Fireskirts Subpage 3

CHAPTER 9

Rescuing John

At the Blackskirt's camp, John Porter was tied up. At such a seemingly out of the ordinary moment, John hung from a shiskabob stick on tree stumps made from downed palm trees. He awoke and opened his eyes. He looked over towards his side to catch the view of the havelina. It was the same havelina Shooter had killed the first day they came to this side of the volcano. He saw where the bullet had struck pig as it was roasting over some fiery hot coals about ten feet away.

John looked in the other direction with still blurry vision. He could barely make out a pond under the shade of trees. The shade the palm trees made an excellent array of sunlight through the foliage. It shone effervescently upon the dirty leech-filled pond.

His eyes began to clear a little as he zoomed in on the pond with more ease. He could make out a bright flame just over the water. He noticed how the flame moved back and forth. The sight almost carried the darkening abyss of a Black Hole, which had sucked in its gasp.

His eyes focused even further onto the foggy water.

He continued to look at the flame on the pond's surface.

John suddenly got the impression of the Medicine Woman holding her Fire Stick over the pond. He noticed it was a double-sided Fire Stick and she was swinging it back and forth.

Well, she was, so to speak. She was performing rhabdomancy, a future foreseeing force. Something like a past-seeing force used by Nostradamus in the 14th century to predict the future all of the way to the nuclear destruction of the planet. She was unlike Nostradamus in a way though. She spun the two-sided Fire Stick around at such a fast pace that she would see visions in the surface of the gloomy water. She believed the occurrence was really happening at that particular moment.

Nostradamus used the technique of staring into a bowl of water with the candle at the right level. He stared for hours until he saw visions. In other words, the Medicine Woman was faster at seeing visions like a bolt of lightning glaring through the water. She was a complete professional.

She was skilled with necromancy as well, a technique used to consult spirits to see if they would do her bidding. When she looked up into the sky, she was using necromancy. She performed the techniques precisely the same every time.

The Medicine Woman was gazing with her foreseeing force upon the gloomy pool of water. The wind was still. John could only stare as she watched everything around her. The wind was flowing evenly through the palm trees and foliage above her farseeing sight.

Suddenly she really got into what she saw in the pond's gloomy waters. With a quick flick of her hand, she spun the Fire Stick around so one flaming end was under her face. She looked at the image held within the waters of the pond. Next she rotated the Fire Stick so the other flaming end was under her face. She looked at the image once again and appeared to see something familiar. Then suddenly she looked directly at John and then at the flame again, making sure it was still the same image. John knew she was wondering why he was staring at her while hanging on the shiskabob.

When she was sure, she got up and went over to him

with a ipu nui that was filled with pond water. First, she poured the water in his mouth to cool him off and wet his dry throat. Then she walked over to the pond again still carrying her Fire Stick. As she walked away from John, she started to swing the red hot Fire Stick after dropping her ipu nui and said, "Alo, pupu." (You learn slow.)

She continued to walk towards the pond as swung her Fire Stick rubbing the flame over her legs just below the calves.

John remained hanging on the shiskabob, even as it began to get dark. As the sun went down behind the mountains an excellent array of orange and reddish colors gleamed through the foliage.

After sunset, Shooter was hiding by the rear of the

corral behind a few of the horses and standing beside her horse. Princess Kaiulani then came into the corral to say hello to her horse Shells. Shells stood near the hay waiting patiently. She called him "Shells" after the sounds of Waikiki Beach. Sea shells were tied around his neck and mane, which gave the horse an amazing decked out look.

She could hear the sounds of the ocean waves ringing in

her ears as she rode.

Finally, Princess Kaiulani left for the Blackskirt's camp. She rode as fast as she possibly could. Shooter heard the sounds of her horse's sea shells banging against one another. They became louder as Kaiulani began to trot faster.

Shooter waited a second before she got on her horse and then followed Princess Kaiulani before she got a too large of a lead. Shooter stayed a ways behind so that Princess Kaiulani didn't notice she was following her.

Princess Kaiulani stayed under the trees so nobody would notice her. She then rode through a gulley. Shooter continued to ride behind her. Along the shoreline Princess Kaiulani rode against the wind. The shells on her horse

banged even louder.

Princess Kaiulani entered the cave while remaining on her horse. Shooter rode along the shore near the palm trees that led to the cave. Shooter also entered the cave, but rode slowly so she didn't run into anything. There wasn't much light inside. Only the moonlight through from the top of the mountain.

Shooter said aloud, as if speaking to her horse Gypsy, "Figures she would come here."

She continued to ride through to the other side of the cave. Shooter finally came out of the other end of the cave, barely missing the stalagmites and stalactites. After she rode a little bit further, she focused on the Fire Cross that was lit all of the way at the top. At a slower trot, she approached the Fire Cross.

It was their landmark which represented the spiritual, particularly the Hawaiian spiritual realms of the power of the earth. It represented the powers of the corners of the planet -- earth, wind, fire, and rain.

She remained on her horse while staring down at the Fire Cross Kukui nut torch. The flames spread into the air up above. With the reflection of the flame exposing her, she said, "It looks like they do some sort of sacrificing."

She glanced at the Fire Cross for a moment, then she headed towards the Blackskirts' camp. She rode through the trees and, moments later, she saw the Kukui nut torches lit outside. The natives surrounded their huts by lighting the outside areas. Ahead she began to see the configuration of

a stage of fire.

She caught a glimpse of Fire Dancers on the Fire Stage swinging their Fire Sticks. Still riding forward, she saw and heard the drummers on the sides of the stage. The beat of their ipus vibrated distilled sounds through the Hawaiian air.

The voices of the drummers pounded through the air, "Un, tae, tae."

The drummers on the sides of the Fire Stage maintained

the same rhythmic beat.

Princess Kaiulani came out of her hut dressed like

the Goddess of Fire. She wore her Hawaiian black skirt.

As she walked to the Fire Stage, she grabbed a red hot

Fire Stick. The blazing flames of her Fire Stick melted

above her head from the kerosene she had dipped it in to get a good bright light. As soon as she swung the Fire Stick through the Kukui nut torch, the Fire Stick lit up with effervescent colored flames of red and orange.

Immediately, the Goddess of Fire walked onto the Fire Stage through the opening of her proscenium arch in with the appearance of a Hawaiian warrior princess. At first, with her Fire Stick held straight up and down, she stood. She held her Fire Stick straight and giving professional dance poses.

Shooter and Gypsy moved closer to the stage of fire. At a real slow pace, she stared at every black-skirted Hawaiian down to the ground. The musicians at the sides of the Fire Stage stared her down while they pounded a hard beat on their ipus. They pounded beats of "Un, tae, tae."

As Shooter came closer to the Fire Stage, the Fire Goddess Princess Kaiulani was handed an ipu filled with kerosene. Immediately, she filled her face by simply pouring some in her mouth. While staring right into the eyes of Shooter, the Goddess of Fire blew into the Fire Stick. The fiery effect gave her the look of a fire-breathing dragon.

Shooter was moved by the contrast of her appearance.

Shooter looked her the way up and down. She saw her dirty black and oily skirt. The skirt was covered with carbon stains from the flames of her Fire Stick. She always swung the Fire Stick underneath her skirt between her spread legs.

Sometimes she swung it perfectly behind her brown shoulders.

Right away, Shooter fought hysteria over the cool bone necklace she wore around her neck. The bone necklace, which was made from havelina tusks, protected her from sword blows to the neck. If she was hit in the neck, the blow would

be forced up towards the chin and blocked by the curved havelina bones. Sometimes the bones knocked the sword completely off her neck. Shooter noticed more bones on her hip and around her rib cage. They kept the Goddess of Fire from getting nailed in the stomach or lower hip.

The Goddess of Fire then moved her Fire Stick closer to her belly button as Shooter rode closer to the Fire Stage. The light then glowed from her bone garment exposing a small round opening. Shooter zoomed in on her tightly protected stomach. Staring at the bone garment around her ribs, Shooter noticed the red glow within a hole of her garment. The reddish glass of iron pierced Shooter's eyes and she was momentarily almost in a trance. In the webbed feeling of a trap, Shooter, felt as though it was a Black Widow's web of a Heiress Goddess Black Widow type of Hawaiian Princess.

Frenzied by the way she looked on the other side of

the palm tree, Shooter looked at the Goddess of Fire from head to toe. Next to the tree Shooter gleamed beyond in the short distance was a tree stump with a shiskabob. John was completely tied up to the shiskabob. Both of his feet and hands were tied real snug. On the ground just below John were hot coals of fiery pumice burning from kerosene. It seemed to be steaming from a little bit of cool water the Medicine Woman threw on it, after a vision she saw Shooter arriving for John's refuge.

The Goddess of Fire noticed Shooter's eyes moving in John's direction. In the tense moment she realized John was being held captive. Without hesitation, the Goddess of Fire signaled the Head Hunter, who then walked over to a small campfire a short distance away from the Fire Stage. It was burning very brightly with a few swords within it. The Head Hunter picked up a red hot sword from the fiery pit. With his so-called Hawaiian Pahi-Waka-Waka, he stepped towards John at a fast pace.

While John was still miraculously hanging on the wood

shiskabob with his feet and hands tied, the brave Head Hunter approached John by sticking the fire sword into his face. The smoke carbons poured the sword's surface.

It was so hot, it caused John to hiss. "Hsss!"

John pulled his face away as far as he could without catching any flame. Then, on purpose, as the Head Hunter pushed the sword into John's face, he squirmed. Immediately, John was burned slightly just on the lower eyelid.

John continued to hiss from hanging like a pig. "Hsss!"

