which it will be remembered the prow of the ship was buried, we
could not be reached by missiles thrown from above--we saw
numbers of the islanders advancing upon us along the beach on
either side. They were preceded as before by women who bore food
on platters and in baskets. These people, all talking excitedly
and laughing after their fashion, stopped at a distance, so we
took no notice of them. Presently Marama, clad in his feather
cloak, and again accompanied by priests or medicine-men, appeared
walking down the path on the cliff face, and, standing below,
made salutations and entered into a conversation with us of which
I give the substance--that is, so far as we could understand it.

He reproached us for not having come to him as he expected we
would do. We replied that we preferred to remain where we were
until we were sure of our greeting and asked him what was the
position. He explained that only once before, in the time of his
grandfather, had any people reached their shores, also during a
great storm as we had done. They were dark-skinned men like
themselves, three of them, but whence they came was never known,
since they were at once seized and sacrificed to the god Oro,
which was the right thing to do in such a case.

We asked whether he would consider it right to sacrifice us. He
replied:

Certainly, unless we were too strong, being gods ourselves, or
unless an arrangement could be concluded. We asked--what
arrangement? He replied that we must make them gifts; also that
we must do what we had promised and cure him--the chief--of the
disease which had tormented him for years. In that event