The Pacific commercial advertiser. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1885-1921, 1909-10-03

say ItJ>s We VIII endure 1t
Y can I describe the look that alter
Ell his face. He stood there. staring
at me with a hurt, puzzled expression,
man suddenly confronted with an in
explcahle problem. But you don t
love her,' he managed to say.
of course I don t. I retorted.
Why should II But I m going to have
some OF that water.
'You can give what explanation you
ike of his next move. He took me
by the arm and strobe back TO the
thicket. pulling me into its shade after
him. On the ground lay Honoria,
asleep. He moti0ned to me to pass
her. and as l crept up beside him he
laid his finger on a small groove in the
face Of the rock.
:" Look! he said.
"The depression, very shallow one,
extended vertically up. 1t was still
damp. It was the channel of a stream.
:" I found it, he told me savagelv.
Its mine. Somewhere up the face Of
the cliff there is the outlet of spring.
When the sun shines and heats the
rock, all the water that issues evapor-
ates before it comes down within reach.
But at night, after the face of the rock
has cooled, it commences to triekle
down into little basin twenty feet
up there. When that basin is filled
few drops trickle down to the ground,
but then the sun rises and heats the
rock and instantly evaporates it. 80
that few minutes after sunrise there
is only this slight dampness to mark
its course. It's minel'
D." But if one should climb up to the
spring-to that basin,' I said eagerly,
I then we could get water all day long,
for all of us.
''He laughed feverishIy. 1--WE meas
ured it. Working for hours last night,
I got-how muchF A cupful! All told,
less than pintl Enough for only
onei'
=" And that IS you!' I stormed
:" No. he replied duly 'Honoria.
81 went away, quite undecided. l
was of a mind to tell the rest. But
what good would that do? The scanty
pint a day-a cupful-would not
moisten the lips of all of us. And, be-
sides, [ had a profound fear of Plicott.
He was capable of murder; he would
kill us all, if it came to the question.
l did not doubt his ability. While we
had silently made these two, the guilty
man and the guilty woman, apart from
us, separated by an, invisible strong
line, they dominated US. Keeping to
themselves, forced aloof by some I'M
spoken reprobation of ours, they, how
ever, seemed to have the balance of
power with them. Yet I cannot tell
T Jouo bo5 not
opportune shower drenched us and CIV
en- us half cask of water again. This
reprieve strengthened us. But at the
end of twenty-four hours we Weakened
to find that the three sailors had stolen
the cask and our boat and vanished,
leaving Howard and the mate, Plicott,
Honoria, Susan, and myself with but
very little victual and no water.
ebay after day passed. Our little
rations of food would not go down our
-hroats for dryness. We lay in the
shadow of the rock, after soaking our
bodies in the surf, and muttered insane
at the pitiless and shining
,ky. When I say 'we' and 'our' [
refer to those of US who had thrust
Plicott and Honoria into separate
society. I did not disclose their secret
yet We were all weakened and
Plicott and the woman were
strong, unwithered by the heat and the
drought. But l saw to it that they got
nothing of our scanty food. l recall
smiling across at Plicott and daring
him to demand his rations. And he
,miled back, magnifcently.
'"Gridley grew violent within two
IL. i - ha
went off by himself, and maintained a
steady and vigilant watch over us, like
/ vulture. Howard, old and dried up
anyway, did not seem to need water
as much as the rest of us. He sat |
gainst the rock, as he had always
lone. changing from shadow to shadow
IS the sun swept overhead; and Susan
4avs leaned on his knee and dreamed,
Ter hands clasped over her bosom. |
Apart. Honoria sat like a splendid god
less at the entrance of her sacred
hicket: sunk in dark meditation, PHI |
.ott sat beyond her, sullen and silent, |
low staring at the woman, now gazing |
lpon the ground.
.'T thinn about two days more had !
passed when / was Weakened IN deep j
light TO hear harsh voice saying, 'Get |!
Pack! Get baekl' I got up and ran |
.ound the edge of the rock toward the !
hicket. and saw Gridley on one knee, |
lighting off Plicott. :,
GAS came up the second mate call
a out through the dark, They've got !
water! XIII them BOTH He rolled |
,ver under a blow, his voice dying IN
lis throat.
"The tumult brought Howard, and
le and I stormed at Plicott, who con- |
'ronted rs under the bright stars, pis- |
ol in hand. I admit it was not a
,rettv scene. But Plicott S pistol sub
lued US, and we went muttering away. |
Ks we stumbled back, looking over our !
houlders and eursing, the old man I
etched forward. Gridley, STOPPING |
,ver him. stared into his set face and /
ose. croaking, He's dead So he was. !
"This brought matters to pass.
The girl, Susan Hays, came and sat
hroupb the morning by the side of her
nlv protector and friend, dry eyed,
creme her cracked lips parted in
.entle smile. Far off. Gridfey huddled
n the wet sand at the waters edge,
vhil Plicott stood on the other side,
istol in hand. After hours of hesita-
ion. I got up and drew my knife, in
ending to 90 and kill Plicott.
"Bnt at this moment Honoria came,
-a1king easily and slowly, calling out,