The Beautiful White Devil

by Guy Boothby

  CHAPTER V.

  HOW WE FOUGHT THE PLAGUE.

  Leaving the house behind us we made our way by means of a circuitouspath, round the base of the majestic waterfall before described, downtowards the buildings on the plain. The route chosen was a perfect onein every way, not only for observing the excellent placing of thetownship on the plateau, but for noting the beauties of nature alongthe path. As in the jungle through which I had passed to approach thehouse, lovely creepers twined from tree to tree, orchids gaped fromevery crevice, some of them almost human in their quaintness; whilemixed up with them in marvellous profusion were palms, ferns, shrubs,and bamboos of every known hue and description. Butterflies andbeetles, of colourings so glorious that my fingers positively itchedfor my collecting box, fluttered from flower to flower, while parrots(_Palaedinis longianda_), Nikobar pigeons, and the darter, or snakebird, were so frequently met with as to lose all their charm ofnovelty. Sometimes we would be in places where the wealth of greeneryshut out all view of the sky; a moment later we could look through theleaves at the great mountain pushing its head up into what seemed theazure vault of heaven itself. But beautiful as all this was, not theleast lovely part of it was the mysterious woman walking by my side.

  As we made our way down the path we talked on many subjects, Europeanpolitics, of which her knowledge was extensive, the beauties of theEast, literature and art; but, somehow or another, however far wemight wander from it, the conversation invariably came back to theepidemic that was the occasion of my presence in the settlement.

  At last we left the jungle and prepared to descend the precipitoushillside by means of a long flight of wooden steps, which ended at thecommencement of the main street. In the brilliant sunlight thetownship looked a pretty enough little place, with its well laid-outand nicely planted thoroughfares, neatly built European houses, andpicturesque native huts. It was hard to believe that, clean andhealthy as it all looked, it had lost more than a quarter of itspopulation by the ravages of one of the most awful pestilences humanflesh is heir to. Indeed, so much impressed was I with its beauty thatfor a moment or two I stood watching it, unable to say a word. Then Ilooked at my companion. She, like myself, had been very silent for thelast hundred yards, and now, as she looked down at her kingdom, I sawher beautiful eyes fill with tears.

  "Dr. De Normanville," she said, as we arrived at the bottom of thesteps, "if you will allow me, some day, when we are a little betteracquainted, I will tell you the story of this place and the influenceit has had upon my life. Then you will be able to understand how it isthat I am so much affected by my people's sufferings."

  I murmured an appropriate reply and we entered the village. Ourarrival had been anxiously expected, and at the gate of the firsthouse we were met by an old man, who was evidently a person ofconsiderable importance in the place. He had a white skin and aslightly Scandinavian cast of countenance, and, though he spokeChinese and the native tongue with unusual fluency, was evidently morethan half an Englishman. On seeing my companion he raised his hatpolitely and waited for her to speak.

  "Mr. Christianson," she said, holding out her hand, "this is Dr. DeNormanville, who has been kind enough to come to our assistance fromHong Kong. I don't think it is necessary for me to assure him that youwill give him your entire assistance in this terrible crisis, in thesame manner as you have hitherto given it to me."

  The old man bowed to me, and then addressed my companion.

  "We have done our best in your absence," he said sorrowfully; "but itseems as if Fate were against us. There are at the present moment onehundred and thirty cases all told, of which eighty-four are men,twenty-three women, and the remainder children. Yesterday there wereeighteen deaths--among them your old coxswain, Kusae, who died atseven in the morning, and Ellai, the wife of Attack, who followed himwithin an hour. The Englishman, Brandon, died at midday, his wifeduring the afternoon, and their only child this morning, scarcely anhour ago. Doctor, is there any hope at all of our being able to stopthis awful plague?"

  I assured him we would do our best, and he agreed that no man couldask or expect us to do more. By the time our conversation was finishedI had taken a decided fancy to the old fellow, and with Alie'spermission enrolled him there and then as my second in command.

