"Then how can you say she's a trader?" asked I.

"Why, as to that, she trades when she can't take by force, but she
takes by force, when she can, in preference. Ralph," he added,
lowering his voice, "if you had seen the bloody deeds that I have
witnessed done on these decks you would not need to ask if we were
pirates. But you'll find it out soon enough. As for the
missionaries, the captain favours them because they are useful to
him. The South-Sea islanders are such incarnate fiends that they
are the better of being tamed, and the missionaries are the only
men who can do it."

Our track after this lay through several clusters of small islets,
among which we were becalmed more than once. During this part of
our voyage the watch on deck and the look-out at the mast-head were
more than usually vigilant, as we were not only in danger of being
attacked by the natives, who, I learned from the captain's remarks,
were a bloody and deceitful tribe at this group, but we were also
exposed to much risk from the multitudes of coral reefs that rose
up in the channels between the islands, some of them just above the
surface, others a few feet below it. Our precautions against the
savages I found were indeed necessary.

One day we were becalmed among a group of small islands, most of
which appeared to be uninhabited. As we were in want of fresh
water the captain sent the boat ashore to bring off a cask or two.
But we were mistaken in thinking there were no natives; for
scarcely had we drawn near to the shore when a band of naked blacks
rushed out of the bush and assembled on the beach, brandishing
their clubs and spears in a threatening manner. Our men were well