Joe Cary's rude and reckless words had an effect, although perhaps not the one he had hoped. But they did make Tessie think of something besides Mr. Bill, her new frocks and her new pleasures. The interruption of the Evergreen banquet did not bother her long, for that was a problem for the store detective to solve. But Joe Cary made her realize that the Sunshine Islands were more than a throne and a bank for their queen. It was odd that, when Tessie returned to the Waloo, she should find Granny reading one of the big books in which there was an entire chapter devoted to "The Pearl of the Pacific—The Sunshine Islands." Granny looked up from a picture of sea and palms when Tessie came in.

"Tessie," she began at once, "are you sure you're going to like being a queen for a lot of naked cannibals?"

"Why, Granny!" Tessie stood still and stared at her. What did Granny mean? Of course Joe Cary had been talking to her, and for a moment Tessie hated him. She didn't care if he had been her only friend when she was a salesgirl at the Evergreen. She quite forgot that he had taken her to a moving-picture show once in two weeks. "What's the matter now?" she asked impatiently. "Have people been complaining about Ka-kee-ta again?" For there were people who had complained of Ka-kee-ta, and it must be confessed that it was disconcerting to a timid woman, or even a brave man, to walk down a dimly lighted corridor and find oneself face to face with a bare-footed colored man, in loosely fitting blue clothes; a man with a tattooed nose and frizzled hair stiffened with cocoanut oil, and carrying a shining ax. Tessie herself would have shrieked if she had come upon such a man in a dimly lighted corridor. As it was, she often felt like screaming when she saw him, and just now, after her talk with Joe, she was impatient. "What is it now, Granny?" she wanted to know. A lot of her nervous impatience was in her voice as she stood in front of Granny, and there was more nervous impatience in her frowning little face.

Granny looked up and sighed as she saw the slim little creature in a very modish frock and a very modish hat. Tessie was very, very different from the shabby little girl in the cheap black cotton dress, but that was no reason why Granny should sigh mournfully as she looked at her. Surely Granny did not want Tessie to be the shabby little girl of those old days!

"I was just wondering," Granny said meekly, "as I read this book if you had learned to eat raw fish yet?"

An angry flush stained Tessie's face, and she stamped her high-heeled shoe.

"No, I don't like raw fish!" she cried stormily. "And I don't ever expect to like raw fish! Why should I? Can't I have somebody cook fish for me?" she demanded haughtily.

"In the Sunshine Islands it's the custom to eat it raw," Granny said very gently, for she could recognize the beginning of a tantrum as well as any one. "And there isn't anything that's harder to change than a custom. When I read about the food and some other things in this book, and looked at a few of these pictures, I got to wondering how we are going to like those islands and the customs the people have there. You know, Tessie," she went on, when Tessie said never a word, but just stood sulkily tapping the rug with the pointed toe of her shoe, "when you came home from the Evergreen that day and told me about your Uncle Pete and how he had died and made you a queen, I couldn't think of anything but how wonderful it was. My boy a king! And my girl a queen! And I pictured those Sunshine Islands like England and Italy, and perhaps a little like the United States, even if the United States ain't got crowned kings and queens. It was so wonderful that I was all puffed up like bread sponge. But since we came to the Waloo, and I got so much time, no washing or cooking to do, I've looked into some of these books and talked to Ka-kee-ta as much as a body can talk to a critter that don't know more than the rudiments of real language, and I can't find that these islands are like any place I ever heard of. I don't know as we're going to like them. The folks don't all wear clothes," she confided to Tessie in a dubious whisper.

"I can teach them to wear clothes," Tessie said coldly. "I've talked to Mr. Kingley, and he's going to send me some clothes from the Evergreen. We're going to begin with bathing suits."

