England, to settle with his wife and son on
the island, and take charge of the school.

For this post Zeppa and his wife were well qualified, both having
received an education beyond that usually given to persons in their rank
of life. Besides this, Antonio Zeppa had a gigantic frame, a genial
disposition, and a spirit of humility, or rather childlike simplicity,
which went far to ingratiate him with the savages.

After several years' residence in this field of labour, Waroonga
conceived the grand idea of building a house of God. It was to be built
of coral-rock, cemented together with coral-lime!

Now, it was while the good people of Ratinga were in the first fervour
of this new enterprise, that the dinghy with its three occupants
approached their shore.

At that particular point of time the walls of the new church had begun
to rise above the foundations, for the chief, Tomeo, had entered into
the matter with intense enthusiasm, and as Tomeo was supreme chief,
every one else felt bound to follow his example and work hard; but, to
do them justice, they required no stimulant; the whole community entered
into it with inexpressible glee.

Zeppa taught them everything, because no one else knew anything, except
of course Waroonga, who, however, was not much in advance of his native
congregation save in spiritual matters. Zeppa showed them how to burn
lime out of the coral-rock, and they gazed with open-eyed--and
open-mouthed wonder at the process. Then the great chief Tomeo gave the
word to burn lime, and Buttchee, the chief second in command, backed him
up by kicking the native nearest to his foot and echoing the order, "Go,
burn lime!" The entire population began to burn lime forthwith, and
would have gone on burning lime enough to have built a South Sea pyramid
equal to Cheops, if they had not been checked and their blazing energies
turned into stone-hewing and dressing, and other channels.

Thus the work went on merrily, and so engrossed were they with it that
they did not at first observe the arrival of the visitors. Of course
they were aware of the schooner's presence, and had been off to her the
previous day, before she had furled her sails, to offer fruits and
vegetables; but it was some time before they discovered that three
strangers had landed and were gazing at them while they toiled.

Zeppa had a black servant, a negro, whom he had induced to follow him.
This man took a prominent oversight of the w