The Delta independent., 1900-06-29
,ss;s,s,s;s - H.HHSS'
: HIS TH|RTIETH birthday );
ON That Day He Decided to Re-
nounce Prcsernlent For tho
Girl He Loved.
} ey Lloyd Osborne. =
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;iTTTTT %H%HNNH
His thirticth birthday! His first
youth was behind him. with all Its
hcartburnings. its failures. Its mani
fold humiliations. What had he doue
these years past but drift. forlOrn. pen
uiless and unattached, over those shah
lows where others had stuck and pros
pered?
In the colonies he had foiled un:e-
mittingly In half a hundred Characters.
groom, cook. boundary rider. steamer
roustabout. always sinking. always
falling. Had life nothing nore for
him than an endless succession Of not
empty days on the farthcst beaclI OF
Upolu. with scarcely more TO eat tlinn
the commoncst Kanaka and no other
outlet for his energies than the barter
ing Of salt beef for coprah Gnd an Oc-
casionai nights fishing on the reef?
The noise Of an Incoming boat drew
him to the door, and he looked out to
see the pastors old whaler heading
through the pass. \ half grown girl
leaped into the water and hastencd up
to the store with something fastesses1
in banana leaf II was letter.
which she shyly handed to the trader.
, Walter E.rross looked at II with sur
prise. for 1t was the first he had re-
ceived for four years. and the sight cf
its English stamp and familiar hand
writing filed him with something IKE
ave: T.
Nv Dess Ncphew--I know you're pretty oil 10
ecsnc back and stsrt life s:resh hesr. but u you
haven't had the unmitiSafed folly 10 eet msfvie J.
out tI,es. and ti~d by the I-s fcfsvrs I'll help
you to make . scw start. you have the grit to
do it. You slant s.arve " <i.5oj . year will
keep you. and II you will try snd turn over
new lenf and make man OF yourself In good car
nest ! am prepared to marx you down suostah
tally In my will
But. mind. promises: payment strictly by
result. You're no longer boy. and this is prob
ably the last lance ,ou'n ever get OF entering
CIVILIZED life again and meeting respectable folk
! inciose you a raft sight Sydney for n.sSp
for you viii doubtless need clothes ETC.. ~ weh
as your passage money. and II you decide not to
return you accept II as present from your
ALrnrp Bl~xock
The house could not contain him and
his eager thoughts: he must needs feel
the sly overhead and the trades
against his check. and take all nature
into his puny confidence. Besides.
Vaiala had now a new charm for him.
one h, had never counted Oh TO find.
Hnrl and lonely though his life had
been. this Samoan bay was cndeared TO
him by n thousand pleasant memories
and even By the recollection Of his past
unlappincss. Here be had found peace
and love. freedom froUi taskmasters.
scenes more beautiful than any picture.
and. not le.isi. ~ sufiiciency TO cat.
A little money and his life might
have been tolcrabIc even happy:
enough money for a good sized boat. a
COW or two. and those SIX acres Of the
Pascoc estate he had so cften lorg,d to
buy. How often had he talked OF II
with Lca,a. who had been no less ca ger
than himself to harness their quarter
acre TO the six and make them all his
little para.iisc. poor I.c:;ta. whom he
had taken - lightly froiu her fathers
house and paid for ii gunpowdcr ard
Kegs Of beef: his smiling. soft eyed
Icnta. who would have died for him!
What was to- become Of her la this new
arrangement Of things.
by this time lie had worked quite
round the hay. and aiuios, without
knowing 1t hc found himself In front OF
PauI Eugiebert's sforc- Englcbcrt was
the other trader in Nainla. n pcppcry.
middle aged I'russsiap. who had bcea n
good frieri,l Of his before those seven
brrndfruit trees had come between
them.
He recalled Englclrrt's rough. jovial
, Kindness. remembered how Paul had
cared for him through the fever. aud
helped him afterwari with money and
trade How could lie have been 80 petty
Us to make quarrel ~ these bread
fruit ;rcrSy I'oor old rauI, II was a
siianic they hadn't spoken these two
years.
Cn the vprausia. isarcfoot and In
striped ~ yiauias. was Engiclrrt. pre-
t-r.Iiug rot \, -,.t. Itim. To Eiur,s<. rs
I,- wal r,i mp the path and mounted
s,Ic vrran,ia stairs. the man looked Old
snd sick. and not y It'll" cl,anyri
-IIow do you do, EnzIricri = b. ssil
Tire German trsk.-i ~ him will,
smoIdering eyes CANT you SEE I'm
busy be said. Af
"Tes ni0he ser . Hss einir,"
aaid klarcsss seatfne himself on The
tsol cAssl
DesOus jars fsr dem dat lss't VEL
esoa." ~ IL Oer1aA
= DedN - Naepqs hsse- sa.A