Guides on the Road of the Loving Heart

Guides Maluai, Sieni and Fiamama of Vailima village, W. Samoa, rest on the tomb of Robert Louis Stevenson on Vaea mountain, above Apia.

These children—and others like them— who live at Vailima at the foot of the

Road of the Loving Heart that leads to the tomb of R.L.S., are always alert to the possibility of earning an honest coin from tourists and newcomers who make the pilgrimage.

When a PIM representative and a com-

panion made the climb in September, these three took them in charge. The youngest one managed the show, leading the advance, with the others—equipped with banana leaves—bringing up the rear.

At regular intervals, when the pace seemed a little hot, Fiamama signalled a halt, while the other two busily employed the big leaves to fan the strangers.

Though steep, the climb through lovely rain forest, festooned with a lacework of creepers, and the ultimate view from the quiet tomb at the ton of Vaea, is sufficient reward.