Shooter wondered about the strange swordsman with skeletons tied around his hip. She felt fear as she watched John nearly lose an eye. A moment later, Shooter put her shotgun up in the air and aimed it into the palm trees. She then pulled the trigger. The sound blasted into the trees. It caught everyone's all so aloof attention. All of the Blackskirts looked at Nurse Shooter knowing she was there

to rescue John. Within a quick jerk, the Head Hunter removed his fiery sword away from John's face.

The Head Hunter looked towards the Fire Goddess wondering what she wanted him to do next. Shooter stared

the Head Hunter back with awe. Then she glanced down at

the two with eager notions of action.

The Goddess of Fire continued to look at the Head Hunter. The Goddess of Fire nodded slightly and said, "Ho'opakele. Ho'oku'ula'ela'e." (Free John from the shiskabob.)

The Head Hunter took his Pahi-Waka-Waka and began cutting the ropes from his hands, which fell to the ground. He hung by his legs, which were still tied to the shiskabob on the sides of the tree stump.

Then the Head Hunter cut the ropes from his feet and John plopped to the ground. His feet smacked when he hit the ground. John could only lay there. He was exhausted and malnourished from the long hours hanging on the shiskabob. He was in so much pain that he could barely move his legs.

Shooter wanted to get out of there the best she was capable of. She really didn't want to start a raucous with the fiery Blackskirts, so she yelled to John, "John, come on. Let's go!"

John commenced to try and crawl out from underneath the shiskabob and the palm tree. He desperately tried to make it over to Shooter's horse. Gypsy stood there as he mustered the strength. He finally got up on his knees and limped most all of the way over to Gypsy. Once he was over towards Shooter's leg so to speak, then the Witchy Woman walked

over to him.

Quietly, the Witchy Woman brought Lightning over swiftly while maintaining a cool walk and grass-skirted strut. First, she took the strap and bridle with her left hand and released to John in a happy like manner. Second, she said to him with a very sweet candid voice while her pollenating lips petaled, "Hele aku." (to go, or to head out.)

John took the bridle from her and he jumped onto his horse. The Witchy Woman helped only slightly. With a very slight push she helped him up into the saddle that was fastened to Lightning's belly. He climbed up the best he could without falling back to the ground. Finally John

situated himself on Lightning with blurred eyes.

Momentarily, John looked at the Head Hunter, and then he glanced for a moment towards Princess Kaiulani's Goddess of Fire imaging aura. Almost immediately he had the feeling of hot lava over his body melting him away completely. Looking away as quickly as he could, John glanced over at the cowgirl Shooter. The eyes of lava cooled down as he turned his head over towards the magical image of the Witchy Woman.

Suddenly, John and Shooter turned in the opposite direction and headed toward the cave. They rode until they were immersed in the gloomy trees on the outskirts of the fiery Blackskirts' camp. They rode over to the Fire Cross. Both of them glared at the lit Kukui torch on top. The flames blazed into the eternal sky of dark night.

Finally, Shooter was relieved to have a chance to speak to John without anyone else around. With fast reflexes of speech, she interrogated John, "Are you all right?"

John couldn't image how she could ask him how he felt after witnessing him tied to a shiskabob. The same captive feeling as the havelina Shooter shot a couple of days

before.

John explained to Shooter the way it was to hang like pork. He said out of the thin Hawaiian air, "My hands and feet are killing me, plus I'm hungry as hell."

Shooter had a few questions she wanted to. For example, how long he had hung on their pole and who Princess Kaiulani really was after seeing the fiery underworld people. The facts annoyed the hell out of her, especially, after seeing her swing a hot stick in front of her virgin eyes. She couldn't seem to fathom why the Queen of Hawaii had never said anything about Kaiulani being one of the Blackskirts. Getting to the heart of the matter, Shooter said to John, "How long were you hanging on that pole?"

John was afraid to say anything. He thought, Maybe she'll continually query me about things I can't relatively answer within this so premature time at hand. In actuality, John was afraid of being court martialed if the others find out about where he had been hanging.

After thinking to himself, a brief answer came to mind. "Since this morning."

They approached the cave and began to ride through the

volcano. John began to converse about what happened to keep her from asking any more about she was into discovering. At the same time he recalled the both of them lurking around out there really late one night until they were spooked by the even tempo of the drum beats of the native ipus.

He considered everything the reality of Shooter and

her swift confidential honor. Going a bit further in the conversation, John said, "I followed her last night. She

was pretty pissed and mad. She had some fire sword swingers chase me out. Then I went back in the morning when you were all asleep. They blew me full of darts...then I just woke up...hanging."

After hearing John's story of one wild night on the island of O'ahu, she was assured the island people were nothing compared to the "Tribe of Fire," particularly

when their way of life and the way they practiced their worshipping "Dancing with Fire" were too far from the normal ways of life she was used to seeing.

Swinging their Fire Sticks and placing their red hot swords into a camp fire until it was smoking black carbon

from the tempered steel. Once the swords were fiery with a red glow, they cut the ropes from John, who then dropped to the ground with the eyes of freedom. And on top of that, she had watched the Head Hunter stick his fiery Pahi-Waka-Waka into John's cold face.

Shooter finally expressed something to John, looking for a reaction. She said to John, "They are weird."

She tried to be patient for a time to await his answer. They strutted along the shore so very slowly. Eventually, John was still adjusting to being bound to a pig-cooking shiskabob. Feeling his wrists, John tried a simple shake of both hands. All he could think about was how long he had hung on the pole with nothing to eat and hardly anything to drink. John could only agree with Shooter about how they were most definitely out of the ordinary, and, of course, how they were very wierd. He said, "Yeah, I know."

John figured he better say something to help her understand there was more to them and their way of life. More than anything relative to meeting the Rough Riding eyes of Shooter. Taking things much further into a confusing notion, John told Shooter with the hopes of a better

understanding of what had happened, "Well, that's them."

He hoped she would realize how they were complex and magically inclined to normal things they had seen in the world. He wondered if she had anything to say. He continued to ride patiently with his ears open, then he looked in her direction waiting for her to speak.

Shooter wanted to speak her mind about how Princess Kaiulani seemed to be one of them. Wanting to see exactly what John had to say about her, Shooter said, "And Kaiulani is one of them?"

They both continued to ride through the small waves along the shoreline. They only spoke to one another at intervals while a bright glare shone from the stars onto the waves. Right away, John said to Shooter, "Yeah, I know."

Shooter and John were still getting along after being separated for the entire day. It seemed they now had a great relationship after they had sneaked out that one night. They remained quiet about their bad experience, although this time John realized they were out of luck. He knew they had to disclose some things.

Shooter asked John, "What are we going to tell them

over at the palace?"

John knew that she would keep quiet and not tell anybody what he told her. He did not desire to tell them anything when they returned. John wanted the chance to make up something. Deep inside he felt it was really none of their business. Getting out to the point of the matter, he blurted out, "Don't tell them about Kaiulani, just say I met a skirt last night that wouldn't let me leave."

Shooter agreed with John that they should hide the truth and, of course, the whereabouts of the "Blackskirts." To them it sounded very creative considering they were not at war with anyone as of yet. Their story sounded plausible considering some of the natives wore skirts when walking down Beretenia Street.

Shooter said, "That will work."

She approved of his story as an excuse to the other riders as to why he was missing for two days. John had more to tell Shooter relating to the night before they arrived at Queen Liliuokalani's palace. The moment they walked into the living room, they would probably be questioned.

Realizing Shooter would be questioned as well, John

told Shooter the best he could, "I don't want to start a ruckus. They'll all want to go over there and kill them or something, just play it very cool."

They continued riding through the trees on their way back to the queen's palace. Lightning and Gypsy talked to each other in light horse conversation. They gasped a little bit through the trees and brush as they made with their way towards the corral. Once there, they tied Lightning and Gypsy up by their bridles and then removed their saddles.

Martin was standing there as if he had heard them arrive. He waited for them to make their way over to the walkway that led to the patio door. Once they made their way to the guest room, Martin was there.

Martin didn't waste any time questioning John about where he had been. They had worried about him when both Teddy Roosevelt and Richard Harding noticed John was missing from the group.

Martin asked John, "Where the hell were you?"

John had his chance to use his story as to where he had been the last two days. Irrelevant to the facts, John didn't say anything about where Queen Liliuokalani sent him.

Answering Martin's question, John said, "I met this Hawaiian woman last night. She took me to her grass hut earlier today."

It sounded farfetched to Martin that John was in some Hawaiian woman's grass hut for two entire days. Martin thought to himself, Yeah, right. I could see this in my mind if John could hula somewhat in a way, but I don't think so considering John doesn't seem to know how to bust a move in a grass skirt.

"What am I hearing?" Martin said to himself aloud. Martin questioned to John again, "But you were gone for at least two days after Queen Liliuokalani sent you somewhere."

John thought his story wasn't good enough for Rough Riders who had traveled the world with Teddy Roosevelt and Richard Harding Davis. Instantly, he felt he better make up a more convincing story knowing Martin would tell the other Rough Riders.

He pondered for a moment as Shooter glared at him. Finally, he said, "Well, I came back last night, but everyone was sound asleep. It was pretty late at night.

I fell asleep on the porch, then I got up and left again

very fast. A couple of Hawaiian girls were dancing that knew English. I stopped and they asked me to hula. I thought why not and went to their grass hut and kicked it."

Martin kind of believed him, considering there wasn't much to do on the island other than work on the Honolulu Naval Base and to sit around and wait for the queen to decide to go somewhere. Usually though, she only left when she was with the queen. Martin told him, "You had us all scared."

John was hungry as hell, like a starved kid in Ethiopia. He was contemplating about what there was to eat. He glanced at the bowls of fruit laid out by the queen's maid Koana.

Heading over to one, John said, "I'm hungry. I need some fruit."

