ion might be necessary.

The precious paper was at last finished; and a great curiosity it was.
We were much diverted with his reasons for not dating it.

"In this here dummed eliminate," he observed, "a feller can't keep the
run of the months, nohow; cause there's no seasons; no summer and
winter, to go by. One's etarnally thinkin' it's always July, it's so
pesky hot."

A passport provided, we cast about for some means of getting to
Taloo.

The island of Imeeo is very nearly surrounded by a regular breakwater
of coral extending within a mile or less of the shore. The smooth
canal within furnishes the best means of communication with the
different settlements; all of which, with the exception of Tamai, are
right upon the water. And so indolent are the Imeeose that they think
nothing of going twenty or thirty miles round the island in a canoe in
order to reach a place not a quarter of that distance by land. But as
hinted before, the fear of the bullocks has something to do with
this.

The idea of journeying in a canoe struck our fancy quite pleasantly;
and we at once set about chartering one, if possible. But none could
we obtain. For not only did we have nothing to pay for hiring one,
but we could not expect to have it loaned; inasmuch as the
good-natured owner would, in all probability, have to walk along the
beach as we paddled in order to bring back his property when we had no
further use for it.

At last, it was decided to commence our journey on foot; trusting that
we would soon fall in with a canoe going our way, in which we might
take passage.

The planters said we would find no beaten path: all we had to do was
to follow the beach; and however inviting it might look inland, on no
account must we stray from it. In short, the longest way round was
the nearest way to Taloo. At intervals, there were little hamlets
along the shore, besides lonely fishermen's huts here and there,
where we could get plenty to eat without pay; so there was no
necessity to lay in any store.

Intending to be off before sunrise the next morning, so as to have the
benefit of the coolest part of the day, we bade our kind hosts
farewell overnight; and then, repairing to the beach, we launched our
floating pallet, and slept away merrily till dawn.

CHAPTER LXVII.

THE JOURNEY ROUND THE BEACH

IT was on the fourth day of the first month of the Hegira, or flight
from Tamai (we now reckoned our time thus), that, rising bright