TS Bellefonte, Pa., April 18, 1930. ——— THE ROAD TO GALILEE Rememberest thou the way In sandal shoes He came, Upon that day, that wonderous day They spoke His holy name? Hushed were the land and sea As with an angel's breath— It was the road to Galilee That leads from Nazareth. The path was sere and dried. The vines had ceased to cling, And on the dusty roadside cried A bird with broken wing; To bloom the dead leaves stirved Beneath His footsteps pressed And from His hand the wounded bird Flew to its waiting nest. As on His Way He went, The fold’s losts heep to seek, He healed the arm in palsy bent, And kissed the leper’s cheek. And from the city’s din. Stoned from the shadows, crept The nameless one He cleansed from sin As at His feet she wept. With corn was Canaan green, Yet waited there no bed For Him, the outcast Nazarene, On which to lay His head. The road to Galilee Must lead Him, wandering still, Up to the Cross on Calvary That beckoned from the hill Rememberest thou the hill To which at last He came, That day of days the world stood still, No more to be the same? The grave no more to be Victor again o'er death— 'Twas on the road to Galilee That leads from Nazareth. THE PUBLIC WIFE. In the shade of a tamarind tree beside the dirt road leading to the little mosque old Ahmat Sebam, guide and friend of the village youth sat cross-legged. At his back was the kampong’s drab cluster of huts; facing him, three youths, squatted, tracing designs in the dust with their brown fingers. The boys were just growing into manhood and they listened eagerly to what he said. The residents of Sapaura both young and old, treated Ahmat with respect, for there was a benevolent dignity about him and he had traveled far—to Java, to Borneo, to certain of the Moluccas and to simple folks like these he was a superior person. A portrait: painter would have looked twice at Ahmat sitting there beneath the tamarind tree, for he had the tranquil air of a man at peace with his soul. Time and trouble had plowed deep furrows in his face but there was no tired droop to the corners of his mouth; his grizzled hair was plentiful; his eyes—humorous and friendly—were as clear as a boy's. His broadcloth baju and plaid sarong were, as al- weys, freshly laundered, and his feet were encased in clean white spatus, for he was a man of means. Occasionally a huge-wheeled dray, loaded with sacks or rice or copra | and drawn by a team of coolies— | the people of Saparua were too | poor to buy oxen or water buffalo— i lumbered along the road, its rusted | greaseless wheels squealing like | pigs being leisurely dragged to the slaughterhouse. Old women passed, bearing on their heads flat baskets of fish or sago cakes. One and all called a salutation to Ahmat and he responded in his deep singsong voice without losing the thread of what he was saying to the three youngsters. A man so ancient and decrepit that he was obliged to walk with the support of two sticks shuffled past and Ahmat sent one of the boys after him with a couple of copper ; coins. The ancient snatched at them with a clawlike hand, exhorting Allah, in a high cackle, to send the blessings of peace and plenty to his benefactor; then he proceeded on his uncertain way, looking more like a bent skeleton that a human being. “As I have said,” Ahmat con- tinued his discourse “Saparua is a poor place for anyone who is am- bitious to make provision for his | old age. Observe Haider!” With out- | thrust chin he indicated the wretch- ed figure retreating down the road. “All the days of his early life he toiled honorably with his fishing | prihu and in the rice fields, but he | made barely enough to supply his | immediate needs. When his joints | stiffened and his muscles turned | traitor he was as poor as though he ! had squandered his years in idle- ! ness. So it is likely to be with all | who remain here. Ya Allah! It is sad. : “No doubt,” he proceeded after al ruminative pause, “our all-wise | Creator put us here for some pur- | pose of His own but He did not | decree that we stay rooted to this | very soil. The time has come for | you to put idleness behind you and to shoulder the work of men. “I counsel you to journey with- | out delay to richer countries, where ' honorable effort is more justly re- warded. Having made yourselves secure against old age you may de- cide, as I did, to return to the place of your birth, which will be | pleasing to your parents and a rec- ognition of Allah's beneficence.” Another pause followed during which the three young men con- tinued, without speaking, to make designs in the