The Bridgeport evening farmer., 1911-10-12


 black he had ridden a nip of trade gin. Viaburi, the house boy, brought him corrosive sublimate and water, and he took thorough antiseptic wash. He dOsed himself with chlorodyne, took his own pulse, smoked ther- mometer, and lay back on the couch with suppressed groan. it was mid afternoon, and he had completed his third round that day. He called the house boy.
 Take um big fella look along Jessie" he commanded.
 The boy carried the long telescope out on the Feranda and searched the sea.
 "One fella schooner long way little bit," he announced "One fella Jessie"
 The white man gave a little gasp of delight.
 You make nm Jessie, five sticks tobacco along you," he said. There was silence for time, during which he~ waited with eager impa- tience.
 Maybe Jessie, maybe other fella schooner came the faltering admis-
 
 sion.
 couch and slipped off to the floor on his knees. By means of a chair he drew himself to his feet. Still clinging to the chair, supporting most of his weight on it, he showed it to the door and out upon the veranda. The sweat from the exertion streamed down his face and showed through the under shirt across his shoulders He man. aged to get into the chair, where he panted in a state of collapse. In few minutes he reused himself. The boy held the end of the telescope against one of the veranda scantlings, while the man gazed through it at the sea. At last he picked up the white sails of the schooner and studied them. "No Jessie," he said very quietly That's the Malakula."
 He changed his seat for a steamer reclining chair. Three hundred feet away the sea broke in small surf upon the beach. To the left he could see the white line of breakers that marked the bar of the Balesuna river | and, beyond, the rugged outline of Savo island. Directly before him, across the twelve mile channel, lay Florida island, and, farther to the right, dim in the distance, he could make out portions of Malaita, the saw age island, the abode of murder and | robbery, and man eating, the place from which his own two hundred plan tation hands had been recruited. Be | tween him and the beach was the cane grass fence of the compound. The gate was ajar, and he sent the house l boy to, close it. Within the fence grew a number of lofty cocoanut palms. On either side the path that led to. the gate stood two tall fagstaffs, like ships masts, with topmasts spliced on in true nautical fashion, with shrouds, ratlines, gaffs and flag halyards. From the gaff of one two gay flags hung Imply, one checker board of blue and white squares, the other a white pennant centred with a red disk. It was the international code signal | of distress t i The man ordered the great bell to be rung as a signal for the plantation | hands to cease work and go to their 1 barracks. Then he mounted his man. horse and made the last round of the l day. II Tn the hospital were two new cases. | To these he gave castor oil. He con- | graduated himself. 1t had been an easy day. Only three had died. He | inspected the copra drying that had been going on, and went through the barracks to see if there were any sick l lying hidden and defying his rule Of | segregation. Returned to the house, | he received the reports of the boss l boys and gave instructions for next 1 days work. The boats crew boss also l he had in, to give assurance, as was | the custom nightly, that the whale boats were hauled up and padlocked This was most necessary precautfon for the blacks were in a funk, and 8 whale boat left lying on the beach in | the evening meant a loss of twenty 1 blacks by morning. Since the blacks were worth $50 piece or less, accord | ing to how much of their time had been worked out, Berande plantation could i'll afford the loss Besides whale boats were not cheap in the i isSolomoEs, and, also, the deaths were daily reducing the working capital Seven blacks had fled into the bush the week before, and four had dragged themseises back. helpless from fever with the report that two more had been killed and kai kald (eaten) by the hospitable bushmen. The seventh man was still at large and was said to be working along the coast on the lookout to steal canoe and get away to his own island. I Viaburi brought two lighted lanterns to the white man for inspection He glanced at them and saw that they were burning brightly with clear, broad flames, and nodded his head. One was hoisted up to the gafr of the 1agstaff, and the other was placed on the wide yeranda. They were the leading lights to the Berande anchor age, and every night in the year they were so inspected and hung out.
 He rolled back on his couch with a sigh of relief. The days work was l ,.iA 1ox