John went to his room and grabbed a banana from a fruit bowl. Some of the grapes were turning brown from John's missing days of action. After grabbing some more fruit he headed back to the guest room.

Martin had been looking at his arms, especially his wrists. He noticed of red marks all over his arm. Martin also noticed John was limping a little. Martin didn't want to embarrass John, but something didn't click in Martin's brain as to whether John's story was true or false. Martin then asked John, "What are those marks on your wrists... they're all red."

Shooter helped him cover his story the best she was able without giving in to the truth. Shooter wanted to avoid relinquishing the truth as to their lives with the ancient ways. The way they all swung their Fire Sticks and dance fiery hulas under the moonlight. Having a notion to protect John and his far-fetched story, she proclaimed to Martin, "He said they were swinging each other when they were dancing."

Almost immediately, John got into her new version of the story. It was his chance to throw him and his nosy questions off as much as he possibly could by adding to his explanation. After only a moment of pondering, John shrilled in a positive voice, "Yeah, they showed me the Hawaiian swing dance, a dance where you grab your wrists and swing your partners round and round."

John hoped Martin would fall for the story. Martin had

no idea John had virtually been hanging from a shiskabob.

Martin only thought about how weird the place was getting. John sneaking off at night and refusing to inform them where he was going as if it was a joke or something. Also with the considerations of how Teddy Roosevelt kept track of all of his Riders. He kept track of them whether they were out to survive or when they were on a death mission. If Teddy Roosevelt failed, his recognition for running for any political position would be forfeited, for the fact that anything that Richard Harding witnessed got back to President McKinley. It was the reason President McKinley appointed him to be Teddy Roosevelt's right hand literature man and, of course, war correspondent.

Martin explained how he felt about the mission. "Man, this mission is getting to me. Sharp and Beretta went on a ride to get out of here for awhile, it looks like they are probably doing the same thing."

He spoke as though admitting how it was all driving him nuts. A license to kill and all he could do was sit around and listen to the queen talking about spiritual facts, or about how Princess Kaiulani went to England for her studies.

Martin hated to think that Sharp and Beretta went off doing the same thing -- prowling around and ending up on a shiskabobs used for havelinas.

Shooter though had trouble imagining them as so naïve. She said, "They are just probably riding around."

Martin couldn't imagine that Leonardo and Beretta actually passed up hot-looking women in their grass skirts. Sexy black dirty long grass stringed skirts charcoaled from their fire dancing magic of times, especially with Shooter being one of the only women allowed in the Cavalry due to being a medical practitioner.

Martin went further. "I bet they are out with some skirts sitting over at their huts...just like you were."

Shooter was on verge of saying how all of the Riders were acting foolishly. Some had taken risks with their lives. The only thing they should really worry about was watching Queen Liliuokalani's family, meaning the protection of Princess Kaiulani and her friends, her maid Koana and their older Queen Kapiolani. As long as fleet commanders like Commodore Dewey continued to perform their jobs responsibly -- taking control of the Pacific ocean and all of the islands as far south and west as the Philippine Islands.

Realizing it was worthwhile to uphold the senate's approval for the Annexation sanctions, Shooter expressed to Martin, "You know, who really cares...just think of it like a vacation in paradise."

John could not have cared less about their quarrels and, of course, the boredom they had being in a pretty paradise. John brooded over how the Rough Riders all acted so lame thinking only about shooting and killing, especially when the mission involved guarding Queen Liliuokalani and Princess Kaiulani from a devilish clutch of the Spanish government.

With the night out, so to speak, in the strange lands a ways from the States, John tipped his hat to the others with the desire of a good night's sleep after the last couple of days in the clutches of the shiskabob ropes over a very hot fire.

The Blackskirts made him feel as he was Kalua Porks, even more potent into the feelings of a Lomilomi Salmon.

Tired from the thought of the festivities, he

enunciated to them, "Well, I'm going to bed, see the both

of you later."

Shooter decided to turn in soon also being completely exhausted, Shooter whispered to John, "Goodnight."

Answering back, Martin said, "Yeah, goodnight."

John then walked down the hallway over to the area where the rooms were. He continued eat the banana and finally made his way to the guest room. Shooter then went

to the couch and sat down next to Martin.

CHAPTER 10

Obsessed With The Princess

The next day in the early morning, John was up before the other Rough Riders. First off he grabbed some grapes, along with a banana and some nectarines. He put them in his pocket until it was full. John then washed his face in a bowl of clean water Koana had left the night before. He dried his face on a blue towel on the table.

He headed out of the room and went down the hallway. Outside were the early views of chirping birds as he strode to the wood corral where Lightning patiently waited for him.

John went over to his horse. "Good morning, Lightning."

He began to check over his friend. After making his way

up to Lightning's stirrups and onto his saddle, John went back to the Blackskirt Fire Dancing tribe's territory.

Starting off in a leap, John yelled, "Yah, yah, yah."

He continued to ride fast, racing the hours of webbed Kaiulani and her open eyes. The hour of ten nearly had struck as he thought of beating the princess.

He made his way to the fiery depths of the splintered Fire Cross on his way to their grass huts. As he approached, the Blackskirts all stopped and looked at him. Some were outside making new grass skirts with some tight weaving along the waist band. Others were sucking the insides out

of ipus.

As he rode up to the grass huts, the Witchy Woman came out of her hut strutting her black dirty skirt all around her sides. John sat on Lightning as they both seemed to watch her shake it.

As she walked up, she threw a powder on John that she earlier had made from herbs to give him a hand against Princess Kaiulani and her rage with him. Once she threw

the powder on to John, Princess Kaiulani would be more susceptible to his needs. The witch said to John as she

threw the powder, "Ho'oponoopono." (I am mentally cleansing.)

The Witchy Woman continued to watch John. He turned his horse around and rode a few feet next to a palm tree. He dismounted and tied Lightning's bridle to the palm, then walked to her grass hut and stood behind her. He glanced around at the natives who were still making skirts of grass. The Witchy Woman had made the herbs only minutes before John arrived. She made the herb for the reason of the Medicine Woman after having a vision of John returning to their camp. She also foresaw something else.

With her vision in mind, the Medicine Woman and the Witchy Woman put a spell together to guard John from the princess and the Hoodoo craft magic of her fire dancing. With the spell prepared, the Witchy Woman came out of her hut and walked up to John.

She carried a Lei Kui, better known as a Lei made from strings. The Witchy Woman put the Lei Kui around his neck and then took a step back, looking at it with a bright smile. Her teeth shone like the sand of Waikiki Beach.

Then the Medicine Woman walked up with a bowl of

flowers and stopped right behind him. She commenced to throw the plumeria's flowers down in front of him. John remembered when the Medicine Woman had done the same to Princess Kaiulani. It gave him a blessed feeling.

The Medicine Woman continued until all the plumeria flowers were used up, and then she said, "Ho'o mai ka'i 'oe." (This will bless you.)

He wondered what they were saying to each other, yet he maintained a very poised look about his face as he kept his guard up. John watched carefully the way they stood before him. They knew that John didn't understand them.

The intrigued Hawaiian bellies stood there looking at his uniform -- brown pants with the blue long sleeve shirt. His sleeves were rolled up to his elbows. He also had a red tie around his neck. They laughed at his suspenders that wrapped all of the way around his shoulders.

They both pointed at it, smiling and giggling. "Ha, ha, ha, ha."

Quickly, he became sick of it, so he grabbed one of their Fire Sticks that were hanging along side of a Kukui torch next to the Witchy Woman's grass hut. After he grabbed it with a good grip, he stuck it close to his face without catching his hair on fire.

Surprised, the Witchy Woman put both of her hands in front of John's face as fast as she could. Before John could pull the Fire Stick away, the Skirt of Craft flicked her fingers towards the flames beside his face. Sparks flew from the Fire Stick onto his cheeks.

John totally freaked out both of them by jumping back at least a foot to get clear of her hands. He said in a loud shrilling voice, "Whoa! Watch it!"

As he jumped back, the Witchy Woman wanted the Fire Stick out of his hands. Before John regained his balance, the Witchy Woman stuck her hands at him again as fast as she could. She grabbed the Fire Stick as if taking a toy from a little child.

The Witchy Woman got a hold of it and jerked it out of his hands. John, in a state of awe, freaked out completely with a glance of her "Fiery Eyes."

While John was still in a slight state of hypnosis, the Witchy Woman stuck the Fire Stick towards his face almost catching his hair on fire.

Believing his hair was on fire, in a great leap, John jumped back once again and yelled out, "What the Hell!"

The Witchy Woman took the Fire Stick and spun around in a circle a couple of times. Then she quickly swung it into the air in the direction of the Medicine Lady of Lei. The Witchy Woman caught and pulled the Fire Stick to herself very tight like.

The Medicine Woman said to the Witchy Woman, "Pe'ahi mai." (Brush me with the flame.)

The Witchy Woman really whimmed one past John, which seemed to make him paranoid. In a way he sort of would like to leave there and go all of the way back out to the Queen's Place. Although, on the same side, he had to stay there to see the dark side to their Hawaiian way of Fire Sticking Hula magic.

Something caught his eyes the moment he laid his eyes on her from the ship. As he continued to watch her so surprisingly, the Witchy Woman took the Fire Stick away towards her back. Then, she stuck the lit staff over at

the Medicine Woman brushing the flame over by her chest.

Also, then down by her legs so fast like that it

doesn't even burn your skin. Then, the Witchy Woman and the Lady of Medicine set out to Fire Dance, as the Medicine woman grabs a Fire Stick herself.

