He had a large head, and a somewhat handsome face, with
melancholy black eyes and a fine set of white teeth. Like most
Polynesians, his skin was of a pale bronze and elaborately
tattooed, even the cheeks and chin being scored with curves and
straight lines of mystical import. But the most noticeable thing
about him was his huge mop of frizzled hair, which, by some
process, known only to himself, he usually dyed a vivid yellow.
The flaring locks streaming from his head made him resemble a
Peruvian image of the sun, and it was this peculiar coiffure
which had procured for him the odd name of Cockatoo. The fact
that this grotesque creature invariably wore a white drill suit,
emphasized still more the suggestion of his likeness to an
Australian parrot.
Cockatoo had come from the Solomon Islands in his teens to the
colony of Queensland, to work on the plantations, and there the
Professor had picked him up as his body servant. When Braddock
returned to marry Mrs. Kendal, the boy had refused to leave him,
although it was represented to the young savage that he was
somewhat too barbaric for sober England. Finally, the Professor
had consented to bring him over seas, and had never regretted
doing so, for Cockatoo, finding his scientific master a true
friend, worshipped him as a visible god.
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