Reporter and farmer. [volume] (Webster, Day County, Dakota [S.D.]) 188?-1946, 1901-02-07
XII.
Nv Futhpr EynFaSDs,

~ A~AN
MY Father Ell plains.
Before I proceed any further with nv
narrative I must say that you viii not
find herein any notes concerning the
fauna and fora Of Fiji, and that except
that I have seen them. 7 know very lit
tie more about them than you who are
reading this. My story has to do with
men and mems passions, and the feel
fngs that held me left me little room
for observation Of my surroundings ex-
eept in so far as they might help to-
wards my s~ustenance, and you must,
therefore, imaainc for yourselves, the
trees, ferns, and so forth that made up
the landscape on which I gazed. By
the sea shore, and in comparatively
shOal water, I found some shellfsh, and
from them I made a meal; coming upon
a cave that was dry, I gathered grass
and leaves and made a couch, and lay
there until the next morning.
Behind me was a ridge of hills. and,
! gaining the crest of this with some diff
fculty, I had a splendid view Of the
island, and there, not a mile from me,
in a corner Of a bay. lay a village. A
roughly-constructed pier ran out into
the sea for some distance. and I c0uld
see people moving about on this, piling
up bales of goods, anG their occupation
and the pier itself bespoke a state OF
civilization that promised both food and
water.
Pulling myself andNthe few rags that
We're left me together, I scrambled
downwards through the Tickets, and,
getting close to the outskirts of the viii
Iage, I lay perdu for some time, till, the
signs Of peace working upon me, /
made a datour, and came close to the
shore end Of the pier before I was seen.
Then there was such a hubbub that !
| scarce knew whether the dark-skinned
| individuals who surrounded me were
rejoicing at the prospect OF eating me-,
or lamenting over the meager meal i
should furnish, when a tall native,
dressed in European fashion, pushed
the others aside and accoSted me in ex-
ceedingly good English. Not only were
his words correct, but his accent was
as perfect as my own, and I afterwards
learned that he had been educated at a
first-class school in Tasmania.
"You have been shipwrecked," he
said. "Tell me, in n word, was your
ship the Corisapde?"
NO" said /.
THANK God for THAR" he replied.
we could ill-a ford to lose such men
as Capt. Tremayne. But you are faint
and tired. Come to my house, and we
can talk presently" And with that he
led to what, after my hardships,
seemed a veritabIe palace. He made
me comfortable, and had meat and
drink brought for me, and my heart
beat fast when he told me that my
fathers vessel was expected in a sew
days. "There isn't a better man afoat
than Capt. Tremayne. He calls here at
stated times to take away our produce.
such as cotton, fruit, and so forth. and
bring us news OF the big world"
1t gave. me the keenest pleasure TO
hear him singing my fathers praises.
but I did not tell him who I was, as il
would have been very embarrassing to
have gone into long explanation; and
so / let him regard me as one who was
travelling for recreation, and who had
lost his belongings when the Nightin-
gale went down. In his character I
took up my quarters in his pleasant
house, and he played the host so natur-
ally, and, withal, so kindly, that my
heart was drawn towards him, and be-
fore I had been a week on the island I
told him that I had come from England
imply and solely to see Capt. Ire
mayne.
Some ten days had passed, and I was
sleeping, in the COO OF the evening, on
the veranda thai surrounded the house,
x-lan r-oC nro,caI hy n onp,r0ntfny,
b~etokening that something Of more
than ordinary moment was about to
happen, and I noticed that the inhab-
itants of the village were hurrying to
the pier. Joining them, I saw on the
horizon the smoke OF steamer, and I
knew that in a few hours 7 should be
looking on the features Of him whom |
my soul hungered to see.
Night came on quickly, and darkness
had set in some time when we saw the
lights of a vessel close to the headland, |
and in answer TO the glare tina went
up from the huge bonfire the islanders |
had lighted, she threw UP a rocket.
Everyone was so excited that my pres
ence was not noticed. And at last / got
close TO the mar who had played host
to my willing guest.
II want to speak to you for one min
ute," I said. "I have come thousands
Of miles, as / told you, to see Capt. Tre-
mayne, and tell him something that
so nearly concerns him that anyone
preventing my doing so will be putting
him in danger Of his life. Can you not
that I may see him, in your
presence. and yours only. as soon as
p~ossible?"
He hesitated for a moment.
Your reasons for seeing him must be
urgent" he said. Tell me VIC you
7 fall r co,,s $780,.