The Pensacola journal. (Pensacola, Fla.) 1898-1985, 1912-04-20
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pot and rusty, spluttering pen. With
out moments consideration he wrote
on a bit of note paper in his pedantic,
over-careful script:
"SYBILs I've house as we'll as d
heart to offer you now, and
thousand pounds year. For to-
day-some Evangelic impulse hav-
ing stirred the earthly powers
I've been made Commissioner of
this backwater of barbarian. Will
you come out to me instanter? |
think you will, / hope you will
no, l believe you will. Tipi is
better place than this in climate
and-Inshallah! we shall dwell
there.
CALVIN, MD.
an. B. / love you
"P. S. II you start on receipt of
this you'll be arriving April first,
but don't deal me an April Fools
Paradise. | want all the assur-
ances you can send me of good
faith!"
Still dazed at the fulfillment of his
dream, he touched SYPHILIS unopened
letter because she had once touched it.
and gave free rein to all hopes his
common sense had held so long in
check. Its wonderful thing" he
said. "that good fortune leaps into a
mans life at one bound. / had almost
ceased to believe in happiness"
He heard the slap of naked, native
feet. hurrying along his tiled corridor.
A young Somali stood in the arch of
his doorway, bearing himself insolent-
ly as Somalis do. He was slim and
taut as a fiddle-string, and was finger
ing his prayer beads busily with sal
low hands. Interrupting his devotions,
he spoke with a thick voice in vile
Arabic:
"A lady. an English lady, comes from
the steamer to speak with you. She
is here now"
Bring her in" Calvin cried. bring
her in here"
Bultak put his beads about his arm
and fed while Calvin exclaimed at the
strangeness of his day. He had been
twenty-six months in Madgeldar and
had seen but one woman, nun, within
the walled city. But even a missionary
is boon to a lonely man, and Calvin
fastened to dress. f1uttering at the
thought of meeting European woman,
even of the somewhat formidable mis-
sionary type which invades East At
RIGA. That his visitor could be any
thing but a missionary never dawned
upon him. He already saw her, with
his minds eye, her face wet from the
exertions of a grilling walk from the
shore, her pince-nez slipping from a
nose not classic, but her sweet English
voice and stereotyped piety echoes Of
the land that he loved, the country
from which his chance to serve had
Z L. IL, l., L
as she entered the next room quietly
and all his memories of Sybil, all his
heated hopes of her, flowed through
him at the ripping noise of sill1en
skirt. He sat down on a disordered
little bed while his blue eyes filed
painfully.
Il never knew had noticed the rus
tie of women's skirts" Calvin said
family, brushing his hair arduously
with a pair of military brushes. His
tunic was spotless, his hair was
smooth, and he wore his very best
pumps-the left one was little eaten
by white ants-and then he stood in
the doorway and looked straight into
the gray and tender eyes of Sybil Rae,
who sobbed with excitement at the
sight of him.
"Sybil," he cried. as if she had been
half-mile from him, how came you
here?"
III
Sybil Rae and Calvin, MD, were es-
sentially practical people. After the
first ecstatic interlude between life
of separation and the fact of reunion,
she told how she came to Madgeldar
very succinctly in the French mail to
Alden and the BGrdlcG to Madgeldar,
nor did she dwell upon the agonies of
nocturnal transhipment. She had read
his open letter to her before he had
emerged from his bedroom and was
much elated at its contents.
I'VE shall be almost rich,' she said
thoughtfully. for Aunt Phoebe is dead,
and it was the first fruits of her legacy
which paid my fare out here"
Calvin, Md. looked at her with a
smile of appreciation. You had good
courage to come alone" he observed,
but wish you had had time to write
or you might have cabled Alden and
they could have posted me the cable
from there-but never mind, you're
here!"
Pm here" she answered with lit
tie echo of satisfaction.
Still, I could have gone of to meet
you II Ia known, and | hate 70 think
of you alone with Somali boatment"
THE captain sent an Indian mechan-
ic with me" she declared quickly.
What knight!-er-if l had but
known you were coming, I could have
had parson on the spot. There's a
glut of varisgated religions in Africa,
dear girl, but parsons are almost I'M
known in this region"
Sybil turned pale. But you wrote
lots about such nice missionary" she
cried in alarm, land l felt we could
hardly afford cables in case of mar
riage-only in case of death-besides.
oh. Calvin, MD, did love the thought
of surprised"
He took great letter-book from
shelf near at hand. big book with
painfully few letters between its pages.
He was a proper good sort that mis-
sionary," he said slowly, "and you did
we'll to remember him. He's to the
north of Tipi somewhere. but it will
be a hard ride on Somali ponies who
don't know what leg-wise means. His
name is Fodder. the missionary man 5
and he goes in for botany-and ver-
min. If we should send out for him