er sounded so sweetly to her before. He asked her for
a simple flower and she twined a _lei_ for his neck. He
asked her for a smile, and she looked up into his face and
gave him her heart.

After they had seen each other a few times the lieutenant
went to his chief and said:

"I love the beautiful Kaala, daughter of Oponui. Give her to
me for a wife."

"The girl is not mine to give," replied the King. "We must
be just. I will send for her father. Come to-morrow."

Oponui was not pleased when he was brought before the King
and heard his request. He had once, in war, narrowly escaped
death at the hand of Kaaialii and now felt that he would
rather feed his daughter to the sharks than give her to the
man who had sought his life. Still, as it would have been
unwise to openly oppose the King's wishes, he pretended to
regard the proposal with favor, but regretted that his
daughter was already promised to another man. He was,
however, willing, he added, to let the girl go to the victor
in a contest with bare hands between the two suitors.

The rival suitor was Mailou, a huge, muscular savage known
as the "bone breaker." Kaala hated and feared him and had
taken every occasion to avoid him; but as her father was
anxious to secure so strong an ally, his desire finally had
prevailed against her aversion.

Kaaialii was less muscular than his rival, but he had
superior cunning, and thus it happened that in the fierce
contest which followed he tripped up the "bone-breaker,"
seized his hair as he fell, placed his knees against his
back, and broke his spine.

Breaking away from her disappointed father Kaala sprang
through the crowd and threw herself into the victor's arms.
The king placed their hands together and said: "You have won
her nobly. She is now your wife. Take her with you."

But Oponui's wrath was greater than before, and he plotted
revenge. On the morning after the marriage he visited Kaala
and told her that her mother was dangerously ill at Mahana
and wanted to see her before she died. The daughter followed
him, though her husband had some misgivings. Arriving at the
seashore, the father told her, with a wild glare in his
eyes, that he had made up his mind to hide her down among
the gods of the sea until the ha