an of Mahua, the father of Narue. And Narue loved
me; but because of thee, O Laea, he turned from me, and my heart became
cold. For who would give food to my child when it was born--the child of
a slave whose lover was a chief and who had cast her off? And then there
came a vision to me in the night, and I saw the things of which I have
told ye, O men of Tetuaroa. And I knew that the black cloud of my vision
was sent to warn the people of this land against the marriage, and the
hunger and the bitter days of poverty that would come of it. And so,
because thou art a great woman, O Laea, and I but a poor slave, did I
meet Narue but a little while since and give him to drink; and when he
drank of that which I gave him he died, for it was poisoned.'

A low murmur, half anger, half pity, broke from the assembled people.

'Thou fool!' said Laea, pityingly; and then she turned to Taneo.

'And so thy brother hath died by the hand of a slave? Let us part in
peace. Farewell!'

And then, as the men of Pare returned in silence to their canoes, Taneo
and his people closed in upon the kneeling figure of the slave girl, who
bent her head as a man stepped before her with a club.

* * * * *

When the five canoes had sailed away a little distance from the beach,
Laea saw the men of Tetuaroa open out their ranks, and, looking in the
midst, she saw, lying face downwards on the sand, the body of Milli the
Slave.

DENISON GETS A BERTH ASHORE

After many years as supercargo, 'blackbirder'{*} and trader in the South
Seas, Tom Denison one day found himself in Sydney with less than ten
shillings in his pocket, and with a strong fraternal yearning to visit
his brother, who was a bank manager in North Queensland and a very
good-natured man. So he sent a telegram, 'Tired of the sea. Can you
find me a billet ashore?' An answer soon came, 'Yes, if you can
manage poultry farm and keep books. If so, will wire passage money and
expenses.'

* A 'backbirder' is the term applied to any person engaged
in the Polynesian labour traffic.

Denison pondered over the situation. He had seen a lot of poultry in
his time--in coops on board the _Indiana_ and the _Palestine_; and one
Captain 'Bully' Hayes, with whom he had once sailed as supercargo, had
told him a lot of things about game fowls, to which birds the genial
'Bully' had a great leaning--but was not sure that he was good at books.
In fact, the owne