lui_ (cigarettes)
and talking of the time when I should return and buy a piece of land
from her father's people, on which I should build a new house. There
were six native sailors on board, and these, as the night drew on,
spread their mats on the fore deck and went to sleep. Then Sipi and I
went into the cabin, which was on deck, and we too slept.

"How long we had slumbered I cannot tell, but suddenly we were aroused
by the sound of a great clamour on deck and the groans and cries of
dying men, and then ere we were well awakened the cabin door was opened
and Solepa was thrust inside. Then the door was quickly closed and
fastened on the outside, and I heard Franka's voice calling out orders
to hoist sails and slip the cable.

"There was a lamp burning dimly in the cabin, and Sipi and I ran to the
aid of Solepa, who lay prone upon the floor as if dead. Her dress was
torn, and her hands and arms were scratched and bleeding, so that Sipi
wept as she leant over her and put water to her lips. In a little while
she opened her eyes, and when she saw us a great sob broke from her
bosom and she caught my hand in hers and tried to speak.

"Now, grog is a good thing. It is good for a weak, panting woman when
her strength is gone and her soul is terrified, and it is good for an
old man who is despised by his relations because he is bitten with
poverty. There was grog in a wicker jar in the cabin. I gave her some in
a glass, and then as the dog Franka, whose soul and body are now in
hell, was getting the schooner under way, she told me that while she and
Preston were asleep the house was surrounded by a hundred or more of
men from Ro|an Kiti, led by Franka. They burst in suddenly, and Franka
and some others rushed into their sleeping-room and she was torn away
from her husband and carried down to the beach.

"'Is thy husband dead?' I asked.

"'I cannot tell,' she said in a weak voice. 'I heard some shots fired
and saw him struggling with Franka's men. That is all I know. If he is
dead then shall I die too. Give me a knife, so that I may die.'

"As she spoke the schooner began to move, and again we heard Franka's
voice calling out in English to some one to go forward and con the ship
whilst he steered, for the night was dark and he, clever stealer of
women as he was, did not know the passage out through the reef, and
trusted to those with him who knew but little more. Then something came
into my mind, and I took Solepa's hand