Oxford Democrat. [volume] (Paris, Me.) 1833-1933, 1921-02-01
When the Ship
Sailed
By H. LOUIS RAYBoLD
Ia 1850, By Mcclure Newspaper Syndicate

ia 1880. By Mcclure Newspaper syndicate)
Marian Wetherby sat crouched amid
the lavish cushions on the broad lanai.
her face buried In her hands, her
shoulders shaking convulsively. Above
and about her the soft Hawaiian
night spread its beauty. but Marian
had no eyes for the velvet-starred sky,
no ears for the droning chant OF the
Pacific beating on the reef beyond the
harbor. Rather, the loveliness OF the
surroundings accentuated her grief'
her loneliness.
1.-THE last evening we might have
spent together, Jim," she murmured
brokenly, "and you did not come u
For on the morrow the girl, obeying
her uncle and guardians decree-and
whoever disobeyed even O wish OF
Henry @. Winthrop, millionaire sugar
| planter and important citizen Of Homo
| lulu was to leave with her aunt on
the Esonia for q prolonged trip In the
States.
Marian, resentful already homesick
in anticipation, knew that her uncle's
| chief reason for banishing her was to
break up the friendship between his
niece and James Elliot Calendar.
| The sound Of heavy footsteps
| startled the girl. Jimf No, that was
not Jim's step. She had dared give
way to her tears, thinking the lateness
| of the hour rendered interruption un-
likely. 1t proved to be her uncle,
whom she had supposed asleep long
ago.
Up the step he came, broad, mas
sive man, with a half-smoked cigar
gripped tightly between his teeth. For
a moment he regarded his niece, not
unkindly and yet without sympathy,
as she stood up making futile dabs
with her handkerchief at her wet eyes.
| Should he tell her or mott 1t would
certainly be better for her to leave
hating that confounded Calendar in
stead Of fancying she was heartbroken
over him.
The sooner she got over her infatua-
ton the sooner would she prove amen
able to his plans-plans eminently
well calculated to advance her inter-
ests-and his.
Resolutely he flicked the ash from
his cigar and laid his hand on the
girls shoulder. my DEAR" he said
without preamble, "just where do you
suppose your precious Jim is wasting
his timer
he paused as the girl raised
startled eyes of inquiry, then contin-
ued: IT had occasion today to ride
out to the Wailoa ditch. On my way
passed Calendar with one Of Sans
pretty half-caste daughters putting
wreaths about his neckp With a
gentle pressure Of his hand, Winthrop
passed into the house.
Marian's first thought was that her
uncle, whom she knew to be be-
lever in the principle that any means
justifes q good end, had cooked up
the story as a final weapon against
Jim. For well she knew her uncle was
bent upon a match between her and
the son Of W. Laurens, owner Of the
Oahu pineapple plantations. Such a
marriage would effectively unite the
business interests of the islands two
greatest corporations.
And yet-Jim had not come to say
good-by. His absence in itself was al
most corroboration Of her uncle's
story. With a heavy heart, the girl
entered the house.
Meanwhile Jim, all too well aware
Of the bewilderment his absence must
be causing the girl he loved, sat flow
er-crowned among asgroup Of dancing,
chanting ukulele-playlng Hawaiians'
And with a fierce hatred he hated his
stolid, phlegmatic half Chinese, part
native, part white, all heather host,
who had steadfastly refused all day
to give his answer.
Yet Jim smiled and bowed and flirt.
ed with the girls, knowing in his heart
that only by possessing his soul in pa
thence could he gain his ends. And
just about the time that Marian was
falling into a troubled sleep wherein
she dreamed Of faithless men, Jim had
his reward.
"Sure ting, Mist Callen'-I buy
Tousan' dolla' down. Fixee up lest
bime BY"
The following morning the Esonia's
smokestacks were flinging their signals
Of departure into the smiling Hawaiian
sky. Ropes Of flowers stretched from
the crowded dock to the decks where
the passengers gorgeously wreathed
with leis of brilliant flowers, smiled
and waved farewells to those left be
hind.
Among them, standing silent, som
ber-eyed, one slender girl waited un
smiling. But her glance wandered
searching continually the people or
the dock. Nor did they brighten as
they fell upon the complacent figure
of her uncle, whose very attitude In
dicated satisfaction at a deed vel
done.
| And indeed he had cause to pal
himself approvingly on the back. II
two minutes more the vast Pacific
would begin to stretch between hi
rebelllous niece and the man Of hel
choice-but not Of his. Yet a grea1
deal can happen in two minutes.
| Just as the native band changed
from its martial music into the plain
tive Hawaiian Aloha. whose ca
dences never fail to awaken in tht
hearts Of those who listen strange
melancholy regrets and yearnings
iust as the last wreaths were thrown
and the sleek-bodied young Kanaka!
made ready at the rails for their bolt
dives after coins thrown by the pas
sengers above; just as the deckhand
reached for the gang-plank ropes,
commotion at the rear Of the Grove
communicated itself to the rest.
The gangplank stayed Its withdraw
| al while hatless youth elbowed h''
way through. As he passed Henri
Winthrop he pressed note Into hi
hand. The next instant he was aboar'