with expressions of apparent pleasure; but however friendly their bearing,
there was never any abatement of the vigilance by the captain and his
officers. Only a certain number were allowed to come on board to trade.
The seamen always carried cutlasses by their side and a brace of pistols
in their belts, and even when they went ashore for wood or water two boats
were always sent, half the men with loaded muskets keeping guard while the
others worked, and the guns of the ship were loaded and trained in
readiness to open fire in case of any hostile demonstration on the part of
the natives. Occasionally, when a chief had paid a visit to the ship and
invited the captain to a feast on shore, a strong guard armed to the teeth
accompanied him, and a boat lay by the ship's side in readiness to land
another party if necessary.

"They are the most treacherous race on earth," the captain said one day
when the third officer remarked that they seemed very friendly. "You can
never trust them for a moment; they will shake hands with you with one
hand and stab you with the other. Numbers of ships' companies have been
massacred owing to the captains putting faith in appearances, and allowing
too many of the copper-coloured scoundrels to get on board at once. As
long as you make a rule that not more than twenty or thirty can come on
the deck, and that all boats must keep at a distance, you are safe, but
you must never let yourself be caught napping. I have had one or two very
narrow escapes, for it is twenty-five years now since I first came among
these islands.

"I had just passed as a third mate when I made my first voyage here. The
captain was an easy-going man, and was quite taken in by the appearance of
friendliness on the part of the natives. The first mate, too, was a good
sailor, but new to the islands, and too fond of his grog; but luckily the
second mate had been here before. His ship had once been attacked and
nearly half the men killed before they could beat the Malays overboard,
and he was always in a fidget.

"I was only about twenty at the time, and, like a young fool, thought that
it was pure cowardice on his part; however, at his earnest request I
carried a brace of double-barrelled pistols in my pocket, and, unknown to
the captain and the first mate, he persuaded a dozen of the crew to do the
same, and got the captain to let him keep the cannon loaded with grape,
though the latter made no secret that he regarded this