret of his wickedness with other
women. That is why my sister Serena is dull and heavy-minded; for she is
eaten up with grief and shame.'

"'That is true,' said Simi, 'I have known this for a year past, for
when he is drunk he cannot conceal his thoughts. And he is full of anger
against me because I have nought in common with him. I am neither a
drinker of grog nor a gambler, and have suffered from him what I would
suffer from no other man. I am no brawler, but yet 'tis hard to bear.'

*****

"Just as dawn came, and I was sunk in slumber, I heard a footstep
outside my door, and then Simi called to me. 'Bring thy wife to my house
quickly,' he said, 'evil work hath been done in the night.'

"My wife and I followed him, and when we entered we saw Luisa his wife
kneeling beside a couch and weeping over Serena, who lay still and quiet
as if dead.

"'Look,' he said sternly, 'look what that devil hath done!'

"He lifted Serena's left arm--the bone was broken in two places, above
and below the elbow.

"We set to work quickly, and fitting the broken bones in place we bound
her arm up in stiff, smooth strips of the spathe of the cocoanut tree,
and then washed and dressed her feet, which were cut and bleeding, for
she had walked barefooted, and clothed only in her night-dress, all the
way from the north end of the island, which is nearly two leagues from
my house.

"After she had drunk some coffee and eaten a little food she became
stronger, and told us all that had befallen her.

"'Karta and the three other white men came back from the ship when it
was long past midnight, and I knew by the noise they made that they had
all been drinking grog. I heard them talking and laughing and saying
that thou, Simi, were a paltry coward; and then one of them--he who is
called Joe--said that he would one day end thee with a bullet and take
Luisa to wife, as so fine a woman deserved a better man than a cur for
a husband. And Karta--Karta my husband--laughed and said that that could
not be, for he meant to take thee, Luisa, for himself when he had ridden
himself of me. His shameless words stung me, and I wept silently as I
lay there, and pressed my hands to my ears to shut out their foul talk
and blasphemies.

"'Suddenly I heard my husband's voice as he rose from the table and came
towards the sleeping room. He threw open the door and bade me come out
and put food before him and his friends.

"'I rose at his bidding, for his face terrified me--it was the face of
a devil--and began to clothe myself. He tore the dress from my hands and
cursed me, and bade me go as I stood. In my fear I sprang to the window
and tried to tear down the cane lattice-work so as to escape from the
house and the shame he sought to put upon me. He seized me by the waist
and tried to tear me away, but I was strong--strong with the strength of
a man. Then it was that he went mad, for he took up a heavy _paua_ stick
and struck me twice on the arm. And had it not been that the other
white men came in and dragged him away from me, crying shame on him, and
throwing him down upon the floor, I would now be dead.

"'I lay quiet for a little time and then rising to my feet looked out
into the big room, where the three men were still holding my husband
down. One of them bade me run for my life, for Karta, he said, had gone
mad with grog.

"'I feared to seek aid from any of the natives, for they, too, dread
Karta at such times; so I walked and ran, sometimes along the beach,
sometimes through the bush till I came here. That is all.'

* * * * *

"That morning the head man in our village caused the shell to sound,{*}
to call the people together so that they might hear from Simi the story
of the shame put upon his wife's sister and upon himself and his house.
As the people gathered around the _moniep_{**} and the head men sat down
inside, the captain of the ship came on shore, and great was his anger
when he heard the tale.

     * A conch-shell.

     ** The council house.

"'Let this poor woman come to my ship,' he said; 'her life here is not
safe with such a man as that. For I know his utter vileness and cruelty
to her. With me she shall be safe and well cared for, and if she so
wishes she shall come with me to Fiji where my wife liveth, and her life
will be a life of peace.'

"So Serena was put in the ship's boat, and Luisa went with her to remain
on board till the ship sailed, which would be in three days. Then Simi
and the head men talked together in the council house, and they made a
law and sent a message to Karta. This was the message they sent to him:
'Because of the evil thou hast done and of the shame thou hast put upon
the sister of the wife of our white man, come no more to this town. If
thou comest then will there be war between thy town and ours, and we
will burn the houses and harry and slay thee and the seven other white
men, and all men of thy town who side with thee, and make slaves of the
women and children. This is our last word.'

"A swift messenger was sent. Before the sun was in mid-heaven he
returned, crying out as he ran, 'War is the answer of Karta and his
village. War and death to Simi and to us all are his words; and to
Luisa, the wife of the white man, he sendeth this message: "Prepare a
feast for thy new husband, for he cometh to take thee away from one who
cannot stand against him."'

