62. CHAPTER LXII.
TAJI RETIRES FROM THE WORLD.
After a while, when the strangers came not in shoals as
before, I proposed to our host, a stroll over his dominions;
desirous of beholding the same, and secretly induced by the
hope of selecting an abode, more agreeable to my fastidious
taste, than the one already assigned me.
The ramble over—a pleasant one it was—it resulted in
a determination on my part to quit Odo. Yet not to go
very far; only ten or twelve yards, to a little green tuft of
an islet; one of many, which here and there, all round the
island, nestled like birds' nests in the branching boughs of
the coral grove, whose roots laid hold of the foundations of
the deep. Between these islets and the shore, extended
shelving ledges, with shallows above, just sufficient to float
a canoe. One of these islets was wooded and vined; an
arbor in the sea. And here, Media permitting, I decided
to dwell.
Not long was Media in complying; nor long, ere my
retreat was in readiness. Laced together, the twisting
boughs were closely thatched. And thatched were the
sides also, with deep crimson pandannus leaves; whose
long, forked spears, lifted by the breeze, caused the whole
place to blaze, as with flames. Canes, laid on palm trunks,
formed the floor. How elastic! In vogue all over Odo,
among the chiefs, it imparted such a buoyancy to the person,
that to this special cause may be imputed in good part the
famous fine spirits of the nobles.
Hypochondriac! essay the elastic flooring! It shall
so pleasantly and gently jolt thee, as to shake up, and pack
off the stagnant humors mantling thy pool-like soul.
Such was my dwelling. But I make no mention of
sundry little appurtenances of tropical housekeeping: calabashes,
cocoanut shells, and rolls of fine tappa; till with
Yillah seated at last in my arbor, I looked round, and
wanted for naught.
But what of Jarl and Samoa? Why Jarl must needs
be fanciful, as well as myself. Like a bachelor in chambers,
he settled down right opposite to me, on the main
land, in a little wigwam in the grove.
But Samoa, following not his comrade's example, still
tarried in the camp of the Hittites and Jebusites of Odo.
Beguiling men of their leisure by his marvelous stories: and
maidens of their hearts by his marvelous wiles.
When I chose, I was completely undisturbed in my
arbor; an ukase of Media's forbidding indiscriminate intrusion.
But thrice in the day came a garrulous old man
with my viands.
Thus sequestered, however, I could not entirely elude the
pryings of the people of the neighboring islands; who often
passed by, slowly paddling, and earnestly regarding my retreat.
But gliding along at a distance, and never essaying
a landing, their occasional vicinity troubled me but
little. But now and then of an evening, when thick and
fleet the shadows were falling, dim glimpses of a canoe
would be spied; hovering about the place like a ghost.
And once, in the stillness of the night, hearing the near
ripple of a prow, I sallied forth, but the phantom quickly
departed.
That night, Yillah shuddered as she slept. “The whirlpool,”
she murmured, “sweet mosses.” Next day she was
lost in reveries, plucking pensive hyacinths, or gazing intently
into the lagoon.
