The Pacific commercial advertiser. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1885-1921, 1908-04-19

Drewit duly.
No." said Norling, "you did not
understand my feelings, and / want
you to know. so you can forgive me.
"When / left the States it was with
a strong heart because, waiting for me
| to return, is a good woman whom ]
love and who loves me. Every thing
do, every thought I have, every throL
| of my heart, is an offering to her. And
tonight I have done something that
would give her pain. But your words
threw my mind off its balance, because
this woman has been nv salvation, my
good angel. Before she came into my
life [ was thing TO be scorned, a
dissolute disgrace to my people. And
then it seemed as if God had sent her
to stoop down and lift me up. That I
have fought my way back to self-re-
specting manhood is due to her-alone.
So, for her sake. I cannot do otherwise
than worship all women as angels of
salvation.'
Drewit turned and placed his hand
on Mornings shoulder.
"My boy" he began-and then he
paused as if in search of words. The
fatherly tone did not seem incongruous,
dlIHougH III YEARS uc was SiiSulIN
younger than Norling.
"My boy" he repeated, cit is
who should ask forgiveness of you.
Tonight has shown me there are two
sides to every shield; and | must show
you mine, so you will understand my
bitterness, and at the same time value
the love of that good woman-back in
the States. | have never spoken before,
and / need not ask you to respect my
confidence
Norling and I simply nodded.
f'To make the thing clear con-
tinued Drewit, his voice hard and dry,
you should know that I once felt to-
ward woman as you feel-now. L
placed her so high in my heart she
seemed to me the well-spring of every
thing in the world that was good and
true and worth a man s best effort.
She was my salvation. | was too poor
to marry then. and so | came out here,
and struggled, and denied myself
God only knows how much-and then
when the goal seemed just within my
reach. when I thought ] had won my
happiness, I found / had been worship
ing a hollow mockery."
Drewit stopped and shuddered, draw
ing his hand across his eyes IN dazed
sort of way, while he waited in painful
silence. At last he pulled himself to-
gether.
"She wrote me she could not marry
me; that she was engaged to another
man. he continued in colorless
monotone. elf she had loved the man,
could have forgiven her, because /
loved her enough to know what love
does to one. But she did not even al
low me to retain my respect for her;
that was the worst of all.
cit was ambition, selishness, feml-
nine vanity, that aetuated her. Calm
", with a cool kindness, she wrote me
she loved me better than the man she
was going to marry but that ne was
rich and I was not. Every moment,
she said. even while she was with TINS
man. enjoying the luxury she was TOO
weak to refuse, her heart would De
with me- According to her standard
she regarded this confession as balm
for the wound she had lntilcted. ohe
was incapable of understanding thac
she shattered more than my nope OF
happiness with her-that she was poi
soning my very soul against lift itself
And it was to this I had given my best
this woman who deliberately soid
herself to the highest bidder. l tired
to be interested in other things, out
the bottom seemed to have pretty Wen
dropped out for me. And that IS why
have never gone back. In a colony
one may go TO perdition without caus-
ing scandal. -
He gave way to burst of mirth-
less laughter. 1t was Norling who
smoke in an awed tone
- You should have gone back, ne
said. ssthere ma have been a MISTAKE;
Loving like that. I cannot understand
WHY You surrendered so easily
"sThere was no mistake, sa1o
Drewit calmly. al wrote several fran
tie letters and received one reply that
banished all doubt. I think ] VIII read
it aloud: it viii convince even YOU.
He fumbled in his wallet Ihen ne
held up the letter so the bright llght
from the moon fell upon it. The date
he read was of year before.
He began in clear. even, voice:
ssMy Own Sweetheart, Sid: