diff options
Diffstat (limited to '13876-h/13876-h.htm')
| -rw-r--r-- | 13876-h/13876-h.htm | 8997 |
1 files changed, 8997 insertions, 0 deletions
diff --git a/13876-h/13876-h.htm b/13876-h/13876-h.htm new file mode 100644 index 0000000..83566ff --- /dev/null +++ b/13876-h/13876-h.htm @@ -0,0 +1,8997 @@ +<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?> + +<!DOCTYPE html + PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Strict//EN" + "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-strict.dtd" > + +<html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml"> + <head> + <meta content="pg2html (binary v0.17)" name="linkgenerator" /> + <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html;charset=UTF-8" /> + <title> + The Great Taboo, by Grant Allen + </title> + <style type="text/css" xml:space="preserve"> + body { margin:5%; background:#faebd0; text-align:justify} + P { text-indent: 1em; margin-top: .75em; margin-bottom: .75em; } + H1,H2,H3,H4,H5,H6 { text-align: center; margin-left: 15%; margin-right: 15%; } + hr { width: 50%; text-align: center;} + .foot { margin-left: 5%; margin-right: 5%; text-align: justify; font-size: 80%; font-style: italic;} + blockquote {font-size: 97%; font-style: italic; margin-left: 10%; margin-right: 10%;} + .mynote {background-color: #DDE; color: #000; padding: .5em; margin-left: 10%; margin-right: 10%; font-family: sans-serif; font-size: 95%;} + .toc { margin-left: 10%; margin-bottom: .75em;} + .toc2 { margin-left: 20%;} + .xx-small {font-size: 60%;} + .x-small {font-size: 75%;} + .small {font-size: 85%;} + .large {font-size: 115%;} + .x-large {font-size: 130%;} + .indent5 { margin-left: 5%;} + .indent10 { margin-left: 10%;} + .indent15 { margin-left: 15%;} + .indent20 { margin-left: 20%;} + .indent25 { margin-left: 25%;} + .indent30 { margin-left: 30%;} + .indent35 { margin-left: 35%;} + .indent40 { margin-left: 40%;} + div.fig { display:block; margin:0 auto; text-align:center; } + div.middle { margin-left: 20%; margin-right: 20%; text-align: justify; } + .figleft {float: left; margin-left: 0%; margin-right: 1%;} + .figright {float: right; margin-right: 0%; margin-left: 1%;} + .pagenum {position: absolute; right: 1%; font-size: 0.6em; + font-variant: normal; font-style: normal; + text-align: right; background-color: #FFFACD; + border: 1px solid; padding: 0.3em;text-indent: 0em;} + .side { float: left; font-size: 75%; width: 15%; padding-left: 0.8em; + border-left: dashed thin; text-align: left; + text-indent: 0; font-weight: bold; font-style: italic; + font-weight: bold; color: black; background: #eeeeee; border: solid 1px;} + .head { float: left; font-size: 90%; width: 98%; padding-left: 0.8em; + border-left: dashed thin; text-align: center; + text-indent: 0; font-weight: bold; font-style: italic; + font-weight: bold; color: black; background: #eeeeee; border: solid 1px;} + p.pfirst, p.noindent {text-indent: 0} + span.dropcap { float: left; margin: 0 0.1em 0 0; line-height: 0.8 } + pre { font-style: italic; font-size: 90%; margin-left: 10%;} +</style> + </head> + <body> +<div>*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK 13876 ***</div> + <div style="height: 8em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h1> + THE GREAT TABOO + </h1> + <h2> + By Grant Allen + </h2> + <p> + <br /> <br /> + </p> + <hr /> + <p> + <br /> <br /> + </p> + <p> + <b>CONTENTS</b> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#link2H_PREF"> PREFACE </a> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#link2HCH0001"> CHAPTER I. — IN MID PACIFIC. </a> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#link2HCH0002"> CHAPTER II. — THE TEMPLE OF THE DEITY. </a> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#link2HCH0003"> CHAPTER III. — LAND; BUT WHAT LAND? </a> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#link2HCH0004"> CHAPTER IV. — THE GUESTS OF HEAVEN. </a> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#link2HCH0005"> CHAPTER V. — ENROLLED IN OLYMPUS. </a> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#link2HCH0006"> CHAPTER VI. — FIRST DAYS IN BOUPARI. + </a> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#link2HCH0007"> CHAPTER VII. — INTERCHANGE OF CIVILITIES. + </a> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#link2HCH0008"> CHAPTER VIII. — THE CUSTOMS OF BOUPARI. + </a> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#link2HCH0009"> CHAPTER IX. — SOWING THE WIND. </a> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#link2HCH0010"> CHAPTER X. — REAPING THE WHIRLWIND. </a> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#link2HCH0011"> CHAPTER XI. — AFTER THE STORM. </a> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#link2HCH0012"> CHAPTER XII. — A POINT OF THEOLOGY. </a> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#link2HCH0013"> CHAPTER XIII. — AS BETWEEN GODS. </a> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#link2HCH0014"> CHAPTER XIV. — “MR. THURSTAN, I + PRESUME.” </a> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#link2HCH0015"> CHAPTER XV. — THE SECRET OF KORONG. </a> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#link2HCH0016"> CHAPTER XVI. — A VERY FAINT CLUE. </a> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#link2HCH0017"> CHAPTER XVII. — FACING THE WORST. </a> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#link2HCH0018"> CHAPTER XVIII. — TU-KILA-KILA PLAYS A CARD. + </a> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#link2HCH0019"> CHAPTER XIX. — DOMESTIC BLISS. </a> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#link2HCH0020"> CHAPTER XX. — COUNCIL OF WAR. </a> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#link2HCH0021"> CHAPTER XXI. — METHUSELAH GIVES SIGN. </a> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#link2HCH0022"> CHAPTER XXII. — TANTALIZING, VERY. </a> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#link2HCH0023"> CHAPTER XXIII. — A MESSAGE FROM THE DEAD. + </a> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#link2HCH0024"> CHAPTER XXIV. — AN UNFINISHED TALE. </a> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#link2HCH0025"> CHAPTER XXV. — TU-KILA-KILA STRIKES. </a> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#link2HCH0026"> CHAPTER XXVI. — A RASH RESOLVE. </a> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#link2HCH0027"> CHAPTER XXVII. — A STRANGE ALLY. </a> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#link2HCH0028"> CHAPTER XXVIII. — WAGER OF BATTLE. </a> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#link2HCH0029"> CHAPTER XXIX. — VICTORY—AND AFTER? + </a> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#link2HCH0030"> CHAPTER XXX. — SUSPENSE. </a> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#link2HCH0031"> CHAPTER XXXI. — AT SEA: OFF BOUPARI. + </a> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#link2HCH0032"> CHAPTER XXXII. — THE DOWNFALL OF A + PANTHEON. </a> + </p> + <p> + <br /><br /> + </p> + <hr /> + <p> + <a name="link2H_PREF" id="link2H_PREF"> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + PREFACE + </h2> + <p> + I desire to express my profound indebtedness, for the central mythological + idea embodied in this tale, to Mr. J.G. Frazer’s admirable and + epoch-making work, “The Golden Bough,” whose main contention I + have endeavored incidentally to popularize in my present story. I wish + also to express my obligations in other ways to Mr. Andrew Lang’s + “Myth, Ritual, and Religion,” Mr. H.O. Forbes’s “Naturalist’s + Wanderings,” and Mr. Julian Thomas’s “Cannibals and + Convicts.” If I have omitted to mention any other author to whom I + may have owed incidental hints, it will be some consolation to me to + reflect that I shall at least have afforded an opportunity for legitimate + sport to the amateurs of the new and popular British pastime of + badger-baiting or plagiary-hunting. It may also save critics some moments’ + search if I say at once that, after careful consideration, I have been + unable to discover any moral whatsoever in this humble narrative. I + venture to believe that in so enlightened an age the majority of my + readers will never miss it. + </p> + <p> + G.A. + </p> + <p> + THE NOOK, DORKING, October, 1890. + </p> + <p> + <br /><br /> + </p> + <hr /> + <p> + <a name="link2HCH0001" id="link2HCH0001"> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + CHAPTER I. — IN MID PACIFIC. + </h2> + <p> + “Man overboard!” + </p> + <p> + It rang in Felix Thurstan’s ears like the sound of a bell. He gazed + about him in dismay, wondering what had happened. + </p> + <p> + The first intimation he received of the accident was that sudden sharp cry + from the bo’sun’s mate. Almost before he had fully taken it + in, in all its meaning, another voice, farther aft, took up the cry once + more in an altered form: “A lady! a lady! Somebody overboard! Great + heavens, it is <i>her</i>! It’s Miss Ellis! Miss Ellis!” + </p> + <p> + Next instant Felix found himself, he knew not how, struggling in a wild + grapple with the dark, black water. A woman was clinging to him—clinging + for dear life. But he couldn’t have told you himself that minute how + it all took place. He was too stunned and dazzled. + </p> + <p> + He looked around him on the seething sea in a sudden awakening, as it + were, to life and consciousness. All about, the great water stretched dark + and tumultuous. White breakers surged over him. Far ahead the steamer’s + lights gleamed red and green in long lines upon the ocean. At first they + ran fast; then they slackened somewhat. She was surely slowing now; they + must be reversing engines and trying to stop her. They would put out a + boat. But what hope, what chance of rescue by night, in such a wild waste + of waves as that? And Muriel Ellis was clinging to him for dear life all + the while, with the despairing clutch of a half-drowned woman! + </p> + <p> + The people on the Australasian, for their part, knew better what had + occurred. There was bustle and confusion enough on deck and on the captain’s + bridge, to be sure: “Man overboard!”—three sharp rings + at the engine bell:—“Stop her short!—reverse engines!—lower + the gig!—look sharp, there, all of you!” Passengers hurried up + breathless at the first alarm to know what was the matter. Sailors + loosened and lowered the boat from the davits with extraordinary + quickness. Officers stood by, giving orders in monosyllables with + practised calm. All was hurry and turmoil, yet with a marvellous sense of + order and prompt obedience as well. But, at any rate, the people on deck + hadn’t the swift swirl of the boisterous water, the hampering wet + clothes, the pervading consciousness of personal danger, to make their + brains reel, like Felix Thurstan’s. They could ask one another with + comparative composure what had happened on board; they could listen + without terror to the story of the accident. + </p> + <p> + It was the thirteenth day out from Sydney, and the Australasian was + rapidly nearing the equator. Toward evening the wind had freshened, and + the sea was running high against her weather side. But it was a fine + starlit night, though the moon had not yet risen; and as the brief + tropical twilight faded away by quick degrees in the west, the fringe of + cocoanut palms on the reef that bounded the little island of Boupari + showed out for a minute or two in dark relief, some miles to leeward, + against the pale pink horizon. In spite of the heavy sea, many passengers + lingered late on deck that night to see the last of that coral-girt shore, + which was to be their final glimpse of land till they reached Honolulu, <i>en + route</i> for San Francisco. + </p> + <p> + Bit by bit, however, the cocoanut palms, silhouetted with their graceful + waving arms for a few brief minutes in black against the glowing + background, merged slowly into the sky or sank below the horizon. All grew + dark. One by one, as the trees disappeared, the passengers dropped off for + whist in the saloon, or retired to the uneasy solitude of their own + state-rooms. At last only two or three men were left smoking and chatting + near the top of the companion ladder; while at the stern of the ship + Muriel Ellis looked over toward the retreating island, and talked with a + certain timid maidenly frankness to Felix Thurstan. + </p> + <p> + There’s nowhere on earth for getting really to know people in a very + short time like the deck of a great Atlantic or Pacific liner. You’re + thrown together so much, and all day long, that you see more of your + fellow-passengers’ inner life and nature in a few brief weeks than + you would ever be likely to see in a long twelvemonth of ordinary town or + country acquaintanceship. And Muriel Ellis had seen a great deal in those + thirteen days of Felix Thurstan; enough to make sure in her own heart that + she really liked him—well—so much that she looked up with a + pretty blush of self-consciousness every time he approached and lifted his + hat to her. Muriel was an English rector’s daughter, from a country + village in Somersetshire; and she was now on her way back from a long year’s + visit, to recruit her health, to an aunt in Paramatta. She was travelling + under the escort of an amiable old chaperon whom the aunt in question had + picked up for her before leaving Sydney; but, as the amiable old chaperon, + being but an indifferent sailor, spent most of her time in her own berth, + closely attended by the obliging stewardess, Muriel had found her + chaperonage interfere very little with opportunities of talk with that + nice Mr. Thurstan. And now, as the last glow of sunset died out in the + western sky, and the last palm-tree faded away against the colder green + darkness of the tropical night, Muriel was leaning over the bulwarks in + confidential mood, and watching the big waves advance or recede, and + talking the sort of talk that such an hour seems to favor with the + handsome young civil servant who stood on guard, as it were, beside her. + For Felix Thurstan held a government appointment at Levuka, in Fiji, and + was now on his way home, on leave of absence after six years’ + service in that new-made colony. + </p> + <p> + “How delightful it would be to live on an island like that!” + Muriel murmured, half to herself, as she gazed out wistfully in the + direction of the disappearing coral reef. “With those beautiful + palms waving always over one’s head, and that delicious evening air + blowing cool through their branches! It looks such a Paradise!” + </p> + <p> + Felix smiled and glanced down at her, as he steadied himself with one hand + against the bulwark, while the ship rolled over into the trough of the sea + heavily. “Well, I don’t know about that, Miss Ellis,” he + answered with a doubtful air, eying her close as he spoke with eyes of + evident admiration. “One might be happy anywhere, of course—in + suitable society; but if you’d lived as long among cocoanuts in Fiji + as I have, I dare say the poetry of these calm palm-grove islands would be + a little less real to you. Remember, though they look so beautiful and + dreamy against the sky like that, at sunset especially (that was a heavy + one, that time; I’m really afraid we must go down to the cabin soon; + she’ll be shipping seas before long if we stop on deck much later—and + yet, it’s so delightful stopping up here till the dusk comes on, isn’t + it?)—well, remember, I was saying, though they look so beautiful and + dreamy and poetical—‘Summer isles of Eden lying in dark purple + spheres of sea,’ and all that sort of thing—these islands are + inhabited by the fiercest and most bloodthirsty cannibals known to + travellers.” + </p> + <p> + “Cannibals!” Muriel repeated, looking up at him in surprise. + “You don’t mean to say that islands like these, standing right + in the very track of European steamers, are still heathen and cannibal?” + </p> + <p> + “Oh, dear, yes,” Felix replied, holding his hand out as he + spoke to catch his companion’s arm gently, and steady her against + the wave that was just going to strike the stern: “Excuse me; just + so; the sea’s rising fast, isn’t it?—Oh, dear, yes; of + course they are; they’re all heathen and cannibals. You couldn’t + imagine to yourself the horrible bloodthirsty rites that may this very + minute be taking place upon that idyllic-looking island, under the soft + waving branches of those whispering palm-trees. Why, I knew a man in the + Marquesas myself—a hideous old native, as ugly as you can fancy him—who + was supposed to be a god, an incarnate god, and was worshipped accordingly + with profound devotion by all the other islanders. You can’t picture + to yourself how awful their worship was. I daren’t even repeat it to + you; it was too, too horrible. He lived in a hut by himself among the + deepest forest, and human victims used to be brought—well, there, it’s + too loathsome! Why, see; there’s a great light on the island now; a + big bonfire or something; don’t you make it out? You can tell it by + the red glare in the sky overhead.” He paused a moment; then he + added more slowly, “I shouldn’t be surprised if at this very + moment, while we’re standing here in such perfect security on the + deck of a Christian English vessel, some unspeakable and unthinkable + heathen orgy mayn’t be going on over there beside that sacrificial + fire; and if some poor trembling native girl isn’t being led just + now, with blows and curses and awful savage ceremonies, her hands bound + behind her back—Oh, look out, Miss Ellis!” + </p> + <p> + He was only just in time to utter the warning words. He was only just in + time to put one hand on each side of her slender waist, and hold her tight + so, when the big wave which he saw coming struck full tilt against the + vessel’s flank, and broke in one white drenching sheet of foam + against her stern and quarter-deck. + </p> + <p> + The suddenness of the assault took Felix’s breath away. For the + first few seconds he was only aware that a heavy sea had been shipped, and + had wet him through and through with its unexpected deluge. A moment + later, he was dimly conscious that his companion had slipped from his + grasp, and was nowhere visible. The violence of the shock, and the slimy + nature of the sea water, had made him relax his hold without knowing it, + in the tumult of the moment, and had at the same time caused Muriel to + glide imperceptibly through his fingers, as he had often known an + ill-caught cricket-ball do in his school-days. Then he saw he was on his + hands and knees on the deck. The wave had knocked him down, and dashed him + against the bulwark on the leeward side. As he picked himself up, wet, + bruised, and shaken, he looked about for Muriel. A terrible dread seized + upon his soul at once. Impossible! Impossible! she couldn’t have + been washed overboard! + </p> + <p> + And even as he gazed about, and held his bruised elbow in his hand, and + wondered to himself what it could all mean, that sudden loud cry arose + beside him from the quarter-deck, “Man overboard! Man overboard!” + followed a moment later by the answering cry, from the men who were + smoking under the lee of the companion, “A lady! a lady! It’s + Miss Ellis! Miss Ellis!” + </p> + <p> + He didn’t take it all in. He didn’t reflect. He didn’t + even know he was actually doing it. But he did it, all the same, with the + simple, straightforward, instinctive sense of duty which makes civilized + man act aright, all unconsciously, in any moment of supreme danger and + difficulty. Leaping on to the taffrail without one instant’s delay, + and steadying himself for an indivisible fraction of time with his hand on + the rope ladder, he peered out into the darkness with keen eyes for a + glimpse of Muriel Ellis’s head above the fierce black water; and + espying it for one second, as she came up on a white crest, he plunged in + before the vessel had time to roll back to windward, and struck boldly out + in the direction where he saw that helpless object dashed about like a + cork on the surface of the ocean. + </p> + <p> + Only those who have known such accidents at sea can possibly picture to + themselves the instantaneous haste with which all that followed took place + upon that bustling quarter-deck. Almost at the first cry of “Man + overboard!” the captain’s bell rang sharp and quick, as if by + magic, with three peremptory little calls in the engine-room below. The + Australasian was going at full speed, but in a marvellously short time, as + it seemed to all on board, the great ship had slowed down to a perfect + standstill, and then had reversed her engines, so that she lay, just nose + to the wind, awaiting further orders. In the meantime, almost as soon as + the words were out of the bo’sun’s lips, a sailor amidships + had rushed to the safety belts hung up by the companion ladder, and had + flung half a dozen of them, one after another, with hasty but well-aimed + throws, far, far astern, in the direction where Felix had disappeared into + the black water. The belts were painted white, and they showed for a few + seconds, as they fell, like bright specks on the surface of the darkling + sea; then they sunk slowly behind as the big ship, still not quite + stopped, ploughed her way ahead with gigantic force into the great abyss + of darkness in front of her. + </p> + <p> + It seemed but a minute, too, to the watchers on board, before a party of + sailors, summoned by the whistle with that marvellous readiness to meet + any emergency which long experience of sudden danger has rendered habitual + among seafaring men, had lowered the boat, and taken their seats on the + thwarts, and seized their oars, and were getting under way on their + hopeless quest of search, through the dim black night, for those two + belated souls alone in the midst of the angry Pacific. + </p> + <p> + It seemed but a minute or two, I say, to the watchers on board; but oh, + what an eternity of time to Felix Thurstan, struggling there with his live + burden in the seething water! + </p> + <p> + He had dashed into the ocean, which was dark, but warm with tropical heat, + and had succeeded, in spite of the heavy seas then running, in reaching + Muriel, who clung to him now with all the fierce clinging of despair, and + impeded his movement through that swirling water. More than that, he saw + the white life-belts that the sailors flung toward him; they were well and + aptly flung, in the inspiration of the moment, to allow for the sea itself + carrying them on the crest of its waves toward the two drowning creatures. + Felix saw them distinctly, and making a great lunge as they passed, in + spite of Muriel’s struggles, which sadly hampered his movements, he + managed to clutch at no less than three before the great billow, rolling + on, carried them off on its top forever away from him. Two of these he + slipped hastily over Muriel’s shoulders; the other he put, as best + he might, round his own waist; and then, for the first time, still + clinging close to his companion’s arm, and buffeted about wildly by + that running sea, he was able to look about him in alarm for a moment, and + realize more or less what had actually happened. + </p> + <p> + By this time the Australasian was a quarter of a mile away in front of + them, and her lights were beginning to become stationary as she slowly + slowed and reversed engines. Then, from the summit of a great wave, Felix + was dimly aware of a boat being lowered—for he saw a separate light + gleaming across the sea—a search was being made in the black night, + alas, how hopelessly! The light hovered about for many, many minutes, + revealed to him now here, now there, searching in vain to find him, as + wave after wave raised him time and again on its irresistible summit. The + men in the boat were doing their best, no doubt; but what chance of + finding any one on a dark night like that, in an angry sea, and with no + clue to guide them toward the two struggling castaways? Current and wind + had things all their own way. As a matter of fact, the light never came + near the castaways at all; and after half an hour’s ineffectual + search, which seemed to Felix a whole long lifetime, it returned slowly + toward the steamer from which it came—and left those two alone on + the dark Pacific. + </p> + <p> + “There wasn’t a chance of picking ’em up,” the + captain said, with philosophic calm, as the men clambered on board again, + and the Australasian got under way once more for the port of Honolulu. + “I knew there wasn’t a chance; but in common humanity one was + bound to make some show of trying to save ’em. He was a brave fellow + to go after her, though it was no good of course. He couldn’t even + find her, at night, and with such a sea as that running.” + </p> + <p> + And even as he spoke, Felix Thurstan, rising once more on the crest of a + much smaller billow—for somehow the waves were getting incredibly + smaller as he drifted on to leeward—felt his heart sink within him + as he observed to his dismay that the Australasian must be steaming ahead + once more, by the movement of her lights, and that they two were indeed + abandoned to their fate on the open surface of that vast and trackless + ocean. + </p> + <p> + <br /><br /> + </p> + <hr /> + <p> + <a name="link2HCH0002" id="link2HCH0002"> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + CHAPTER II. — THE TEMPLE OF THE DEITY. + </h2> + <p> + While these things were happening on the sea close by, a very different + scene indeed was being enacted meanwhile, beneath those waving palms, on + the island of Boupari. It was strange, to be sure, as Felix Thurstan had + said, that such unspeakable heathen orgies should be taking place within + sight of a passing Christian English steamer. But if only he had known or + reflected to what sort of land he was trying now to struggle ashore with + Muriel, he might well have doubted whether it were not better to let her + perish where she was, in the pure clear ocean, rather than to submit an + English girl to the possibility of undergoing such horrible heathen rites + and ceremonies. + </p> + <p> + For on the island of Boupari it was high feast with the worshippers of + their god that night. The sun had turned on the Tropic of Capricorn at + noon, and was making his way northward, toward the equator once more; and + his votaries, as was their wont, had all come forth to do him honor in due + season, and to pay their respects, in the inmost and sacredest grove on + the island, to his incarnate representative, the living spirit of trees + and fruits and vegetation, the very high god, the divine Tu-Kila-Kila! + </p> + <p> + Early in the evening, as soon as the sun’s rim had disappeared + beneath the ocean, a strange noise boomed forth from the central shrine of + Boupari. Those who heard it clapped their hands to their ears and ran + hastily forward. It was a noise like distant rumbling thunder, or the whir + of some great English mill or factory; and at its sound every woman on the + island threw herself on the ground prostrate, with her face in the dust, + and waited there reverently till the audible voice of the god had once + more subsided. For no woman knew how that sound was produced. Only the + grown men, initiated into the mysteries of the shrine when they came of + age at the tattooing ceremony, were aware that the strange, buzzing, + whirring noise was nothing more or less than the cry of the bull-roarer. + </p> + <p> + A bull-roarer, as many English schoolboys know, is merely a piece of + oblong wood, pointed at either end, and fastened by a leather thong at one + corner. But when whirled round the head by practised priestly hands, it + produces a low rumbling noise like the wheels of a distant carriage, + growing gradually louder and clearer, from moment to moment, till at last + it waxes itself into a frightful din, or bursts into perfect peals of + imitation thunder. Then it decreases again once more, as gradually as it + rose, becoming fainter and ever fainter, like thunder as it recedes, till + the horrible bellowing, as of supernatural bulls, dies away in the end, by + slow degrees, into low and soft and imperceptible murmurs. + </p> + <p> + But when the savage hears the distant humming of the bull-roarer, at + whatever distance, he knows that the mysteries of his god are in full + swing, and he hurries forward in haste, leaving his work or his pleasure, + and running, naked as he stands, to take his share in the worship, lest + the anger of heaven should burst forth in devouring flames to consume him. + But the women, knowing themselves unworthy to face the dread presence of + the high god in his wrath, rush wildly from the spot, and, flinging + themselves down at full length, with their mouths to the dust, wait + patiently till the voice of their deity is no longer audible. + </p> + <p> + And as the bull-roarer on Boupari rang out with wild echoes from the coral + caverns in the central grove that evening, Tu-Kila-Kila, their god, rose + slowly from his place, and stood out from his hut, a deity revealed, + before his reverential worshippers. + </p> + <p> + As he rose, a hushed whisper ran wave-like through the dense throng of + dusky forms that bent low, like corn beneath the wind, before him, “Tu-Kila-Kila + rises! He rises to speak! Hush! for the voice of the mighty man-god!” + </p> + <p> + The god, looking around him superciliously with a cynical air of contempt, + stood forward with a firm and elastic step before his silent worshippers. + He was a stalwart savage, in