Читать книгу The Dark River онлайн

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"My mother told me he came. I didn't see him. Why did he go so soon?"

"I don't know, exactly. I suppose he wanted to reach Tautira before dark."

"My mother said he wouldn't come again. Is that true?"

"Well, yes--that is, I think so. He returned to Papeete several days ago."

"Doesn't he like this part of the island?"

"Not as well as Papeete."

"That is strange. Which do you like better?"

"This, a thousand times better! I'm staying on at Tautira."

The heron approached the girl with mincing, deliberate steps and Naia caressed his head absently.

"I saw your bird the other day when I came down with George," Hardie remarked. "The moment he spied us he took to his wings. He seems a bit more friendly, with you here."

"I've had him ever since he came out of the egg."

"Are they hard to tame?"

"This one wasn't. He follows me everywhere. I've a pet frigate bird, too, and a pair of itatae."

"What are they?"

"The itatae? You call them ghost terns, in English."

"Oh, the white ones?"

"Yes. Look--those are mine, but they won't come down while you are here."