Маленькая хозяйка большого дома / The Little Lady Of The Big House

She was Queen of Huahoa[52 - Queen of Huahoa – королева острова Хуахоа].”

“How did she succeed?” Paula asked. “Or did you help her?”

“I rather think we helped each other toward the end,” Graham replied. “We were both terribly tired. We reached the land at sunset. We slept where we crawled out of the water. Next morning’s sun burnt us awake, and we crept into the shade of some wild bananas, found fresh water, and went to sleep again. Next I awoke it was night. I took another drink, and slept through till morning.

She was still asleep when the aborigines found us.”

“She must be forever grateful,” Paula assumed, looking directly at Graham. “Don’t tell me she wasn’t young, wasn’t beautiful, wasn’t a golden young goddess.”

“Her mother was the Queen of Huahoa,” Graham answered. “Her father was an English gentleman. They were dead at the time of the swim, and Nomare[53 - Nomare – Номаре] was queen herself. Yes, she was young.

She was beautiful as any woman anywhere in the world may be beautiful. Thanks to her father’s skin, she was not golden brown. But you’ve heard the story undoubtedly—”

He looked at Dick, who shook his head.

“You’ll tell me the rest of the story some time,” Paula said.

“Dick knows it. I don’t understand why he hasn’t told you.”

She shrugged her shoulders.

“Perhaps because he’s never had the time.”

Graham laughed.

“I was once a king of the cannibal isles, or of a paradise of a Polynesian isle[54 - Polynesian isle – полинезийский остров]”.

“I see”, Paula waited for Dick to help her off.

8

“Cigars! And boxes of candy, gloves, or anything,” Ernestine said, smiling.

“But I don’t know Mrs. Forrest’s records, either,” Graham protested. “However, if in five minutes—”

“Ten minutes,” Paula said, “and to start from opposite ends of the pool. Is that fair? If you touch me, you win.

”

Graham looked his hostess over with secret approval. She was clad, not in the single white silk slip, but in a coquettish suit of changeable light blue and green silk—almost the color of the pool; the skirt slightly above the knees; with long stockings, and tiny bathing shoes. On her head was a jaunty swimming cap.

Graham walked down to the other end of the hundred-and-fifty-foot pool.

“Paula, you’ll be caught for sure,” Dick warned.