The White Waterfall
e proverb when you judge it from a Polynesian standpoint. No special preparations are required for slumber in the last haunts of Romance, and
, 1905, and I decided to follow the example set by the inhabitants. The thermometer in the shack at the end of the wharf registered 98 degrees, but the picturesque little town, with its white and vermilion-tinted houses, looked restful and cool. The hot, still at
ting place. Besides, the rays of sun followed the strip of shadow around the pile, and each time I slipped into a doze I would be pricked into wakefulness. At last, maddened by t
ut into the silence like sound projectiles. The Maori had such a high-pitched voice that I thought, as I rolled over restlessly, he would only have to raise it a little to make t
the pearl shell, but the noise of that fool talking fairly sizzled in my brain. Finally I gave up all hopes of tryi
talking English. Up to that moment I thought the pair were arguing in some unfamilia
te waterfall," c
waterfall," repe
o along si
t?" question
you fool!" screa
ttered the rebuked one. "An' that's
he Fijian; then the two lifte
the way
he way t
e way to
Fernand
d as to the direction in which one must walk from the white waterfall that made me interested. I turned the words over in my mind as I watched them saunter slowly toward me. Black Fernando's hell and t
d up their voices in the chant, then the Maori began to cross-quest
paces?"
answered
right, i
ructor. "It is to the left, pig! Do you hear me? You must go to the left from th
d of the bully, hurried to obey the
the left," squ
left," roared the Ma
the way
he way t
e way to
-
were much surprised at finding any one within hearing distance. The wharf had appeared deserted, and I gave them a start by crawling from underneath the awning I had made from the copra bag. The Maori wore a dirty khaki coat, with a pair of trousers reac
re that white waterfall is I'd go a
surprise and looked up at his big teach
erfall, boss?"
ere singing ab
out a white waterfall, boss," he spluttered. "I
voice he owned, so when he suggested that I had been dreaming, I climbed to my feet so tha
town. The Maori stood his ground for a minute, then he made a face to express his contempt for me and bolted after his mate. I stared at his bare legs walloping the planks,
endeavour to find out the meaning of their mysterious chant, but just a
ellow of about two and twenty years, who was smiling broadly as if he tho
ck Verslun?
too warm to use
sent me after yo
" I a
mate died on the run down from Sydney, and Captain Newmarch sen
you bound
hiki
at
the direction of Professor
aken a hand in a number of games after that. A fast yacht is a handy vessel south of the line, and some queer tales were told about the boat that had once shown her heels to the crackerjacks in the Solent. But I couldn't afford to be particular at that moment. Levuka isn't the spot where a man can pick and choose, so I wiped the shell grit from my drill suit and told mysel
thought I had enough of the Islands, but as this has turned up I'
at me and grinned. "Ye
mber much of
ch," he
aterfall that is on the way to heaven ou
e was turning things over in his mental storehouse, then
wled. "What's
?" he asked. "I came to sign you up for a m
something of a white waterfall. I'm not sure that it is menti
tain Newmarch told me to hurry back to the yacht, as he wants to get away by s
ted his words led you to believe that he would give a man's account of himself if any one pushed him up against a wall. While he made some purchases in the little stores, I went up to the broken-
f the two natives at the oars was the little Fijian who had been the
ked Holman. "Do
ere singing that song about t
lley of indignant denia
came ashore with me about two hours ag
on protesting that he had never moved from th
own from the town, ran along to the sea end of the wharf and waved
red. "Perhaps it is somebody w
outing to us, and when my ears caught a word I recognized him. It was th
as blank. For some reason or other he wished to ignore
red Holman. "The darned
stir me curiously as they swirled around us. I had a desire to memorize the chant, and even after we had got
he way to
Fernand