"Mr. Kingley's a real business man, ain't he? Always thinking of the Evergreen!" Granny had to admire Mr. Kingley's ability to think of his business at all times. She went on a bit sarcastically. "And is young Mr. Bill going to take charge and open a branch in the islands? It won't pay in your lifetime, Tessie. You mustn't count on it! It'll take more than Mr. Kingley's say-so to put even bathing suits on folks that don't wear anything but a bit of fringe around their waists. And it ain't only clothes," she added mournfully. "It's white ants and centipedes and snakes and sharks and——"

"For goodness sakes, Granny!" Tessie jumped when Granny spoke of sharks, and she was almost at the end of her patience when there was a loud thump on the door. "I do wish," exclaimed Tessie, glad of a legitimate reason to let Granny see that she had reached the end of her patience, "that Ka-kee-ta would learn to knock. I hate to hear him hit the door with his old ax!"

"That's just what I've been telling you," began Granny. "You ain't going to like the Sunshine Islands' way of doing things."

But Tessie did not listen to her. She walked to the door and threw it wide open. "Ka-kee-ta," she began sternly, but instead of facing Ka-kee-ta she looked at a fat man with a light, oh very light, hair, and a big nose. "Oh," Tessie murmured feebly. "Oh!"

"Queen Teresa?" asked the stranger eagerly, although he knew very well that she was Queen Teresa. "Of the Sunshine Islands?" He came into the room and shut the door carefully behind him.

A great hope dashed into Tessie's mind. He was the special representative from the Sunshine Islands, the man who was to escort her to her kingdom in obedience to the orders in her Uncle Pete's last will and testament. Of course he was the special representative. In spite of the fact that he made Tessie think that he must be made of tubs, large and small, neatly piled upon one another. He had an air of great assurance and greater authority. He could tell her all about the islands and that it would not be necessary for her to eat native food nor to have Ka-kee-ta bang on the door with his ax. He would tell her everything. He looked as full of information as a complete set of encyclopedia. And when he spoke, she was sure he was the special representative, for he said smilingly, ingratiatingly, "I have come to talk to you about the Sunshine Islands."

"Is that so!" exclaimed the Queen of the Sunshine Islands. She looked triumphantly at Granny. "Won't you sit down?" She hesitated in choosing a chair for herself and at last took one which stood near Granny. After she was seated in it she moved it even closer to Granny as if she wanted her comfort or protection.

"You must think it is very romantic to be a queen," went on the tublike man, still smiling pleasantly. "And it is romantic! I suppose you picture your kingdom as another England or Spain or——"

"I don't," interrupted Granny. "Not any more. I might as well confess that at first I did that very thing, but I've just read a few things in these books about the Sunshine Islands, and I know now that they ain't a bit like England or even Spain. I was just telling Tessie—the queen—that when Ka-kee-ta knocked on the door with his ax."

"You are quite right!" He smiled at Granny and nodded his white thatched head. "But I can tell you much more than you will find in any book. To begin with, the pleasant parts of the islands are beautiful, very beautiful. They are not large; you could crowd the half a dozen into the state of Minnesota and have room to spare. But the climate! Ah, the climate! It is perfect! The islands are south of Hawaii, you know, but nearer the United States—nearer Mexico would be more correct—but it is the same thing. They are coral islands with cocoanut palms and banana and breadfruit trees. The villages are made up of palm leaf huts with a larger hut on the largest island for the ruler."

"Isn't there any electric light or any gas or any city water?" asked Granny, who could not believe that there was any place without those three necessities.

"There is not. But there is a sky bluer than any sky you ever saw, and the water in the lagoon is as clear as crystal and of a wonderful blue-green color. The coral sand is so white that it makes your eyes ache. The Sunshine Islands are rarely beautiful, but they are not convenient. It would be safe to say that they have not a single convenience," he insisted as Granny gasped and exclaimed:

"Not even in the king's palace?"

"Palace!" He laughed scornfully almost, as Joe Cary had laughed at kings and palaces. "Palm-leaf huts," he explained. "And the people—you know they are cannibals?" He looked at Tessie, as if he were vastly amused to know that her people were cannibals.

"Not cannibals now," faltered Tessie, almost in tears to hear how unlike her dreams her kingdom was. "Uncle Pete civilized them and showed them how wrong it was to eat each other."

"Not all," corrected the tubular blond. "The last election showed that one out of every two inhabitants was a conservative—a cannibal."

"Elections!" Tessie did not know that elections were held in the Sunshine Islands, and she wondered vaguely if she were a democrat or a republican. She knew she was not a conservative! if conservatives were cannibals.

