THE POMEROON TRAIL 77 



thing to matter for long. Indeed, things — 

 wonderful and strange, pathetic and amusing 

 — were so numerous and so needful of all our 

 faculties, that at one time my mind blurred 

 like an over-talked telephone wire. My enthu- 

 siasm bubbled over and the good-natured Law- 

 yer enjoyed them as I did. 



Here were two among the many. There was 

 the matter of the poor coolie woman who had 

 injured a leg and who, misunderstanding some 

 hastily given order, had left the hospital and 

 was attempting to creep homeward, using hands 

 and arms for crutches. Her husband was very 

 small and very patient and he had not the 

 strength to help her, although now and then he 

 made an awkward attempt. While we sent for 

 help, I asked questions, and in half -broken Eng- 

 lish I found that they lived six miles away. I 

 had passed them early in the afternoon on the 

 way to the beach, and in the intervening four 

 hours they had progressed just about two hun- 

 dred feet! This was patience with a vengeance, 

 and worthy of compute. So, astronomer-like, I 

 took notebook and pencil and began to estimate 

 the time of their orbit. It was not an easy mat- 

 ter, for mathematics is to me the least of earth's 