They both commenced to swing it right back in towards each other. They both continued to swing it right at each other. John only stands there with his legs still now in

a moments glare. With a confused look in his eyes, he is gazed at them Fire Stick sparring each other. Then, they are Fire Stick slapping each other. This was an ancient practice where the Blackskirts stick fought while the ends of the stick were lit with kerosene over cloth bound tightly at the ends.

If one hit their opponent, they could be burned, unless the stick bounced off quickly. Sometimes the red hot embers got on their skin as well. As John watched them fight with Fire Sticks against each other, he declared, "You two are nuts."

He brooded about how weird they were fighting each other in such a way. At home he'd seen women fight, but this appeared ridiculous and preposterous to him. He continued staring at them and wondered if they would hit one another.

Next they both started to run around the place. The Witchy Woman set out after the Medicine Lady, chasing her around the grass hut. John sat motionless as he stared in disbelieving curiosity. The two of them began to stick fight away from John, as if by chance they were getting carried away, nearly forgetting his existence.

After they were both out of sight, John tried to focus on the natives who were chanting at them during two their Fire Stick sparring. He walked over to them. The natives were chanting, "Ka hea, ka hea, ka hea, ka hea," while slapping the ipus to an "Un, un, tae" rhythm. John sat there and watched them chant and beat the ipus in the same beat continually, sometimes with another slap of un or tae.

Another Tahitian Ori Blackskirt came over by him, epspecially after the Witchy Woman finished the spells she prepared for John against the Goddess of Fire and her rage for him and also after the vision the Medicine Woman foresaw earlier in the morning.

The Tahitian Ori Blackskirt leaned on him as they watched the natives chant while pounding their ipus. They pounded their ipus for all they could muster.

The Tahitian Ori Blackskirt's name was Hili Pili Lei. Her so-called name was derived from the way she messed up when fire walking and fire dancing. She sometimes hit her ankles and thighs with the kerosene-soaked cloth. At times she even hit her face, which caused a little scabbing.

When ever it happened to a Fire Dancer's legs, it created a wound that scabbed and then peeled off their already scabbed legs. The simple notion of continuing their fire dancing in front of people from other islands, such as Haiti and Somoa, it sometimes was slightly embarrassing to the dancer.

John glanced down and noticed the scabs on her legs.

He didn't know her language, so he only smiled to her eyes after he looked back to them. They both watched the other natives chant and beat their ipu rhythm.

At the queen's palace two Rough Riders stood at the back of the palace shooting pineapples from the top of a tree trunk that was sticking from the ground on the other side of a pond. Martin had his six-shooter fully loaded

with iron shells. Martin aimed and shot at the pineapples,

nailing one right smack in the middle. The bullet flew through the air as he watched. The bullet flew at over

two thousand miles per hour dislodging and splattering

the pineapple all over the tree trunk. The sound of the gunshot ricocheted against the other trees in the distance.

Martin commented, "And you know what? I don't even

care if the queen or the other Hawaiians care if my pistol

is too loud because I need to practice all the way in case something does happen. That way, I'll be ready for it."

He then looked over towards Colonel Wood with one of his ridiculing smiles. Wood aimed forward while looking through the sites of his Smith & Wesson .357 caliber handgun. While aiming, he said to Martin, "I could care

less if they don't want us shooting up their pineapples either. I think they are a dime a dozen anyway."

Martin stared at him as he continued aiming at the remaining pineapples on the tree trunk. "I have to agree."

Martin set his sights on the tree trunk and then focused on the pineapples before Beretta pulled the trigger.

Colonel Wood took his shot, splattering the pineapple into the air. The sound of the bullet through the trees and the walls behind the great palace of Washington Terrace reverberated in their ears.

Meanwhile, Shooter saw Beretta speaking in the room. Princess Kaiulani overheard the whole conversation as she stood motionless in her yellow grass skirt hidden behind the beads that blocked the hallway -- the same beads when the Rough Riders first met the Princess of Hawaii. It looked like Shooter and Beretta had just got out of bed. They sat on the couch without noticing Princess Kaiulani eavesdropping on everything the two said.

Princess Kaiulani listened to everything they said. She got into the last few things they exclaimed to one another, because it was about John.

Martin said, "I wonder where Queen Liliuokalani sent John that evening just a couple of nights ago? Also why has no one seen him?"

Shooter answered one of his questions. "I found him last night and we both came back together. Martin was up when we came back."

Beretta pondered what Shooter had spoken about to him, and at the same exact time, the Goddess of Fire, or the Princess of Hawaii, was still behind the string of beads in the hallway.

Shooter telling Beretta about where John was at when she found them the other night. He asked her, "Where did he say he went for so long?"

"He said about how he went on a ride and met a Hawaiians skirt that took him dancing and then into her hut. He said there were two of them."

Princess Kaiulani realized that John was missing once again from the queen's palace. She thought he had returned to the Blackskirts' camp while she was asleep in Washington Palace.

Shooter said, "I know it seems as though he doesn't want to be around here."

Beretta contemplated for a moment what he should add

to the conversation. He thought, John really does have that right idea going out and hitting on Hawaiian women whose best attire is a grass skirt. Beretta said, "Maybe he has the right idea...there is more going on out there than in this great palace."

Princess Kaiulani was now brooding for a moment

wondering what to do. She sneaked away and backtracked

over to her horse Shells, who was waiting patiently in

the corral. She jumped on Shells as quick as a flash, and stormed out to the Blackskirts camp like a bat out of hell.

As she rode, she uttered, "I'm going to kick his ass

if he went over there!"

CHAPTER 11

A Hawaiian Fire Dancing Lesson

Princess Kaiulani rode like a steaming locomotive firing the coal into white smoke. She flew through the trees with a seriously angry look on her face, like she might try to kill him if he went there again. Especially, when she wasn't present with him.

Riding continuously, Princess Kaiulani passed around

the Fire Cross. Her and Shells descend into the trees in

the underpass on the way to the Blackskirt camp. Finally

she dismounted. She only tied him slightly so he

was free to respond to her whistling and beckoning calls.

John was sitting with Hili Pili Lei. Then he saw

Princess Kaiulani ride up and get off of her horse. John got up and walked towards the princess as she walked quickly to her hut.

The natives begin chanting in a louder tone and to slap their ipu hekes harder and a little bit faster. The moment Princess Kaiulani got to her grass hut she grabbed her Fire Stick and swung it around with the cloth part of it flinging into the Kukui Nut torch. She swung it up high with the flame as she swung both ends through to light them to show off to John with her fiery gaze from her Fire Stick.

In sort of a daze, Princess Kaiulani felt even more compassionate towards John, due especially to the effects of the spell. After lighting her Fire Stick, she ran out into the jungle between the palm trees as John questioned her, "What's the matter?"

Princess Kaiulani said, "You trespassed on this side of the volcano."

Immediately, the Woman of Lei threw a Fire Stick to John. "Eialoe hopu keia." (Here, grab this.)

The Fire Stick flew a couple of feet into John's hands as he caught it. The Woman of Lei had on a black skirt and a corral was necklace wrapped around her neck with a plumeria Lei Kui and a sea shell or Lei Kai. As the Goddess of Fire ran further into the jungle with her Fire Stick blazing eternally, John ran after her holding onto his Fire Stick. He wondered, How can I hold onto it without burning myself?

He continued to run after her while burning himself.

He hit himself inside the legs on his pants. Next, he hit himself on the arm, then on his cheek a time or two as well. Finally, he tried to hold the Fire Stick with a better grip. He continued to run after her the best he could without burning himself further.

Trying to catch up to the presumed Fiery Goddess of Hawaii, he yelled out loud, "Hey, wait up!"

He ran after Princess Kaiulani as fast as a cowboy at a rodeo with only a Fire Stick. At some point he looked like a cowboy running after a calf with a branding iron. He merely continued to run after her with the flame held forward. Suddenly, he stopped.

The Goddess of Flowers stood right before a freshly bloomed maunaloa flower. The white petals were spread within their bloom. John came within ten feet and stopped to watch

a spectacular display of fire swinging.

She started swinging the Fire Stick around her arm and wrist, and then her legs. She glanced at John looking at the stupid way he held the Fire Stick.

Almost burning himself under the arm with the flames that were crawling up the stick up to his bare right hand. John nodded as he saw the way the Goddess of Fire held onto her Fire Stick. She held her Fire Stick at an angle so the flames went up the sides of her arms and hands. The fire flamed upward but missed her arms completely as it flowed vibrantly overhead.

A Fire Stick dancer should always keep the flame all of the way over the skin. By brushing the flame over the skin lightly, burns can be avoided. If anything burns it's only the hair on the arms and the legs. Scabs will occur and leave scarring whether they become professional or remain a novice. Regardless of how professional they were with stick dancing, embers always flew from the fire staff.

After showing him some of her Fire Sticking tricks, the Princess of the Island stuck the red hot flame into the stem of the maunaloa flower. She persistently flamed the maunaloa flower with the hot Fire Stick. The maunaloa flower began to wilt a little, then she plucked the flower from the stem. Fire Goddess Princess Kaiulani then put the wilted maunaloa honey-lit petals into her hair above her right ear. John stared at the Fire Goddess of Lava within her poise of laughter.

The Goddess of Fire Sticking said to John, "My, my, your face is as red as this flower."

The moment John heard this, he looked at the way she presented herself as a pagan dance image of Fiery Lava. She effervescently seemed so foolish. The way she played with the flames as though it was fun to swing them all over her arms, legs and up around over the shoulders.

Suddenly, she stopped paying attention to John. She began to swing her Fire Stick over her head once again as she ran back into the jungle.

With a quick leap forward, John ran after her while trying to hold onto the Fire Stick without burning himself. The Goddess of the Fire Stick darted between a couple palm trees coming out of the ground next to each other. One palm tree hung over the ground curving up towards the sky. At first, she went between the two palm trees and then the Goddess of Fire started to climb the palm tree parallel to the ground below. Then she initiated the moment by slowly spinning her Fire Stick in front of her. She remained sitting in the palm tree and looked out to John.