"In those days there were seven hundred fighting men in our town, and
a great clamour arose. Spears and clubs and muskets and hatchets were
seized, the armour of stout cinnet which covered a man from head to foot
was put on, women filled baskets with smooth stones for the slings; and
long before sundown the warriors set out, with Simi and the head men
leading them, to meet their enemies mid-way--at this very place where we
now sit. For this narrow strip of land hath been the fighting-ground of
Peru from the old, old times long before I was born, and my years are
three score and seven.

"The night was dark, but Simi and his people, when they reached this
place, some by land and some in canoes, lit great fires on the beach
and dug trenches in the sand very quickly, behind which all those who
carried muskets were placed, to fire into the enemy's canoes as they
paddled along the narrow passage to the landing place. Karta and his
white friends and the people of their town had more than two hundred
muskets, whilst our village had less than fifty. But they were strong of
heart and waited eagerly for the fight.

"Just before sunrise we saw them coming. There were over one hundred
canoes, each carrying five or six men. Karta and the beachcombers were
leading in a whaleboat, which was being rowed very swiftly. When within
rifle-shot she grounded.

"As they leapt out of the boat, rifles in hand, they were followed by
their natives, but our people fired a volley together, and two of the
white men and many of their people fell dead in the shallow water. Then
Simi and twenty of our best men leapt out of their trenches and dashed
into the water to meet them. Karta was in advance of them all, and when
he saw Simi he raised his rifle and fired. The bullet missed the white
man but killed a native behind him. Then Karta, throwing away his rifle,
took two pistols from his belt and shot twice at Simi who was now quite
close to him. These bullets, too, did Simi no harm, for taking a steady
aim at his foe he shot him through the body, and as Karta fell upon his
side one of our people leapt on him and held his head under the water
till there was no more life in his wicked heart.

"The fight was soon ended, for seeing three of their number killed so
quickly, the rest of the white men ran back to their boat and tried to
float her again; and then Simi, taking a shot-gun loaded with slugs
from one of his men, ran up to them and shot dead the one named Joe. The
other white men he let escape, for all their followers were now paddling
off or swimming to the other side of the lagoon, and Simi was no lover
of bloodshed.

"That day the people at the north end sent a message for peace, and
peace was made, for our people had lost but one man killed, so the thing
was ended well for us.

"Serena came back from the ship, for now that Karta was dead she had
no fear. The three white men who were spared soon left Peru in a
whale-ship, for they feared to remain.

"Simi and his wife and children and Serena did not long stay with us,
for he sold his house and boats to a new trader who came to the island
about a month after the fight, and they went away to live at a place in
Fiji called Yasawa. They were very good to me and mine, and I was sore
in my heart to see the ship sail away with them, and at night I felt
very lonely for a long time, knowing that I should see them no more."






THE BRASS GUN OF THE BUCCANEERS


Challoner was a trader at Jakoits Harbour in Ponapй, one of the
loveliest of the great Caroline Archipelago in the North Pacific. He
was a quiet but determined-looking man of fifty, and at the time of
this story had been living on Ponapй for over five years. Unlike the
generality of the white men who were settled on the island, he never
carried arms and never entered into any of the disputes that too often
occurred among them and ended in bloodshed.

Many of his neighbours were scoundrels and ruffians of the deepest
dye--deserters from whale-ships and men-of-war, or escaped criminals
from California and the Australian colonies. Some of these earned a
living by trading with the natives for turtle-shell and cocoanut oil,
others were simply beachcombers, who attached themselves to the leading
chiefs and gave their services to them in war time, receiving in return
houses and land, and spending their lives in time of peace in the
wildest dissipation and excesses.

In those days the American whaling fleet made Jakoits and the other
three harbours on the beautiful island their rendezvous before sailing
northward to the coasts of Japan and Siberia. Sometimes there would be
as many as thirty ships arrive within a week of each other, carrying
from thirty to forty hands each; and these, when given liberty by their
captains, at once associated with the beachcombing element, and turned
an island paradise into a hell during their stay on shore.

There was among these beachcombers a man named Larmer. He was of
Herculean stature and strength, and was, in a manner, their leader. It
was his habit in his drunken moments to vaunt of the bloody deeds
which he had perpetrated during his crime-stained career in the Pacific
Islands. For the lives of natives he had absolutely no regard, and
had committed so many murders in the Gilbert Islands that he had been
forcibly taken on board a whaler by the