savage intimated in his own peculiar fashion that it would afford
him much pleasure to perform this trifling service for his esteemed
friend and patron, and then took his leave, grinning with apparent
satisfaction at the result of his morning's work. The skipper stood
watching the progress of the canoe until she had nearly reached the
shore, and then he turned to me and remarked:

"I guess there's been a mistake somewhere about these here Marquesas
natives. They don't seem to me to be so very partic'lar treacherous.
How do they strike you?"

"Why," said I, "I have been amusing myself by very closely watching
those two who were aboard, and I am bound to admit that their behaviour
seemed quite unexceptionable. I mean," I continued, noticing a slightly
puzzled look on my companion's face, "they seemed to behave pretty much
like the natives of most of the other islands which we have visited,
except that they did not attempt to steal anything."

"Yep, I guess I noticed that too," observed the skipper. "Well," he
continued, "we'll just go on keepin' our eyes open for a bit, but I
don't reckon upon our findin' ourselves up agin anything so very serious
in this here island."

Brown had given our chocolate-coloured visitors to understand that we
were to have a busy day aboard the schooner; but as a matter of fact
that statement was merely an attempt to "bluff" the natives, "bluffing"
having latterly become almost an instinctive act with the skipper.
However, although we had nothing very particular to do we at least made
a show of great industry, easing up and overhauling rigging, renewing
chafing mats, and so on, Brown's notion being to convey to the natives
the idea that we had called in to overhaul and refit, rather than that
we were in quest of sandalwood; by which ruse I think he hoped to get
the wood at a somewhat cheaper rate than usual.

On the following morning Oahika and his crew came off to us again,
bringing more fruit, a small quantity of vegetables, about a dozen eggs,
and two animated barn-door skeletons which the skipper positively
refused to purchase at any price. And with them came four other canoes,
each of which had some eight or ten sticks of sandalwood in her.

"Hullo!" exclaimed the skipper, when he saw this display, "what in the
nation do they mean by bringin' off them scraps? Is it to show us the
sort o' stuff that they have to sell, I wonder? Hi, you!"--to
Oahika--"what have them fellers br