mosity that I felt it would be damaging to avoid him.

"'So,' says he, in native, 'here is the holy man. He has been preaching
against me, but that was not in his heart. He has been preaching upon
the love of God; but that was not in his heart, it was between his
teeth. Will you know what was in his heart?' cries he. 'I will show it
you!' And, making a snatch at my head he made believe to pluck out a
dollar, and held it in the air.

"There went that rumour through the crowd with which Polynesians receive
a prodigy. As for myself, I stood amazed. The thing was a common
conjuring trick which I have seen performed at home a score of times;
but how was I to convince the villagers of that? I wished I had learned
legerdemain instead of Hebrew, that I might have paid the fellow out
with his own coin. But there I was; I could not stand there silent, and
the best I could find to say was weak.

"'I will trouble you not to lay hands on me again,' said I.

"'I have no such thought,' said he, 'nor will I deprive you of your
dollar. Here it is,' he said, and flung it at my feet. I am told it lay
where it fell three days."

"I must say it was well played," said I.

"O! he is clever," said Mr. Tarleton, "and you can now see for yourself
how dangerous. He was a party to the horrid death of the paralytic; he
is accused of poisoning Adams; he drove Vigours out of the place by lies
that might have led to murder; and there is no question but he has now
made up his mind to rid himself of you. How he means to try we have no
guess; only be sure it's something new. There is no end to his readiness
and invention."

"He gives himself a sight of trouble," says I. "And after all, what
for?"

"Why, how many tons of copra may they make in this district?" asked the
missionary.

"I daresay as much as sixty tons," says I.

"And what is the profit to the local trader?" he asked.

"You may call it three pounds," said I.

"Then you can reckon for yourself how much he does it for," said Mr.
Tarleton. "But the more important thing is to defeat him. It is clear he
spread some report against Uma, in order to isolate and have his wicked
will of her. Failing of that, and seeing a new rival come upon the
scene, he used her in a different way. Now, the first point to find out
is about Namu. Uma, when people began to leave you and your mother
alone, what did Namu do?"

"Stop away all-e-same," says Uma.

"I fear the dog has returned to his vomit,"