had I
finished speaking than he began to shout a long string of further
directions, to which the canoe men replied from time to time by waving
their hands. Finally Oahika brought his communication to an end with a
few words which, from the intonation of his voice, might have been an
injunction to the men to hurry up; and away the canoe sped toward the
shore.

As soon as it had gone I went down below and reported to the skipper,
who now seemed to be not quite so well as he had been half an hour
earlier. He was, naturally, very pleased to learn that the three men
whom we had all believed to be dead were still alive; and he instructed
me to make the best terms I could for their ransom, and, as soon as I
had secured possession of them and the boat, to get the schooner under
way and proceed to sea without further delay.

The canoe had been gone about three-quarters of an hour when, watching
the shore through the ship's telescope, I perceived a slight stir upon
the beach, and presently became aware that a small party of natives had
gathered about the jollyboat, which they pushed off from the beach,
making fast her painter to the stern of the canoe. Then other natives
appeared, bearing in grass hammocks the three missing seamen, who were
laid in the sternsheets of the jollyboat; and finally the canoe was
manned, apparently by the same four natives who had previously come off
in her, and headed for the schooner, whereupon I gave orders for the
windlass to be manned and the cable to be hove short, all ready for
tripping the anchor at a moment's notice. This was done; and by the
time the canoe was once more within hailing distance the cable was so
taut up and down that a single additional revolution of the windlass
barrel would break out the anchor and free us from the ground.

And now came the really difficult part of my negotiation with the
savages; for, being themselves superlatively unscrupulous and deceitful,
they naturally suspected us of being the same, and would not come
alongside, or render up possession of the jollyboat and the three
wounded seamen whom she carried, until we on our part had released
Oahika. And this I flatly refused to do, feeling that, as likely as
not, they would play us some scurvy trick as soon as they had recovered
possession of the man who, I now very strongly suspected, was the
paramount chief of the island, or, if not that, at least a chief of very
considerable importance. We argued, st