dust. Silence in the presence of elders is demanded of: the Malay youth; he may not chat- ter or ask questions unless he is in- vited to do so. Ahmat’s deep voice sounded again. “Many callings there are to choose from. The bazaars, ships, rubber { The white tuan, | stretches and the blood begins plantations, the trades of shoemak- ing and tailoring, pleasant an existence or offers the same rewards as that of serving a white tuan in his house. “It is a position of honer, for a faithful servant becomes his mas- ter's friend and if the master is good the servant acquires merit from him. He eats plentifully and sleeps always in quarters secure from the night mists—both food and lodging being provided by the tuan. He may, therefore, lay by the greater part of his earnings against that day when he is no longer able to earn. “But much is expetced of a house servant. He must be clean in his person; he must be honest, truthful, willing and diligent. He must see all, hear all—and say nothing. At all times he is ignorant —except when questioned by his master. Then he knows everything. “My advice to you is to seek em- ployment such as I followed. Be sure that you enter the service of a tuan who is upright in habit, for he will be generous of heart and his virtues will bring profit to you and ease to your declining years. “It was my excellent fortune to serve such a tuan—Allah protect him in health and in sickness— and when he had finished here and returned to England he gave me a thousand guilders. That, added to what I had saved, made me a man of substance and enabled me to spend the evening of my life in honor among my own people. “It is said here in the village that I squander my money upon the decrepit and the unworthy and that misfortune will overtake me, but the white people have a saying that bread cast upon the waters will draw fish, and my master was for- ever repeating it. It is a fact that Providence rewarded him and I remember once—" Ahmat broke into a quiet chuckle; the boys looked up at him expect- antly. “Listen earnestly,” he said, “and you shall hear how great good for- tune came in a strange manner Tuan Ross Hewlett in repayment for an unselfish act. There can be mo harm in telling of it now, for he has been long gone from this country and it may profit you as it profit- ed him and me.” Ross Hewlett was in his thirtieth year and he measured over Six feet, so Ahmat described him; his features were well shaped, his skin deeply and permanently bronzed by the tropical sun. One would have been hard put to it to size the man up at a glance, for a bulldog English | jaw was contradicted by which might have belonged to gentle priest. Hewlett was the owner of several pearl-fishing luggers that worked the waters surrounding the Arus, a small group of islands at no great distance Papua, and at the time of Ahmat’s story he had experienced a most disastrous season. To begin with, the catch of both shell and pearls had been extremely poor; then acreless divers had grounded two of his boats upon reefs, where they had broken to pieces, and in addi- tion he had suffered from several attacks of malaria which had ren- dered him incapable of watching operations with the necessary alert- ness. gray eyes a No matter which side of the is- lands his boats had gone to fish, there the wind had blown, making it difficult for the divers to work. Misfortune had followed misfortune, so it seemed. Ill luck had made sport of Ahmat and his master. B Wor doely in debt and completely stumped for ready cash; had it not been for a substantial loan made to him by another pearler he would have had to sell some of his boats to meet his men’s wages at the “lay-up.” Things indeed were bad... | {Ahmat shook his memory. : On top of all this Hewlett had re- ceived a letter from his wife in England stating that she had sold their house in Surrey and had bought a larger one; she asked him to send her a check for twelve hundred pounds as soon as possible. who adored his wife, realized that this request could not have come at a more un- fortunate time, and the Malay, who | pungalow that Ahmat first saw the girl and he described her as very | read the letter, after the fashion of all good eastern servants, agreed with him. Dobo, where Hewlett lived when ashore is the one and only town in the Aru Islands. As described to the three youthful listeners, it was hardly a town at all but a shabby settlement which had grown up on a flat point jutting out from the jungle, and it consisted of three rows of wood and galvanized iron buildings divided by two sandy streets. The stores