of "Oo-a," and slapped his right thigh smartly with his left hand, a
feat more easily described than accomplished. Coincident with this
signal came a cheerful riffling sound as the Filbertines broke out
their large umbrellas of panjandrus leaves which we had first mistaken
for weapons. This implement, (known technically as a _naa-naa_ or _taa-
taa_, depending on whether it was open or closed), was in reality not
only a useful and necessary protection against the continuous nut-
showers but also a weapon of both of- and de-fensive warfare. [Footnote:
This primitive people we soon found to be profoundly pacifistic, a
natural condition in a race who, since the dawn of time, had known no
influence other than that of the Pacific Ocean. Warfare with its cruel
attributes had never penetrated their isolation. With nations as with
people, it takes two to make a quarrel. Here was but one.]

We stood thus, in open formation, among the luxurious haro until in
response to another signal from the chief, a resounding slap on the
left shank, they escorted us ceremoniously along a winding path which
led toward the interior of the island. It was for all the world as if
we were being taken out to dinner, a thought which suggested for an
instant the reflection that we might turn out to be not _guests_ but
_courses_ at the banquet, in which case I promised myself I should be a
_piece-de-resistance_ of the most violent character.

But these solemn thoughts were not proof against the gaiety of our
surroundings, the soft patter of the constantly dropping nuts bounding
from the protective _taa-taas_, and the squawks and screeches of
countless cuttywinks and _fatu-liva_ birds, those queens of the tropics
whose gorgeous plumage swept across our path.

For Whinney and Swank as well as myself the promenade was a memorable