ETHEL
Oh, here you are. Your sister and your mother
Commissioned me detective, sleuth, and spy,
To find the disappearing son and brother;
And tell him that the time is slipping by.
Our boat will sail in just two hours, you know.
Dear Honolulu, how I hate to go.
RALPH
Don't mention it; I shun the very thought.
ETHEL
You see this is the sort of thing one hears
And don't believe, until one sees the spot.
We left New York in snow up to its ears;
And now a Paradise! the palm, the rose,
The Boaganvillia, and the breath of summer.
RALPH
I tell you, Honolulu is a hummer.
It pays for six long days upon the ocean -
And those sad memories of a ship's queer motion
ETHEL
There's one thing, though, that's disappointed me, -
The much exploited Honolulu maid.
I haven't seen a beauty in the town.
RALPH
They're thick as ripe bananas on a tree.
You have not been observing, I'm afraid.
ETHEL (shrugging her shoulders)
Oh well, tastes differ; I don't care for brown,
At least for this pronounced Hawaiian shade;
I really can't imagine how a man
Could love a girl dyed to a chronic tan.
RALPH
Some one has said, 'Love goes where it is sent.'
ETHEL (sadly)
I think that true; one can not guide its bent.
But I must go; and will you come along?
Your mother said to bring you.
RALPH
Not quite yet;
I'll wait until that bird completes its song;
The last I'll hear, till many a sun has set.
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