rely, but it would last only for a time; for
you have noticed that even our own people, when condemned, though they
lose flesh at first, invariably become reconciled to their end, and at
last become fatter than ever."

The words of this man, who was evidently a functionary of the king,
inspired me with so great a horror that I could bear to hear no more;
so I moved away, considering whether I should return to the colony and
report what I had heard already or remain to see this ghastly tragedy
to the end. As there was nothing to be gained by returning at once, I
decided to stay, for through the horror of it all might come some
suggestion of a means of deliverance.

I soon became aware, by the making of all the people towards a certain
quarter, that something of unusual importance was afoot; so as best I
could I worked my way around to the point of convergence, which was in
the neighborhood of the king's house, and there I saw an extraordinary
preparation under way. A large bonfire was burning in an open place;
standing around it, in a circle having a generous radius, were hundreds
of the strange half-savages of the island, kept at their proper
distance by an armed patrol; in a clear space at one side, on higher
ground, was an elevated seat, which I surmised was reserved for the
king. Manifestly a matter of some moment was to be attended to, having
likely a ceremonious character. The most curious feature of all this
affair was the activity of a number of workers engaged in dragging
large, hot stones from the fire and arranging them in the form of an
oblong mound. This mound had one peculiar feature: a hollow space,
about six feet long and two feet wide, was left within it, and the men,
under the instructions of a leader, were fashioning it to a depth
approaching two feet, all the stones being very hot and difficult to
handle, even with the aid of barrows.

While they were still at work, the great repressed excitement under
which the people labored found an excuse for expression in the arrival
of the king, who, tricked out in unusual finery, walked solemnly ahead
of his attendants to his elevated seat. Then he gave an order which,
from my distance, I could not hear. I pushed a little closer under the
safety which the occasion lent, and overheard this conversation:

"How many will get some of it?"

"Only forty, I hear. You know the women are not allowed to have it."

"Yes."

"The leading men will be supplied. It mak