makingmysituationdifficultinApia。Abouteleven，theflagswereallhalf-masted；itwasoldCaptainHamiltonSamesonithenativescalledhimwhohadpassedaway。IntheeveningIwalkedroundtotheU。S。Consulate；itwasalovelynightwithafullmoon；andasIgotroundtothehotcornerofMatautuIheardhymnsinfront。Thebalconyofthedeadman’shousewasfullofwomensinging；Marythewidow，anativesatonachairbythedoorstep，andIwassetbesideheronabench，andnexttoPaulthecarpenter；asI
satdownIhadaglimpseoftheoldcaptain，wholayinasheetonhisowntable。Afterthehymnwasover，anativepastormadeaspeechwhichlastedalongwhile；thelightpouredoutofthedoorandwindows；thegirlsweresittingclusteredatmyfeet；itwaschokinghot。Afterthespeechwasended，Marycarriedmewithin；thecaptain’shandswerefoldedonhisbosom，hisfaceandheadwerecomposed；helookedasifhemightspeakatanymoment；Ihaveneverseenthiskindofwaxworksoexpressormorevenerable；andwhenI
wentaway，Iwasconsciousofacertainenvyforthemanwhowasoutofthebattle。Allnightitraninmyhead，andthenextdaywhenwesightedTutuila，andranintothisbeautifulland-lockedlochofPagoPagowhenceIwrite，CaptainHamilton’sfoldedhandsandquietfacesaidagreatdealmoretomethanthescenery。
Iamlivinghereinatrader’shouse；wehaveagoodtable，Sewalldoingthingsinstyle；andIhopetobenefitbythechange，andpossiblygetmorestuffforLetters。Inthemeanwhile，IamseizedquiteMAL-A-PROPOSwithdesiretowriteastory，THEBLOODYWEDDING，foundedonfact-verypossiblytrue，beinganattempttoreadamurdercase-notyetmonthsold，inthisveryplaceandhousewhereInowwrite。Theindiscretioniswhatstopsme；butifIkeeponfeelingasIfeeljustnowitwillhavetobewritten。ThreeStarNettison，KitNettison，FieldtheSailor，thesearethemaincharacters:oldNettison，andthecaptainofthemanofwar，thesecondary。Possiblescenario。ChapterI……
MYDEARCOLVIN，-IgotbackonMondaynight，aftertwenty-