ce we of this land
numbered many, many thousands, and now we are but hundreds. Here, where
we now walk, was once a great town of houses with stone foundations; if
ye cut away the _fara_ (pineapples) thou wilt see the lower stones lying
in the ground."

We pressed onward and upward into the deeper forest, then turned
downwards along a narrow path, carpeted thick with fallen leaves, damp
and soft to the foot, for the sun's rays never pierced through the dense
foliage overhead. And then we came out upon a fair, green sward with
nine stately coco-palms clustered, their branches drooping over the
river of my dreams, which lay before us with open, waiting bosom.

III

Under the shade of the nine cocos we made our camp, and old Sru and the
women and children at once set to work to build a "house" to protect us
in case it rained during the nights. Very quickly was the house built.
The "devil" was sent up the cocos to lop off branches, which, as they
fell, were woven into thatch by the deft, eager hands of the women, who
were supervised by Sivi, Nalik's handsome wife, amid much chatter and
laughter, each one trying to outvie the other in speed, and all anxious
to follow Nalik and myself to the river.

The place was well chosen. For nearly a hundred yards there was a clear
stretch of water flowing between low, grassy banks on which were growing
a few scattered pandanus-palms--the screw pine. Half a mile distant, a
jagged, irregular mountain-peak raised high its emerald-hued head in the
clear sunshine, and from every lofty tree on both sides of the stream
there came the continuous call of the gentle wood-doves and the great
grey pigeons.

With Nalik and myself there came old Sru and the imp Toka, who at once
set to work and found us some small crayfish for bait. Our rods were
slender bamboos, about twelve feet long, with lines of the same length
made of twisted banana fibre as fine as silk, and equally as strong. My
hook was an ordinary flatted Kirby, about half the size of an English
whiting hook; Nalik preferred one of his own manufacture, made from a
strip of tortoise-shell, barbless and highly polished.

Taking our stand at a place where the softly-flowing current eddied and
curled around some black boulders of rock whose surfaces were but a few
inches above the clear, crystal stream, we quickly baited our hooks and
cast together, the old chief and the boy throwing in some crushed-up
crayfish shells at the same ti