Danny Dunn on a Desert Island (9 page)

CHAPTER NINTEEN

“A Pot by Any Other Name”

Everyone stared at him. Danny looked round and beckoned to the short, fat man who was staring in fright.

“This is Chief Omata,” Danny said. “He speaks English.”

The fat man bobbed his head, and with a wide grin said, “That right. I headman these fellas.”

“Never mind that stuff,” said Larkin. “Let those two boys go.”

“No!” Danny interrupted. “It's all right, I tell you.”

“Danny, have you lost your mind?” snapped Dr. Grimes.

The Professor, looking worried, said, “I—I think the strain has been too much for him.”

“It hasn't!” Danny cried. “Look at me, Professor Bullfinch. Do I look crazy?”

“Well…” the Professor began hesitantly.

“Listen,” Danny said. “Do you remember what you once told me about a tool having two uses? And about not judging by appearances?”

“But—”

“But listen to me. That pot—that's a tool, too.”

“A tool?”

“Sure. It can be a tool to cook with, or—a tool to wash with.”

The Professor's mouth opened, but no sound came out.

“That's right,” Danny said. “It's a kind of bathtub.”

“You mean to say—”

“They're cleaning Joe off,” Danny finished.

“Yes, by goodness,” Chief Omata put in, beaming. “This boys, friends belong me. I see him friend hurry-up walkabout, face belong him make green, same thing ground. This green belong to big Papa, belong men we plant him. Me fella make wash him along this pot, not make him bulla-makau. Yes?”

Dr. Grimes looked blank. “I know that's English, but what's he saying?”

“It's perfectly clear,” Danny said. “He says we are his friends. He says my friend—that's Joe—was running away, and his face was all green, covered with mud. That color of mud belongs to the spirits, to the dead men. He says they wanted to make him clean in the pot, not cook him like meat. See?”

Professor Bullfinch rubbed the top of his head. “I understand. It's a kind of religious ceremony.”

“That's right,” said Danny. “He told me before that they were afraid Joe would be haunted by dead men if he didn't get that color off. So they are purifying him. They put that wreath on his head to make him smell sweet. It's all part of the ceremony.”

“Good heavens!” the Professor sighed. “How could we have been so blind? You have only to look at these people's faces to see that they have no evil intentions. This time I was a careless thinker. I let myself be carried away by appearances.” He held out his hand to the plump little chief. “I'm sorry,” he said. “I apologize.”

“That good fella something,” said the chief, shaking the Professor's hand.

“You see,” Danny said, “when Dr. Grimes talked about picking us clean, it flashed into my head that that's what they were doing. So I ran down—”

“But suppose you had been wrong?” Dr. Grimes said.

Danny smiled. “If they had been cannibals, they'd have killed Joe before they cooked him. Wouldn't they?”

“Of course,” said the Professor. “But we were so excited that it never occurred to us. Worst of all, we had already made up our minds that they were cannibals.”

“Yes. Well, as soon as I saw that, then I could see everything,” Danny went on. “I saw that they had gentle faces, and that they were all smiling. Remember what you said, Professor, about our surroundings being friendly until they were proved otherwise?”

Professor Bullfinch nodded. “Where did they get an iron pot like that one?” he asked.

“From a ship that stopped here a long time ago. I don't know how long, because they don't seem to have any words for time. A missionary came with that ship and stayed here awhile. He brought bananas and papayas to plant on the island. And he taught the chief English. When you came rushing in, the chief was just saying the Lord's Prayer—”

At these words Omata at once began, in a sing-song voice, as if someone had turned him on like a phonograph: “Papa belong me fella, you stop along heaven, holy santu him name belong you…”

“Thank you very much,” said the Professor politely, stopping him. “But how is it you never came to see us? I mean, if you were friendly, Mr. Omata, why didn't you visit us?”

Omata threw out his hands and opened his eyes wide. He began a long explanation in pidgin English which went on for many minutes. As they got used to the odd phrases, the others began to grasp the sense of what he was saying. Nevertheless, when he was finished the chief turned to Danny, who seemed to understand most easily.

“He says,” Danny smiled, “that they were shy and didn't want to disturb us. He thought that Joe and I were the sons of Professor Bullfinch and Dr. Grimes, and when they came quietly to watch us they saw Joe running, and thought spirits were chasing him. So they decided to do our fathers a favor and stop the haunting. To be on the safe side, when they took Joe, they left a plain trail that we could follow.”

“And we thought they were savages!” murmured Professor Bullfinch.

“Yes!” the chief said emphatically. “Now me fellas eat. Good fella bulla-makau, not boys belong you.”

He laughed heartily. He turned to the villagers, and began talking rapidly in his own tongue. Obviously he was explaining the mistake, because they all began laughing with him, and some of the men came forward and patted Danny in a friendly way. The women ran to fetch large wooden platters and build up the fires. The sailors put their guns away, and Larkin, holstering his revolver, sent one of them back along the trail to signal the ship, which was waiting offshore.

