ean alone, but water deeply stained with the blood of the
murdered men.

"We must cast off," said Atkins in a low voice, "we can do no more."

As he spoke a bullet from Chard's Snider struck the water about thirty
yards away, and springing up, he seized his own rifle again.

Huka placed his hand on the officer's arm, and then turned to Harvey
and spoke in Samoan, gravely and with solemn emphasis, though his brown
cheeks were wetted with tears.

"Let us take no heed of the bullets that come. Here be six dead men
whose souls have gone to God for judgment. Let us pray for them."

Atkins, his blazing eyes fixed on the captain's boat, from which every
few seconds a bullet came humming overhead, or striking the water within
a few yards, laid down the rifle and took off his cap.

"Go ahead, Huka. You're a better Christian than me. Sling out a prayer
for these poor chaps as quick as you can. We can't bury them in a
decent, shipshape fashion."

Two men stepped into the sinking, shot-torn boat, and then Huka stood
up amidships among his comrades, with bowed head, and his hands crossed
upon his great naked chest. He prayed in Samoan.

"_O Jehovah, who holdeth the great sea in the hollow of Thy hand, we
commit to its depths these the bodies of our shipmates who have been
slain. O Father', most just and most merciful, let them become of Thy
kingdom. Amen_."

Then, one by one, the bodies of Studdert and of the five natives were
dropped overboard by the two seamen as reverently as circumstances
permitted, and in silence broken only by the suppressed sobbing of the
two girls.

Such stores as were in poor Oliver's boat were next taken out, and then
the wrecked and bloodstained craft was cast adrift and left to fill.

As the second mate grasped the haft of the steer-oar again another shot
from the captain's boat fell some distance ahead.

"He's running away from us as fast as he can," said Harvey; "look, he's
hauled up a couple of points!"

"Ay, so he has. And our short Sniders won't carry any further than the
one he's firing with, so we have no chance of hitting him, I'm afraid.
However, just let us try. How many Sniders have we?"

"Seven."

"Avast pulling, lads. We'll give him a parting shot together. Maybe we
might drop a bullet into him. Get out the other five Sniders, Harvey;
the Winchesters are no use at such a range."

The boat was swung broadside on, and the two white men and five natives
fired a volley togeth