5
MAN WHO WOULD BE- MtfQR. MU3T 3ET HIS
Joseph Simon, Present Executive, Puts in Long Hours in '.
Arduous and Varying Duties of Office Duties Range
From Reasoning With Wrathful Taxpayer With Trivial
Grievance to Straightening Out Vital Municipal Tangles
Record for One Day Kept by Mayor Simon Shows
Wide Range of Work.
THE SUNDAY OREGONIATT, PORTLATTD, APRIL' 23, 1911.
- : woDda
8 K Mayor In? uVM a plaln
I ly-rlad woman, who had Just ta-
tered the executive office at the
City Hall.
I am the Mayer." replied Joseph
Elmon.
"Well. I came to nee If yon could
help, me." said she. "Yea see. I Just got
card, notifying me of aa assessment
aralnat my lot for a street Improve
ment: I can't pay so much."
"Madame. I will be (lad to see
whether there la anything to be dVne to
help you. If you will kindly call tomor
row." the Mayor replied. "I am Just
leaving to offer a welcome to ex
President Roosevelt, who will reach the
Union epot within JO minutes."
Promising to call again, the woman
left.
Advising poor woman on a sub
ject of trivial Import to the city, bo
or great moment to her. one mlnut
and officially extending a welcome to
"The greatest private rltlsen" the next
I but an Incident la the life of Port'
land's Mayor.
Kor one thin a. Simon Is the only
Mayor Portland ever had who. In on
brief trrm of two years, has had th
honor of welcoming to this city and
assisting to entertain the President of
the I'nltrd States and the only living
ex-PresMent.
It U "all In the game" or "It goes
with the Job." folks say. but It la a big
piece of business, nevertheless, and re
quires a lot of real ability and no end
of hard work. Four hundred dollars
month Is the remuneration the city
gives for this work.
Mayor Simon Is one of the most ex
perlenced executives the city has ever
elected. Tie haa served as City Coun
oilman, fireman, member of the State
Senate for 3 years. United States Sen
ator for aix years and then Mayor. His
term Is drawing to a close. It ends at
midnight. June 20. this year, and he Is
not a candidate for re-election.
Ill-sra Early, Reads Paper.
"Early to. bed. early to rise." Is
maxim he haa followed all his life, and
one which he adherea to as closely as
hla official dutlea will now permit.
Seven o'clock every morning sees him
out of bed and by T:30 he haa scruti
nised The Oregnnlan aa well as one can
In so short a time. At 7:3'). he break
fasts and. If there Is anything In the
newa or editorial columns particularly
Interesting to hire, he carries the paper
to the table with him and absorb some
more of Its contents, but never until
later than S o'clock, when he leaves
home.
Nearly every one knows him. so be
scarcely ever reaches the City Hall be
fore o'clock, aa he la frequently
stopped on the way many times. Peo
ple want to ask hint questions concern
ing their own private business or per
chance to dlscuas briefly some Item of
the morning's news.
Not later than o'clock, one will find
the Mayor at his desk in the City Hall.
Invariably, the morning's mall la at
tacked, digested and answers dictated
to his secretary by S:30. and he la ready
for anything and everything.
What "anything and everything"
means may be Judged very well by the
actual record of one day's routine. This
was kept April 11. and Is as follows:
Inquiry from municipal authorities
of Newark. N. J-. concerning the
method adopted by this city for In
suring public buildings and whether
there la a municipal Insurance fund.
Inquiry from the Chamber of Com
merce of Denver, concerning the tele
phone system of the city, the long dis
tance and local rates charged. the
charge for Installations, removals, etc..
and as to the nature of the telephone
franchises held by public service cor
porations, and the revenues derived
therefrom. Also inquiry as to hotel
rates.
Letter from resident of Salem. Or-
UNDERWATER HOUSE AN UNUSUAL ADVENTURE TALE
Copyright. li. by The Shortatory
Publishing Company. All tights re
served. Copyright secured In Great
Britain.
