udy whose feelings,
sentiments, opinions or religious belief, was beneath the consideration
of an European. But although he thus despised the natives generally from
one end of the Pacific to the other, he had enough sense to keep his
opinions reasonably well to himself, only expressing his contempt for
them to his fellow traders, or to any other white men with whom he came
in contact.

[Illustration: Sailing across the lagoon to his station 028]

A few weeks after my arrival on the island I paid him a visit, sailing
across the lagoon to his station in my whaleboat. On reaching his
place I found that he was away from home on a trip to one of his minor
outlying stations, and would not return till the evening. Somewhat
disappointed at missing him, I got out of my boat with the intention of
at least resting in one of the native huts for half an hour, so as to be
out of the intense heat and glare of a torrid sun, when one of Krause's
servants came down and said that the trader's wife would be glad if I
would come to her husband's station and there await his return.

Glad to accept the invitation, for I was weak and tired out from fever,
and ready to lie down almost anywhere out of the sun, I walked wearily
along the beach and entered the house.

To my intense surprise, there came to meet me at the door, not the
usual style of native wife one generally sees in most traders' houses--a
good-looking young woman with a flaming blouse, and more flaming
skirt of hideously coloured print, and fingers covered with heavy gold
rings--but a slenderly-built pale-complexioned woman of apparently
thirty years of age, dressed in a light yellow muslin gown, such as the
Portuguese ladies of Macao and the Mariana Islands wear. The moment I
saw her I knew that she had but a very slight strain of native blood in
her veins, and when she spoke her voice sounded very sweet and refined.

"Will you not come inside and rest, sir?" she said in English. "My
husband is away, and will not be back until about sunset; he will be
very disappointed to have missed you."

"Thank you, Mrs. Krause," I replied; "I think I must accept your
invitation, as I feel a bit shaky, and it has been so very hot crossing
the lagoon." "Very, very hot, indeed, Mr. Sherry," she said, as she
motioned me to enter the front room; "and I know what malarial fever is;
for I once lived at Agana, in Guam, and have seen many people who have
come there from the Philippine Islands to