he first canoe. "What ship's that?"

"His Majesty's sloop-of-war _Golden Danae_," shouted back the first
lieutenant from the chains. "Tell your other boats to keep back, or we
shall fire."

"No, no, no: don't do that, sir! They don't mean fighting," came back
from the boat; and a big savage, whose face was blue with tattooing,
stood up in the canoe, and then turned and spoke to one of his
companions, who rose and shouted to the occupants of the other canoes to
cease paddling.

"Speaks good English, sir," said the lieutenant to the captain.

"Yes. Ask them what they want, and if it's peace."

The lieutenant shouted this communication to the savage in the canoe.

"Want, sir?" came back; "to trade with you for guns and powder, and to
come aboard."

"How is it you speak good English?"

"Why, what should an Englishman speak?"

"Then you are not a savage?"

"Now do I look like one?" cried the man indignantly.

"Of course; I forgot--I'm an Englishman on a visit to the country, and
I've adopted their customs, sir--that's all."

"Oh, I see," said the lieutenant, laughing; "ornaments and all."

"May they come aboard, sir?"

"Oh, yes; if they leave their arms."

The man communicated this to the occupants of the boat, and there was a
good deal of excited conversation for a time.

"That fellow's a runaway convict for certain, sir," said the lieutenant.
"Shall we get him aboard, and keep him?"

"No. Let him be. Perhaps he will prove very useful."

"The chiefs say it isn't fair to ask them to come without their arms,"
said the tattooed Englishman. "How are they to know that you will not
be treacherous?"

"Tell them this is a king's ship, and if they behave themselves they
have nothing to fear," said the captain. "Stop! Six of them can come
aboard armed if they like. You can lead them and interpret."

"I'll tell them, sir; but I won't come aboard, thank you. I'm a bit of
a savage now, and the crew might make remarks, and we should quarrel."

He turned to the savages, and the captain and lieutenant exchanged
glances, while directly after the canoe was run alongside, and
half-a-dozen of the people sprang up the side, and were admitted through
the boarding netting to begin striding about the deck in the most
fearless way.

They were fine, herculean-looking fellows, broad-shouldered and
handsome, and every man had his face tattooed in a curious scroll-like
pattern, which ended on the sides of his nose