  "Now," I said, turning to her, "before we commence our work let meexactly understand my position. With what powers am I invested?"

  "With full and complete authority," she answered promptly. "Whateveryou may deem best for my unfortunate people, please do withoutconsulting anyone. Believe me, no one will attempt to dispute yourright."

  "That is as it should be, and I thank you," I said. "Now, will youtell me where my own abode is to be? It should be as far removed fromthe centre of the infected district as possible, yet, at the sametime, central enough to be convenient for all the inhabitants."

  "I thought that house on the mound at the foot of the hill," sheanswered, pointing with her beautiful hand to a neat weather-boardstructure about a couple of hundred yards from the place where we werethen standing; "in fact, I have even gone so far as to give ordersthat it should be prepared for you. Shall we go and examine it?"

  Accordingly, accompanied by the old man, we set out for it, eagerlywatched by a crowd of natives, who, from the expressions on theirfaces, had come quite to look upon me as their deliverer.

  The house proved to be a most commodious little place of four rooms,and, from the luxury with which the two living apartments werefurnished, it was evident that considerable trouble and care had beenbestowed upon them. When we entered, an intelligent native lad wascalled from an inner room and informed in English that I was his newmaster, and that he was to see that I wanted for nothing. It is onlyfair to add that during my stay in the island no man could havedesired a better and more trustworthy servant.

  From the bedroom and sitting-room we passed on to the room at the endof the verandah, which I found had been set apart for, and equippedas, a surgery. Neatly arranged around the walls, on shelves, wereenough drugs of all sorts and descriptions to stock half a dozenchemist's shops, while my instruments, cases, and other paraphernaliawere spread out upon the table in the centre. Altogether thearrangements were most satisfactory and complete, and I intimated asmuch to Alie, who stood watching me from the window.

  "It is all Mr. Christianson's doing," she said. "You must thank him."

  I did so, and then proposed that we should set about our work at once.

  "In the first place, Mr. Christianson," I began, "have you had anysymptoms of the disease yourself?"

  "Not one! Since it started I have been as well as I remember ever tohave been in my life."

  "When were you vaccinated last?"

  I put the question with some little timidity, for I feared lest by sodoing I might wake some unpleasant memory in the old man's mind. But,whatever his past may have been,--and there were few men in thesettlement, I afterwards found, who had not more or less of a romantichistory,--he answered without hesitation:

  "I was vaccinated in Liverpool, twelve years ago next March."

  "Then, with your permission, I'll do it for you again. After thatwe'll call up the heads of the village and I'll operate on them."

  So saying, I unpacked my things, and, having done so, vaccinated mysecond in command. When this was accomplished, he gave me a list hehad prepared of the half-dozen principal inhabitants. They wereimmediately sent for, and as soon as they arrived my position wasexplained to them in a short speech by Alie.

  "Now, gentlemen," I said, when her address was finished, "in view ofthe serious nature of our position and the necessity for awell-organized attack upon the disease which has so decimated yourpopulation, I propose to enrol you as my staff. You will each of youhave special duties assigned to you, and I need not say that I feelsure you will fulfil them to the very best of your ability. Before wego any further, as I hear none of you have taken the disease, Ipropose vaccinating you all, as I have just done Mr. Christianson.When that has been accomplished we
will get properly to work."

  In half an hour or so this was done, and I was free to enter upon mynext course of action.

  "We will now," I said, after a little consultation with Alie,"assemble the healthy folk of the village on the green yonder."

  This was soon done, and, at the word of command, the entire populationable to get about assembled themselves on the open space before myverandah--blacks and whites, yellow and copper colour, all mixed up,higgledy-piggledy, in glorious confusion. From a cursory glance atthem they appeared to come from all countries and from all parts ofthe globe. I could distinguish Englishmen, Frenchmen, Germans,Swedes, Italians, Portuguese, Spaniards, Russians, Hindoos, Malays,Dyaks, and even Chinamen. The dusky population, however, predominated.

