Page:Hawaii's Story by Hawaii's Queen.pdf/310

At the time of the return of Mr. Widemann from abroad, the intensity of the feeling was at its height amongst the Hawaiian people that something should be done to save their country. Of their own accord they bought rifles, pistols, and other arms, stealthily keeping these for future use. During this time, too, they were privately informed where arms belonging to the men in power were kept; for although it is generally conceded all over the world, and common sense would seem to show how one should act toward one’s enemies, yet there was the strangest intermingling of those of the two parties, which were called the “Royalists” and the “P. G’s.” Instead of recognizing each other as enemies, and keeping apart as such, they associated as in former days.

Visiting went on just the same, exchanges of thought and opinion were the same. The Royalists, open hearted and free of speech, socially ignored the fact that the P. G.’s were, in every material sense, their enemies. These latter kept the situation in view, and with soft words studied to worm out of the unsuspecting all that they could in the way of information as to Royalist hopes and plans, that the particulars might be communicated to the P. G. government.