CHAPTER VI.

MIELA. The girl stood quiet beside the tree, watching Alan as he tied up his boat. She continued smiling. Alan stood up and faced her. He wondered what he should say--whether she could understand him any better than he could her. "You speak English?" he began hesitantly. The girl did not answer at once; she seemed to be trying to divine his meaning. Then she waved her hand--a curious movement, which he took to be a gesture of negation--her broadening smile disclosing teeth that were small, even, and very white. At …