  The first business to be performed, when they were all before me, wasto separate the men from the women, and, as soon as this wasaccomplished, to carefully examine each in turn; after that I singledout those who were skilled in carpentering and hut-building, and keptthem on one side. Fortunately, I was able to procure nearly thirty whowere in some degree efficient. All of these--I mean of course thosewho had not had the disease--were forthwith vaccinated and despatched,under the leadership of one of my six lieutenants, to a site I hadchosen on the hillside for the hospital. There they were employederecting huts with all possible despatch.

  When the remainder had undergone the necessary operation, volunteerswere requested to enrol themselves for the work of nursing the sick,and for this duty no less than twenty held up their hands, eight ofwhom had themselves been victims of the pestilence.

  Long before I had completed my work of vaccination, the sun haddisappeared behind the hill, and it was time for the evening meal. Buttired as we all were, it was useless to think of stopping, so after wehad broken our fast, the work of hut-building and vaccinationproceeded again by torch and lamp light, until long after midnight. Bythe time my last patient was dismissed I was utterly worn out. Butthis was not the case with Alie, who throughout the day, and up to thevery last moment at night, had never abated one jot of her energy.Encouraging the women, cheering the men, weighing out stores, andmeasuring cloth, she had been occupied without ceasing. Her enthusiasmwas like a stimulant, and it had the effect of one upon all concerned.When my arms ached and my brain seemed fagged out beyond all recoupingwith plotting, planning, and giving advice, it was like a breath ofnew life to see her moving about among her people, taking no thoughtof herself, or of the danger she was running, thinking only of theterror-stricken wretches who turned to her in their hour of troublefor sympathy and help. And certainly as she passed about among them,Beelzebub, the bulldog, slouching along at her heels, it was wonderfulto see how their faces would brighten, and the light of fear for themoment die out of their eyes. Nothing in my science had the power todo as much for them.

  As I put down my implements and received Christianson's report thatthe fourth hut was ready for occupation, the clock on the mantelpieceof my sitting room struck a quarter to one. Bidding him good-night,and warning him to be early astir on the morrow, I took my hat, andprepared to accompany Alie on her homeward journey.

  Following the path behind my house, we ran it round the foot of thefalls, and up through the jungle to her gate. By the time we reachedthe spot where I had first looked down at the settlement that morningthe moon was sailing high in a cloudless sky, and the whole of ourworld was bathed in its pale, mysterious light. The scene wasindescribably beautiful, and perhaps the exquisite softness of thenight, and the thought of the sickness raging in the valley below us,may have had something to do with the silence that followed ourarrival at the top. We were standing at the gate, looking down uponthe white roofs, showing like flakes of silver through the sea of darkjungle. For some time neither of us spoke. Then it was Alie who beganthe conversation.

  "Dr. De Normanville," she said,--and it must not be thought conceitedon my part to repeat it,--"I want to thank you from the bottom of myheart for the way in which you have taken up your work of mercy. Icannot say what I would like to do, because my heart is too full forutterance; but if you could only realise what a relief it is to me toknow that you are here to conduct matters, you would understandsomething of the gratitude I feel."

  I uttered some commonplace reply, all the time watching the wistfullook upon her face. Then she said suddenly:

  "We have scarcely known each other three days yet, but somehow I feelas if, despite all you have heard of me, you are my friend."

  "And you are quite right in so feeling," I said. "Believe me, I haveforgotten all the foolish stories I have heard about you."

  "No, no! I don't know that you ought to do that," she continued,"because, you see, a great number of them are true."

  "You wish me to remember them, then?" I cried, in some surprise.

  "Yes!" she answered. "I think you ought to get a clue for your ownguidance out of them. But in saying that, I wish you to understand whyI do so. To do that involves my telling you my history. Are you tootired to listen to it to-night?"