the very prime of life, tall, lithe, and + active. His figure was that of a man well used to command; but his face, + though handsome, was visibly marked by every external sign of cruelty, + lust, and extreme bloodthirstiness. One might have said, merely to look at + him, he was a being debased by all forms of brutal and hateful + self-indulgence. A baleful light burned in his keen gray eyes. His lips + were thick, full, purple, and wistful. + </p> + <p> + “My people may look upon me,” he said, in a strangely affable + voice, standing forward and smiling with a curious half-cruel, + half-compassionate smile upon his awe-struck followers. “On every + day of the sun’s course but this, none save the ministers dedicated + to the service of Tu-Kila-Kila dare gaze unhurt upon his sacred person. If + any other did, the light from his holy eyes would wither them up, and the + glow of his glorious countenance would scorch them to ashes.” He + raised his two hands, palm outward, in front of him. “So all the + year round,” he went on, “Tu-Kila-Kila, who loves his people, + and sends them the earlier and the later rain in the wet season, and makes + their yams and their taro grow, and causes his sun to shine upon them + freely—all the year round Tu-Kila-Kila, your god, sits shut up in + his own house among the skeletons of those whom he has killed and eaten, + or walks in his walled paddock, where his bread-fruit ripens and his + plantains spring—himself, and the ministers that his tribesmen have + given him.” + </p> + <p> + At the sound of their mystic deity’s voice the savages, bending + lower still till their foreheads touched the ground, repeated in chorus, + to the clapping of hands, like some solemn litany: “Tu-Kila-Kila + speaks true. Our lord is merciful. He sends down his showers upon our + crops and fields. He causes his sun to shine brightly over us. He makes + our pigs and our slaves bring forth their increase. Tu-Kila-Kila is good. + His people praise him.” + </p> + <p> + The god took another step forward, the divine mantle of red feathers + glowing in the sunset on his dusky shoulders, and smiled once more that + hateful gracious smile of his. He was standing near the open door of his + wattled hut, overshadowed by the huge spreading arms of a gigantic + banyan-tree. Through the open door of the hut it was possible to catch + just a passing glimpse of an awful sight within. On the beams of the + house, and on the boughs of the trees behind it, human skeletons, half + covered with dry flesh, hung in ghastly array, their skulls turned + downward. They were the skeletons of the victims Tu-Kila-Kila, their + prince, had slain and eaten; they were the trophies of the cannibal + man-god’s hateful prowess. + </p> + <p> + Tu-Kila-Kila raised his right hand erect and spoke again. “I am a + great god,” he said, slowly. “I am very powerful. I make the + sun to shine, and the yams to grow. I am the spirit of plants. Without me + there would be nothing for you all to eat or drink in Boupari. If I were + to grow old and die, the sun would fade away in the heavens overhead; the + bread-fruit trees would wither and cease to bear on earth; all fruits + would come to an end and die at once; all rivers would stop forthwith from + running.” + </p> + <p> + His worshippers bowed down in acquiescence with awestruck faces. “It + is true,” they answered, in the same slow sing-song of assent as + before. “Tu-Kila-Kila is the greatest of gods. We owe to him + everything. We hang upon his favor.” + </p> + <p> + Tu-Kila-Kila started back, laughed, and showed his pearly white teeth. + They were beautiful and regular, like the teeth of a tiger, a strong young + tiger. “But I need more sacrifices than all the other gods,” + he went on, melodiously, like one who plays with consummate skill upon + some difficult instrument. “I am greedy; I am thirsty; I am a hungry + god. You must not stint me. I claim more human victims than all the other + gods beside. If you want your crops to grow, and your rivers to run, the + fields to yield you game, and the sea fish—this is what I ask: give + me victims, victims! That is our compact. Tu-Kila-Kila calls you.” + </p> + <p> + The men bowed down once more and repeated humbly, “You shall have + victims as you will, great god; only give us yam and taro and bread-fruit, + and cause not your bright light, the sun, to grow dark in heaven over us.” + </p> + <p> + “Cut yourselves,” Tu-Kila-Kila cried, in a peremptory voice, + clapping his hands thrice. “I am thirsting for blood. I want your + free-will offering.” + </p> + <p> + As he spoke, every man, as by a set ritual, took from a little skin wallet + at his side a sharp flake of coral-stone, and, drawing it deliberately + across his breast in a deep red gash, caused the blood to flow out freely + over his chest and long grass waistband. Then, having done so, they never + strove for a moment to stanch the wound, but let the red drops fall as + they would on to the dust at their feet, without seeming even to be + conscious at all of the fact that they were flowing. + </p> + <p> + Tu-Kila-Kila smiled once more, a ghastly self-satisfied smile of + unquestioned power. “It is well,” he went on. “My people + love me. They know my strength, how I can wither them up. They give me + their blood to drink freely. So I will be merciful to them. I will make my + sun shine and my rain drop from heaven. And instead of taking <i>all</i>, + I will choose one victim.” He paused, and glanced along their line + significantly. + </p> + <p> + “Choose, Tu-Kila-Kila,” the men answered, without a moment’s + hesitation. “We are all your meat. Choose which one you will take of + us.” + </p> + <p> + Tu-Kila-Kila walked with a leisurely tread down the lines and surveyed the + men critically. They were all drawn up in rows, one behind the other, + according to tribes and families; and the god walked along each row, + examining them with a curious and interested eye, as a farmer examines + sheep fit for the market. Now and then, he felt a leg or an arm with his + finger and thumb, and hesitated a second. It was an important matter, this + choosing a victim. As he passed, a close observer might have noted that + each man trembled visibly while the god’s eye was upon him, and + looked after him askance with a terrified sidelong gaze as he passed on to + his neighbor. But not one savage gave any overt sign or token of his + terror or his reluctance. On the contrary, as Tu-Kila-Kila passed along + the line with lazy, cruel deliberateness, the men kept chanting aloud + without one tremor in their voices, “We are all your meat. Choose + which one you will take of us.” + </p> + <p> + On a sudden, Tu-Kila-Kila turned sharply round, and, darting a rapid + glance toward a row he had already passed several minutes before, he + exclaimed, with an air of unexpected inspiration, “Tu-Kila-Kila has + chosen. He takes Maloa.” + </p> + <p> + The man upon whose shoulder the god laid his heavy hand as he spoke stood + forth from the crowd without a moment’s hesitation. If anger or fear + was in his heart at all, it could not be detected in his voice or his + features. He bowed his head with seeming satisfaction, and answered + humbly, “What Tu-Kila-Kila says must need be done. This is a great + honor. He is a mighty god. We poor men must obey him. We are proud to be + taken up and made one with divinity.” + </p> + <p> + Tu-Kila-Kila raised in his hand a large stone axe of some polished green + material, closely resembling jade, which lay on a block by the door, and + tried its edge with his finger, in an abstracted manner. “Bind him!” + he said, quietly, turning round to his votaries. And the men, each glad to + have escaped his own fate, bound their comrade willingly with green ropes + of plantain fibre. + </p> + <p> + “Crown him with flowers!” Tu-Kila-Kila said; and a female + attendant, absolved from the terror of the bull-roarer by the god’s + command, brought forward a great garland of crimson hibiscus, which she + flung around the victim’s neck and shoulders. + </p> + <p> + “Lay his head on the sacred stone block of our fathers,” + Tu-Kila-Kila went on, in an easy tone of command, waving his hand + gracefully. And the men, moving forward, laid their comrade, face + downward, on a huge flat block of polished greenstone, which lay like an + altar in front of the hut with the mouldering skeletons. + </p> + <p> + “It is well,” Tu-Kila-Kila murmured once more, half aloud. + “You have given me the free-will offering. Now for the trespass! + Where is the woman who dared to approach too near the temple-home of the + divine Tu-Kila-Kila? Bring the criminal forward!” + </p> + <p> + The men divided, and made a lane down their middle. Then one of them, a + minister of the man-god’s shrine, led up by the hand, all trembling + and shrinking with supernatural terror in every muscle, a well-formed + young girl of eighteen or twenty. Her naked bronze limbs were shapely and + lissome; but her eyes were swollen and red with tears, and her face + strongly distorted with awe for the man-god. When she stood at last before + Tu-Kila-Kila’s dreaded face, she flung herself on the ground in an + agony of fear. + </p> + <p> + “Oh, mercy, great God!” she cried, in a feeble voice. “I + have sinned, I have sinned. Mercy, mercy!” + </p> + <p> + Tu-Kila-Kila smiled as before, a smile of imperial pride. No ray of pity + gleamed from those steel-gray eyes. “Does Tu-Kila-Kila show mercy?” + he asked, in a mocking voice. “Does he pardon his suppliants? Does + he forgive trespasses? Is he not a god, and must not his wrath be + appeased? She, being a woman, and not a wife sealed to Tu-Kila-Kila, has + dared to look from afar upon his sacred home. She has spied the mysteries. + Therefore she must die. My people, bind her.” + </p> + <p> + In a second, without more ado, while the poor trembling girl writhed and + groaned in her agony before their eyes, that mob of wild savages, let + loose to torture and slay, fell upon her with hideous shouts, and bound + her, as they had bound their comrade before, with coarse native ropes of + twisted plantain fibre. + </p> + <p> + “Lay her head on the stone,” Tu-Kila-Kila said, grimly. And + his votaries obeyed him. + </p> + <p> + “Now light the sacred fire to make our feast, before I slay the + victims,” the god said, in a gloating voice, running his finger + again along the edge of his huge hatchet. + </p> + <p> + As he spoke, two men, holding in their hands hollow bamboos with coals of + fire concealed within, which they kept aglow meanwhile by waving them up + and down rapidly in the air, laid these primitive matches to the base of a + great pyramidal pile of wood and palm-leaves, ready prepared beforehand in + the yard of the temple. In a second, the dry fuel, catching the sparks + instantly, blazed up to heaven with a wild outburst of flame. Great red + tongues of fire licked up the mouldering mass of leaves and twigs, and + caught at once at the trunks of palm and li wood within. A huge + conflagration reddened the sky at once like lightning. The effect was + magical. The glow transfigured the whole island for miles. It was, in + fact, the blaze that Felix Thurstan had noted and remarked upon as he + stood that evening on the silent deck of the Australasian. + </p> + <p> + Tu-Kila-Kila gazed at it with horrid childish glee. “A fine fire!” + he said, gayly. “A fire worthy of a god. It will serve me well. + Tu-Kila-Kila will have a good oven to roast his meal in.” + </p> + <p> + Then he turned toward the sea, and held up his hand once more for silence. + As he did so, an answering light upon its surface attracted his eye for a + moment’s space. It was a bright red light, mixed with white and + green ones; in point of fact, the Australasian was passing. Tu-Kila-Kila + pointed toward it solemnly with his plump, brown fore-finger. “See,” + he said, drawing himself up and looking preternaturally wise; “your + god is great. I am sending some of this fire across the sea to where my + sun has set, to aid and reinforce it. That is to keep up the fire of the + sun, lest ever at any time it should fade and fail you. While Tu-Kila-Kila + lives the sun will burn bright. If Tu-Kila-Kila were to die it would be + night forever.” + </p> + <p> + His votaries, following their god’s fore-finger as it pointed, all + turned to look in the direction he indicated with blank surprise and + astonishment. Such a sight had never met their eyes before, for the + Australasian was the very first steamer to take the eastward route, + through the dangerous and tortuous Boupari Channel. So their awe and + surprise at the unwonted sight knew no bounds. Fire on the ocean! + Miraculous light on the waves! Their god must, indeed, be a mighty deity + if he could send flames like that careering over the sea! Surely the sun + was safe in the hands of a potentate who could thus visibly reinforce it + with red light, and white! In their astonishment and awe, they stood with + their long hair falling down over their foreheads, and their hands held up + to their eyes that they might gaze the farther across the dim, dark ocean. + The borrowed light of their bonfire was moving, slowly moving over the + watery sea. Fire and water were mixing and mingling on friendly terms. + Impossible! Incredible! Marvellous! Miraculous! They prostrated themselves + in their terror at Tu-Kila-Kila’s feet. “Oh, great god,” + they cried, in awe-struck tones, “your power is too vast! Spare us, + spare us, spare us!” + </p> + <p> + As for Tu-Kila-Kila himself, he was not astonished at all. Strange as it + sounds to us, he really believed in his heart what he said. Profoundly + convinced of his own godhead, and abjectly superstitious as any of his own + votaries, he absolutely accepted as a fact his own suggestion, that the + light he saw was the reflection of that his men had kindled. The + interpretation he had put upon it seemed to him a perfectly natural and + just one. His worshippers, indeed, mere men that they were, might be + terrified at the sight; but why should he, a god, take any special notice + of it? + </p> + <p> + He accepted his own superiority as implicitly as our European nobles and + rulers accept theirs. He had no doubts himself, and he considered those + who had little better than criminals. + </p> + <p> + By and by, a smaller light detached itself by slow degrees from the + greater ones. The others stood still, and halted in mid-ocean. The lesser + light made as if it would come in the direction of Boupari. In point of + fact, the gig had put out in search of Felix and Muriel. + </p> + <p> + Tu-Kila-Kila interpreted the facts at once, however, in his own way. + “See,” he said, pointing with his plump forefinger once more, + and encouraging with his words his terrified followers, “I am + sending back a light again from the sun to my island. I am doing my work + well. I am taking care of my people. Fear not for your future. In the + light is yet another victim. A man and a woman will come to Boupari from + the sun, to make up for the man and woman whom we eat in our feast + to-night. Give me plenty of victims, and you will have plenty of yam. Make + haste, then; kill, eat; let us feast Tu-Kila-Kila! To-morrow the man and + woman I have sent from the sun will come ashore on the reef, and reach + Boupari.” + </p> + <p> + At the words, he stepped forward and raised that heavy tomahawk. With one + blow each he brained the two bound and defenceless victims on the + altar-stone of his fathers. The rest, a European hand shrinks from + revealing. The orgy was too horrible even for description. + </p> + <p> + And that was the land toward which, that moment, Felix Thurstan was + struggling, with all his might, to carry Muriel Ellis, from the myriad + clasping arms of a comparatively gentle and merciful ocean! + </p> + <p> + <br /><br /> + </p> + <hr /> + <p> + <a name="link2HCH0003" id="link2HCH0003"> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + CHAPTER III. — LAND; BUT WHAT LAND? + </h2> + <p> + As the last glimmering lights of the Australasian died away to seaward, + Felix Thurstan knew in his despair there was nothing for it now but to + strike out boldly, if he could, for the shore of the island. + </p> + <p> + By this time the breakers had subsided greatly. Not, indeed, that the sea + itself was really going down. On the contrary, a brisk wind was rising + sharper from the east, and the waves on the open Pacific were growing each + moment higher and loppier. But the huge mountain of water that washed + Muriel Ellis overboard was not a regular ordinary wave; it was that far + more powerful and dangerous mass, a shoal-water breaker. The Australasian + had passed at that instant over a submerged coral-bar, quite deep enough, + indeed, to let her cross its top without the slightest danger of grazing, + but still raised so high toward the surface as to produce a considerable + constant ground-swell, which broke in windy weather into huge sheets of + surf, like the one that had just struck and washed over the Australasian, + carrying Muriel with it. The very same cause that produced the breakers, + however, bore Felix on their summit rapidly landward; and once he had got + well beyond the region of the bar that begot them, he found himself soon, + to his intense relief, in comparatively calm shoal water. + </p> + <p> + Muriel Ellis, for her part, was faint with terror and with the buffeting + of the waves; but she still floated by his side, upheld by the life-belts. + He had been able, by immense efforts, to keep unseparated from her amid + the rending surf of the breakers. Now that they found themselves in easier + waters for a while, Felix began to strike out vigorously through the + darkness for the shore. Holding up his companion with one hand, and + swimming with all his might in the direction where a vague white line of + surf, lit up by the red glare-of some fire far inland, made him suspect + the nearest land to lie, he almost thought he had succeeded at last, after + a long hour of struggle, in feeling his feet, after all, on a firm coral + bottom. + </p> + <p> + At the very moment he did so, and touched the ground underneath, another + great wave, curling resistlessly behind him, caught him up on its crest, + whirled him heavenward like a cork, and then dashed him down once more, a + passive burden, on some soft and yielding substance, which he conjectured + at once to be a beach of finely powdered coral fragments. As he touched + this beach for an instant, the undertow of that vast dashing breaker + sucked him back with its ebb again, a helpless, breathless creature; and + then the succeeding wave rolled him over like a ball, upon the beach as + before, in quick succession. Four times the back-current sucked him under + with its wild pull in the self-same way, and four times the return wave + flung him up upon the beach again like a fragment of sea-weed. With + frantic efforts Felix tried at first to cling still to Muriel—to + save her from the irresistible force of that roaring surf—to snatch + her from the open jaws of death by sheer struggling dint of thews and + muscle. He might as well have tried to stem Niagara. The great waves, + curling irresistibly in huge curves landward, caught either of them up by + turns on their arched summits, and twisted them about remorselessly, + raising them now aloft on their foaming crest, beating them back now prone + in their hollow trough, and flinging them fiercely at last with pitiless + energy against the soft beach of coral. If the beach had been hard, they + must infallibly have been ground to powder or beaten to jelly by the + colossal force of those gigantic blows. Fortunately it was yielding, + smooth, and clay-like, and received them almost as a layer of moist + plaster of Paris might have done, or they would have stood no chance at + all for their lives in that desperate battle with the blind and frantic + forces of unrelenting nature. + </p> + <p> + No man who has not himself seen the surf break on one of these + far-southern coral shores can form any idea in his own mind of the terror + and horror of the situation. The water, as it reaches the beach, rears + itself aloft for a second into a huge upright wall, which, advancing + slowly, curls over at last in a hollow circle, and pounds down upon the + sand or reef with all the crushing force of some enormous sledge-hammer. + But after the fourth assault, Felix felt himself flung up high and dry by + the wave, as one may sometimes see a bit of light reed or pith flung up + some distance ahead by an advancing tide on the beach in England. In an + instant he steadied himself and staggered to his feet. Torn and bruised as + he was by the pummelling of the billows, he looked eagerly into the water + in search of his companion. The next wave flung up Muriel, as the last had + flung himself. He bent over her with a panting heart as she lay there, + insensible, on the long white shore. Alive or dead? that was now the + question. + </p> + <p> + Raising her hastily in his arms, with her clothes all clinging wet and + close about her, Felix carried her over the narrow strip of tidal beach, + above high-water level, and laid her gently down on a soft green bank of + short tropical herbage, close to the edge of the coral. Then he bent over + her once more, and listened eagerly at her heart. It still beat with faint + pulses—beat—beat—beat. Felix throbbed with joy. She was + alive! alive! He was not quite alone, then, on that unknown island! + </p> + <p> + And strange as it seemed, it was only a little more than two short hours + since they had stood and looked out across the open sea over the bulwarks + of the Australasian together! + </p> + <p> + But Felix had no time to moralize just then. The moment was clearly one + for action. Fortunately, he happened to carry three useful things in his + pocket when he jumped overboard after Muriel. The first was a + pocket-knife; the second was a flask with a little whiskey in it; and the + third, perhaps the most important of all, a small metal box of wax vesta + matches. Pouring a little whiskey into the cup of the flask, he held it + eagerly to Muriel’s lips. The fainting girl swallowed it + automatically. Then Felix, stooping down, tried the matches against the + box. They were unfortunately wet, but half an hour’s exposure, he + knew, on sun-warmed stones, in that hot, tropical air, would soon restore + them again. So he opened the box and laid them carefully out on a flat + white slab of coral. After that, he had time to consider exactly where + they were, and what their chances in life, if any, might now amount to. + </p> + <p> + Pitch dark as it was, he had no difficulty in deciding at once by the + general look of things that they had reached a fringing reef, such as he + was already familiar with in the Marquesas and elsewhere. The reef was no + doubt circular, and it enclosed within itself a second or central island, + divided from it by a shallow lagoon of calm, still water. He walked some + yards inland. From where he now stood, on the summit of the ridge, he + could look either way, and by the faint reflected light of the stars, or + the glare of the great pyre that burned on the central island, he could + see down on one side to the ocean, with its fierce white pounding surf, + and on the other to the lagoon, reflecting the stars overhead, and + motionless as a mill-pond. Between them lay the low raised ridge of coral, + covered with tall stems of cocoanut palms, and interspersed here and + there, as far as his eye could judge, with little rectangular clumps of + plantain and taro. + </p> + <p> + But what alarmed Felix most was the fire that blazed so brightly to heaven + on the central island; for he knew too well that meant—there were <i>men</i> + on the place; the land was inhabited. + </p> + <p> + The cocoanuts and taro told the same doubtful tale. From the way they + grew, even in that dim starlight, Felix recognized at once they had all + been planted. + </p> + <p> + Still, he didn’t hesitate to do what he thought best for Muriel’s + relief for all that. Collecting a few sticks and fragments of + palm-branches from the jungle about, he piled them into a heap, and waited + patiently for his matches to dry. As soon as they were ready—and the + warmth of the stone made them quickly inflammable—he struck a match + on the box, and proceeded to light his fire by Muriel’s side. As her + clothes grew warmer, the poor girl opened her eyes at last, and, gazing + around her, exclaimed, in blank terror, “Oh, Mr. Thurstan, where are + we? What does all this mean? Where have we got to? On a desert island?” + </p> + <p> + “No, <i>not</i> on a desert island,” Felix answered, shortly; + “I’m afraid it’s a great deal worse than that. To tell + you the truth, I’m afraid it’s inhabited.” + </p> + <p> + At that moment, by the hot embers of the great sacrificial pyre on the + central hill, two of the savage temple-attendants, calling their god’s + attention to a sudden blaze of flame upon the fringing reef, pointed with + their dark forefingers and called out in surprise, “See, see, a fire + on the barrier! A fire! A fire! What can it mean? There are no men of our + people over there to-night. Have war-canoes arrived? Has some enemy + landed?” + </p> + <p> + Tu-Kila-Kila leaned back, drained his cocoanut cup of intoxicating kava, + and surveyed the unwonted apparition on the reef long and carefully. + “It is nothing,” he said at last, in his most deliberate + manner, stroking his cheeks and chin contentedly with that plump round + hand of his. “It is only the victims; the new victims I promised + you. Korong! Korong! They have come ashore with their light from my home + in the sun. They have brought fire afresh—holy fire to Boupari.” + </p> + <p> + Three or four of the savages leaped up in fierce joy, and bowed before him + as he spoke, with eager faces. “Oh, Tu-Kila-Kila!” the eldest + among them said, making a profound reverence, “shall we swim across + to the reef and fetch them home to your house? Shall we take over our + canoes and bring back your victims!” + </p> + <p> + The god motioned them back with one outstretched palm. His eyes were + flushed and his look lazy. “Not to-night, my people,” he said; + readjusting the garland of flowers round his neck, and giving a careless + glance at the well-picked bones that a few hours before had been two + trembling fellow creatures. “Tu-Kila-Kila has feasted his fill for + this evening. Your god is full; his heart is happy. I have eaten human + flesh; I have drunk of the juice of the kava. Am I not a great deity? Can + I not do as I will? I frown, and the heavens thunder; I gnash my teeth, + and the earth trembles. What is it to me if fresh victims come, or if they + come not? Can I not make with a nod as many as I will of them?” He + took up two fresh finger-bones, clean gnawed of their flesh, and knocked + them together in a wild tune, carelessly. “If Tu-Kila-Kila chooses,” + he went on, tapping his chest with conscious pride, “he can knock + these bones together—so—and bid them live again. Is it not I + who cause women and beasts to bring forth their young? Is it not I who + give the turtles their increase? And is it not a small thing to me, + therefore, whether the sea tosses up my victims from my home in the sun, + or whether it does not? Let us leave them alone on the reef for to-night; + to-morrow we will send over our canoes to fetch them.” + </p> + <p> + It was all pure brag, all pure guesswork; and yet, Tu-Kila-Kila himself + profoundly believed it. + </p> + <p> + As he spoke, the light from Felix’s fire blazed out against the dark + sky, stronger and clearer still; and through that cloudless tropical air + the figure of a man, standing for one moment between the flames and the + lagoon, became distinctly visible to the keen and practised eyes of the + savages. “I see them? I see them; I see the victims!” the + foremost worshipper exclaimed, rushing forward a little at the sight, and + beside himself with superstitious awe and surprise at Tu-Kila-Kila’s + presence. “Surely our god is great! He knows all things! He brings + us meat from the setting sun, in ships of fire, in blazing canoes, across + the golden road of the sun-bathed ocean!” + </p> + <p> + As for Tu-Kila-Kila himself, leaning on his elbow at ease, he gazed across + at the unexpected sight with very languid interest. He was a god, and he + liked to see things conducted with proper decorum. This crowing and crying + over a couple of spirits—mere ordinary spirits come ashore from the + sun in a fiery boat—struck his godship as little short of childish. + “Let them be,” he answered, petulantly, crushing a blossom in + his hand. “Let no man disturb them. They shall rest where they are + till to-morrow morning. We have eaten; we have drunk; our soul is happy. + The kava within us has made us like a god indeed. I shall give my + ministers charge that no harm happen to them.” + </p> + <p> + He drew a whistle from his side and whistled once. There was a moment’s + pause. Then Tu-Kila-Kila spoke in a loud voice again. “The King of + Fire!” he exclaimed, in tones of princely authority. + </p> + <p> + From within the hut there came forth slowly a second stalwart savage, big + built and burly as the great god himself, clad in a long robe or cloak of + yellow feathers, which shone bright with a strange metallic gleam in the + ruddy light of the huge pile of li-wood. + </p> + <p> + “The King of