"Andre Norton - The Opal-Eyed Fan" - читать интересную книгу автора (Norton Andre)

"Now there's one with her head firmly on her shoul-ders," commented the maid. "She runs this house, for all
the show of Miss Lydia being mistress. She had a boarding house down in Key West 'til the Captain got her to take
over here. A widow woman who—"
"Molly!" Persis' voice became even more crisp. "I don't care about her history. I just want to talk with her.
Miss Lydia is entertaining a guest and I do not care to journey about the house, hunting her—"
"You wouldn't find her if you did, Miss Persis. Not right now. She took off with that old witch who came up to
the kitchen door. Cook and the maids let out such a screech when that happened m'heart fair stopped a beat. I wonder
that you didn't hear them, Miss Persis—them screaming so. None of them would go near the old hag, but Mrs. Pryor
just took up a bas-ket and filled it right up with bread and cheese and good thick slices off a cold roast. Then she and
that witch took off together. Strangest thing I ever did see —Mrs. Pryor, she being so proper and neat, and that other
one—" Molly sniffed disparagingly.
Persis was interested in spite of herself. "What do you mean by a witch, Molly?"
"She sure looked like one, Miss Persis. Got a face on her 'bout a hundred years old, nose and chin coming as
near one another as the parts of a nutcracker, and her eyes all sunk in. But she isn't blind—she could see good enough
with them eyes. I wouldn't want to have her overlookin' me with 'em—not if she took some sort of a spite to me.
"After they were gone, cook tells me as how this witch woman has powers all right. Indian she is, but not like
the rest of the Indians hereabouts. They're all afraid of her, too. She speaks as good as a Christian if she wants to and
she has healing powers. She brings Mrs. Pryor leaves and herbs and such things for nurs-ing. Mrs. Pryor is well
known for a nurse. Did all the doctoring on the Key before the real doctor came.
"And the Captain, he lets this old witch come around and gives her what she wants—'cause of those other
Indians—the raiding ones. As long as this here Askra is friendly, then maybe they won't try to move in. They say as
how it was her people who lived here a long time ago, and built their houses on mounds. Askra, she comes to talk to
the ghosts of the Old Ones. Leastways that is what they say in the kitchen. Sounds like a lot of real nonsense, only
when you see them eyes of hers lookin' you over you begin to wonder a little."
Persis was amazed at the new angle of life on Lost Lady Key. The figure she had seen disembark
from the canoe, that must have been Askra. And that the very correct Mrs. Pryor would accompany such
a visitor anywhere was another surprise.
"They're talking about trouble comin', them in the kitchen. More than just this witch." Molly dearly
loved to gossip, but it was seldom she had such unusu-al material to work with. "They don't take kindly to
that ship out there," she gestured to the window. "One of the men has gone to warn the Captain about it.
Seems like the Captain don't want to be neighborly with this Grillon. They had a run-in 'bout six months
back over some wrecking business. Grillon, he has no right in these waters and the Captain warned him off.
But Miss Lydia took a shine to the man and if he comes courtin' she's partial to it. Now this Grillon says as
how he needs fresh water, his casks got stove up and stalted in the storm. So he comes here. But they think
downstairs as how he really came to spark Miss Lydia, knowing somehow that the Captain ain't here."
Persis went back to the window. Yes, there was now a long boat midway between the Stormy
Luck and the wharf, near enough for her to see it carried some bar-rels. Water was scarce in the Keys,
even Key West had to be supplied by shipped-in water when their rain-filled storage tanks began to fail.
But Lost Lady was unique (which probably accounted for its long habita-tion by different peoples) in that it
had a spring of fresh water, jealously cherished by the islanders, as the captain of the Arrow had told them
one night.
"All this is none of our business, Molly."
"Maybe so, Miss Persis. But when Captain Leverett gets back there is goin' to be such a
rumpus—if this Grillon is still here—as will make you think you are back in a storm again. Now, I'll just take
these and see what can be done to freshen them up." She scooped up an armload of dresses, petticoats, and
underlinen and went out.
Persis settled on a chair by the window. When Cap-tain Leverett returned—yes, she could well
imagine that that great giant who had seized her so roughly would not take easily to having his orders
disobeyed. This was his room, too, and she had no right here. If Uncle Augustin were only as well as he
had been when they left New York. But she was sure she dared not suggest transporting him now, unless