"The islands are really no place for a white woman, for a young and beautiful white woman," the man said bluntly. He gazed at Tessie with such open admiration that she moved impatiently and wished that he would stop looking at her and look at Granny. "You can't live there, Miss Gilfooly—is that the name? I know. It's out of the question. I've spent months on Ta-ri-ha, that's the largest island, and I know what I'm talking about when I say it is no place for a white woman. A white man might keep the natives in hand if he were——"

"Big and strong and brutal," suggested Granny thoughtfully.

He turned to her. "I see you knew King Pete, madam?"

"I was his mother." Granny sighed as if she could remember times when she had found her son big and strong and brutal. "But if you don't think my granddaughter should live on her islands what do you think she should do with them?" Granny believed in the straight line. She had absolutely no use for that beautiful curved line we are taught to admire. Straight lines are so much more direct. She looked at the stranger, but she could not find any straight lines about him; he was all curves.

"Granny!" exclaimed Tessie indignantly. The idea of Granny speaking as if there was even a possibility that she would not go to the Sunshine Islands. In imagination Tessie saw herself on a great white ship which was drawing near a shore that bore a marked resemblance to the pictures she had seen of New York harbor. And she saw great throngs of natives clothed in queer shapeless garments—but fully clothed—and she heard their joyous shouts of welcome. She liked the picture her imagination showed her far better than she liked the one drawn by this white-headed stranger. In the back of her mind there was a faint memory of something unpleasant in connection with a fat, white-headed man with a big nose and freckles, but she could not think what it was while this man regarded her with such bright blue eyes. She wished she could, it might be easier to talk to him if she could remember.

"Who are you?" she asked suddenly, oddly uncomfortable under his steady, unblinking stare.

"My name is Pracht," he said frankly. "Frederic Pracht. I have lived in the Sunshine Islands for months. I knew King Pete very well."

"Pracht," meditated Granny. "That sounds like a German name."

He stopped smiling at Tessie to smile at Granny, and Tessie drew a deep breath of relief, as if at last she had more space about her.

"It is not strange that my name sounds German, because it is German," Mr. Pracht explained to Granny. "My great-grandfather came from Frankfort and settled in Pennsylvania. There are many German names in Pennsylvania."

"H-m," muttered Granny, and she regarded him gravely, as if she were not quite satisfied with the explanation, as if she suspected that it would not wear well—that it would shrink or fade. "My son Pete," she said slowly, "he inherited the islands, didn't he?"

"From the old king. He cured the old king's toothache."

"Didn't the old king have any children?" Even if she suspected that his information might not wear well, Granny thought it was just as well to obtain as much of it as she could.

"He had twenty-three."

"Twenty-three children!" Granny gasped. She had known large families in her day, but twenty-three children——

"Seventeen girls and six boys," was the ready response. "And thirty-one grandchildren. I don't exactly know how many great-grandchildren there are."

"Never mind." The old king's children interested Granny far more than his great grandchildren. "When there were twenty-three children, why did the old king leave his kingdom to my son Pete?" That was the question which did interest her, and while a toothache cure should be paid for, a kingdom did seem rather a large price.

Mr. Pracht shrugged his shoulders. "That is what the twenty-three children would like to know. They declare that King Pete hypnotized their father, or, as they put it, placed him under a spell. My private opinion is that the old king quarreled with his family until he hated every one of his twenty-three children. And they hated him. They hated each other, too, until their father died and they came together to fight his successor. That's why the Sons of Sunshine organized. You've heard of them?" He turned his bright blue eyes on Tessie again.

She nodded, but did not speak. Granny did not speak either for a moment; then she said slowly, as if she were trying to visualize her words:

"That's quite a family. Twenty-three children!"

"The old man had three wives," Mr. Pracht said with a little laugh.

"Three! Do you mean that a man can have more than one wife in my granddaughter's kingdom?" If Granny's gray hair had not been held by a net, it would have risen with horror at such a thought.

"A man can have as many wives as he can buy," explained Mr. Pracht. "You remember I told you the islands were not like Minnesota and Waloo." He laughed and showed two rows of big white teeth.