Fire is here, Tu-Kila-Kila,” the lesser god made + answer, bending his head slightly. + </p> + <p> + “Fire,” Tu-Kila-Kila said, like a monarch giving orders to his + attendant minister, “if any man touch the newcomers on the reef + before I cause my sun to rise to-morrow morning, scorch up his flesh with + your flame, and consume his bones to ash and cinder. If any woman go near + them before Tu-Kila-Kila bids, let her be rolled in palm-leaves, and + smeared with oil, and light her up for a torch on a dark night to lighten + our temple.” + </p> + <p> + The King of Fire bent his head in assent. “It is as Tu-Kila-Kila + wills,” he answered, submissively. + </p> + <p> + Tu-Kila-Kila whistled again, this time twice. “The King of Water!” + he exclaimed, in the same loud tone of command as before. + </p> + <p> + At the words, a man of about forty, tall and sinewy, clad in a short cape + of white albatross feathers, and with a girdle of nautilus shells + interspersed with red coral tied around his waist, came forth to the + summons. + </p> + <p> + “The King of Water is here,” he said, bending his head, but + not his knee, before the greater deity. + </p> + <p> + “Water,” Tu-Kila-Kila said, with half-tipsy solemnity, “you + are a god too. Your power is very great. But less than mine. Do, then, as + I bid you. If any man touch my spirits, whom I have brought from my home + in the sun in a fiery ship, before I bid him to-morrow, overturn his + canoe, and drown him in lagoon or spring or ocean. If any woman go near + them without Tu-Kila-Kila’s leave, bind her hand and foot with ropes + of porpoise hide, and cast her out into the surf, and dash her with your + waves, and pummel her to pieces.” + </p> + <p> + The King of Water bent his head a second time. “I am a great god,” + he answered, “before all others save you: but for you, Tu-Kila-Kila, + I haste to do your bidding. If any man disobey you, my billows shall rise + and overwhelm him in the sea. I am a great god. I claim each year many + drowned victims.” + </p> + <p> + “But not so many as me,” Tu-Kila-Kila interposed, his hand + playing on his knife with a faint air of impatience. + </p> + <p> + “But not so many as you,” the minor god added, in haste, as if + to appease his rising anger. “Fire and Water ever speed to do your + bidding.” + </p> + <p> + Tu-Kila-Kila stood up, turned toward the distant flame, and waved his + hands round and round three times before him. “Let this be for you + all a great taboo,” he said, glancing once more toward his + awe-struck followers. “Now the mysteries are over. Tu-Kila-Kila will + sleep. He has eaten of human flesh. He has drunk of cocoanut rum and of + new kava. He has brought back his sun on its way in the heavens. He has + sent it messengers of fire to reinforce its strength. He has fetched from + it messengers in turn with fresh fire to Boupari, fire not lighted from + any earthly flame; fire new, divine, scorching, unspeakable. To-morrow we + will talk with the spirits he has brought. To-night we will sleep. Now all + go to your homes; and tell your women of this great taboo, lest they speak + to the spirits, and fall into the hands of Fire or of Water.” + </p> + <p> + The savages dropped on their faces before the eye of their god and lay + quite still. They made a path as it were from the pyre to the temple door + with their prostrate bodies. Tu-Kila-Kila, walking with unsteady steps + over their half-naked forms, turned to his hut in a drunken booze. He + walked over them with no more compunction or feeling than over so many + logs. Why should he not, indeed? For he was a god, and they were his meat, + his servants, his worshippers. + </p> + <p> + <br /><br /> + </p> + <hr /> + <p> + <a name="link2HCH0004" id="link2HCH0004"> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + CHAPTER IV. — THE GUESTS OF HEAVEN. + </h2> + <p> + All that night through—their first lonely night on the island of + Boupari—Felix sat up by his flickering fire, wide awake, half + expecting and dreading some treacherous attack of the unknown savages. + From time to time he kept adding dry fuel to his smouldering pile; and he + never ceased to keep a keen eye both on the lagoon and the reef, in case + an assault should be made upon them suddenly by land or water. He knew the + South Seas quite well enough already to have all the possibilities of + misfortune floating vividly before his eyes. He realized at once from his + own previous experience the full loneliness and terror of their unarmed + condition. + </p> + <p> + For Boupari was one of those rare remote islets where the very rumor of + our European civilization has hardly yet penetrated. + </p> + <p> + As for Muriel, though she was alarmed enough, of course, and intensely + shaken by the sudden shock she had received, the whole surroundings were + too wholly unlike any world she had ever yet known to enable her to take + in at once the utter horror of the situation. She only knew they were + alone, wet, bruised, and terribly battered; and the Australasian had gone + on, leaving them there to their fate on an unknown island. That, for the + moment, was more than enough for her of accumulated misfortune. She come + to herself but slowly, and as her torn clothes dried by degrees before the + fire and the heat of the tropical night, she was so far from fully + realizing the dangers of their position that her first and principal fear + for the moment was lest she might take cold from her wet things drying + upon her. She ate a little of the plantain that Felix picked for her; and + at times, toward morning, she dozed off into an uneasy sleep, from pure + fatigue and excess of weariness. As she slept, Felix, bending over her, + with the biggest blade of his knife open in case of attack, watched with + profound emotion the rise and fall of her bosom, and hesitated with + himself, if the worst should come to the worst, as to what he ought to do + with her. + </p> + <p> + It would be impossible to let a pure young English girl like that fall + helplessly into the hands of such bloodthirsty wretches as he knew the + islanders were almost certain to be. Who could tell what nameless + indignities, what incredible tortures they might wantonly inflict upon her + innocent soul? Was it right of him to have let her come ashore at all? + Ought he not rather to have allowed the more merciful sea to take her life + easily, without the chance or possibility of such additional horrors? + </p> + <p> + And now—as she slept—so calm and pure and maidenly—what + was his duty that minute, just there to her? He felt the blade of his + knife with his finger cautiously, and almost doubted. If only she could + tell what things might be in store for her, would she not, herself, prefer + death, an honorable death, at the friendly hands of a tenderhearted + fellow-countryman, to the unspeakable insults of these man-eating + Polynesians? If only he had the courage to release her by one blow, as she + lay there, from the coming ill! But he hadn’t; he hadn’t. Even + on board the Australasian he had been vaguely aware that he was getting + very fond of that pretty little Miss Ellis. And now that he sat there, + after that desperate struggle for life with the pounding waves, mounting + guard over her through the livelong night, his own heart told him plainly, + in tones he could not disobey, he loved her too well to dare what he + thought best in the end for her. + </p> + <p> + Still, even so, he was brave enough to feel he must never let the very + worst of all befall her. He bethought him, in his doubt and agony, of how + his uncle, Major Thurstan, during the great Indian mutiny, had held his + lonely bungalow, with his wife and daughter by his side, for three long + hours against a howling mob of native insurgents; and how, when further + resistance was hopeless, and that great black wave of angry humanity burst + in upon them at last, the brave soldier had drawn his revolver, shot his + wife and daughter with unerring aim, to prevent their falling alive into + the hands of the natives, and then blown his own brains out with his last + remaining cartridge. As his uncle had done at Jhansi, thirty years before, + so he himself would do on that nameless Pacific island—for he didn’t + know even now on what shore he had landed. If the savages bore down upon + them with hostile intent, and threatened Muriel, he would plunge his knife + first into that innocent woman’s heart; and then bury it deep in his + own, and die beside her. + </p> + <p> + So the long night wore on—Muriel pillowed on loose cocoanut husk, + dozing now and again, and waking with a start to gaze round about her + wildly, and realize once more in what plight she found herself; Felix + crouching by her feet, and keeping watch with eager eyes and ears on every + side for the least sign of a noiseless, naked footfall through the tangled + growth of that dense tropical under-bush. Time after time he clapped his + hand to his ear, shell-wise, and listened and peered, with knitted brow, + suspecting some sudden swoop from an ambush in the jungle of creepers + behind the little plantain patch. Time after time he grasped his knife + hard, and puckered his eyebrows resolutely, and stood still with bated + breath for a fierce, wild leap upon his fancied assailant. But the night + wore away by degrees, a minute at a time, and no man came; and dawn began + to brighten the sea-line to eastward. + </p> + <p> + As the day dawned, Felix could see more clearly exactly where he was, and + in what surroundings. Without, the ocean broke in huge curling billows on + the shallow beach of the fringing reef with such stupendous force that + Felix wondered how they could ever have lived through its pounding surf + and its fiercely retreating undertow. Within, the lagoon spread its calm + lake-like surface away to the white coral shore of the central atoll. + Between these two waters, the greater and the less, a waving palisade of + tall-stemmed palm-trees rose on a narrow ribbon of circular land that + formed the fringing reef. All night through he had felt, with a strange + eerie misgiving, the very foundations of the land thrill under his feet at + every dull thud or boom of the surf on its restraining barrier. Now that + he could see that thin belt of shore in its actual shape and size, he was + not astonished at this constant shock; what surprised him rather was the + fact that such a speck of land could hold its own at all against the + ceaseless cannonade of that seemingly irresistible ocean. + </p> + <p> + He stood up, hatless, in his battered tweed suit, and surveyed the scene + of their present and future adventures. It took but a glance to show him + that the whole ground-plan of the island was entirely circular. In the + midst of all rose the central atoll itself, a tiny mountain-peak, just + projecting with its hills and gorges to a few hundred feet above the + surface of the ocean. Outside it came the lagoon, with its placid ring of + glassy water surrounding the circular island, and separated from the sea + by an equally circular belt of fringing reef, covered thick with waving + stems of picturesque cocoanut. It was on the reef they had landed, and + from it they now looked across the calm lagoon with doubtful eyes toward + the central island. + </p> + <p> + As soon as the sun rose, their doubts were quickly resolved into fears or + certainties. Scarcely had its rim begun to show itself distinctly above + the eastern horizon, when a great bustle and confusion was noticeable at + once on the opposite shore. Brown-skinned savages were collecting in eager + groups by a white patch of beach, and putting out rude but well-manned + canoes into the calm waters of the lagoon. At sight of their naked arms + and bustling gestures, Muriel’s heart sank suddenly within her. + “Oh, Mr. Thurstan,” she cried, clinging to his arm in her + terror, “what does it all mean? Are they going to hurt us? Are these + savages coming over? Are they coming to kill us?” + </p> + <p> + Felix grasped his trusty knife hard in his right hand, and swallowed a + groan, as he looked tenderly down upon her. “Muriel,” he said, + forgetting in the excitement of the moment the little conventionalities + and courtesies of civilized life, “if they are, trust me, you never + shall fall alive into their cruel hands. Sooner than that—” he + held up the knife significantly, with its open blade before her. + </p> + <p> + The poor girl clung to him harder still, with a ghastly shudder. “Oh, + it’s terrible, terrible,” she cried, turning deadly pale. + Then, after a short pause, she added, “But I would rather have it + so. Do as you say. I could bear it from you. Promise me <i>that</i>, + rather than that those creatures should kill me.” + </p> + <p> + “I promise,” Felix answered, clasping her hand hard, and + paused, with the knife ever ready in his right, awaiting the approach of + the half-naked savages. + </p> + <p> + The boats glided fast across the lagoon, propelled by the paddles of the + stalwart Polynesians who manned them, and crowded to the water’s + edge with groups of grinning and shouting warriors. They were dressed in + aprons of dracæna leaves only, with necklets and armlets of sharks’ + teeth and cowrie shells. A dozen canoes at least were making toward the + reef at full speed, all bristling with spears and alive with noisy and + boisterous savages. Muriel shrank back terror-stricken at the sight, as + they drew nearer and nearer. But Felix, holding his breath hard, grew + somewhat less nervous as the men approached the reef. He had seen enough + of Polynesian life before now to feel sure these people were not upon the + war-path. Whatever their ultimate intentions toward the castaways might + be, their immediate object seemed friendly and good-humored. The boats, + though large, were not regular war-canoes; the men, instead of brandishing + their spears, and lunging out with them over the edge in threatening + attitudes, held them erect in their hands at rest, like standards; they + were laughing and talking, not crying their war-cry. As they drew near the + shore, one big canoe shot suddenly a length or so ahead of the rest; and + its leader, standing on the grotesque carved figure that adorned its prow, + held up both his hands open and empty before him, in sign of peace, while + at the same time he shouted out a word or two three times in his own + language, to reassure the castaways. + </p> + <p> + Felix’s eye glanced cautiously from boat to boat. “He says, + ‘We are friends,’” the young man remarked in an + undertone to his terrified companion. “I can understand his dialect. + Thank Heaven, it’s very close to Fijian. I shall be able at least to + palaver to these men. I don’t think they mean just now to harm us. I + believe we can trust them, at any rate for the present.” + </p> + <p> + The poor girl drew back, in still greater awe and alarm than ever. “Oh, + are they going to land here?” she cried, still clinging closer with + both hands to her one friend and protector. + </p> + <p> + “Try not to look so frightened!” Felix exclaimed, with a + warning glance. “Remember, much depends upon it; savages judge you + greatly by what demeanor you happen to assume. If you’re frightened, + they know their power; if they see you’re resolute, they suspect you + have some supernatural means of protection. Try to meet them frankly, as + if you were not afraid of them.” Then, advancing slowly to the water’s + edge, he called out aloud, in a strong, clear voice, a few words which + Muriel didn’t understand, but which were really the Fijian for + “We also are friendly. Our medicine is good. We mean no magic. We + come to you from across the great water. We desire your peace. Receive us + and protect us!” + </p> + <p> + At the sound of words which he could readily understand, and which + differed but little, indeed, from his own language, the leader on the + foremost canoe, who seemed by his manner to be a great chief, turned round + to his followers and cried out in tones of superstitious awe, “Tu-Kila-Kila + spoke well. These are, indeed, what he told us. Korong! Korong! They are + spirits who have come to us from the disk of the sun, to bring us light + and pure, fresh fire. Stay back there, all of you. You are not holy enough + to approach. I and my crew, who are sanctified by the mysteries, we alone + will go forward to meet them.” + </p> + <p> + As he spoke, a sudden idea, suggested by his words, struck Felix’s + mind. Superstition is the great lever by which to move the savage + intelligence. Gathering up a few dry leaves and fragments of stick on the + shore, he laid them together in a pile, and awaited in silence the arrival + of the foremost islanders. The first canoe advanced slowly and cautiously, + the men in it eying these proceedings with evident suspicion; the rest + hung back, with their spears in array, and their hands just ready to use + them with effect should occasion demand it. + </p> + <p> + The leader of the first canoe, coming close to the shore, jumped out upon + the reef in shallow water. Half a dozen of his followers jumped after him + without hesitation, and brandished their weapons round their heads as they + advanced, in savage unison. But Felix, pretending hardly to notice these + hostile demonstrations, stepped boldly up toward his little pile with + great deliberation, though trembling inwardly, and proceeded before their + eyes to take a match from his box, which he displayed ostentatiously, all + glittering in the sun, to the foremost savage. The leader stood by and + watched him close with eyes of silent wonder. Then Felix, kneeling down, + struck the match on the box, and applied it, as it lighted, to the dry + leaves beside him. + </p> + <p> + A chorus of astonishment burst unanimously from the delighted natives as + the dry leaves leaped all at once into a tongue of flame, and the little + pile caught quickly from the fire in the vesta. + </p> + <p> + The leader looked hard at the two white faces, and then at the fire on the + beach, with evident approbation. “It is as Tu-Kila-Kila said,” + he exclaimed at last with profound awe. “They are spirits from the + sun, and they carry with them pure fire in shining boxes.” + </p> + <p> + Then, advancing a pace and pointing toward the canoe, he motioned Felix + and Muriel to take their seats within it with native savage politeness. + “Tu-Kila-Kila has sent for you,” he said, in his grandest + aristocratic air, “for your chief is a gentleman. He wishes to + receive you. He saw your message-fire on the reef last night, and he knew + you had come. He has made you a very great Taboo. He has put you under + protection of Fire and Water.” + </p> + <p> + The people in the boats, with one accord, shouted out in wild chorus, as + if to confirm his words, “Taboo! Taboo! Tu-Kila-Kila has said it! + Taboo! Taboo! Ware Fire! Ware Water!” + </p> + <p> + Though the dialect in which they spoke differed somewhat from that in use + in Fiji, Felix could still make out with care almost every word of what + the chief had said to him; and the universal Polynesian expression, + “Taboo,” in particular, somewhat reassured him as to their + friendly intentions. Among remote heathen islanders like these, he felt + sure, the very word itself was far too sacred to be taken in vain. They + would respect its inviolability. He turned round to Muriel. “We must + go with them,” he said, shortly. “It’s our one chance + left of life now. Don’t be too terrified; there is still some hope. + They say somebody they call Tu-Kila-Kila has tabooed us. No one will dare + to hurt us against so great a Taboo; for Tu-Kila-Kila is evidently some + very important king or chief. You must step into the boat. It can’t + be avoided. If any harm is threatened, be sure I won’t forget my + promise.” + </p> + <p> + Muriel shrank back in alarm, and clung still to his arm now as naturally + as she would have clung to a brother’s. “Oh, Mr. Thurstan,” + she cried—“Felix, I don’t know what to say; I <i>can’t</i> + go with them.” + </p> + <p> + Felix put his arm gently round her girlish waist, and half lifted her into + the boat in spite of her reluctance. “You must,” he said, with + great firmness. “You must do as I say. I will watch over you, and + take care of you. If the worst comes, I have always my knife, and I won’t + forget. Now, friend,” he went on, in Fijian, turning round to the + chief, as he took his seat in the canoe fearlessly among all those dusky, + half-clad figures, “we are ready to start. We do not fear. We wish + to go. Take us to Tu-Kila-Kila.” + </p> + <p> + And all the savages around, shouting in their surprise and awe, exclaimed + once more in concert, “Tu-Kila-Kila is great. We will take them, as + he bids us, forthwith to heaven.” + </p> + <p> + “What do they say?” Muriel cried, clinging close to the white + man’s side in her speechless terror. “Do you understand their + language?” + </p> + <p> + “Well, I can’t quite make it out,” Felix answered, much + puzzled; “that is to say, not every word of it. They say they’ll + take us somewhere, I don’t quite know where; but in Fijian, the word + would certainly mean to heaven.” + </p> + <p> + Muriel shuddered visibly. “You don’t think,” she said, + with a tremulous tongue, “they mean to kill us?” + </p> + <p> + “No, I don’t <i>think</i> so,” Felix replied, not + over-confidently. “They said we were Taboo. But with savages like + these, of course, one can never in any case be quite certain.” + </p> + <p> + <br /><br /> + </p> + <hr /> + <p> + <a name="link2HCH0005" id="link2HCH0005"> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + CHAPTER V. — ENROLLED IN OLYMPUS. + </h2> + <p> + They rowed across the lagoon, a mysterious procession, almost in silence—the + canoe with the two Europeans going first, the others following at a slight + distance—and landed at last on the brink of the central island. + </p> + <p> + Several of the Boupari people leaped ashore at once; then they helped + Felix and Muriel from the frail bark with almost deferential care, and led + the way before them up a steep white path, that zigzagged through the + forest toward the centre of the island. As they went, a band of natives + preceded them in regular line of march, shouting “Taboo, taboo!” + at short intervals, especially as they neared any group of fan-palm + cottages. The women whom they met fell on their knees at once, till the + strange procession had passed them by; the men only bowed their heads + thrice, and made a rapid movement on their breasts with their fingers, + which reminded Muriel at once of the sign of the cross in Catholic + countries. + </p> + <p> + So on they wended their way in silence through the deep tropical jungle, + along a pathway just wide enough for three to walk abreast, till they + emerged suddenly upon a large cleared space, in whose midst grew a great + banyan-tree, with arms that dropped and rooted themselves like buttresses + in the soil beneath. Under the banyan-tree a raised platform stood upon + posts of bamboo. The platform was covered with fine network in yellow and + red; and two little stools occupied the middle, as if placed there on + purpose and waiting for their occupants. + </p> + <p> + The man who had headed the first canoe turned round to Felix and motioned + him forward. “This is Heaven,” he said glibly, in his own + tongue. “Spirits, ascend it!” + </p> + <p> + Felix, much wondering what the ceremony could mean, mounted the platform + without a word, in obedience to the chief’s command, closely + followed by Muriel, who dared not leave him for a second. + </p> + <p> + “Bring water!” the chief said, shortly, in a voice of + authority to one of his followers. + </p> + <p> + The man handed up a calabash with a little water in it. The chief took the + rude vessel from his hands in a reverential manner, and poured a few drops + of the contents on Felix’s head; the water trickled down over his + hair and forehead. Involuntarily, Felix shook his head a little at the + unexpected wetting, and scattered the drops right and left on his neck and + shoulders. The chief watched this performance attentively with profound + satisfaction. Then he turned to his attendants. + </p> + <p> + “The spirit shakes his head,” he said, with a deeply convinced + air. “All is well. Heaven has chosen him. Korong! Korong! He is + accepted for his purpose. It is well! It is well! Let us try the other + one.” + </p> + <p> + He raised the calabash once more, and poured a few drops in like manner on + Muriel’s dark hair. The poor girl, trembling in every limb, shook + her head also in the same unintentional fashion. The chief regarded her + with still more complacent eyes. + </p> + <p> + “It is well,” he observed once more to his companions, + smiling. “She, too, gives the sign of acceptance. Korong! Korong! + Heaven is well pleased with both. See how her body trembles!” + </p> + <p> + At that moment a girl came forward with a little basket of fruits. The + chief chose a banana with care from the basket, peeled it with his dusky + hands, broke it slowly in two, and handed one half very solemnly to Felix. + </p> + <p> + “Eat, King of the Rain,” he said, as he presented it. “The + offering of Heaven.” + </p> + <p> + Felix ate it at once, thinking it best under the circumstances not to + demur at all to anything his strange hosts might choose to impose upon + him. + </p> + <p> + The chief handed the other half just as solemnly to Muriel. “Eat, + Queen of the Clouds,” he said, as he placed it in her fingers. + “The offering of Heaven.” + </p> + <p> + Muriel hesitated. She didn’t know what his words meant, and it + seemed to her rather the offering of a very dirty and unwashed savage. The + chief eyed her hard. “For God’s sake eat it, my child; he + tells you to eat it!” Felix exclaimed in haste. Muriel lifted it to + her lips and swallowed it down with difficulty. The man’s dusky + hands didn’t inspire confidence. + </p> + <p> + But the chief seemed relieved when he had seen her swallow it. “All + is well done,” he said, turning again to his followers. “We + have obeyed the words of Tu-Kila-Kila, and his orders that he gave us. We + have offered the strangers, the spirits from the sun, as a free gift to + Heaven, and Heaven has accepted them. We have given them fruits, the + fruits of the earth, and they have duly eaten them. Korong! Korong! The + King of the Rain and the Queen of the Clouds have indeed come among us. + They are truly gods. We will take them now, as he bid us, to Tu-Kila-Kila.” + </p> + <p> + “What have they done to us?” Muriel asked aside, in a + terrified undertone of Felix. + </p> + <p> + “I can’t quite make out,” Felix answered in the selfsame + voice. “They call us the King of the Rain and the Queen of the + Clouds in their own language. I think they imagine we’ve come from + the sun and that we’re a sort of spirits.” + </p> + <p> + At the sound of these words the girl who held the basket of fruits gave a + sudden start. It almost seemed to Muriel as if she understood them. But + when Muriel looked again she gave no further sign. She merely held her + peace, and tried to appear wholly undisconcerted. + </p> + <p> + The chief beckoned them down from the platform with a wave of his hand. + They rose and followed him. As they rose the people around them bowed low + to the ground. Felix could see they were bowing to Muriel and himself, not + merely to the chief. A doubt flitted strangely across his mind for a + moment. What could it all mean? Did they take the two strangers, then, for + supernatural beings? Had they enrolled them as gods? If so, it might serve + as some little protection for them. + </p> + <p> + The procession formed again, three and three, three and three, in solemn + silence. Then the chief walked in front of them with measured steps, and + Felix and Muriel followed behind, wondering. As they went, the cry rose + louder and louder than before, “Taboo! Taboo!” People who met + them fell on their faces at once, as the chief cried out in a loud tone, + “The King of the Rain! The Queen of the Clouds! Korong! Korong! They + are coming! They are coming!” + </p> + <p> + At last they reached a second cleared space, standing in a large garden of + manilla, loquat, poncians, and hibiscus-trees. It was entered by a gate, a + tall gate of bamboo posts. At the gate all the followers fell back to + right and left, awe-struck. Only the chief went calmly on. He beckoned to + Felix and Muriel to follow him. + </p> + <p> + They entered, half terrified. Felix still grasped his open knife in his + hand, ready to strike at any moment that might be necessary. The chief led + them forward toward a very large tree near the centre of the garden. At + the foot of the tree stood a hut, somewhat bigger and better built than + any they had yet seen; and in front of the trunk a stalwart savage, very + powerfully built, but with a sinister look in his cruel and lustful eye, + was pacing up and down, like a sentinel on guard, a long spear in his + right hand, and a tomahawk in his left, held close by his side, all ready + for action. As he prowled up and down he seemed to be peering warily about + him on every side, as if each instant he expected to be set upon by an + enemy. But as the chief approached, the people without set up once more + the cry of “Taboo! Taboo!” and the stalwart savage by the + tree, laying down his spear and letting his tomahawk fall free, dropped in + a second the air of watchful alarm, and advanced