First off, she reached out towards a coconut tree a few feet distant. She grabbed a coconut as quick as she could without losing a grip on it. Then she aimed over towards John with the coconut. She threw the coconut at John, but he jumped to the side. The Goddess of Fire continued spinning her red hot Fire Stick. As she went under the palm tree with it between her legs, she declared elusively, "So, I hear you like to throw things at people."

John sat there a moment watching her spin the Fire Stick around. The flames rolled up around her ankles and her legs. She then spun the Fire Stick again around her knees out to the side of John. He stood there in dreary confusion wondering what the hell she was twaddling about. Quickly, John rummaged the last few days through his head.

Ready to question the Goddess of Fire with a final query, John gave a Bonanza hat nod and said, "What gives

you that idea?"

Right away, she believed the effects of the sleeping darts had affected his memory when he first confronted the crows of lava. She realized he probably forgot about the little Vamp Hoa Pili, so she tried to recall the incident for him. "You threw bullets at me, Hoa Pili."

Princess Kaiulani grabbed another coconut and spun it between her fingers and the blazing Fire Stick. She quickly took another shot at the blue-shirted Rough Rider character. As fast as he could, John dodged to the side. After the Hawaiian Goddess' throw, John looked back at the fiery image of witchery.

Leading him into a secluded web within her realm, the Goddess of Surprises leaned over and then jumped down from her special tree of paradise and began to run. She swiftly interrogated him, "So why did you come back?"

She ran a short ways and then sprang up into some vines. The whole entire way she spun her hot fiery Fire Stick around her body shining into the very green Hawaiian foliage. Maunaloa flowers were blooming and scenting the Hawaiian breeze.

The refreshed air caused John to implore, "Because you are so weird, especially seeing you in different colored skirts everyday."

The Fire Scorch Lady held the flame torch in one hand, and with the other she stretched her index finger out. John watched closely as he envisioned a bumble bee hover near the tip of her index finger and then land. He continued to stare at the buzzing bee. As he maintained a fixed stare, the bumble bee scurried off into the never-ending jungle. It continued to buzz along catching John's eyes in the green forest foliage. As the bee flew away to the swaying trees, the Goddess shook her hips back and forth. "Bzzz! Bzzz!"

Then she licked her lips as her eyes both rolled back behind her eyelids. When she rolled her lips with her tongue, she looked like a fire cat.

To John, she looked like a dancing bee shaking her hips out to the left and the right side.

Finally, she commented about her skirt's belly lipping to John, "One of these skirts is black because it gets dirty. Also, it gets badly burned from fire dancing."

She told him about her wardrobe, how one was for fire

dancing and the other one kept clean to be worn at the palace in Washington Place. She smiled directly at John as she took the flaming stick behind her back and between her legs. The flames flew up her stomach through the strands of grass. They all seemed to ride her belly to her face. She again stuck her tongue out towards the flame as it whipped up to her lips of fire.

Then she brought the Flaming Staff of Fire to her chest. John still looked at her as though she had magnetic power overwhelming his free will. As he stood, he tried to swing the fire staff himself as though he was experienced. He failed.

Watching with the eyes of laughing flames, he blurted, "You're nuts."

The Goddess of Fire had something to say to John and she wanted to see his reaction. She freaked him out when

she said, "You're the only one with any nuts to roast."

Right away, John got the idea what she had implied

within her uncanny comment. He thought about placing the Fire Stick under his belly and between his legs. Brushing into the next line of speech, John said, "I think I'll wait

on roasting my nuts."

She looked at John as though contemplating sticking her Fire Stick underneath his crotch. She realized he would freak out if she took the chance. She took off running once again into foliage and green palm trees.

She approached a slight gulley as John caught up with her. She grabbed onto some vines to swing over to the other side of the gulley. Miraculously, she maintained a steady grip onto her Fire Stick without roasting her long strands of hair that reflected in the gleaming fire.

She thought about how it would be to be his Kuma Hula. A Kuma teaching him the ways of Lei ranging from just about everything from dance to hunting sharks. The Goddess of Dance queried, "So do you know how to dance?"

She then made her way over to the other side. Lady

of Hawaii then nearly burned the vine with her stick of fire. Quickly, she let go and the vine flew to John. He

took a tight grip while holding onto his stick of flame.

He thought about their fire dancing magic as he jargoned, "I think your fire dancing looks cool and all,

but I don't think I would really want to do it."

He initiated the moment by trying to make his way over to the other side. He cruised across to the other side of the gulley. John landed beside to the Jungle Goddess of O'ahu, who calmly ran away from the clutches of the slighty geeky blue-shirted Rough Rider. She ran in front of him a ways, blowing him in the dust.

John continued to run after her as fast as he could to catch up to her and her weird ways. He tried to maintain a tight grip on his fire staff.

As the Dancing Magic Goddess demonstrated some brush techniques of the flame, she elaborated, "All you do with the torch is just brush it over the skin really quick."

She rolled the Fire Stick over her arms slightly, burning only a few hairs off. The Dance Master wanted to become his Kuma Hula badly. She wanted to see if he was capable of becoming a white Man of Lei. If so, she felt it would create a bond between the Rough Riders and most of

the Blackskirts.

John furthered the conversation, "So all I have to do is brush it underneath?"

Almost immediately, the Polynesian Dance Kuma answered

back, "Yes. Lightly."

Infallibly, the Polynesian dance princess slowed down a little and John caught up to her. As quick as a fire spark, he placed the Fire Stick under the rear part of her black dirty skirt. The moment the fiery flame reached her oily wardrobe, the Hip Shaking Woman from the Island of Lei began a belly dance. She continued shaking from one side to the other side.

Paranoid that her yellow grass skirt would catch fire, he pulled back as she turned around quickly towards him with one hard swing of her Fire Stick. In a fast motion, the Fire Stick hit his staff, knocking it away from her. John asked what the problem was with her paranoid frenzy, "I thought that's what you like."

She realized how anxious he was with the strange eccentric ways of the island. Placing the stick under her bosom with a rolling flame up to her spine on her lower back, she remarked, "Not so fast, you don't know how to

use that at all."

John simply understood he was only barely learning a way with the Fire Stick so far. Going further with the Fire Goddess, John added, "I guess I just know how to roast things too much."

Princess Kaiulani stood close to John, who tried desperately to copy her pose. He continued to try with no real luck. The Princess of the Island looked at him with the desires of becoming more than a dance instructor. She stared at the way he held the staff, trying hard to refrain from burning himself on the leg and ankle.

Princess Kaiulani was anxious to bring things far closer to the reality of Fire Magic. Introducing John to her ways of the underworld, she commanded, "Now, bring your flame towards me...like you want to burn."

John put his flame towards his face. Princess Kaiulani saw the flame coming towards her face and she backed away as she blocked it with her Fire Stick. After the flame hovered past her face, she expressed, "See how I dodge them. I can also block it with this Fire Stick."

She blocked the flame from his Fire Stick with her fire staff and then she continued to stand there and watch. She watched for his reaction to the stuff he had just witnessed with his virgin eyes. Now she thought about being his Kuma Hula with strong intentions. John continued to stand very still as the princess leaned back as though doing a Hula move to peak John's interest with the powers of dance. To her, he had the overwhelming pull of her fire drawing him

in to her ways. The ways she had learned.

He added to the lesson by driveling, "Yeah, that looks cool."

She took her free hand and flashed her fingers in front of John's face as though playing with his inquisitiveness. She then stuck her entire hand in the flame and held it there until it began to burn. And she brushed the flame around John with the intended purpose of getting him accustomed to magic. She ceaselessly play with him and the flames as a feeling of continual coolness swept over her mind about him in a skirt.

Thinking about John being dressed for dance, she said, "Are you catching on to it, and how to brush it over our body?"

John cogitated to whether he was actually catching

on. He effectuated himself with how she was a complete professional in the art of fire magic. Agreeing, he said,

"I guess."

She started to run toward the Blackskirt's camp and John tried to keep up. It was difficult for John even though she was barefoot. Her heels were callused from walking on strips of fire at night with the Hawaiian fire walkers.

Nevertheless, John was running in his cowboy boots which made it hard to keep up with her. The fact was that

he couldn't run very fast, especially when he had to look

to the ground at his boot strap with .45 shells, all ready for fast reloading.

Princess Kaiulani headed for the Fire Stage and said

to John at the same time, "Come on. I want to show you something."

The Goddess of Flame instantly leapt onto the stage. John stopped right before the stage because of a phobia he had about the Fire Stage since he had been chased out by the fire sword swingers. Then the Goddess of Fire had to cool down as she eyed a gust of wind which flowed towards John. She squatted down low with all of her might onto her legs. Her knees were bent up toward the sky.

She put her hands into the wind imitating the looks

of the breezy beaches of Hawaii. Following that wind out through the trees as it blew over to John's head, she acted as though she was totally psychosomatic to the wind. A fact being she had a psychosomatic tendency. She turned her legs into the direction of the wind.

John saw how her hands followed the wind to him. As

she continued to turn around in a base position, she turned her eyes all to the back of her eyelids. They rolled over towards the whites of her eyeballs. After she turned her rolled eyes back behind her eyeballs, she aimed in John's direction with her spread fingers pointed at him. At that moment the wind blew into his hair while his shirt got little movement from out of it as well.

Of course, John wanted to leave at once realizing how dangerous and risky staying with her seemed at the time. He stayed though to see the darkest side with the realm of her spiritual pagan practices. He was very interested in her Tahitian Hawaiian dancing.

