Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1931-08-02

pain.
"Maybe got wife, obeIigli-no matta." no
said. "One wife good, two wife mo- BETA"
mo. haven't any wife, king told him.
I'm q bachelor, all right. I'm ready to have
an ator wife. How about my marrying
Nakuela?"
"Nakuela2" he asked, considerably sur
prised.
eyes, In the photograph you gave me look
at" told him. "Nakuela-that's her name.
amt it?"
"Makohahe got Nakuela." he said. Mako
hahe tole her"
That's all right" said Wen get this
war going properly and We'll knock the spots
on Makohahe and take Nakuela away from
him again. That's the one want to marry.
king. With me it is Nakuela or nothing"
Maybe mo- beta you marry"
mo-" said positively. "No, king! It ID
Nakuela or nothing for Obed Higgins That's
absolute That's final"
He looked grave at that. He called half .
dozen Of his older men-his important "chieps,"
I know now-and they talked it over at great
length. They were worried. could see that.
MY guess was that had picked q girl some
other fellow had set his eye on, and that they
were trying 10 figure out how they could give
me Nakuela and not ALLEVIATE the loyalty Of the
other fellow.
was absolutely wrong in my guess. That
was not what worried them at all. What dis
turbed them was that Na<uela was not the girl
in the picture: Nakuela was the pig had
told them I wanted to marry the pig and that
nothing else would do.
All their Capitalization went over my head.
Of course; did not know six words Of their
lingo. Finally one old fellow made a long talk,
standing up and Grating and gesturing. I
suppose he was telling them that customs DIFF.
fered in different lands and that marrying pigs
might be q custom In my land, o form Of
0F 0f AZ
rate they evidently decided that my rife and
my help in the war was the important matter
rs far as they were concerned.
TOO much glad, Obe'lgh," the king told me.
"You marry Nakuela. FRS get. then marry.
Yes. All RI. Much oblige ! think So"
This being settled they made the big well
coming feast q betrothal feed as well They
hung flowers on me, and did betrothal dance
for my benefit, and everything went of splen-
didly.
4 IAKOHA5E'S army was camped across the
M lagoon. eight miles away. I looked up
and down the lagoon shore-no boats. Taahai
told me later that he had done as Who's-this-
burned his boats. So had Makohahe; it pre-.
vented assertions.
Next morning the drums beat and the war
songs were yelled and the warriors clashed
their spears on their shields
It was eight miles across the lagoon to where
Makohahe was holding my Nakuela captive,
but it was IL miles around by the atoll. We
set o good pace, q fast dog trot, and the old
king and kept in front. We reached Ma
kohahes camp about noon, and he wasn't
there
mo beta eat" the king thought, and the
fires were built ON the ashes Makohahe had
left, and after eating enough the king had to
have his nap. It was hot enough. Hot! 7
walked over to the shore Of the lagoon and,
across the lagoon, just where We had started
from that morning, I saw Makohahe's camp
fire arising.
We hadn't gained on him an inch He was
where we had been, and we were where he
had been. I woke the king up and pointed
this out to him.
Well, you know what Gen. Grant said: "Im
fight it out on this line If it takes all Summer"
The king said the same thing. and he did it.
too. The Spearmen, when I got the hang Of
their lingo, told me it was the fercest most
ferocious war the atoll had ever known.
Relentless it was. Up every morning in time
for breakfast, thump- -thump on the drums,
and or we went to catch Makohahe Come
noon we stopped to eat where he had been,
and he stopped to eat where We had been and
everybody had nice nap. Then thump-a-
thump on the drums, and off we went after
Makohahe all afternoon, and at evening we
were all back where we were in the morning,
we on our side of the lagoon and Makohahe
on his side.
All Summer Right up to the rainy season.
We were just IL miles behind Makohahe all
Summer.
'.No CATCH" said Taahai. Good war,
Obe'igl. Long war. My glandchile sing song
how long-long Taahai make war on Mako
hahe; my glandchile's glandchile sing song how
long-long-long Taahai make war on Makohahe.
One year, 10 year, 20 year, so year-no, not
SO year; Taahai dead then. Maybe 30 year."
But wasn't interested in his idea Of making
q longtime endurance test war that his grand
childrens grandchildren would embalm In song.
wanted Nakuela. I got up and shouldered