money I have lost, but I am eaten up with shame for running away, for my
captain was a good captain to me.'

"This pleased him, for he smiled and said, 'I will try thee. I will make
thee boatswain of the schooner, and this girl here shall be servant to
my wife.'

"So Sipi became servant to Solepa, and I was sent on board the schooner
to help prepare her for sea. My new captain gave us a house to live in,
and every night I came on shore. Ah, those were brave times, and Preston
made much of me when he found that I was a true man and did my work
well, and would stand no saucy words nor black looks from those of the
schooner's crew who thought that the boatswain should be a white man.

"Ten days after the whaleships had sailed, the schooner was ready for
sea. We were to sail to the westward isles to trade for oil and
tortoiseshell, and then go to China, where Preston thought to sell his
cargo. On the eve of the day on which we were to leave, the mate, who
was an old and stupid Siamani,[11] went ashore to my master's house, and
I was left in charge of the schooner. Sipi, my wife, was with me, and we
sat together in the stern of the ship, smoking our _sului_ (cigarettes)
and talking of the time when I should return and buy a piece of land
from her father's people, on which I should build a new house. There
were six native sailors on board, and these, as the night drew on,
spread their mats on the fore deck and went to sleep. Then Sipi and I
went into the cabin, which was on deck, and we too slept.

"How long we had slumbered I cannot tell, but suddenly we were aroused
by the sound of a great clamour on deck and the groans and cries of
dying men, and then ere we were well awakened the cabin door was opened