hey laughed, and hurrahed, and whistled,
and jumped, while Priscilla, as an active emissary, ran around among
them, punching them, and trying to make them keep still and listen.

But as they all promised to stick to us and the royal queen through
thick and thin, we didn't mind a little disorder.

The next day but one was to be coronation day, and we impressed it on
the minds of the adherents that they must be sure to be on hand about
ten in the morning, in front of the queen's hut. We concluded not to
call it a palace until after the ceremony.

When we had said all we had to say, we told the assemblage that it might
go home; but it didn't seem inclined to do anything of the kind.

"Look a here, boss," said one of them,--a stout, saucy fellow, with the
biggest hat and the biggest feet on the island,--"aint you agoin' to
give us nothin' for comin' round here?"

"Give you anything!" cried Rectus, blazing up suddenly. "That's a pretty
way to talk! It's the subjects that have to give. You'll see pretty
soon----"

Just here I stopped him. If he had gone on a few minutes longer, he
would have wound up that kingdom with a snap.

"We didn't bring you here," said I, "to give you anything, for it ought
to be enough pay to any decent fellow to see a good old person like
Queen Poqua-dilla get her rights."

"Who's him?" asked several of the nearest fellows.

"He means Jane Henderson," said Priscilla. "You keep quiet."

"Jane Henderson! Dat's all right. Don' call her no names. Go ahead,
boss!" they cried, laughing and shouting. I went ahead.

"We can't pay you any money; but if you will all promise again to be on
hand before ten o'clock day after to-morrow, we'll take you down to the
harbor now and give you a small dive."

A wild promise rang up the sides of the ravine.

A "small dive" is a ceremony somewhat peculiar to this island. A
visitor--no native white man would ever think of such a thing--stands on
the edge of a pier, or anywhere, where the water is quite deep, and
tosses in a bit of money, while the darkey boys--who are sure to be all
ready when a visitor is standing on a pier--dive for it. It's a lot of
fun to see them do this, and Rectus and I had already chucked a good
deal of small change into the harbor, and had seen it come up again,
some of it before it got to the bottom. These dives are called "small,"
because the darkeys want to put the thing mildly. They couldn't coax
anybody down to the water to give