with some courtesy to + greet the new-comers. + </p> + <p> + “We have found them, Tu-Kila-Kila,” the chief said, presenting + them to the god with a graceful wave of his hand. “We have found the + spirits that you brought from the sun, with the fire in their hands, and + the light in boxes. We have taken them to Heaven. Heaven has accepted + them. We have offered them fruit, and they have eaten the banana. The King + of the Rain—the Queen of the Clouds! Korong! Receive them!” + </p> + <p> + Tu-Kila-Kila glanced at them with an approving glance, strangely + compounded of pleasure and terror. “They are plump,” he said + shortly. “They are indeed Korong. My sun has sent me an acceptable + present.” + </p> + <p> + “What is your will that we should do with them?” the chief + asked in a deeply deferential tone. + </p> + <p> + Tu-Kila-Kila looked hard at Muriel—such a hateful look that the + knife trembled irresolute for a second in Felix’s hand. “Give + them two fresh huts,” he said, in a lordly way. “Give them + divine platters. Give them all that they need. Make everything right for + them.” + </p> + <p> + The chief bowed, and retired with an awed air from the presence. Exactly + as he passed a certain line on the ground, marked white with a row of + coral-sand, Tu-Kila-Kila seized his spear and his tomahawk once more, and + mounted guard, as before, at the foot of the great tree where they had + seen him pacing. An instantaneous change seemed to Muriel to come over his + demeanor at that moment. While he spoke with the chief she noticed he + looked all cruelty, lust, and hateful self-indulgence. Now that he paced + up and down warily in front of that sacred floor, peering around him with + keen suspicion, he seemed rather the personification of watchfulness, + fear, and a certain slavish bodily terror. Especially, she observed, he + cast upon Felix, as he went, a glance of angry hate; and yet he did not + attempt to hurt or molest him in any way, defenceless as they both were + before those numerous savages. + </p> + <p> + As they emerged from the enclosure, the girl with the fruit basket stood + near the gate, looking outward from the wall, her face turned away from + the awful home of Tu-Kila-Kila. At the moment when Muriel passed, to her + immense astonishment the girl spoke to her. “Don’t be afraid, + missy,” she said in English, in a rather low voice, without + obtrusively approaching them. “Boupari man not going to hurt you. Me + going to be your servant. Me name Mali. Me very good girl. Me take plenty + care of you.” + </p> + <p> + The unexpected sound of her own language, in the midst of so much + unmitigated savagery, took Muriel fairly by surprise. She looked hard at + the girl, but thought it wisest to answer nothing. This particular young + woman, indeed, was just as dark, and to all appearance just as much of a + savage, as any of the rest of them. But she could speak English, at any + rate! And she said she was to be Muriel’s servant! + </p> + <p> + The chief led them back to the shore, talking volubly all the way in + Polynesia to Felix. His dialect differed so much from the Fijian that when + he spoke first Felix could hardly follow him. But he gathered vaguely, + nevertheless, that they were to be well housed and fed for the present at + the public expense; and even that something which the chief clearly + regarded as a very great honor was in store for them in the future. + Whatever these people’s particular superstition might be, it seemed + pretty evident at least that it told in the strangers’ favor. Felix + almost began to hope they might manage to live there pretty tolerably for + the next two or three weeks, and perhaps to signal in time to some passing + Australian liner. + </p> + <p> + The rest of that wonderful eventful day was wholly occupied with practical + details. Before long, two adjacent huts were found for them, near the + shore of the lagoon; and Felix noticed with pleasure, not only that the + huts themselves were new and clean, but also that the chief took great + care to place round both of them a single circular line of white + coral-sand, like the one he had noticed at Tu-Kila-Kila’s + palace-temple. He felt sure this white line made the space within taboo. + No native would dare without leave to cross it. + </p> + <p> + When the line was well marked out round the two huts together, the chief + went away for a while, leaving the Europeans within their broad white + circle, guarded by an angry-looking band of natives with long spears at + rest, all pointed inward. The natives themselves stood well without the + ring, but the points of their spears almost reached the line, and it was + clear they would not for the present permit the Europeans to leave the + charmed circle. + </p> + <p> + Presently, the chief returned again, followed by two other natives in + official costumes. One of them was a tall and handsome young man, dressed + in a long robe or cloak of yellow feathers. The other was stouter, and + perhaps forty or thereabouts; he wore a short cape of white albatross + plumes, with a girdle of shells at his waist, interspersed with red coral. + </p> + <p> + “The King of Fire will make Taboo,” the chief said, solemnly. + </p> + <p> + The young man with the cloak of yellow feathers stepped forward and spoke, + toeing the line with his left foot, and brandishing a lighted stick in his + right hand. “Taboo! Taboo! Taboo!” he cried aloud, with + emphasis. “If any man dare to transgress this line without leave, I + burn him to ashes. If any woman, I scorch her to a cinder. Taboo to the + King of the Rain and the Queen of the Clouds. Taboo! Taboo! Taboo! Korong! + I say it.” + </p> + <p> + He stepped back into the ranks with an air of duty performed. The chief + looked about him curiously a moment. “The King of Water will make + Taboo,” he repeated after a pause, in the same deep tone of profound + conviction. + </p> + <p> + The stouter man in the short white cape stepped forward in his turn. He + toed the line with his naked left foot; in his brown right hand he carried + a calabash of water. “Taboo! Taboo! Taboo!” he exclaimed + aloud, pouring out the water upon the ground symbolically. “If any + man dare to transgress this line without leave, I drown him in his canoe. + If any woman, I drag her alive into the spring as she fetches water. Taboo + to the King of the Rain and the Queen of the Clouds. Taboo! Taboo! Taboo! + Korong! I say it.” + </p> + <p> + “What does it all mean?” Muriel whispered, terrified. + </p> + <p> + Felix explained to her, as far as he could, in a few hurried sentences. + “There’s only one word in it I don’t understand,” + he added, hastily, “and that’s Korong. It doesn’t occur + in Fiji. They keep saying we’re Korong, whatever that may mean; and + evidently they attach some very great importance to it.” + </p> + <p> + “Let the Shadows come forward,” the chief said, looking up + with an air of dignity. + </p> + <p> + A good-looking young man, and the girl who said her name was Mali, stepped + forth from the crowd, and fell on their knees before him. + </p> + <p> + The chief laid his hand on the young man’s shoulder and raised him + up. “The Shadow of the King of the Rain,” he cried, turning + him three times round. “Follow him in all his incomings and his + outgoings, and serve him faithfully! Taboo! Taboo! Pass within the sacred + circle!” + </p> + <p> + He clapped his hands. The young man crossed the line with a sort of + reverent reluctance, and took his place within the ring, close up to + Felix. + </p> + <p> + The chief laid his hand on Mali’s shoulder. “The Shadow of the + Queen of the Clouds,” he said, turning her three times round. + “Follow her in all her incomings and outgoings, and serve her + faithfully. Taboo! Taboo! Pass within the sacred circle!” + </p> + <p> + Then he waved both hands to Felix. “Go where you will now,” he + said. “Your Shadow will follow you. You are free as the rain that + drops where it will. You are as free as the clouds that roam through + heaven. No man will hinder you.” + </p> + <p> + And in a moment the spearmen dropped their spears in concert, the crowd + fell back, and the villagers dispersed as if by magic, to their own + houses. + </p> + <p> + But Felix and Muriel were left alone beside their huts, guarded only in + silence by their two mystic Shadows. + </p> + <p> + <br /><br /> + </p> + <hr /> + <p> + <a name="link2HCH0006" id="link2HCH0006"> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + CHAPTER VI. — FIRST DAYS IN BOUPARI. + </h2> + <p> + Throughout that day the natives brought them, from time to time, numerous + presents of yam, bananas, and bread-fruit, neatly arranged in little + palm-leaf baskets. A few of them brought eggs as well, and one offering + even included a live chicken. But the people who brought them, and who + were mostly young girls just entering upon womanhood, did not venture to + cross the white line of coral-sand that surrounded the huts; they laid + down their presents, with many salaams, on the ground outside, and then + waited with a half-startled, half-reverent air for one or other of the two + Shadows to come out and fetch them. As soon as the baskets were carried + well within the marked line, the young girls exhibited every sign of + pleasure, and calling aloud, “Korong! Korong!”—that + mysterious Polynesian word of whose import Felix was ignorant—they + retired once more by tortuous paths through the surrounding jungle. + </p> + <p> + “Why do they bring us presents?” Felix asked at last of his + Shadow, after this curious pantomime had been performed some three or four + times. “Are they always going to keep us in such plenty?” + </p> + <p> + The Shadow looked back at him with an air of considerable surprise. + “They bring presents, of course,” he said, in his own tongue, + “because they are badly in want of rain. We have had much drought of + late in Boupari; we need water from heaven. The banana-bushes wither; the + flowers on the bread-fruit tree do not swell to breadfruit; the yams are + thirsty. Therefore the fathers send their daughters with presents, maidens + of the villages, all marriageable girls, to ask for rainfall. But they + will always provide for you, and also for the Queen, however you behave; + for you are both Korong. Tu-Kila-Kila has said so, and Heaven has accepted + you.” + </p> + <p> + “What do you mean by Korong?” Felix asked, with some + trepidation. + </p> + <p> + The Shadow merely looked back at him with a sort of blank surprise that + anybody should be ignorant of so simple a conception. “Why, Korong + is Korong,” he answered, aghast. “You are Korong yourself. The + Queen of the Clouds is Korong, too. You are both Korong; that is why they + all treat you with such respect and reverence.” + </p> + <p> + And that was as much as Felix could elicit by his subtlest questions from + his taciturn Shadow. + </p> + <p> + In fact, it was clear that in the open, at least, the Shadow was averse to + being observed in familiar conversation with Felix. During the heat of the + day, however, when they sat alone within the hut, he was much more + communicative. Then he launched forth pretty freely into talk about the + island and its life, which would no doubt have largely enlightened Felix, + had it not been for two drawbacks to their means of inter-communication. + In the first place, the Boupari dialect, though agreeing in all essentials + with the Polynesian of Fiji, nevertheless contained a great many words and + colloquial expressions unknown to the Fijians; this being particularly the + case, as Felix soon remarked, in the whole vocabulary of religious rites + and ceremonies. And in the second place, the Shadow was so rigidly bound + by his own narrow and insular set of ideas, that he couldn’t + understand the difficulty Felix felt in throwing himself into them. Over + and over again, when Felix asked him to explain some word or custom, he + would repeat, with naïve impatience, “Why, Korong is Korong,” + or “Tula is just Tula; even a child must surely know what Tula is; + much more yourself, who are indeed Korong, and who have come from the sun + to bring fresh fire to us.” + </p> + <p> + In the adjoining hut, Muriel, who was now beginning in some small degree + to get rid of her most pressing fear for the immediate future, and whom + the obvious reality of the taboo had reassured for the moment, sat with + Mali, her own particular Shadow, unravelling the mystery of the girl’s + knowledge of English. + </p> + <p> + Mali, indeed, like the other Shadow, showed every disposition to indulge + in abundant conversation, as soon as she found herself well within the + hut, alone with her mistress, and secluded from the prying eyes of all the + other islanders. + </p> + <p> + “Don’t you be afraid, missy,” she said, with genuine + kindliness in her tone, as soon as the gifts of yam and bread-fruit had + all been duly housed and garnered. “No harm come to you. You Korong, + you know. You very great Taboo. Tu-Kila-Kila send King of Fire and King of + Water to make taboo over you, so nobody hurt you.” + </p> + <p> + Muriel burst into tears at the sound of her own language from those dusky + lips, and exclaimed through her sobs, clinging to the girl’s hand + for comfort as she spoke, “Why, how did you ever come to speak + English?—tell me.” + </p> + <p> + Mali looked up at her with a half-astonished air. “Oh, I servant in + Queensland, of course, missy,” she answered, with great composure. + “Labor vessel come to my island, far away, four, five years ago, + steal boy, steal woman. My papa just kill my mamma, because he angry with + her, so no want daughters. So my papa sell me and my sister for plenty + rum, plenty tobacco, to gentlemen in labor vessel. Gentlemen in labor + vessel take Jani and me away, away, to Queensland. Big sea; long voyage. + We stop there three yam—three years—do service; then great + chief in Queensland send us back to my island. My island too faraway; + gentleman on ship not find it out; so he land us in little boat on + Boupari. Boupari people make temple slave of us.” And that was all; + to her quite a commonplace, everyday history. + </p> + <p> + “I see,” Muriel cried. “Then you’ve been for three + years in Australia! And there you learned English. Why, what did you do + there?” + </p> + <p> + Mali looked back at her with the same matter-of-fact air of composure as + before. “Oh, me nurse at first,” she said, shortly. “Then + after, me housemaid, live three year in gentleman’s house, good + gentleman that buy me. Take care of little girl; clean rooms; do + everything. Me know how to make English lady quite comfortable. Me tell + that to chief; that make him say, ‘Mali, you be Queenie’s + Shadow.’” + </p> + <p> + To Muriel in her loneliness even such companionship as that was indeed a + consolation. “Oh, I’m so glad you told him,” she cried. + “If we have to stop here long, before a ship takes us off, it’ll + be so nice to have you here all the time with me. You won’t go away + from me ever, will you? You’ll always stop with me!” + </p> + <p> + The girl’s surprise showed more profoundly than ever. “Me can’t + go away,” she answered, with emphasis. “Me your Shadow. That + great Taboo. Tu-Kila-Kila great god. If me go away, Tu-Kila-Kila kill me + and eat me.” + </p> + <p> + Muriel started back in horror. “But, Mali,” she said, looking + hard at the girl’s pleasant brown face, “if you were three + years in Australia, you’re a Christian, surely!” + </p> + <p> + The girl nodded her head in passive acquiescence. “Me Christian in + Australia,” she answered. “Of course me Christian. All folks + make Christian when him go to Queensland. That what for me call Mali, and + my sister Jani. We have other names on my own island; but when we go to + Queensland, gentleman baptize us, call us Mali and Jani. Me Methodist in + Queensland. Methodist very good. But Methodist god no live in Boupari. Not + any good be Methodist here any longer. Tu-Kila-Kila god here. Him very + powerful.” + </p> + <p> + “What! Not that dreadful creature that they took us to see this + morning!” Muriel exclaimed, in horror. “Oh, Mali, you can’t + mean to say they think he’s a <i>god</i>, that awful man there!” + </p> + <p> + Mali nodded her assent with profound conviction. “Yes, yes; him god,” + she repeated, confidently. “Him very powerful. My sister Jani go too + near him temple, against taboo—because her not belong-a Tu-Kila-Kila + temple; and last night, when it great feast, plenty men catch Jani, and + tie him up in rope; and Tu-Kila-Kila kill him, and plenty Boupari men help + Tu-Kila-Kila eat up Jani.” + </p> + <p> + She said it in the same simple, matter-of-fact way as she had said that + she was a nurse for three years in Queensland. To her it was a common + incident of everyday life. Such accidents <i>will</i> happen, if you break + taboo and go too near forbidden temples. + </p> + <p> + But Muriel drew back, and let the pleasant-looking brown girl’s hand + drop suddenly. “You can’t mean it,” she cried. “You + can’t mean he’s a god! Such a wicked man as that! Oh, his very + look’s too horrible.” + </p> + <p> + Mali drew back in her turn with a somewhat terrified air, and peeped + suspiciously around her, as if to make sure whether any one was listening. + “Oh, hush,” she said, anxiously. “Don’t must talk + like that. If Tu-Kila-Kila hear, him scorch us up to ashes. Him very great + god! Him good! Him powerful!” + </p> + <p> + “How can he be good if he does such awful things?” Muriel + exclaimed, energetically. + </p> + <p> + Mali peered around her once more with terrified eyes in the same uneasy + way. “Take care,” she said again. “Him god! Him + powerful! Him can do no wrong. Him King of the Trees! Him King of Heaven! + On Boupari island, Methodist god not much; no god so great like + Tu-Kila-Kila.” + </p> + <p> + “But a <i>man</i> can’t be a god!” Muriel exclaimed, + contemptuously. “He’s nothing but a man! a savage! A cannibal!” + </p> + <p> + Mali looked back at her in wondering surprise. “Not in Queensland,” + she answered, calmly—to her, all the world naturally divided itself + into Queensland and Polynesia—“no god in Queensland. Governor, + him very great chief; but him no god like Tu-Kila-Kila. Methodist god in + sky, him only god that live in Queensland. But no use worship Methodist + god over here in Boupari. Him no live here. Tu-Kila-Kila live here. All + god here make out of man. Live in man. Korong! What for you say a man can’t + be a god! You god yourself! White gentleman there, god! Korong, Korong. + Chief put you in Heaven, so make you a god. People pray to you now. People + bring you presents.” + </p> + <p> + “You don’t mean to say,” Muriel cried, “they bring + me these things because they think me a goddess?” + </p> + <p> + Mali nodded a grave assent. “Same like people give money in church + in Queensland,” she answered, promptly. “Ask you make rain, + make plenty crop, make bread-fruit grow, make banana, make plantain. You + Korong now. While your time last, Queenie, people give you plenty of + present.” + </p> + <p> + “While my time last?” Muriel repeated, with a curious sense of + discomfort creeping over her slowly. + </p> + <p> + The girl nodded an easy assent. “Yes, while your time last,” + she answered, laying a small bundle of palm-leaves at Muriel’s back + by way of a cushion. “For now you Korong. By and by, Korong pass to + somebody else. This year, you Korong. So people worship you.” + </p> + <p> + But nothing that Muriel could say would induce the girl further to explain + her meaning. She shook her head and looked very wise. “When a god + come into somebody,” she said, nodding toward Muriel in a mysterious + way, “then him god himself; him Korong. When the god go away from + him, him Korong no longer; somebody else Korong. Queenie Korong now; so + people worship him. While him time last, people plenty kind to him.” + </p> + <p> + The day passed away, and night came on. As it approached, heavy clouds + drifted up from eastward. Mali busied herself with laying out a rough bed + in the hut for Muriel, and making her a pillow of soft moss and the + curious lichen-like material that hangs parasitic from the trees, and is + commonly known as “old man’s beard.” As both Mali and + Felix assured her confidently no harm would come to her within so strict a + Taboo, Muriel, worn out with fatigue and terror, lay down at last and + slept soundly on this native substitute for a bedstead. She slept without + dreaming, while Mali lay at her feet, ready at a moment’s call. It + was all so strange; and yet she was too utterly wearied to do otherwise + than sleep, in spite of her strange and terrible surroundings. + </p> + <p> + Felix slept, too, for some hours, but woke with a start in the night. It + was raining heavily. He could hear the loud patter of a fierce tropical + shower on the roof of his hut. His Shadow, at his feet, slept still + unmoved; but when Felix rose on his elbow, the Shadow rose on a sudden, + too, and confronted him curiously. The young man heard the rain; then he + bowed down his face with an awed air, not visible, but audible, in the + still darkness. “It has come!” he said, with superstitious + terror. “It has come at last! my lord has brought it!” + </p> + <p> + After that, Felix lay awake for some hours, hearing the rain on the roof, + and puzzled in his own head by a half-uncertain memory. What was it in his + school reading that that ceremony with the water indefinitely reminded him + of? Wasn’t there some Greek or Roman superstition about shaking your + head when water was poured upon it? What could that superstition be, and + what light might it cast on that mysterious ceremony? He wished he could + remember; but it was so long since he’d read it, and he never cared + much at school for Greek or Roman antiquities. + </p> + <p> + Suddenly, in a lull of the rain, the whole context at once came back with + a rush to him. He remembered now he had read it, some time or other, in + some classical dictionary. It was a custom connected with Greek + sacrifices. The officiating priest poured water or wine on the head of the + sheep, bullock, or other victim. If the victim shook its head and knocked + off the drops, that was a sign that it was fit for the sacrifice, and that + the god accepted it. If the victim trembled visibly, that was a most + favorable omen. If it stood quite still and didn’t move its neck, + then the god rejected it as unfit for his purpose. Couldn’t <i>that</i> + be the meaning of the ceremony performed on Muriel and himself in “Heaven” + that morning? Were they merely intended as human sacrifices? Were they to + be kept meanwhile and, as it were, fed up for the slaughter? It was too + horrible to believe; yet it almost looked like it. + </p> + <p> + He wished he knew the meaning of that strange word, “Korong.” + Clearly, it contained the true key to the mystery. + </p> + <p> + Anyhow, he had always his trusty knife. If the worst came to the worst—those + wretches should never harm his spotless Muriel. + </p> + <p> + For he loved her to-night; he would watch over and protect her. He would + save her at least from the deadliest of insults. + </p> + <p> + <br /><br /> + </p> + <hr /> + <p> + <a name="link2HCH0007" id="link2HCH0007"> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + CHAPTER VII. — INTERCHANGE OF CIVILITIES. + </h2> + <p> + All night long, without intermission, the heavy tropical rain descended in + torrents; at sunrise it ceased, and a bright blue vault of sky stood in a + spotless dome over the island of Boupari. + </p> + <p> + As soon as the sun was well risen, and the rain had ceased, one shy native + girl after another came straggling up timidly to the white line that + marked the taboo round Felix and Muriel’s huts. They came with more + baskets of fruit and eggs. Humbly saluting three times as they drew near, + they laid down their gifts modestly just outside the line, with many loud + ejaculations of praise and gratitude to the gods in their own language. + </p> + <p> + “What do they say?” Muriel asked, in a dazed and frightened + way, looking out of the hut door, and turning in wonder to Mali. + </p> + <p> + “They say, ‘Thank you, Queenie, for rain and fruits,’” + Mali answered, unconcerned, bustling about in the hut. “Missy want + to wash him face and hands this morning? Lady always wash every day over + yonder in Queensland.” + </p> + <p> + Muriel nodded assent. It was all so strange to her. But Mali went to the + door and beckoned carelessly to one of the native girls just outside, who + drew near the line at the summons, with a somewhat frightened air, putting + one finger to her mouth in coyly uncertain savage fashion. + </p> + <p> + “Fetch me water from the spring!” Mali said, authoritatively, + in Polynesian. Without a moment’s delay the girl darted off at the + top of her speed, and soon returned with a large calabash full of fresh + cool water, which she lay down respectfully by the taboo line, not daring + to cross it. + </p> + <p> + “Why didn’t you get it yourself?” Muriel asked of her + Shadow, rather relieved than otherwise that Mali hadn’t left her. It + was something in these dire straits to have somebody always near who could + at least speak a little English. + </p> + <p> + Mali started back in surprise. “Oh, that would never do,” she + answered, catching a colloquial phrase she had often heard long before in + Queensland. “Me missy’s Shadow. That great Taboo. If me go + away out of missy’s sight, very big sin—very big danger. + Man-a-Boupari catch me and kill me like Jani, for no me stop and wait all + the time on missy.” + </p> + <p> + It was clear that human life was held very cheap on the island of Boupari. + </p> + <p> + Muriel made her scanty toilet in the hut as well as she was able, with the + calabash and water, aided by a rough shell comb which Mali had provided + for her. Then she breakfasted, not ill, off eggs and fruit, which Mali + cooked with some rude native skill over the open-air fire without in the + precincts. + </p> + <p> + After breakfast, Felix came in to inquire how she had passed the night in + her new quarters. Already Muriel felt how odd was the contrast between the + quiet politeness of his manner as an English gentleman and the strange + savage surroundings in which they both now found themselves. Civilization + is an attribute of communities; we necessarily leave it behind when we + find ourselves isolated among barbarians or savages. But culture is a + purely personal and individual possession; we carry it with us wherever we + go; and no circumstances of life can ever deprive us of it. + </p> + <p> + As they sat there talking, with a deep and abiding sense of awe at the + change (Muriel more conscious than ever now of how deep was her interest + in Felix Thurstan, who represented for her all that was dearest and best + in England), a curious noise, as of a discordant drum or tom-tom, beaten + in a sort of recurrent tune, was heard toward the hills; and at its very + first sound both the Shadows, flinging themselves upon their faces with + every sign of terror, endeavored to hide themselves under the native mats + with which the bare little hut was roughly carpeted. + </p> + <p> + “What’s the matter?” Felix cried, in English, to Mali; + for Muriel had already explained to him how the girl had picked up some + knowledge of our tongue in Queensland. + </p> + <p> + Mali trembled in every limb, so that she could hardly speak. “Tu-Kila-Kila + come,” she answered, all breathless. “No blackfellow look at + him. Burn blackfellow up. You and Missy Korong. All right for you. Go out + to meet him!” + </p> + <p> + “Tu-Kila-Kila is coming,” the young man-Shadow said, in + Polynesian, almost in the same breath, and no less tremulously. “We + dare not look upon his face lest he burn us to ashes. He is a very great + Taboo. His face is fire. But you two are gods. Step forth to receive him.” + </p> + <p> + Felix took Muriel’s hand in his, somewhat trembling himself, and led + her forth on to the open space in front of the huts to meet the man-god. + She followed him like a child. She was woman enough for that. She had + implicit trust in him. + </p> + <p> + As they emerged, a strange procession met their eyes unawares, coming down + the zig-zag path that led from the hills to the shore of the lagoon, where + their huts were situated. At its head marched two men—tall, + straight, and supple—wearing huge feather masks over their faces, + and beating tom-toms, decorated with long strings of shiny cowries. After + them, in order, came a sort of hollow square of chiefs or warriors, + surrounding with fan-palms a central object all shrouded from the view + with the utmost precaution. This central object was covered with a huge + regal umbrella, from whose edge hung rows of small nautilus and other + shells, so as to form a kind of screen, like the Japanese portières now so + common in English doorways. Two supporters held it up, one on either side, + in long cloaks of feathers. Under the umbrella, a man seemed to move; and + as he approached, the natives, to right and left, fled precipitately to + their huts, snatching up their naked little ones from the ground as they + went, and crying aloud, “Taboo, Taboo! He comes! he comes. + Tu-Kila-Kila! Tu-Kila-Kila!” + </p> + <p> + The procession wound slowly on, unheeding these common creatures, till it + reached the huts. Then the chiefs who formed the hollow square fell back + one by one, and the man under