To one accustomed to relatively modest European attire, the women were shockingly dressed: barefooted, they wore plain skirts of thin, unbleached wool that hung only an inch or two below their knees. From the waist up they were naked, but all wore heavy necklaces and thick hoop earrings of gold. Two of them, Negresses, were quite young, and the third, who seemed to be an Arawak Indian, was of indeterminate age. They returned Janine's breathless stare with bright smiles as they continued about their chores, and all seemed unconscious of their lack of clothing.
Nor was the white guide disturbed by their nudity. Turning, he called over his shoulder to Janine, "We arise early in the Land of the Maroons, mademoiselle. Before the sun climbs much higher the whole town will be awake, but I doubt if even the noises of our children at play will disturb your sleep. Now, before I show you to your quarters, I wonder if you might be tempted by a bite of breakfast."
The girl smiled wanly. "As you can imagine, sir, I'm not very hungry. However, I'm worried about Jeremy Stone, who is very ill, and I cannot wander off like this and leave him '*
"Never fear, mademoiselle. He is in the best of hands. Our principal obeah man has been anticipating his arrival and, I'm sure, is even at this moment examining him." The man stopped and waited for Janine to catch up with him.
"Obeah man?" Her fatigue was so great that the nearest buildings seemed to lean toward her.
He laughed as he guided her through a lane of trees toward a small hut. "You who are unfamiliar with the ways of our people would call him a witch doctor, I believe."
The girl's skin crawled, and she looked up at the man in utter horror. "Surely you don't intend to place someone as sick as Jeremy in the hands of a superstitious, ignorant "
"I assure you, Master Stone will receive the best of all possible treatment. We are not unfamiliar with the ravages of the Yellow Death, and our obeah man is unequaled anywhere in the Caribbean. Perhaps the commander will wish to explain in greater detail when he receives you later, but in the meantime you must take my word. I beg you to think only of yourself now and to rest long and well, or you will fall ill too."
They had arrived at the doorway of a tiny building, and the man held aside a flimsy curtain made of long strips of dried grass. He bowed Janine in and she preceded him into the room. What she saw was hardly encouraging. The walls were made of split-bamboo sticks, and dried red clay filed the gaps between them. An opening had been cut for a window, and already sunlight was pouring in. The roof was a thatched mass of jungle weeds, and there was no furniture of any kind. In fact, the only object in the house was a curious strip of loosely woven cloth, about three or four feet wide, that was slung horizontally at a height of about four feet between two stout poles driven into the dirt flooring some six feet apart. The weird contraption took up the greater part of the space in the cramped cell.
But the man apparently thought there was nothing unusual about the room or its furnishing, and he smiled soothingly at Janine. "Sleep for as many hours as you can, mademoiselle. I will send someone who speaks English—or French, if you prefer—to attend your needs. Should you want her, merely call and she will come in. Rest as long as you can, and remember that time means nothing in the Land of the Maroons."
"Thank you." Despite her exhaustion, Janine's green eyes flashed. Had she been captured by the governor general's troops she would have been housed in a prison cell that boasted greater comforts than this crude hut, and she would have been given at least a straw pallet. After all she had been through, it was too much to ask her to make her bed on the hard dirt floor. "I wonder if it would be too much to ask," she said, "and if so, I apologize for inconveniencing you, but I'm unaccustomed to sleeping on the ground. I would appreciate the luxury of a blanket to spread over the mud."
To her surprise, the man threw back his head and laughed, and there was no doubting that his amusement was genuine. "Your pardon, mademoiselle." He chuckled again. "I had forgotten that you are new to Jamaica and unfamiliar with the ways of our Indians. You see your bed before you. It is an Arawak invention called a hamoc, and you'll find it not only as comfortable as a down mattress, but considerably safer, for we are much afflicted here at Stony Hill with scorpions and coral snakes, and I fear they would make life unbearable for you on the floor. Try the hamoc, mademoiselle, and you will bless the Arawak for the rest of your days."
It was late afternoon when Janine awoke, and pine-scented breezes swept across the Maroon village on Stony Hill from the direction of the Blue Mountains. Yawning lazily, she started to sit up and found that her hamoc was swinging violently. Before she was quite aware of what was happening she tumbled to the ground.
The thud apparently attracted attention outside the hut, for the dried grass covering the doorway was pushed aside and a young girl of about fourteen slid into the hut. She was black-haired and dark-eyed, her skin a deep golden color and her bearing erect, almost regal. Like the women Janine had seen that morning, she wore only a skirt, and her young breasts were high and firm. She surveyed Janine for a moment, and as the white girl arose she advanced and held out her hand after the manner of men.
"You awake, mistress. You have plenty much long sleep. Feel better now. I Bella. My father white overseer, my mother Arawak slave. I Bella good Maroon woman, free like you!"
She shook Janine's hand, and though she was shorter and more slender than the French-English girl, her grip was firm and her fingers powerful.
"How do you do?" Uncertain of the etiquette to be observed, Janine smiled uncertainly.
"You plenty much hungry, Bella wager." Two even rows of small white teeth appeared as the half-breed grinned cheerily. Then she spun around, raced to the window, clapped her hands together twice, and shouted something. Turning back into the room, she examined the white girl critically, and Janine became conscious of the sorry state of her clothing. Esther Mary's borrowed shirt and trousers were bramble-torn and perspiration-stained; in fact, they were little better than rags. It was no wonder after the hazardous journey of the preceding night, but the excuse was small comfort at the moment. Sympathy showed in Bella's large eyes, and she lifted her hands to her face. "You need water bath, new dress, many thing. But no worry, mistress. Bella attend while you eat. Maroons not rich, but share all."
The soft patter of running feet sounded outside, and an instant later the curtain of grass parted to admit a small boy of about ten, who skidded to a stop. Stark-naked, he might have been taken for white had it not been for a rather hazy undercast in his skin and the texture of his very short curly black hair. In his hands he carried a large steaming bowl and a shelled coconut into which a hole had been punched. He offered them shyly to Janine, then backed hastily out of the hut. Bella peered into the bowl, picked a short wooden spoon out of it, and lifted a small portion of the contents to her lips.
"Ahh," she said, satisfied. "Salt fish and ackee. Best of food for hungry ones. And coconut milk stop thirst. Sit, mistress." She indicated the ground with a sweeping gesture. "Sit. Eat."