The Island Home

by Richard Archer

  CHAPTER TWENTY THREE.

  THE FLIGHT.

  TE VEA--THE VICTIM FOR SACRIFICE--THE ESCAPE AND PURSUIT--THE PRIEST'SAMBUSH.

  "For life, for life, their flight they ply, And shriek, and shout, and battle-cry, And weapons waving to the sky, Are maddening in their rear."

  "While the party hostile to us, thus stood hesitating, but to allappearance rapidly approaching a point where all hesitation would cease,Olla, with tears streaming down her cheeks, besought us to fly to herhusband's house, where, she seemed to imagine, we should necessarily besafe from violence. But though no one yet laid hands on us, we weresurrounded on all sides, and could not with any certainty distinguishfriends from foes; and the first movement on our part to escape, wouldprobably be the signal for an instant and general attack by the priestand his followers. We thought, therefore, that our best hope of safetylay in maintaining a firm but quiet attitude, until Mowno, and thosedisposed to protect us, could make their influence felt in our behalf.They, however, confined their efforts to feeble expostulations andentreaties; and perhaps it was unreasonable to expect them to engage ina deadly conflict with their own neighbours, relatives, and personalfriends, in the defence of mere strangers like ourselves. They couldnot even restrain the younger and more violent portion of the rabblefrom carrying on the species of desultory warfare, from which Barton hadalready suffered; on the contrary, the stones and other missiles, thrownby persons on the outskirts of the crowd, fell continually thicker andfaster. At length Rokoa received a staggering blow on the back of thehead, from a clod of earth, thrown by some one who had stolen roundbehind the rock for that purpose, and who immediately afterwardsdisappeared in the throng.

  "`How much longer are we to endure this?' cried Barton. `Must we standhere and suffer ourselves to be murdered by these cowardly attacks? Letus shoot a couple of them, and make a rush for the shore.'

  "But a moment's reflection was enough to show the utter hopelessness ofsuch an attempt. However much the natives might be astounded for aninstant by the discharge of fire-arms, all fear and hesitation wouldvanish upon our taking to flight. Our backs once turned would be themark for a score of ready spears; and except perhaps for Rokoa, whosespeed was extraordinary, there would be scarcely the possibility forescape. Still it was evident that the audacity of our enemies wassteadily increasing, though their attacks were as yet covert andindirect, and, as I knew that Rokoa would not hesitate to retaliate uponthe first open assailant, in which case we should be massacred upon thespot, we might soon be compelled to adopt even so desperate asuggestion, as the only alternative of instant death.

  "At this critical moment, I noticed a sudden movement of surprise oralarm, on the outskirts of the crowd. A group, directly in front of us,no longer giving us their exclusive attention, began to whisper amongthemselves, glancing and pointing towards the rising ground in our rear,while a half suppressed and shuddering exclamation of `Te Vea! Te Vea!'was heard among the people. Turning round, and looking where all eyeswere now directed, I saw a tall native, with a peculiar head-dress offeathers, and a small basket of cocoa-nut-leaflets in his hand, runningrapidly towards us. His appearance seemed to awaken in those around us,emotions of terror or aversion, strong enough to swallow up every otherfeeling, for, no sooner was he perceived, than all thought ofprosecuting further the present quarrel, appeared to be abandoned. Thepriest, alone, evinced none of the general uneasiness or dread, but, onthe contrary, a gleam of exultation lighted up his hard and discolouredcountenance. The people made way to the right and left, as thenew-comer drew near, and a number of them slunk away into the forest orto their homes. The stranger proceeded directly towards Mowno, andtaking a small parcel wrapped in leaves, from the basket which hecarried, delivered it to him: then, without pausing an instant, oruttering a word, he passed on, taking his way at a rapid pace straightthrough the village. Mowno received the parcel with a reluctant andgloomy air, though it seemed to consist of nothing but a rough stone,wrapped in the leaves of the sacred miro. For several minutes he stoodholding it in his hand, like one deprived of consciousness. Several ofthose who appeared to be the principal persons present, among whom wereCatiline and the priest, now approached him, and they began to hold awhispered consultation, in the course of which the priest frequentlypointed towards Rokoa, as though speaking of him. Mowno seemed to beresisting some proposal urged by the others, and spoke in a moredecisive and resolute manner than I had thought him capable of assuming.The discussion, whatever was its subject, soon became warm and angry:the voices of Catiline and the priest were raised, and even threatening.Every moment I expected to see Mowno relinquish his opposition; but heremained firm, and at last, with the air of one resolved to put an endto further debate, he said--

