labor. At last some of the more venturesome of
the younger folks managed to tear his kapa off, as if accidentally,
when the shark-mouth on his back was seen by all the people near.

Nanaue was so enraged at the displacement of his kapa and his
consequent exposure, that he turned and bit several of the crowd,
while the shark-mouth opened and shut with a snap, and a clicking sound
was heard such as a shark is supposed to make when baulked by its prey.

The news of the shark-mouth and his characteristic shark-like actions
were quickly reported to the King, with the fact of the disappearance
of so many people in the vicinity of the pools frequented by Nanaue;
and of his pretended warnings to people going to the sea, which were
immediately followed by a shark bite or by their being eaten bodily,
with every one's surmise and belief that this man was at the bottom
of all those disappearances. The King believed it was even so, and
ordered a large fire to be lighted, and Nanaue to be thrown in to be
burnt alive.

When Nanaue saw what was before him, he called on the shark god,
his father, to help him; then, seeming to be endowed with superhuman
strength in answer to his prayer, he burst the ropes with which he
had been bound in preparation for the burning, and breaking through
the throng of Umi's warriors, who attempted to detain him, he ran,
followed by the whole multitude, toward the pool that emptied into
the sea. When he got to the edge of the rocks bordering the pool,
he waited till the foremost persons were within arm's length, when
he leaped into the water and immediately turned into a large shark
on the surface of the water, in plain view of the people who had
arrived, and whose numbers were being continually augmented by more
and more arrivals.

He lay on the surface some little time, as if to recover his breath,
and then turned over on his back, and raising his head partly out
of the water, snapped his teeth at the crowd who, by this time,
completely lined the banks, and then, as if in derision or defiance
of them, turned and flirted his tail at them and swam out to sea.

The people and chiefs were for killing his mother and relatives for
having brought up such a monster. Kalei and her brothers were seized,
bound, and dragged before Umi, while the people clamored for their
immediate execution, or as some suggested, that they be thrown into
the fire lighted for Nanaue.

But Umi was a wise king and would not cons