Treats of Interesting Matters.  
Of course Charlie Christian gravitated towards Sally, and these two, falling slowly behind the rest, soon turned aside, and descended by another of the numerous paths which traversed that part of the mountain.
 
Of course, also, Daniel McCoy drew near to Sarah Quintal, and these two, falling slowly behind, sought another of the mountain-paths. It will be seen that these young people were charmingly unsophisticated.
 
For a considerable time Charlie walked beside Sally without uttering a word, and Sally, seeing that there was something on his mind, kept silence. At last Charlie lifted his eyes from the ground, and with the same innocent gaze with which, as an infant, he had been wont to look up to his guardian, he now looked down at her, and said, “Sally.”
 
“Well, Charlie?”
 
There was a little smile lurking about the corners of the girl’s mouth, which seemed to play hide-and-seek with the twinkle in her downcast eyes.
 
“Well, Charlie, what are you going to tell me?”
 
“Isn’t Toc—very—happy?”
 
He blushed to the roots of his hair when he said this, and dropped his eyes again on the ground.
 
“Of course he is,” replied Sally, with a touch of surprise.
 
“But—but—I mean, as—”
 
“Well, why don’t you go on, Charlie?”
 
“I mean as a—a married man.”
 
“Every one sees and knows that, Charlie.” There was another silence, during which the timid youth cleared his throat several times. At last he became desperate.
 
“And—and—Sally, don’t you think that other people might be happy too if they were married?”
 
“To be sure they might,” said the girl, with provoking coolness. “There’s Dan McCoy, now, and Sarah Quintal, they will be very happy when—”
 
“Why, how do you know?”—Charlie spoke with a look of surprise and stopped short.
 
The girl laughed in a low tone, but did not reply, and the youth, becoming still more desperate, said—
 
“But I—I didn’t mean Dan and Sarah, when I—Oh, Sally, don’t you know that I love you?”
 
“Yes, I know that,” replied the girl, with a blush and a little tremulous smile. “I couldn’t help knowing that.”
 
“Have I made it so plain, then?” he asked, in surprise.
 
“Haven’t you followed me ever since you were a staggerer?” asked Sally, with a simple look.
 
“O yes, of course—but—but I love you far far more now. In short, I want to marry you, Sally.”
 
He had reached the culminating point at last. “Well, Charlie, why don’t you ask father’s leave?” said the maiden.
 
“And you agree?” he exclaimed, timidly taking her hand.
 
“Oh, Charlie,” returned Sally, looking up in his face, with an arch smile, “how stupid you are! Nothing goes into your dear head without such a deal of hammering. Will you never become wise, and—”
 
Charlie became wise at last, and stopped her impudent mouth effectively; but she broke from him and ran into the woods, while he went down to the village to tell Adams.
 
Meanwhile Daniel McCoy led Sarah Quintal by a round-about path to the cliffs above Pitcairn.
 
Pretty little Sarah was timid, and had a vague suspicion of something that caused her heart to flutter.
 
“I say, Sarah,” said the bold and stalwart Dan, “did you ever see such a jolly couple as Toc and his wife before?”
 
“I never saw any couple before, you know,” replied the girl, simply, “except father Adams and his wife.”
 
“Well, they are an oldish couple,” returned Dan, with a laugh; “but it’s my opinion that before long you’ll see a good many more couples—young ones, too.”
 
“Indeed,” said Sarah, becoming much interested, for this was the first time that any young man had ventured to refer to such a subject, though she and her female companions had often canvassed the possibilities that surrounded them.
 
“Yes, indeed,” returned Dan. “Let me see, now. There’s Charlie Christian and Otaheitan Sally—”
 
“Why, how did you come to know that?” asked Sarah, in genuine surprise.
 
Dan laughed heartily. “Come to know what?” he asked.
 
“That—that he is fond of Sally,” stammered Sarah.
 
“Why, everybody knows that,” returned Dan; “the very gulls must be aware of it by this time, unless they are geese.”
 
“Yes, of course,” said the poor girl, blushing crimson at the thought of having been led almost to betray her friend’s confidences.
 
“Well, then,” continued Dan, “Charlie and Sall bein’ so fond o’ one another—”
 
“I did not say that Sally was fond of Charlie,” interrupted Sarah, quickly.
 
“Oh dear no!” said Dan, with deep solemnity; “of course you didn’t; nevertheless I know it, and it wouldn’t surprise me much if something came of it—a wedding, for instance.”
 
Sarah, being afraid to commit herself in some way if she opened her lips, said nothing, but gazed intently at the ground as they walked slowly among the sweet-scented shrubs.
 
“But there’s one o’ the boys that wants to marry you, Sarah Quintal, and it is for him I want to put in a good word to-day.”
 
A flutter of surprise, mingled with dismay at her heart, tended still further to confuse the poor girl. Not knowing what to say, she stammered, “Indeed! Who can it—it—” and stopped short.
 