BT FRANK BAILEY MILLARD.
"I
i T shall be built of glass, dearest.
and It shall be at the bottom of a
lake. There shall be rows of
tku flowers, and we shall have oalma
ana orrnids inIde It. There U nothing
these black men may not do under my
ritrrrtlon. What a cool retreat It will
b for u In those hot days of the
tropical Summer!
Thus wrote Frederic Vlnlng. under a
rocoa tree on an Island In the South
Pacific, to bis sweetheart. Marcla Talt.
IB Boston. And. having promised, he
et Co work.
To yva and to the world Frederic
Inlng would have been only a cold
man of science. An Impassive counte
nance, eyes of that Norse gray In which
there Is the least of fire and the great
est of penetration, together with what
I hey bad railed at Harvard "Vlnlng'a
Infernal unplnhnewt. made him a man
to be reckoned with at arm's length.
And yet no undergraduate In his class
had warmed up to h's Faraday or his
Darwin as Vlnlng had done, and no one
burnt as much oil over Induction the
ories or tinkered more tenaciously
wltb the electroscope. Socially, too.
nj one of the college was less beset
by genleel timidities. Freed from col
leg, he had cl'mbed fast. He had
base! blv game In three or four
scientific fields, but at last had left
all else and gone from settled choice
Into the broad and tempting domain
of electricity, with all Its ambltlon
Invltlng lures. Ills wlowed mother,
on whoe ftcgers biased gems that
alone would have placed her high In
plutocratic society, gladly gave him
money for all hla experiments, and the
sight of his laboratory made the heart
of many a struggling inventor ache
with envy. The mother died and her
on built a costly monument over her
arave and went to Europe. There his
friends of the alumni lost trace of bim
for a year or two, and then they heard
that he had loaded a ahlp with all man
ner of e4ctriral materials and had
sailed to the South Pacific, where, on
some anonymous volcanic Island, he In-
lenaea to pursue nis stuaies outsiae
the leash and beyond the whip of civ
ilization. His friends were not sur
prised, but they were curious: Still,
aa none of them knew where to write
to him. be was not worried by their
questions But once every three
months (the trading schooner touched
no oftener) a letter came to Vlnlng.
It was addresaed ta that very large and
angular handwriting which many
young women affect because many, oth-
y;::;:- . ::..fr v-J
Inquiring the name and address of man
In Portland owning two fine collie
dogs, who sells puppies to shocp
ranchers.
Letter from one of the Judges of
the United States Court of Appeals,
advising of the- palna through the
city of a foreign nobleman, who Is also
gifted lecturer, and suggesting the
nobleman be Invited to deliver an ad
dress to the people of the city.
Worn of Properly Owner..
Old resident and large properly
owner on Belmont and adjacent streets
at Mount Tabor, near Williams Park,
called for a conference with the Mayor
and City Engineer In respect to the
mprovement of the streets adjacent
to his property.
Irate and determined property
owner living on Hancock street called
o know why the paving company had
not completed Its contract for the Im
provement of the street In front of his
property. The Mayor called up the
paving company and arranged for the
speedy completion of the work.
Delegation from the East Slue
called to learn the cause of delay In
utttng down hard surface pavement.
Committee representing Socialist
party, called upon the Mayor for the
purpose of securing the use of one of
he Plaxa blocks fur a public meeting
to be held the last Sunday of each
month. An answer was promised the
committee as to whether the use of
the Plaxa block would be permitted for
he purpose named at a later date.
P. w llllara Kraft, the attorney for
nd representative of Farson. Son Ac
Co.. bidders for the $500,000 of Broad
way bridge bonds, had a long Interview
In which Mr. Kraft sought to convince
he Mayor that the US. 000 deposit
heck should be returned to his clients.
The Mayor auggested to Mr. Kraft that
Is clients secure the opinion of John
P. Dillon as to the validity of the
bond issue, and If a favorable opinion
was obtained, that his clients take and
ay for the bonds. In the event that
he bond Issue is declared Illegal bv
Judge Dillon, the 1:5.000 check should
er young women affect it. When Vln
lng received one of these letters there
came over his face something that
was almost a smile, and once he was
observed by one of his helpers a white
man to raise the envelope to his lips.