The Goddess of Fire said after she opened her eyes all of the way and looked right into his, "I know you read the cross yesterday and didn't know what it meant or stood for, it stands for...Earth, Fire, Wind and Rain, and I just gave you a crash course. One in Fire and Wind."

John knew something was fishy about the cross by the way it was all lit up at night and the way they swung their ancient Fire Sticks about their camouflaged bodies.

John asked her, "Is that all?"

Princess Kaiulani stopped and thought about it for a moment. Then she addressed Rick's death, "It will Rain later. And your friend Rick was hit by the Earth or Lava." The Goddess of Wind then walked over to her grass hut.

John thought, I really didn't know Rick, however, I'm curious as to what Princess Kaiulani meant about Rick getting hit by the Earth or Lava. John asked the Goddess

of Wind, "What's that supposed to mean?"

Hearing his query, the Goddess turned around and faced him. She wondered, How can I say this to him without getting him upset at all? She really wanted to scare himself off thinking of how she might be out to get him in the end and a reason that would drive a white man far from the Blackskirt camp.

Furthering the conversation, the Hawaiian Goddess said

in a theoretical way, "He died yesterday when Roosevelt tried to trespass. He fell in the lava when a bat jumped on him."

The only thing John could answer was with the same derived question, especially considering how it was definitely out of sync with nature and an attempt to brush the conversation off completely.

He queried her again, "What's that supposed to mean?"

The Goddess advanced her jargon and informed John, "That means that you should obey the Earth, and Gods as well. Otherwise, you end up like Rick, dead."

As she spoke, her mind was filled with thoughts of the beautiful Island Pantomimes and all of her heritage had derived from there. A patrimony was now being felt by John. It had been felt through the time since the first King Kamehameha began to research into the techniques what they call, "The Highest Form of Pantomime."

Then at the grass hut she took a drink from her ipu. As quick as a Belly Shaker, she headed over to the Stage of Hellish Flame. Ultimately she retired the fire swings for the most embarrassing time in John's life -- the exact time for his lesson in the Hula basics, a group of many steps. The basics were foundation steps most commonly used as the primary Foot Work. Once John learned the steps in the Hawaiian Hula basics, the Goddess of Dancing Foot Work would teach him some Hand Work, some with certain Hulas in the beginning, and eventually some with the flaming fire staff.

Easing her way into the Hula basics, the Goddess of Dancing declared, "You're just lucky that the two of both kept quiet all the way and didn't say anything."

John was sure she had only said that for a chance to get more acquainted. She was trying to make him feel more comfortable for wanting to come out there, along with the combined efforts to give him a chance to learn the essential steps for the Hula basics with the chance to move him in the direction of learning the advanced stages of the hot Fire Stick. With this in mind, John replied, "I won't say anything as long as I get better room service."

Without a doubt, Princess Kaiulani took his speech as a little rash. She realized he was trying to be humorous. She also believed that he didn't foresee an embarrassing moment in Hawaiian dancing. Finally, she was ready for the intense training. She blurted, "Watch it! I'm not the maid. Anyway, I want to show you the Hula basics. I have no one else to teach it to, so you're stuck learning."

While she spoke to John, she stood on the Fire Stage as the Kukui Nut torches were immersed in smoke. John checked the Fire Stage out as strangest feelings overcame his brain. He looked around at the way the Fire Stage was made. He noticed how the fiery Kukui Nut torches protruded through the holes in the stage. He made his way into the black airy smoke that floated into the trees above. Right away he asked, "What now?"

With a fiery glow from the pupils of her eye, she gave John a furious look. Quickly she looked off-stage for the others. Immediately the Lady of Hawaii called to the other Hawaiian Hoas of her tribe, "Ho'omakaukau."

She called to the woman making things. Then from nowhere, everyone ran up to the Fire Stage -- the Medicine Woman, Witchy Woman, followed by the Woman of Lei, Hili Pili and the Vamp Girl close behind. They stood next to John with straight posture forming a dance line in front of him.

Once again, Princess Kaiulani got everyone ready to

start the Hula basics. Some of the natives started the rhythmic drum beat of "Un, Tae, Un, Tae."

Then the yellow-skirted princess said in a loud shrilling voice, "Kaholo right."

Right away, the Goddess of Dancing stepped in with

one firm right step followed by the others. Next everyone smoothly followed with their left foot over right by their right foot. Then they repeated the move with the right foot being moved right and bringing their left foot over to their right foot. They finally moved back out the other way, completing the first dance step. They then started another step with their left foot, moving left and bringing their right foot towards the one on the left. They moved one more time left with the left foot while bringing their right foot next to it for a smooth step.

Every time they connected their feet to form a step

to complete they did a little foot tap. And before they connected their feet, they lowered their hip a few inches out to the side and then brought it back up.

Completed while bringing the left hip upward, the Goddess of Grass came up quickly with her hip and nailed John on the side of the hip. John stumbled into the air between the two smoking Kukui nut torches.

As she bumped John out of the way, she called out the next move, "Kaholo Right."

They completed another Kaholo Right by once again stepping right with the right foot. Behind the right foot, the left foot followed. As the Goddess of Two Stepping finished the Kaholo Right by coming left for another two steps, John got on his feet and back onto the Fire Stage.

Once again, John's hip was slammed by the High Princess. Without fair warning, he sailed off the Fire

Stage for another embarrassing moment. As the Goddess of Hawaiians finished the Kaholo Right by bumping John out of the way of her fast two-step, she called out the next step, "Kaholo Forward."

Everyone moved in a diagonal direction with their right foot. Then the left foot was moved by their right foot and followed with a foot tap. Next, they moved their right foot in a diagonal right again, followed by their left foot and

a repeated foot tap. They then moved their left foot in the opposite side in another diagonal motion. Finally they moved their left foot over to their right foot. They finished the step with a tap before back stepping in the Kaholo Forward.

Just before stepping back, the flame dancer commanded, "Kaholo Back."

The dance move started by taking their right foot back behind them diagonally to the right with the left foot set. They smoothly took the right up again for another right step, followed by the left foot. The left foot slow tapped before heading toward the left side, followed by a right set. Then the left one went back into the dance line and followed by another right foot tap. The Goddess faded back finishing a complete Kaholo Forward.

She called the next dance move. "Kaholo Forward."

They repeated the steps of the previous Kaholo Forward.

John had some catching up to do, especially considering how lost he was with the fast basics. He tried to copycat them, although, now he had Hili Pili and the Vampire Girl on his other side.

Each time the Goddess of Fire called a Dancing Kaholo Right, they moved right. Hili Pili took one step to her right side with her hip moving over to John's, hitting him and knocking him off balance. Then when they came back on the Kaholo Right, the Vahine Vamp Girl did the same thing as they stepped to the left. Then she returned to finish one complete Kaholo Right. She took her left foot to step out

to her left side with her hip swinging down. Then when she brought her right foot over to her left foot, she swayed left with her hip. She then swayed her hip right into his hip, knocking him off balance again and almost causing him to bump into Hili Pili. The Vahine Vampire girl giggled at him as he tried to remain serious.

The Goddess of Fire called out the next dance move in

a commanding voice, "Kaholo Right."

As soon as they began to move to the right, the Goddess of Fire said to John in front of everyone, "Watch those hips, John." Then she called out, "Kaholo Forward."

She spoke about the same time they took a step with their right foot and tapped with their left foot. As they tapped their left foot, they transitioned their right foot back to the pivot as it is swung back to the left side as they moved their foot back to that right side while turning. Then they brought the left foot higher than the ankle and they all turned towards the left with a left foot down to the stage. Then they tapped the foot over on the right. As it came to the left foot, she was ready for the next dance move.

During the Kaholo In dance step, the Goddess of Fire said to John in front of everyone again, "Now watch that pivot, John."

She then called out the next dance move as fast as she could, "Kaholo Right again."

On the last part of the Kaholo Right, when they came into the step on the left, she called out the next Hula basic dancing move immediately, "Ka-o, Hip Sway."

As everyone did the Ka-o Hip Sway, the Goddess of Hula Basics said to John in a joking way, "Come on, John, sway that hip." Then she called the same dance move again, "Ka-o, Hip Sway." Immediately she then shrilled in a warm voice, "Hana Pili." (Work together.)

She called out the next dance move up along with the ending of the Ka-o Hip Sway, which to put their weight on the right foot and lift the hip on the left side, then sway the hip up to the right side and put weight on the left

foot.

"Kaholo Right again."

Then they all moved to the right two steps and, then when they took two steps to the left side, the Goddess of Fire called out the next dance move, "Hela."

The dance move began as they pointed their right foot out a ways to their right side with their hip to the far left side. Then they repeated the same movements on the left side. After doing the Hela dance move, the Lady of Hawaiian Dance called out the next dance move one more time, "Hela."

She had to call it quickly because Hela was a fast tempo dance move to the beat of the ipu. Then as they all moved into another Hela dance move, the Goddess lipped as she noticed a few with their knees held in a straight position, "Bend those knees."

John was beginning to get the hang of it slightly. It was noticeable to the others with the way that he wasn't fumbling as much. Also, the Vamp Girl and Hili Pili weren't slamming into him any more. It seemed as though John had caught on a little bit to the rhythm of things.

While doing the Hela dance move, the Master of Hawaiian

Dancing glanced at John and noticed his knees weren't bent enough. Making John feel like the beginner he really was, the Hawaiian Dancer said, "Practice that Ai ha'a."

Then as quickly as she could call out the last move of the Hula basics, she yelled loudly, "Kaholo Right."

Once she noticed that John was becoming accustomed to the dancing spectacle on the Fire Stage, she belted out the last few finishing steps, "See, John, it gets easier."

