up for some
minutes; when he came down, he said, "They are all up now, and swarming
like bees. I counted 260 of the men in their war-cloaks and feather
head-dresses; the women are passing to and fro from the well with water;
there is nobody at the canoes except eight or ten women, who are beating
their heads, I think, or doing something of the kind. I could not make
it out well, but they seem all doing the same thing."

"I know what they are about, William: they are cutting themselves with
knives or other sharp instruments. It is the custom of these people.
The dead are all put into the canoes, and these women are lamenting over
them; perhaps they are going away, since the dead are in the canoes, but
there is no saying."

CHAPTER SIXTY FOUR.

The second day was passed in keeping a look-out upon the savages, and
awaiting a fresh attack. They could perceive from the top of the
cocoa-nut tree that the savages held a council of war in the forenoon,
sitting round in a large circle, while one got up in the centre and made
a speech, flourishing his club and spear while he spoke. In the
afternoon the council broke up, and the savages were observed to be very
busy in all directions, cutting down the cocoa-nut trees, and collecting
all the brushwood.

Ready watched them for a long while, and at last came down a little
before sunset. "Mr Seagrave," said he, "we shall have, in my opinion,
no attack this night, but to-morrow we must expect something very
serious; the savages are cutting down the trees, and making large
faggots; they do not get on very fast, because their hatchets are made
of stone and don't cut very well, but perseverance and numbers will
effect everything, and I dare say that they will work all night till
they have obtained as many faggots as they want."

"But what do you imagine to be their object, Ready, in cutting down
trees, and making the faggots?"

"Either, sir, to pile them up outside the palisades, so large as to be
able to walk up upon them, or else to pile them up to set fire to them,
and burn us out."

"Do you think they will succeed?"

"Not without very heavy loss; perhaps we may best them off, but it will
be a hard fight; harder than any we have had yet. We must have the
women to load the muskets, so that we may fire as fast as we can. I
should not think much of their attempt to burn us, if it were not for
the smoke. Cocoa-nut wood, especially with the bark on, as our
palisades