But I can't see why that should matter. Do you?"
"Only that it will be easy to cross the Inlet."
"It can't be that. Li Ho can take the Tillicum' over on the darkest
night. It has something to do with father. He seems to think that
the full moon affects him. And it's true that he often goes off on
the mountain about that time. But I can't see why that should hurry
us."
I did not see it either. And yet I felt that I should like to hurry.
"We certainly will not go unless you wish," I began. But Li Ho
interrupted me in his colorless way.
"Alice same go this eveling," he said blandly. "No take 'Tillicum'
tomolla. Velly busy tomolla. Velly busy next day. Velly busy all
week."
"Look here," I said, "you'll do exactly what your mistress tells
you."
His celestial impudence was making me hot. But Desire stopped me.
"It's no use," she explained. "I have really no authority. And he
means what he says. We must go tonight or wait indefinitely."
I was eager to be gone. But it went against the grain to be hustled
off by a Chinaman. Perhaps my face showed as much, for Desire went
on. "You needn't feel like that about it. He doesn't intend to be
impudent. He probably thinks he has a very real reason for getting
us away. And Li Ho's reasons are liable to be good ones. We had
better go."
The rest of the day was uneventful, save for the incident of Sami. I
think I told you about Sami, didn't I? A kind of brown familiar who
follows Desire about.
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