front of the white man and eyed him up and down. The scrutiny seemed
satisfactory. He stretched out his huge, naked arm, and shook Probyn's
hand, uttering his one word of Samoan--"TALOFA!" [Lit., "My love to you",
the Samoan salutation] and then, in his own dialect, he asked: "What is
your name, and what do you want?"

"Sam," replied Probyn. And then, in the Tokelau language, which the
wild-eyed people around him fairly understood, "I have come here to
live with you and trade for oil"--and he pointed to the tierce of
tobacco.

"Where are you from?"

"From the land called Nukunono, in the Tokelau."

"Why come here?"

"Because I killed an enemy there."

"Good!" grunted the fat man; "there are no twists in thy tongue; but
why did the boat hasten away so quickly?"

"They were frightened because of the noise. He with the face like a
fowl's talked too much"--and he pointed to a long, hatchet-visaged
native, who had been especially turbulent and vociferous.


* * * * *