s,
boards, and pillows. He lay there and sometimes talked, sometimes
whispered, sometimes wept like an angry child; his principal word was
"Faamolemole"--"Please"--and he kept telling us at intervals that his
family were calling him. During this interval, by the special grace of
God, my boys came home; we had already called in Arrick, the black boy;
now we had that Hercules, Lafaele, and a man Savea, who comes from
Paatalise's own island and can alone communicate with him freely. Lloyd
went to bed, I took the first watch, and sat in my room reading, while
Lafaele and Arrick watched the madman. Suddenly Arrick called me; I ran
into the verandah; there was Paatalise free of all his bonds and Lafaele
holding him. To tell what followed is impossible. We were five people at
him--Lafaele and Savea, very strong men, Lloyd, I and Arrick, and the
struggle lasted until 1 A.M. before we had him bound. One detail for a
specimen: Lloyd and I had charge of one leg, we were both sitting on it
and lo! we were both tossed into the air--I, I dare say, a couple of
feet. At last we had him spread-eagled to the iron bedstead, by his
wrists and ankles, with matted rope; a most inhumane business, but what
could we do? it was all we could do to manage it even so. The strength
of the paroxysms had been steadily increasing, and we trembled for the
next. And now I come to pure Rider Haggard. Lafaele announced that the
boy was very bad, and he would get "some medicine" which was a family
secret of his own. Some leaves were brought mysteriously in; chewed,
placed on the boy's eyes, dropped in his ears (see _Hamlet_) and stuck
up his nostrils; as he did this, the weird doctor partly smothered the
patient with his hand; and by about 2 A.M. he was in a deep sleep, and
from that time he showed no symptom of dementia whatever. The medicine
(says Lafaele) is principally used for the wholesale slaughter of
families; he himself feared last night that his dose was fatal; only one
other person, on this island, knows the secret; and she, Lafaele darkly
whispers, has abused it. This remarkable tree we must try to identify.

The man-of-war doctor came up to-day, gave us a strait-waistcoat, taught
us to bandage, examined the boy and saw he was apparently well--he
insisted on doing his work all morning, poor lad, and when he first came
down kissed all the family at breakfast! The doctor was greatly excited,
as may be supposed, about Lafaele's medicine.

_Tuesday