Iowa County democrat. [volume] (Mineral Point, Wis.) 1877-1938, 1915-07-01
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Pearl of the
Crossroads
How She Met Her Fate.
By FREDERICK BRIGGS
Copyright by Frank A. Munsey Co. ,
By FREDERICK BRIGGS

Some one said that a sailorman was
good for nothing but to chase about the
world and send people presents. Pearl
Smith had known this all her life,
though perhaps she had never resolved
It into just that expression.
She drew the line at having more
than one man on the same ship. Still,
this was not at all inconvenient, for
there were sometimes no less than four
teen men-of-war, besides a score of
merchant ships, in the crossroads of
the Pacific at one time.
The girl came by the prosaic name of
Smith because her fathers name had
been something else in some other
country. He came to Honolulu before
the cable was in good working order
and remained. Marrying a half caste
Kanaka girl, he had kept a sailors
boarding house on Kings road since
Pearl was a baby. The presents had
been coming in since the little girl was
big enough to climb on sailorman's
knee, and their volume increased with
her SIZE She was grown up at four
teen.
To see her then was like being wax
ened from a sweet sleep on a balmy
afternoon by having great clusters of
red, red roses pressed to ones cheeks.
Young men dropping In at the Cross
roads swore that they would never go
to sea again, only to ship with the next
tide for the Indian ocean in search of a
pearl to match her skin.
She was like Honolulu days. The
shimmering softness Of her skin match
ed the warm afternoon skies. Rich
reds Of the island sunsets burned in
her full, dimpled mouth. Tropic twi-
lights lay behind her inky eyelashes,
deepening to midnight in her long hair.
Men-of-war men and merchant sail
ors sent different presents. The avy
men leaned toward fancy jewelry and
manicure sets, while the traders stuck
to silk, uncut rubies, loose pearls, ivory
fans and ostrich plumes.
This from the young men. To emu
merate the junk that was dumped at
the feet Of this island goddess by silly
old sea captains sand others would be
to copy the cargo bills of an East and
West India tradesman. There would
also be a list of small animals and
birds, with O number Of arctic treas
ures appended. Pearl kept what she
fancied, and her father sold the rest.
AS for girl accepting presents from
a dozen men at the same time, it must
be remembered that Pearl lived neither
east of Frisco nor west of SueZ, which
is only another way Of saying that the
girl was bred in a mans country, where
anything woman gets is so much for
her gain and no less for her honor.
New admirers invariably meant more
presents. But when a sailorman can
jolly his superior officer and get any
thing he wants just for the asking wo-
men had better beware of him. When
he stands six feet in his socks, laughs
out of big blue eyes and conceals a
cello note in drawing voice so much
the worse for the women. Heine-that
was as far as they got with his name
aboard ship, and it will suffice here
Heine was all of this and more. He
was an American bluejacket, boat
SWANS mate Of the destroyer Shark.
There is one amusement the Ha-
waiians have which Americans do not
possess. We are enthusiastic surf bath
ers and are good swimmers, but
sight that is seen in Hawaiian waters
is never seen on an American coast
A Hawaiian takes with him to the
beach a board, usually about twice his
length. This board he carries out as
far as he can; then, placing himself on
it, it bears him, forced by the waves,
back again to the beach. Those who
are not expert at this exercise may lie
fat on the board, but those who are
trained to it stand erect, balancing
their bodies as they roll toward the
shore.
He met Pearl at Waikiki beach. She
was shooting the surf when Heine saw
her first. Standing upright with out
flung arms, she balanced on her polish
ed board of kamani wood as it raced
ahead of n giant breaker. Swift as the
wave she flashed past the swimming
sailor. but as the waters broke over his
head he remembered every line of her
beautiful body. The grace Of her atti-
tude struck him harder than the wave.
Turning, he swan strongly toward the
beach. where the spent roller had land
ed the fairy surf rider.
Half dozen men were begging Pearl
to be allowed to take her board out to
the reef again, but she laughed them
away with flash Of milk white teeth
and struggled out alone. Heine met
her hundred fathoms from the beach,
where the water came almost to his
shoulders as he stood on the sand.
"I'n carry your board for you" he
cried as the girl broke through wave
almost upon him.
Startled, she turned her head, and the
board slipped, striking on her flower
mouth. AS the blood came Heine
caught her in his arms. The wave, re-
eeding, shut the other bathers from
view, and for ten seconds the sailorman