The San Francisco call., 1913-08-03

upon land It doubled the point clearly upon water
danced extravagantly for moment in the break
Of the bar, then steaming toward US very
fast 1t struck against the lowered ladder and looking
down into its hollow the bronze of the
native crew. and then. detaching himself them
and mounting the ladder, thu man. the bridegroom
He up rapidly and deck, near
US and right away, must say. took prodigious
dislike to him In the first place, he was dressed in
black in the tropics certainly curious malev-
olence Then he whiskers They were not the
long, flowing whiskers which of modesty, of
complete Indifference personal appearance. They.
short whskers, clipped off snappy at the hinges
of the jaws. the rest of the cheek the chin and the
lips being sIaven clean-an aggressive arrangement
that demanding close perve-se solcitude. The
fruit of a upside-down vanity differing abso-
lutey from the spirit passive hirsuteness Bespeak
ing somber ill-will set determination be sngu-
lar, to aront the the flowers the birds, all the
and beauties of the world hated those whskers.
Outside of that. had to admit it. he not bad
tall and spare with brown eyes rather nice, though
set bit too close. And he loved her-you could
that. His hands trembled He toward her and
kissed her chastey the brow, rigid somnambu-
list, and then suddenly, in spite of himself his two
trembling hands went up They went up. grasped
two elbows them tight against her sides,
tight Tie movement irresistible within its
repression was almost terrible. Her face turned up
ward toward his blanched bit 1t was all over in
moment. though. The baggage already was being
dropped into the launch He placed his right hand
against her back, and with swift look at about
him, he had whsked her off with gentle but steady
push of that big brown hand toward the ladder Poor
little Nell. If she had had doubts. if for
she had held the slightest vestige of idea of dis
cussing her fate of drawing back of hestating,
certainly given chance. One. two three-and
she at the ladder. One two, three-and she
the bottom of One two
in the sternsheets the launch The banjo, deposited
at her feet gave mu1ed lamentable note-and one.
two. three. the launch steaming away
across the slken toward the sodden land. A
quarter of the she threw gesture,
Of her kerchief which held bit of her old
careless gayety, which with Tapping
all of us. lined there along the buwarks.
mae cfor
ment fraternity. our heads in row like those of
dolls waiting to be knocked down by ball. But the
gesture was not repeated He must have engaged her
right away in serious conversation. may have pro-
tested; anyway. there was nothing We watched
the launch steam away, plunge perlousy the
bar, slide if land. behind the trees, dis
appear; there nothing sign. not
futter. We felt If suddenly big whirlpool had
sucked the joy-bubble from sight, from lives
Within twenty-four hours the big white ship
anchor in Manila bay; and few days later
again at respective routines the u.s. and
had reorganized our mess in old house by breach
of the city walls through which we caught shift
ing waters Of the bay The memories of the voyage
began to fade-as fade memories of all voyages But
STILL in a while, heard of Banjo
knew that she had been married that same evening
of her landing in Aparri. that missionary
band had taken her inland to a little pueblo, from
which radiated his effort teach natives
of praising God with song, through their
couldn't help imagining her there. in that lonely.
musty place, with the severe man-ittle tnkng Nellie
and her banjo
Months passed, the monsoons veered the rains be-
We had swung well into the routine of Manila
official life and had forgotten her. when day
ordered tour Of inspection through the Cagayan
And on that tour passed through her town and saw
her again.
I had been in the saddle for weeks and seemed
years, 1t in the afternoon, and since the
break of had been wallowing beneath the rains,
eaTs oTs s my
os
only fol few minutes.
n shs he sns
deals and p % q : Rsf took
in both of hers We remained there, the slightly
vacillating platform. during the whole interview /
refusing to come IN, for fear Of dropping Of spirit
and an abandonment Of resoutions Il but allowed
the day in barrfo where he had founded
chapel and was fghtng the local padre. "5e''-that
the way she spoke OF him. with detached
infection though mentioning something very re-
mote incomprehensble. Il don't play much: he
doesn't Ike It, she said when laughngy mentioned
nothings, Of little incidents Of the transport life. but
with her She held my hand in both of hers and beg
ged. 1t hard to refuse her Her eyes
large; it only realized that they
because the face beneath had shrunk, pale
verv thin. She held hand and begged. but I held
good had to the provincial treasurer that night
at San Juan; besides. through some cursed
tionasm. hereditary, | suppose. felt q certain enl-
away. And suddenly she dropped hand AM ceased
asking; dropped my hand and let her hands fall
expression of sudden surrender which had In it
OF often begged