. The first offence had been
freely forgiven, but this time it was intimated that if another attempt
were made, they should all be put to death. Fortunately, the courage of
even the most violent of the women had been exhausted. To the relief of
the others they gave up their murderous designs, and settled down into
that state of submission which was natural to them.

One might have thought that now, at last, the little colony of Pitcairn
had passed its worst days, most of the disturbing elements having been
removed; but there was yet one other cloud, the blackest of all, to
burst over them. One of the world's greatest curses was about to be
introduced among them. It happened thus:--

One night William McCoy went to his house up on the mountain-side,
entered it, and shut and bolted the door. This was an unusual
proceeding on his part, and had no connection with the recent attempts
at murder made by the women, because he was quite fearless in regard to
that, and scoffed at the possibility of being killed by women. He also
carefully fastened the window-shutters. He appeared to be somewhat
excited, and went about his operations with an air at once of slyness
and of mystery.

A small torch or nut-candle which he lighted and set on a bracket on the
wall gave out a faint flickering light, which barely rendered darkness
visible, and from its position threw parts of the chamber into deepest
gloom. It looked not unlike what we suppose would be the laboratory of
an alchemist of the olden time, and McCoy himself, with his eager yet
frowning visage, a native-made hat slouched over his brows, and a piece
of native cloth thrown over his shoulders like a plaid, was no bad
representative of an old doctor toiling for the secrets that turn base
metal into gold, and old age into youth--secrets, by the way, which have
been lying open to man's hand for centuries in the Word of God.

Taking down from a shelf a large kettle which had formed part of the
furniture of the _Bounty_, and a twisted metal pipe derived from the
same source, he fitted them up on a species of stove or oven made of
clay. The darkness of the place rendered his movements not very
obvious; but he appeared to put something into the kettle, and fill it
with water. Then he put charcoal into the oven, kindled it, and blew it
laboriously with his mouth until it became red-hot. This flameless fire
did not tend much to enlighten surrounding objects; it merely added t