Evening star., 1923-07-08

1,uaua, comprising sixty souls or
,asnective age, sex and volubility, a
medley OF nondescript dogs ana
chickens, several pigs. and a tethereo
turtle or two, was awakened from It's
customary torpor to witness the
amazing spectacle. Never had Luana
been treated to anything half as
thrilling. Luana, that is. with the
exception of Felisi.
She stood apart from her fustered
aud elucking relatives. silent, watch
ful. apparently unimpressed, though
a certain tensity in her mien gave
the lie to her pose of indifference
Probably Felisi would have accorded
first glimpse of any of the worlds S
great capitals precisely the same
NEED of outward appreciation she
now bestowed on Strode's yacht.
And why should it be otherwise,
even in the fifteen-year-old daughter
of an obscure chief in the South Pa
cific Islands? If you had moved in
civilized circles for a space; If, that
is, you had dispensed imitation pink
coral on the wharves of Suva to every
Francisco and Sydney. and observed
the ways of the white man as had
Felisi of Luana, you would know that
the display of vulgar curiosity Is
detrimental to dignity.
You would know, also. that the cor
rect thing to do is to saunter in
1eisurely fashion as far as the palm
groves, only breaking into a run
when they obscure you from the
public gaze. Thereafter, it is permis-
sible to race backward with hair and
sulu streaming in your wake. and
load your canoe with the first man
goes and mummy apples to hand as a
valid excuse for prying into other
peoples affairs. In any case. that is
what Felisi did.
What it must be to have all the
money in the world, and therefore all
the happiness! That is what she tried
10 imagine, squatting in the canoe
among her wares and staring wide
eyed at the beautiful lady who stood
alone at the yachts after rail look
ing out over the water. To own a
floating palace of white and gold. and
go drifting over the world to every
scene of pleasure and excitement. To
know nothing of taro patches tended
in the heat of the. day, and teemfng
fish traps. and exacting relatives re-
quiring obedience and support, Felisi
sighed.
And curiously enough Mrs. Strobe
Glanced to- sigh at much the same
moment as she 1eant over the yachts
rail watching an out-rigger canoe
and it's diminutive bronze occupant
rising and falling on the gentle
swell. What it must be to have moth
ing. and therefore happiness. To live
In an earthly paradise and a sulu,
TO know nothing Of the fetish Of
civilization. To be something more
than an automaton to the man you
love. even though he he your hus-
band.
Such was the trend of Mrs. Strodes
conjectures until interrupted by un-
mistakab1e signals from the canoe:
two arms upheld. a mango in the
hand of each. and small, clear voice
coming over the water: You want
i'm mango, lady?"
Good gracious" exclaimed Mrs.
STROBE. "the child speaks English,
Yes" she called, come alongside,
Parks. have you any money"
A steward, who seemed to have ap-
fumbIed in his pocket among the
and with some diffidence produced
sixpence.
IF you'll pardon me, madam" he
W armed in a note of deferential con-
fidence, the fruit brought horf in the
bum-boats is Ugh as to price, and not
to be relied on
Nonsense said Mrs. Strode
now, you know, Parks Besides, l
don't want the fruit
Exactly what it was Mrs. STROBE
did want was hard to determine. so
Parks retired gracefully For some
time she leant over the rail looking
down into an upturned elf1n face. and
noting the perfect teeth, the velvety
skin. the brown wistfuI eyes, and
above all the wealth of blue black
hair-assimilating. in short, all those
qualities in Felisi of Luana that
helped SO materially In the sale of
imitation pink coral-or mangoes
You dear. she cried suddenly.
"Come aboard a once"
And Felisi came
Somewhere. and about an hour
later, it struck two bells, and the
mellow boom of a gong followed. soon
afterward announcing lunch aboard
the Ajax. but Mrs. Strobe was other
wise engaged. To be exact. she was
undergoing course of instruction
In making cigarettes Of dried banana
leaf and finding it absorbing. Some
how. this quaint little creature out
of the worlds end had taken hold of
Mrs. Strobe Listening to its glib
jargon, watching its deft uncon-
sciously graceful movements. and
trying to plumb the admixture of
Grass ignorance and subtle wisdom
that appeared to constitute its mind
gave this lonely woman keener pleas
ure than she had experienced for
many a day.
and you must take me
out TO the reef" she told Felisi;
Just us two in the canoe. and show
me how to do things-spear fish. and
stay under water two minutes"
Felisi appeared unimpressed You
no spear fish," she retOrted. survey