The Washington herald., 1922-06-25

yee ago, seeking adoitionai ad- /
Francisco. How do you account for
this9 MY own belief Is that he ac-
eepteo our marveis without wonder
oecause they were so foreign to
snytning In his experience. There
was nothing In his own life with
wnich to compare what he saw here.
nevertheless. would like to know
wnat he really thought about his
VISIT and what he told his family
wnen ne went back home"
Meets Roaki's r.niIy.
II was my good fortune, later, to
gather some information ON this
point 1 had occasion to make an
other voyage through the Low Arc
ipeiago. and. as / carried with me
some presents for RoakI from Ap-
pieby and his family. I decided to
give them to him myself ~ the
chance came. ! travelled for several
months on small trading schooners
which were picking up copra and
pearl smell. 1 made soJourns at
various atols. and at last was able
to take passage on a 4o-ton schoon-
er which was bound for Roaki's
island.
One could call IT an island only
by courtesy. The lagoon Is nfteen
miles long by nine broad. but II
is surrounded for the most part by
barren reef. with here and there a
tiny islet coveed with scrub, giving
root to few isolated coconut
palms The habitable land is a mere
strip along the western SIDE Of the
lagoon. several miles In length but
scarcely 500 yards across at any
point. The village lay opposite the
break In the reef. where the boat
passage II. and here the schooner
came to anchor. close In shore, with
In few yards of Roakfs home.
I can imagine from the warmth
Of the welcome fiven me as q friend
Of Appleby, the reception he himself
would have had at Raeo. "Apati"
they called him this being the
nearest approach they could make
to the English pronunciation The
forty Inhabitants Of the place knew
by name and they would have
known him by sight as well. for
his photograph. which had been
framed In polished pearl-sheiI, hung
on q wall over Roakfs bed.
showed Pietsre Of Frisco.
Beneath It was q picture post
card Of Market street In San Fran
cisco. the scene of many of Roakfs
adventures. A family feast was
given on the evening Of my arrival.
NJ a.
rest Of the village had assembled at
his house did Roaki. in the delib-
crate Paumotuan way. ask for news
Of his American friends.
"Apati-rane tAppleby the man)
was he we1i7" I assured him that
he was and that he often spoke Of
his friend Roaki. "And Apati-
vahins (Appleby the woman). she.
too. was enjoying good healthf-
She, too. said, had every reason
to be grateful for abundant good
health. And the Mamma -Ruau.
with removable teeth, and Mari. the
daughter, and the two small chill
drenT Roaki remembered them all
In turn, including the household
pets. q dog, pony and q canary.
I was q little puzzled at FIRST At
some of his inquiries. Whom did
he mean by Appieby's Mamma Ruau.
literally. the old mamma or grand
mother? The explanation that she
had removable teeth did not enlight-
en- me, but when he said that she
prepared the food for the family, 1
understood that he referred to Car
rie. the Swedish cook. And Mary,
~.
Appleby's oldest daughter. and EN-
ma. the children's nurse. for Mrs.
Appleby herself.
The real Mrs. Appieby and an old
er daughter Of is he had not identi-
ned as belonging to the immediate
family. Fetiis' he called them. or
visiting relatives. thinking evident
ly that women Of such ample leisure
could be nothing else. I didn't take
the trouble to explain, for I was
curious to learn Of some of his
other impressions.
He had not been unobservant.
Appleby was entirely wrong about
that. He talked from in the
evening until long after midnight,
all the village listening, comment
ing. conjecturing as they must
have done scores Of times before.
I regret exceedingly that I can but
briefly summarize the story, and
that the scene at the telling Of II
and Roaki's manner Of narration
must all come from the imagina-
tion of the reader.
It must be remembered that Raeo
10 as far removed from our world
a. It is possible for an island to be.
and that of the people who live
there. only Roaki had ever wan
dered beyond the charmed circle Of
the islands themselves.
II shall never forget" he began,
the kindness of Apati to me, a
stranger on his island: and II one
day he should come to Raeo, I shall
kill all my pigs and chickens for
the feast of welcome to him. But
am poor like the others here.
and the most could offer would
be nothing to the food I have
eaten as hiE guest.
Had Plenty to Eat.
One thing / saw clearly in
America; without money one may
not eat; but all have money there
50 1t matters not; and Apati is
very rich. We ate when and where
We would and never less than
three times a day; but where this
food came from. and who It Is that
must work to furnish 1t was not
able to see.
How is It that Apati has such
great wealth. for he did not work.