the umbrella, with his two supporters, came + forward boldly. Felix noticed that they crossed without scruple the thick + white line of sand which all the other natives so carefully respected. The + man within the umbrella drew aside the curtain of hanging nautilus shells. + His face was covered with a thin mask of paper mulberry bark; but Felix + knew he was the self-same person whom they had seen the day before in the + central temple. + </p> + <p> + Tu-Kila-Kila’s air was more insolent and arrogant than even before. + He was clearly in high spirits. “You have done well, O King of the + Rain,” he said, turning gayly to Felix; “and you too, O Queen + of the Clouds; you have done right bravely. We have all acquitted + ourselves as our people would wish. We have made our showers to descend + abundantly from heaven; we have caused the crops to grow; we have wetted + the plantain bushes. See; Tu-Kila-Kila, who is so great a god, has come + from his own home on the hills to greet you.” + </p> + <p> + “It has certainly rained in the night,” Felix answered, dryly. + </p> + <p> + But Tu-Kila-Kila was not to be put off thus. Adjusting his thin mask or + veil of bark, so as to hide his face more thoroughly from the inferior + god, he turned round once more to the chiefs, who even so hardly dared to + look openly upon him. Then he struck an attitude. The man was clearly + bursting with spiritual pride. He knew himself to be a god, and was filled + with the insolence of his supernatural power. “See, my people,” + he cried, holding up his hands, palm outward, in his accustomed god-like + way; “I am indeed a great deity—Lord of Heaven, Lord of Earth, + Life of the World, Master of Time, Measurer of the Sun’s Course, + Spirit of Growth, Creator of the Harvest, Master of Mortals, Bestower of + Breath upon Men, Chief Pillar of Heaven!” + </p> + <p> + The warriors bowed down before their bloated master with unquestioning + assent. “Giver of Life to all the host of the gods,” they + cried, “you are indeed a mighty one. Weigher of the equipoise of + Heaven and Earth, we acknowledge your might; we give you thanks eternally.” + </p> + <p> + Tu-Kila-Kila swelled with visible importance. “Did I not tell you, + my meat,” he exclaimed, “I would bring you new gods, great + spirits from the sun, fetchers of fire from my bright home in the heavens? + And have they not come? Are they not here to-day? Have they not brought + the precious gift of fresh fire with them?” + </p> + <p> + “Tu-Kila-Kila speaks true,” the chiefs echoed, submissively, + with bent heads. + </p> + <p> + “Did I not make one of them King of the Rain?” Tu-Kila-Kila + asked once more, stretching one hand toward the sky with theatrical + magnificence. “Did I not declare the other Queen of the Clouds in + Heaven? And have I not caused them to bring down showers this night upon + our crops? Has not the dry earth drunk? Am I not the great god, the + Saviour of Boupari?” + </p> + <p> + “Tu-Kila-Kila says well,” the chiefs responded, once more, in + unanimous chorus. + </p> + <p> + Tu-Kila-Kila struck another attitude with childish self-satisfaction. + “I go into the hut to speak with my ministers,” he said, + grandiloquently. “Fire and Water, wait you here outside while I + enter and speak with my friends from the sun, whom I have brought for the + salvation of the crops to Boupari.” + </p> + <p> + The King of Fire and the King of Water, supporting the umbrella, bowed + assent to his words. Tu-Kila-Kila motioned Felix and Muriel into the + nearest hut. It was the one where the two Shadows lay crouching in terror + among the native mats. As the god tried to enter, the two cowering + wretches set up a loud shout, “Taboo! Taboo! Mercy! Mercy! Mercy!” + Tu-Kila-Kila retreated with a contemptuous smile. “I want to see you + alone,” he said, in Polynesian, to Felix. “Is the other hut + empty? If not, go in and cut their throats who sit there, and make the + place a solitude for Tu-Kila-Kila.” + </p> + <p> + “There is no one in the hut,” Felix answered, with a nod, + concealing his disgust at the command as far as he was able. + </p> + <p> + “That is well,” Tu-Kila-Kila answered, and walked into it + carelessly. Felix followed him close and deemed it best to make Muriel + enter also. + </p> + <p> + As soon-as they were alone, Tu-Kila-Kila’s manner altered greatly. + “Come, now,” he said, quite genially, yet with a curious + under-current of hate in his steely gray eye; “we three are all + gods. We who are in heaven need have no secrets from one another. Tell me + the truth; did you really come to us direct from the sun, or are you + sailing gods, dropped from a great canoe belonging to the warriors who + seek laborers for the white men in the distant country?” + </p> + <p> + Felix told him briefly, in as few words as possible, the story of their + arrival. + </p> + <p> + Tu-Kila-Kila listened with lively interest, then he said, very decisively, + with great bravado, “It was <i>I</i> who made the big wave wash your + sister overboard. I sent it to your ship. I wanted a Korong just now in + Boupari. It was <i>I</i> who brought you.” + </p> + <p> + “You are mistaken,” Felix said, simply, not thinking it worth + while to contradict him further. “It was a purely natural accident.” + </p> + <p> + “Well, tell me,” the savage god went on once more, eying him + close and sharp, “they say you have brought fresh fire from the sun + with you, and that you know how to make it burst out like lightning at + will. My people have seen it. They tell me the wonder. I wish to see it + too. We are all gods here; we need have no secrets. Only, I didn’t + want to let those common people outside see I asked you to show me. Make + fire leap forth. I desire to behold it.” + </p> + <p> + Felix took out the match-box from his pocket, and struck a vesta + carefully. Tu-Kila-Kila looked on with profound interest. “It is + wonderful,” he said, taking the vesta in his own hand as it burned, + and examining it closely. “I have heard of this before, but I have + never seen it. You are indeed gods, you white men, you sailors of the sea.” + He glanced at Muriel. “And the woman, too,” he said, with a + horrible leer, “the woman is pretty.” + </p> + <p> + Felix took the measure of his man at once. He opened his knife, and held + it up threateningly. “See here, fellow,” he said, in a low, + slow tone, but with great decision, “if you dare to speak or look + like that at that lady—god or no god, I’ll drive this knife + straight up to the handle in your heart, though your people kill me for it + afterward ten thousand times over. I am not afraid of you. These savages + may be afraid, and may think you are a god; but if you are, then I am a + god ten thousand times stronger than you. One more word—one more + look like that, I say—and I plunge this knife remorselessly into + you.” + </p> + <p> + Tu-Kila-Kila drew back, and smiled benignly. Stalwart ruffian as he was, + and absolute master of his own people’s lives, he was yet afraid in + a way of the strange new-comer. Vague stories of the men with white faces—the + “sailing gods”—had reached him from time to time; and + though only twice within his memory had European boats landed on his + island, he yet knew enough of the race to know that they were at least + very powerful deities—more powerful with their weapons than even he + was. Besides, a man who could draw down fire from heaven with a piece of + wax and a little metal box might surely wither him to ashes, if he would, + as he stood before him. The very fact that Felix bearded him thus openly + to his face astonished and somewhat terrified the superstitious savage. + Everybody else on the island was afraid of him; then certainly a man who + was not afraid must be the possessor of some most efficacious and magical + medicine. His one fear now was lest his followers should hear and discover + his discomfiture. He peered about him cautiously, with that careful gleam + shining bright in his eye; then he said with a leer, in a very low voice, + “We two need not quarrel. We are both of us gods. Neither of us is + the stronger. We are equal, that’s all. Let us live like brothers, + not like enemies, on the island.” + </p> + <p> + “I don’t want to be your brother,” Felix answered, + unable to conceal his loathing any more. “I hate and detest you.” + </p> + <p> + “What does he say?” Muriel asked, in an agony of fear at the + savage’s black looks. “Is he going to kill us?” + </p> + <p> + “No,” Felix answered, boldly. “I think he’s afraid + of us. He’s going to do nothing. You needn’t fear him.” + </p> + <p> + “Can she not speak?” the savage asked, pointing with his + finger somewhat rudely toward Muriel. “Has she no voice but this, + the chatter of birds? Does she not know the human language?” + </p> + <p> + “She can speak,” Felix replied, placing himself like a shield + between Muriel and the astonished savage. “She can speak the + language of the people of our distant country—a beautiful language + which is as far superior to the speech of the brown men of Polynesia as + the sun in the heavens is superior to the light of a candlenut. But she + can’t speak the wretched tongue of you Boupari cannibals. I thank + Heaven she can’t, for it saves her from understanding the hateful + things your people would say of her. Now go! I have seen already enough of + you. I am not afraid. Remember, I am as powerful a god as you. I need not + fear. You cannot hurt me.” + </p> + <p> + A baleful light gleamed in the cannibal’s eye. But he thought it + best to temporize. Powerful as he was on his island, there was one thing + yet more powerful by far than he; and that was Taboo—the custom and + superstition handed down from his ancestors, These strangers were Korong; + he dare not touch them, except in the way and manner and time appointed by + custom. If he did, god as he was, his people themselves would turn and + rend him. He was a god, but he was bound on every side by the strictest + taboos. He dare not himself offer violence to Felix. + </p> + <p> + So he turned with a smile and bided his time. He knew it would come. He + could afford to laugh. Then, going to the door, he said, with his grand + affable manner to his chiefs around, “I have spoken with the gods, + my ministers, within. They have kissed my hands. My rain has fallen. All + is well in the land. Arise, let us go away hence to my temple.” + </p> + <p> + The savages put themselves in marching order at once. “It is the + voice of a god,” they said, reverently. “Let us take back + Tu-Kila-Kila to his temple home. Let us escort the lord of the divine + umbrella. Wherever he is, there trees and plants put forth green leaves + and flourish. At his bidding flowers bloom and springs of water rise up in + fountains. His presence diffuses heavenly blessings.” + </p> + <p> + “I think,” Felix said, turning to poor, terrified Muriel, + “I’ve sent the wretch away with a bee in his bonnet.” + </p> + <p> + <br /><br /> + </p> + <hr /> + <p> + <a name="link2HCH0008" id="link2HCH0008"> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + CHAPTER VIII. — THE CUSTOMS OF BOUPARI. + </h2> + <p> + Human nature cannot always keep on the full stretch of excitement. It was + wonderful to both Felix and Muriel how soon they settled down into a quiet + routine of life on the island of Boupari. A week passed away—two + weeks—three weeks—and the chances of release seemed to grow + slenderer and slenderer. All they could do now was to wait for the stray + accident of a passing ship, and then try, if possible, to signal it, or to + put out to it in a canoe, if the natives would allow them. + </p> + <p> + Meanwhile, their lives for the moment seemed fairly safe. Though for the + first few days they lived in constant alarm, this feeling, after a time, + gave way to one of comparative security. The strange institution of Taboo + protected them more efficiently in their wattled huts than the whole + police force of London could have done in a Belgravian mansion. There + thieves break through and steal, in spite of bolts and bars and + metropolitan constables; but at Boupari no native, however daring or + however wicked, would ever venture to transgress the narrow line of white + coral sand which protected the castaways like an intangible wall from all + outer interference. Within this impalpable ring-fence they were absolutely + safe from all rude intrusion, save that of the two Shadows, who waited + upon them, day and night, with unfailing willingness. + </p> + <p> + In other respects, considering the circumstances, their life was an easy + one. The natives brought them freely of their simple store—yam, + taro, bread-fruit, and cocoanut, with plenty of fish, crabs, and lobsters, + as well as eggs by the basketful, and even sometimes chickens. They + required no pay beyond a nod and a smile, and went away happy at those + slender recognitions. Felix discovered, in fact, that they had got into a + region where the arid generalizations of political economy do not apply; + where Adam Smith is unread, and Mill neglected; where the medium of + exchange is an unknown quantity, and where supply and demand readjust + themselves continuously by simpler and more generous principles than the + familiar European one of “the higgling of the market.” + </p> + <p> + The people, too, though utter savages, were not in their own way + altogether unpleasing. It was their customs and superstitions, rather than + themselves, that were so cruel and horrible. Personally, they seemed for + the most part simple-minded and good natured creatures. At first, indeed, + Muriel was afraid to venture for a step beyond the precincts of their own + huts; and it was long before she could make up her mind to go alone + through the jungle paths with Mali, unaccompanied by Felix. But by degrees + she learned that she could walk by herself (of course, with the inevitable + Shadow ever by her side) over the whole island, and meet everywhere with + nothing from men, women, and children but the utmost respect and gracious + courtesy. The young lads, as she passed, would stand aside from the path, + with downcast eyes, and let her go by with all the politeness of + chivalrous English gentlemen. The old men would raise their eyes, but + cross their hands on their breasts, and stand motionless for a few minutes + till she got almost out of sight. The women would bring their pretty brown + babies for the fair English lady to admire or to pat on the head; and when + Muriel now and again stooped down to caress some fat little naked child, + lolling in the dust outside the hut, with true tropical laziness, the + mothers would run up at the sight with delight and joy, and throw + themselves down in ecstacies of gratitude for the notice she had taken of + their favored little ones. “The gods of Heaven,” they would + say, with every sign of pleasure, “have looked graciously upon our + Unaloa.” + </p> + <p> + At first Felix and Muriel were mainly struck with the politeness and + deference which the natives displayed toward them. But after a time Felix + at least began to observe, behind it all, that a certain amount of + affection, and even of something like commiseration as well, seemed to be + mingled with the respect and reverence showered upon them by their hosts. + The women, especially, were often evidently touched by Muriel’s + innocence and beauty. As she walked past their huts with her light, + girlish tread, they would come forth shyly, bowing many times as they + approached, and offer her a long spray of the flowering hibiscus, or a + pretty garland of crimson ti-leaves, saying at the same time, many times + over, in their own tongue, “Receive it, Korong; receive it, Queen of + the Clouds! You are good. You are kind. You are a daughter of the Sun. We + are glad you have come to us.” + </p> + <p> + A young girl soon makes herself at home anywhere; and Muriel, protected + alike by her native innocence and by the invisible cloak of Polynesian + taboo, quickly learned to understand and to sympathize with these poor + dusky mothers. One morning, some weeks after their arrival, she passed + down the main street of the village, accompanied by Felix and their two + attendants, and reached the <i>marae</i>—the open forum or place of + public assembly—which stood in its midst; a circular platform, + surrounded by bread-fruit trees, under whose broad, cool shade the people + were sitting in little groups and talking together. They were dressed in + the regular old-time festive costume of Polynesia; for Boupari, being a + small and remote island, too insignificant to be visited by European + ships, retained still all its aboriginal heathen manners and customs. The + sight was, indeed, a curious and picturesque one. The girls, large-limbed, + soft-skinned, and with delicately rounded figures, sat on the ground, + laughing and talking, with their knees crossed under them; their wrists + were encinctured with girdles of dark-red dracæna leaves, their swelling + bosoms half concealed, half accentuated by hanging necklets of flowers. + Their beautiful brown arms and shoulders were bare throughout; their long, + black hair was gracefully twined and knotted with bright scarlet flowers. + The men, strong and stalwart, sat behind on short stools or lounged on the + buttressed roots of the bread-fruit trees, clad like the women in narrow + waist-belts of the long red dracæna leaves, with necklets of sharks’ + teeth, pendent chain of pearly shells, a warrior’s cap on their + well-shaped heads, and an armlet of native beans, arranged below the + shoulder, around their powerful arms. Altogether, it was a striking and + beautiful picture. Muriel, now almost released from her early sense of + fear, stood still to look at it. + </p> + <p> + The men and girls were laughing and chatting merrily together. Most of + them were engaged in holding up before them fine mats; and a row of + mulberry cloth, spread along on the ground, led to a hut near one side of + the <i>marae</i>. Toward this the eyes of the spectators were turned. + “What is it, Mali?” Muriel whispered, her woman’s + instinct leading her at once to expect that something special was going on + in the way of local festivities. + </p> + <p> + And Mali answered at once, with many nods and smiles, “All right, + Missy Queenie. Him a wedding, a marriage.” + </p> + <p> + The words had hardly escaped her lips when a very pretty young girl, half + smothered in flowers, and decked out in beads and fancy shells, emerged + slowly from the hut, and took her way with stately tread along the path + carpeted with native cloth. She was girt round the waist with rich-colored + mats, which formed a long train, like a court dress, trailing on the + ground five or six feet behind her. + </p> + <p> + “That’s the bride, I suppose,” Muriel whispered, now + really interested—for what woman on earth, wherever she may be, can + resist the seductive delights of a wedding? + </p> + <p> + “Yes, her a bride,” Mali answered; “and ladies what + follow, them her bridesmaids.” + </p> + <p> + At the word, six other girls, similarly dressed, though without the train, + and demure as nuns, emerged from the hut in slow order, two and two, + behind her. + </p> + <p> + Muriel and Felix moved forward with natural curiosity toward the scene. + The natives, now ranged in a row along the path, with mats turned inward, + made way for them gladly. All seem pleased that Heaven should thus + auspiciously honor the occasion; and the bride herself, as well as the + bridegroom, who, decked in shells and teeth, advanced from the opposite + side along the path to meet her, looked up with grateful smiles at the two + Europeans. Muriel, in return, smiled her most gracious and girlish + recognition. As the bride drew near, she couldn’t refrain from + bending forward a little to look at the girl’s really graceful + costume. As she did so, the skirt of her own European dress brushed for a + second against the bride’s train, trailed carelessly many yards on + the ground behind her. + </p> + <p> + Almost before they could know what had happened, a wild commotion arose, + as if by magic, in the crowd around them. Loud cries of “Taboo! + Taboo!” mixed with inarticulate screams, burst on every side from + the assembled natives. In the twinkling of an eye they were surrounded by + an angry, threatening throng, who didn’t dare to draw near, but, + standing a yard or two off, drew stone knives freely and shook their + fists, scowling, in the strangers’ faces. The change was appalling + in its electric suddenness. Muriel drew back horrified, in an agony of + alarm. “Oh, what have I done!” she cried, piteously, clinging + to Felix for support. “Why on earth are they angry with us?” + </p> + <p> + “I don’t know,” Felix answered, taken aback himself. + “I can’t say exactly in what you’ve transgressed. But + you must, unconsciously, in some way have offended their prejudices. I + hope it’s not much. At any rate they’re clearly afraid to + touch us.” + </p> + <p> + “Missy Queenie break taboo,” Mali explained at once, with + Polynesian frankness. “That make people angry. So him want to kill + you. Missy Queenie touch bride with end of her dress. Korong may smile on + bride—that very good luck; but Korong taboo; no must touch him.” + </p> + <p> + The crowd gathered around them, still very threatening in attitude, yet + clearly afraid to approach within arm’s-length of the strangers. + Muriel was much frightened at their noise and at their frantic gestures. + “Come away,” she cried, catching Felix by the arm once more. + “Oh, what are they going to do to us? Will they kill us for this? I’m + so horribly afraid! Oh, why did I ever do it!” + </p> + <p> + The poor little bride, meanwhile, left alone on the carpet, and unnoticed + by everybody, sank suddenly down on the mats where she stood, buried her + face in her hands, and began to sob as if her heart would break. + Evidently, something very untoward of some sort had happened to the dusky + lady on her wedding morning. + </p> + <p> + The final touch was too much for poor Muriel’s overwrought nerves. + She, too, gave way in a tempest of sobs, and, subsiding on one of the + native stools hard by, burst into tears herself with half-hysterical + violence. + </p> + <p> + Instantly, as she did so, the whole assembly seemed to change its mind + again as if by contagious magic. A loud shout of “She cries; the + Queen of the Clouds cries!” went up from all the assembled mob to + heaven. “It is a good omen,” Toko, the Shadow, whispered in + Polynesian to Felix, seeing his puzzled look. “We shall have plenty + of rain now; the clouds will break; our crops will flourish.” Almost + before she understood it, Muriel was surrounded by an eager and friendly + crowd, still afraid to draw near, but evidently anxious to see and to + comfort and console her. Many of the women eagerly held forward their + native mats, which Mali took from them, and, pressing them for a second + against Muriel’s eyes, handed them back with just a suspicion of wet + tears left glistening in the corner. The happy recipients leaped and + shouted with joy. “No more drought!” they cried merrily, with + loud shouts and gesticulations. “The Queen of the Clouds is good: + she will weep well from heaven upon my yam and taro plots!” + </p> + <p> + Muriel looked up, all dazed, and saw, to her intense surprise, the crowd + was now nothing but affection and sympathy. Slowly they gathered in closer + and closer, till they almost touched the hem of her robe; then the men + stood by respectfully, laying their fingers on whatever she had wetted + with her tears, while the women and girls took her hand in theirs and + pressed it sympathetically. Mali explained their meaning with ready + interpretation. “No cry too much, them say,” she observed, + nodding her head sagely. “Not good for Missy Queenie to cry too + much. Them say, kind lady, be comforted.” + </p> + <p> + There was genuine good-nature in the way they consoled her; and Felix was + touched by the tenderness of those savage hearts; but the additional + explanation, given him in Polynesian by his own Shadow, tended somewhat to + detract from the disinterestedness of their sympathy. “They say, + ‘It is good for the Queen of the Clouds to weep,’” Toko + said, with frank bluntness; “‘but not too much—for fear + the rain should wash away all our yam and taro plants.’” + </p> + <p> + By this time the little bride had roused herself from her stupor, and, + smiling away as if nothing had happened, said a few words in a very low + voice to Felix’s Shadow. The Shadow turned most respectfully to his + master, and, touching his sleeve-link, which was of bright gold, said, in + a very doubtful voice, “She asks you, oh king, will you allow her, + just for to-day, to wear this ornament?” + </p> + <p> + Felix unbuttoned the shining bauble at once, and was about to hand it to + the bride with polite gallantry. “She may wear it forever, for the + matter of that, if she likes,” he said, good-humoredly. “I + make her a present of it.” + </p> + <p> + But the bride drew back as before in speechless terror, as he held out his + hand, and seemed just on the point of bursting out into tears again at + this untoward incident. The Shadow intervened with fortunate perception of + the cause of the misunderstanding. “Korong must not touch or give + anything to a bride,” he said, quietly; “not with his own + hand. He must not lay his finger on her; that would be unlucky. But he may + hand it by his Shadow.” Then he turned to his fellow-tribesmen. + “These gods,” he said, in an explanatory voice, like one + bespeaking forgiveness, “though they are divine, and Korong, and + very powerful—see, they have come from the sun, and they are but + strangers in Boupari—they do not yet know the ways of our island. + They have not eaten of human flesh. They do not understand Taboo. But they + will soon be wiser. They mean very well, but they do not know. Behold, he + gives her this divine shining ornament from the sun as a present!” + And, taking it in his hand, he held it up for a moment to public + admiration. Then he passed on the trinket ostentatiously to the bride, + who, smiling and delighted, hung it low on her breast among her other + decorations. + </p> + <p> + The whole party seemed so surprised and gratified at this proof of + condescension on the part of the divine stranger that they crowded round + Felix once more, praising and thanking him volubly. Muriel, anxious to + remove the bad impression she had created by touching the bride’s + dress, hastily withdrew her own little brooch and offered it in turn to + the Shadow as an additional present. But Toko, shaking his head + vigorously, pointed with his forefinger many times to Mali. “Toko + say him no can take it,” Mali explained hastily, in her broken + English. “Him no your Shadow; me your Shadow; me do everything for + you; me give it to the lady.” And, taking the brooch in her hand, + she passed it over in turn amid loud cries of delight and shouts of + approval. + </p> + <p> + Thereupon, the ceremony began all over again. They seemed by their + intervention to have interrupted some set formula. At its close the women + crowded around Muriel and took her hand in theirs, kissing it many times + over, with tears in their eyes, and betraying an immense amount of genuine + feeling. One phrase in Polynesian they repeated again and again; a phrase + that made Felix’s cheek turn white, as he leaned over the poor + English girl with a profound emotion. + </p> + <p> + “What does it mean that they say?” Muriel asked at last, + perceiving it was all one phrase, many times repeated. + </p> + <p> + Felix was about to give some evasive explanation, when Mali interposed + with her simple, unthinking translation. “Them say, Missy Queenie + very good and kind. Make them sad to think. Make them cry to see her. Make + them cry to see Missy Queenie Korong. Too good. Too pretty.” + </p> + <p> + “Why so?” Muriel exclaimed, drawing back with some faint + presentiment of unspeakable horror. + </p> + <p> + Felix tried to stop her; but the girl would not be stopped. “Because, + when Korong time up,” she answered, blurting it out, “Korong + must—” + </p> + <p> + Felix clapped his hand to her mouth in wild haste, and silenced her. He + knew the worst now. He had divined the truth. But Muriel, at least, must + be spared that knowledge. + </p> + <p> + <br /><br /> + </p> + <hr /> + <p> + <a name="link2HCH0009" id="link2HCH0009"> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + CHAPTER IX. — SOWING THE WIND. + </h2> + <p> + Vaguely and indefinitely one terrible truth had been forced by slow + degrees upon Felix’s mind; whatever else Korong meant, it implied at + least some fearful doom in store, sooner or later, for the persons who + bore it. How awful that doom might be, he could hardly imagine; but he + must devote himself henceforth to the task of discovering what its nature + was, and, if possible, of averting it. + </p> + <p> + Yet how to reconcile this impending terror with the other obvious facts of + the situation? the fact that they were considered divine beings and + treated like gods; and the fact that the whole population seemed really to + regard them with a devotion and kindliness closely bordering on religious + reverence? If Korongs were gods, why should the people want to kill them? + If they meant to kill them, why pay them meanwhile such respect and + affection? + </p> + <p> + One point at least was now, however, quite