FROM THE OUTPOSTS .sx THE MOTUVERA TRANSPORT COMPANY , LTD. .sx BY 'TARANGA .sx ' IF you go down to the beach of the long bay or inlet which runs up into the western shore of Motuvera Island and look across its waters , you will see an object in the middle of it which looks out of place .sx The inlet is fringed with a belt of white sand , gleaming snowily in the sunlight and backed with waving dark-green palms .sx A few coral rocks break its blue surface and stud its edges .sx There is nothing in sight which suggests man's presence or handiwork except that smooth , slightly convex object , rising out of the water some twenty-five yards from the beach , of a regular , straight-edged and oblong shape such as nature could not have designed .sx Whitened with sea-salt and fringed with weed round the edges , it is nevertheless plain that the object must have originally been black and probably shiny .sx Ask any passer-by for an explanation , and he will tell you fluently if he happen to be a white man , and with laboured circumlocutions if he be a native that the thing in the water is the motor-lorry which once belonged to the Motuvera Transport Company .sx Naturally your next question will be , " How did it get there ?sx " This story is the answer .sx " What this place wants , " said Davis Anderson , tilting back his chair until it looked as if his fall on to the verandah floor were inevitable , " is transport .sx " Christopher Baillie , the schoolmaster , shook his head and refilled his glass .sx " Don't forget you've got a guest , " said Anderson severely , pushing forward his own glass ; " also that it's darned thirsty work trying to knock ideas of progress into your head .sx " Baillie apologised and opened another bottle of beer .sx He was a young man , little and quiet , with a shock of fair hair perpetually on end , giving him the appearance of a startled yet still sociable cockatoo .sx His was a lonely life , and why , out of the few white men on Motuvera , he had made friends with Davis Anderson , a loud-voiced and expansive person , was a mystery .sx Anderson was an American fruit-trader , the owner of a small schooner called the Sally , which plied between Motuvera , Rarotonga and New Zealand ; and whenever his craft anchored in the lagoon his first journey on shore was almost always up to Baillie's little house in search of a drink and a talk .sx " Well , " said the school- .sx master , " what do you mean by transport , or rather by a need for it here ?sx What's wrong with the Sally ?sx " .sx " I don't mean external transport , " replied Anderson ; " I mean internal .sx " " What of and where to ?sx " .sx " Say , listen to me .sx There may not appear to you to be much to transport in this dead-and-alive hole , but an observant guy like me sees possibilities in some things that other folks miss .sx Have you never walked along the road between here and the village and seen the women carrying their baskets of cocoanuts and mandarins , or the men humping fish ?sx That's what you see every day and there's something to transport .sx Then what about when lumber comes out of a ship to build a house or anything of that sort ?sx And do you remember last fall , when Judge Howard's pianner arrived , how many men it took to get it up to his house ?sx " .sx " Yes ; but those are exceptional cases , except for the fruit and fish , and them the people here have always been used to carry for themselves .sx " " The point , " said Anderson , " is not what folks can manage for themselves , but what they'll be glad to have someone else do for them .sx Then there's another thing :sx it takes you half an hour's walk to get to that tin shack where you bully the piccaninnies , doesn't it ?sx " .sx " Yes .sx " " And how long to get to the wharf , or the church , or the court-house ?sx " About - " .sx " Exactly , " went on the trader quickly ; " and wouldn't you be glad to have someone offer you a ride instead of having to hike it ?sx " .sx " I don't know , " said Baillie .sx " I like walking .sx " " That don't signify any .sx Plenty other folks just hate it .sx " " Well , what's all this leading up to ?sx Have you got an idea for dealing with what you call a lack of transport here ?sx " .sx " I sure have .sx I tell you , Chris , " said Anderson , absently emptying the beer bottle into his glass , " if I don't make the whole outfit of you on Motuvera sit up and smile , my name isn't Davis Lee Anderson .sx You just watch me .sx " His host gazed at him in a puzzled manner , as though expecting him to perform an immediate conjuring trick .sx " Next month , " explained Anderson , " I'm going to Auckland by the steamer to fix up a new deal for my next cargo .sx And when I get back you're going to see sparks .sx " Motuvera boasts a lagoon which a ship of considerable size can enter , through a passage in the reef immediately opposite the only village on the island of any importance .sx When the ship has anchored , any mails or stores to be landed , from small parcels to balks of timber , must be transferred to the lighters which bring them to the jetty .sx Inland from the .sx wharf lies the village , bisected by the only road on the island , which runs from end to end of it , a distance of about six miles , following its southern shore .sx Along it are situated all the important buildings the church , hall , school and warehouses .sx Mr Howard , the British Resident and general representative on Motuvera of law and order , lived a short way up a side road ; Mr Garraway , the missionary , lived near the church , and Dr Sullivan next door to him .sx Only Christopher Baillie , preferring a picturesque situation and something of a view to the convenience of being near the school , had built his small dwelling at the very end of the island and the road , nearly two miles from the centre of the village .sx The arrival of the monthly steamer from New Zealand was always something of an event to the inhabitants of an island where so