The Pacific commercial advertiser. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1885-1921, 1904-10-02

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very thick thick, and printing the
nountain-road with a hobnailed pat
tern that puzzled those little woodmen.
the school children, for days after
wards. A mile-two miles-and then
| buildings on hill. The captain
/ pegged away: the red buildings grew
redder and larger; one of them, al
most a factory for size, CURLY inform
ing him, in letters ten feet high, that
! it was a WINERY.
! The stranger breathed a sigh of re-
| lief. He knew now that he had ar
rived at his destination. He struck
off a little to the right where a good
sized private house, surrounded by a
paling fence, obviously sheltered the
owner or foreman of the ranch. The
privacy of this place was protected by
board which said succinctly: Keep
OUT but the Englishman, uDdeterrad
by the warning, kept on, and strobe
up the gravel walk to the rose-emb7w-
| cred porch beyond. He was a little
daunted, however, by the prevailing
silence He would have welcomed the
bark of a dog or some gruff voice de-
handing what he wanted. To walk in
to such a tomb-like quiet made him
uncomforta BILE. He saw himself in
Imagination possibly misjudged;. beset
maybe; and his hand frightened on his
stick. and he set his feet down more
loudly than ever to assert the up
rightness of his intentions. He tramp
ed up the three steps leading to the
porch like a mule battery going into
action. But the stiffness remained I'M
broken by any noise but his own.
He looked about in sperplexity until
at last, in the darkest and furthest
corner, he detected a hammock; and
saw, not without relief, that it was
occupied by a recumbent figure. He
went over to it, still in his heavy,
soldierly fashion, and looked down on
well, what, in his own words he used
to describe afterwards as: "Pon my
soul, the most beautiful creacha'
was ever privileged to gaze upon-Gad,
a. girl of twenty with her lips a little
partedt on the whitest teeth you ever
saw, and her breath comm and goin'
as faint as a baby's in a cot, and
beauty? Why, it was like SEEM the
Tai Mahal by moonlight-the same in
deseribable whatd'yecallum, you know,
when something seems to take you by
the throat and you gasp, my boy,
positively gasp!"
She was dressed in silvery gray, with
a wide lace collar about her neck, and
in her thick, rumpled chestnut hair
there lay a single red carnation. She
was as fresh and sweet and exquisite
as the flower itself; and in contrast to
the dust and heat without, the sight
of her was as refreshing as a splash
ing pool in the depths of woody can
yon. The Captain, after his first mo-
ment Of surprise, began to wonder
what steps he ought to take to awak-
en- her Every instinct as a gentleman
babe him cough. So he coughed. At
first so gently that it was almost a
lullaby, and then by degrees rising to
an honest, growing, bull-doggish
cough that seemed to say: Wake up,
blast you.''
At last she stirred and opened her
eyes and met those of the stranger
looking down at her. He said hastily,
"I beg your pardon" and betrayed
enough agitation to spill box of
candy and a half-opened novel from
the chair beside him. The girl sat up
in the hammock, still gazing at him
with establishment, and asked him
who he was and where he came from.
miri flute on the Lake of Selangor,
borne over the. water at dusk! NOr the
bulbuI in one of those moldy old gar
dens where the Rajput princes held
high revel in the Company daysi')
"My name is Anstruther," he said,
picking chocolate creams off the floor.
Captain Anstruther of the British
Army"
CO. s,,,i1ad - hin, without saving a
word.
You are, presume, Miss Helen
Jaffrey?" he went on.
She showed the least little sign of
embarrassment and colored perceptibly
as she assented with movement of
her head.
Extraordinary! calculated the
Captain. Most extraordinary"
..why?" she asked.
1t was the Captains turn to look put
out.
I'm not accustomed to awaken the
young ladies 1 call on he said. Il
pride myself on being a man of the
world, but positively, for once, 1 felt
myself staggered. 1 nearly went a
way
"There was my side of it too" she
said.
They both laughed and the Captain
asked permission to take a chair. He
could be very agreeable man when he
chose and it was plain that he was
choosing. His manner was almost too
ingratiating and Helen could not bat
wonder inwariIy what he was after.
NV business-is rather with your
father he said. Il
Hes at the Hot Springs, sick" she
said. I'm running the Winery for
him. Can't you make me do?''
'.You don't mean to say that you
are in charge of this whole establish
ment.' he exclaimed.
"Oh, yes. I'm the boss here" she re-
turned, though of course I have Pa
on the wire. you know. What can I
do for you. Captain? Wen only he
too glad to make an opening over
there for our wines-that is, if your
rating is good and you represent re-
sponsib1e people"
..oh. it isn't wine" said the Captain