The sight of that wild demonstration
caused the helper so much astonish
ment and perturbation that he dropped
a costly glask disk to the floor and
broke It Into eighteen small pieces.
The kissing of the envelope was In
the days before the Mary Ellen had put
Into Port Vlnlng and before her crew
had told those much befringed tales
of wealth to be had at the pearl Islands
to the north. In the evening of the
day that the Mary Kllrn sailed Vlnlng
had called hla man Toll to summon a
white assistant to his cabin and had
learned that the men he had brought
to the Island of Kau had all sailed
away on the schooner. Toll had
thought that bis master would
be very angry, and when he had
told him of the desertion be ran
Into the thicket. Peering from
the brush he saw Vlnlng look away to
ward the north for a moment and then
light a cigar.
Soon after that an ugly look came
upon the face of the savage, for Malta,
the moat beautiful young woman of
the Island and shapely aa fair women
are In dreams, approached Vlnlng shyly
and touched hla arm. Toll saw Vln
lng smile upon the girl and soon she
was sitting beside him and they talked
softly aa the shadows deepened. Then
Toll went away. All he said was.
Walt!"
Next day Vlnlng went over to the
place where the Kauans. under their
black overseer, were laying the foun
dations of the "glass palace," as the
proud savant called It. and truly It
promised to be of palatial dimensions.
It was situated In a great punch-bowl
of a valley, a mile wide. Into which
Vlnlng purposed to turn a river and
thus make a lake. The blacks lased at
their work. but. aa there were many
of them, and they had been well
trained, there was not much of false
motion, and the palace grew under
their bands.
In the months that followed. Vlnlng
kept the work well under his eye. and
when the last great plate of glass, the
making of which had so mystified the
people of Kau, was In Its place and
firmly cemented, the flood-gate was
opened and the water began slowly to
rise about the crystal walls.
A few months later Frederic Vlnlng
wrote to Marcla Tait:
"The water Is fathoms deep over the
roof and the takua are growing about
the windows of Underwater House. You
have no Idea how clever these natives
are at diving and working under wa
ter. They hare stopped every leak and J
be returned. The expense Incident to
obtaining Judge Dlllon'a opinion to be
borne by Farson. Son A Co.
Representatives of the Portland Rail
way. Light fc Power Company, and of
the Nelson Fender Company, held a
conference with the Mayor In reference
to the fender ordinance recently vetoed
by him. The two corporations named
have agreed to meet the objections
urged by the Mayor, and have arranged
to prepare an ordinance In accordance
therewith.
Attorney representing Mrs. Josephine
Harris, who has presented a claim for
Injuries sustained by reason or a de
fective walk and which matter was
considered by the Judiciary Committee
of the Council at Its last session, dis
cussed the subject with the Mayor.
Good Samaritan Hospital sent repre
sentative, asking that at the approach
ing primary and municipal election,
the polling booths be stationed at some
distance from the hospital. The Mayor
took immediate steps to arrange that
no polling booth should be located In
the vicinity or the hospital.
Preachers Pay Visit.
Two ministers called on the Mayor
to pay their respects, they having been
in the City Hall on other business, and
felt It Incumbent In this manner to
testify to tbelr good will and friend
ship. Two handsome young ladles called
for the purpose of selling tickets for
a benefit musical.
Representatives of various local pa
pers are constantly in and out of the
Mayor's office, making Inquiries con
cerning executive business.
Various heads of departments called
on the Mayor with reference to matters
affecting their particular departments.
nd about which they desired to con
sult with him.
Letter received from I H. Weir, of
the playground Association of America,
recommending for appointment as sec
retary of the Playground and Recrea
tion Ground Association of Portland,
organised under the direction of the
Park Board and Board of Education, a
planted the takua everywhere about
the house. ' These takus are wonderful
ly tough plants, like ropes, and they
grow long, with occasional large flow
ers that are beautifully colored.