At the same time the guards put Joe back on his feet. Most of the sticky green mud was gone from his face and arms. A woman wiped the rest off with a piece of cloth.

“Whew!” said Joe. “Now I know how a steamed clam feels.”

“Clean enough to eat,” Dr. Grimes commented, with an unexpected twinkle in his eye. “You smell better, too.”

“I didn't have any idea what they wanted when they grabbed me,” Joe explained, combing back his wet hair with his fingers. “They were all smiling and jabbering at me, and I just froze up. I was so scared, I couldn't even understand what the chief was saying. I couldn't even yell. But when Danny came tearing down and began talking to them, he explained to me what they were after and I—well, I just resigned myself to it.”

“I'm not surprised Danny could understand Omata,” the Professor said. “After all, he thought of him as a friend. Perhaps there would be less misunderstanding among men if they stopped being so afraid of each other. And if they didn't make up their minds about each other before they found out the facts.”

“That's true enough,” said Larkin, who was listening. “I once knew a guy with a broken nose. I made up my mind he was a fighter just because his nose was flat. I found out later he was the quietest fellow in the world—he broke his nose playing baseball when he was fourteen years old.”

Chief Omata came up to them and beckoned. They followed him to the center of the clearing, where large leaves had been set out for plates. Crude bowls filled with fruit were placed among them, and from the fires came the smells of roasting meat and fish. Women bustled about, preparing food, and three of the men settled themselves before wooden drums and began chanting as they beat a rhythmic accompaniment.

“Dinner music,” Larkin said.

Chief Omata held up his hands, and smiled hugely at the visitors. Then he said, “Sit. Eat.”

“Well, at any rate,” said Dr. Grimes, “I have no trouble understanding that.”

And they all took their places for the feast.

CHAPTER TWENTY

The Winner

The freighter
Inca Queen
weighed anchor and stood out from shore. Her whistle blew a long blast of farewell. From the beach brown-skinned men and women waved their hands and lifted up their children to shout good-bye to the visitors. Slowly the island grew smaller until the tiny figures could no longer be seen. It seemed to sink behind the horizon, and at last it was gone.

Only then did the four adventurers leave the rail and go to tell their story to the ship's captain. His name was Edwin Gilbert, and he was a bluff, grizzled, hearty-looking man.

“You're lucky to be alive,” he said. “Your plane was expected in Lima and when you were overdue, after the storm, they sent search planes out to look for you. But the ocean's a mighty big place. We'd have found you sooner except that when we first got your signal it died out again before we could get a fix on it. There's no island shown on the maps and we had to keep searching. Then, about a week later, we picked up the signal again. Anyway, everyone knew you were alive. It was just a matter of finding you.”

He turned them over to the chief steward, who stuffed them with a good meal, and then they were examined by the ship's doctor, who pronounced them in excellent shape. They made a tour of the ship with Mr. Larkin, and were fitted out with clean clothing from members of the crew. The boys wore jerseys and dungarees, and Dr. Grimes and the Professor looked like respectable pirates in their nautical clothes.

Later in the day they gathered on deck in a sheltered place aft, just the four of them.

“In a way,” said the Professor, “I'm sorry that it's over. I would have liked to spend a little time with Chief Omata's people.”

Dr. Grimes was turning over a harpoon head made of bone, given him as a parting gift by the chief. “Astonishing,” he said. “They are a Stone Age people, and yet they live a comfortable, if simple, life. It is amazing how men can survive—have survived over the centuries. And only through their ability to make use of their surroundings.”

“Oh—speaking of that,” said the Professor, “I wonder if our two young friends have kept the tally sticks up to date? Perhaps we can decide who won the duel.”

“Sure,” said Danny. He ran off to the cabin he shared with Joe, and soon returned carrying the two carved sticks.

“Here we are,” he said. “To begin with, we allowed Professor Bullfinch half a notch for thinking of the tally sticks. Then he got one notch for the stone ax, one for the lean-to, one for using the turtle shell as a container, and one for soap.”

“Is that all?” asked the Professor.

“Gee, I'm afraid so. Of course you helped on everything else, but so did the rest of us.”

“And how about Dr. Grimes?”

“Well, let's see. He thought of the bow-drill, and the trap we set for the natives. And he recognized papayas, which we used for food. Also, he thought of the signal fire, and of smearing the turtle shell with clay so it could be used over the fire. That makes it five to four and a half. But we took half a notch away from him because he got caught in his own trap. So I guess that makes it a draw.”

The Professor laughed heartily, but Dr. Grimes scowled. Then he thrust out his hand.

“It was a good fight, Bullfinch,” he said. “Congratulations! We'll try it again next year—but with the proper safeguards—and see who wins then.”

