ocked about uselessly."

"Master," said big Tepi gravely, "may I speak?"

"Speak," I said, as I handed my glasses to Lucia--"what is it?"

"This master. These men of Apamama be dangerous. No one can trust them;
and they will be rude and force themselves upon us, and when they see
the many guns we have on board they will take them by force, if thou
wilt not sell them at their own price."

"Let them so try," I said, in sudden anger at the thought of a boatload
of King Apinoka's crowd of naked bullies coming on board and compelling
me to do as they wished: "I will shoot the first man of them who tries
to lay his hand on anything which is mine."

Tepi's black eyes sparkled, and all the fighting blood of his race leapt
to his cheeks and brow, as he stretched out his huge right arm.

"Ay, master. And I too desire to fight. But these men will come as
friends, and their numbers and weight will render us helpless in this
small boat. Is it not better that we should hoist the anchor and run
before the wind to the south passage, gain the open sea, and then come
to anchor again under the lee of the land until the storm is spent?"

His suggestion was so sensible that I felt annoyed and disgusted with
myself. Of course there was a south passage less than ten miles distant,
and we could easily run down to it and bring to outside the reef, and
either lay-to or anchor in almost as smooth water as it was inside. But
I would not let Lucia or Niabon think that I had forgotten about it; so
I spoke sharply to poor Tepi, and told him to mind his own business.
Did he think, I asked, that I was a fool and did not know either of
the south passage or my own mind? And so I let my vanity and obstinacy
overrule my common sense.

"Get thy arms ready," I said to Tematau and Tepi, "and if these fellows
are saucy stand by me like men, I shall not lift anchor and ran away
because Apinoka of Apamama sendeth a boat to me."

Now, I honestly believe that these two men thought that there would be
serious trouble if I was so foolishly obstinate as to await the coming
boat, when we could so easily lift anchor, rip down the lagoon, and be
out through the south passage and in smooth water under the lee of the
land in less than an hour; but at the same time they cocked their eyes
so lovingly at the Sniders and Evans's magazine rifles which Niabon
passed up to me that I knew they were secretly delighted at the prospect
of a fight.

Niabon said something i