e luxury of a swim, receiving, as
they went and returned, the respectful salutations of the populace.
Upon their return they found an excellent breakfast awaiting them,
prepared by the indefatigable Peter from viands supplied by the king's
especial order.

Earle announced his intention of accepting the king's proffered
hospitality and remaining several days in Yacoahite, not only to afford
his men time to recover from the hardships and sufferings which they had
experienced while filling the _role_ of prisoners doomed to the
sacrifice, but also to enable him to prosecute the inquiries which he
wished to make regarding the whereabouts of the city of Manoa. And he
was not less anxious to stay than the king was to entertain him and get
the benefit of his advice and guidance upon several burning questions
which had of late been causing him uneasiness. For now that the great
god Anamac had made it clear that the white strangers enjoyed his
especial favour and protection, and were therefore not to be molested,
but, on the contrary, were to be treated with the utmost honour and
distinction, the astute Jiravai immediately arrived at the conclusion
that they must certainly be something more than mere ordinary men--as
witness the marvels which Earle had performed during the progress of the
feast--and that consequently their advice and assistance must be of more
than ordinary value, and well worth securing. Therefore the king took
Earle and Dick unreservedly into his confidence and, with the help of
Inaguy as interpreter, fully laid before the pair a number of
exceedingly delicate and difficult problems which were just then
confronting him. And Earle, being a born diplomatist, entered into the
thing with keen zest, taking the problems one by one and asking question
after question until, as he put it, he had fairly "got the hang of the
thing," when, by a judicious admixture of his own diplomatic instinct
with Dick's shrewd common sense, it became not very difficult to find
solutions of the several problems, which not only effected a general
clearing of the air, but also ultimately added considerable lustre to
Jiravai's name as that of a wise and powerful monarch.

The settlement of these matters of high and intricate policy took time;
so that it was not until some ten days after the festival of Anamac that
Earle was able to introduce to the king's notice the subject of Manoa,
to ask what his majesty knew about it and its precis