belonged to Arabs, Chinese, Japanese and Malays—the dwellings were for the most part Japanese yoshiwaras and the Malay houses of equal ill repute. Near the beach were a few bungalows where lived the white men who owned the pearl-fishing boats. During nine months of the year Dobo is deserted, for the pearling craft are all at sea and they donot return until the monsoon comes to churn the water and make it too cloudy for the divers to work. As this season approaches the town awakens; it yawns aid course through it. The Dutch steamer brings a hundred or more Japanese girls, most of whom have been sent by old Ariki, owner of innumerable yoshiwaras scattered like chain stores through every town of importance from Yokohoma down. They come with a happy care- free spirit, these girls, each carry- ing a bundle of gay kimonos and a box of combs, hairpins and face paints. Scores of Malay girls ar. rive to fill the native houses. Ahmat called it a mighty gathering of the “public wives.” Also come bravely dressed Eurasian and Japanese men, illicit dealers in pearls, who as- and a multitude | semble to buy secretely and at' cause it -or others, but none of them affords so | bargain prices from divers and to | from the west coast of | the end of the season Hewlett | head at the: crew, the gems that have been stolen during the working period. . It is a simple matter to steal pearls. The old man, who had once been a lugger hand, told the boys how it was done. When the master is out of sight of the luggers, the the shells are plunged into a bucket of hot water, This causes them to open, and if there are pearls in- side they may be seen and removed. After a while the shells close again of their own accord and no one can tell that they have been tampered , with. Many pearls are stolen each year in this way. From the steamer that brings the women and pearl dealers to Dobo great quantities of bales and cases are sent ashore for the stores. These contain clothes and food, sake, beer and gin. ers are no longer idle but hasten .to and fro in the heat swearing at "the coolies who do not bring the i stuff up from the beach quickly ‘enough to suit them. ! In the stores there is much un- packing, and merchandise is laid out in readiness for the profitable sea- {son that is at hand. Rooms at the ,back of these stores are prepared | for gambling and cock fighting. | Then, when the muttering mon- ‘soon finally breaks, the pearling | luggers are beached to be cleaned, i painted and repaired. The divers, {tenders and crew—Japanesse and , Malays, for the most part—are paia off and Satan comes to Dobo. Seven {or eight hundred men who have been cooped up on shipboard for { many months, each with a pouch | of money, swarm over the place and turn it into hell. The yoshiwaras are like mad- “houses. Day and night for the next itwo months they are filled with . drunken, shouting men. There is i music and merriment, delirium and { woe. The gambling houses are | thronged. Money flows like water {and fishermen sometimes lose their | whole year’s earnings at a single i sitting. Needless to say, there are quar- | rels and robberies, stabbing and I shootings; one hears triumphant | laughter, screams of terror and ‘shouts of despair. Dancing girls, en- tirely devoid of covering, perform ! snakelike contortions for those who pay to see them. The illicit pearl. | dealers furtively ply their trade. { Occasionally the body of a murder- ,ed man is found on the beach, but | people are too busy with life to ! concern themselves greatly with : death. Such is Dobo in the lay-up son. {men go about their business { heedless of the pandemonium as it were imaginary. The lay-up was about a week old |and Dobo’s madness was at its | height when Ahmat’s tuan, during the course of his customary evening i stroll, heard a sound of weeping. | Inevstigation disclosed the fact that it came from a girl seated dejection upon the back steps of sea- as being too deeply concerned with his own troubles to bother himyelf with those of a stranger. He had proceeded no more than a dozen paces, however, before it cccurred to him that this was not the first time he had heard this same girl grieving in this very spot. | steps and inquired brusquely: “Why are you crying?” At the sound of Hewlett’'s voice { the girl looked up. Perhaps she was i more than a bit surprised at being | addressed in her own language by {a white man. | “Make haste. Tell , wrong,” he directed her. | “Oh, Tuan,” she said, “everything ‘is wrong. I am most unhappy.” | Ahmat in telling his story cleverly | mimicked his master’s voice