at the peak was no deception."

"Then how can you say she's a trader?" asked I.

"Why, as to that, she trades when she can't take by force; but she takes
by force when she can, in preference. Ralph," he added, lowering his
voice, "if you had seen the bloody deeds that I have witnessed done on
these decks, you would not need to ask if we were pirates. But you'll
find it out soon enough. As for the missionaries, the captain favours
them because they are useful to him. The South Sea Islanders are such
incarnate fiends that they are the better of being tamed, and the
missionaries are the only men who can do it."

Our track after this lay through several clusters of small islets, among
which we were becalmed more than once. During this part of our voyage
the watch on deck and the lookout at the masthead were more than usually
vigilant, as we were not only in danger of being attacked by the natives
(who, I learned from the captain's remarks, were a bloody and deceitful
tribe at this group), but we were also exposed to much risk from the
multitudes of coral reefs that rose up in the channels between the
islands--some of them just above the surface, others a few feet below
it. Our precautions against the savages, I found, were indeed
necessary.

One day we were becalmed among a group of small islands, most of which
appeared to be uninhabited. As we were in want of fresh water, the
captain sent the boat ashore to bring off a cask or two. But we were
mistaken in thinking there were no natives; for scarcely had we drawn
near to the shore when a band of naked blacks rushed out of the bush and
assembled on the beach, brandishing their clubs and spears in a
threatening manner. Our men were well armed, but refrained from showing
any signs of hostility, and rowed nearer in order to converse with the
natives; and I now found that more than one of the crew could
imperfectly speak dialects of the language peculiar to the South Sea
Islanders. When within forty yards of the shore we ceased rowing, and
the first mate stood up to address the multitude; but instead of
answering us, they replied with a shower of stones, some of which cut
the men severely. Instantly our muskets were levelled, and a volley was
about to be fired when the captain hailed us in a loud voice from the
schooner, which lay not more than five or six hundred yards off the
shore.

"Don't fire!" he shouted angrily. "Pull off to the point ahead of you!"

Th