"Tou said In your last letter that
you would come in December. Better
put It off till April, for you muat re
member that your Winter Is our Sum
mer, and you should not begin here In
the hottest weather, but In the coolest.
so that your acclimation will be the
easier."
Malla was at his elbow while he
wrote, her black eyes shooting love
straight at him. and Toll, from a little
distance, was blscker of brow and mut
tering more deeply than ever.
But It was not Malia'a love that
caused the writing of this letter of post
ponement. Vlnlng had but played with
the soft little maid of the South. She
had filled some of his leisure hours
when he was book-tired or tobacco-
tired, and he knew nothing of Toll's
volcanic Jealousy. The real trouble lay
deeper. There bad been vague grum
Mings down Tonga way. The Islands
to the south had trheatened war upon
the people of Kau. Vlnlng did not
know that Toll was a Tongan who. In
his youth, had been enslaved by the
blacks of Kau. As .a matter of fact.
Toll had been In secret communication
with his people for months and stood
ready to betray Vlnlng and deliver him
Into the bands of the Southern sav
ages, who were stronger and more
warlike than the Kauans.
When the letter was signed and
sealed. Malta, who had known better
than to speak while Vlnlng'a pen was
busy, purred softly to - the man she
loved, and brought him breadfruit from
a nearby tree, serving It daintily upon
a large lear.
"The days pass." she said, "and the
moons come and go, but the great one
stays and loves me. He will never go."
"No," said the great one, with a new
sense of the smallness of the part he
was playing in trifling with this steadfast
love, and his thought running upon
the tender terms of his letter and of
Malta's utter Ignorance of them and of
many things. "No. I do not go and have
no wish to go. Now run with this letter
down to the schooner, Malta.. It will
salt soon. Be fleet."
Malla. grasping the letter, was off
down the slope to the beach like a gull
upon the wind, and Vlnlng called Toll,
who fawned and grinned and told him
again. In answer to his questions, of
the weakness of the Tongan warriors,
who were small In number and who
were women and children and not fit
to fight the stalwart Kauans.
But there were older men than Toll
On the Island of Kau and these urged
preparations for strong defense. ,
young man who has had conslderabl
experience In this line of work.
Three different city employes called
on the Mayor urging him to approve
their application for salary raise.
Letter received from the Board of
Underwriters requesting the Mayor to
appoint a rity electrician. This Is one
of the additional employes provided for
by the new building code.
, Delegation of women carted on
Mayor, urging him to take steps look
ing to the selection of a playground in
the congested district of Alhina.
Several applications were made to
the Mayor for the Installation of ad
ditional electric lights.
Representatives of different, bond
buying firms who had bid on the Broad
way bridge bonds and the water bonds
which were advertised for sale, called
on the Mayor to discuss with him the
various features of their proposed pur
chase of bonds.
The different departments, with one
or two exceptions, send their requisi
tions to the Mayor's office for ap
proval.
While he might take two hours for
luncheon without violating any prece
dents, he is usually back at his office
shortly after 1 o'clock.
The Mayor scarcely ever leaves the
City Hall until after 5 o'clock, "quo
ting time." and is usually on duty in
the executive office until 5:30. If there
is nothing of particular Importance, he
sometimes leaves In time to call at
the office of his law firm, which he
left to become Mayor. From there he
goes to his home at- 689 Everett street.
He dines early, reads the evening pa
pers, and unless he is down on some
programme, seldom leaves the house at
night. He Is very regular In his habits,
shuns liquor, never smokes and op
poses all forms of Intemperance.
Conducting the affairs of a wealthy
city In an official capacity is but a fair
beginning of the work of Portland's
Mayor. This he Is expected to do when
he assumes the duties of the office, but
after he Is In the harness, hla services
are In demand everywhere. For ex
ample, he had been In the position bin
a few weeks when it became necessary
"They have guns," said a man whose
father had been eaten In a Tongan
feast, "twenty, thirty guns, and they
can shoot straight."