  "`No! it shall not be either of the strangers; it shall be Terano: he isan evil man, and it will be well when he is gone.' Then speaking to twoof those who stood near him, he said, `Go quickly to Terano's house,before he sees the messenger and hides himself in the mountains,'whereupon they seized their spears, and immediately set off in thedirection of the village.

  "Olla now renewed her entreaties for us to leave the spot, and go withher to the house; and Mowno,--by a quick gesture, meant to be seen onlyby us, indicated his wish to the same effect. Rokoa nodded to me tocomply, and we followed Olla as she bounded lightly through the grove,no one offering to oppose our departure. But the priest's restless eyewas upon us, and had we set off in the direction of the shore, we shouldnot have been permitted to escape, without an attempt on his part toprevent it. As it was, he appeared to give some direction to thoseabout him, and four or five young men followed us at a distance, keepingus in sight, and taking care that they were always in such a position asto enable them to intercept us in any attempt to recross the island.After having dogged us to Mowno's house and seen us enter, they withdrewinto the forest out of sight, where they probably remained on the watch.Rokoa now proceeded to select from Mowno's store of weapons, a club, ofmore formidable weight and size, than that which he had wrested from thepriest, and requested Barton and myself to follow his example.

  "`We must try to get to the shore,' he said, `there are at present, noneto hinder us, but the young men who followed us hither.'

  "`But that demon of a priest, and the rest of his crew, are notfar-off,' said Barton, `and they will be sure to waylay us. For thepresent we are safe here; and perhaps Mowno will be able to get us backto our boat without danger.'

  "Rokoa shook his head. `There are others here,' he said, `more powerfulthan Mowno, and who are our enemies: we must rely upon ourselves.'

  "Olla watched us anxiously during this conversation; and now, as if sheunderstood its subject at least, she said, with an expression ofintelligence and cordial friendliness in her fine eyes, `Listen to me:the words of the priest are more powerful with the great chief than thewords of Mowno: to-night, the priest will go to the great chief, andbefore he returns you must fly; but not now, for you are watched by theyoung men; you must wait until night--until the moon is behind thegrove.'

  "This seemed to me a wiser course than to undertake, at present, tofight our way to the boat; but Rokoa remained of his former opinion; heapprehended an attack upon our party at the shore during our absence, bywhich we might be cut off from all means of leaving the island. Thiscertainly was a weighty consideration, and one that had not occurred tome. We were still hesitating, and uncertain what course to pursue, whenMowno came in, looking much troubled, and carrying in his hand themysterious package, the object and meaning of which I forgot to explain.

  "A stone, folded in the leaves of the miro, sent by the king, orparamount chief, to the subordinate chiefs of districts or villages, isthe customary method of notifying the latter that they are expected tofurnish a human victim for some approaching sacrifice. The principaloccasions upon which these are required, are at the building of nationalmaraes, at the commencement of a war, or in cases of the serious illnessof a superior chief. The number of victims s
acrificed, is proportionedto the magnitude of the occasion; as many as a score have sometimes beenoffered to propitiate the gods during the severe sickness of a powerfulchief. The priests signify to the chief the number required; the latterthen sends out his runner or messenger, (te vea), who delivers to eachof the subordinate chiefs, one of these packages for each victim to befurnished from his immediate district. The odious duty of designatingthe individuals to be taken, then devolves upon the subordinate, andhaving decided upon this, he sends a number of armed men to secure thedestined victims before they secrete themselves or flee into the woods,as those who have any reason to fear being selected generally do, at thefirst appearance of the dreaded messenger, or even as soon as it ispublicly known that an occasion is at hand for which human sacrificeswill be required. When secured, the doomed persons are most commonlykilled on the spot by the chief's men, and the bodies wrapped incocoa-nut leaves and carried to the temple. Sometimes, however, theyare preserved alive, and slain by the priests themselves at the altar.

