and made
us shiver with cold.

The natives, however, had seen us, and presently, as soon as the rain
ceased, three canoes appeared, each manned by five men. They welcomed us
very heartily and urged us to come to the village--which was less than
a quarter of a mile away. We were only too delighted to get ashore
again after thirteen days' confinement on our little craft, so hurriedly
packing a couple of boxes with dry clothing, and some articles for
presents for the people, we put on the cabin hatches, made everything
else snug on board, and half an hour later were all in the chiefs house,
warm and dry, and telling him and his family as much about ourselves as
we thought advisable.

As soon as it could be cooked, they brought us an ample meal of
hot baked fowls, pigeons, and fish, with a great quantity of
vegetables--taro, yams, breadfruit, and sweet potatoes. The very smell
of it, Tepi whispered to me, made his teeth clash together!

We remained with these hospitable people for four days. There was
nothing that they would not do for us--no trouble was too groat, no
labour was aught but a pleasure to them. They brought the _Lucia_
round to a small sandy beach near the village, discharged her, carried
everything up to the houses, and cleaned her thoroughly inside and out,
and then put her in the water again for us. When we bid them farewell
and sailed, the boat's deck was covered with baskets of freshly-cooked
food and a profusion of fruit, and Lucia and Niabon were accompanied
on board by every woman and girl in the place, some of whom wept
unrestrainedly, and begged them not to venture their lives in such a
small boat, but to remain on the island till a ship touched there, bound
to the islands of the further north-west.

Before finally parting with our kind friends I gave them twenty pounds
of tobacco, which, though we had still four hundredweight left, was
still our most valuable trade article, and would have to be disbursed
carefully in future, and Lucia gave the chief's daughter a very handsome
gold ring of Indian manufacture, though at first the girl declined
accepting so valuable a present.

[Illustration: A glorious silver moon in the sky 174]

We lost sight of Kusaie within ten hours, for we had a slashing breeze,
which carried us along in great style, and all that night we sat up,
none of us caring to sleep, for there was a glorious silver moon in a
sky of spotless blue, and the sea itself was as a floor