  "Of course I am not," I answered quickly, only too glad of theopportunity of hearing a story that others would have given anythingto have had related to them. "But if it means recalling unhappymemories, why tell it me? I shall serve you just as faithfully withoutknowing it."

  "I do not doubt that for an instant," she said. "But you must surelysee, Dr. De Normanville, that being brought into contact with you asmuch as I am, I want to set myself right with you. I want you to knowall about me. Hitherto you have only thought of me, remember,as--well, as a beautiful woman, whose pleasure in life it is to roband blackmail innocent and unsuspecting folk in this distant portionof the globe. Having seen your kindness and gentleness to myunfortunate people to-day, and honouring you for it as I do, is it tobe wondered at that I want you to understand my work in life properly?May I tell you my story?"

  "Please do! It will interest me deeply."

  She moved over from the gate to the broad wooden rail that ran alongthe path side, and which had evidently been placed there to protectfoot passengers from the abyss. Leaning on it, she scanned the moonlitvalley for some moments without speaking. Then turning her face towardme, she began:

  "My father, you must know, Dr. De Normanville, was a typicalEnglishman; he came of a good old Yorkshire family, and was an officerin Her Majesty's navy; he was also remarkable for his great height,strength, and wonderful personal beauty. He was very popular with hisfellow-officers and men, and in the early part of his career saw agood deal of active service in various parts of the globe. It wasduring the time that he was stationed in the West Indies, and soonafter he was made commander of his ship, that he met my mother, abeautiful Creole, and married her. From the moment of his marriage thegood luck which had hitherto attended his career seemed to desert him;he lost his ship on an uncharted rock, and, when he was appointed toanother, was ordered to a bad station, where he nearly lost his wifeand his own life of fever. With his recovery came the most unfortunatepart of his career. For just as he was about to be relieved, a chargewas preferred against him by the admiral of the station, of so baseand wicked a description that all those who heard it refused at firstto entertain the notion. He was court-martialled and expelled theservice. Since then the charge has been proved to have been entirelywithout foundation, but by the time that was known my poor father haddied in exile. He appealed, but what was the use of that? To a proud,headstrong man, conscious of his innocence, such disgrace wasunbearable, and he at length fled from England, resolved to shake itsdust for ever off his feet. He went to India, but the result of thetrial was known there, and every post was barred to him. He passed onto Singapore, and finally to Hong Kong, but always with the sameresult. By this time everything that was obstinate and worst in himwas roused; and when the admiral, the same who had brought the chargeagainst him, was transferred to the China station, my father soughthim out in Shanghai, decoyed him outside the city, requested him topublicly admit that the charges he had brought against him were false,and on hi
s refusing, produced pistols, invited him to a duel, and shothim dead. Then, while the police were hunting for him, he fitted outa boat, with a large sum of money that had some time before been lefthim, collected a dozen other men as desperate as himself, tested themthoroughly before he trusted them, and, having bound them to secrecy,set off to find an island where they could lead their own livesunhindered by the outside world. This was the place they came to, andthose old houses near the harbour were their first dwellings. Once inevery six months my father went off to Hong Kong for supplies, and itwas during one of these excursions that he met the man whose destinyit was to recognise him, and so hasten the trouble that lay beforehim. High words passed between them, and the result was a betrayal,and a fight with the police, in which two men were left dead upon thebeach. That was the beginning of the end. The same night a boatload ofmarines put off to arrest my father, who was in the act of getting hisschooner under weigh. When they came within hailing distance they werechallenged and asked their business. The officer in charge repliedthat he held a warrant for my father's arrest. But the latter had nodesire to fall into the authorities' hands again, so he bade themstand off. The officer, however, ordered his men to board. Again theywere warned not to approach, but they paid no heed; the result may beimagined: a volley was fired from the schooner, and four men out ofthe six constituting the boat's crew, including the officer in charge,fell dead. Without more ado my father got under weigh, and raced forhis life out of the harbour, pursued by three shots from the cruiserin the bay. From that day forward he was a proscribed man. Rewardswere offered for his capture in all the principal ports of the East,not only by the English Government, but by the rich residents ofSingapore, Hong Kong, and the treaty ports. Considering that it wasnot their affair, this action on the part of his former friends soenraged my father, that he swore that if ever one of the signatoriesfell into his hands, he would make him pay dearly for his action. Itmay interest you to know that Mr. Vesey, the man whom you perhapsremember I abducted, was the chairman of the meeting that offered thefirst reward for my father, and years afterwards for me.

