Fakarava

And back of the house must be a kitchen, a good kitchen, with pots and pans and a stove.

And you must build the house on my island, which is Fakarava.

Is that all? Raoul asked incredulously.

There must be a sewing machine, spoke up Tafara, Mapouhi's wife.

But while he laughed, he secretly performed problems in mental arithmetic.

He had never built a house in his life, and his notions concerning house building were hazy.

While he laughed, he calculated the cost of the voyage to Tahiti for materials, of the materials themselves, of the voyage back to Fakarava, and the cost of landing the materials and of building the house.

It would come to 4,000 French dollars, allowing a margin for safety.

He had never built a house in his life, and his notions concerning house-building were hazy.

While he laughed he calculated the cost of the voyage to Tahiti for materials, of the materials themselves, of the voyage back again to Fakaraba, and the cost of landing the materials and of building the house.

It would come to four thousand French dollars, allowing a margin for safety.

Four thousand French dollars were equivalent to twenty thousand francs.

"'What good will the house do you?' Raoul demanded.

"'The first hurricane that comes along will wash it away.

"'You ought to know that.' "'Captain Raffi says it looks like a hurricane right now.' "'Not on Fakaraba,' said Mapui.

"'The land is much higher there.

He nodded his head vigorously.

Yes, he'd been to Tahiti, and he added himself names of islands such as Tikihau, Rangiroa, and Fakarava, thus proving that he had sailed as far as the Puamotus, undoubtedly one of the crew of a trading schooner.

After our short sail, when he had returned on board, he by signs inquired the destination of the snark, and when I had mentioned Samoa, Fiji, New Guinea, France, England, and California in their geographical sequence, he said Samoa, and by the gestures intimated that he wanted to go along.

Whereupon I was hard put to explain that there was no room for him.