en preparing breakfast laid
it on the grass. The smell of coffee filled the air; nothing could be more
pleasant than this out-of-doors breakfast in the bright and lovely
morning, the air fresh with the breeze and the voices of birds.

The villagers were all seated in a group, huddled together at the extreme
left of the row of huts. They were no longer free, but tied together ankle
to ankle by strips of _n'goji_. Only Papeete was at liberty, but he kept
at a distance. He was seated near the old woman, and he was exploring the
interior of an empty tomato tin flung away by the cook.

"I will give them two hours more," said Meeus, as he sipped his coffee.

"And then?" said Adams.

Meeus was about to reply when he caught a glance from Berselius.

"Then," he said, "I will knock those mud houses of theirs to pieces. They
require a lesson."

"Poor devils!" said Adams.

Meeus during the meal did not display a trace of irritation. From his
appearance one might have judged that the niggers had returned to their
work, and that everything was going well. At times he appeared
absent-minded, and at times he wore a gloomy but triumphant look, as
though some business which had unpleasant memories attached to it had at
last been settled to his satisfaction.

After breakfast he drew Berselius aside, and the two men walked away in
the direction of the pools, leaving Adams to smoke his pipe in the shade
of the tent.

They came back in about half an hour, and Berselius, after speaking a few
words to Felix, turned to Adams.

"I must ask you to return to Fort M'Bassa and get everything in readiness
for our departure. Felix will accompany you. I will follow in a couple of
hours with M. Meeus. I am afraid we will have to pull these people's
houses down. It's a painful duty, but it has to be performed. You will
save yourself the sight of it."

"Thanks," said Adams. Not for a good deal of money would he have remained
to see those wretched hovels knocked to pieces. He could perceive plainly
enough that the thing had to be done. Conciliation had been tried, and it
was of no avail. He was quite on the side of Meeus; indeed, he had admired
the self-restraint of this very much tried _Chef de Poste_. Not a hard
word, not a blow, scarcely a threat had been used. The people had been
spoken to in a fatherly manner, a messenger had been sent to the truants,
and the messenger had joined them. At all events he had not returned.
Then, certainly, p