Polk County observer. (Monmouth, Polk County, Or.) 1888-1927, 1911-11-14


! Also. it is adventure And further
more. vou needn't worry for Yourself
| am not mntrimonially inclined
came 10 the SolomonS for. Il planta
ton. not Il husband
Sheldon flushed. but remained silent
u know what You are thinking"
she laughed gayly. THAT if were
man. you'd wiring my neck for me.
And deserve it. too. I'm so sorry.
[ ought not to keep on hurting your
feelings"
I'm afraid rather invite it," he
said. relieved by the signs Of the
tempest suhsiding.
II have it," she announced. Lend
me gang of your boys for today.
I'll build grass house for myself
over in the far corner OF the com
pound-on piles. of course can
move in tonight. I'll be comfortable
and safe The Tahitians can keep an
anchor watch just as aboard ship
And then I'll study cocoanut painting.
In return, I'll run the kitchen end Ol
your household and give YOU SOME
decent food 10 eat. And finally.
won't listen to any of youl protests
On the other hand. if you don't agree,
| will go across the river. beyond your
jurisdiction, and build village for
myself and my sailors, whom | shalt
send in the whaleboat TO Guvutn foI
provisions. And now | want you tC
teach me billiards.
Joan took hold of the household with
no uncertain grip, revOlutonizinp
things till Sheldon hardly recognized
the place. For the first time he bun
galow was clean and orderly. No
longer the house boys lOafed and did
AS little as they could: while the cOuB
complained that head belong him
walk about too much" from the siren
nous course in cookery which she put
him through. Nor did Sheldon escape
being roundly lectured for his lazi-
ness in eating nothing but timed pro-
visions. She called him muddler
and slOuch. and other invidiOus
names, for his slackness and his dis
regard of healthful food.
She sent her whaleboat down the
coast twenty miles for lines and or
anges. and wanted to know scathingly
why said fruits had not long since
been planted at Berande. while he was
beneath contempt because there was
no kitchen garden. Mummy apples,
which he had regarded as weeds.
under her guidance appeared as appe-
tizing breakfast fruit. and. at dinner
were metamorphosed into puddings
that elected his unqualified admira-
tion. She or her sailors dynamlted
fish daily. while the Balesuna natives
were paid tobacco for bringing in
oysters from the mangrove swamps.
Among other things, she burned the
pestilential hospital, quarreled with
Sheldon over the deed and in anger
set her own men to work building a
new and what she called decent hos
pital. She robbed the windows of their
lawn and muslin curtains. replacing
them with gaudy calico from the trade
store and made herself several gowns.
When she wrote out list of goods
and clothing for herself. to be sent
down to Sydney by the first steamer,
Sheldon wondered how long she had
made up her mind to stay.
She was certainly unlike any woman
he had ever known or dreamed of. So
far as he was concerned. she was not
a woman at ALL She neither languished
nor blandished. No feminine lures
were wasted on him. He might have
been her brother. OF she his brother
for all sex had to do with the strange
situation. Despite his warnings about
crocodiles and sharks. she persisted In
swimming in deep water off the
beach. nor could he persuade ner
when she was in the boat. to let one OF
the sailors throw the dynamite when
shooting fish She argued that she was
at least Il little bit more intelligent
than they and that. therefore. there
was less liability of an accident II she
did the shooting. She was to him the
most masculine and at the same time
the most feminine woman he had evel
met.
A source of continual trouble between
them was the disagreement Ovel
methods Of handling the black boys
She ruled by stern kindness, rarely
rewarding. never punishing. and h'
had to confess that her own sailors
worshipped her. while the house boy
were her slaves and did three times
as much work for her as he had evel
got out Of them. She quickly saw The
unrest of the contract lahorers and
was not blind TO the danger. always
imminent. that both she and Shpldor
ran. Neither Of them ever ventureC
out without a revolver. and the sailor'
who stood the night watches by .loan''
grass house were armed with rifles
But Joan inisted that this reign 0f ter
ror bad been caused by the reign ol
fear practiSed by the white men. She
had been brought mp with the gentle
Hawaiians. who never were illtreaiec
nor roughly handled. and she general
lied that the Solomon islanders. IN
der kind treatment. would grow gentle
One evening terrific uprOar arose
a H