Читать книгу The Dark River онлайн

74 страница из 94

"Does Naia live here, with you?"

"Yes. That is, sometimes. Now I will get your food. Wait on the verandah. It will not be long."

"I'm afraid I'm being an awful nuisance."

"You mean you make péapéa for me? No, no! I hope you are very hungry? The food is all ready, in the himaa. You remember the himaa, the oven in the ground? You will have some nice maa Tahiti for your lunch."

Half an hour later Mauri called him to his meal. The table on the back verandah was set for one.

"But what about you?" he asked.

She shook her head. "I'm not hungry. I ate some fruit this morning when I was up the valley. I always do that and spoil my appetite. Eat well, Toti."

"But you've enough food here for a dozen! I don't know where to begin."

McLeod did full justice to the meal, while Mauri sat near by, replying briefly to his questions. When he had finished they returned to the front verandah, and McLeod became increasingly aware of a feeling of constraint on Mauri's part that puzzled him. He could not doubt that she had been sincerely glad to see him, but now he felt that she was uneasy in his presence and wishing him gone. She became more and more silent, and his own embarrassment grew as he tried to bridge these silences with talk of his voyage from England, his impressions of Tahiti, and his plans for further wanderings. He spoke again of Naia, but Mauri was as vague in her replies about her as she had been at first. It was plain that, for some reason, she did not wish to discuss her daughter. Nor was anything more said of his father and mother. After waiting vainly for her to suggest it, he asked if he might see their graves.