The Amazing Inheritance Read online

  VII

  "And about this wedding license, I'll put on my thinking cap," remarkedGranny. She went into the bedroom and closed the door.

  When Tessie was a little thing and heard Granny talk of her thinkingcap, she always visualized the cap as something between the formalSunday black straw or velvet, and the Monday morning gingham sunbonnetGranny wore when she hung out the washing. And now that Tessie was a biggirl, she knew no more of what a thinking cap was like than she had whenshe was seven, for Granny had never worn one in public. She alwaysclosed the door before she put it on.

  But as usual, the thinking cap quickly produced results, and in no timeat all Granny emerged with half a dozen names scribbled on a piece ofpaper. They soon found Mrs. Waterman and Mr. Jacob Dassett, who had beenat the wedding of John Gilfooly and Teresa Andrews, and could rememberthe ceremony perfectly. They were thrilled to hear that the inheritance,a kingdom in the Pacific Ocean, of the daughter of John Gilfooly andTeresa Andrews, might hang on their word, and they grew incoherent asthey ransacked their memories for recollections of twenty years ago.

  "A queen!" exclaimed the astonished Mrs. Waterman. "Can you believe it!And a mighty pretty queen she'll make!" She looked with admiration atTessie's flushed and dimpled face. "The spitting image of her ma, ain'tshe, Mrs. Gilfooly? And I tell you, miss, there wasn't a prettier girlin the state than Tessie Andrews when she married John Gilfooly. Ain't Iright, Mrs. Gilfooly?"

  Granny nodded. "John was a handsome man, too," she declared. "They madea beautiful couple, Tessie. I wish you could have seen them!"

  "You bet I remember the wedding of Jack Gilfooly and Tess Andrews!" Mr.Dassett spoke a bit testily that any one should have thought he wouldhave forgotten. "Didn't Sam Horton knock over the lamp and near set thebride on fire? It would have been a bad deal for you, young lady," hesmiled at Tessie, "if he had. There wouldn't have been no queens then,you bet!"

  Granny's thinking cap produced not only witnesses to the wedding, butalso told her where to unearth old Doctor Grannis, who had broughtTessie into the world, and who swore he remembered the six-pound,red-faced mite.

  "Well, are you satisfied now?" Granny asked Mr. Marvin, when thestatements of her witnesses, duly signed and adorned with notarialseals, lay on the desk before him.

  "Perfectly!" But Mr. Marvin did not look at her and smile, he looked ather blushing granddaughter. "Perfectly! The court can ask for nothingmore. But you can understand, Mrs. Gilfooly, why we cannot accept theevidence of the interested parties. But these statements make everythingall right, and Miss Gilfooly is Queen of the Sunshine Islands." He roseand bowed to Her Majesty. "But according to the terms of her uncle'swill, she is to remain here until his personal representative arrives toescort her to her kingdom. And in the meantime--" He touched the buttonon his desk.

  Tessie and Granny held their breaths as they waited to hear what wasgoing to happen in the meantime.

  At the whirr of the buzzer, the door, which had been tightly closedopened, and Bert Douglas shot in. He was followed by a man who was notblack nor red nor yellow, but an attractive combination of the threecolors. He wore a blue blouse hanging over his trousers which flappedaround his bare feet. His hair was frizzed and stiffened until it stoodhalf a foot away from his scalp and was adorned with shells. His nosewas tattooed in red and blue, and in his hand he carried an ax. At leastGranny called the strange weapon an ax. The blade shone like silver.

  Granny shrieked when she saw him, and clutched Tessie by the hand as ifshe would run away with her. Johnny the Boy Scout stepped bravelybefore the women of his family and stared at the strange creature, whostood with bowed head and an air of great humility. His humility did notdeceive Granny, not for a second. She did not trust him, and she kept afirm hold of Tessie's fingers.

  "This is Ka-kee-ta, the protector of the royal person," exclaimed Mr.Marvin.

  And as if to prove his words, Ka-kee-ta jumped into the air and clickedhis bare feet together before he dropped on his knees before Tessie, andlaid the blade of his ax against her shabby brown shoes. Tessie shrankback and caught her breath.

  "It is his duty and privilege to accompany the king, or queen, whereverhe may go," went on Mr. Marvin. "He came with the Honolulu lawyer, whobrought the papers concerning King Pete's death, and the king's will.When he saw Miss Gilfooly he was so convinced that she was the rightfulheir, that he gave her the royal jewel, the Tear of God, and it has beendifficult to keep him from her until these formalities," he tapped thesworn statements with the notarial seals, "were settled. Now," he smiledand rose, regarding Tessie with amused kindly eyes, "he will protect andguard his queen."