  "Well, months went by, and once more the stores on the island began torun short. It became imperatively necessary that a fresh supply shouldbe obtained. To do this my father repainted and rerigged his boat,disguised himself and his men, and sailed off for Shanghai. Reachingthat port, he sent his mate ashore to make the purchases. Butsuspicion seems to have been aroused, the man was arrested, and hadnot my father been warned in time and put to sea, he would have sharedthe same fate. But he was resolved not to be beaten, and at the riskof his life he went back and ashore. By means of a subterfuge, whichit would take me too long to explain, he succeeded in rescuing hiscompanion. In the course of the rescue, however, a man was killed, andthis closed the treaty ports even more firmly to him than before.

  "The matter had become terribly serious now. He could not go into anyport for fear of being arrested, and yet stores had to be obtained forthe starving island. To a headstrong man like my father, rendereddesperate by deliberate injustice, there was only one natural way outof it. He made for Hong Kong, chose a dark night, went down theharbour in a junk, boarded a trading boat, confined the skipper in hiscabin, and took possession of his cargo, for which, it is only fair tosay, he paid the full market price. The skipper, however, for somepurpose of his own, forgot the incident of payment, went ashore in theearly morning and proclaimed the fact to the police that he had beenrobbed of his cargo under the very noses of the cruisers. Thedescription of the robber tallied with that of my father, and the hueand cry began again. Thenceforward he declared himself openly inopposition to society, collected round him all the men who were worthanything, and whose lives were as desperate as his own, and leviedtoll on the ships of all nations whenever occasion offered. He ranmany risks, for often he was sighted and chased by cruisers. It was onone of these occasions that my poor mother died, killed by an Englishbullet. Three months later my father caught the fever in the Manillasand followed her to the grave, bidding me, a girl of eighteen, keep upthis settlement and carry on the war he had begun. Ever since then theisland has been my tenderest care. I have watched over it and guardedit as a mother guards her child. But at the same time, as you know, Ihave not spared my enemies. My first adventure proved successful, mysecond well-nigh ruined me. My father's death had become known by somemysterious means, and, when it was discovered that I was carrying onhis trade, a supreme effort was made by the authorities to capture me.But they have not succeeded yet. The same year I had the _Lone Star_,the boat you found me on, built in Scotland, and began my work inearnest. Ever since then I have had a price upon my head; but, as Itold you on board the _Lone Star_, I can truthfully say that I havenever knowingly robbed a poor man, and as you have seen for yourself,I have materially helped a good many. In some cases, too,--the Sultanof Surabaya, for instance,--I have gone out of my way to assist theoppressed, and have taught wholesome lessons to their rulers andoppressors. Now you know my story. It may be that you take a differentview of my life and would call it by a harsh name. I should be sorryto think that. I simply remember how my father's life was ruined byhis enemies, and that I have never been given a chance, even if Iwould have taken it. The English, French, and Chinese governments aremy natural enemies, as they were my father's before me. If theinnocent suffer by what I do, I am deeply sorry for them. But do yournations in their wars heed the peasantry of either side, even as muchas I do? I think not. Dr. De Normanville, most of those white peopleyou saw to-day have curious histories. Do not suppose for an instantthat I receive anyone here without strict inquiry into his temperamentand antecedents. But, on the other hand, when I do take him in, Inever swerve from my duty towards him. Now, what have you to say?"