and the { higher-pitched tones of the girl. “Yes; but what exactly is the | trouble? Or don’t you want to tell ime?” { “It is not that, Tuan. | take so long and—" “Well, if me It would it’s a long story we'd (and talk it over. Come along.” | Stooping, he raised her up and led her by the arm back whereof he | come. ! It was when they entered the young and as beautiful as a deli- cate flower newly opened. She was ‘small and slender, and her eyes were not mere slits like those of most Japanese; they were large and | warm and lustrous, Her nose was : straight, too, and her nostrils sen- sitive; her mouth had a pretty pout. Hewlett plainly was as much im- pressed as his servant at this ex- quisite creature, dressed in a wlue coloring from a cloudless sky. “Sit down,” he said, placing a chair for her. She watched him without speak- ing as he filled and lighted a pipe, the while Ahmat went for whisky | and soda. | “Now,” the white man said, seat- ing himself opposite her, “tell we all about it.” The girl promptly dropped to her knees bowed her head and humbly | thanked him for condescending to i listen. i Hewlett lifted her up and put ter back on the chair. Ahmat well knew that in spite of six years in the tropics his | embarrassed by certain of tom. “Don’t do that,” he said. “Sit up and talk to me. I can see you better then.” “Tuan,” she began after a mo- ment. “my name is Otoya and Iam seventeen, I come from a little vil- lage in the interior of Japan, where my parents are small rice farmers. They are poor, so poor indeed that often we go without food tc eat. Like many of the girls of my class I entered the yoshiwara, for which I receive an advance of five hundred yen from my employer. “This I did, not because I wished to lead that kind of life, but be- was the only way—" - Otoya’s voice quavered. She finished its cus- The storekeep- ! Through it all, the few white | if | better step down to my bungalow master was stili AR simply, “The five hundred yen I gave to my parents. “In Japan,” she explained, “it is not counted shameful for a girl to engage in such an occupation, but I did not fully understand what it meant. My only thought was to help my parents, as my mother had helped hers. “With Ariki I signed the customs, ary contract. It provided that one- third of my earnings would be mine, another third would go to the yoshiwara, and the remaining third would be retained by him until the advance was cleared. After that I would be free to leave his service if I so desired. Most of the girls con- tinue in the houses until they have saved enough money to attract a husband.” A wry expression passed across Hewlett’'s face, but he said nothing. “On the day of signing the con- tract,” Otoya went on, ‘I was ship- ed with other girls to Dobo. At first I was ill from the motion of the ship and heartbroken at leaving my people; later, Tuan, when I was less ill terror overcame me. I tried to put it out of my mind but—Oh, sir, I think I shall kill myself!” She ‘fell to plucking her fingers, she be- gan to shake wretchedly. “When we came to Dobo I wept for many hours, whereupon the old woman in charge of the yoshiwara laughed at me and scolded me. Each day there have been more and more scoldings because I—I am afraid. When the other girls put on their fine clothes, I run away to that step where you found me, ‘Ariki’s old woman calls me timid and foolish and dishonest; she has threatened to cast me out into the street. That would force my parents to refund the advance and the cost of sending me to Dobo. It is a matter of law.” ' “Yes, I suppose it is,” Hewlett nodded. “But Tuan,” Otoya cried, “we cannot return the money, for it has been spent to repair the farm! I greatly fear Ariki will send my parents to prison. can I do what is required of me in the yoshiwara? Each day I promise that I will—but when night comes my courage fails.” Tears of distress overflowed the speaker’s eyes. In telling the story, Ahmat con- fessed that he felt a great com- passion for the little Japanese girl; she was so young, so dainty, and so deeply agitated, and he could see that his employer was likewise con- | cerned for he sat a long while staring at the bowl of his pipe. Finally he looked up and asked - sharply: | | “How much do you owe that in- fernal place?” Otoya calculated rapidly: in- | cluding her passage from Japan, she estimated that her debt must be close to seven hundred yen. | “Not a lot of money at any other in | time,” Hewlett growled, as if to 8uchi met the Englishman's a himself; then he scratched his head. | With a scowl. yoshiwara, but Hewlett passed