when falling is still in my sight. True, I
fired to save the life of a shipmate. Yet it is an awful thing to shed
the blood of a fellow-being, let it be in warfare or in any other way
which men justify as from stern necessity.

Are such, too, the blessings which we Christian and civilised men
distribute in our course round the globe? The loud laugh of my
companion sounds in my ear. "Come, rouse thee, John Harvey," he says.
"Art down-hearted, lad, because we have not been more successful in our
traffic? Not a good beginning, but the Pacific is wide, and there will
be no lack of customers."

Standing on for three days we sight several islands. On the nearest is
a grove of fine cocoa-nut trees. We require a supply of nuts. Two
boats with crews well armed leave the ship. An opening appears in the
reef--we pull through it and land easily. Our men climb the tall trees
and shake down the nuts in heavy showers. While we are collecting the
nuts, the men in the trees shout that they see a fleet of large canoes
crossing from another island. We deem that it will be prudent to regain
the boats. The Indians, seeing the broken nuts strewing the ground, and
the heap we are carrying away, shriek, and shout, and shake their clubs
and spears, and then furiously rush towards us. Golding, as before,
cries out to the men to fire, but I order them to shove off, that we may
escape without killing any, for which I see no necessity. We have
stolen the savages' provisions, and they have right on their side. The
men obey me, and we strive to get the boat afloat. No time to lose.
The Indians draw their bows, and the arrows fall thick around us; some
come on with stones, and others plunge into the water with clubs and
spears to do battle for their rights. Our lives are in jeopardy, and
one of our men is fearfully wounded. The savages throng around the boat
and try to drag her to the shore. We keep back the savages with the
stretchers, and I hope to escape without bloodshed. Again Golding
shouts out, "Fire, lads! fire! Why keep back the men from firing? We
shall all be murdered." Urged by his example, the men fire a volley
among the surrounding savages. With fearful howls those grasping the
boat let go; others fall back killed; the mass rush in terror up the
beach. We escape into deep water, two or three arrows sticking in the
arms of our men and in the sides of the boat. Golding cries out for
vengeance; and the men fire