."I wish you could tell me what kind
of guns. Have they repeating rifles,
like ours?" asked Vlnlng.
"I know not. but I know they can
shoot, and they shoot straight."
"Well, we'll have some target prac
tice, this afternoon. Tou, Nerido, shall
be Captain. How many men can you
muster?"
"Plenty men with spears, but only
10 with guns, and the men of Tonga
have 20, 30."
"Yes, but there are the torpedoes to
blow up the war canoes. I will show
you how to use them. And there are
the little battery and the mortar. We
can keep them off."
"We try hard, chief," said Nerido,
bowing and going forth to summon
his men.
Day after day went by and the wa
ters lay calm about the Island and no
war canoes hove fn sight. As hi
sense of security grew, Vlnlng took up
his experiments again and made good
progress.
On a day when the air trembled with
heat and there was a mass of heavy
reading to do, he lolled on a divan In
the glass house under the lake. It
was a place of peace there beneath
the placid waters. Looking far out
Into the perfectly transparent depths
ne saw the takus sway as - the flsh
glided silently past them. Sometimes
a gold-red fin would fan the outer sur
face of the glass close against his face,
or a brown nose would be gently flat
tened against one of the great panes
The fierce sunlight of the upper air
was softly screened by the green wa
ters, and to the eyes there was a sense
of relief and of rest.
And the calmness, the silence, the
serenity of It all! -
Vinlng heard a suft rustle near him.
He turned and there was Toll, half In
and half out of a darkened nook in
the farther partition wall.
"Ah, Toll, bring me that book-rest
and then run away and don't bother."
The master's eyes were not turned
to Toll's, or he might have seen the
glow of hate and the fierce anticipation
in them. . When the man had left the
room Vinlng settled down on the cush
ions to read, but the sweet languor
that had so often stolen upon him
then came over him again and made
his eyes wander from the book and out
Into the still, cool depths of the lake.
His dream was of Marcla and of the
time when she should be there by his
Ida. It was a delightful dream there .
sisJsM?? if IIS JllTi's
.1? y-":
A i If f iff t f
Y . ,rfi f -if - .C& ' '
, .. sJ 1 i iii" ij"1""' " 'ssaTlissl'sssl'wsaMsjM'giM
for him to go to Seattle and participate
In the exercises of Portland day at the
exposition there. He has been doing
similar things ever since and will con
tinue' until he turns the city's affairs
over to some other man.
Welcoming conventions to the city,
dedicating buildings, laying corner
stones, presiding at banquets or rep
resenting the city at them; meeting
people from abroad and making them
feel "at home," are a few of the fea
tures of the Mayor's life not specified
under the charter but which, never
theless, he finds it Incumbent upon him
to do because of an unwritten law,
which Is Just as binding as the written
law. In other words, the Mayor is
every-one's man, and when he Is want
ed for anything, he usually consents.
about the only acceptable excuse being
that he has an engagement that pre
cludes his acceptance of another.
Mayor Simon is the first Mayor of
Portland to own an automobile. It is
good car and is usually at hand for
ready- use. He has provided It for city
business, as well as private affairs, and
It has run thousands of miles on trips
of inspection throughout the city since
he took office nearly two years ago. I
In the perfect restful quiet of the
under-water world.
Harshly upon that quiet now broke
the sound of the telephone bell at his
elbow. He started and took the re
ceiver off the hook and said "Hello,
Nerido! What's up?'
A buzz of thick excitement came over
the wire. Then Nerido got breath to
say:
"The warriors of Tonga! They are
upon us! While our men were asleep
at noon they stole, up from the east of
the island and are now In the wooded
hills to the north by the lake shore
and not far from the tunnel gate of the
glass palace. Give us the word! What
shall we do?"
"Call your men up! March them to
the rocks by the lake shore! The rocks
will protect them from the fire of the
Tonga people. Lose no time! But be
careful. Waste no shots by idle fir
ing. I will be with you soon."
