The Bluffton news. [volume] (Bluffton, Ohio) 1875-current, 1942-01-08

nent development showed in its ev-
cry angle the character and meth
DDS, even the personality, of James
Wayne.
One hundred yards from the beach
the Holokai's anchor roared down,
splashing water higher than her
booms; and now Dick Wayne was
standing beside Karen again.
He spoke to her with an imper-
sonal courtesy.
''The ladders down. If you're
ready to go ashore"
Karen's temper blazed up.
you've gone a long way out of
your way" she told him, ITO put me
in perfectly impossible position. l
don't see why should wish to go
ashore at place which cannot pos
sibly contain anything else except
more of your own kind"
WELL" Dick grinned, wasn't this
your own suggestion? Take her out
and show her the coast line. Feed
shark's-fin soup. Show her Ala
koa-she'd be interested?'
mo doubt that is very funny"
Karen said incisively; "your jokes
are perfectly killing. But meantime
I am virtually your prisoner, for
reasons of your own that / know
nothing about. And ! don't like it at
ALL"
Dick Wayne spoke again, his voice
very low and gentle. "I'm sorry it
worked out this way" he said. "Of
course, understand now you feel.
! promise you that things will be
made as comfortable as possible for
you while you're here. My brothers
are in Honolulu, and there's no one
you'll have to talk to here"
Karen Waterson's anger died out.
This man could put her into white
blazes of temper, but, curiously, she
did not hate him when the anger
was gone. Her tremendous curiosi-
ty about .Alakoa came on her again,
as strongly as if the heart of the
island itself were pulling upon every
part of her.
She glanced at Tonga Dick, who,
as usual, was not looking at her;
and, after moment more, silently
went down the ladder into the shore
boat.
Always afterward, Karen Water
son was able to recall every detail
of that landing upon Alakoa-the
brown-green of the barnacles bris-
ting upon the rotting piles of the
fishermen's pier, the broken, water
soaked fingernails Of a small brown
boy who clung for a moment to the
gunwale at risk of the propeller;
the salty, fishy smell Of drying nets,
the buttery reek Of copra, and the
hot, lush breath of the verdant beach
jungle, which seemed to give the
island soul utterly apart from that
of the sea.
But among all these things that
were meaningless in themselves,
one stood out: the figure of the man
who stood at the stem of the shore
launch, balancing easily to its roll.
1t was the figure of a brown-skinned
young man, dark as stained ma
hogany, who was getting ready to
throw the painter to the landing.
To Karen the great height and
breadth of shoulder of this man
seemed beyond belief. She knew
that the burial caves OF the old Ha-
waiians told story Of a race among
whom a man seven feet tall was a
commonplace; and that museums
contained Polynesian jawbones such
as the hand of modern man could
hardly span. But she did not know
that such types as this were COM
mon still, upon the remote beaches.
To Karen it seemed that the broad
sweep of this mans shoulders sus-
tanned something which she had sup
posed was gone-something that had
lived between the jungle and the sea
a thousand years before the first
white whalers rowed thirstily
ashore.
"Well, cast your line, Hokano!"
Karen Waterson landed upon Ala
koa fascinated, deeply stirred, and
afraid.
"Your uncle" Charles Wong said,
sis very anxious to see you at
once"
Ever since Tonga Dick and Karen
had arrived, the tall Chinese, secre-
tary to James Wayne, had been how
ering near Dick-if Charles Wong
could be said to hover. Charles
Wong, who had never seen China,
showed in his tall and bony frame
the stamp of the Manchu, but about
him was no mannerism belonging
to the Oriental.
Now that Karen Waterson had
been turned over to James Wayne's
housekeeper, Tonga Dick could give
his attention to the things that had
brought him here. The aged Ha-
waiian woman who had always taxi
en- care of this house had gone to
join the Old Ones since Dick was
last here, but her granddaughter, a
slim Hawaiian girl named Lilua,
was in her place, directing the little
japanese girls who did the work;
and Dick had no doubt that the girl
he had brought here would be shown
every hospitality.
Dick was troubled because his un-
Gle had not come out to meet him.
.He's in bed?"
mo; he's supposed to be, but
nobody can keep him there. We
have carried him into his office and
he's sitting at his desk"
Carried him? Is it as bad as
that?"
''This is very bad, Mr.. Wayne"
Charles Wong admitted. Its al
most impossible to get him to SUBJ
init to any medical attention. But
i. .x,lr ~.