And Raoul listened again to the tale of the house. Severalhours he spent in the endeavor to hammer the houseobsession out of Mapuhi’s mind； but Mapuhi’s motherand wife， and Ngakura， Mapuhi’s daughter， bolstered himin his resolve for the house. Through the open doorway，while he listened for the twentieth time to the detaileddescription of the house that was wanted， Raoul saw hisschooner’s second boat draw up on the beach. The sailorsrested on the oars， advertising haste to be gone. The firstmate of the Aorai sprang ashore， exchanged a word withthe one-armed native， then hurried toward Raoul. The daygrew suddenly dark， as a squall obscured the face of thesun. Across the lagoon Raoul could see approaching theominous line of the puff of wind.
“Captain Raffy says you’ve got to get to hell outa here，”
was the mate’s greeting. “If there’s any shell， we’ve gotto run the risk of picking it up later on—so he says. Thebarometer’s dropped to twenty-nine-seventy.”
The gust of wind struck the pandanus tree overhead andtore through the palms beyond， flinging half a dozen ripecocoanuts with heavy thuds to the ground. Then came therain out of the distance， advancing with the roar of a galeof wind and causing the water of the lagoon to smoke indriven windrows. The sharp rattle of the first drops was onthe leaves when Raoul sprang to his feet.
“A thousand Chili dollars， cash down， Mapuhi，” he said.
“And two hundred Chili dollars in trade.”
“I want a house—” the other began.
“Mapuhi！” Raoul yelled， in order to make himself heard.
“You are a fool！”
He flung out of the house， and， side by side with themate， fought his way down the beach toward the boat.
They could not see the boat. The tropic rain sheetedabout them so that they could see only the beach undertheir feet and the spiteful little waves from the lagoon thatsnapped and bit at the sand. A figure appeared throughthe deluge. It was Huru-Huru， the man with the one arm.
“Did you get the pearl？” he yelled in Raoul’s ear.
“Mapuhi is a fool！” was the answering yell， and the nextmoment they were lost to each other in the descendingwater.
Half an hour later， Huru-Huru， watching from theseaward side of the atoll， saw the two boats hoisted inand the Aorai pointing her nose out to sea. And near her，just come in from the sea on the wings of the squall， hesaw another schooner hove to and dropping a boat intothe water. He knew her. It was the OROHENA， ownedby Toriki， the half-caste trader， who served as his ownsupercargo and who doubtlessly was even then in the sternsheets of the boat. Huru-Huru chuckled. He knew thatMapuhi owed Toriki for trade goods advanced the yearbefore.
The squall had passed. The hot sun was blazing down，and the lagoon was once more a mirror. But the air wassticky like mucilage， and the weight of it seemed toburden the lungs and make breathing difficult.
“Have you heard the news， Toriki？” Huru-Huru asked.
“Mapuhi has found a pearl. Never was there a pearl like itever fished up in Hikueru， nor anywhere in the Paumotus，nor anywhere in all the world. Mapuhi is a fool. Besides，he owes you money. Remember that I told you first. Haveyou any tobacco？”
And to the grass shack of Mapuhi went Toriki. He wasa masterful man， withal a fairly stupid one. Carelessly heglanced at the wonderful pearl—glanced for a momentonly； and carelessly he dropped it into his pocket.
“You are lucky，” he said. “It is a nice pearl. I will give youcredit on the books.”
“I want a house，” Mapuhi began， in consternation. “Itmust be six fathoms—”
“Six fathoms your grandmother！” was the trader’s retort.
“You want to pay up your debts， that’s what you want. Youowed me twelve hundred dollars Chili. Very well； you owethem no longer. The amount is squared. Besides， I will giveyou credit for two hundred Chili. If， when I get to Tahiti，the pearl sells well， I will give you credit for anotherhundred—that will make three hundred. But mind， only ifthe pearl sells well. I may even lose money on it.”
Mapuhi folded his arms in sorrow and sat with bowedhead. He had been robbed of his pearl. In place of thehouse， he had paid a debt. There was nothing to show forthe pearl.
“You are a fool，” said Tefara.
“You are a fool，” said Nauri， his mother. “Why did youlet the pearl into his hand？”
“What was I to do？” Mapuhi protested. “I owed him themoney. He knew I had the pearl. You heard him yourselfask to see it. I had not told him. He knew. Somebody elsetold him. And I owed him the money.”
“Mapuhi is a fool，” mimicked Ngakura.
She was twelve years old and did not know any better.
Mapuhi relieved his feelings by sending her reeling from abox on the ear； while Tefara and Nauri burst into tears andcontinued to upbraid him after the manner of women.
Huru-Huru， watching on the beach， saw a thirdschooner that he knew heave to outside the entranceand drop a boat. It was the Hira， well named， for she wasowned by Levy， the German Jew， the greatest pearl buyerof them all， and， as was well known， Hira was the Tahitiangod of fishermen and thieves.
“Have you heard the news？” Huru-Huru asked， as Levy，a fat man with massive asymmetrical features， steppedout upon the beach. “Mapuhi has found a pearl. Therewas never a pearl like it in Hikueru， in all the Paumotus，in all the world. Mapuhi is a fool. He has sold it to Torikifor fourteen hundred Chili—I listened outside and heard.
Toriki is likewise a fool. You can buy it from him cheap.
Remember that I told you first. Have you any tobacco？”
“Where is Toriki？”
“In the house of Captain Lynch， drinking absinthe. Hehas been there an hour.”
And while Levy and Toriki drank absinthe and chafferedover the pearl， Huru-Huru listened and heard the stupendousprice of twenty-five thousand francs agreed upon.
