The Pacific commercial advertiser. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1885-1921, 1905-12-08

THE HAOLE
4 Story of the Pacific Isles.
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cOnceit and crude ignorance of the
women he knew TO be fair and beauti-
full and gentle, he had determined Il
show their traducers-he recalled thai
was the word he used in his thoughts
at the time-that he preferred the
native to the white girl
! So he had gone among them, picked
up their language, visited in then
houses. and listened to their voices ac-
companied by the strum of guitars
Then he had become intimate in their
| homes and then-he puzzled over it
He had not been sober for three years
and there was Dorcas inside. Dorcas
! the haIf-white girl, who referred soft
! ~ to him as her aikane-her old man.
Thomas sat down on the steps when
he reached this point and pondered
carefully, picking his way about among
the somewhat dimly remembered
events of those three years.
The place where the house stood was
/ his. Dorcas had saved up the money
and tended to it with pride. He had
had plenty to eat. He had shaved
every morning. His nerves had been
mistaken by the liquor he had drunk.
He had always dressed neatly. And
yet-he shook himself impatiently.
He-he had not been sober for three
years He had forgotten to write
home. He had forsaken his own peo-
Pile He had become known as a man
who preferred the natives, and was
careless of the ways or scruples of
white people-the haoles-of whom he
had once been one. He had foregone
his ambitions, his ideals, his upbring-
ing
The sun rose higher, and he moved
back into the shade. There he sat,
quite sober until evening, while Dor
cas- wandered about her small duties
and watched him anxiously, but with
out a word of questioning.
The sun set and the darkness fell
suddenly. For two hours Thomas had
thought of but one thing which would
not lose its vividness, no matter how
long he revolved it in his mind.
A girl sat on the floor of a room with
some letters before her, and they We're
from him. One letter lay in her lap on
top of a piece of fine muslin with the
needle still in its hem. 1t was the last
letter he had written. A little way
out from the wall a trunk stood, ready
strapped and locked. A card in fresh
ink was tackled across the end of il:
Edith Vannuys Clifford, Honolulu "A
bunch of California roses lay across the
bed. He could read the card tied to
them with a little ribbon: Love 70
Edith on her voyage, and may she find
all happiness on her arrival"
'.That would be about it." groaned
Thomas. And for three years I've not
remembered" He stared out into the
blackness of the tropic night, and went
over the scene again.
An hour later he got up and went
softly inside. Dorcas was asleep, and
he saw that she had left him some sup
per on the table. He noticed a bottle
of ''squareface" and a glass left beside
the water bottle. He stopped
With his new sobriety he knew that
it was not Dorcas that had kept him,
but the liquor, which for three years
he had drunk. Its spell had never
worn off. He could drink and once
more he would forget and find content
ment in allegiance of memories But
he was fresh from many hours of
thinking, and the burden of those
hours was one thing; he was, spite of
it, a haole-a white man-and a stran-
ger. He was still mistaken by the
three years, so far as physical strength
went. He passed on to his own room.
An hour Later he emerged freshly
shaver and dressed in immaculate
white clothes. He had even put or
white shoes. He took the light and
looked at himself in the mirror. He
squared his shoulders and pulled thu
collar of his jacket down. Then he
stepped softly over to the bed where
the woman lay sleeping, a careless
brown arm flung easily above her
head. He reached under her pillow and
drew out the shabby black bag in which
she had always kept their money
Half of it he took. and replaced the
purse. He had left enough to keep her
half the year. Then he picked up a
suitcase and went softly down the
steps. 1t was almost the dawn.
The first car to Honolulu from Kali
muki left Thomas at the door of the
Young Hotel He walked briskly in
and took the elevator for the office. The
clerk recognized him with an exclama-
ton: Whats up, Thomas? Did your
old woman chase you out of the
house?'
Thomas WINGED at the familiarity of
the tone. I'm going up to the main
land"
by the Sierra? You'll have to hur-
ry. She sails at eight o'clock But
what are you goin' up for? Thought
you We're a regular islander. and had
settled in Kaimuki for the rest of
your days"
I'm going up on business" said
| Thomas, briefly. please don't say
| anything about it,
| Wen. have a drink. anyway" said
| the clerk, carelessly. We'll. go down
and see if the bartender is up vet
| NO, thanks was the reply u
didn't know whether there was a boat
! for the Coast or not for a few days