dventurer, remittance-man, or humble clerk
serving his apprenticeship to a steamship line or an ivory house. He
was one of the pillars of Zanzibar society. The trading house he had
purchased had had its beginnings in the slave-trade, and now under his
alert direction was making a turnover equal to that of any of its
ancient rivals. Personally, Fearing was a most desirable catch. He
was well-mannered, well-read, of good appearance, steady, and, in a
latitude only six degrees removed from the equator, of impeccable
morals.

It is said that it is the person who is in love who always is the first
to discover his successful rival. It is either an instinct or because
his concern is deeper than that of others.

And so, when Hemingway sought for the influence that separated him from
Polly Adair, the trail led to Fearing. To find that the obstacle in
the path of his true love was a man greatly relieved him. He had
feared that what was in the thoughts of Mrs. Adair was the memory of
her dead husband. He had no desire to cross swords with a ghost. But
to a living rival he could afford to be generous.

For he was sure no one could care for Polly Adair as he cared, and,
like every other man in love, he believed that he alone had discovered
in her beauties of soul and character that to the rest of mankind were
hidden. This knowledge, he assured himself, had aroused in him a depth
of devotion no one else could hope to imitate, and this depth of
devotion would in time so impress her, would become so necessary to her
existence, that it would force her at last into the arms of the only
man who could offer it.

Having satisfied himself in this fashion, he continued cheerfully on
his way, and the presence of a rival in no way discouraged him. It
only was Polly Adair who discouraged him. And this, in spite of the
fact that every hour of the day he tried to bring himself pleasantly to
her notice. All that an idle young man in love, aided and abetted by
imagination and an unlimited letter of credit, could do, Hemingway did.
But to no end.

The treasures he dug out of the bazaars and presented to her, under
false pretenses as trinkets he happened at that moment to find in his
pockets, were admired by her at their own great value, and returned
also under false pretenses, as having been offered her only to examine.

"It is for your sister at home, I suppose," she prompted. "It's quite
lovely. Thank you for letting me see it