As she hipped her comment out to John, they all propelled to the left finishing the Kaholo Right move. The Goddess of Fire finished the final touch to the Hula basics by two-stepping her lips to the wind, "Lawa." (Prepare to stop.)

After they all moved their right foot out to the front of them, John took a deep breath. He was tired from having all of the high Hawaiian intelligence beat a hard throb into him like an ipu. After he caught to his breath, John said to Princess Kaiulani, "I'm glad we stopped. I'm totally tired."

Princess Kaiulani knew that he was getting tired. She felt it could be a good beginning to sway him into some aspirations of learning, then in some way with the spirit

of the Hawaiian Islands ranging all of the way from Hawaiian Hula to ancient Aiki-Jitso into the Aiki-Jitso form of Hawaiian bone-breaking.

She would love to show him various concepts of sword fighting through the masters universal techniques, which were taught by the Shinto-Muso martial artists of ancient Japan from which they derived the Hawaiian sword techniques.

Most of the time they used machetes. The one she had

to throw was made with a different handle. Finally, she answered John's last remarks, "Well, get used to it. If

you want to hang over on this side of the cave. Okay."

John agreed even though it was tiring to him. He thought that it was pretty cool dancing with the Blackskirts and getting the chance to learn dance forms other then the Western Swing in his homeland. He agreed with her, "That's cool."

Then the Medicine Woman and the Witchy Woman walked up to him on the fiery hot Fire Stage.

The Witchy Woman quickly claimed to John, "Maika'i loa." (Very good.)

And then with sort of a smile, the Medicine Woman's

reply was, "Nui loa." (Very good.)

Immediately after the Witchy Woman and Medicine Woman complimented John, the Woman of Lei came up to them from the other side of Fire Stage. She shook her stuff with the black colored skirt rattling from side to side.

The Woman of Lei then said to the other skirts of her tribe as she visualized John in a black skirt on the Fire Stage dancing with them in the ancient worshipping practice ceremonies, spinning the Fire Stick under her crotch while he was in the back of the line and she stood in the front, dancing away to the beat of the ipus and the rhythm which was performed by the Ukulele, "Lawe komo nona." (Get one that fits.)

John had no idea what they were saying to each other. On the other hand he was interested in their weird culture that was about to become a part of the United States when the annexations were completed. He could only listen and watch them mutter to each other in the Hawaiian language

and follow them around as he no longer had to spy on them, considering how he broke his way into their ways of life to be more similar to the Rough Riders and Teddy Roosevelt or

any of the others.

The Witchy Woman followed with the Medicine Woman, Woman of Lei and Hili Pili Leia. They all entered the Witchy Woman's grass hut. John looked around and saw a bunch of various ipus filled with different herbs for different types of witchcraft she performed on the island of Hawaii. She also had an ancient painting of the infamous King Kamehameha I hanging over her window. While they stood there, the eerie Medicine Woman put her hands over his long pants while suggesting in Hawaiian, "Huki kou lole'e." (Remove those pants you are wearing.)

At first John began pulling his shirt away while the Hawaiian girls laughed at the red tie he wore as a Rough Rider. Then they put a T-shirt on him with Maunaloa flowers all over it. The T-shirt was embroidered with the logo: "Here today, gone to Maui."

In a way he was tripping on them and they pulled his wardrobe away as if he were the famous Ruebens, whose paintings were of nude women. Hili Pili was expecting someone out of the ordinary and a little bit more flirtatious to her ways, especially when she sat next

to him with a chance to listen to the musicians earlier. When Princess Kaiulani arrived, he ran up to her with a slim chance to catch something.

Hili Pili said to them all in the grass hut, "'A'ole maka ki'i."

While she spoke, the Medicine Woman began to point and tug on his pants. He tried hard to get them all of the way off so that they could put a black skirt on him to look like one of them though his skin was much whiter. As she did so, she announced, "Awiwi." (Hurry.)

The moment the Medicine Woman spoke in Hawaiian, he thought she said something in the word of wee weeld. So he told them that he didn't have to go, because he believed that she was saying such things because he was going to pull his pants off. Quickly he harked, "Wait! I never wee wee'd."

Before the Witchy Woman grabbed his pants, he threw it on her bed and she got him to slip into something more comfortable -- a black skirt that was colored from carbon fumes that flew off their flaming Fire Sticks.

They really had no idea what he was saying to them so they just continued on with their plans. The Witchy Woman then uttered to him about his pants just being tied on. "Huki kou lole'e." (Take off your pants.)

She spoke in such a way that he seemed to know the meaning as he kicked his boots the rest of the way off. Suddenly, the Goddess of Fire came into the Witchy Woman's grass hut and immediately told her little Tahitian Ori Blackskirts to prepare and clean him up the best they could because she knew that he had not used the pond behind the palace.

The Goddess of Fire told her girls, "Ho'au'au'aiai." (Bathe him.)

Immediately, they jumped at her command and got ready to take him somewhere to clean him. John still had no idea what any of them were saying around him or to him, so he asked the princess to the volcanic islands, "Where are they taking me?"

Princess Kaiulani was afraid to explain where they were taking him, because she was unable to tell him how badly he smelled. She knew if she told him the truth, John would comment about their dirty type of black skirt looks and

the fact that they smelled like a hot Kukui Nut torch or

a bottle of kerosene.

Anyway, she told him regardless whether he commented or not, "They are taking you to the waterfalls for a swimming bath."

The Witchy Woman, the Woman of Lei, the Medicine Woman and Hili Pili took John to the waterfall to clean him up and swim at the same time as well as cliff diving from the middle of the waterfall. They took John to a small trail.

Hili Pili said the others, "E hele ana'oia malo kai?" (He is going swimming.)

After they walked down the trail a ways, John could hear the waterfall and realized that it was very close by. The further they walked, the louder it became and soon he felt it was only a few feet away.

He wondered, Do they think I smell? But at the same time, he brooded, Their smell is like a bunch of lit candles in a room sitting.

The Witchy Woman answered the hot-skirted Hili Pili's question, "Eo." (Yes.)

While they neared the waterfall, the sound became considerably louder. Being in the lead, John commented,

"I can hear the waterfall. I never saw a waterfall in the desert."

They looked at him as though they did not know what he was saying. They continued on and smiled at him with their funny smiles. The Hawaiian laughing eyes looked at him as though he was a cowboy worshipping God with white legs that they every so often laughed at. They hadn't seen anything like him since Captain Cook arrived to explore the islands in the 17th century. It was a time when he, along with pirates and merchants, sailed to the lands of Hawaii to witness ancient fire dancing.

They walked a little further until they were able to see the waterfall. John was amazed when he first laid his eyes on the waterfall with all of the bushes with plumerias and maunaloas surrounding the river where the waterfall streamed downward. John saw exactly how clear the water was around the islands, along with its crystal blue reflection in the mid-day sun. It shone in his eyes as it flowed towards the deep shores of O'ahu.

He glanced over at the Hawaiian girls for a second.

He looked at the back of their legs seeing a bunch of marks

and scars. There were some scars on their legs which were

fresh with scabs. He guessed what he was getting into with the strange people -- flaming and bruising the temples

of their souls to show off with fire dancing within their festivities. On the same elevated hand he was infatuated by the way they moved and belly danced in their grass skirts, even as they walked along a curved trail towards the waterfall. He found it very hard to walk away from

them. They possessed a magnetism that drew him in and simultaneously kept him intrigued.

He was also interested in their strange ways of life and he wanted to see the dark sides of their Hawaiian inner self. He also found it difficult to resist the temptation

he now faced. Once they arrived at the waterfall, John continued by his pursuit as they walked around the pond until they were at the back of the waterfall behind the stream.

The blackskirt Ori girls persisted onward until all were inside a crevice as the water sprayed everywhere.

The spray misted their skin continually until they were drenched.

Completely soaked, the Witchiest Woman of O'ahu mentioned the noise to John, "Halulu." (Loud.)

The woman of Lei was so drenched that she craved to throw or push John into the pond. She told the others, "Nou ia maluna loko wai." (Throw him in the pond.)

Right away, the Woman of Lei and Hili Pili teamed up

on John with one at each arm. Holding onto him as tightly

as possible, they dragged him over the edge of the crevice. They only had to push him slightly and he would plunge

down to the pond below. It was fun for them to play with John like this, because the other Tahitian Tane Hawaiian Blackskirts only cared about sword fighting, Hula and, of course, Aiki Jitso Hawaiian bone-breaking.

While they held his arms, he could only wonder what they were up to. The Medicine Woman ran up from behind

John and pushed him on the back. The inertia forced the

Ori Girl to release her grip so he plunged into the crystal blue waters below as he flew through the wall of water. He yelled like it was absolutely rad to him, compared to the revolutionary life of a cowboy.

John hit the flowing cool waters of the pond below.

Luckily the water wasn't still. They were wavy from the water right below, which broke his fall. After John splashed a wave and the Blackskirt Oris roared with laughter. They waited for their turn to jump into the pond with laughing eyes.

Ready to take the dive, they started to giggle. The Medicine Woman took the plunge. On her way down, she yelled out a loud screeching, "Wooo!"

She entered the clear river waters below, muffling her scream the moment she broke the waves. She was submerged in the water's depths.

John swam around waiting for the Lady of Medicine to rise to the surface. When the Medicine Woman had completed her dive, Hili Pili took the opportunity to take the plunge. After she flew through a wall of water that fell over the cliff above, she screamed, "Oh!"

She dove head first, breaking the fall with her hands as she sank beneath the surface into the cool depths of the crystal blue waters of the cool pond.

Meanwhile, John, Hili Pili and the Woman for Medicine swam around laughing and giggling. John tried to pull their

skirts off to strip them naked.

