Off for Hawaii/Chapter 4
CHAPTER IV.
THE START FOR HONOLULU.
The three of us stared at each other in utter dismay, unable for the moment to speak. The map—that precious bit of parchment—was gone, lost! What should we do now?
"And our tickets to Honolulu all bought!" groaned Dan, who was the first to break the painful silence.
"Are you sure it is lost?" I said. "Haven't you it anywhere about your clothing? Feel in every pocket."
"Maybe you left it home," suggested Dan, a faint ray of hope shining in his face.
"No, I am sure I had it when I came away, worse luck," groaned Oliver. "And I am equally sure I haven't it now," he added, after a thorough search not only of his person but also of the carriage. "The question is, where did I drop it?"
"Do you remember falling or stumbling?" I asked.
"No—yes, I do—down near the pool, just as the sailor went in. Let us go back and see if I dropped it there."
We went back and made a search lasting the best part of half an hour, but nothing came to light. Then we retraced our steps and looked around where we had first leaped from the carriage. It was all useless; not a trace of die precious map was to be found.
"I have a rough sketch of the map," said Dan. "I made it while Oliver and I were on our way here from Hong Kong."
"Where is it? " questioned Oliver eagerly.
"I left it home, in my other coat."
"I hope that isn't gone, too."
"It's not likely—unless fate is against us on this trip," rejoined Oliver soberly.
He was now anxious to learn if this duplicate map, if such it might be called, was still at home, and the team was whipped up and away we went.
Quarter of an hour later we knew the truth. The map was not only safe, but it was a very fair reproduction of the original, for I may as well state here that Dan was a good draughtsman and had studied civil engineering for several years.
"Thank fortune we have this map!" cried Oliver, and I have no doubt but that a load was lifted from his heart. "As soon as we get the chance we had better make three maps and reproduce the description, so that each of us can carry a copy of both." And let me add that this was done while on the trip to Honolulu.
The time left to us on shore flew by swiftly with packing our valises and purchasing such things as we deemed necessary. It was a delightful day when we went down to the wharf at which the steamer lay, taking on her cargo and load of passengers. The latter were of all kinds and conditions, poor and rich, the business man, the pleasure seeker, and the rover in quest of a fortune.
"The man who goes to Honolulu with the expectation of striking it rich will be disappointed," remarked Dan, as having put our traps in the staterooms we came on deck to view the parting scenes. "I understand that while Honolulu is a city of thirty or forty thousand people, every profession and trade is more than crowded. The only thing needed there is capital to develop the natural resources. After that will come the chance for those who want to work."
My father and Mr. Raymond had come to see us off, and now, as the whistle blew, there was a hurried handshaking all around.
"Take good care of yourself, Mark," whispered my father. "Don't run into any such perils as you encountered in Cuba."
"I'll do my best to steer clear of them," I answered.
"And you have a care, too," said Mr. Raymond to his son. "You and Dan had enough wild escapes in the Philippines to last a lifetime."
"We'll look out for ourselves, never fear," answered Oliver confidently.
The lines were now cast off, and amid parting waves of hands and a flutter of handkerchiefs the Mariposa left the wharf and started on her long trip out of the Golden Gate and almost halfway across the Pacific Ocean.
"Good-by to our own dear native land," I murmured. "May we all be richer when we return to thy shore once more!"
"Don't grow sentimental, Mark!" cried Oliver. "Remember, the Hawaiian Islands are now a part of the United States, so we are in reality only going from one portion of our country to another!"
"True, but the islands are so far away!"
"A seven-days' trip by the steamer—about the same as a trip to England or France—that's not so far."
"And we always used to hear about the islands as being full of savage tribes, cannibals and the like."
"That was a good many years ago," put in Dan. "I understand that the vast majority of the Kanakas, as they are called, are thoroughly civilized. Of course, it is likely that some of them are still ignorant and cling to the habits of their forefathers. But you won't find any cannibalism out there, I'll warrant you that."
"No, you won't find cannibals," put in a voice at Dan's elbow, and, as the youth turned, a tall, well-dressed gentleman caught him by the hand.
"Why, Dr. Barton!" cried Dan, and shook hands warmly. "What brings you here?"
"I am on a trip for pleasure and my health," replied the physician, who was well known in San Francisco, as I afterward learned. A few additional words passed, and then Oliver and I were introduced.
"And your name is Mark Carter," exclaimed the physician. "Of Stateroom No. 17?"
"Yes, sir."
"Then we are to be room-mates. I am glad to know you, Mr. Carter."
"And I am equally glad to know you, doctor," I smiled. "But don't call me mister yet, please—you'll make me feel too old."
A twinkle came into the doctor's eye. "All right; what shall I call you?"
"Mark."
"Very well, I'll mark that." And at this pun we all laughed, and it was not long before all of us felt thoroughly at home. Before the day was over I had voted Dr. Barton a prince of good fellows.
The doctor was a well-educated man, and in his younger days had been an assistant teacher at a private academy situated at Sacramento. He had made a trip to the Hawaiian Islands ten years before, and knew a good deal concerning them.
"When I was there before, the islands were a monarchy, ruled over by Queen Liliuokalani, who had followed her brother, King Kalakaua, to the throne," he said. "Now all is changed. A short and bloodless revolution deposed the queen, and the islands became a republic, with Sanford B. Dole the first and only President. At first the natives, or a portion of them, wished the monarchy back, but this feeling was soon suppressed, and then Hawaii clamored for admission into our Union, and now she has been taken in, as a sort of colonial territory, with ex-President Dole as Governor. In the near future I expect one or more of the islands will become a full-fledged State."
"Along with Luzon and the rest of the Philippines," smiled Dan.
"I imagine the Philippines will have to wait. There are not so many English-speaking people there as there are at present in the Sandwich Islands."
"There is one thing I can't understand," I said. "Some call them the Sandwich Islands and some the Hawaiian Islands. Which is right?"
"That is easily explained, Mark. When James Cook discovered the islands, more than a century ago, he named them in honor of his patron, the Earl of Sandwich. But the real native name is Hawaii nei pae aina, which means, These Hawaiian Islands. I presume Englishmen will call them after the Earl of Sandwich for a long time to come, but Hawaiian Islands is the proper name."
We remained on deck until the last trace of shore had faded from view, and then went below, to put our staterooms into proper order. Dan and Oliver were soon done, and returned to the deck, leaving Dr. Barton and me taking our time and conversing about the country we were about to visit.
"To a person who had never been out of the United States there would be many curious sights in the Hawaiian Islands," said the doctor. "But to you who have been in Cuba, and to your friends who have been in China and the Philippines, it will be different."
"Oh, I dare say I'll see many strange sights even so," I answered. "Each nation has a good many customs of its own. I understand the Kanakas are quite different from the other people who inhabit the islands of the Pacific."
"They are different, as different as the ancient Moors were from the real Africans. They What do you want, Dan?"
For Dan had suddenly appeared, somewhat out of breath.
"We've made a discovery," said he to me. "That one-armed sailor is on board as a steerage passenger, and Oliver caught him studying a paper that looked a good deal like that lost map."