Evening star., 1923-04-29
ELISI was hoeing in the family
~ tsro patch, when the white
man Mled ont Of the green

mere was DiOOQ on MS tdCe, Ms
ducks we're tattered and besmeared.
and his left hand traiIed lifelessly
I'm the sand at his side. For mo-
nent he stared along the stretch of
slstening beach, then quite suddenly
he collapsed in little heap and lay
still.
Now. the way of the white man is
beyond belief. Felisi. who for many
months had lived among him and his
women, while selling imitation pink
coral on the wharf at Levuka. had
learned this great truth from the
hitter-sweet experience that goes to
make up life-even the life OF a
South sea islander. She had studied
the white man in his love and in
his hate, in prosperity and poverty,
peace and war. and at the end Of an
eventful fourteen years found herself
TO nearer discovering the cause Of
his ineffable conceit, colossal ignor-
snce. monumental selfshness. and
undoubted greatness, that she had
been as tiny bronze infant. playing
Under the breadfruit trees of her
native village.
Wherefore. the genus white man
claimed good deal Of Felisfs at
tention. His antics interested her In
the same way that her own life and
habits interested some white men.
though. Of course, it never occurred
10 the latter that while they were
studying the quaint customs Of a
quaint people" they themselves were
being studied.
For instance, when the dear old
gentleman on the wharf at Levuka
had patted Felisi's head and bought
shilling's worth of spurious coral for
The sake Of studying the texture Of her
hair. he had not the faintiest idea tlat
the soft brown eyes that wandered lang
ourously over his superannuated per-
son had noted that tufts off hair
grew out OF his ears in most comi-
cal manner. that his false teeth NOV
cd when he talked. and that, save
for his red skin, he was the living
image Of doddering lunatic that
Felisi knew of in a certain village
up the coast.
But there il was.
And here was another Casa
white man lying in limp heap on
the beach at Luana. He was quite
Young, as white men went. and when
Felisi had climbed palm and given
him a drink from a green cocoanut,
he sat up with startling abruptness
where am 10" he demanded.
"Luana," FeIisi answered. squat
ting in the sand and watching with
interest the contortions of his pink
face as he tried to lift his arm.
"Luana. Ooch. Yes. / seem to
have been on Luana for the last
twenty years. But what part:
Ouch
"Senai Keba,' said Felsi-
The white man whistled.
Great Scott he muttered. The
north end. 7 must have
The white man stared at Felisi with
suddenly awakened interest
You speak English:' he exclaimed.
as though this accomplishment OF
FeIisi's had just reached his notice.
Some. Snc duS"C
THANK heaven" nsuttered the
white man. Have you seen any one
"a white man, l mean. large white
man who limps when he walks and
a rife under his ARM? He
was looking over his shoulder now,
n nd when he turned, there was furtive
look in his eyes.
Felisi shook her head.
"Then YOU soon WILL" snapped the
white man. Get me out of here. Kid,
safe, and--and you snail
have all I've got. He's after me
hev're after me. I haven't slept for
three nishts-the bush-I can't stand
il anv more" He moaned and pitched
face forward into the sand.
TT was an interesting phenomenon
i that. when the white man Is
strong and we'll he is a god in his
own estimation, infinitely removed
4 bove the Polynesian race; but when
he Is sick or frightened, he is as
h umble as a child. 1t was as a child
that Felisi saw this white man. She
knew of place, a perfectly safe
place, and when she had brought him
round for the second time, she guided
him to it. The Bull of Senai Keba
had built a new lookout on the edge
of the beach, but the old one still
remained up amongst the branches
Of giant dilo tree. 1t was big
business getting the white man up
the broken ladder of Llama, and he
had no sooner crawled on to the plat
form of woven branches than he col
lapsed again.
He was very humble.
Felisi brought him green 'cocoanuts
and cooked taro root. and while he
ate, in great hungry mouthfuls, she
examined his arm. There was clean
hole on one side. just above the
other.
SO long as it hasn't got the bone
it's nothing" mumbled the white
man. with his mouth full; but I
rather fancy it has-ouch" He leant
back against the dilo trunk while
Felisi bound the wound with q strip
torn from her sulu. 1T was good
shot" he continued to humble
reminiscently, 800 yards. if it was an
inch. was crawling up the other
side of the valley. the only bit Of
omen country we'd seen for-ho W
long was itc-four-five days ."
His voice trailed OFF into silence. He
was asleep--asleep with the half
eaten taro root in hand lying Imply,
palm upward. OH the platform.
He slept for day and q night and
nearly half a day. and when he awoke
he ate until Felisi thought he would
burst. He seemed to swell with the
n,sli NJ Ela