They had refused to go to the
guest-house in the nearest village, and as nearly as the girls could make
out they expected the yacht to get afloat from tide to tide, and then
intended to re-embark on her. In the mean time they had provisioned
themselves from the ship, and were living in a strange way of their own.
Some of them seemed to serve the others, but these appeared to be used
with a very ungrateful indifference, as if they were of a different race.
There was one who wore a white apron and white cap who directed the
cooking for the rest, and had several assistants; and from time to time
very disagreeable odors came from the camp, like burning flesh. The
Altrurians had carried them fruits and vegetables, but the men-assistants
had refused them contemptuously and seemed suspicious of the variety of
mushrooms they offered them. They called out, "To-stoo!" and I understood
that the strangers were afraid they were bringing toad-stools. One of the
Altrurian girls had been studying English in the nearest capital, and she
had tried to talk with these people, pronouncing it in the Altrurian way,
but they could make nothing of one another; then she wrote down what she
wanted to say, but as she spelled it phonetically they were not able to
read her English.
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