  "Upon the arrival of the messenger, as already related, with arequisition for one victim from the village, the majority of Mowno'sadvisers had insisted upon selecting Rokoa for that purpose, and thusavoiding the necessity of sacrificing one of their own people. Thepriest had gone further still, and proposed to seize upon us all, andsend Barton and myself to the two neighbouring villages, to be furnishedby them as their quota of victims. To these councils, Mowno had opposeda determined resistance, and he had finally sent his followers todespatch an old man named Terano, whose death would be considered ageneral benefit, as he was a notorious and inveterate thief anddrunkard, who, when not stupefied with ava, was constantly engaged indesperate broils, or wanton depredations upon the property of hisneighbours. It seemed, however, that the old man had taken the alarmand fled; several of Mowno's followers were now in pursuit of him, andunless they should succeed in taking him before morning, another personwould have to be designated, as it was required to furnish the victimsat the great marae, by noon of the following day.

  "I sickened with disgust, as I listened to details like these. Neverbefore had I so fully realised the darkness and the horrors ofheathenism--all the more striking in the present instance, because ofthe many pleasing and amiable natural qualities of the people who gropedamid much darkness, and were a prey to such horrors.

  "Mowno also recommended us to postpone any attempt at flight until alate hour of the night. He said that he had seen a number of menlurking in the woods near the stream, and that the priest and others hadremained in the grove after he had left, probably with the intention ofjoining them in watching the house.

  "Olla now went out into the garden, where she walked about looking upamong the branches of the tree; and calling out, `Lai-evi!' as if insearch of her tame wood-pigeon. After going round the garden, shepassed out of the gate, and wandered away in the direction of the brook,still looking among the trees, and repeating at intervals her call of`Lai-evi!'

  "By-and-bye she returned, and though without her little favourite, shehad accomplished her real object, and ascertained the number andposition of the spies. She had seen seven of them skulking in the woodalong the brook, and watching the house. They seemed anxious to avoidobservation, and she could not, without awaking suspicion, get more thantransient glimpses of them, so that possibly there might be others whomshe had not seen.

  "Rokoa questioned her as to the space along the bank of the streamoccupied by these men, and the distance from one another at which theywere stationed. Then after a moment's reflection he turned to Mowno,and asked whether he was confident of being able to protect us, while inhis house; to which the latter replied with much earnestness that heboth could and would do so.

  "`Wait here, then,' said Rokoa, addressing Barton and myself, `I willreturn before the moon sets:' and without affording us an opportunity toinquire what he designed to do, he passed through the door, and boundedinto the forest, in the direction opposite to that where the spies ofthe priest were lurking.

  "`Is it possible,' said Barton, `that he intends to desert us?'

  "`You should know him better,' I answered, `unless I am mistaken, he isabout to risk his life in an attempt to communicate with our crew, inorder to put them on their guard against a surprise, and to render ourescape the more easy. If he lives, he will return, to incur a secondtime with us, the very dangers to which this attempt exposes him.'

  "Knowing as I did Rokoa's great activity, coolness, and presence ofmind, I was sanguine that he would succeed in eluding the vigilance ofour enemies, and accomplishing his purpose.