  "Oh, my!" breathed his queen, in mingled dismay and excitement. Shestared at her guard.

  It was Granny who looked dubiously at the protector of the royal person.

  "Do you mean he'll board with us?" she asked, wondering how on earth shewas going to find room for him in her little cottage.

  "I guess I can look after my own sister," declared the Boy Scout, redwith indignation, and no wonder. But he, too, stared at Ka-kee-ta. Geewhizz! what would the fellows say when they saw him?

  "He will always be near the queen," Mr. Marvin answered Granny, but heignored Johnny. "I understand that it is the custom in the SunshineIslands for the ruler to have a bodyguard."

  "But who is to feed him and sleep him until this personal representativecomes to Waloo?" demanded Granny. "Now that Tessie's left her job at theEvergreen, there won't be so much coming in as there was. And a bigstrapping chap like that will eat a lot!" Granny shook her head. She didnot see how it was to be done. She stepped forward and looked boldly atMr. Marvin. "I'd like to know just what there is in this queen businessfor us?" she asked bluntly. "Tessie isn't living like a queen accordingto my way of thinking. Our house, even if it is small and needs paint,was all right for a girl when she was selling aluminum in the Evergreen,but it ain't all right for a queen. A queen shouldn't live in a housewhere there ain't any electric light, nor no dining room, and noplaster on half the kitchen ceiling--for it fell down last spring whenwe had the big rainstorm, you remember? It isn't a proper place for aqueen at all! And clothes! We all need new clothes with a queen in thefamily. But where are we going to get them? Are there any wages in thisqueen business?"

  "My dear Mrs. Gilfooly! And Miss Gilfooly!" Mr. Marvin was allapologies. "There are ample funds for anything you may wish to purchase.I could not advance any money until the question of Miss Gilfooly'sbirth had been settled beyond dispute, but now--" he said something in alow voice to grinning Bert Douglas, who left the room. "It is impossiblefor me to say exactly what the queen's income will be, but I understandit will be large and generous. From what I hear I should say that theSunshine Islands are rich and prosperous. The natives will do well bytheir little queen. And there is also King Peter's personal estate. Wewill know all about the exact figures when the personal representativearrives. But you are right when you say that the queen should beproperly housed. And you could scarcely be expected to provide forKa-kee-ta on your present income!" He laughed softly to think that anyone would think she should.

  "I might be expected to. Some folks expect a body to do everything,"cackled Granny, mollified and radiant. "But I couldn't do it even if Iam a good manager. I might have trusted Pete to arrange for everythingeven if the Pete I knew never thought of anybody but himself. He wasonly a boy, then," she explained apologetically, "and there ain't no boyso thoughtful as a grown man. And this--this--" She looked at Ka-kee-ta,who stood just behind Tessie, the blade of his ax glittering beside hisbushy head. "He was Pete's friend?" she asked uncertainly.

  "The protector of the royal person. The privilege is inherited in hisfamily. I believe it descends from father to son. Miss Gilfooly willdoubtless find many strange customs in the islands. There are oldtraditions in all countries, you know, and the people guard themjealously. Ah," as Bert returned and placed a check before him. He wrotehis name, carefully blotted it, and handed the check to Tessie.

&nb
sp; Before Tessie could look at it, Granny had it in her fingers. IfKa-kee-ta was protector of the royal person Granny proposed to be thekeeper of the royal purse.

  "My soul and body!" she exclaimed when she saw the figures. "The goodLord sure has a friendly feeling for the Gilfoolys! We'll be able toboard Ka-kee-ta and his ax at the Waloo Hotel. I'll be glad to move.It's mortifying to the Gilfooly pride to have newspaper reporters andnewspaper photographers pointing out all the shabby places in the house.You'll let us know, Mr. Marvin, when that special representative comesto town? Tessie and I'll be getting ready for him."

  "I'll let you know," promised Mr. Marvin. "And may I say," he tookTessie's little hand, "may I say that, in all my career as a lawyer, Inever had a more romantic nor more interesting case than this. Mostromantic and most interesting!" he repeated. "If you need any advice orany help, do not hesitate to call on us. Mr. Douglas will be glad to beof service to you at any time." He looked at Mr. Douglas, who had turneda delighted crimson at being assigned to such romantic and interestingservice.

  "I'll be glad to do anything I can!" he stammered.

  "That's real kind," smiled Granny, while Tessie flushed and told him hewas real kind, too. "You might go over to the Waloo and pick out a goodroom for us and one for Ka-kee-ta, while Tessie and I think aboutclothes. We can't appear in public in what we got. They wouldn't docredit to Pete. And these newspaper men would be sure to photograph usin our worst. We'll have to keep dressed up all the time now."