things, and the white men, ay, and ye, too, his
servants, are henceforth my brothers, the sons of my father's house."
Then, turning to the armed guards, he added, pointing to the eight
figures still bound to the stakes:

"Release those men and take them to my guest house until my white
brother with the black hair shall be pleased to express his wishes
concerning them. As for my brothers, the white men"--he turned to the
chiefs immediately about him--"make ye room for them that they may sit,
the one on my right hand and the other on my left."

These orders having been carried out, Jiravai appeared to be somewhat at
a loss what to do next. For to-day was the annual festival of the Great
God Anamac, and an elaborate programme of proceedings had been prepared,
the chief items of which had been the offering up of the white men as a
sacrifice to the god, and the torturing to death of the white men's
followers, to which festivity all the people of note throughout
Mangeroma had been invited; and now, by the omission of these two "star"
turns, so to speak, the whole affair was likely to fall woefully flat.
In his perplexity, the king faced round toward the array of priests on
the left side of the open space and, addressing the chief of them, said:

"Since the offering of human sacrifices is displeasing to our Lord
Anamac, say now, O Macoma, in what other manner shall we fittingly and
acceptably do honour to him on this day which is especially dedicated to
his service?"

But Macoma, the chief of the priests, was in no humour just then to help
his illustrious master out of a difficulty. He was an exceedingly proud
and haughty man, the greatest man in Mangeroma, next to King Jiravai
himself, and he felt slighted and humiliated to an intolerable extent
that, before all that vast assemblage, consisting of the pick of the
Mangeroma nation, Anamac should have absolutely ignored him, the chief
priest, and have chosen instead to make his wishes known by the mouth of
an obscure stranger, coming from heaven only knew where. Therefore, in
response to the king's question, he rose to his feet and said:

"Nay, Lord, ask me not, for I cannot answer thee. Ask rather the man
Inaguy, whom it has pleased our Lord Anamac so signally to honour this
day before thee and all the people. Doubtless he will be able to tell
thee all that thou may'st desire to know."

And in high dudgeon Macoma resumed his seat.

The king frowned. There was a h