"Wait, chief. Let me see through
my glass again."
There was a pause.
"Do not come- out," was Nerido's
sharp warning. "They are near the j
tunnel gate to the glass palace!
"How many men?
"Two twenties and more. They, are
coming on all the time."
"Very well, leave some one at the
telephone and go forth instantly with
your rnen."
"I go," quietly replied Nerido. "and
1 thirst for the blood of the men who
ate my father."
"This Is an odious position," mused
Vlnlng, looking blankly about. ."I
would like to have a hand in the skirm
ish over yonder, but here I am like a fly
In a bottle with a tight cork. But let
them move away from, the tunnel gate
and I'll try that new rifle of mine to
some purpose. Hello, Somali! !"
"Hello, chief!"
"Tie the big wire to the picture win
dow, set the telescope to point upon
the Tongans, and keep It there."
"All right, chief."
The "picture window" was what the
natives called Vinlng's. greatest inven
tion. His name for it was the eleetro
photoscope. By Its use any scene that
lay under sunlight In the range of a
telescope . could be mirrored upon . a
screen at the end of a wire miles away.
Vlning now set up his screen in a
little dark room off from the apart
ment where he had been lounging.
This screen was merely a large framed
ground glass, which he swung neatly
into place in the door of the dark
room. He ran his telephone transmit
ter Into the black closet, turned on
an arc light behind the glass and,
shutting the door of the dark, room, sat
upon a etool, ,
One of the features of his administra
tion that are unique is the numerous
trips he has taken to keep In touch
with affairs of the municipality.
Simon Always on Time.
The Mayor Is necessarily the guiding
hand of the city. To him every one
looks for advice and counsel. He pre
sides at sessions of the City Council;
approves or disapproves ordinances,
and It is he who must determine
whether measures are proper for the
public welfare, for upon his decision
much depends. He is the presiding of
ficer of the Executive Board, Water
Board, Health Board, . Park. Board and
Civil Service-Commission, and is never
late a minute. He appoints the mem
bers of the Council to various commit
tees, likewise the members of the Ex
ecutive Board, who are men chosen by
him direct; the Councilmen are elected.
He signs million of dollars'- worth
of improvement and other bonds every
year, and bonds required for contracts
on city work or for public officials he
also approves.
The Mayor is about the only official
the people recognize, especially If they
"Hello, Somalil!" he called. "Why
don't you turn It on?".
"The thumb-screw is broken, chief."
"Put in a new one. Hurry!"
In a few minutes a faint Image ap
peared upon the screen before the
dark room, and Vinlng saw,, strangely
distorted; the features of Somalii, who
was bending over -the lens of the cam
era. "Set up the telescope tripod and
swing the glass ' Into place," directed
the master.
Over the telephone came grating
sounds and a rap or two; then there
flashed upon the scene the blurred
outlines of the cocoa-palms across the
lake, more than a mile from Somalii's
camera, but not three nunarea yaras,
from the spot where Vlning sat.
"Get your focus, man! Get your
focus!" ordered the master.
Slowly the blur cleared away, and
then sharply upon the screen were
ehown the edge of the lake, the woods
and half-naked warriors of Tonga in
a ragged group, some standing still,
some sitting and others moving about.
Ten or a dozen of the hostiles were
approaching the tunnel gate. They
ramA on warilV.
"Let's see." said Vlning. "I have
five mines there, scattered about. Ah,
hAro'a th chart." ' -
He turned toward- the glimmering
screen a piece of glaes on wnicn was
traced a map, showing the immediate
vicinity of the tunnel gate.
Knir that- vantruard of black fel
lows Is right over mine-four." . His
finger hovered above an electric but
ton. Then he Jerked It away.
"It would be a pity to blow up those
nnnr heirE-ars." said he. 'I 11 1UI milin
h.-A-anH siimrise them."
