gods," he
said, "the King of the Rain has plucked the sacred bough, according to
our fathers' rites, and claims trial which of you two shall henceforth
hold the sacred soul of the world, the great Tu-Kila-Kila. Wager of
Battle decides the day. Keep toe to line. At the end of my words, forth,
forward, and fight for it. The great god knows his own, and will choose
his abode. Taboo, Taboo, Taboo! I, Fire, have spoken it."

Scarcely were the words well out of his mouth, when, with a wild whoop of
rage, Tu-Kila-Kila, who had the advantage of knowing the rules of the
game, so to speak, dashed madly forward, drunk with passion and kava, and
gave one lunge with his spear full tilt at the breast of the startled and
unprepared white man. His aim, though frantic, was not at fault. The
spear struck Felix high up on the left side. He felt a dull thud of pain;
a faint gurgle of blood. Even in the pale moonlight his eye told him at
once a red stream was trickling--out over his flannel shirt. He was
pricked, at least. The great god had wounded him.

CHAPTER XXIX.

VICTORY--AND AFTER?

The great god had wounded him. But not to the heart. Felix, as good luck
would have it, happened to be wearing buckled braces. He had worn them on
board, and, like the rest of his costume, had, of course, never since
been able to discard them. They stood him in good stead now. The buckle
caught the very point of the bone-tipped spear, and broke the force of
the blow, as the great god lunged forward. The wound was but a graze, and
Tu-Kila-Kila's light shaft snapped short in the middle.

Madder and wilder than ever, the savage pitched it away, yelling, rushed
forward with a fierce curse on his angry tongue, and flung himself, tooth
and nail, on his astonished opponent.

The suddenness of the onslaught almost took the Englishman's breath away.
By this time, however, Felix had pulled together his ideas and taken in
the situation. Tu-Kila-Kila was attacking him now with his heavy stone
axe. He must parry those deadly blows. He must be alert, but watchful. He
must put himself in a posture of defence at once. Above all, he must keep
cool and have his wits about him.

If he could but have drawn his knife, he would have stood a better chance
in that hand-to-hand conflict. But there was no time now for such tactics
as those. Besides, even in close fight with a bloodthirsty savage, an
English gentleman's sense of fair play never for one moment deserts