me-honoured Island business fashion. Brice,
afraid of "making an ass of himself," was glad to get away, and took
the captain on board at midnight in Baldwin's boat, and at the mate's
invitation remained for breakfast.

At daylight the mate got the _Malolo_ under weigh, the skipper, with
aching head, sitting up in his bunk and cursing the old trader's
hospitality.

When the vessel was well outside the reef, Brice bade him good-bye, and
getting his boat alongside started for the shore.

"I will--I must--clear out of this," he was telling himself as the boat
swept round the point of the passage on the last sweep of the ocean
swell. "I can't stay under the same roof with him day after day, month
after month, and not feel my folly and her weakness. But where the deuce
I can get to for five months till the schooner comes back, I don't know.
There's the Mission, but that is too close; the old fellow would only
bring me back again in a week."

*****

Suddenly a strange, weird cry pealed over the water from the native
village, a cry that to him was mysterious, as well as mournful and
blood-chilling.

The four natives who pulled the boat had rested on their oars the
instant they heard the cry, and with alarm and deep concern depicted on
their countenances were looking toward the shore.

"What is it, boys?" said Brice in English.

Before the native to whom he spoke could answer, the long, loud wailing
cry again burst forth.

"Some man die," said the native who pulled stroke-oar to Brice--he was
the only one who knew English.

Then Brice, following the looks of his crew, saw that around the
white paling fence that enclosed Baldwin's house was gathered a great
concourse of natives, most of whom were sitting on the ground.

"Give way, boys," he said, with an instinctive feeling of fear that
something dreadful had happened. In another five minutes the boat
touched the sand and Brice sprang out.

Maturei alone, of all the motionless, silent crowd that gathered around
the house, rose and walked down to him.

"Oh, white man, Tamu is dead!"

*****

He felt the shock terribly, and for a moment or two was motionless and
nerveless. Then the prolonged wailing note of grief from a thousand
throats again broke out and brought him to his senses, and with hasty
step he opened the gate and went in.

With white face and shaking limbs Loise met him at the door and
endeavoured to speak, but only hollow, inarticulate sounds came