“They sometimes call him Dan,” said the youth, suddenly grasping Sarah’s hand and passing an arm round her waist, “but his full name is Daniel McCoy.”
 
Sarah Quintal became as suddenly pale now as she had formerly become red, and struggled to get free.
 
“Oh, Dan, Dan, don’t!” she cried, earnestly; “do let me go, if you love me!”
 
“Well, I will, if you say I may speak to Father Adams about it.”
 
Sarah’s answer was quite inaudible to ordinary ears, but it caused Dan to loosen his hold; and the girl, bounding away like a frightened gazelle, disappeared among the palm-groves.
 
“Well,” exclaimed Dan, thrusting both hands into his trousers-pockets as he walked smartly down the hill, “you are the dearest girl in all the world. There can’t be two opinions on that point.”
 
Dan’s world was a remarkably small one, as worlds go, but it was quite large enough to fill his heart to overflowing at that time.
 
In turning into another path he almost ran against Charlie Christian.
 
“Well?” exclaimed Charlie, with a brilliant smile. “Well?” repeated Dan, with a beaming countenance.
 
“All right,” said Charlie.
 
“Ditto,” said Dan, as he took his friend’s arm, and hastened to the abode of John Adams, the great referee in all important matters.
 
They found him seated at his table, with the big Bible open before him.
 
“Well, my lads,” he said, with a kindly smile as they entered, “you find me meditatin’ over a verse that seems to me full o’ suggestive thoughts.”
 
“Yes, father, what is it?” asked Dan.
 
“‘A prudent wife is from the Lord.’ You’ll find it in the nineteenth chapter o’ Proverbs.”
 
The youths looked at each other in great surprise. “It is very strange,” said Charlie, “that you should hit upon that text to-day.”
 
“Why so, Charlie?”
 
“Because—because—we came to—that is to say, we want to—”
 
“Get spliced, Charlie; out with it, man. You keep shuffling about the edge like a timid boy goin’ to dive into deep water for the first time.”
 
“Well, and so it is deep water,” replied Charlie; “so deep that we can’t fathom it easily; and this is the first time too.”
 
“The fact is, you’ve come to tell me,” said Adams, looking at Charlie, “that you want to marry Otaheitan Sally, and that Dan there wants to marry Sarah Quintal. Is it not so?”
 
“I think, father, you must be a wizard,” said Dan, with a surprised look. “How did you come to guess it?”
 
“I didn’t guess it, lad; I saw it as plain as the nose on your own face. Anybody could see it with half an eye. Why, I’ve seen it for years past; but that’s not the point. The first question is, Are you able to feed your wives without requirin’ them to work too hard in the fields?”
 
“Yes, father,” answered Dan, promptly. “Charlie helped me, and I helped him, and so we’ve both got enough of land enclosed and stocked to keep our—our—wives comfortably,” (even Dan looked modest here!) “without requiring them to work at all, for a long time at least.”
 
“Well. I don’t want ’em not to work at all—that’s good for neither man, nor woman, nor beast. Even child’n work hard, poor things, while playin’ at pretendin’ to work. However, I’m glad to hear you are ready. Of course I knew what you were up to all along. Now, you’ll want to borrow a few odds an’ ends from the general stock, therefore go an’ make out lists of what you require, and I’ll see about it. Is it long since you arranged it wi’ the girls?”
 
“About half-an-hour,” returned Dan.
 
“H’m! sharp practice. You’ll be the better of meditation for a week or two. Now, get along with you, lads, and think of the word I have given you from God’s book about marriage. I’ll not keep you waitin’ longer than I think right.”
 
So Dan and Charlie left the presence-chamber of their nautical ruler, quite content to wait for a couple of weeks, having plenty to keep them employed, body and mind, in labouring in their gardens, perfecting the arrangements of their respective cottages, and making out lists of the various things they required to borrow. In all of which operations they were lovingly assisted by their intended wives, with a matter-of-fact gravity that would have been quite touching if it had not been half ridiculous.
 
The list of things to be borrowed was made out in accordance with a system of barter, exchange, and loan, which had begun in necessity, and was afterwards conducted on regular principles by Adams, who kept a systematic journal and record of accounts, in which he entered the nature and quantity of work performed by each family, what each had received, and what each was due on account. The exchanges also were made in a systematic manner. Thus, when one family had too many salt fish, and another had too much fruit or vegetables, a fair exchange restored the equilibrium to the satisfaction of both parties; and when the stores of one family were exhausted, a fresh supply was raised for it from the general possessions of all the rest, to be repaid, however, in exact measure when the suffering family should be again in affluence, through good harvests and hard work. All details were minutely noted down by Adams, so that injustice to individuals or to the community at large was avoided.
 
It is interesting to trace, in this well-conducted colony, the great root-principles on which the colossal system of the world’s comm............