  "Soon after his departure, Olla set out for our evening meal a lightrepast of bananas, baked bread-fruit, and vi-apples, fresh from thegarden. But neither Barton nor I could eat anything: our thoughts werewith Rokoa upon his perilous adventure. When the food had been removed,Mowno suggested that we should all go out into the inclosure, and walk afew times around the house in order that those who were on the watchmight be satisfied that we were still there. This we accordingly did,and continued strolling through the garden until it became quite dark.Rokoa had now been gone nearly an hour, and Barton began to growrestless and troubled. Mowno, stationing himself at the end of the walkleading from the house, leaned upon the gate in a listening attitude.As I sat in the wide doorway, beneath the vi-apple trees planted oneither side of the entrance, watching the bright constellation of theCross, just visible above the outline of the grove in the southernhorizon, Olla began to question me concerning what I had told the peoplein the afternoon, of God, and a future life, and the doctrines ofChristianity. I was at once touched and astonished, to perceive thedeep interest she took in the subject, and the readiness with which shereceived these truths, as something she had needed and longed for. Sheseemed to feel how much better and more consoling they were, than thesuperstitions in which she had been educated.

  "I was amazed to find that this young heathen woman, growing up in themidst of pagan darkness, was nevertheless possessed of deep and strongreligious feelings, which could not be satisfied with the traditions ofher people. As I gazed at her ingenuous countenance, full ofearnestness and sensibility, while she endeavoured to express the vaguethoughts on these subjects which had at times floated through her mind,I could scarcely believe that this was the same gay and careless being,whose life had seemed to be as natural, as unconscious, and as joyous,as that of a bird or a flower. She said, that often when alone in somesecluded spot in the depth of the wood, while all around was so hushedand peaceful, she had suddenly burst into tears, feeling that what shehad been taught of the gods could not be true, and that if Oro wasindeed the creator of so beautiful a world--if he had made the smilinggroves, the bright flowers, and the multitude of happy living things, hemust be a good being, who could not delight in the cruelties practisedin his name. Often, when a mere girl, thoughts like these had visitedher, wandering by the sea-shore at twilight, or looking up through thefoliage of waving cocoa-nut-groves at the starry skies, when natureherself, by her harmony and beauty, had seemed to proclaim that God wasa being of light and love, in whom was no darkness at all!

  "Presently Mowno joined us, and I talked with him in regard to theintended burial of the aged woman, his aunt and endeavoured to make himsee the act in its true light. But with all his natural amiability,such was the effect of custom and education, that he seemed perfectlyinsensible on the subject. He observed, in a cool, matter-of-factmanner, that when people got very old and could not work, they were ofno use to others or themselves--that it was then time for them to die,and much best that they should do so at once; and that if they did not,then their friends ought to bury them. As to Malola, his aunt, he saidthat she was quite willing to be buried, and had in fact suggested itherself; that she was often very sick, and in great pain, so that shehad no pleasure in living any longer; he added, as another grave andweighty consideration, that she had lost most of her teeth, and couldnot chew her food, unless it was prepared differently from that of ther
est of the family, which caused Olla much trouble.

  "Finding that argument and expostulation had not the slightest effectupon him, I changed my tactics, and suddenly demanded whether he wouldbe willing to have Olla buried, when _she_ began to get old and infirm?This seemed at first to startle him. He glanced uneasily at his littlewife, as if it had never before occurred to him that she _could_ growold. Then, after staring at me a moment in a half angry manner, asthough offended at my having suggested so disagreeable an idea, heseemed all at once to recover himself, remarking quickly, that _he_should be old then, too, and that they could both be buried together.This consolatory reflection seemed completely to neutralise the effectof my last attack, and Mowno's countenance resumed its habitualexpression of calm and somewhat stolid placidity.

