The star. (Reynoldsville, Pa.) 1892-1946, 1898-11-23

pier, and the passengers began to
troop over the gaugway. There was
one man with his pretty young wife
aud three-year-old little girl. The
little girl was the first to catch sight
of kuomouna as she reached the bot
tom of the gangway. She quickly
freed her ! a I'd from the grasp of her
fathers and ran toward Kacmouna
with baby words. Kaomouua smiled
ut the little girl, but did not offer to
take her mp. Instead, she folded her
arms, looking down at the little pink
faced child pleasantly. The child
hung onto her skirts, aud was thus
found by her mother. When the
mother had taken the little girl, she
raised her eyes to look ut Kaomouna.
She gave start-as, indeed, all men
and women did, who first gazed upon
this woman, who had been King David
Kalaknun's flower girl.
"Did you ever in your whole life
see such n perfectly beautiful woman?"
asked the young wife of her husband
in whisper when he came up. "And
Tita seemed To take to her immediate.
~. If we could only have her for u
nurse for Tita"
kaomouna heard her.
"Kaomouna would love to be that, :"
she replied in n soft Kanakn.accented
speech, smiling. Then look of pain
dartel across her face. ''But it may
not bet may not he -"and with her
hands on her eyes kaomouna turned
suddenly and disappeared among the
departing men and women of her
race.
Three months later the parents of
the little girl they had como from
the States TO settle in Honolulu--were
Mt the dock together TO witness, for
the first time, the saddest sight in this
world-the departure of the lepers
from the Island of Molokai. The
Kilauea Hon, the leper steamer, was
out in the stream, and the lepers were
being carried ont to her in barges. A
litter was borne through the roped in
closure for the lepers. On it lay a
very old Kanaka woman, loathsome in
the final stages of the disease. At
the side of the litter walked Kao-
mouna, still as beautiful as ever, with
no tear in her eyes. Yet her face was
very sad. The parents of IL little girl
wondered. They spoke to an official
of the Hawaiian board of health, who
was busy in the task of embarking the
lepers.
"5urely," they said, "she does not
accompany the lepers?"
"Who. Kaomouna?" replied the
health official. ooh, yes, she does.
but it il her own choice. Kaomouna,
you know, has been secreting her old
mother, who, as you perceive is a
leper in leprosy's adyanced stage for
number Of years. We always knew
there was something mysterious about
Kaor lna-that is, we have known
it for the past five years. She had
made queer visits to a palm hut far
over in the Nunanu valley. Last
week we followed her-we felt there
was leprosy in it. We found her
mother'in the hut-Kaomouna had
had her in hiding, trying to save her
from Molokai, ever since the disease
became evident, Kaomouna is not
infected in the least-she has been
careful. But she elects to follow her
mother to Molokai, and she will he u
leper herself after while. Extraor-
dinary? Why, not at al! You do
not understand the filial devotion of
Kanaka women-men, too, for that
matter. Such cases are common
enough
The parents of the little girl looked
Mt each other. There were tears in the
mothers eyes.
"That is why she folded her arms
and would not touch Tita!" she said.
"In this world of God, civilized or
unciviized, could there be anything
more noble?"
All was ready, and the Kilauea Hon,
with Kaomouna and her mother ON
board, slowly started down the har'
Dor, the Kanakas on the dock setting
mp the weird, wild chant of farewell
which is always sung when the leper
ship sails.