on, | “Oh, hell!” he cried after a pause. | that I go with other women?” ‘He rose and went to his safe. “There syou are,” he told Otoya, handing her a little heap of notes. “That'll , buy you out.” The girl was too bewildered to speak. For a while she sat staring | first at the notes and then at Hew- ‘lett. When at last she found her ' He hesitated, then he retraced his voice, she murmured: “You wish to {buy me for yourself, i Tuan?” | “Certainly not!” The Englishman ' shook his head. “You see, I'm mar- ried and—well, I want to play the game.” | “Then I will work as a servant Is that it, ied this money.” | “Oh, no, you won't.” Hewlett (laughed shortly. “I never have female servants and I certainly wouldn't risk one as pretty as you jare. Take the money as a present rand forget it. Drop in here before the next steamer and I'll ix you up with a ticket home.” | “But Tuan,” protested Otoya, be- [ween whose eyes little creases of worry appeared, “I must repay you. |It is only honorable. If you had me live with youI should not be un- { happy. That would be different from the yoshiwara. The other tuans here ; have mistresses.” Hewlett’s bronzed face went a shade lighter before he blurted out, “Run along! I'm not interested in i what other tuans may do.” With a hand on her shoulder he propelled ‘her towards the door, the while she | tearfully expressed her gratitude for what he had done. i He looked after her as she ran lightly up the street; then he went indoors and mixed himself another . whisky and soda, For the next half-hour he sat following with his ,eyes the spirals of smoke that rose from his pipe. 1 kimono that might have taken its Otoya returned to the bungalow "several times during the next few idays and she and Ahmat became friends. She told him frankly that she was urging Hewlett to let her earn the money he had given her, | but that he refused. On the last of these visits, just before she left, she suddenly threw her arms about .her Dbenefactor’'s neck and kissed “him on the mouth; then she ran away without looking back. According to old Ahmat, the girl was one of those butterfly-colored, light-footed creatures who dance through life; she was always run- ning. “I tell you all this,” he informed his listeners, “to prove that an honorable man can tread a swamp without miring. Dobo was a wicked place; no other tuan in the i town would have let that girl go, but Ross Hewlett was faithful to all his vows. From him I learned the strength of the strong. It was a matter of two weeks be- , fore either master or servant saw the little Japanese again and she {came finally to announce that she , was to be married to one Horiguchi, a countryman of hers. This Hori- guchi, as both men knew was an illicit pearl buyer and a scoundrel. He was well off, however, a great dandy, and Hewlett doubtless be- leived that his little friend consider- ed herself fortunate in making such And yet how a match. After a brief hesitation, he said: “That's fine, Otoya. I wish you all the luck in the world.” He took her tiny hand in his and looked down at her with a smile in his gray eyes, but Ahmat fancied the man was both disappointed and hurt that she should prove so mercenary. Mar- riage to a fellow like Horiguchi was little better than life in the yoshi- wara. “And I wish you very much luck, too,” she answered, ‘Long life and many sons, Tuan, and the richest “pearl in the ocean. I shall never forget—" Her voice caught in her throat; she ceased speaking and fixed the tall Englishman with a strange look. ! This time when she turned away she did not run: her dancing feet were leaden. That night she married Horiguchi. The end of the lay-up season was in sight but it brought no relief to Hewlett, for he was having a des- perate time to find the money with which to refit his boats. He had been unable to send that twelve hundred pounds to his wife and he was in receipt of a letter from the London firm that supplied his div- ing gear regretting that they could not execute his last order until he met his indebtedness to them. His local credit was all gone, too. He slept little and his lean face grew , leaner daily. ; One evening as he sat at his desk | casting about hopelessly for a way (out of his difficulties a breathless | Japanese woman burst in upon him. She was a total stranger but she began excitedly; “Tuan! In the house of Hori- guchi is cruel trouble. He beats ,Otoya and he threatens to kill her . You are her friend—" | Hewlett charged past her and a few seconds later he stormed bare- headed through an excited group of ! yellow and brown people