Chapter 96, "The Ilois" - 1,874 words, finished. This brings the manuscript up to 198,707 words, 561 pages. Excerpt: Henry returned his attention to the islands, noting that none were more than five hundred yards wide – most of them narrower, although the smallest was at least one hundred and fifty yards across. They were mere spits of sand providing a footing for every tropical species wind, sea, birds, and meddling human hands could bring to these isolated coordinates. A thin rampart of living coral was all that stood between these fragile rafts, thriving with greenery and life, and the relentless, devastating power of an immense ocean. “I doubt there’s a single point here more than a few yards above sea level,” Henry observed, turning to Charles, who also was drinking in this picturesque vision through his spy-glass, eyes shining with excitement. “I s’pose that’s the Ilois village,” the naturalist remarked. He had repositioned himself to examine a few ragged bamboo-and-thatch huts peeking out from under dense foliage. Henry, joining him, noticed twenty or thirty people on the white sand beach and the dock, the men wearing only loincloths, the women somewhat more modest, with printed lambas and threadbare, second-hand blouses. Many of the men and all of the women wore headscarves, looking rather like marooned pirates. “Poor bastards,” Charles mumbled. “Can you imagine being stranded out here and told by some bloody Frenchman to collect so many coconuts or starve?” “Indeed, I cannot. There seem to be at least three times as many men as women, too. I’ll wager that’s interesting.” “No society, however small, is without an economy,” Charles replied with a wry smile.
Posted on: Mon, 01 Jul 2013 05:58:16 +0000
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