but not how to pray, and therefore
Jehovah will not give us the rain, from below!"

CHAPTER LXVIII.
THE OLD CHIEF'S SERMON.

THE well was now finished. The place was neatly fenced in. And the old
Chief said, "Missi, I think I could help you next Sabbath. Will you let
me preach a sermon on the well?"

"Yes," I at once replied, "if you will try to bring all the people to
hear you."

"Missi, I will try," he eagerly promised. The news spread like wildfire
that the Chief Namakei was to be Missionary on the next day for the
Worship, and the people, under great expectancy, urged each other to
come and hear what he had to say.

Sabbath came round. Aniwa assembled in what was for that island a great
crowd. Namakei appeared dressed in shirt and kilt. He was so excited,
and flourished his tomahawk about at such a rate, that it was rather
lively work to be near him. I conducted short opening devotions, and
then called upon Namakei. He rose at once, with eye flashing wildly, and
his limbs twitching with emotion. He spoke to the following effect,
swinging his tomahawk to enforce every eloquent gesticulation:--

"Friends of Namakei, men and women and children of Aniwa, listen to my
words! Since Missi came here he has talked many strange things we could
not understand--things things all too wonderful; and we said regarding
many of them that they must be lies. White people might believe such
nonsense, but we said that the black fellow knew better than to receive
it. But of all his wonderful stories, we thought the strangest was about
sinking down through the earth to get rain! Then we said to each other,
The man's head is turned; he's gone mad. But the Missi prayed on and
wrought on, telling us that Jehovah God heard and saw, and that his God
would give him rain. Was he mad? Has he not got the rain deep down in
the earth? We mocked at him; but the water was there all the same. We
have laughed at other things which the Missi told us, because we could
not see them. But from this day I believe that all he tells us about his
Jehovah God is true. Some day our eyes will see it. For to-day we have
seen the rain from the earth."

Then rising to a climax, first the one foot and then the other making
the broken coral on the floor fly behind like a war-horse pawing the
ground, he cried with great eloquence:--

"My people, the people of Aniwa, the world is turned upside down since
the word of Jehovah came to this land! Who ever expec