clustered ;about the pearl buyer's door. A i tempest was raging inside the liv- ing room; its cheap furniture was broken; ornaments, table covers, , cushions were scattered about the floor. i The hanging kerosense lamp re. , vealed Otoya crouching in a corner; her kimono was torn; there were | bruises on her arms and shoulders rand red fingerprints upon her throat. { Her eyes were distended with ter- ‘ror. Over her stood Horiguchi, shout- ing and waving his arms. He turn- led at Hewlett’s entrance and his | face fell into its usual insolent lines. | Wholly ignoring him, the white 1man bent over Otoya and raised her, “What's the matter?” he in- quired. “Have you been a bad girl ?” “No, Tuan. I have been a good | wife but he goes with other women. | When I beg him not to bring shame j upon me he beats me. he will—" ; “She is my wife, not yours.” Hori- threat “Is it your business “No. But I'll make it my busi- jness to see that you don’t knock | this child about.” Hewlett’s muscular { hand wrapped itself in the other [ans white tunic. He cuffed Hori- guchi and shook him until his head flopped drunkenly. The onlookers ! squealed with amusement. “Now, you thieving rat” —Hew- jlett flung the wretch sprawling | —“that’s only a taste of what Ill | give you if you lay hands on her !again.” Horiguchi’s blazing, blood- | shot eyes met his, then dropped, and | the white man walked out. ! Returning home, still in a tow- what's in your bungalow until I have earn- joing rage, he recited to his servant what had happened and he grew | angrier as he told of it. It wasan ‘outrage; Horiguchi was a worthless, ! t crooked swine; he was sorry now ‘that he had not warned Otoya— { told the poor child what she was letting herself in for. But he had hesitated to do so for fear of—well, complications. Otoya’s flowerlike beauty had caus- ed him enough uneasiness of spirit she would be much better off mar- ried than single. Even married to Horiguchi, Ahmat’s master frowned and muttered and shook his head: hw roamed through the bungalow with heavy tread until a late hour; plainly the memory of Otoya’s kiss was still fresh in his mind. The monsoon promised to break up earlier than usual that year. Yamamoto, one of Hewlett's divers, was the first out with his lugger, but he had been gone less than twenty-four hours when the wind blew afresh. The following morn. ing he was back in port again, and with his tender he pulled ashore through the choppy white-capped | waves. { “No good, master,” he declared, ; Shaking his head as he came up to | Hewlett’s veranda. Always a keea | worker he was disappointed at | having been driven in. Just four : shells I catch, master, then come | blow. Maybe ’'nother week every- i thing all right.” Yamamoto’s tender | dropped the wet bag containing the ! four bowed and sauntered off to their ; favorite haunts. | Hewlett kicked the bag into a “room that was used as a store. | Late that night as Ahmat lay on his sleeping mat he was awaken- ed by a tug at his hair. Automatic- ally, his hand darted to the kris un- , der his pillow, and he started intoa sitting position. “Be quiet,” a voice admonished him in a whisper. “It is Otoya.” Ahmat shook the sleep ou: of his head, wondering what could have brought the girl to his room. “Listen, Ahmat,” she said ex- citedly. “I have come to you for help. Horiguchi beat me again to- day and I am running away from him, The steamer sails at midnight and you must assist me" to get aboard unseen. Horiguchi may be on the streets or at the steamer saying good-by to friends.” “But your ticket?” “That I can secure after the boat sails—I have money. Quick! have less than half an hour. will help me, Ahmat?” You I am afraid ! as it was, and he had figured that ' shells and he and the diver | Wwe | “Assuredly. My master would wish it,” said the Malay. At this came a moan from the girl. There was insufficient light in the rocm to distinguish her features, but Ahmat could see from the sud. den drooping of her figure that she had given way to a grief unutter- able. She wilted down upon tae floor beside him and for a while she rocked to and fro, swaying like a willow wand, whispering Hewlett's name over and over again. It was worse than death for her to leave. Ahmat reached forth and toucaed her hair, saying, “Other women have wept for him as you weep little blossom, but he was deaf. It is better for you to go.” Otoya nodded; she swallowed her sobs. Her hands wet with tears, felt for Ahmat’s and pressed some- thing into it. | “Give this to him,” she murmured, “but tell him not that it rame from me.” At this