o without it. He had not given it to her at all, but allowed her
the use of it in consideration of "love and affection" he swore.

Daughter of the Pigeon glared at the unhappy little man with an
intensity of hatred that alarmed me for his life. She took the stand,
malevolently handsome in finery of pink tunic, gold ear-rings, and
necklace of red peppers, barefooted, bare-armed, barbaric. She spat
out her words.

"This man made love to me and lived with me. He gave me the
sewing-machine and the trunk. He is a runt and a pig, and I am tired
of him. I left his hut and went to the house of my father. I took my
Singaire and my trunk."

"Ben Santos," inquired the judge, with a critical glance at Daughter
of the Pigeon, "What return did you make to this woman for keeping
your house?"

"I provided her food and her dresses," stammered the little man.

"Food hangs from trees, and dresses are a few yards of stuff," said
the surgical Solomon. "The fair ones of the Marquesas do not give
themselves to men of your plainness for _popoi_ and muslin robes.
You are a foreigner. You expect too much. The preponderance of
probability, added to the weight of testimony, causes the court to
believe that this woman is the real owner of the sewing-machine and
the trunk. It is so adjudged."

"_La mujer es una diabola, pero me gusto mucho_," said Santos to me,
and sighed deeply. "The woman is a devil, but I like her very much."

[Illustration: Tahaiupehe, Daughter of the Pigeon, of Taaoa]

[Illustration: Nataro Puelleray and wife
He is the most learned Marquesan and the only one who knows the language
and legends thoroughly]

The unfortunate Malay got upon his horse and, his soul deep in the
swamp of jealousy, departed to resume his copra-making.

Court adjourned. The judge, the clerk, and the interpreter, Daughter
of the Pigeon, and I toasted the blind goddess in rum, the sun being
very hot on the iron roof. Bauda and I stayed to breakfast at eleven
o'clock, and the governor permitted me to look through the _dossier_
of Daughter of the Pigeon. This record is kept of all Marquesans or
others resident in the islands; each governor adds his facts and
prejudices and each newcoming official finds the history and
reputation of each of his charges set down for his perusal. In this
record of Daughter of the Pigeon I found the reason for the
malevolent character depicted by her face.

The men of the hills have a terrible custom of capturing a