Grant County herald. [volume] (Lancaster, Wis.) 1850-1968, 1908-11-14

WuOo0 LCCIA WClC 81 pun lAdL Stu
could only eat tender things like little
girls. Of course, the little girl knew
nothing Of this dragon, but the man
knew her very well indeed-so we'll
that when the dragon was only days
journey from the garden he thought 1t
best to tell the little girl so that she
could run away and not be eaten up.
At the same time he hated to tell her,
because he liked the little girl very
much, and didn't want to make her
think he was sending her away because
he was tired Of her so one evening he
made it all into story, and told it her
while they were sitting in the garden"
Oyosi sat perfectly still and silent
for a few seconds, then-"And little
girl? She go?' she inquired, earnestly.
Eyes, she went" said Cation, slowly.
"Then big man him like dragon pleIl-
ty more little girl" The tone was a
conviction.
It was an awkward moment. Cation
turned away, and picked up a mango.
'You see," he said, after pause, "the
dragon was his'-and it was not until
then that he saw Oyosi had gone.
At first he thought that she had left
by the gate, and wondered that he had
not heard the click Of the latch, then
he saw her coming down the lanai steps
with the guitar. She squatted at his
feet in silence, and when she COM
menced to play the opening bars Of cal
Cha De-" he knew that she had under
stood.
She sung the chorus of the Hawaiian
song of farewell in her own quaint YER
sion Of the tongue, and the little, high
pitched falsetto, at which Cation had
tutored himself not to smile; then she
laid the guitar in the grass at her side.
81 tell story one time now," she sug-
gested, suddenly.
The sun had set, the night-blooming
cereus was filling the garden with Il
heavy fragrance. Cation leant forward
| it was the first time she had ever
thought of such a thing.
Eyes, tell me story, Oyosi," he said,
eagerly.
Oyosi knelt at his feet, he could see
her bright eyes in the dim light, looking
into his. Suddenly a strong impulse
seized him. Why not give her some
thing to carry away into her narrow
little life? He took her face between
his hands and kissed her on the lips.
eyes, tell me a story, Oyesi," he re.
peated in voice strangely unsteady.
Oyosi rose and stood before him, her
body swaying with some suppressed ex-
element.
81 come tell story" she said, breath
lessly; call same story-little girl, lit
tie garden, big, big man-dragon-him
he dragon mine" Then she turned and
| fed, the staccato click-clock, click
clock of her clogs growing fainter and
fainter down the road.
"What the DEVIL" murmured
Cation, perplexedly; then he smiled
reminiscently, and lit fresh cigar.
| The wharf was crowded with a heter-
ogeneous collection Of cheerful human
ity as Cations cab drove into the shed ::
mild-eyed Hawaiian women in gaily-
hued wrappers offering for sale lais Of
brilliantly-tinted blossoms and strings
Of seeds, alert japanese, and express
sionless Cinnamon. With commendab!e
patience Cation slowly elbowed his way
through them all.
The huge hull Of the Mona slid near
err and nearer, her bulwarks lined with
waving handkerchiefs and smiling
faces.
Cation saw his wife almost immedi-
ately, and waved a greeting with his
hat over the head Of the little Jananese
woman In front who had a baby siung
in a shawl at her back. Cations glance
happened to fall on the woman's neck,
and was held there-he had seen that
neck before. He glanced down at the
| FACET was Oyosi's, expectancy per-
sonified. A few seconds passed, then a
little brown hand was raised and waved
frantically, 1t was impossible for Cation
to see who to. The gang plank was
thrust aboard, and the passengers filed
off to be swallowed up in the crowd.
Cation stood and gazed dumbly, first at
the brown and bawling speck of human
ity tied to Oyosi's back, then at
stumpy little Jap with short, bow legs.
a nose like piece of putty, and a grin
that threatened to interfere with his
ears, who bounded through the crowd
and almost lifted Oyosi from her feet.
He examined her, and she smiled ra-
dainty; he examined the baby, still
bawling, and she laughed estatically !;
then quite suddenly Oyosi's story Of che
night before flashed back into Cations
brain-'Little girl, little garden, big,
big man-drag on-him he dragon
mine" This was Oyosi's dragon and
where was his?
eve just been wondering exactly how
| long Won were going to stand there