clear to Felix. While the + natives, especially the women, displayed toward both of them in their + personal aspect a sort of regretful sympathy, he could not help noticing + at the same time that the men, at any rate, regarded them also largely in + an impersonal light, as a sort of generalized abstraction of the powers of + nature—an embodied form of the rain and the weather. The islanders + were anxious to keep their white guests well supplied, well fed, and in + perfect health, not so much for the strangers’ sakes as for their + own advantage; they evidently considered that if anything went wrong with + either of their two new gods, corresponding misfortunes might happen to + their crops and the produce of their bread-fruit groves. Some mysterious + sympathy was held to subsist between the persons of the castaways and the + state of the weather. The natives effusively thanked them after welcome + rain, and looked askance at them, scowling, after long dry spells. It was + for this, no doubt, that they took such pains to provide them with + attentive Shadows, and to gird round their movements with taboos of + excessive stringency. Nothing that the new-comers said or did was + indifferent, it seemed, to the welfare of the community; plenty and + prosperity depended upon the passing state of Muriel’s health, and + famine or drought might be brought about at any moment by the slightest + imprudence in Felix’s diet. + </p> + <p> + How stringent these taboos really were Felix learned by slow degrees alone + to realize. From the very beginning he had observed, to be sure, that they + might only eat and drink the food provided for them; that they were + supplied with a clean and fresh-built hut, as well as with brand-new + cocoanut cups, spoons, and platters; that no litter of any sort was + allowed to accumulate near their enclosure; and that their Shadows never + left them, or went out of their sight, by day or by night, for a single + moment. Now, however, he began to perceive also that the Shadows were + there for that very purpose, to watch over them, as it were, like guards, + on behalf of the community; to see that they ate or drank no tabooed + object; to keep them from heedlessly transgressing any unwritten law of + the creed of Boupari; and to be answerable for their good behavior + generally. They were partly servants, it was true, and partly sureties; + but they were partly also keepers, and keepers who kept a close and + constant watch upon the persons of their prisoners. Once or twice Felix, + growing tired for the moment of this continual surveillance, had tried to + give Toko the slip, and to stroll away from his hut, unattended, for a + walk through the island, in the early morning, before his Shadow had + waked; but on each such occasion he found to his surprise that, as he + opened the hut door, the Shadow rose at once and confronted him angrily, + with an inquiring eye; and in time he perceived that a thin string was + fastened to the bottom of the door, the other end of which was tied to the + Shadow’s ankle; and this string could not be cut without letting + fall a sort of latch or bar which closed the door outside, only to be + raised again by some external person. + </p> + <p> + Clearly, it was intended that the Korong should have no chance of escape + without the knowledge of the Shadow, who, as Felix afterward learned, + would have paid with his own body by a cruel death for the Korong’s + disappearance. + </p> + <p> + He might as well have tried to escape his own shadow as to escape the one + the islanders had tacked on to him. + </p> + <p> + All Felix’s energies were now devoted to the arduous task of + discovering what Korong really meant, and what possibility he might have + of saving Muriel from the mysterious fate that seemed to be held in store + for them. + </p> + <p> + One evening, about six weeks after their arrival in the island, the young + Englishman was strolling by himself (after the sun sank low in heaven) + along a pretty tangled hill-side path, overhung with lianas and rope-like + tropical creepers, while his faithful Shadow lingered a step or two + behind, keeping a sharp lookout meanwhile on all his movements. + </p> + <p> + Near the top of a little crag of volcanic rock, in the center of the + hills, he came suddenly upon a hut with a cleared space around it, + somewhat neater in appearance than any of the native cottages he had yet + seen, and surrounded by a broad white belt of coral sand, exactly like + that which ringed round and protected their own enclosure. But what + specially attracted Felix’s attention was the fact that the space + outside this circle had been cleared into a regular flower-garden, quite + European in the definiteness and orderliness of its quaint arrangement. + </p> + <p> + “Why, who lives here?” Felix asked in Polynesian, turning + round in surprise to his respectful Shadow. + </p> + <p> + The Shadow waved his hand vaguely in an expansive way toward the sky, as + he answered, with a certain air of awe, often observable in his speech + when taboos were in question, “The King of Birds. A very great god. + He speaks the bird language.” + </p> + <p> + “Who is he?” Felix inquired, taken aback, wondering vaguely to + himself whether here, perchance, he might have lighted upon some stray and + shipwrecked compatriot. + </p> + <p> + “He comes from the sun like yourselves,” the Shadow answered, + all deference, but with obvious reserve. “He is a very great god. I + may not speak much of him. But he is not Korong. He is greater than that, + and less. He is Tula, the same as Tu-Kila-Kila.” + </p> + <p> + “Is he as powerful as Tu-Kila-Kila?” Felix asked, with intense + interest. + </p> + <p> + “Oh, no, he’s not nearly so powerful as that,” the + Shadow answered, half terrified at the bare suggestion. “No god in + heaven or earth is like Tu-Kila-Kila. This one is only king of the birds, + which is a little province, while Tu-Kila-Kila is king of heaven and + earth, of plants and animals, of gods and men, of all things created. At + his nod the sky shakes and the rocks tremble. But still, this god is Tula, + like Tu-Kila-Kila. He is not for a year. He goes on forever, till some + other supplants him.” + </p> + <p> + “You say he comes from the sun,” Felix put in, devoured with + curiosity. “And he speaks the bird language? What do you mean by + that? Does he speak like the Queen of the Clouds and myself when we talk + together?” + </p> + <p> + “Oh, dear, no,” the Shadow answered, in a very confident tone. + “He doesn’t speak the least bit in the world like that. He + speaks shriller and higher, and still more bird-like. It is chatter, + chatter, chatter, like the parrots in a tree; tirra, tirra, tirra; tarra, + tarra, tarra; la, la, la; lo, lo, lo; lu, lu, lu; li la. And he sings to + himself all the time. He sings this way—” + </p> + <p> + And then the Shadow, with that wonderful power of accurate mimicry which + is so strong in all natural human beings, began to trill out at once, with + a very good Parisian accent, a few lines from a well-known song in “La + Fille de Madame Angot:” + </p> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> +“Quand on conspi-re, + Quand sans frayeur + On pent se di-re + Conspirateur, + Pour tout le mon-de + Il faut avoir + Perruque blon-de + Et collet noir + Perruque blon-de + Et collet noir.” + </pre> + <p> + “That’s how the King of the Birds sings,” the Shadow + said, as he finished, throwing back his head, and laughing with all his + might at his own imitation. “So funny, isn’t it? It’s + exactly like the song of the pink-crested parrot.” + </p> + <p> + “Why, Toko, it’s French,” Felix exclaimed, using the + Fijian word for a Frenchman, which the Shadow, of course, on his remote + island, had never before heard. “How on earth did he come here?” + </p> + <p> + “I can’t tell you,” Toko answered, waving his arms + seaward. “He came from the sun, like yourselves. But not in a + sun-boat. It had no fire. He came in a canoe, all by himself. And Mali + says”—here the Shadow lowered his voice to a most mysterious + whisper—“he’s a man-a-oui-oui.” + </p> + <p> + Felix quivered with excitement. “Man-a-oui-oui” is the + universal name over semi-civilized Polynesia for a Frenchman. Felix seized + upon it with avidity. “A man-a-oui-oui!” he cried, delighted. + “How strange! How wonderful! I must go in at once to his hut and see + him!” + </p> + <p> + He had lifted his foot and was just going to cross the white line of + coral-sand, when his Shadow, catching him suddenly and stoutly round the + waist, pulled him back from the enclosure with every sign of horror, + alarm, and astonishment. “No, you can’t go,” he cried, + grappling with him with all his force, yet using him very tenderly for all + that, as becomes a god. “Taboo! Taboo there!” + </p> + <p> + “But I am a god myself,” Felix cried, insisting upon his + privileges. If you have to submit to the disadvantages of taboo, you may + as well claim its advantages as well. “The King of Fire and the King + of Water crossed my taboo line. Why shouldn’t I cross equally the + King of the Birds’, then?” + </p> + <p> + “So you might—as a rule,” the Shadow answered with + promptitude. “You are both gods. Your taboos do not cross. You may + visit each other. You may transgress one another’s lines without + danger of falling dead on the ground as common men would do if they broke + taboo-lines. But this is the Month of Birds. The king is in retreat. No + man may see him except his own Shadow, the Little Cockatoo, who brings him + his food and drink. Do you see that hawk’s head, stuck upon the post + by the door at the side. That is his Special Taboo. He keeps it for this + month. Even gods must respect that sign, for a reason which it would be + very bad medicine to mention. While the Month of Birds lasts, no man may + look upon the king or hear him. If they did, they would die, and the + carrion birds would eat them. Come away. This is dangerous.” + </p> + <p> + Scarcely were the words well out of his mouth when from the recesses of + the hut a rollicking French voice was heard, trilling out merrily: + </p> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> +“Quand on con-spi-re, + Quand, sans frayeur—” + </pre> + <p> + Without waiting for more, the Shadow seized Felix’s arm in an agony + of terror. “Come away!” he cried, hurriedly, “come away! + What will become of us? This is horrible, horrible! We have broken taboo. + We have heard the god’s voice. The sky will fall on us. If his + Shadow were to find it out and tell my people, my people would tear us + limb from limb. Quick, quick! Hide away! Let us run fast through the + forest before any man discover it.” + </p> + <p> + The Shadow’s voice rang deep with alarm. Felix felt he dare not + trifle with this superstition. Profound as was his curiosity about the + mysterious Frenchman, he was compelled to bottle up his eagerness and + anxiety for the moment, and patiently wait till the Month of Birds had run + its course, and taken its inconvenient taboo along with it. These + limitations were terrible. Yet he counted much upon the information the + Frenchman could give him. The man had been some time on the island, it was + clear, and doubtless he understood its ways thoroughly; he might cast some + light at last upon the Korong mystery. + </p> + <p> + So he went back through the woods with a heart somewhat lighter. + </p> + <p> + Not far from their own huts he met Muriel and Mali. + </p> + <p> + As they walked home together, Felix told his companion in a very few words + the strange discovery about the Frenchman, and the impenetrable taboo by + which he was at present surrounded. Muriel drew a deep sigh. “Oh, + Felix,” she said—for they were naturally by this time very + much at home with one another, “did you ever know anything so + dreadful as the mystery of these taboos? It seems as if we should never + get really to the bottom of them. Mali’s always springing some new + one upon me. I don’t believe we shall ever be able to leave the + island—we’re so hedged round with taboos. Even if we were to + see a ship to-day, I don’t believe they’d allow us to signal + it.” + </p> + <p> + There was a red sunset; a lurid, tropical, red-and-green sunset. It boded + mischief. + </p> + <p> + They were passing by some huts at the moment, and over the stockade of one + of them a tree was hanging with small yellow fruits, which Felix knew well + in Fiji as wholesome and agreeable. He broke off a small branch as he + passed; and offered a couple thoughtlessly to Muriel. She took them in her + fingers, and tasted them gingerly. “They’re not so bad,” + she said, taking another from the bough. “They’re very much + like gooseberries.” + </p> + <p> + At the same moment, Felix popped one into his own mouth, and swallowed it + without thinking. + </p> + <p> + Almost before they knew what had happened, with the same extraordinary + rapidity as in the case of the wedding, the people in the cottages ran + out, with every sign of fear and apprehension, and, seizing the branch + from Felix’s hands, began upbraiding the two Shadows for their want + of attention. + </p> + <p> + “We couldn’t help it,” Toko exclaimed, with every + appearance of guilt and horror on his face. “They were much too + sharp for us. Their hearts are black. How could we two interfere? These + gods are so quick! They had picked and eaten them before we ever saw them.” + </p> + <p> + One of the men raised his hand with a threatening air—but against + the Shadow, not against the sacred person of Felix. “He will be ill,” + he said, angrily, pointing toward the white man; “and she will, too. + Their hearts are indeed black. They have sown the seed of the wind. They + have both of them eaten of it. They will both be ill. You deserve to die! + And what will come now to our trees and plantations?” + </p> + <p> + The crowd gathered round them, cursing low and horribly. The two terrified + Europeans slunk off to their huts, unaware of their exact crime, and + closely followed by a scowling but despondent mob of natives. As they + crossed their sacred boundary, Muriel cried, with a sudden outburst of + tears, “Oh, Felix, what on earth shall we ever do to get rid of this + terrible, unendurable godship!” + </p> + <p> + The natives without set up a great shout of horror. “See, see! she + cries!” they exclaimed, in indescribable panic. “She has eaten + the storm-fruit, and already she cries! Oh, clouds, restrain yourselves! + Oh, great queen, mercy! Whatever will become of us and our poor huts and + gardens!” + </p> + <p> + And for hours they crouched around, beating their breasts and shrieking. + </p> + <p> + That evening, Muriel sat up late in Felix’s hut, with Mali by her + side, too frightened to go back into her own alone before those angry + people. And all the time, just beyond the barrier line, they could hear, + above the whistle of the wind around the hut, the droning voices of dozens + of natives, cowering low on the ground; they seemed to be going through + some litany or chant, as if to deprecate the result of this imprudent + action. + </p> + <p> + “What are they doing outside?” Felix asked of his Shadow at + last, after a peculiarly long wail of misery. + </p> + <p> + And the Shadow made answer, in very solemn tones, “They are trying + to propitiate your mightiness, and to avert the omen, lest the rain should + fall, and the wind should blow, and the storm-cloud should burst over the + island to destroy them.” + </p> + <p> + Then Felix remembered suddenly of himself that the season when this + storm-fruit, or storm-apple, as they called it, was ripe in Fiji, was also + the season when the great Pacific cyclones most often swept over the land + in full fury—storms unexampled on any other sea, like that famous + one which wrecked so many European men-of-war a few years since in the + harbor of Samoa. + </p> + <p> + And without, the wail came louder and clearer still! “If you sow the + bread-fruit seed, you will reap the breadfruit. If you sow the wind, you + will reap the whirlwind. They have eaten the storm-fruit. Oh, great king, + save us!” + </p> + <p> + <br /><br /> + </p> + <hr /> + <p> + <a name="link2HCH0010" id="link2HCH0010"> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + CHAPTER X. — REAPING THE WHIRLWIND. + </h2> + <p> + Toward midnight Muriel began to doze lightly from pure fatigue. + </p> + <p> + “Put a pillow under her head, and let her sleep,” Felix said + in a whisper. “Poor child, it would be cruel to send her alone + to-night into her own quarters.” + </p> + <p> + And Mali slipped a pillow of mulberry paper under her mistress’s + head, and laid it on her own lap, and bent down to watch her. + </p> + <p> + But outside, beyond the line, the natives murmured loud their discontent. + “The Queen of the Clouds stays in the King of the Rain’s hut + to-night,” they muttered, angrily. “She will not listen to us. + Before morning, be sure, the Tempest will be born of their meeting to + destroy us.” + </p> + <p> + About two o’clock there came a lull in the wind, which had been + rising steadily ever since that lurid sunset. Felix looked out of the hut + door. The moon was full. It was almost as clear as day with the bright + tropical moonlight, silvery in the open, pale green in the shadow. The + people were still squatting in great rings round the hut, just outside the + taboo line, and beating gongs, and sticks and human bones, to keep time to + the lilt of their lugubrious litany. + </p> + <p> + The air felt unusually heavy and oppressive. Felix raised his eyes to the + sky, and saw whisps of light cloud drifting in rapid flight over the + scudding moon. Below, an ominous fog bank gathered steadily westward. Then + one clap of thunder rent the sky. After it came a deadly silence. The moon + was veiled. All was dark as pitch. The natives themselves fell on their + faces and prayed with mute lips. Three minutes later, the cyclone had + burst upon them in all its frenzy. + </p> + <p> + Such a hurricane Felix had never before experienced. Its energy was awful. + Round the palm-trees the wind played a frantic and capricious devil’s + dance. It pirouetted about the atoll in the mad glee of unconsciousness. + Here and there it cleared lanes, hundreds of yards in length, among the + forest-trees and the cocoanut plantations. The noise of snapping and + falling trunks rang thick on the air. At times the cyclone would swoop + down from above upon the swaying stem of some tall and stately palm that + bent like grass before the wind, break it off short with a roar at the + bottom, and lay it low at once upon the ground, with a crash like thunder. + In other places, little playful whirlwinds seemed to descend from the sky + in the very midst of the dense brushwood, where they cleared circular + patches, strewn thick under foot with trunks and branches in their titanic + sport, and yet left unhurt all about the surrounding forest. Then again a + special cyclone of gigantic proportions would advance, as it were, in a + single column against one stem of a clump, whirl round it spirally like a + lightning flash, and, deserting it for another, leave it still standing, + but turned and twisted like a screw by the irresistible force of its + invisible fingers. The storm-god, said Toko, was dancing with the + palm-trees. The sight was awful. Such destructive energy Felix had never + even imagined before. No wonder the savages all round beheld in it the + personal wrath of some mighty spirit. + </p> + <p> + For in spite of the black clouds they could <i>see</i> it all—both + the Europeans and the islanders. The intense darkness of the night was + lighted up for them every minute by an almost incessant blaze of sheet and + forked lightning. The roar of the thunder mingled with the roar of the + tempest, each in turn overtopping and drowning the other. The hut where + Felix and Muriel sheltered themselves shook before the storm; the very + ground of the island trembled and quivered—like the timbers of a + great ship before a mighty sea—at each onset of the breakers upon + the surrounding fringe-reef. And side by side with it all, to crown their + misery, wild torrents of rain, descending in waterspouts, as it seemed, or + dashed in great sheets against the roof of their frail tenement, poured + fitfully on with fierce tropical energy. + </p> + <p> + In the midst of the hut Muriel crouched and prayed with bloodless lips to + Heaven. This was too, too terrible. It seemed incredible to her that on + top of all they had been called upon to suffer of fear and suspense at the + hands of the savages, the very dumb forces of nature themselves should + thus be stirred up to open war against them. Her faith in Providence was + sorely tried. Dumb forces, indeed! Why, they roared with more terrible + voices than any wild beast on earth could possibly compass. The thunder + and the wind were howling each other down in emulous din, and the very + hiss of the lightning could be distinctly heard, like some huge snake, at + times above the creaking and snapping of the trees before the gale in the + surrounding forest. + </p> + <p> + Muriel crouched there long, in the mute misery of utter despair. At her + feet Mali crouched too, as frightened as herself, but muttering aloud from + time to time, in a reproachful voice, “I tell Missy Queenie what + going to happen. I warn her not. I tell her she must not eat that very bad + storm-apple. But Missy Queenie no listen. Her take her own way, then storm + come down upon us.” + </p> + <p> + And Felix’s Shadow, in his own tongue, exclaimed more than once in + the self-same tone, half terror, half expostulation, “See now what + comes from breaking taboo? You eat the storm-fruit. The storm-fruit suits + ill with the King of the Rain and the Queen of the Clouds. The heavens + have broken loose. The sea has boiled. See what wind and what flood you + are bringing upon us.” + </p> + <p> + By and by, above even the fierce roar of the mingled thunder and cyclone, + a wild orgy of noise burst upon them all from without the hut. It was a + sound as of numberless drums and tom-toms, all beaten in unison with the + mad energy of fear; a hideous sound, suggestive of some hateful heathen + devil-worship. Muriel clapped her hands to her ears in horror. “Oh, + what’s that?” she cried to Felix, at this new addition to + their endless alarms. “Are the savages out there rising in a body? + Have they come to murder us?” + </p> + <p> + “Perhaps,” Felix said, smoothing her hair with his hand, as a + mother might soothe her terrified child, “perhaps they’re + angry with us for having caused this storm, as they think, by our foolish + action. I believe they all set it down to our having unluckily eaten that + unfortunate fruit. I’ll go out to the door myself and speak to them.” + </p> + <p> + Muriel clung to his arm with a passionate clinging. + </p> + <p> + “Oh, Felix,” she cried, “no! Don’t leave me here + alone. My darling, I love you. You’re all the world there is left to + me now, Felix. Don’t go out to those wretches and leave me here + alone. They’ll murder you! they’ll murder you! Don’t go + out, I implore you. If they mean to kill us, let them kill us both + together, in one another’s arms. Oh, Felix, I am yours, and you are + mine, my darling!” + </p> + <p> + It was the first time either of them had acknowledged the fact; but there, + before the face of that awful convulsion of nature, all the little + deceptions and veils of life seemed rent asunder forever as by a flash of + lightning. They stood face to face with each other’s souls, and + forgot all else in the agony of the moment. Felix clasped the trembling + girl in his arms like a lover. The two Shadows looked on and shook with + silent terror. If the King of the Rain thus embraced the Queen of the + Clouds before their very eyes, amid so awful a storm, what unspeakable + effects might not follow at once from it! But they had too much respect + for those supernatural creatures to attempt to interfere with their action + at such a moment. They accepted their masters almost as passively as they + accepted the wind and the thunder, which they believed to arise from them. + </p> + <p> + Felix laid his poor Muriel tenderly down on the mud floor again. “I + <i>must</i> go out, my child,” he said. “For the very love of + <i>you</i>, I must play the man, and find out what these savages mean by + their drumming.” + </p> + <p> + He crept to the door of the hut (for no man could walk upright before that + awful storm), and peered out into the darkness once more, awaiting one of + the frequent flashes of lightning. He had not long to wait. In a moment + the sky was all ablaze again from end to end, and continued so for many + seconds consecutively. By the light of the continuous zigzags of fire, + Felix could see for himself that hundreds and hundreds of natives—men, + women, and children, naked, or nearly so, with their hair loose and wet + about their cheeks—lay flat on their faces, many courses deep, just + outside the taboo line. The wind swept over them with extraordinary force, + and the tropical rain descended in great floods upon their bare backs and + shoulders. But the savages, as if entranced, seemed to take no heed of all + these earthly things. They lay grovelling in the mud before some unseen + power; and beating their tom-toms in unison, with barbaric concord, they + cried aloud once more as Felix appeared, in a weird litany that overtopped + the tumultuous noise of the tempest, “Oh, Storm-God, hear us! Oh, + great spirit, deliver us! King of the Rain and Queen of the Clouds, + befriend us! Be angry no more! Hide your wrath from your people! Take away + your hurricane, and we will bring you many gifts. Eat no longer of the + storm-apple—the seed of the wind—and we will feed you with yam + and turtle, and much choice bread-fruit. Great king, we are yours; you + shall choose which you will of our children for your meat and drink; you + shall sup on our blood. But take your storm away; do not utterly drown and + submerge our island!” + </p> + <p> + As they spoke they crawled nearer and nearer, with gliding serpentine + motion, till their heads almost touched the white line of coral. But not a + man of them all went one inch beyond it. They stopped there and gazed at + him. Felix signed to them with his hand, and pointed vaguely to the sky, + as much as to say <i>he</i> was not responsible. At the gesture the whole + assembly burst into one loud shout of gratitude. “He has heard us, + he has heard us!” they exclaimed, with a perfect wail of joy. + “He will not utterly destroy us. He will take away his storm. He + will bring the sun and the moon back to us.” + </p> + <p> + Felix returned into the hut, somewhat reassured so far as the attitude of + the savages went. “Don’t be afraid of them, Muriel,” he + cried, taking her passionately once more in a tender embrace. “They + daren’t cross the taboo. They won’t come near; they’re + too frightened themselves to dream of hurting us.” + </p> + <p> + <br /><br /> + </p> + <hr /> + <p> + <a name="link2HCH0011" id="link2HCH0011"> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + CHAPTER XI. — AFTER THE STORM. + </h2> + <p> + Next morning the day broke bright and calm, as if the tempest had been but + an evil dream of the night, now past forever. The birds sang loud; the + lizards came forth from their holes in the wall, and basked, green and + gold, in the warm, dry sunshine. But though the sky overhead was blue and + the air clear, as usually happen after these alarming tropical cyclones + and rainstorms, the memorials of the great wind that had raged all night + long among the forests of the island were neither few nor far between. + Everywhere the ground was strewn with leaves and branches and huge stems + of cocoa-palms. All nature was draggled. Many of the trees were stripped + clean of their foliage, as completely as oaks in an English winter; on + others, big strands of twisted fibres marked the scars and joints where + mighty boughs had been torn away by main force; while, elsewhere, bare + stumps alone remained to mark the former presence of some noble dracæna or + some gigantic banyan. Bread-fruits and cocoanuts lay tossed in the wildest + confusion on the ground; the banana and plantain-patches were beaten level + with the soil or buried deep in the mud; many of the huts had given way + entirely; abundant wreckage strewed every corner of the island. It was an + awful sight. Muriel shuddered to herself to see how much the two that + night had passed through. + </p> + <p> + What the outer fringing reef had suffered from the storm they hardly knew + as yet; but from the door of the hut Felix could see for himself how even + the calm waters of the inner lagoon had been lashed into wild fury by the + fierce swoop of the tempest. Round the entire atoll the solid conglomerate + coral floor was scooped under, broken up, chewed fine by the waves, or + thrown in vast fragments on the beach of the island. By the eastern shore, + in particular, just opposite their hut, Felix observed a regular wall of + many feet in height, piled up by the waves like the familiar Chesil Beach + near his old home in Dorsetshire. It was the shelter of that temporary + barrier alone, no doubt, that had preserved their huts last night from the + full fury of the gale, and that had allowed the natives to congregate in + such numbers prone on their faces in the mud and rain, upon the + unconsecrated