The Atlanta constitution. [volume] (Atlanta, Ga.) 1885-19??, 1892-07-26
A NATIV Il BOAT.

''You see, you get copra," said she, the
same as you might offer candies to a child
Una" said J. hear reason. l didn't
know, and that's a fact; and Case seems to
have played it pretty mean upon the pair
of us. But | do know now, and L don
mind, / love you too much. You no go
way, you no leave me. l too much sorry,
You no love me" she cried; you talk
me bad Words. and she threw herself III
a corner of the floor and began to cry.
Well, I'm no scholar, but | wasn't born
yesterday, ond I thought the worst Of ,liat
trouble over. However, there She lay
her back turned, her face to the vail
and shook with sobbiug like a little child,
SO that her feet jumped with it. It's strange
how 1t hits man when he's in love: for
there's no use mincing things. Kanaka
and all, | was in love with her. or just as
would none of that. Una" | said,
there's no SENSE in carrying on like this
/ want you stop here. | want my little
wife. | tell YOU true
No tell me true" she sobbed
through with this" And 1 sat right down
beside her on the floor and set TO smooth
her hair with my hand. At first she wrig-
gled away when | touched her: then she
seemed to notice me no more then her sobs
grew gradually less, and presently stopped
and the next thing l knew she raised her
face to mine.
You tell me truei You like me stopw
she asked.
lima | said, II would rather have you
than all the copra in the South seas
which was a very big expression, and the
strangeSt thing was that / meant it,
She threw her arms about me. sprang
close up, and pressed her face to mine in
the island way of kissing, so that | was all
wetted with her tears, and my heart went
out to her wholly. | never had any
thing so near me as this little brown bit
of a girl. Many things went together, and
all helped to turn my head She was
pretty enough to eat; it seemed she was
my only friend in that queer place. | was
ashamed that | had spoken rough to her;
and she was woman, and my wife, and
II kind of baby besides that / was sorry
for; and the salt of her tears was in my
mouth And | forgot Case and the natives;
and | forgot that knew nothing of the
story, or only remembered it to Danish the
remembrance: and | forgot that | WAS to
get no copra, and so could make no liveli-
hood; and ! forgot my employers. and The
strange kind of service 1 was doing them,
when I preferred my fancy to their business;
and | forgot even that Una was no true
wife of mine, but just a maid beguilcd, and
that in a pretty shabby style. But that is
to look too far on. | will come to that part
of it next.
1t was late before we thought of getting
dinner. The stove was ont and gone stone
cold, but we fired up after a while and
cooked each dish, helping and hindering
each other, and making Il play of 1t like
children. | was so greedy of her nearncss
that | sat down to dinner with my lass
upon my knee, made sure of her with one
hand, and ate with the other. Ay, and
more than that She was the worst cook
| suppose God made; the things She set
her hand to 1t would have sickened an
honest horse to eat of, yet | made my meal
that day on uma's cookery, and can never
call to mind to have been better pleased.
| didn't pretend to myself, and / didn't
pretend to her. | saw l was clean gone;
and if she was to make a fool of me, she
must. And | suppose it was this that
set her talking, for now she made sure
that we were friends. A lot she told me,
sitting in my lap and eating my dish, as
/ ate hers, from fOolery--a lot about herself
and her mother and Case, all which would
be very tedious and fill sheets if / set it
down in Beach de Mar, but which / must
give a hint of in plain English, and one
thing about myself, which had very big
effect on my concerns, as you are soon to
hear.
II seems she was born in one of the line
islands: had been only two or three years
in these parts, where she had come with
IA white nan, vino was married TO her moth
er and then died; and only the one year in
Falesa. Before that they had feen a
good deal on the move, trekkinS about after
the white man, who was one OF those rCll-
ing stones that keep gong round after
soft Job. They talk about looking Tor
gold at the end of the rainbow, but If Il
man wants an employment that'll last him
till he dies let him start out OF the sort job
hunt There's meat and drink in it too,
and beer and STILES, for you never hear
of them starving. and rarely see them ~
Der. and as for steady sport, cock tightl~y
isn't in the same county with it. Al-f
way this beachcomber carried the woman
and her daughter all over the shop, but
mostly to Out-of-the-way islands, where
there were no police, and he thought, per-