Aunt Jane's Nieces Out West
"He sticks close to his cues, you see,
and won't move till he gets one. He will answer your questions; yes, he
has said he would; but you may prattle until doomsday without effect, so
far as he is concerned, unless you finish your speech with an
interrogation point."
Mrs. Montrose gave a gasp of dismay, while Maud flushed painfully. The
captain, however, allowed a gleam of admiration to soften his grim
features as he stared fixedly at saucy Flo. Patsy marked this fleeting
change of expression at once and said hastily:
"I think. Maud, dear, the captain is waiting to be questioned."
At this he cast a grateful look in Miss Doyle's direction and bowed to
her. Maud began to appreciate the peculiar situation and marshalled her
questions in orderly array.
"Tell me, please, where _is_ Sangoa?" she began.
"In the South Seas, Miss."
"Will you give me the latitude and longitude?"
"I cannot."
"Oh, you mean that you _will_ not?"
"I have been commanded to forget the latitude and longitude of Sangoa."
"But this is folly!" she exclaimed, much annoyed. "Such absurd reticence
may be fatal to Mr. Jones' interests."
He made no reply to this and after reflection she tried again.
"What is the nearest land to Sangoa?"
"Toerdal," said he.
"What is that, an island?"
"Yes."
"Is it on the maps? Is it charted?"
"No, Miss."
She silenced Flo's aggravating giggle with a frown.
"Tell me, sir," she continued, "what is the nearest land to Sangoa that
is known to the world?"
He smiled faintly as he replied: "I cannot tell."
Uncle John had grown very uneasy by this time and he decided he ought to
attempt to assist Maud. So, addressing Captain Carg, he said in a
positive tone:
"We quite understand, sir, that it has been the policy of the owners of
Sangoa to guard all knowledge of the island's whereabouts from the
outside world, as well as the fact that its pearl fisheries are very
rich. We understand that an influx of treasure-seekers would embarrass
the Sangoans. But we are close friends of young Mr.
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In a village there lived two men who had the self-same name. Both were named Claus. But one of them owned four horses, and the other owned only one horse; so to distinguish between them people called the man who had four horses Big Claus, and the man who had only one horse Little Claus. Now I'll tell you what happened to these two, for this is a true story.
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