ion of baffling perplexity.
No sooner had he stepped from the launch that had started him on his
double quest, which ostensibly had only the purser for its object, than
he was surrounded by a noisy, gesticulating crowd. Insistent requests
that he should buy a string of shells, adopt a chameleon, wear a wreath
of carnations, and take a drive, were proffered in broken English, and
he made his escape by jumping into a motor-car and slamming the door.
"Where to, sir?" asked the gratified chauffeur.
"Take me where everybody goes," directed Percival.
"The Pali? Waikiki? Punch-Bowl? Aquarium?"
"Yes, yes. Go on. You see, as a matter of fact, I'm looking for some
one."
Percival's first impression of Honolulu was that of a futurist sketch,
a streak of green standing for the palm-shaded streets, a streak of
scarlet representing the royal Poinciana, and various impressionistic
dots indicating native Hawaiians. The motor in which he found himself
was very ancient, having evidently traveled from the center to the
circumference of civilization by easy stages. Its age and asthmatic
condition should have made it an object of veneration to the chauffeur,
but such was not the case. Like a belated express, it was driven
through the town and out into the open country. Luxurious villas, jungles
of cacti, Chinese tea-houses, taro patches, banana plantations--all
presented one mad panorama to Percival, who jolted from side to side
on the back seat.
Presently there was a precipitous halt, and the chauffeur indicated that
he was to get out.
"What for?" asked Percival, crossly.
"The Pali," said the chauffeur, impressively. "Eighteen hundred feet
above the level of the sea, where the early inhabitants of Oahu made
their last stand against the enemy."
"I'm quite sure she isn't here," said Percival. Then he caught himself,
and went into a rather elaborate explanation to cover his confusion.
"You see, I'm looking for the purser. The purser of the _Saluria_,
you know. He's put a nasty Chinaman in my state-room, and I've got to
find him before the ship sails."
"Everybody comes first to the Pali," said the man.
Percival glanced skeptically at the great granite cliff that seemed such
an unpromising retreat for pursers, then he stepped out of the motor,
and made his way around the sharp angle of stone wall. As he did so, a
gale struck him that sent his hat careening over the precipice. He gazed
after it in chagrin. The fact that
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