“You are Mr. Bridger, the consul,” said the broad man. “They directed
me here. Can you tell me what those big bunches of things like gourds
are in those trees that look like feather dusters along the edge of the
water?”
“Take that chair,” said the consul, reoiling his cleaning rag. “No, the
other one—that bamboo thing won’t hold you. Why, they’re
cocoanuts—green cocoanuts. The shell of ’em is always a light green
before they’re ripe.”
“Much obliged,” said the other man, sitting down carefully. “I didn’t
quite like to tell the folks at home they were olives unless I was sure
about it. My name is Plunkett. I’m sheriff of Chatham County, Kentucky.
I’ve got extradition papers in my pocket authorizing the arrest of a
man on this island. They’ve been signed by the President of this
country, and they’re in correct shape. The man’s name is Wade Williams.
He’s in the cocoanut raising business. What he’s wanted for is the
murder of his wife two years ago. Where can I find him?”
The consul squinted an eye and looked through his rifle barrel.
“There’s nobody on the island who calls himself ‘Williams,’” he
remarked.
“Didn’t suppose there was,” said Plunkett mildly. “He’ll do by any
other name.”
“Besides myself,” said Bridger, “there are only two Americans on
Ratona—Bob Reeves and Henry Morgan.”
“The man I want sells cocoanuts,” suggested Plunkett.
“You see that cocoanut walk extending up to the point?” said the
consul, waving his hand toward the open door. “That belongs to Bob
Reeves. Henry Morgan owns half the trees to loo’ard on the island.”
“One, month ago,” said the sheriff, “Wade Williams wrote a confidential
letter to a man in Chatham county, telling him where he was and how he
was getting along. The letter was lost; and the person that found it
gave it away. They sent me after him, and I’ve got the papers. I reckon
he’s one of your cocoanut men for certain.”
“You’ve got his picture, of course,” said Bridger. “It might be Reeves
or Morgan, but I’d hate to think it. They’re both as fine fellows as
you’d meet in an all-day auto ride.”
“No,” doubtfully answered Plunkett; “there wasn’t any picture of
Williams to be had. And I never saw him myself. I’ve been sheriff only
a year. But I’ve got a pretty accurate description of him. About 5 feet
11; dark-hair and eyes; nose inclined to be Roman; heavy about the
shoulders; strong, white teeth, with none missing; laughs a good deal,
talkative; drinks considerably but never to intoxication; looks you
square in the eye when talking; age thirty-five. Which one of your men
does that description fit?”
The consul grinned broadly.
“I’ll tell you what you do,” he said, laying down his rifle and
slipping on his dingy black alpaca coat. “You come along, Mr. Plunkett,
and I’ll take you up to see the boys. If you can tell which one of ’em
your description fits better than it does the other you have the
advantage of me.”
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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