"They don't seem to be," murmured Granny, while Tessie gasped. "I must confess I am surprised. Ain't you surprised, Tessie, to hear all this? I had my suspicions after I got over my first surprise and had time to remember Pete, and to look into these books. But I thought you were going to tell us what you thought Tessie should do with these islands which her Uncle Pete left her when he died?" she said suddenly.

"There is but one thing to do," Mr. Pracht told her so suddenly and emphatically that she knew that he had given the question some study. He was not offering her any made-while-you-wait opinion. She should sell her rights in them, and sell as soon as she can. "Real estate values vary, you know, and just at present Miss Gilfooly could obtain a very good price. If she waits I am afraid she will lose money. If she sells her rights at once, I am quite sure that she will obtain enough to enable her to live like a queen wherever she pleases." He smiled pleasantly at Tessie, but Tessie frowned.

"I wouldn't be a queen if I sold my islands," she objected. Already her head felt bare, as if a crown had been torn from it.

"Surely you would be a queen. A queen doesn't lose her title when she loses her kingdom," declared Mr. Pracht, quick to see that honors meant more to Tessie just then than lands. "Look at Kaiser Bill. And the French empress who died the other day. So long as you live, you will be Queen Teresa of the Sunshine Islands. But take my word for it that you will find it much pleasanter to be Queen Teresa in London or Paris, or even in Waloo, than you would in the Sunshine Islands. I can't think of a thing you would like there—not one thing."

"Uncle Pete liked them!" flared Tessie, indignant at such contemptuous scorn of her kingdom. "He liked them well enough to live there years and years."

"He probably had his reasons." There was a significance in Mr. Pracht's smooth voice that made Granny and Tessie look at each other. "And he was a man," went on Mr. Pracht. "He never hesitated when it was necessary to put down rebellion."

"I bet he didn't!" agreed Granny.

"And you know there is a strong desire for a native ruler? The Sons of Sunshine are behind it. They will never permit you to land without a fight. And you wouldn't be able to hold your throne," he grinned, "without bloodshed, I know!" And he told Tessie more about her kingdom—disagreeable things. By the time he finished Tessie was almost in tears.

"I am prepared to offer you two hundred and fifty thousand dollars for your rights in the Sunshine Islands," he said at last.

"Two hundred and fifty thousand dollars!" Tessie was on her feet and staring at him indignantly.

"The lawyer said they were worth a million pounds!" Granny said sharply. Granny had learned to bargain in the old days, and some lessons are never forgotten.

"A million pounds!" Mr. Pracht repeated. "That sounds like King Pete. He was not the man to put a low valuation on anything that belonged to him. But a million pounds! That is ridiculous! Two hundred and fifty thousand dollars is far more than they are worth, but I want Miss Gilfooly to be comfortable and have some luxuries. I want her to have an income that will let her live anywhere!" His face wore the kindliest, the most benevolent of expressions as he turned it to Tessie.

Tessie did not like his benevolent expression any more than she had liked his admiring smile. The something in the back of her head which connected a fat, white-headed, big-nosed, freckled man with an unpleasant experience bothered her. She wished she could remember what it was.

"Are you the special representative my Uncle Pete said was to come for me?" she asked suddenly.

"Special representative!" he repeated, and there was a vague uncertainty in his voice which told Tessie at once that he knew even less of the special representative than she did.

Granny was still considering the two hundred and fifty thousand dollars. She sniffed at them.

"I never trust a man who pays more than a thing is worth," she contemptuously told Mr. Pracht. "There's always a nigger in the woodpile. Are you buying these islands for yourself?" she asked pleasantly, "or for the twenty-three children? Tessie would want to know who would look after the people if she should sell the islands."

"I sure would!" Tessie looked gratefully at Granny. Trust Granny to ask leading questions.

