va house; and then the curtain
drew suddenly up upon the set scene. We took our seats, and Auilua began
to give me a present, recapitulating each article as he gave it out,
with some appropriate comment. He called me several times "their only
friend," said they were all in slavery, had no money, and these things
were all made by the hands of their families--nothing bought; he had one
phrase, in which I heard his voice rise up to a note of triumph: "This
is a present from the poor prisoners to the rich man." Thirteen pieces
of tapa, some of them surprisingly fine, one I think unique; thirty fans
of every shape and colour; a kava cup, etc., etc. At first Auilua
conducted the business with weighty gravity; but before the end of the
thirty fans, his comments began to be humorous. When it came to a little
basket, he said: "Here was a little basket for Tusitala to put sixpence
in, when he could get hold of one"--with a delicious grimace. I answered
as best as I was able through a miserable interpreter; and all the
while, as I went on, I heard the crier outside in the court calling my
gift of food, which I perceived was to be Gargantuan. I had brought but
three boys with me. It was plain that they were wholly overpowered. We
proposed to send for our gifts on the morrow; but no, said the
interpreter, that would never do; they must go away to-day, Mulinuu must
see my porters taking away the gifts,--"make 'em jella," quoth the
interpreter. And I began to see the reason of this really splendid gift;
one half, gratitude to me--one half, a wipe at the king.

And now, to introduce darker colours, you must know this visit of mine
to the gaol was just a little bit risky; we had several causes for
anxiety; it _might_ have been put up, to connect with a Tamasese rising.
Tusitala and his family would be good hostages. On the other hand, there
were the Mulinuu people all about. We could see the anxiety of Captain
Wurmbrand, no less anxious to have us go, than he had been to see us
come; he was deadly white and plainly had a bad headache, in the noisy
scene. Presently, the noise grew uproarious; there was a rush at the
gate--a rush _in_, not a rush _out_--where the two sentries still stood
passive; Auilua leaped from his place (it was then that I got the name
of Ajax for him) and the next moment we heard his voice roaring and saw
his mighty figure swaying to and fro in the hurly-burly. As the deuce
would have it, we could not understand a wo