point in his story, the speaker paused, his kindly eyes glowed as in memory he recalled that hour; when he resumed it was in another tone. “I spoke truly when 1 said that many women had loved my tuan; he had a way that made slaves of them, There was a Dutchman's wife in Amboyna, and a girl from the rubber farms, also a missionary’s daughter whose hair was yellower than English gold. In the time 1I served him there were several, but none I am sure loved him more than little Otoya the public wife. i “For a while we spoke, lip to ear, like a couple of robbers, and the minutes sped by; then I took her by the hand and led her out of there and down to the beach. But it was as if the roots of her being had made themselves fast to that soil and tore the heart bleeding from her breast as I dragged her with me. “It was a blustery night. The wind god’s cheeks were full and he spilled his breath on us asI paddled out to the steamer. My prahu bob- bed like a gourd and it spun in cir. cles before I finally drove it along. side the ship and set Otoya’s feet upon the steerage companionway. “We were wet with spray but it was less salt than her tears. She waved at me. ‘Ada! I called softly; then she crept up on deck and I let the wind hurry me back like a ! soaring gull. “Tuan Hewlett heard of the run. away the next morning at break fast and from the lips of Horiguchi, {not me. The Japanese was like a { madman and I heard him shouting , threats and curses as he ran up to ‘ the veranda and flung himself through the door. I was the first to mee% "him, but he had a kris and it was i only by Allah's mercy that he fail- ‘ed to strike me down. | “The man was blind with rage | and bent upon murder, nevertheless | the tuan seized him. He bent his {arm back until it all but snapped, i then he kicked him like a wet sack {out into the street. A giant in i strength and swift of action in mo- { ments of peril. Later that day 1 | passed Horiguchi’s house, where he lay groaning and weeping on his | bed, and people laughed because he i took the loss of a woman so deeply , to heart. { “At breakfast the second morning thereafter the tuan sniffed and said: ‘Ahmat, there’s a bad smell around here. Does it come from your | kitchen ?” “No, Tuan. It arises from those shells which are spoiling in the ! storeroom.’ | “‘Of course,” said he. ‘I mean to open them, but—I've been hall ( frantic. Fetch me a knife and I get rid of the things.’ | “He was gone for five i i mi: utes ten minutes; then he returned, walk. Ing like one in a sleep. He turned star g eyes upon me; hi 3 $ waite p his face wa: i “Ahmat! Look! he whispered. Tel ime if Tam dreaming.’ He opened hi: right hand, which was clenched. “In my travels I have seen man: fine pearls; pearls that rajahs hav i bought at fabulous figures, pearl that brought buyers from Londo and Paris, and others that sold o {the beach for sixty, eighty thousan: j Builders but never have I seen : gem like that in the brown paln | of my master’s hand. It was enor i mous; it was perfect; it shone wit a magic light from within. “All the years he had spent i {the islands my tuan had dreame i of a pearl like that. He was shak (ing like a woman and mutterin | something about the ‘nick of time ‘and about its lying there for day | while he was sick with worry. i “Tuan! Tuan!” I had to shak | him to make him heed my voice | “Hide it quickly, and say nothing Let no eyes in Dobo rest upon ito | our lives will not be worth a kipping | Jewels of prodigious worth brin either great happiness or gre: | misery; unless you are more tha | careful, this one will be red wit your blood before it leaves the i | land. “He nodded. Slowly his han ‘closed and he passed into his roon I never saw the pearl again, fc which Allah be praised. | “A month later my master so + his luggers and went home to Eng | land We wept at our parting, fc there was never a better tuan ths | he or a servant more loyal than V i Old Ahmat Sebam, guide Ax | friend of the village youth, watche the faces of his listeners. “Assuredly the pearl was sent: a reward for your noble master i generosity,” one of them said, ar | the others nodded gravely. The Iwas a moment of discussion whi the first to speak interrupted 1 i asking: i “But Otoya—she gave you a kee sake in her fingers wet with teal |I am curious to know what was.” | Ahmat broke into a gratifi i chucle. “I commend you as a h | of wit. You have a memory for e sentials. Purposely I withheld t flavor of the meal for the final bi Allah works his will in devio (Continued on page 8, Col. Bb.
Significant historical Pennsylvania newspapers