  "Baffled, but not discouraged, I next strove, by drawing an imaginarypicture of Olla and himself in their old age, surrounded by their grownup children, to show how happy and beautiful the relation between thechild and the aged parent might be. I summoned up all my rhetoricalpowers, and sketched what I conceived to be a perfect model of anaffectionate and dutiful Angatanese son. After clothing him with allthe virtues and accomplishments of the savage character, I proceeded toendue him with that filial affection, whose beauty and power it was mychief object to illustrate. I represented him as loving his father andmother all the more tenderly on account of the infirmities of age nowstealing over them. Upon the arm of this affectionate son, thewhite-haired Mowno supported himself; when at morning and evening hewent forth to take his accustomed walk in the groves. He it was, whobrought home daily to his aged mother, the ripest fruits, and thefreshest flowers. His smiling and happy countenance was the light oftheir dwelling; his cheerful voice, its sweetest music. I wasproceeding thus in quite an affecting strain, as it seemed to me,(though I must in honesty confess that Mowno appeared to be less movedby it than myself; and somewhat cooled my enthusiasm by giving a greatyawn in the midst of one of the most touching passages), when Olla, whohad been listening with moistened eyes, gently stole her arm around herhusband's neck, and murmured a few words in his ear. Whether it was mypathetic eloquence, or Olla's caress, that melted his hitherto obdurateheart, I will not pretend to say, but it is certain that he now yieldedthe point, and promised that Malola should be permitted to live. `Atleast,' he added, after a moment's reflection, `as long as she can see,and walk about.'

  "Several times, since it had grown dark, I had heard sounds like thedistant beating of drums, mingled occasionally with the long andsorrowful note of the buccinum-shell, or native trumpet. Twice, also,while Mowno was standing at his gate, messengers had arrived, apparentlyin haste, and after briefly conferring with him, had posted off again.When I remarked upon these sounds, Mowno said that they came from themarae, where preparations for the approaching ceremony were goingforward; but to me, they seemed to proceed from several differentpoints, at various distances from us.

  "I now began to feel painfully anxious at Rokoa's protracted absence.It was nearly midnight, and there had been ample time for one lessactive than he, to go to the shore and return. The terribleapprehension, that in spite of all the resources of his skill andcourage, he had fallen into the hands of some of the parties of nativeswhich seemed to be scattered about in the forest, gained every moment astronger hold upon my mind.

  "`He has either been taken, or else he finds that he cannot rejoin us,without too great risk,' said Barton, breaking a long silence, andspeaking of that which each knew the other to be thinking about; `wemust start for the shore ourselves, if he does not come soon.'

  "`Hark!' whispered Olla, `some one is approaching from the wood.' Herquick ear had detected stealthy steps crossing the avenue. The nextmoment some one bounded lightly over the hedge at the side of the house,where the shadow of the bread-fruit trees fell darkest. Mowno started,and seemed agitated, and for an instant a suspicion that he had betrayedus, and was about to give us up, flashed through my mind. But thefigure which came forward into the light, was that of Rokoa, and I feltpained at the wrong which my momentary doubts had done our inert, butwell-meaning, host. Rokoa breathed quick and short. Without speaking,he pointed to the moon, now on the edge of the western horizon offorest, to intimate that he was punctual to the time set for his return.

  "The sounds which I had before heard, were now borne more plainly thanever to our ears upon the night breeze. As soon as Rokoa recovered hisbreath, he said that we had not a moment to lose, but must commence ourflight at once. He had passed an armed party of more than twenty men,coming in the direction of the house, with the purpose, as he supposed,of demanding that we should be given up to them. Mowno seemed moredispleased than alarmed at this intelligence, and earnestly repeatedthat no harm should befall us while beneath his roof, if he had to laydown his life in our defence. But Rokoa urged our immediate departure,before the arrival of the party which he had seen. Mowno then offeredto accompany, and guide us to our boat, which Rokoa firmly declined, onthe ground that his presence might endanger him, and, in the excited anddetermined mood of our enemies, could be no protection to us.

  "We accordingly took a hurried leave of him, and Olla. `Good-bye,Artua,' said the latter, `Olla will not forget what you have told her ofour great Father in the sky; she will ask him for a new heart that shetoo, may go when she dies, to the Christian heaven,' and she pointedupward, while a happy smile lighted up her intelligent, and, for themoment, serious countenance.