“All right. But we'd better try it at home, in my back yard,” the Professor smiled. He reached into his pocket and took out a little stick about three inches long. “I've been keeping my own tally,” he said. “According to my record, it was Danny who started our first fire because he had the forethought to carry waterproof matches with him. Let me see: then he thought of the pipeline, hot water, spears, the fruit carrier, the bathtub, and the water wheel. And of course, it was he who prevented us from firing on Chief Omata's people and harming them.”

“Hmph!” grunted Dr. Grimes. “What about taking a few notches away from
him
? He got us into some tight spots by acting without thinking. Running off and leaving the radio to burn—”

“No,” said Professor Bullfinch, “I don't agree. After all, it was terribly important for us to know whether there were other people on the island.”

“But Dr. Grimes is right,” Danny put in in a soft voice. “Hiding the crank—that was silly and stupid. I ought to have all those notches sliced off for that.”

“As long as you realize it, Danny,” said the Professor in a kindly tone, “that's all that matters. However, to be fair, let's take one notch away.

“Now Joe. He didn't do badly either. He thought of gathering birds' eggs, showed us how to catch and clean fish, made a stone hoe for cleaning out logs, and—er—I suppose you could say he finally found the natives.

“By my reckoning,” finished the Professor, “Danny is the winner!”

“Great!” shouted Joe.

Dr. Grimes agreed. “In spite of his shortcomings, I think Dan is the most practical of us all. In some ways, that is.”

Danny blushed until his face was the same color as his hair. He was saved from further embarrassment by the appearance of Mr. Larkin in the companionway behind them.

“Hey, boys,” called the mate, “how'd you like to talk to your folks?”

“What? How?” they both asked.

“We've arranged a radiotelephone relay. Hurry up, before the operator gets tired of waiting.”

They followed him to the radio shack. The radio operator glanced up and said, “Which one is Joseph Pearson?”

“I am.”

“Okay. Here's your mother.”

“Joe?” Mrs. Pearson's high voice came from the speaker. “Can you hear me?”

“Hello, Mom. Sure.”

“You sound hoarse. Have you got a cold?”

“No, Mom. I'm fine.”

“We've been so worried. I had all I could do to keep your father from rushing down to find you.”

“But we weren't lost, Ma. Just a little off our course.”

“Oh,” said Mrs. Pearson. “Well, are you all right? Did you get enough to eat?”

“Oh, sure, Ma. We had oysters, turtle steak, fresh fruit, fish—”

“Fish? But you don't like fish!”

“Gee, that's right,” said Joe. “I forgot.”

“Well, don't worry, dear. We're filling the freezer with steaks. Is there anything special you'd like?”

Joe thought for a moment. Then he said, “Yes. Get some of that breakfast cereal with the Geiger counter offer on the box top.”

“All right. Take care of yourself, darling. Mrs. Dunn wants to talk to Danny now, so I'll say good-bye. Your father sends his love. Good-bye.”

“Good-bye, Ma,” said Joe. He turned away from the set, and blew his nose loudly.

They heard Mrs. Dunn say, “Danny? Hello, Danny.”

The familiar voice made Danny's throat close up, and tears start to his eyes. “H-h-hello, Mom,” he said.

“Oh, darling, I'm so glad you're safe.”

“So'm I, Mom. How are you?”

“Now that you're safe, I'm fine, too. We've been so worried—but never mind that now. How is the Professor? And Dr. Grimes?”

“They're swell.”

“The lab looks so empty without you and the Professor. And it's so quiet I don't know where I am half the time. Well, that won't last long, I'm sure. You should be home in four or five days, I guess.”

“Er…Mom,” said Danny hesitantly, “I was just thinking—”

“Yes, dear? What is it?”

“Well, of course you know I miss you, Mom. And home, and everything. But Captain Gilbert said that after they drop us the ship is going on to Lima. And I've never seen Peru, and after all we have almost a month of vacation left, and there's nothing to do at home except play croquet—”

He trailed off into silence. After a moment his mother said, “Daniel Dunn!”

“Aw, gee, Mom—” Danny began.

“Not another word! Put the Professor on the phone.”

Professor Bullfinch had been chuckling in the background. He stepped forward and said into the microphone, “Hello, Mrs. Dunn. How are you?”

“I'm fine. Did you hear that boy?”

“Yes,” said the Professor. “But don't worry. I'll get him home safely. It's impossible—or rather I should say, to be scientifically accurate, it's highly improbable—that anything else will happen to us on this trip.”

There was a silence. Then Mrs. Dunn began laughing.

“Professor Bullfinch,” she said, “Danny is my son, and I love him very much. But when that boy is around, the improbable happens almost immediately and the impossible takes just a little bit longer. Keep an eye on him.”

“I will, Mrs. Dunn,” the Professor laughed. “Good-bye.”

He put his arm around Danny's shoulder and steered him to the door, and together they went up on deck to rejoin their friends.