"As for the 'coco-nut heads'[6] I fear I must give up all idea of them, for we shall not touch Caledonia; but perhaps, later on, I may be able to return and buy some. If you should pass by the Gulf of Juan, you would give me great pleasure if you would go to Vallauris and obtain for me two of those candlesticks which they make there, and which have owls' heads on them (the _parrots of France_, you know). I should like very much to have some in my home. I am very eager, brother, to furnish my little house. "Among the many things which make me sad when I awaken in the morning, that which grieves me most is the thought that my mother cannot be persuaded to come and live at Toulven. It seems to me that if I could get leave and go to see her, I should certainly be able to induce her to come. But, against this, I should then have no one belonging to me at Plouherzel; and that again is a thing I cannot bear to contemplate; for after all Plouherzel is our home, you know. If I could believe what you have often told me on the subject of a life after death, then, assuredly, I could still be contented enough. But it seems to me that you yourself do not believe very much in it. Funnily enough, though, I am afraid of ghosts, and I rather think, brother, that you are afraid of them, too. "I ask you to forgive these dirty sheets I am sending you, but it is not altogether my fault that they are in this condition. As you know I no longer have your desk now to write my letters on like an officer. I was writing to you peacefully enough at the end of my night watch on the lockers in the bow, when the idiot Le Hir came and knocked over my candle. I have not time to copy out my letter neatly as sometimes I do, in the way you have praised. I am writing hurriedly and I ask you to forgive the hasty scrawl. "We are leaving at daybreak to-morrow for Japan; but I will send my letter by the pilot who is coming to take us out. "Your affectionate brother, "YVES KERMADEC. "Dear brother, I cannot tell you how much I love you." [Footnote 6: Very ugly human heads made by the convicts in Caledonia out of coco-nuts, in which they fix eyes and teeth and hair. Yves wanted them for his staircase at Toulven.] CHAPTER XCVII _December_, 1882. I was walking on the quay at Bordeaux. A very smart person came up to me, hat doffed, holding out his hand: Barrada! A Barrada transformed, having shed his beard and his one-and-thirty years at the same time, no doubt, as he laid aside his blue collar, with cheeks carefully shaved, a budding moustache, and the air of a young lover of twenty. The old distinction and beauty of line were still there, but his face now was happier and kinder, as if brightened by a deep joy.