little of moment happened .sx Before the ship in which Anderson returned from Auckland had negotiated the passage in the reef , most of the population , brown and white , had gathered on the jetty or on the end of the wharf to watch the familiar but fascinating process of casting anchor , discharging cargo and unloading the lighters at the wharf-side .sx It was a day so typically beautiful that no native of the island would have given it a thought .sx Wherever the eye turned it was met by rich colour , whether of dark , almost purple sea,blue sky without a cloud , or deep luxuriant green of the feathery palm-trees .sx Above the woods the great peak of the old volcano which gave the island its name glowed a golden red , and below them the dazzlingly white walls of the houses in the village dimmed the glitter of the sands along the beach .sx In the lagoon the slender pale .sx green hull of the Sally floated like a drifted petal .sx The sunshine was warm without being oppressive , and a gentle breeze off the sea whispered softly among the ironwood trees along the shore , the topmost note of the medley of sounds which , ranging through the chatter of the crowd and the faint clanking of the steamer's winches , ended in the never-ceasing bass of the breakers on the reef half a mile out .sx " There seems to be a lot of stuff going into those last two lighters , " observed Mr Howard to his wife , as they watched the ship from the window of the small wooden building at the end of the wharf dignified by the name of the Harbour-Master's Office .sx " They are taking a long time to load them .sx " Mr Garraway , standing on the wharf , had just made much the same remark to Dr Sullivan .sx " It looks to me , " said Mrs Howard , whose eyes were sharper than her husband's , " as if they were tying them together .sx " " Whatever for ?sx " .sx Mrs Howard could not think .sx " What's that swinging on .sx the derrick ?sx " asked Mr Garraway .sx " It appears to be the Father of All Packing-cases , " replied Dr Sullivan drily .sx " I wonder whose it is .sx " A cheer rose from the white-clad throng on the shore as the great oblong mass which was arousing so much speculation was settled gingerly on to the two lighters .sx When the latter finally cast off and approached the wharf , it became clear that the reason for lashing them together had been that no single lighter could have contained the bulk or supported the weight of the mysterious crate , in which was a vast irregular-shaped object , swathed in canvas .sx The crowd's curiosity was increased when Davis Anderson was seen standing in the bows of one of the lighters with an evident air of ownership .sx Only Christopher Baillie , on the fringe of the crowd , felt a vague suspicion as to the crate's contents , mingled with a vaguer foreboding .sx " What have you got there , Mr Anderson ?sx " inquired Mr Howard from the door of the Harbour-Master's Office , as the trader stepped ashore .sx " Pardon me , Judge , " replied Anderson , raising his broad Panama hat .sx " I intend everyone to know before long , but you'll excuse me if for the moment I keep this proposition of mine a secret .sx " Mr Howard looked disappointed and Mrs Howard even more so ; the crowd of spectatorsalmost groaned .sx But Anderson took no notice .sx The Sally's crew , who had been waiting on the edge of the wharf , began to haul the huge crate ashore on to rollers , and innumerable chattering volunteers joined in , all hoping to gain some clue to its contents .sx With the help , supervision or encouragement of most of the population of the village the crate was rolled laboriously to Anderson's warehouse , where , to the disgust of his assistants , the doors were closed and padlocked upon the enigma .sx The island , actually administered by the Government of New Zealand , was in theory ruled by an old man called Manaia , who lived in solitary and simple state in the middle of the village .sx He was a stout , cheerful and benevolent person , in whom the dignity inherent in most island chiefs had waned with the advance of age .sx He wore shabby European clothes of a pale-brown cotton and a battered straw hat , except on ceremonial occasions .sx To him Anderson applied for a private interview the day after the arrival and departure of the steamer , and they had a long talk in the small bungalow where the chief lived .sx " What I want from you , " he said , speaking fluently the local dialect of Polynesian , " is your help and encouragement .sx " Manaia rubbed his chin and looked thoughtful .sx " But why , Anahona ?sx " he said .sx " I think your idea a .sx very good one , and you should do well with it .sx Why should you want any help from met .sx " All I want , " said the trader , " is for you to encourage your people to use what I am offering them .sx Use it yourself ; I shall charge you nothing .sx But what I am afraid of is that the people may be shy or frightened of something so new to them as this will be .sx " The chief's face cleared .sx He had had an uncomfortable feeling that Anderson wanted some-thing out of him more solid than patronage and less easy to part with .sx " Most certainly , " he said , grinning widely .sx " I shall be there when you start and often afterwards .sx I shall find it very useful myself , I feel sure .sx " Next day such of the in-habitants of Motuvera as happened to pass Anderson's ware-house stopped and gathered excitedly round a large poster , flaming in red , blue and yellow letters , which was mounted on the door .sx It ran as follows :sx " This is to give notice that the Motuvera Transport Company , Limited , will commence the running of a Coach Service on the Main Road of the Island to-morrow , Monday , September the Fifteenth .sx Passengers will be carried at a Flat Rate of Twopence a Head for the Whole Journey from Three Trees Point to Mr Christopher Baillie's house , or intermediately .sx Mail and Packages up to any Reasonable Size will also be carried .sx