ground outside their taboo-line. + </p> + <p> + But now not an islander was to be seen within ear-shot. All had gone away + to look after their ruined huts or their beaten-down plantain-patches, + leaving the cruel gods, who, as they thought, had wrought all the mischief + out of pure wantonness, to repent at leisure the harm done during the + night to their obedient votaries. + </p> + <p> + Felix was just about to cross the taboo-line and walk down to the shore to + examine the barrier, when Toko, his Shadow, laying his hand on his + shoulder with more genuine interest and affection than he had ever yet + shown, exclaimed, with some horror, “Oh, no! Not that! Don’t + dare to go outside! It would be very dangerous for you. If my people were + to catch you on profane soil just now, there’s no saying what harm + they might do to you.” + </p> + <p> + “Why so?” Felix exclaimed, in surprise. “Last night, + surely, they were all prayers and promises and vows and entreaties.” + </p> + <p> + The young man nodded his head in acquiescence. “Ah, yes; last night,” + he answered. “That was very well then. Vows were sore needed. The + storm was raging, and you were within your taboo. How could they dare to + touch you, a mighty god of the tempest, at the very moment when you were + rending their banyan-trees and snapping their cocoanut stems with your + mighty arms like so many little chicken-bones? Even Tu-Kila-Kila himself, + I expect, the very high god, lay frightened in his temple, cowering by his + tree, annoyed at your wrath; he sent Fire and Water among the worshippers, + no doubt, to offer up vows and to appease your anger.” + </p> + <p> + Then Felix remembered, as his Shadow spoke, that, as a matter of fact, he + had observed the men who usually wore the red and white feather cloaks + among the motley crowd of grovelling natives who lay flat on their faces + in the mud of the cleared space the night before, and prayed hard for + mercy. Only they were not wearing their robes of office at the moment, in + accordance with a well-known savage custom; they had come naked and in + disgrace, as befits all suppliants. They had left behind them the insignia + of their rank in their own shaken huts, and bowed down their bare backs to + the rain and the lightning. + </p> + <p> + “Yes, I saw them among the other islanders,” Felix answered, + half-smiling, but prudently remaining within the taboo-line, as his Shadow + advised him. + </p> + <p> + Toko kept his hand still on his master’s shoulder. “Oh, king,” + he said, beseechingly, and with great solemnity, “I am doing wrong + to warn you; I am breaking a very great Taboo. I don’t know what + harm may come to me for telling you. Perhaps Tu-Kila-Kila will burn me to + ashes with one glance of his eyes. He may know this minute what I’m + saying here alone to you.” + </p> + <p> + It is hard for a white man to meet scruples like this; but Felix was bold + enough to answer outright: “Tu-Kila-Kila knows nothing of the sort, + and can never find out. Take my word for it, Toko, nothing that you say to + me will ever reach Tu-Kila-Kila.” + </p> + <p> + The Shadow looked at him doubtfully, and trembled as he spoke. “I + like you, Korong,” he said, with a genuinely truthful ring in his + voice. “You seem to me so kind and good—so different from + other gods, who are very cruel. You never beat me. Nobody I ever served + treated me as well or as kindly as you have done. And for <i>your</i> sake + I will even dare to break taboo—if you’re quite, quite sure + Tu-Kila-Kila will never discover it.” + </p> + <p> + “I’m quite sure,” Felix answered, with perfect + confidence. “I know it for certain. I swear a great oath to it.” + </p> + <p> + “You swear by Tu-Kila-Kila himself?” the young savage asked, + anxiously. + </p> + <p> + “I swear by Tu-Kila-Kila himself,” Felix replied at once. + “I swear, without doubt. He can never know it.” + </p> + <p> + “That is a great Taboo,” the Shadow went on, meditatively, + stroking Felix’s arm. “A very great Taboo indeed. A terrible + medicine. And you are a god; I can trust you. Well, then, you see, the + secret is this: you are Korong, but you are a stranger, and you don’t + understand the ways of Boupari. If for three days after the end of this + storm, which Tu-Kila-Kila has sent Fire and Water to pray and vow against, + you or the Queen of the Clouds show yourselves outside your own taboo-line—why, + then, the people are clear of sin; whoever takes you may rend you alive; + they will tear you limb from limb and cut you into pieces.” + </p> + <p> + “Why so?” Felix asked, aghast at this discovery. They seemed + to live on a perpetual volcano in this wonderful island; and a volcano + ever breaking out in fresh places. They could never get to the bottom of + its horrible superstitions. + </p> + <p> + “Because you ate the storm-apple,” the Shadow answered, + confidently. “That was very wrong. You brought the tempest upon us + yourselves by your own trespass; therefore, by the custom of Boupari, + which we learn in the mysteries, you become full Korong for the sacrifice + at once. That makes the term for you. The people will give you all your + dues; then they will say, ‘We are free; we have bought you with a + price; we have brought your cocoanuts. No sin attaches to us; we are + righteous; we are righteous.’ And then they will kill you, and Fire + and Water will roast you and boil you.” + </p> + <p> + “But only if we go outside the taboo-line?” Felix asked, + anxiously. + </p> + <p> + “Only if you go outside the taboo-line,” the Shadow replied, + nodding a hasty assent. “Inside it, till your term comes, even + Tu-Kila-Kila himself, the very high god, whose meat we all are, dare never + hurt you.” + </p> + <p> + “Till our term comes?” Felix inquired, once more astonished + and perplexed. “What do you mean by that, my Shadow?” + </p> + <p> + But the Shadow was either bound by some superstitious fear, or else + incapable of putting himself into Felix’s point of view. “Why, + till you are full Korong,” he answered, like one who speaks of some + familiar fact, as who should say, till you are forty years old, or, till + your beard grows white. “Of course, by and by, you will be full + Korong. I cannot help you then; but, till that time comes, I would like to + do my best by you. You have been very kind to me. I tell you much. More + than this, it would not be lawful for me to mention.” + </p> + <p> + And that was the most that, by dexterous questioning, Felix could ever + manage to get out of his mysterious Shadow. + </p> + <p> + “At the end of three days we will be safe, though?” he + inquired at last, after all other questions failed to produce an answer. + </p> + <p> + “Oh, yes, at the end of three days the storm will have blown over,” + the young man answered, easily. “All will then be well. You may + venture out once more. The rain will have dried over all the island. Fire + and Water will have no more power over you.” + </p> + <p> + Felix went back to the hut to inform Muriel of this new peril thus + suddenly sprung upon them. Poor Muriel, now almost worn out with endless + terrors, received it calmly. “I’m growing accustomed to it + all, Felix,” she answered, resignedly. “If only I know that + you will keep your promise, and never let me fall alive into these + wretches’ hands, I shall feel quite safe. Oh, Felix, do you know + when you took me in your arms like that last night, in spite of + everything, I felt positively happy.” + </p> + <p> + About ten o’clock they were suddenly roused by a sound of many + natives, coming in quick succession, single file, to the huts, and + shouting aloud, “Oh, King of the Rain, oh, Queen of the Clouds, come + forth for our vows! Receive your presents!” + </p> + <p> + Felix went forth to the door to look. With a warning look in his eyes, his + Shadow followed him. The natives were now coming up by dozens at a time, + bringing with them, in great arm-loads, fallen cocoanuts and breadfruits, + and branches of bananas, and large draggled clusters of half-ripe + plantains. + </p> + <p> + “Why, what are all these?” Felix exclaimed in surprise. + </p> + <p> + His Shadow looked up at him, as if amused at the absurd simplicity of the + question. “These are yours, of course,” he said; “yours + and the Queen’s; they are the windfalls you made. Did you not knock + them all off the trees for yourselves when you were coming down in such + sheets from the sky last evening?” + </p> + <p> + Felix wrung his hands in positive despair. It was clear, indeed, that to + the minds of the natives there was no distinguishing personally between + himself and Muriel, and the rain or the cyclone. + </p> + <p> + “Will they bring them all in?” he asked, gazing in alarm at + the huge pile of fruits the natives were making outside the huts. + </p> + <p> + “Yes, all,” the Shadow answered; “they are vows; they + are godsends; but if you like, you can give some of them back. If you give + much back, of course it will make my people less angry with you.” + </p> + <p> + Felix advanced near the line, holding his hand up before him to command + silence. As he did so, he was absolutely appalled himself at the perfect + storm of execration and abuse which his appearance excited. The foremost + natives, brandishing their clubs and stone-tipped spears, or shaking their + fists by the line, poured forth upon his devoted head at once all the most + frightful curses of the Polynesian vocabulary. “Oh, evil god,” + they cried aloud with angry faces, “oh, wicked spirit! you have a + bad heart. See what a wrong you have purposely done us. If your heart were + not bad, would you treat us like this? If you are indeed a god, come out + across the line, and let us try issues together. Don’t skulk like a + coward in your hut and within your taboo, but come out and fight us. <i>We</i> + are not afraid, who are only men. Why are <i>you</i> afraid of us?” + </p> + <p> + Felix tried to speak once more, but the din drowned his voice. As he + paused, the people set up their loud shouts again. “Oh, you wicked + god! You eat the storm-apple! You have wrought us much harm. You have + spoiled our harvest. How you came down in great sheets last night! It was + pitiful, pitiful! We would like to kill you. You might have taken our + bread-fruits and our bananas, if you would; we give you them freely; they + are yours; here, take them. We feed you well; we make you many offerings. + But why did you wish to have our huts also? Why did you beat down our + young plantations and break our canoes against the beach of the island? + That shows a bad heart! You are an evil god! You dare not defend yourself. + Come out and meet us.” + </p> + <p> + <br /><br /> + </p> + <hr /> + <p> + <a name="link2HCH0012" id="link2HCH0012"> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + CHAPTER XII. — A POINT OF THEOLOGY. + </h2> + <p> + At last, with great difficulty, Felix managed to secure a certain + momentary lull of silence. The natives, clustering round the line till + they almost touched it, listened with scowling brows, and brandished + threatening spears, tipped with points of stone or shark’s teeth or + turtle-bone, while he made his speech to them. From time to time, one or + another interrupted him, coaxing and wheedling him, as it were, to cross + the line; but Felix never heeded them. He was beginning to understand now + how to treat this strange people. He took no notice of their threats or + their entreaties either. + </p> + <p> + By and by, partly by words and partly by gestures, he made them understand + that they might take back and keep for themselves all the cocoanuts and + bread-fruits they had brought as windfalls. At this the people seemed a + little appeased. “His heart is not quite so bad as we thought,” + they murmured among themselves; “but if he didn’t want them, + what did he mean? Why did he beat down our huts and our plantations?” + </p> + <p> + Then Felix tried to explain to them—a somewhat dangerous task—that + neither he nor Muriel were really responsible for last night’s + storm; but at that the people, with one accord, raised a great loud shout + of unmixed derision. “He is a god,” they cried, “and yet + he is ashamed of his own acts and deeds, afraid of what we, mere men, will + do to him! Ha! ha! Take care! These are lies that he tells. Listen to him! + Hear him!” + </p> + <p> + Meanwhile, more and more natives kept coming up with windfalls of fruit, + or with objects they had vowed in their terror to dedicate during the + night; and Felix all the time kept explaining at the top of his voice, to + all as they came, that he wanted nothing, and that they could take all + back again. This curiously inconsistent action seemed to puzzle the + wondering natives strangely. Had he made the storm, then, they asked, and + eaten the storm-apple, for no use to himself, but out of pure + perverseness? If he didn’t even want the windfalls and the objects + vowed to him, why had he beaten down their crops and broken their houses? + They looked at him meaningly; but they dared not cross that great line of + taboo. It was their own superstition alone, in that moment of danger, that + kept their hands off those defenceless white people. + </p> + <p> + At last a happy idea seemed to strike the crowd. “What he wants is a + child?” they cried, effusively. “He thirsts for blood! Let us + kill and roast him a proper victim!” + </p> + <p> + Felix’s horror at this appalling proposition knew no bounds. “If + you do,” he cried, turning their own superstition against them in + this last hour of need, “I will raise up a storm worse even than + last night’s! You do it at your peril! I want no victim. The people + of my country eat not of human flesh. It is a thing detestable, horrible, + hateful to God and man. With us, all human life alike is sacred. We spill + no blood. If you dare to do as you say, I will raise such a storm over + your heads to-night as will submerge and drown the whole of your island.” + </p> + <p> + The natives listened to him with profound interest. “We must spill + no blood!” they repeated, looking aghast at one another. “Hear + what the King says! We must not cut the victim’s throat. We must + bind a child with cords and roast it alive for him!” + </p> + <p> + Felix hardly knew what to do or say at this atrocious proposal. “If + you roast it alive,” he cried, “you deserve to be all scorched + up with lightning. Take care what you do! Spare the child’s life! I + will have no victim. Beware how you anger me!” + </p> + <p> + But the savage no sooner says than he does. With him deliberation is + unknown, and impulse everything. In a moment the natives had gathered in a + circle a little way off, and began drawing lots. Several children, seized + hurriedly up among the crowd, were huddled like so many sheep in the + centre. Felix looked on from his enclosure, half petrified with horror. + The lot fell upon a pretty little girl of five years old. Without one word + of warning, without one sign of remorse, before Felix’s very eyes, + they began to bind the struggling and terrified child just outside the + circle. + </p> + <p> + The white man could stand this horrid barbarity no longer. At the risk of + his life—at the risk of Muriel’s—he must rush out to + prevent them. They should never dare to kill that helpless child before + his very eyes. Come what might—though even Muriel should suffer for + it—he felt he <i>must</i> rescue that trembling little creature. + Drawing his trusty knife, and opening the big blade ostentatiously before + their eyes, he made a sudden dart like a wild beast across the line, and + pounced down upon the party that guarded the victim. + </p> + <p> + Was it a ruse to make him cross the line, alone, or did they really mean + it? He hardly knew; but he had no time to debate the abstract question. + Bursting into their midst, he seized the child with a rush in his circling + arms, and tried to hurry back with it within the protecting taboo-line. + </p> + <p> + Quick as lightning he was surrounded and almost cut down by a furious and + frantic mob of half-naked savages. “Kill him! Tear him to pieces!” + they cried in their rage. “He has a bad heart! He destroyed our + huts! He broke down our plantations! Kill him, kill him, kill him!” + </p> + <p> + As they closed in upon him, with spears and tomahawks and clubs, Felix saw + he had nothing left for it now but a hard fight for life to return to the + taboo-line. Holding the child in one arm, and striking wildly out with his + knife with the other, he tried to hack his way back by main force to the + shelter of the taboo-line in frantic lunges. The distance was but a few + feet, but the savages pressed round him, half frightened still, yet + gnashing their teeth and distorting their faces with anger. “He has + broken the Taboo,” they cried in vehement tones. “He has + crossed the line willingly. Kill him! Kill him! We are free from sin. We + have bought him with a price—with many cocoanuts!” + </p> + <p> + At the sound of the struggle going on so close outside, Muriel rushed in + frantic haste and terror from the hut. Her face was pale, but her demeanor + was resolute. Before Mali could stop her, she, too, had crossed the sacred + line of the coral mark, and had flung herself madly upon Felix’s + assailants, to cover his retreat with her own frail body. + </p> + <p> + “Hold off!” she cried, in her horror, in English, but in + accents even those savages could read. “You shall not touch him!” + </p> + <p> + With a fierce effort Felix tore his way back, through the spears and + clubs, toward the place of safety. The savages wounded him on the way more + than once with their jagged stone spear-tips, and blood flowed from his + breast and arms in profusion. But they didn’t dare even so to touch + Muriel. The sight of that pure white woman, rushing out in her weakness to + protect her lover’s life from attack, seemed to strike them with + some fresh access of superstitious awe. One or two of themselves were + wounded by Felix’s knife, for they were unaccustomed to steel, + though they had a few blades made out of old European barrel-hoops. For a + minute or two the conflict was sharp and hotly contested. Then at last + Felix managed to fling the child across the line, to push Muriel with one + hand at arm’s-length before him, and to rush himself within the + sacred circle. + </p> + <p> + No sooner had he crossed it than the savages drew up around, undecided as + yet, but in a threatening body. Rank behind rank, their loose hair in + their eyes, they stood like wild beasts balked of their prey, and yelled + at him. Some of them brandished their spears and their stone hatchets + angrily in their victims’ faces. Others contented themselves with + howling aloud as before, and piling curses afresh on the heads of the + unpopular storm-gods. “Look at her,” they cried, in their + wrath, pointing their skinny brown fingers angrily at Muriel. “See, + she weeps even now. She would flood us with her rain. She isn’t + satisfied with all the harm she has poured down upon Boupari already. She + wants to drown us.” + </p> + <p> + And then a little knot drew up close to the line of taboo itself, and + began to discuss in loud and serious tones a pressing question of savage + theology and religious practice. + </p> + <p> + “They have crossed the line within the three days,” some of + the foremost warriors exclaimed, in excited voices. “They are no + longer taboo. We can do as we please with them. We may cross the line now + ourselves if we will, and tear them to pieces. Come on! Who follows? + Korong! Korong! Let us rend them! Let us eat them!” + </p> + <p> + But though they spoke so bravely they hung back themselves, fearful of + passing that mysterious barrier. Others of the crowd answered them back, + warmly: “No, no; not so. Be careful what you do. Anger not the gods. + Don’t ruin Boupari. If the Taboo is not indeed broken, then how dare + we break it? They are gods. Fear their vengeance. They are, indeed, + terrible. See what happened to us when they merely ate of the storm-apple! + What might not happen if we were to break taboo without due cause and kill + them?” + </p> + <p> + One old, gray-bearded warrior, in particular, held his countrymen back. + “Mind how you trifle with gods,” the old chief said, in a tone + of solemn warning. “Mind how you provoke them. They are very mighty. + When I was young, our people killed three sailing gods who came ashore in + a small canoe, built of thin split logs; and within a month an awful + earthquake devastated Boupari, and fire burst forth from a mouth in the + ground, and the people knew that the spirits of the sailing gods were very + angry. Wait, therefore, till Tu-Kila-Kila himself comes, and then ask of + him, and of Fire and Water. As Tu-Kila-Kila bids you, that do you do. Is + he not our great god, the king of us all, and the guardian of the customs + of the island of Boupari?” + </p> + <p> + “Is Tu-Kila-Kila coming?” some of the warriors asked, with + bated breath. + </p> + <p> + “How should he not come?” the old chief asked, drawing himself + up very erect. “Know you not the mysteries? The rain has put out all + the fires in Boupari. The King of Fire himself, even his hearth is cold. + He tried his best in the storm to keep his sacred embers still + smouldering; but the King of the Rain was stronger than he was, and put it + out at last in spite of his endeavors. Be careful, therefore, how you deal + with the King of the Rain, who comes down among lightnings, and is so very + powerful.” + </p> + <p> + “And Tu-Kila-Kila comes to fetch fresh fire?” one of the + nearest savages asked, with profound awe. + </p> + <p> + “He comes to fetch fresh fire, new fire from the sun,” the old + man answered, with awe in his voice. “These foreign gods, are they + not strangers from the sun? They have brought the divine seeds of fire, + growing in a shining box that reflects the sunlight. They need no + rubbing-sticks and no drill to kindle fresh flame. They touch the seed on + the box, and, lo, like a miracle, fire bursts forth from the wood + spontaneous. Tu-Kila-Kila comes, to behold this miracle.” + </p> + <p> + The warriors hung back with doubtful eyes for a moment. Then they spoke + with one accord, “Tu-Kila-Kila shall decide. Tu-Kila-Kila! + Tu-Kila-Kila! If the great god says the Taboo holds good, we will not hurt + or offend the strangers. But if the great god says the Taboo is broken, + and we are all without sin—then, Korong! Korong! we will kill them! + We will eat them!” + </p> + <p> + As the two parties thus stood glaring at one another, across that narrow + imaginary wall, another cry went up to heaven at the distant sound of a + peculiar tom-tom. “Tu-Kila-Kila comes!” they shouted. “Our + great god approaches! Women, begone! Men, hide your eyes! Fly, fly from + the brightness of his face, which is as the sun in glory! Tu-Kila-Kila + comes! Fly far, all profane ones!” + </p> + <p> + And in a moment the women had disappeared into space, and the men lay flat + on the moist ground with low groans of surprise, and hid their faces in + their hands in abject terror. + </p> + <p> + <br /><br /> + </p> + <hr /> + <p> + <a name="link2HCH0013" id="link2HCH0013"> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + CHAPTER XIII. — AS BETWEEN GODS. + </h2> + <p> + Tu-Kila-Kila came up in his grandest panoply. The great umbrella, with the + hanging cords, rose high over his head; the King of Fire and the King of + Water, in their robes of state, marched slowly by his side; a whole group + of slaves and temple attendants, clapping hands in unison, followed + obedient at his sacred heels. But as soon as he reached the open space in + front of the huts and began to speak, Felix could easily see, in spite of + his own agitation and the excitement of the moment, that the implacable + god himself was profoundly frightened. Last night’s storm had, + indeed, been terrible; but Tu-Kila-Kila mentally coupled it with Felix’s + attitude toward himself at their last interview, and really believed in + his own heart he had met, after all, with a stronger god, more powerful + than himself, who could make the clouds burst forth in fire and the earth + tremble. The savage swaggered a good deal, to be sure, as is often the + fashion with savages when frightened; but Felix could see between the + lines, that he swaggered only on the familiar principle of whistling to + keep your courage up, and that in his heart of hearts he was most + unspeakably terrified. + </p> + <p> + “You did not do well, O King of the Rain, last night,” he + said, after an interchange of civilities, as becomes great gods. “You + have put out even the sacred flame on the holy hearth of the King of Fire. + You have a bad heart. Why do you use us so?” + </p> + <p> + “Why do you let your people offer human sacrifices?” Felix + answered, boldly, taking advantage of his position. “They are + hateful in our sight, these cannibal ways. While we remain on the island, + no human life shall be unjustly taken. Do you understand me?” + </p> + <p> + Tu-Kila-Kila drew back, and gazed around him suspiciously. In all his + experience no one had ever dared to address him like that. Assuredly, the + stranger from the sun must be a very great god—how great, he hardly + dared to himself to realize. He shrugged his shoulders. “When we + mighty deities of the first order speak together, face to face,” he + said, with an uneasy air, “it is not well that the mere common herd + of men should overhear our profound deliberations. Let us go inside your + hut. Let us confer in private.” + </p> + <p> + They entered the hut alone, Muriel still clinging to Felix’s arm, in + speechless terror. Then Felix at once began to explain the situation. As + he spoke, a baleful light gleamed in Tu-Kila-Kila’s eye. The great + god removed his mulberry-paper mask. He was evidently delighted at the + turn things had taken. If only he dared—but there; he dared not. + “Fire and Water would never allow it,” he murmured softly to + himself. “They know the taboos as well as I do.” It was clear + to Felix that the savage would gladly have sacrificed him if he dared, and + that he made no bones about letting him know it; but the custom of the + islanders bound him as tightly as it bound themselves, and he was afraid + to transgress it. + </p> + <p> + “Now listen,” Felix said, at last, after a long palaver, + looking in the savage’s face with a resolute air: “Tu-Kila-Kila, + we are not afraid of you. We are not afraid of all your people. I went out + alone just now to rescue that child, and, as you see, I succeeded in + rescuing it. Your people have wounded me—look at the blood on my + arms and chest—but I don’t mind for wounds. I mean you to do + as I say, and to make your people do so, too. Understand, the nation to + which I belong is very powerful. You have heard of the sailing gods who go + over the sea in canoes of fire, as swift as the wind, and whose weapons + are hollow tubes, that belch forth great bolts of lightning and thunder? + Very well, I am one of them. If ever you harm a hair of our heads, those + sailing gods will before long send one of their mighty fire-canoes, and + bring to bear upon your island their thunder and lightning, and destroy + your huts, and punish you for the wrong you have ventured to do us. So now + you know. Remember that you act exactly as I tell you.” + </p> + <p> + Tu-Kila-Kila was evidently overawed by the white man’s resolute + voice and manner. He had heard before of the sailing gods (as the + Polynesians of the old school still call the Europeans); and though but + one or two stray individuals among them had ever reached his remote island + (mostly as castaways), he was quite well enough acquainted with their + might and power to be deeply impressed by Felix’s exhortation. So he + tried to temporize. “Very well,” he made answer, with his + jauntiest air, assuming a tone of friendly good-fellowship toward his + brother-god. “I will bear it in mind. I will try to humor you. While + your time lasts, no man shall hurt you. But if I promise you that, you + must do a good turn for me instead. You must come out before the people + and give me a new fire from the sun, that you carry in a shining box about + with you. The King of Fire has allowed his sacred flame to go out in + deference to your flood; for last night, you know, you came down heavily. + Never in my life have I known you come down heavier. The King of Fire + acknowledges himself beaten. So give us light now before the people, that + they may know we are gods, and may fear to disobey us.” + </p> + <p> + “Only on one condition,” Felix answered, sternly; for he felt + he had Tu-Kila-Kila more or less in his power now, and that he could drive + a bargain with him. Why, he wasn’t sure; but he saw Tu-Kila-Kila + attached a profound importance to having the sacred fire relighted, as he + thought, direct from heaven. + </p> + <p> + “What condition is that?” Tu-Kila-Kila asked, glancing about + him suspiciously. + </p> + <p> + “Why, that you give up in future human sacrifices.” + </p> + <p> + Tu-Kila-Kila gave a start. Then he reflected for a moment. Evidently, the + condition seemed to him a very hard one. “Do you want all the + victims for yourself and her, then?” he asked, with a casual nod + aside toward Muriel. + </p> + <p> + Felix drew back, with horror depicted on every line of his face. “Heaven + forbid!” he answered, fervently. “We want no bloodshed, no + human victims. We ask you to