By Reef and Palm, Page 3

  "'TIS IN THE BLOOD"

  We were in Manton's Hotel at Levuka-Levuka in her palmy days. Therewere Robertson, of the barque ROLUMAH; a fat German planter from theYasawa Group; Harry the Canadian, a trader from the Tokelaus, andmyself.

  Presently a knock came to the door, and Allan, the boatswain of ourbrig, stood hat in hand before us. He was a stalwart half-caste ofManhiki, and, perhaps, the greatest MANAIA (Lothario) from Ponape toFiji.

  "Captain say to come aboard, please. He at the Consul's for papers--hemeet you at boat," and Allan left.

  "By shingo, dot's a big fellow," said Planter Oppermann.

  "Ay," said Robertson, the trading skipper, "and a good man with hismauleys, too. He's the champion knocker-out in Samoa, and is a matchfor any Englishman in Polynesia, let alone foreigners"--with a sourglance at the German.

  "Well, good-bye all," I said. "I'm sorry, Oppermann, I can't stay foranother day for your wedding, but our skipper isn't to be got atanyhow."

  The trading captain and Harry walked with me part of the way, and thenbegan the usual Fiji GUP.

  "Just fancy that fat-headed Dutchman going all the way to Samoa andpicking on a young girl and sending her to the Sisters to get educatedproperly! As if any old beach-girl isn't good enough for a blessedDutchman. Have you seen her?"

  "No," I said; "Oppermann showed me her photo. Pretty girl. Says she'sbeen three years with the Sisters in Samoa, and has got all the virtuesof her white father, and none of the vices of her Samoan mammy. Told mehe's spent over two thousand dollars on her already."

  Robertson smiled grimly. "Ay, I don't doubt it. He's been all roundLevuka cracking her up. I brought her here last week, and theDutchman's been in a chronic state of silly ever since. She's analmighty fine girl. She's staying with the Sisters here till themarriage. By the Lord, here she is now coming along the street! Bet adollar she's been round Vagadace way, where there are some fast Samoanwomen living. 'Tis in the blood, I tell you."

  The future possessor of the Oppermann body and estate WAS a prettygirl. Only those who have seen fair young Polynesian half-castes--beforethey get married, and grow coarse, and drink beer, and smoke like afactory chimney--know how pretty.

  Our boat was at the wharf, and just as we stood talking Allan saunteredup and asked me for a dollar to get a bottle of gin. Just then theGerman's FIANCEE reached us. Robertson introduced Harry and myself toher, and then said good-bye. She stood there in the broiling Fijian sunwith a dainty sunshade over her face, looking so lovely and cool in herspotless muslin dress, and withal so innocent, that I no longerwondered at the Dutchman's "chronic state of silly."

  Allan the Stalwart stood by waiting for his dollar. The girl laughedjoyously when Harry the Canadian said he would be at the wedding andhave a high time, and held out her soft little hand as he bade heradieu and strolled off for another drink.

  The moment Harry had gone Allan was a new man. Pulling off his strawhat, he saluted her in Samoan, and then opened fire.

  "There are many TEINE LALELEI (beautiful girls) in the world, but thereis none so beautiful as thou. Only truth do I speak, for I have been toall countries of the world. Ask him who is here--our supercargo--if Ilie. O maid with the teeth of pearl and face like FETUAO (the morningstar), my stomach is drying up with the fire of love."

  The sunshade came a little lower, and the fingers played nervously withthe ivory handle. I leant against a coconut tree and listened.

  "Thy name is Vaega. See that! How do I know? Aha, how do I? Because,for two years or more, whenever I passed by the stone wall of theSisters' dwelling in Matafele, I climbed up and watched thee, O Star ofthe Morning, and I heard the other girls call thee Vaega. Oho! and somenight I meant to steal thee away."

  (The rascal! He told me two days afterwards that the only time he everclimbed the Mission wall was to steal mangoes.)

  The sunshade was tilted back, and displayed two big, black eyes,luminous with admiring wonder.

  "And so thou hast left Samoa to come here to be devoured by this fathog of a Dutchman! Dost thou not know, O foolish, lovely one, that shewho mates with a SIAMANI (German) grows old in quite a little time, andthy face, which is now smooth and fair, will be coarse as the rind of ahalf-ripe bread-fruit, because of the foul food these swine of Germanseat?"

  "Allan," I called, "here's the captain!"

  There was a quick clasp of hands as the Stalwart One and the Maidhurriedly spoke again, this time in a whisper, and then the whitemuslin floated away out of sight.

  The captain was what he called "no' so dry"--viz. half-seas over, andvery jolly. He told Allan he could have an hour to himself to buy whathe wanted, and then told me that the captain of a steam collier hadpromised to give us a tug out at daylight. "I'm right for thewedding-feast after all," I thought.

  * * * * *

  But the wedding never came off. That night Oppermann, in a franticstate, was tearing round Levuka hunting for his love, who haddisappeared. At daylight, as the collier steamed ahead and tautened ourtow-line, we could see the parties of searchers with torches scouringthe beach. Our native sailors said they had heard a scream about ten atnight and seen the sharks splashing, and the white liars of Levukashook their heads and looked solemn as they told tales of monstersharks with eight-foot jaws always cruising close in to the shore atnight.

  * * * * *

  Three days afterwards Allan came to me with stolid face and asked for abottle of wine, as Vaega was very sea-sick. I gave him the wine, andthreatened to tell the captain. He laughed, and said he would fight anyman, captain or no captain, who meddled with him. And, as a matter offact, he felt safe--the skipper valued him too much to bully him overthe mere stealing of a woman. So the limp and sea-sick Vaega wascarried up out of the sweating foc'sle and given a cabin berth, andAllan planked down two twenty-dollar pieces for her passage to theUnion Group. When she got better she sang rowdy songs, and laughed allday, and made fun of the holy Sisters. And one day Allan beat her witha deal board because she sat down on a band-box in the trade-room andruined a hat belonging to a swell official's wife in Apia. And sheliked him all the better for it.

  * * * * *

  The fair Vaega was Mrs Allan for just six months, when his erraticfancy was captivated by the daughter of Mauga, the chief of Tutuila,and an elopement resulted to the mountains. The subsequent andinevitable parting made Samoa an undesirable place of residence forAllan, who shipped as boatsteerer in the NIGER of New Bedford. As forVaega, she drifted back to Apia, and there, right under the shadow ofthe Mission Church, she flaunted her beauty. The last time I saw herwas in Charley the Russian's saloon, when she showed me a letter. Itwas from the bereaved Oppermann, asking her to come back and marry him.

  "Are you going?" I said.

  "E PULE LE ATUA (if God so wills), but he only sent me twenty dollars,and that isn't half enough. However, there's an American man-of-warcoming next week, and these other girls will see then. I'll make thePAPALAGI [foreign] officers shell out. TO FA, ALII [Good-bye]."