Ireland -- Social life and customs -- Fiction; Short stories, Irish
"She was a trading schooner, dealing in copra, oranges, cotton,
mother-of-pearl, and such like, but once she must have been a fine
yacht. There were state-rooms still aboard her, though now they were
filled with junk for trading, but I made a deal with the captain and he
cleans one out and fixes it up for Janssen. And then I takes Janssen
down to the docks.
"Judge, you'd 'a' thought she'd saved the country instead of killing De
Vries, the way they acted about that woman. They lined up on the docks
of Papeete, all the men and a good many women, too. And they sang and
they danced and they said good-by. 'When you get off, come back,' they
says to her. They got on my nerves so much, I had all I could do not
to laugh dirty, when they says that about getting off.
"Janssen looks at the boat, and looks at the people. And she goes
crazy-mad. 'Damn you, damn you!' She turns on me. 'Only for you, I
'd not be going back!'
"'Yeh, only for me,' I says, 'you would n't have killed De Vries. It's
all my fault, hey? Now, listen to me, Janssen. You 're my prisoner,
and my prisoner you 'll remain. You had the game; now pay up, and stop
hollering. You and I are from the same town, and I know you. You
ought to know me a little better. I would n't have been sent for you
if I had n't been able to take care of myself. All your French friends
won't save you from a New York cop, once he 's out to get you. You 're
beat, Janssen,' I tells her; 'you might as well give in.'
"She looks at me a long time.
"'I 'm not beat yet,' she says.
"The captain tells us he's going to stop at Nukahivo and a few other
islands to take cargo aboard. He 's an old guy and sensible, and
Janssen plays up to him to beat the band, so I takes no risks and keeps
close. Even if he is an old guy and has n't any ambition, still and
all, nobody likes a copper, and every one hates to see a prisoner taken
home, especially if it's a woman. So I give Janssen and him no chance
for private conversation. Once clear of the islands, I think, and all
will be well. Janssen sees my game.
"'You don't give me much chance with the old fellow.'
"'No, ma'am,' I laughs. 'That's your business. I give you no chance.
You 're beat, Janssen. What's the use of fooling yourself?'
"'Oh, I 've still got an ace in the hole. I 'm not beat yet!'
"She turns in early. 'I suppose you 're going to lock the door?' she
asks me.
"'What's the use? They's other keys. The islands are near at hand,
and they could put you off in a boat. I 'm not going to lock the
door,' I tells her, 'but I 'm going to sleep outside it, up against it.
It opens out, and the smallest movement will wake me up. You 're beat.'
"'All right! I 'm beat,' she says, and she turns in.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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