The Pacific commercial advertiser. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1885-1921, 1900-08-04

Il
of the way about it. 1 think a spotted
horse is awfully pretty. But you and all
the other men on the coach laughed at
it. and said that the horse looked as If 1t
came out of a circus. Well, now, / am
like spotted horse. ! am very pretty, !
but / am not the correct thing in Eng
land. Japan was a kind of a circus to
you, and when you saw me out there
you thought / was lovely; but If we got
married, you would find out, sooner or
later. that all your friends wondered why
you harnessed up piebald horse instead
of choosing a regular everyday color
Ike other people. l didn't know it was
going to be like that until / came over
TO England. That is what 1 wanted to
come here for-to find out. 1t isn't be-
cause am fiirt; truly it isn't. haven't
fiirted with you the least bit, Frank. /
like you ever so much, and the only rea-
son i don't want to marry you is, that /
don't believe ii would work. Your moth
ier's awfully nice and kind to me. but /
ican see that she doesn't think it is going
10 work either. Do you think it would
work. said the little woman, turning to
me.
II don't know what 1 think, my dear
Mrs. Potwin,' / replied. Sometimes 1
fancy you are rather too feather-headed
a small person to marry anybody, but
when you tall like this you don't seem
feather-headed at all. / don't see that.
after all. 1t is anybody's business but
yours and Franks or that anybody else
but you two can judge about it, If you
both believe that you can be happy to-
gether IL is half the battle over already"
] felt rather sneak as / said this, for
although / had been very careful not to
express an opinion of any sort when
had been talking with Lady Scarlet that
morning, / knew quite well that / had
left her with the impression that / did
not approve of her sons matrimonial
project. But i was touched by what Mrs.
Potwin said. and 1 was beginning to
think that perhaps i had been unjust to
her. and that she had more unselfishness
and good feeling than / had given her
credit for.
IF 1t is my turn now" said Scarlet,
perhaps 1 might say what L think, be-
cause, after all, 1 have something to do
with ii, you know. And what I've got to
say is this: If the only reason you are
afraid to marry me Is that you think l
will be ashamed of you, it's all rubbish.
/ am not hand to be always arguing
about things and talking politics and all
that, and | know a great many people
seem to think / have no brains, but i
know what l want as well as the next
rnan-and what | want is you. / suppose
what you are driving at is that if we had
house in town, and went up there every
season, people would say / hadn't made
smart marriage. But what difference
} does that make to me? If I were par
} son ii might do me some good to marry
a girl whose people were great swells anC
: all that sort of thing. But I'm not.
4 don't want anything of anybody. and, a;
for being up in town and dining out every
night, l hate all that / like to be com
D fortable, and / think you and i woul,
= have the Jolliest sort of life together.
: you have any real reason for thinking
H. - l.. l.
n If it's only that you think you're skew
{ bald horse. call it wasting time to tall
( about that"
y "weu, that isn't all there is to it,
z said Mrs. Potwin, but it all comes t
: the same thing then, turning to me, sh
IT said:
: Don't you think / ought to tell Franz
d him two or three times, but he won't lie
d me-"
d whats Temehichi?' said Scarlet
e Some place in Japan where you wer
y riding what you call paint horse in
.e circus? What do 1 care about that
g Haven't l seen you often enough flynn
re about Yokohama with no hat on, an
lie wasn't I flying about with you. for tha
10 matter? / wouldn't want to go dow
$. Piccadilly that way, and 1 don't suppos
st you would either. and after we are mai
ID ried and settled i don't suppose either {
m US will want to do that sort of thing. An,
as for your trying to tell me some stor
e. of yours. 1 know that one evening up
e. Nikko you wanted to tell me all aboi
at some man you had been engaged to, ar
10 I told you / didn't want to hear ii.
Mt know well enough you were married b.
ne fore, for that matter, and of course
ne wish you hadn't been; but 1 don't $,
tn any use in talking about it,"
10 Mrs. Potwin asked me again if l didn
at think she ought to tell Scarlett all abo
nd Temehichi, and in common honesty / n;
We to say that / thought she ought
Z" And she did. There in the broad, squar
' shouldered punt. on the quiet. comfortah
- English river, she told him the who
~ story. / knew, soon as she bega
80 that Scarlett would not laugh at ths
VI And when / saw that she wasn't trying
,,o tone 1t down at ALL that she meant
o make him clearly understand that s.
a. had seriously thought OF marrying a L
~, tie unprecedented servant boy. who W
~ either lunatic or worse-either out
=, his head or engaged in some made scher
OF getting up a twopenny- penny
a.. srrrection in Japan-I liked her beti
-, than l had ever liked her before. Sea
-, lett heard her story to the end, leani
= on his long punt-pole and from time
~ time thoughtfully stirring the mud in
~, river bottom and watching the bla
a, clouds rise through the clear wat,
- When she haid said her say she look
- up at him to see how he was taking
-, and looked the other way / wish
ta more than ever that they had not broue
Ia me with them. The punt shot ahead V
80 orously, and We were half a mile do
=, the stream before Scarlet spoke TIL
az letting his pole drag idly through
IN water. he said to Mrs. Potwin:
rou II suppose you expect to have me
ere you what | think of all this. but | ca
GO do II yet. You see, i am one of the 81
All kind-so now we will talk about sor
tell thing else. If you don't mind" / saw
do. his face that the story of Temehichi v
hat gall TO him. a moment later he let
ate punt run UP the bank. and said:
,ud. III you people will amuse each OF
Tor moment. there is cottage just
ats hundred yards from the shore that
EFT agents been talking to me about, an
ak want 10 have look at il for myself"
are IL was as good an excuse as anotf
I'm and could very we'll understand that
the wanted to be alone for moment. w
i'm we were left there together in the pt
had MIS-. Porwin said, quietly enough:
TO- He sees now that I am a paint no
ere guess, now that he knows about Tel
on hichi, 1t will be easy enough to persu
NENa