  "We sprang over the hedge, and, Rokoa leading the way, proceeded swiftlybut silently down the avenue. We passed some distance beyond the pointwhere we had struck into it in the morning, to avoid the neighbourhoodof the village, then turning towards the shore, descended into thevalley until we reached the stream. At this point, it was deep andnarrow, with a rapid current, but we had no time to look for a ford.Cries and shouts on the hill above us, showed that we were pursued, anda confused clamour from the village indicated the existence of someunusual commotion there. Tum-tums were beating fiercely, and the longdismal wail of the tuba-conch resounded through the echoing arches ofthe forest. We swam the stream as silently as possible, Barton holdinghis pistols above his head in one hand to keep the charges dry. As weclimbed the further bank, and plunged into the wood of miros, we couldhear the splashing of the water caused by persons fording the brook ashort distance below us, and opposite the village. In the samedirection a multitude of candle-nut torches gleamed through the foliage,and revealed dusky forms hurrying hither and thither. We pushed onthrough the wood at the top of our speed, until suddenly the outlines ofthe marae, illuminated by the glare of a large bonfire, loomed up beforeus. A score of half-naked men, were dancing around the fire in front ofthe inclosure, with the wildest and most extravagant contortions ofbody. Seen by the fitful and wavering light, their painted countenancesscarcely looked like those of human beings, and the grim, immovableidols, upon their pedestals, seemed vaster and more hideous than ever.

  "As we turned, and plunged into the grove again, resuming our flight ina somewhat altered direction, an eager shout announced that we had beenseen. But this cry proceeded, not from the group in front of the marae,who were wholly absorbed in their savage orgies, but from a stragglingparty of pursuers from the village, to whom the light of the bonfire hadbetrayed us. The chase was now no longer random or uncertain; they cameon like hounds in full view of the game, uttering yells that caused theblood to curdle in my veins. My strength began to fail, and I felt ahorrible spell creeping over me, like that which often in dreams,deprives us of the power to fly some appalling danger. Rokoa restrainedhis superior speed, and kept beside Barton and myself. `Courage,Artua!' he said, `we are near the shore,' and he offered me his hand toassist me, but I would not take it. Notwithstanding our utmostexertions our pursuers gained upon us. I was very nearly exhausted whenwe reached the ravine which divided the miro-grove from the bread-fruitplantation, and, as we struggled up its steep side, Barton panted andgasped so painfully for breath, that I dreaded
each moment to see himfall to the ground incapable of proceeding further. But we knew thatour lives were at stake, and forced ourselves to exertions which naturecould not long support; still, the cries of our pursuers, the sound oftheir footsteps, and the crashing of branches in their path, drewcontinually nearer.

  "At last we had nearly traversed the breadth of the plantation, and thewelcome sound of the waves, breaking upon the beach, greeted our ears.Safety now seemed within our reach, and we summoned all our remainingenergies for a final effort. The trees, growing more thinly as weapproached the skirt of the wood, let in the light, and between theirtrunks I caught a glimpse of the sea. Right before us was a thicket,tangled with fern, and scarcely twenty yards beyond it lay the beachshining in the star-light. As we turned a little aside to avoid thethicket, an appalling yell rang out from it, and half a dozen darkfigures started from their ambush, and sprang into the path before us.The old priest was at their head: my heart sank, and I gave up all ashost. Rokoa, swinging up his ponderous club, bounded into their midst.`Onward!' cried he, `it is our only hope of escape.' His movements werelight as those of a bird, and rapid as lightning. His first blowstretched the priest at his feet. The savages gave way before him,scattering to the right and left, as if a thunderbolt had fallen amongthem. Barton discharged both his pistols at once, and with fataleffect, as was witnessed by the groans that followed. Before they couldrally or recover themselves, we had burst through their midst. As wereached the shore, I looked round and missed Barton--he was no longerbeside me. An exulting cry behind us at once explained his absence: atthe same time we could hear him call out in a voice broken byexhaustion, `Save yourselves, you can do nothing for me!' Without aninstant's hesitation, Rokoa turned, and we rushed back into the midst ofour shouting enemies. Three or four of the party which had been inpursuit of us, were just coming up. The audacity and desperation of ourattack seemed to confound them, and two of their number fell, almostwithout a struggle, beneath Rokoa's rapid and resistless blows. Twomore of them, who were dragging Barton away, were compelled to leave himat liberty in order to defend themselves. At that moment a sudden shoutfrom the water raised by our crew, who had either heard our voices, orseen us when we came out upon the shore, increased their panic bycausing them to suppose that we were leading back our whole party to thefight. They hastily gave way before us, and we had all turned oncemore, and gained the beach before they recovered from their surprise,and perceived their mistake.