Finally, the other two jumped into the pond as well. The Witchy Woman and the Woman of Lei were ready to jump together as they held each other's hand. They screamed together, "Wooo! Waaa!"

They went over the edge at exactly the same time. They continued to hold hands on their way down. The rest of them were paddle stroking away from John, who was still trying to pull their skirts all of the way off like it was a game, almost like he wanted the fun of seeing them stark naked, with hardly any result.

John finally gave up and swam over into the area the Witchy Woman and the Woman of Lei were swimming on the surface. Once beside them, he tried to grab their skirts without success. Finally, he was reduced to only swimming around with them under the falling waters.

CHAPTER 12

Finding The Blackskirts

In the horse corral at Washington Palace, the Rough Riders were gearing up their horses to search for John Porter. Shooter had kept her mouth quiet about their going to the Blackskirt's camp the day before. She played it off as though she hadn't the slightest idea where it was located.

Just before they were ready to start searching for him, Shooter pondered an easy explanation to get out of going along. As she cogitated her scheme in her little cowgirl mind, Martin advanced the mission of learning John's whereabouts before Roosevelt and Harding returned.

Feeling like he was still on San Juan Hill, Martin commanded the Rough Riders boldly, "Let's go."

About the time they were ready to spur their horses forward, Shooter had a final opportunity to make an excuse to stay at Washington Palace. With loving eyes, she sweetly proclaimed to the Rough Riders, "Shouldn't one of us stay here just in case Roosevelt comes back later?"

They heard Shooter, but none harkened her petition to stay. On the other hand, Roosevelt had given a direct order to remain on the premises all the time, but Beretta was ready to go look for John.

In a hurried rush, Queen Liliuokalani's order for the Rough Riders to remain at Washington Place had expired. Beretta forgot all orders concerning the queen's protection. Beretta expressed in contrast, "Come on."

They began riding slowly out of the corral under the moonlight accompanied by a breeze. Everyone's thought was to somehow find the lost John Porter. Once they were underway, Leonardo Wood assumed his authority by imploring, "Let's go for a ride and see if we can find them all together...it just seems that they were both gone too late at night every

night."

As they rode, Beretta changed the subject in order to get them conversing and brainstorming over the political reason why Spain wanted anything to do with the islands, especially when they weren't even part of the Pacific Ocean. Beretta started the conversation with a question, "I wonder why Spain would want all of these islands?"

Shooter was stuck going on the quest to look for John Porter when she knew he was strung up watching their fire dancing. Shooter thought, Why John is so infatuated with the Black Web Spiders of Hawaii and their very strange way for life living on these Polynesian Islands, for a couple of hundred of years?

She made a smart remark that they would consider a rational joke, "Probably just like or can't get their minds off the Island bush."

While they continued on their quest, they passed some Hawaiians playing their Ukulele music while chanting, "Ohe, ohe!"

Then Martin got into the conversation, because he was thinking about the many places they had been stationed with Teddy Roosevelt and seeing all of the pregnant abandoned women who had been left by their husbands. He said, "I think you're right, all of their women are at home with children or they are pregnant. So they come to ravish these islands."

That word that Martin had said only a moment ago was an image in Sharp's mind about John causing all their troubles. He realized just how boring it was when he took off at any time to wander off. On top of it all, he had never been given any authority, though Wood had been one of the leaders since beginning their search for the Blackskirts. Another fact was that Wood was unaware of John and Shooter sneaking off on their own initiative to discover the Blackskirt tribe. He believed that they were on the other side of the semi-active volcano. He recalled seeing that other entrance that they had trouble reaching when the volcano flared lava, only because they couldn't handle the heat as long as the Blackskirts.

Having run all this in to his head, he replied to Martin's catching words, "Well, pretty soon, I'm going to ravish that John at least a little. I'm not going to cover for him every time Roosevelt and Harding come back to the

Palace."

Meanwhile, they began to ride faster along the outskirts of their camp so they wouldn't be seen by the other Rough Riders. They rode under and through the trees

to the side, for the reasons that if they were seen, someone would probably inform Roosevelt and Richard Harding that some the Rough Riders had left the terrace.

Beretta thought whether or not Shooter was telling the truth. Martin saw John when he came to the palace the night before. John had told Martin that he was with Hawaiian girls in grass skirts. They had invited John to their place to dance. Then Shooter had stuck up for him by saying how his wrists were red from doing the Island Swing where one swung their partner round and round. He seemed to believe this, for the reason that there weren't that many grass huts around, unless he trusted Shooter would find an explanation.

Backing his hard core belief against Shooter, Beretta said to Wood without Shooter hearing, "I wonder if Shooter knows where he is and she is to far into lying."

Wood thought about how if they found where John was soon, Teddy Roosevelt would, of course, question them about where he was. If they told him the wrong thing at the palace, Roosevelt would believe that they were had loose tongues and then they would all be in deep crap.

Wood had a hunch that John was with Princess Kaiulani, for the reasons she wanted them in Washington Palace at the same time and, of course, they weren't around as much since Queen Liliuokalani sent John on a special errand of hers. Another fact that the queen never asked about the whereabouts of either one of them while they were both unavailable around their too beautiful palace.

So Wood told Martin, but let the so girlish Shooter listen to the conversation to see her reaction, "I think he is with that Kaiulani. Somehow, we just know it, and if he is and Roosevelt finds out, then we are in deep crap."

As they continued riding under the trees, they glanced through the leaves at the moonlight shining above them. Shooter had been listening to their conversations about John and Kaiulani being together for awhile because they were always gone at the same time.

She realized that they were the ones catching on to the fact they were together most of the day. Trying to cover it up, she proclaimed, "We're lucky those officers from the Hawaiian Palace don't know how many Roosevelt sent over."

Beretta had his mind on finding where John was. He could care less what the Hawaiian officers thought. He was only worried about Roosevelt finding out because he didn't want to be court martialed. All the Rough Riders felt the same way about the problem.

Caring less about what Shooter said only moments before, Beretta added, "They probably don't even care."

Martin contemplated how nobody never did anything around there. They were living like they were on vacation watching Hawaiian girls with grass skirts dance all over, while their boyfriends in a quick pace walked along with them playing the Ukulele.

Martin declared, "That's because nobody does shit but lives like they are on vacation here."

Leonardo related to the way they felt about their situation. The more he worried about it, the more he wanted to shoot the son-of-a-bitch. In a way though, it was their chance to get in with the so-called Blackskirts as well. Although, they would not understand the facts at all.

Leonardo Wood commented to Martin, "I just want to know where John is going at night so Roosevelt doesn't think anything."

They approached the sea shore as the moonlight shone down on the waves. Its reflection around the curve of the beach the moon shone on the shells into everyone's eyes.

They checked out the waves as they splashed along some of the corral reefs as they continued to ride further into the big beach. Being a woman cowgirl with a man side to her, as well a female side, with a passionate eye for beauty and radiance of the unfamiliar and exotic land, Shooter gazed at the waves.

As they flowed to the beach, she pronounced, "Don't those waves look so beautiful."

Martin glimpsed over the ocean waves for the move forward. To Martin there was nothing great about the island's scenery. He had been to many other places with Teddy Roosevelt that he had seen just about everything a soldier could imagine seeing, from ocean waves to beautiful mountain tops with so many varying colors. Looking the scenery over, he brushed off Shooter's comment, "I guess."

Shooter continued watching the ocean waves as each perpetuated its way towards them. They remained on their horses deciding which direction they should continue their search for John.

Shooter looked down at Gypsy, then at the waves rolling onto her hoofs. She then looked up and down the beach. She noticed a small tugboat just off the coast and a canoe by the shore was paddling toward the sandy beach.

Shooter said quickly, "Look over there, a canoe."

Martin down the beach a ways to see the boat. Looking over at the steam ship, he added, "It looks like a small Japanese boat."

Then Leonardo Wood saw the boat too. He eyed a couple guys paddling toward the beach as fast as they could without the waves pushing them in the opposite direction. A moment someone rode out of the palm trees down to the beach on a black stallion and into the waves until they were next to the small canoe. It was obvious that Hawaiian Blackskirts were in the canoe. The person on that horse leaned down in order to grab a package.

Wood asked the rest of the riders, "Is that someone

riding up on a horse?"

Wood saw the person on the horse handed something from the person on the canoe before turning back into the palm trees. It seemed like a delivery of some kind to him.

Beretta saw the Blackskirt on a black stallion. He believed the horse was Kaiulani's. "Yeah, it looks like Kaiulani's horse."

Leonardo Wood said, "I wonder what that package was."

They stared at the Blackskirt who continued on the black stallion back to their camp. Beretta continued to watch with his six-shooter eyes as they rode up the beach. In a wisp he said, "Well, there she goes."

Immediately the Blackskirt riding the black stallion entered under the palm trees and headed towards the volcano. Soon they were camouflaged by the palm trees as the moonlight shone down and around the beach with a sparkling of the sea shells. Martin felt that he knew what they were picking up. As the Rough Riders approached the beach area of the boat, the Japanese paddled their away from the shore. Martin contemplated for a moment or so, then he abruptly commented about the Blackskirt on the black stallion,

"Probably selling them opium."

Shooter found it very intriguing that the grassy hot skirts would purchase any form of narcotic to tickle the flame of their insides. Keeping a seemingly closed mind, Shooter brushed it off by shrilling out, "That's odd."

Martin though had a very strong feelings that the defiant Blackskirt was headed for the volcano. He commented to the Rough Riders, "Well, she is heading for the volcano."

To Leonardo Wood the person really didn't appear to be Princess Kaiulani. The person seemed much shorter than what he remembered. Wood implored, "Well, that didn't look like her."

Martin had seen enough and he was ready to go on.