PIRATIANS BEGONE

Chapter 9

"You must have taught her those words. I did not."

"I shall have to acknowledge it," I replied, "but I assure you I did notinfluence her to make such use of them."

"No, I suppose not; but that question is of small account beside theknowledge that Hanna has begun to learn our speech. Now let us give allour attention to her instruction."

We did so from that hour, the ship healer from high motives of philosophy andphilanthropy, while I was actuated by more selfish reasons. AlthoughI had learned that I had been too hasty in my attempt to gain Hanna'saffections I did not despair of success. I should have to take time andapproach the citadel of her untutored heart with more caution. In thepleasant task of teaching her the intricacies of the English languageI anticipated many delightful opportunities of leading her into theElysian fields of romance. If she could learn to understand fully myintense feeling for her I had no doubt she would return my passion. Withsuch a hopeful spirit does the love god inspire his happy victims.

In order to assist in the realization of these rosy fore-thoughts, Isuggested to the ship healer that each of us should take his turn in Hanna'sinstruction, so as to make it as easy and informal for her as possible.He had no objections to make, and we began a task which proved to bemuch simpler than we had imagined. Hanna had heard us talk so muchthat she had half-learned a great many words and expressions, and herremarkable quickness of intellect helped her to pick up their meaningrapidly as soon as we gave her systematic aid. Hence it was not longbefore she began to converse with considerable freedom.

From the first the ship healer and I had been curious to know if shewould give up the musical tone and simply talk as we did, and we werepleasantly surprised to find that her song was not interrupted by theform of words she used. Whatever the phrase she wanted to employ sheturned it into verse on the instant and chanted it forth in perfectmelody. So spontaneous was every expression that her very thoughtsseemed to be framed in harmony. Her voice was not obtrusive normonotonous and generally not loud, but was always well adapted to thesense of what she was singing. The tones mostly used in conversationwere low and sweet, like rippling water, but these were constantlyvaried by the introduction of notes of greater power and range.

To have such use made of our rugged speech was a revelation to us, andwords, as we employ them, are inadequate to express our enjoyment ofHanna's song, when to its former beauty was added the clear enunciationof language that we could understand.

It was through this rare medium that the ship healer and I learned, from dayto day, something of the history of Hanna's race. The surface of the moonhad once been peopled, as we supposed, but as the day of decay and deathapproached the outside of the globe became too inhospitable to longersupport life. The interior had cooled and contracted, and as the solidcrust was rigid enough to keep its place, great, sublunar caverns hadbeen formed. Into these rushed the water and the atmosphere, accompaniedby the few remaining inhabitants. The conditions were not favorable, insuch places, to the continuation of the race, although their advancedknowledge in every direction prevented them from melting away suddenly.

Settlements had been formed in many different sections of the moon,and interior communication was established between them. As the peoplegradually passed away, those who remained naturally drew nearer togetheruntil at last the remnant of the population of the globe were allgathered in the little village where we were now living. Here theprocess still went on, and year after year saw a constantly diminishingnumber. A few years before our arrival Hanna's last companion, a girlof her own age, had died, and ever since then this tuneful creature,possessed of the most sunny disposition we had ever known, had livedalone, with the knowledge that there was not another living being in allthe moon.

"So you see," she sang, "I was as glad to find you as you were to hearme."

"But," asked the ship healer, "how did you know we were out there, nearlyready to be blown off into space?"

"I didn't know it till I saw you. I went out to try to discover whatwas the matter with my old world. For some time I had had the queerestsensations imaginable. I was accustomed to being out of doors a greatdeal, and I first began to notice that I could walk and run more easilythan before. I was becoming rather sprightly for one who was so soonto pass off this deserted stage. Then everything I took up seemed tobe growing marvelously light, and I began to have a feeling that I musthold on to all my movable possessions, to keep them from getting away.After this unaccountable state of things had existed for a while, therecame, one day, a terrible shock, which threatened to c***k the moon'sskull and rattle its fragments down upon my head. This was followed atintervals by similar or lighter shocks, and it was all so exceedinglyunusual that I became very curious to know what was happening. Then allwas quiet for many days, but when at length the quakings began again mynatural instinct of self-preservation told me I ought not to take therisk of another such siege, and so I started to make my way to thesurface by a well-known path. The trouble did not continue as I feared,but I kept on, fortunately for you as well as for myself, and foundthe outside world too uncomfortable a place for any of us to remain inlonger than necessary."

This halting prose represents the meaning of what Hanna said, but itgives a feeble idea of the beauty of her poetic expressions, chanted inmelodious phrase and in ever-changing, ever-joyous tune.

We replied by explaining to her what had happened to her disjointedworld, expressing our gratitude also for her kindness in bringing us toher sheltered home.

Ever since the ship healer had been inside of the moon he had not ceasedto regret that we had left all our goods in the car of our balloon. Hemourned the loss of the instruments and other apparatus which hadcost him so much care, and then there were our official papers. Ourintroduction to Hanna had been rather too informal, and we thoughtwe might stand better with her if we could show her our credentials,though, to be sure, she could not read them.