Mr. Pracht hesitated before he spoke in a most confidential manner, as if only to Granny and Tessie would he admit the truth. "I represent a syndicate which plans to develop the natural resources of the islands. The syndicate has no use for the title, so that Miss Gilfooly can remain a queen in name. And I can assure her that the people will be well looked after. I might possibly," he frowned and spoke more slowly, "be able to offer two hundred and seventy-five thousand!" He looked at Tessie as if he had made a wonderful offer, one that she could not afford to refuse. Surely when she heard that sum she would jump up and exclaim: "Yes, thank you. You may have my kingdom for two hundred and seventy-five thousand dollars!"

"Couldn't you make it three hundred thousand?" asked Granny, quite as if she were selling rags to the junk man and not bargaining with a syndicate for a kingdom.

He looked at her. "I should hate to say positively, but if that is the price Miss Gilfooly will accept, I might—yes!" He took a sudden determination. "I will assume the responsibility and offer you three hundred thousand dollars. It's a big price! The syndicate will lose money, but——"

"Bosh!" exclaimed Granny, and she rose to her feet and stood beside Tessie. "Bosh! Syndicates don't lose money! I don't know how Queen Teresa feels, but if I were in her shoes, I'd tell your syndicate to go to Jericho before I would sell an inch of my islands. That's what I'd do!" And she snapped her fingers in his face.

"Madam!" He jumped back indignantly. He turned to Tessie. After all the Sunshine Islands belonged to Tessie, not to her belligerent grandmother.

"Of course I shan't sell my islands!" declared Tessie, flushed and indignant, that he should really think she would. "I wouldn't sell them for a million! I have a duty to the people! It wouldn't be right to sell them!"

An ugly look crept into Mr. Pracht's blue eyes. "You can refuse if you wish," he said, and there was an ugly note in his voice, far different from his former suave, smooth manner. "I can only remind you again that the natives have sworn that they will never have another white ruler. And you will find that they will stop at nothing. They have several disagreeable customs in regard to those they consider usurpers. Boiling them in shark oil is perhaps the simplest!" He bowed triumphantly and walked toward the door.

"Is that so," remarked Granny coldly. "And may I ask you if you were at the Evergreen banquet for the queen the other evening?"

"Banquet?" he swung around and looked at her. There was an odd expression in his eyes.

"Yes, there was an unexpected guest who made things very disagreeable for a minute. You sound as if you might have been him."

He shook his head. "I have no time for social gatherings," he said coldly. "But Miss Gilfooly had better consider my offer. As I said, the natives will stop at nothing."

If he expected Tessie to call him back and whimper that she was afraid of the natives, and couldn't he do something to protect her he was sadly disappointed. He found himself on the other side of the door without a word being spoken. As the door closed behind him Tessie turned to her grandmother.

"Granny," she wailed, "did you hear what he said?" She caught Granny's hand and held it tight.

"Sure, I heard what he said!" Granny put a protecting arm around her. "But I doubt if there is enough shark oil in the United States to boil anybody, my lamb. Don't you fret. Your Granny will take care of you!"

"I'm not fretting!" But she clung to Granny's hand. "And I'm glad he isn't one of my people! I wouldn't trust him! I don't like him!"

"I don't trust him, either. I bet he knows more about what happened at the Evergreen banquet than we do. You'll see. We'll know all about it some day. Did you take a good look at him, Tessie?"

Tessie nodded tearfully. "Fat and white, like a nasty worm," she gulped.

Granny added a feature to Tessie's sketch. "And a big nose! You remember it was a man with white hair and a big nose that stole the record of your ma's and pa's wedding. Don't you forget that, Tessie Gilfooly! That man tried to make us think he was honest, coming here and offering to buy your islands. But he ain't honest. You can tell that as soon as you look at him. There's something queer in this business, Tessie! I don't understand it, but you look out for that man. He's got a bad eye. Dear, dear, I wish Joe Cary was still boarding with us! I trusted Joe Cary!"

Tessie moved away impatiently, and then came back to kiss Granny's cheek. "Don't you fret, Granny," she said in her turn. "What could that Pracht man do to me?"

"He could kidnap you and turn you over to those cannibals!" Granny tremulously told her of one thing that Pracht could do. "And you heard how they treat rulers they don't like? I declare, Tessie, I wish your Uncle Pete had left those islands to an orphan asylum instead of to you! It ain't going to be all pleasure being a queen!"