  "I can only answer that I think your character has been grosslymaligned."

  "No, don't say that, for you are only speaking on the impulse of themoment; and, besides, you must remember that those who speak againstme in that fashion look upon my actions from their own point of view.However, you will not think so badly of me for the future, will you?"

  As she said this she came a little closer to me and looked me in theface. Never before had I seen her look so beautiful.

  "No, I can safely promise you I won't," I answered stoutly. "I am yourchampion for the future, come what may."

  "You are very good to me. Now, as we are both tired, had we not bettersay good-night?"

  She held out her little hand, and for some reason, goodness only knowswhat, I took it and raised it to my lips. Then with another"good-night," she turned away from me and, with the dog at her heels,disappeared through the gate and up the path, among the bushes, thatled to her abode.

  When she had gone I stood for a few moments looking down upon thelovely panorama spread out before me, then I turned myself about andwent down the hill to my residence at the foot. But though I went tobed it was not to sleep. The extraordinary story I had just been told,and the exciting events of the day, were not of a nature calculated toinduce repose, and so I tossed and tumbled upon my couch hour afterhour, till the first faint signs of dawn made their appearance. Then Ihad a bath in cool spring water, and, having dressed, went out andbegan to prepare my work for the day.

  As the sun made his appearance above the tree-tops, Christianson andhis colleagues, my trusty lieutenants, came up the path towards thehouse, and five minutes later Alie herself appeared upon the scene,eager to be employed. As she entered the verandah and greeted me Iglanced at her face. But there was no trace there of the sadness ofthe previous night. Indeed, if the truth must be told, there was evena sort of distant haughtiness about her manner towards me, that wasas unexpected as it was difficult to account for.

  "Good-morning, Dr. De Normanville!" she said, as she put down on thetable the parcel she had brought with her. "It is nearly five o'clock;are you ready to commence work?"

  "Quite ready," I answered, turning to a man named Andrews. "To begin,sir, will you and your deputies hunt up the builders and conti
nue thework at the huts till breakfast time?" Then turning to another, "Mr.Williams, you might take three men and erect four bed places in eachhut. Mr. Christianson, and the remainder of you gentlemen, if you willaccompany me, we will make a careful house-to-house inspection of thevillage."

  Having despatched the others to their various employments, I set off,accompanied by Alie, to begin the ghastly work of inspection. It mustnot be supposed that I in any way induced her to run the risk; to tellthe truth, I protested vigorously against it, but without result; herheart was set upon it, and she would not be deterred.

  The first house we visited was a small one, built of _adobe_ mixtureand inhabited by three people, two of whom were down with the disease.There had originally been six in the family, but three had perished. Imade my examination, noted their cases in my pocket-book, spoke somecheering words to them, and passed on to the next house. This was ofwood, neatly built, and contained one patient who was quite alone, hiswife and daughter having both succumbed to the plague. In the nextthere was no case, nor the next; but in the three following therewere eight. Hardly a house was free from it, and in many cases, allthe inhabitants being dead, the buildings were quite tenantless. Bythe time I had finished my inspection it was eight o'clock, and I wasquite ready for breakfast. This disposed of, work was at once resumed.

  Everyone toiled with a will, and the hut-builders to such goodpurpose, that by midday twelve fine huts were standing ready foroccupation on the slope of the western hill. The real work was nowabout to commence. Summoning to my assistance those men and women whohad volunteered to act as nurses, I had a number of stretchers made,and on these conveyed the sufferers to the hospitals. Four patientswent to each hut. The men I sent to those on the right hand of thestreet, the women to those on the left. By this means forty-eightpersons were disposed of, and by five o'clock sufficient huts were atmy disposal to contain as many more. By sundown every sufferer in theplace had been removed, the nurses were duly instructed in theirduties and installed, and the real combating of the disease hadcommenced. But at this juncture a serious problem was presented forour consideration. Having removed the owners to places of safety, whatwere we to do with the old houses and their contents? Taking Alie intomy confidence, I explained the situation to her, told her how loth Iwas to destroy so many good buildings, but at the same time pointedout to her how imperatively necessary it was that every dwelling andany article likely to harbour infection should be got rid of. To mysatisfaction she met it in the proper spirit.

