The Beautiful White Devil

ses treated, one hundred and thirty-three had recovered; the rest lay in the little graveyard on the hillside to the eastward of the town. It had been a weary, harassing time

s fatigue, and for this reason the last day of our work found her pow

e came into the surgery, and, seating herself in my armchair, looked about

chair; "I have been watching you lately, and I have come to the conclusion that you are thor

ping a pair of forceps that I had been using on a native boy

noticed, has been gradually falling off of late. No, it won't do! My friend, you have been so good to us that we should b

you," I said; "and p

ra and fauna. I will have an expedition fitted out to-day, and to-morrow morning we will leave the settlement and plunge into the interior.

ed, apart from the scientific chances it would afford me, a trip a

her point, s

are to mount our ponies in the square down yonder, and set off. You need not bother

spent in preparing my specimen boxes for the trip, and when I sought my couch at night

I was at the rendezvous, Alie was there before me, mounted on a neat bay pony, and evidently awaiting my coming. She wished

e signed to one of her attendants to lead up a pony she had reserved for my use. "The cook and his staff,

the sun to make his appearance before beginning the business of the day. Here and there in the dips, and upon the pools, heavy mists wreathed and curled themselves, suggestive of malaria and a hundred other unpleasantnesses. Before we have been riding an hour, however, the sun rose in all his majesty; in a trice the forest woke to life and activity; hordes of m

seen feeding placidly. Towards eight o'clock the trend of the country lay upward, and continued so until we had mounted to a considerable elevation, when an extensive panorama was unfolded before us. The island must inde

following the course of a pretty stream, until our guides came back to tell us that w

amp, with a blazing fire, and a white man actively engaged beside it, frying-pan in hand. As I looked at the little scene I could not help thinking of the many picnics I had assis

a woman who had a reputation such as Alie unfortunately possessed, I should certainly have refused to believe it. Yet it was so, and, what was more to the po

began to change; craggy uplands rose on our right, while the same wonderful forest still continued on our left. What struck me as remarkable was the fact that so far we had seen no villages and encountered no natives. Could

who had preceded us that morning had erected for our accommodation. They faced towards the east, and the view from the little terrace on which they stood was beautiful in the extreme. Across it, and for a short distance below, the land was open, then the undergr

right, I had a large one on the left, while that in the centre was set apart for our dining-room and sitting-room (if we wanted to be indoors

ne side; a square of matting covered the floor, a portable wash-hand stand stood near the bed; while against the opposite wall, neatly arranged in a rack, were my guns and specimen cases. By the time I

ifferent ceiling, I should hardly have known that we were not in the bungalow at the settlement. The white cloth, the glittering glass and silver, the costly ornaments and the profusion of dishes, were the same; and when

It was indeed a night to be remembered. Overhead the tropic stars shone in all their beauty; around us were the unfathomable depths of the forest; from the right sounded

to detract from, but succeeded in adding to, the weird picturesqueness of the scene. From the darkness behind us we could c

nking stars. Then, as if to herself, "If only we could alw

is the wild unrest and turmoil of the world, to say nothing of

tinual plotting, endless striving, with always the one great dread of capture h

go on with it?

us and not to tell her of my love was almost more than I could bear. I kept a tight rein upon myself, howe

oments later. "Because I must! Because there is

ught? They would have to s

em. My duty lies before me, and as I have endeavoured to do it in the past, so I must strive to do it in the future. But i

ur deer, probably disturbed by our lights, was barking to his mate, and in a tree near at hand a night bird hooted dolefully. The first sweetness of the evening had passed, and now an unutterable melancholy seemed to have laid its hand upon it. When my cigar was finished I passed into my hut, gl

nt, some shrub would arrest my attention, while in the air butterflies, beetles, and birds innumerable seemed to call upon me to catch and catalogue them without delay. Alie had quite recovered her good spirits by this time, and having once grasped the general idea, followed her new hobby with the same impassioned ardour

ice I saw herds of small deer alongside the river bank; wild swine we continually met with, and once I felt certain the spoor we saw round a big pool was that of an elephant. Indeed, Alie informed me that the native

pwards, following on our homeward route the course of the same stream we had pursued on our outward journ

oyable as our excursion had proved, it was nevertheless a fact that every day was bringing my stay in the island nearer to its close, and, under the circumstances, I could not help feeling that, my duty don

nto the foaming torrent bel

ng Kong and induced you to come to our assistance, he promised that, as soon as your work was completed, you should be returned safe and so

on, and for a minute I did not know how to answer. Then a torrent of words and protestations

e done my work to

w other men would ever have done. I cannot,"-here her voice trembled a little, and h

for when she had finished speaking, my presence of mind completely deserted me, and without more ado I

why I have worked so hard for you? Cannot you see that I would give my own existence to s

face away and would not look at me. I could feel that sh

een your slave. I know it is madness for a man like me to hope to win such a queen among women as yourself; but I cannot help i

h! for pit

but it will not be hidden, it will not be crushed, it will not be stifled. Now the flood has risen, it has burst its bonds and washed away all thought of prudence.

ble to tell them without pain to myself that it could not be. Now, you love me, you who have been so true and so brave, and I have to make you see that what you wish can never be possible. Do not think I am insensible of the h

n Heaven's

not attempted to withd

ur own career; look at the name you have already created for yourself; think of your future; then how can I-a woman, hunted by every nation, a woman on whose head a price is set, who dar

no future

will ever know, that this trouble should have come upon you. But when you have time to re

. You will do that without my asking. But we will suppose for the moment that you were not the outlaw you declare

will tell you truthfully. If I were in the position you describe, and you asked me to share your l

e me the

ed for her answer. When it did pass her lips

do lov

rained kisses upon her beautiful face. For a moment she did

. No, no, no! What am I telling you. Oh, why c

I would tell you that the wind only blows to carry to the world the story of my love for you; I would tell you all this and more-yes, a thousand times more. But I am no poet, I am only a man who loves you for your own beautiful self, for your sweetness, your loneliness, your tenderness to those about you. What does fame mean

e this sacrifice for me? No! no! Oh, wh

pt to reason with her in her present state, I followed more leisurely, reaching the huts just as the gong was sounding for dinner. As soon as my ablutions were performed,

by no means pleasant. Glad though I was that I had made her aware of my sentiments towards her, I almost began to wish, if she were going t

my own hut, I heard a footstep behind my chair, and a m

what you must think of me? I have come to tell you that

do to prevent myself taking her in my arms and telling her so. But I

o blame. Great as is my love for you, I should not

ssed it. But seeing that I have done so, and have told you exactly what my position in the world is, you must see that it is that very

is bound up in you. It remains for you to say whether I shall be the happiest or the most miserable of men. Remember, save for my sister, I am alone in th

yourself. Will you let me

t is

mise not to speak of this to me a

se that. And

live your own life, and on the first day of May next year, if you still love me, and are as anxious then to mak

atrically inclined as a general rule, I fell on my knee, and taking

en and

ntent to ab

han content," I answered, my he

on the subject. Good-nigh

n her disappear into her hut, I too sought my couch, to dream,