The unerring Instrument showed the
little advance troop to De wnnin aw
ml., three. - Vinlng pressed a
button. There was a great red flash
upon the screen and the attacking
party was carried off its feet by the
shock' and surprise. There were also
signs of consternation among the main
body of the' warriors. ' Raising them
selves and stumbling affrlghtedly, the
advance guard fled precipitately hack
to their comrades. But one of them,
wholly- overcome by his fear, lay for
eome time where he had fallen before
he crawled away on all fours. ,
Vinlng heard a tap at the door of
the dark room. He opened it and be
fore him. stood Malia, trembling and
fearsome. ,
"What are you doing here? asuea
Vlning. angered. "You were to come
only when I sent for you, Malla, and
you disobey me." .
"O chief, too not chide me! wailed
the frightened girl. "I knew you were
la danger, and. I have been waiting
want to find fault. People call him up
over the telephone to complain about a
neighbor's chickens and they don't
want to be referred to the police or
City Attorney, but want the Mayor to
settle the dispute off-hand.
A policeman who wants to be pro
moted thinks the Mayor can "fix" it
and calmly asks him to do so.
A man wants a job In one of the de
partments and he believes the Mayor
can appoint him at will, but he cannot;
everything is under civil service and to
get work one must pass an examina
tion. If a street is dusty, the Mayor Is ap
pealed to to have it sprinkled or oiled,
but he has to refer It to the street
cleaning department.
Many poor people appeal to him to
give advice on legal subjects.
Such is the busy round of the Mayor
of Portland, and because a man is
Mayor, he is expected to take criti
cism gracefully, to look for compli
ments seldom and to be prepared to re
tire to private life at the end of his
term with no enemies and on friendly
relations with everyone. He s expect
ed to give every one anything- asked
for and to please every one all the
time.
about in these rooms of the under
water house to see what I might do
for you. What do they tell you over
the wires? Are the warriors of Tonga
on the island?".
"Yes," said Vlning, In softer tonee.
"Look here. girl, do you see them?"
"What wonders! You make tnetr
pictures to come over the wire- and
live before you. You are a great chief,
Lataafa. You are a god. But see. here
come our people." She pointed to the
edge of the screen, where the Ka.ua a
band, creeping behind the rocks by
the lake side, moved slowly toward
the invaders. "They see them; the
Tongan warriors see them. Now there
will be fighting and blood upon the
grass, and "
"Hush, chiid!" said Vining. For the
arc light fluttered and the picture
wavered and he was all impatience.
"Now our people are at the last wall
of rocks!" she went on. breathing very
hard, "and they stop there. The Ton
gan men are coming up the lake side.
They are nearer and nearer, but there
Is no shooting. Why is there no shoot
ing, Lataafa?"
"They want our people to fire and
then, they will try to rush in and win.
An old trick. Malia. They have only,
single-shot muskets. They do not
know that our men have repeating
rifles. There, our guns are firing
upon them: not to much purpose
though, for the distance is too great.
Now the Tongans rush in to shoot at
short range and make a sweeping vic
tory. That was the trick. Now they
begin their fire."
"But see," cried Malia, thrusting her
forefinger toward a corner of the
screen, "our people's guns are blazing
again and again, and they keep blaz
ing! The men of Tonga halt, many ot.
them fall to the ground and the rest
run back to the woods! By the great
god of Kau, we have beaten them! They
are still near the tunnel gate or we
could go forth now and hail the vic
tors." '
"Do not be so sure of victory yet,
Malia. ' I think, more men were left
in the war canoes and these will now
come up and join their comrade.s. Wait
bit, my girl. We must nave pa
tience.
But Malia had left his side. fche
had heard a rustling in the outer room
and had stolen forth to see what had
caused it. Her eye caught a dark
figure gliding silently down the hall
way. It was Toil. .tier savage intu
ition sent a fear of treachery to her
heart. She ran after the man, lightly
treading and making no sound. But
after peering about in the dim light of .
the corridors and Into dark corners of
rooms, she came back, smiling at her
"Concluded oa Pag J-).