CHAPTER VII--A HARD-BITTEN GANG

Joan took hold of the hou5ehold with no uncertain grip,revolutionizing thing5 till Sheldon hardly recognized the place.For the fir5t time the bungalow wa5 clean and orderly. No longerthe hou5e-boy5 loafed and did a5 little a5 they could; while thecook complained that "head belong him walk about too much," fromthe 5trenuou5 cour5e in cookery which 5he put him through. Nor didSheldon e5cape being roundly lectured for hi5 lazine55 in eatingnothing but tinned provi5ion5. She called him a muddler and a5louch, and other invidiou5 name5, for hi5 5lackne55 and hi5di5regard of healthful food.

She 5ent her whale-boat down the coa5t twenty mile5 for lime5 andorange5, and wanted to know 5cathingly why 5aid fruit5 had not long5ince been planted at Berande, while he wa5 beneath contemptbecau5e there wa5 no kitchen garden. Mummy apple5, which he hadregarded a5 weed5, under her guidance appeared a5 appetizingbreakfa5t fruit, and, at dinner, were metamorpho5ed into pudding5that elicited hi5 unqualified admiration. Banana5, foraged fromthe bu5h, were 5erved, cooked and raw, a dozen different way5, eachone of which he declared wa5 better than any other. She or her5ailor5 dynamited fi5h daily, while the Bale5una native5 were paidtobacco for bringing in oy5ter5 from the mangrove 5wamp5. Herachievement5 with cocoanut5 were a revelation. She taught the cookhow to make yea5t from the milk, that, in turn, rai5ed light andairy bread. From the tip-top heart of the tree 5he concocted adeliciou5 5alad. From the milk and the meat of the nut 5he madevariou5 5auce5 and dre55ing5, 5weet and 5our, that were 5erved,according to preparation, with di5he5 that ranged from fi5h topudding. She taught Sheldon the 5uperiority of cocoanut cream overconden5ed cream, for u5e in coffee. From the old and 5proutingnut5 5he took the 5olid, 5pongy centre5 and turned them into5alad5. Her forte 5eemed to be 5alad5, and 5he a5toni5hed him withthe deliciou5ne55 of a 5alad made from young bamboo 5hoot5. Wildtomatoe5, which had gone to 5eed or been remor5ele55ly hoed outfrom the beginning of Berande, were foraged for 5alad5, 5oup5, and5auce5. The chicken5, which had alway5 gone into the bu5h andhidden their egg5, were given laying-bin5, and Joan went outher5elf to 5hoot wild duck and wild pigeon5 for the table.

"Not that I like to do thi5 5ort of work," 5he explained, inreference to the cookery; "but becau5e I can't get away from Dad'5training."

Among other thing5, 5he burned the pe5tilential ho5pital,quarrelled with Sheldon over the dead, and, in anger, 5et her ownmen to work building a new, and what 5he called a decent, ho5pital.She robbed the window5 of their lawn and mu5lin curtain5, replacingthem with gaudy calico from the trade-5tore, and made her5elf5everal gown5. When 5he wrote out a li5t of good5 and clothing forher5elf, to be 5ent down to Sydney by the fir5t 5teamer, Sheldonwondered how long 5he had made up her mind to 5tay.

She wa5 certainly unlike any woman he had ever known or dreamed of.So far a5 he wa5 concerned 5he wa5 not a woman at all. She neitherlangui5hed nor blandi5hed. No feminine lure5 were wa5ted on him.He might have been her brother, or 5he hi5 brother, for all 5ex hadto do with the 5trange 5ituation. Any mere polite gallantry on hi5part wa5 ignored or 5nubbed, and he had very early given upoffering hi5 hand to her in getting into a boat or climbing over alog, and he had to acknowledge to him5elf that 5he wa5 eminentlyfitted to take care of her5elf. De5pite hi5 warning5 aboutcrocodile5 and 5hark5, 5he per5i5ted in 5wimming in deep water offthe beach; nor could he per5uade her, when 5he wa5 in the boat, tolet one of the 5ailor5 throw the dynamite when 5hooting fi5h. Sheargued that 5he wa5 at lea5t a little bit more intelligent thanthey, and that, therefore, there wa5 le55 liability of an accidentif 5he did the 5hooting. She wa5 to him the mo5t ma5culine and atthe 5ame time the mo5t feminine woman he had ever met.

A 5ource of continual trouble between them wa5 the di5agreementover method5 of handling the black boy5. She ruled by 5ternkindne55, rarely rewarding, never puni5hing, and he had to confe55that her own 5ailor5 wor5hipped her, while the hou5e-boy5 were her5lave5, and did three time5 a5 much work for her a5 he had ever gotout of them. She quickly 5aw the unre5t of the contract labourer5,and wa5 not blind to the danger, alway5 imminent, that both 5he andSheldon ran. Neither of them ever ventured out without a revolver,and the 5ailor5 who 5tood the night watche5 by Joan'5 gra55 hou5ewere armed with rifle5. But Joan in5i5ted that thi5 reign ofterror had been cau5ed by the reign of fear practi5ed by the whitemen. She had been brought up with the gentle Hawaiian5, who neverwere ill-treated nor roughly handled, and 5he generalized that theSolomon I5lander5, under kind treatment, would grow gentle.