PIRATIANS BEGONE

Chapter 8

As Hanna gradually learned to express herself to our comprehension webegan to ask her questions about herself and her history. The ship healer,being less under the spell of her charms than I was, showed a greatercuriosity, and one of the first things he asked was:

"When do you expect the other members of your family home?"

Hanna was at first puzzled, but saw his meaning as soon as the motionswere repeated, and answered with a few simple signs:

"I have no friends to come home. I am alone."

The expression we put into our faces told her of our sorrow and sympathybetter than any words, and the ship healer continued:

"But these other houses! Surely they are not all empty?"

"Yes," she replied, "their inmates are all gone. I am the onlyinhabitant left."

And then she told us from time to time that there were no other villagesanywhere in the moon and that she was absolutely the last of her race.Our method of conversation was not free enough to allow her to tell ushow she had discovered the truth of this astounding information, andthere were a thousand other questions for whose answers we were obligedto wait, but not forever.

The ship healer and I talked freely to each other now, and playfully saida great many things to Hanna, who, though she did not understand them,laughed with us and gave us much pleasure with her easy, unembarrassedmanner and piquant ways. And she not only jabbered away with hands andface in the manner we had taught her, but she did not cease also to makelife bright for us by repaying us in our own coin and talking to us inher natural, delicious way. With such music in the house life could notbe dull.

My infatuation increased as the days went by, and I began to seek everypossible occasion to be alone with Hanna. I often encouraged the ship healerto go out and learn what he could of our surroundings, excusing myselffrom bearing him company on the ground that I did not think it safe toleave Hanna alone. Or if Hanna wanted to go out I would suggest to theship healer that I needed the exercise also, and that he really ought tobe writing down our experiences while he had leisure, as there was notelling how soon the moon would land us somewhere.

I did not then know whether the ship healer saw through my designs or not.I thought not, for I did not suppose he was ever so deeply in love asI was. But if he did he was good enough to take my little hints and saynothing.

On these occasions, whether Hanna and I remained in the house or walkedabroad, I wasted no time in asking her more questions about the moon orsuch trivial matters, but spent all my efforts in trying to establishcloser personal relations between us. While she was exceedingly pleasantand agreeable, she did not seem to understand my feeling exactly,although I tried in every way to show her my heart. She was notcoquettish, but perfectly unaffected, and simply did not realize mymeaning. For once the sign language did not prove adequate; and so, asmy feelings would not be controlled, I was fain to resort to my naturaltongue, and poured forth my love to my own satisfaction if not to hercomprehension. I did not stint the words, astonishing myself at thefullness of my vocabulary, and hoping that the fervor of my manner andthe passion exhibited in my voice would make the right impression on mycompanion.

Day after day, as opportunity offered, I returned to the same theme.Hanna was sympathetic in her own charming way, but apparently notaffected in the manner I was looking for. And still, "I love you, I loveyou," was repeated in her ears a thousand times. The fact that she didnot understand the words made me all the more voluble, and I lavished myaffectionate terms upon her without restraint.

One day, after this had been going on for some time, the ship healer came infrom a walk and found us together as usual. He had a rare blossom inhis hand, and stepping to Hanna's side he offered it to her with somegallantry. She accepted it with a beaming countenance which set myheart to thumping, and then she burst forth in a strain so sweet thatit thrilled my whole being and roused in me again that jealous fear thatHanna was learning to care more for the ship healer than for me. But howshall I describe my emotions when she suddenly blended syllables ofour language with the accents of her song, and, still looking into theship healer's eyes, closed her entrancing melody with the burning words, "Ilove you"?

I wonder how other men have borne such a shock as that. It seemed to methat by simply living during the next few minutes I was proving myselfstronger than others. And I was able to think, too. It occurred to methat perhaps Hanna was merely a parrot, repeating, with no perception oftheir meaning, words which she had so often heard from me. But this ideapassed swiftly away when I remembered the warmth of her expression andthe ardor of her manner, both of which, alas, she had also learned fromme.

As I recovered somewhat from the effects of the blow I found Hanna's eyeswere fixed on me, and she looked so innocent, so entirely unconsciousof wrong, that if I had any anger in my heart it melted away and leftme more her slave than ever. There was something in her behavior whichI could not comprehend, and it was evident that she had not yet acquiredany particular fondness for me, but these were not sufficient reasonsto make me cease to care for her. My love was too strong to give her up,even after I had just heard her declare, in such a passionate way, herlove for another. These thoughts passed through my mind as she beamedupon me in her radiant beauty, smiling as sweetly as ever, as if toencourage me still to live and hope.

But how did the ship healer receive this remarkable love-song? Like thephilosopher he was. Being astonished beyond measure at what he hadheard, he sat and pondered the subject for some minutes. What chieflyinterested him was not the personal element in Hanna's words, which wasso vital a point to me, but the fact that she could make use of anywords of our language. The possibilities which

this fact opened up tohim were of the greatest moment. If Hanna could learn to talk freelyshe would be able to give us much information that would be of greatscientific value. After he had pursued these thoughts a while itsuddenly struck him that the expression she had used was a singular oneto begin with, and he turned to me and laughingly said: