g on my floor and between open doorways, in a thorough draught.
Yet Francois, the son of a French father, speaks excellent French
himself and seems intelligent.

It was our first idea that the catechist, true to his evangelical
vocation, was clothing the naked from his superfluity. Then it came out
that Francois was but dealing with his own. The clothes were his, so was
the chest, so was the house. Francois was in fact the landlord. Yet you
observe he had hung back on the verandah while Taniera tried his
'prentice hand upon the locks; and even now, when his true character
appeared, the only use he made of the estate was to leave the clothes of
his family drying on the fence. Taniera was still the friend of the
house, still fed the poultry, still came about us on his daily visits;
Francois, during the remainder of his stay, holding bashfully aloof. And
there was stranger matter. Since Francois had lost the whole load of his
cutter, the half ton of copra, an axe, bowls, knives, and
clothes--since he had in a manner to begin the world again, and his
necessary flour was not yet bought or paid for--I proposed to advance
him what he needed on the rent. To my enduring amazement he refused, and
the reason he gave--if that can be called a reason which but darkens
counsel--was that Taniera was his friend. His friend, you observe, not
his creditor. I inquired into that, and was assured that Taniera, an
exile in a strange isle, might possibly be in debt himself, but
certainly was no man's creditor.

Very early one morning we were awakened by a bustling presence in the
yard, and found our camp had been surprised by a tall, lean, old native
lady, dressed in what were obviously widow's weeds. You could see at a
glance she was a notable woman, a housewife, sternly practical, alive
with energy, and with fine possibilities of temper. Indeed there was
nothing native about her but the skin; and the type abounds, and is
everywhere respected nearer home. It did us good to see her scour the
grounds, examining the plants and chickens; watering, feeding, trimming
them; taking angry, purpose-like possession. When she neared the house
our sympathy abated; when she came to the broken chest I wished I were
elsewhere. We had scarce a word in common; but her whole lean body spoke
for her with indignant eloquence. "My chest!" it cried, with a stress on
the possessive. "My chest--broken open! This is a fine state of things!"
I hastened to lay the blam