ceeded but for
the fire-arms. On the very day of the attack the _Pandora_ dropped anchor
at Namuka, within sight of Tofoa, and not finding her tender, bore down
upon that island. Had Oliver been able to wait there for her, his
troubles would have been at an end. But he dared not take the risk, and
when Edwards sent a boat ashore to make enquiries the little schooner had
sailed. The reception accorded to Edwards at Tofoa is very characteristic
of the Tongans. Lieutenant Hayward, who had been present at the attack
made upon Bligh, recognised several of the murderers of Norton among the
people who crowded on board to do homage to the great chief, Fatafehi,
who had taken passage in the frigate, but Edwards dared not punish them
for fear that his tender should fall among them after he had left. Had he
but known that these men had come red-handed from a treacherous attack
upon the tender; that Fatafehi, who so loudly condemned their treachery
to Bligh, and assured him that nothing had been seen of the little
vessel, had just heard of the abortive attack they had made upon her, he
would have taught them a lesson that would have lasted the Tongans many
years, and might have saved the lives of the Europeans who perished in
the taking of the _Port-au-Prince_ and the _Duke of Portland_. For these
"Norsemen of the Pacific," whom Cook, knowing nothing of the treachery
they had planned against him under the guise of hospitality, misnamed the
"Friendly Islanders," were, in reality, a nation of wreckers.

Leaving Tofoa about July 1st, the schooner ran westward for two days
"nearly in its latitude," and fell in with an island which Edwards
supposed to be one of the Fiji group. The island of the Fiji group that
lies most nearly in the latitude of Tofoa is Vatoa, discovered by Cook,
but there are strong reasons for seeking Oliver's discoveries elsewhere.
Vatoa lies only 170 miles from Tofoa, and, therefore, if Oliver took two
days in reaching it, he cannot have been running at more than three knots
an hour. But, early in July, the south-east trade wind is at its
strongest, and with a fair wind a fast sailer, as we know the schooner to
have been, cannot have been travelling at a slower rate than six knots.
We are further told that Oliver waited five weeks at the island, and took
in provisions and water. Now, in July, which is the middle of the dry
season, no water is to be found on Vatoa except a little muddy and fetid
liquid at the bottom