  "Our boat was just outside the surf; where the crew were keeping hersteady with their paddles. We hailed them, and plunged in the water toswim out to them. The natives, stung with shame and rage at havingtheir prisoner torn from them in the very moment of triumph, with suchreckless boldness, swarmed down to the beach and pursued us into thewater. They seemed excited almost to frenzy at the prospect of ourescape. Some standing upon the shore assailed the canoe with showers ofstones, by which several of our men were wounded. Others swam out afterus, as if about to endeavour to board the vessel, and did not turn backuntil we had hoisted our sail, and began to draw steadily from the land.

  "And thus ends the story of the Cannibal Island of Angatan."

  "Is that all?" inquired Johnny, looking somewhat disappointed.

  "Yes, that is all," answered Arthur, "it comes as near to being acannibal story, as any thing I know. I did not see any one actuallyroasted and eaten, but if the savages had caught us, I suspect therewould have been more to tell, and probably no one here to tell it."

  "But," persisted Johnny, "the story don't end there. You haven't toldus about the rest of the voyage, and whether Rokoa found his brother atlast."

  "O, that don't properly belong to _this_ story. According to allartistical rules I ought to end precisely where I have, in order topreserve the unities. But some other time, if you wish, I will tell youall about it."

  "Pray don't talk of artistical rules," exclaimed Max, "after showingyourself such an egregious bungler! You had there all the elements of acapital story, and you have just spoiled them."

  "`How prove you that, in the great heap of your knowledge,'" criedBrowne, "`come now, unmuzzle your wisdom,' and specify the blunders ofwhich he has been guilty. I say, with Touchstone, `instance briefly,shepherd; come, instance.'"

  "Why, in the first place, there was a miserly spirit of economy inregard to his men. He should have invested the narrative with a tragicinterest, by killing Rokoa and Barton, at least;--being the narrator hecouldn't kill himself conveniently;--but he might, with good effect havebeen `dangerously wounded.'"

  "But suppose," said Arthur, "that I wanted Rokoa to figure in a futurestory, and so couldn't afford to kill him just yet?"

  "A miserable apology! it evinces a lamentable poverty of imagination tomake one character serve for two distinct tales."

  "Well, a further instance, `gentle shepherd,'" cried Browne, "`a moresounder instance.'"

  "Then, again," resumed Max, with an oracular air, "it was a capitalerror to make Olla a married woman; what business I should like to know,can a married woman have in a story?--She belongs properly to the dullprosaic region of common life--not to the fairy land of romance. Nowthe charm of sentiment is as necessary to a perfect tale, as theinterest of adventure, or the excitement of conflict, and had Olla beensingle, there would have been the elements of something beautifullysentimental."

  "Enough!" cried Browne, "if you have not `lamed me with reasons,' youhave at least overwhelmed me with words--there now! I believe I amunconsciously catching the trick of your long-winded sing-songsentences--it must be contagious."

  "Well," said Arthur, "I give over the `materials' to Max, with fullpermission to work them up into a romance after his own fashion,introducing as much slaughter and sentiment as he shall judge requisitefor the best effect, and when completed, it shall be inserted by way ofepisode in our narrative."

  ------------------------------------------------------------------------

  Note. Upon consulting the charts we find an island called "Ahangatan",(of which Angatan is perhaps a contraction), laid down on some of them,about one hundred and fifty miles north of Hao. On others the sameisland is called Ahangatoff. The US Exploring Expedition visited Hae,and most of the neighbouring islands, but we have not been able todiscover any mention of Angatan in the published records of theexpedition.