  "If it is necessary for the safety of those who remain, there can beno doubt at all as to what course we should pursue," she answered."The houses must go. And that being so, I must endeavour to make it upto the owners when they shall require them again. Will you give thenecessary instructions?"

  I did so forthwith, and in less than half an hour no less than eightyhouses, with their contents, were blazing on the plain.

  And so the week went on, and the next after that, with hardly a breakin the routine of work. Out of one hundred cases treated, thirtysuccumbed in the first eight days, twelve in the remaining six, whilefifteen more were added from the township during the same period.

  And now I must say something about the care and attention bestowed onthese patients by those who had volunteered for the arduous task ofnursing. Indeed, I feel justified in saying that no better servicecould have been obtained in any London hospital. Fortunately, asincere bond of affection seemed to bind all these people together,and this, taken with the influence exercised by the wonderful woman attheir head, made its power thoroughly felt in everything they did. Andhere I should also like to put on record Alie's wonderful devotion toher people, during that time of awful anxiety. Day in, day out, nightand morning alike, accompanied by her dog, she was occupied about thedifferent huts, helping and reproving, chiding and encouraging. Herpresence was like a ray of sunlight which seemed to light the placelong after she had left it. The convalescent derived new vigour fromher touch, the dying were soothed by her voice. Never once throughoutthe whole of the time did she think of herself; the path of what sheconsidered to be her duty lay before her, and the Beautiful WhiteDevil, the notorious adventuress, the abductor of rich merchants, theterror of the China seas, trod it without murmur or complaint. It wasa wonderful exhibition of womanly gentleness, forbearance, andendurance. And when I saw her, tired and almost dispirited by theresults of the struggle, and noted how she put all this aside, assumeda smiling face to speak words of comfort to some sufferer, and thenremembered the accusations and stories to which I had listened in theVictoria Hotel that first evening, I felt almost as mean andcontemptible as it was possible for a man to be.

  And here, gentle reader, let me make a confession, though I doubt ifit will come upon you as a surprise. Already, I expect, you haveaccused me of being in love with the Beautiful White Devil. I do notdeny that I was. Where so many better men had succumbed, who was Ithat I should go free? And surely if so many others had fallen captiveto her mere beauty, knowing next to nothing of her real merit, I, whohad exceptional opportunities of studying her character under everyaspect, who saw her grave and gay, passionate and self-sacrificing,imperious and the most humble of any, might claim for my affectionthat it was based on something more tangible than any mere personalbeauty.

  Yes! I _was_ in love with Alie, and, what is more, I am in love withher now, as I shall be in love with her on my dying day, andafterwards if that be possible. And this I can say truthfully, thatthroughout my love for her, my heart has known no unworthy thought. Ihave loved her for her beautiful, noble, impulsive, generous self,and, if that be an offence, I can only say that I am proud toacknowledge it.

  But though I was over head and ears in love with her, seeing no sun inheaven when she was not with me, no stars at night when I was not byher side, never once did I allow her to suspect my passion. I did mywork as I had contracted to do it--that is, to the best of my ability.But hard as I worked, she worked harder. Day in, day out, she wasnever idle; she took her share of nursing, superintended the erectionof huts and houses for those who had been deprived of them, andcheered and encouraged everyone with whom she came in contact.Beautiful White Devil, the Chinese called her. Beautiful White Angelwould surely have been a better and more appropriate name.