But through everything ran the thread of his queer courtship. Lili
baffled him, yet lured him on and on. And he _wanted_ to be lured. He
couldn’t understand her, but he certainly couldn’t give her up, either;
did a man ever give a woman up because he couldn’t understand her?
Perhaps the worst of it was that Lili kept going places with that same
wretched soldier. Where had she ever picked him up, and who did he think
he was, anyhow? Jerome brooded murder. He brooded almost everything
conceivable, between sessions with the broker, and when he wasn’t
checking up with the house manager. Sometimes he would stoutly decide
never to speak to her again. But the next day she would so overwhelm him
with her beaming and her loud, determined sweetness that contrary impulse
would melt away. Jerome was simply a lump of putty in her hands.
But of course Lili didn’t by any means always treat him so badly.
Sometimes for long stretches she would be quite lovely. On Sundays—all
but one, when she disappeared in company with the miserable meddling
soldier—Lili and Jerome took excursions about the island, sometimes
alone and sometimes with a gay party of their friends. Oh, the skies
were not by any means altogether leaden.
The prosperous season in Honolulu closed on a Saturday night, and the
_Skipping Goone_ was scheduled for departure the following Monday. Jerome
and Lili went on a final jaunt, this time a bit more ambitious than any
of the others. They found they could take an early morning boat over to
Hilo and return late at night.
It was a very joyous occasion. Both were in good spirits, and the weather
was gracious. They saw as much of the larger island of Hawaii as they
could, and had faced back toward town when Lili conceived a sudden desire
to pause at a charming little roadside tavern for a supper of lobster and
wine—lobster being a specialty, as they learned from a sign stretching
out from the door. Lili grew very much excited.
“My mouth is just all set for it,” she said, speaking succulently, as
though already beginning to delight her palate with the proposed feast.
And her companion admitted he was as hungry as a bear. “We’ll stop,” he
agreed, glad enough to prolong the enjoyment of this last trip.
“How much money have we got between us, Jerry? You have my purse in your
pocket.”
“Oh, I have plenty,” he replied, with a firmness that set her pleasantly
humming. Lili loved firmness in the male—especially when it concerned
finances.