give up these horrid practices, because they + shock and revolt us. If you would have your fire lighted, you must promise + us to put down cannibalism altogether henceforth in your island.” + </p> + <p> + Tu-Kila-Kila hesitated. After all, it was only for a very short time that + these strangers could thus beard him. Their day would come soon. They were + but Korongs. Meanwhile, it was best, no doubt, to effect a compromise. + “Agreed,” he answered, slowly. “I will put down human + sacrifices—so long as you live among us. And I will tell the people + your taboo is not broken. All shall be done as you will in this matter. + Now, come out before the crowd and light the fire from Heaven.” + </p> + <p> + “Remember,” Felix repeated, “if you break your word, my + people will come down upon you, sooner or later, in their mighty + fire-canoes, and will take vengeance for your crime, and destroy you + utterly.” + </p> + <p> + Tu-Kila-Kila smiled a cunning smile. “I know all that,” he + answered. “I am a god myself, not a fool, don’t you see? You + are a very great god, too; but I am the greater. No more of words between + us two. It is as between gods. The fire! the fire!” + </p> + <p> + Tu-Kila-Kila replaced his mask. They proceeded from the hut to the open + space within the taboo-line. The people still lay all flat on their faces. + “Fire and Water,” Tu-Kila-Kila said, in a commanding tone, + “come forward and screen me!” + </p> + <p> + The King of Fire and the King of Water unrolled a large square of native + cloth, which they held up as a screen on two poles in front of their + superior deity. Tu-Kila-Kila sat down on the ground, hugging his knees, in + the common squatting savage fashion, behind the veil thus readily formed + for him. “Taboo is removed,” he said, in loud, clear tones. + “My people may rise. The light will not burn them. They may look + toward the place where Tu-Kila-Kila’s face is hidden from them.” + </p> + <p> + The people all rose with one accord, and gazed straight before them. + </p> + <p> + “The King of Fire will bring dry sticks,” Tu-Kila-Kila said, + in his accustomed regal manner. + </p> + <p> + The King of Fire, sticking one pole of the screen into the ground + securely, brought forward a bundle of sun-dried sticks and leaves from a + basket beside him. + </p> + <p> + “The King of the Rain, who has put out all our hearths with his + flood last night, will relight them again with new fire, fresh flame from + the sun, rays of our disk, divine, mystic, wonderful,” Tu-Kila-Kila + proclaimed, in his droning monotone. + </p> + <p> + Felix advanced as he spoke to the pile, and struck a match before the eyes + of all the islanders. As they saw it light, and then set fire to the wood, + a loud cry went up once more, “Tu-Kila-Kila is great! His words are + true! He has brought fire from the sun! His ways are wonderful!” + </p> + <p> + Tu-Kila-Kila, from his point of vantage behind the curtain, strove to + improve the occasion with a theological lesson. “That is the way we + have learned from our divine ancestors,” he said, slowly; “the + rule of the gods in our island of Boupari. Each god, as he grows old, + reincarnates himself visibly. Before he can grow feeble and die he + immolates himself willingly on his own altar; and a younger and a stronger + than he receives his spirit. Thus the gods are always young and always + with you. Behold myself, Tu-Kila-Kila! Am I not from old times? Am I not + very ancient? Have I not passed through many bodies? Do I not spring ever + fresh from my own ashes? Do I not eat perpetually the flesh of new + victims? Even so with fire. The flames of our island were becoming impure. + The King of Fire saw his cinders flickering. So I gave my word. The King + of the Rain descended in floods upon them. He put them all out. And now he + rekindles them. They burn up brighter and fresher than ever. They burn to + cook my meat, the limbs of my victims. Take heed that you do the King of + the Rain no harm as long as he remains within his sacred circle. He is a + very great god. He is fierce; he is cruel. His taboo is not broken. + Beware! Beware! Disobey at your peril. I, Tu-Kila-Kila, have spoken.” + </p> + <p> + As he spoke, it seemed to Felix that these strange mystic words about each + god springing fresh from his own ashes must contain the solution of that + dread problem they were trying in vain to read. That, perhaps, was the + secret of Korong. If only they could ever manage to understand it! + </p> + <p> + Tu-Kila-Kila beat his tom-tom twice. In a second all the people fell flat + on their faces again. Tu-Kila-Kila rose; the kings of Fire and Water held + the umbrella over him. The attendants on either side clapped hands in time + to the sacred tom-tom. With proud, slow tread, the god retraced his steps + to his own palace-temple; and Muriel and Felix were left alone at last in + their dusty enclosure. + </p> + <p> + “Tu-Kila-Kila hates me,” Felix said, later in the day, to his + attentive Shadow. + </p> + <p> + “Of course,” the young man answered, with a tone of natural + assent. “To be sure he hates you. How could he do otherwise? You are + Korong. You may any day be his enemy.” + </p> + <p> + “But he’s afraid of me, too,” Felix went on. “He + would have liked to let the people tear me in pieces. Yet he dared not + risk it. He seems to dread offending me.” + </p> + <p> + “Of course,” the Shadow replied, as readily as before. “He + is very much afraid of you. You are Korong. You may any day supplant him. + He would like to get rid of you, if he could see his way. But till your + time comes he dare not touch you.” + </p> + <p> + “When will my time come?” Felix asked, with that dim + apprehension of some horrible end coming over him yet again in all its + vague weirdness. + </p> + <p> + The Shadow shook his head. “That,” he answered, “it is + not lawful for me so much as to mention. I tell you too far. You will know + soon enough. Wait, and be patient.” + </p> + <p> + <br /><br /> + </p> + <hr /> + <p> + <a name="link2HCH0014" id="link2HCH0014"> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + CHAPTER XIV. — “MR. THURSTAN, I PRESUME.” + </h2> + <p> + Naturally enough, it was some time before Felix and Muriel could recover + from the shock of their deadly peril. Yet, strange to say, the natives at + the end of three days seemed positively to have forgotten all about it. + Their loves and their hates were as shortlived as children’s. As + soon as the period of seclusion was over, their attentions to the two + strangers redoubled in intensity. They were evidently most anxious, after + this brief disagreement, to reassure the new gods, who came from the sun, + of their gratitude and devotion. The men who had wounded Felix, in + particular, now came daily in the morning with exceptional gifts of fish, + fruit, and flowers; they would bring a crab from the sea, or a joint of + turtle-meat. “Forgive us, O king,” they cried, prostrating + themselves humbly. “We did not mean to hurt you; we thought your + time had really come. You are a Korong. We would not offend you. Do not + refuse us your showers because of our sin. We are very penitent. We will + do what you ask of us. Your look is poison. See, here is wood; here are + leaves and fire; we are but your meat; choose and cook which you will of + us!” + </p> + <p> + It was useless Felix’s trying to explain to them that he wanted no + victims, and no propitiation. The more he protested, the more they brought + gifts. “He is a very great god,” they exclaimed. “He + wants nothing from us. What can we give him that will be an acceptable + gift? Shall we offer him ourselves, our wives, our children?” + </p> + <p> + As for the women, when they saw how thoroughly frightened of them Muriel + now was, they couldn’t find means to express their regret and + devotion. Mothers brought their little children, whom she had patted on + the head, and offered them, just outside the line, as presents for her + acceptance. They explained to her Shadow that they never meant to hurt + her, and that, if only she would venture without the line, as of old, all + should be well, and they would love and adore her. Mali translated to her + mistress these speeches and prayers. “Them say, ‘You come + back, Queenie,’” she explained in her broken Queensland + English. “‘Boupari women love you very much. Boupari women + glad you come. You kind; you beautiful! All Boupari men and women very + much pleased with you and the gentleman, because you give back him + cocoanut and fruit that you pick in the storm, and because you bring down + fresh fire from heaven.’” + </p> + <p> + Gradually, after several days, Felix’s confidence was so far + restored that he ventured to stroll beyond the line again; and he found + himself, indeed, most popular among the people. In various ways he picked + up gradually the idea that the islanders generally disliked Tu-Kila-Kila, + and liked himself; and that they somehow regarded him as Tu-Kila-Kila’s + natural enemy. What it could all mean he did not yet understand, though + some inklings of an explanation occasionally occurred to him. Oh, how he + longed now for the Month of Birds to end, in order that he might pay his + long-deferred visit to the mysterious Frenchman, from whose voice his + Shadow had fled on that fateful evening with such sudden precipitancy. The + Frenchman, he judged, must have been long on the island, and could + probably give him some satisfactory solution of this abstruse problem. + </p> + <p> + So he was glad, indeed, when one evening, some weeks later, his Shadow, + observing the sky narrowly, remarked to him in a low voice, “New + moon to-morrow! The Month of Birds will then be up. In the morning you can + go and see your brother god at the Abode of Birds without breaking taboo. + The Month of Turtles begins at sunrise. My family god is a turtle, so I + know the day for it.” + </p> + <p> + So great was Felix’s impatience to settle this question, that almost + before the sun was up next day he had set forth from his hut, accompanied + as usual by his faithful Shadow. Their way lay past Tu-Kila-Kila’s + temple. As they went by the entrance with the bamboo posts, Felix happened + to glance aside through the gate to the sacred enclosure. Early as it was, + Tu-Kila-Kila was afoot already; and, to Felix’s great surprise, was + pacing up and down, with that stealthy, wary look upon his cunning face + that Muriel had so particularly noted on the day of their first arrival. + His spear stood in his hand, and his tomahawk hung by his left side; he + peered about him suspiciously, with a cautious glance, as he walked round + and round the sacred tree he guarded so continually. There was something + weird and awful in the sight of that savage god, thus condemned by his own + superstition and the custom of his people to tramp ceaselessly up and down + before the sacred banyan. + </p> + <p> + At sight of Felix, however, a sudden burst of frenzy seemed to possess at + once all Tu-Kila-Kila’s limbs. He brandished his spear violently, + and set himself spasmodically in a posture of defence. His brow grew + black, and his eyes darted out eternal hate and suspicion. It was evident + he expected an instant attack, and was prepared with all his might and + main to resist aggression. Yet he never offered to desert his post by the + tree or to assume the offensive. Clearly, he was guarding the sacred grove + itself with jealous care, and was as eager for its safety as for his own + life and honor. + </p> + <p> + Felix passed on, wondering what it all could mean, and turned with an + inquiring glance to his trembling Shadow. As for Toko, he had held his + face averted meanwhile, lest he should behold the great god, and be + scorched to a cinder; but in answer to Felix’s mute inquiry he + murmured low: “Was Tu-Kila-Kila there? Were all things right? Was he + on guard at his post by the tree already?” + </p> + <p> + “Yes,” Felix replied, with that weird sense of mystery + creeping over him now more profoundly than ever. “He was on guard by + the tree and he looked at me angrily.” + </p> + <p> + “Ah,” the Shadow remarked, with a sigh of regret, “he + keeps watch well. It will be hard work to assail him. No god in Boupari + ever held his place so tight. Who wishes to take Tu-Kila-Kila’s + divinity must get up early.” + </p> + <p> + They went on in silence to the little volcanic knoll near the centre of + the island. There, in the neat garden plot they had observed before, a + man, in the last relics of a very tattered European costume, much covered + with a short cape of native cloth, was tending his flowers and singing to + himself merrily. His back was turned to them as they came up. Felix paused + a moment, unseen, and caught the words the stranger was singing: + </p> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> +“Très jolie, + Peu polie, + Possédant un gros magot; + Fort en gueule, + Pas bégueule; + Telle était—” + </pre> + <p> + The stranger looked up, and paused in the midst of his lines, + open-mouthed. For a moment he stood and stared astonished. Then, raising + his native cap with a graceful air, and bowing low, as he would have bowed + to a lady on the Boulevard, he advanced to greet a brother European with + the familiar words, in good educated French, “Monsieur, I salute + you!” + </p> + <p> + To Felix, the sound of a civilized voice in the midst of so much strange + and primitive barbarism, was like a sudden return to some forgotten world, + so deeply and profoundly did it move and impress him. He grasped the + sunburnt Frenchman’s rugged hand in his. “Who are you?” + he cried, in the very best Parisian he could muster up on the spur of the + moment. “And how did you come here?” + </p> + <p> + “Monsieur,” the Frenchman answered, no less profoundly moved + than himself, “this is, indeed, wonderful! Do I hear once more that + beautiful language spoken? Do I find myself once more in the presence of a + civilized person? What fortune! What happiness! Ah, it is glorious, + glorious.” + </p> + <p> + For some seconds they stood and looked at one another in silence, grasping + their hands hard again and again with intense emotion; then Felix repeated + his question a second time: “Who are you, monsieur? and where do you + come from?” + </p> + <p> + “Your name, surname, age, occupation?” the Frenchman repeated, + bursting forth at last into national levity. “Ah, monsieur, what a + joy to hear those well-known inquiries in my ear once more. I hasten to + gratify your legitimate curiosity. Name: Peyron; Christian name: Jules; + age: forty-one; occupation: convict, escaped from New Caledonia.” + </p> + <p> + Under any other circumstances that last qualification might possibly have + been held an undesirable one in a new acquaintance. But on the island of + Boupari, among so many heathen cannibals, prejudices pale before community + of blood; even a New Caledonian convict is at least a Christian European. + Felix received the strange announcement without the faintest shock of + surprise or disgust. He would gladly have shaken hands then and there with + M. Jules Peyron, indeed, had he introduced himself in even less equivocal + language as a forger, a pickpocket, or an escaped house-breaker. + </p> + <p> + “And you, monsieur?” the ex-convict inquired, politely. + </p> + <p> + Felix told him in a few words the history of their accident and their + arrival on the island. + </p> + <p> + “<i>Comment</i>?” the Frenchman exclaimed, with surprise and + delight. “A lady as well; a charming English lady! What an + acquisition to the society of Boupari! <i>Quelle chance! Quel bonheur!</i> + Monsieur, you are welcome, and mademoiselle too! And in what quality do + you live here? You are a god, I see; otherwise you would not have dared to + transgress my taboo, nor would this young man—your Shadow, I suppose—have + permitted you to do so. But which sort of god, pray? Korong—or Tula?” + </p> + <p> + “They call me Korong,” Felix answered, all tremulous, feeling + himself now on the very verge of solving this profound mystery. + </p> + <p> + “And mademoiselle as well?” the Frenchman exclaimed, in a tone + of dismay. + </p> + <p> + “And mademoiselle as well,” Felix replied. “At least, so + I make out. We are both Korong. I have many times heard the natives call + us so.” + </p> + <p> + His new acquaintance seized his hand with every appearance of genuine + alarm and regret. “My poor friend,” he exclaimed, with a + horrified face, “this is terrible, terrible! Tu-Kila-Kila is a very + hard man. What can we do to save your life and mademoiselle’s! We + are powerless! Powerless! I have only that much to say. I condole with + you! I commiserate you!” + </p> + <p> + “Why, what does Korong mean?” Felix asked, with blanched lips. + “Is it then something so very terrible?” + </p> + <p> + “Terrible! Ah, terrible!” the Frenchman answered, holding up + his hands in horror and alarm. “I hardly know how we can avert your + fate. Step within my poor hut, or under the shade of my Tree of Liberty + here, and I will tell you all the little I know about it.” + </p> + <p> + <br /><br /> + </p> + <hr /> + <p> + <a name="link2HCH0015" id="link2HCH0015"> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + CHAPTER XV. — THE SECRET OF KORONG. + </h2> + <p> + “You have lived here long?” Felix asked, with tremulous + interest, as he took a seat on the bench under the big tree, toward which + his new host politely motioned him. “You know the people well, and + all their superstitions?” + </p> + <p> + “<i>Hélas</i>, yes, monsieur,” the Frenchman answered, with a + sigh of regret. “Eighteen years have I spent altogether in this + beast of a Pacific; nine as a convict in New Caledonia, and nine more as a + god here; and, believe me, I hardly know which is the harder post. Yours + is the first White face I have ever seen since my arrival in this cursed + island.” + </p> + <p> + “And how did you come here?” Felix asked, half breathless, for + the very magnitude of the stake at issue—no less a stake than Muriel’s + life—made him hesitate to put point-blank the question he had most + at heart for the moment. + </p> + <p> + “Monsieur,” the Frenchman answered, trying to cover his rags + with his native cape, “that explains itself easily. I was a medical + student in Paris in the days of the Commune. Ah! that beloved Paris—how + far away it seems now from Boupari! Like all other students I was advanced—Republican, + Socialist—what you will—a political enthusiast. When the + events took place—the events of ‘70—I espoused with all + my heart the cause of the people. You know the rest. The bourgeoisie + conquered. I was taken red-handed, as the Versaillais said—my pistol + in my grasp—an open revolutionist. They tried me by court-martial—br’r’r—no + delay—guilty, M. le President—hard labor to perpetuity. They + sent me with that brave Louise Michel and so many other good comrades of + the cause to New Caledonia. There, nine years of convict life was more + than enough for me. One day I found a canoe on the shore—a little + Kanaka canoe—you know the type—a mere shapeless dug-out. + Hastily I loaded it with food—yam, taro, bread-fruit—I pushed + it off into the sea—I embarked alone—I intrusted myself and + all my fortunes to the Bon Dieu and the wide Pacific. The Bon Dieu did not + wholly justify my confidence. It is a way he has—that inscrutable + one. Six weeks I floated hither and thither before varying winds. At last + one evening I reached this island. I floated ashore. And, <i>enfin, me + voilà </i>!” + </p> + <p> + “Then you were a political prisoner only?” Felix said, + politely. + </p> + <p> + M. Jules Peyron drew himself up with much dignity in his tattered costume. + “Do I look like a card-sharper, monsieur?” he asked simply, + with offended honor. + </p> + <p> + Felix hastened to reassure him of his perfect confidence. “On the + contrary, monsieur,” he said, “the moment I heard you were a + convict from New Caledonia, I felt certain in my heart you could be + nothing less than one of those unfortunate and ill-treated Communards.” + </p> + <p> + “Monsieur,” the Frenchman said, seizing his hand a second + time, “I perceive that I have to do with a man of honor and a man of + feeling. Well, I landed on this island, and they made me a god. From that + day to this I have been anxious only to shuffle off my unwelcome divinity, + and return as a mere man to the shores of Europe. Better be a valet in + Paris, say I, than a deity of the best in Polynesia. It is a monotonous + existence here—no society, no life—and the <i>cuisine</i>—bah, + execrable! But till the other day, when your steamer passed, I have + scarcely even sighted a European ship. A boat came here once, worse luck, + to put off two girls (who didn’t belong to Boupari), returned + indentured laborers from Queensland; but, unhappily, it was during my + taboo—the Month of Birds, as my jailers call it—and though I + tried to go down to it or to make signals of distress, the natives stood + round my hut with their spears in line, and prevented me by main force + from signalling to them or communicating with them. Even the other day, I + never heard of your arrival till a fortnight had elapsed, for I had been + sick with fever, the fever of the country, and as soon as my Shadow told + me of your advent it was my taboo again, and I was obliged to defer for + myself the honor of calling upon my new acquaintances. I am a god, of + course, and can do what I like; but while my taboo is on, <i>ma foi</i>, + monsieur, I can hardly call my life my own, I assure you.” + </p> + <p> + “But your taboo is up to-day,” Felix said, “so my Shadow + tells me.” + </p> + <p> + “Your Shadow is a well-informed young man,” M. Peyron + answered, with easy French sprightliness. “As for my donkey of a + valet, he never by any chance knows or tells me anything. I had just sent + him out—the pig—to learn, if possible, your nationality and + name, and what hours you preferred, as I proposed later in the day to pay + my respects to mademoiselle, your friend, if she would deign to receive + me.” + </p> + <p> + “Miss Ellis would be charmed, I’m sure,” Felix replied, + smiling in spite of himself at so much Parisian courtliness under so + ragged an exterior. “It is a great pleasure to us to find we are not + really alone on this barbarous island. But you were going to explain to + me, I believe, the exact nature of this peril in which we both stand—the + precise distinction between Korong and Tula?” + </p> + <p> + “Alas, monsieur,” the Frenchman replied, drawing circles in + the dust with his stick with much discomposure, “I can only tell you + I have been trying to make out the secret of this distinction myself ever + since the first day I came to the island; but so reticent are all the + natives about it, and so deep is the taboo by which the mystery is + guarded, that even now I, who am myself Tula, can tell you but very little + with certainty on the subject. All I can say for sure is this—that + gods called Tula retain their godship in permanency for a very long time, + although at the end some violent fate, which I do not clearly understand, + is destined to befall them. That is my condition as King of the Birds—for + no doubt they have told you that I, Jules Peyron—Republican, + Socialist, Communist—have been elevated against my will to the + honors of royalty. That is my condition, and it matters but little to me, + for I know not when the end may come; and we can but die once; how or + where, what matters? Meanwhile, I have my distractions, my little <i>agréments</i>—my + gardens, my music, my birds, my native friends, my coquetries, my aviary. + As King of the Birds, I keep a small collection of my subjects in the + living form, not unworthy of a scientific eye. Monsieur is no + ornithologist? Ah, no, I thought not. Well, for me, it matters little; my + time is long. But for you and Mademoiselle, who are both Korong—” + He paused significantly. + </p> + <p> + “What happens, then, to those who are Korong?” Felix asked, + with a lump in his throat—not for himself, but for Muriel. + </p> + <p> + The Frenchman looked at him with a doubtful look. “Monsieur,” + he said, after a pause, “I hardly know how to break the truth to you + properly. You are new to the island, and do not yet understand these + savages. It is so terrible a fate. So deadly. So certain. Compose your + mind to hear the worst. And remember that the worst is very terrible.” + </p> + <p> + Felix’s blood froze within him; but he answered bravely all the + same, “I think I have guessed it myself already. The Korong are + offered as human sacrifices to Tu-Kila-Kila.” + </p> + <p> + “That is nearly so,” his new friend replied, with a solemn nod + of his head. “Every Korong is bound to die when his time comes. Your + time will depend on the particular date when you were admitted to Heaven.” + </p> + <p> + Felix reflected a moment. “It was on the 26th of last month,” + he answered, shortly. + </p> + <p> + “Very well,” M. Peyron replied, after a brief calculation. + “You have just six months in all to live from that date. They will + offer you up by Tu-Kila-Kila’s hut the day the sun reaches the + summer solstice.” + </p> + <p> + “But why did they make us gods then?” Felix interposed, with + tremulous lips. “Why treat us with such honors meanwhile, if they + mean in the end to kill us?” + </p> + <p> + He received his sentence of death with greater calmness than the Frenchman + had expected. “Monsieur,” the older arrival answered, with a + reflective air, “there comes in the mystery. If we could solve that, + we could find out also the way of escape for you. For there <i>is</i> a + way of escape for every Korong: I know it well; I gather it from all the + natives say; it is a part of their mysteries; but what it may be, I have + hitherto, in spite of all my efforts, failed to discover. All I <i>do</i> + know is this: Tu-Kila-Kila hates and dreads in his heart every Korong that + is elevated to Heaven, and would do anything, if he dared, to get rid of + him quietly. But he doesn’t dare, because he is bound hand and foot + himself, too, by taboos innumerable. Taboo is the real god and king of + Boupari. All the island alike bows down to it and worships it.” + </p> + <p> + “Have you ever known Korongs killed?” Felix asked once more, + trembling. + </p> + <p> + “Yes, monsieur. Many of them, alas! And this is what happens. When + the Korong’s time is come, as these creatures say, either on the + summer or winter solstice, he is bound with native ropes, and carried up + so pinioned to Tu-Kila-Kila’s temple. In the time before this man + was Tu-Kila-Kila, I remember—” + </p> + <p> + “Stop,” Felix cried. “I don’t understand. Has + there then been more than one Tu-Kila-Kila?” + </p> + <p> + “Why, yes,” the Frenchman answered. “Certainly, many. + And there the mystery comes in again. We have always among us one + Tu-Kila-Kila or another. He is a sort of pope, or grand lama, <i>voyez-vous?</i> + No sooner is the last god dead than another god succeeds him and takes his + name, or rather his title. This young man who now holds the place was + known originally as Lavita, the son of Sami. But what is more curious + still, the islanders always treat the new god as if he were precisely the + self-same person as the old one. So far as I have been able to understand + their theology, they believe in a sort of transmigration of souls. The + soul of the Tu-Kila-Kila who is just dead passes into and animates the + body of the Tu-Kila-Kila who succeeds to the office. Thus they speak as + though Tu-Kila-Kila were a continuous existence; and the god of the + moment, himself, will even often refer to events which occurred to him, as + he says, a hundred years ago or more, but which he really knows, of + course, only by the persistent tradition of the islanders. They are a very + curious people, these Bouparese. But what would you have? Among savages, + one expects things to be as among savages.” + </p> + <p> + Felix drew a quiet sigh. It was certain that on the island of Boupari that + expectation, at least, was never doomed to disappointment. “And when + a Korong is taken to Tu-Kila-Kila’s temple,” he asked, + continuing the subject of most immediate interest, “what happens + next to him?” + </p> + <p> + “Monsieur,” the Frenchman answered, “I hardly know + whether I do right or not to say the truth to you. Each Korong is a god + for one season only; when the year renews itself, as the savages believe, + by a change of season, then a new Korong must be chosen by Heaven to fill + the place of the old ones who are to be sacrificed. This they do in order + that the seasons may be ever fresh and vigorous. Especially is that the + case with the two meteorological gods, so to speak, the King of the Rain + and the Queen of the Clouds. Those, I understand, are the posts in their + pantheon which you and the lady who accompanies you occupy.” + </p> + <p> + “You are right,” Felix answered, with profoundly painful + interest. “And what, then, becomes of the king and queen who are + sacrificed?” + </p> + <p> + “I will tell you,” M. Peyron answered, dropping his voice + still lower into a sympathetic key. “But steel your mind for the + worst beforehand. It is sufficiently terrible. On the day of your arrival, + this, I learn from my Shadow, is just what happened. That night, + Tu-Kila-Kila made his great feast, and offered up the two chief human + sacrifices of the year, the free-will offering and the scapegoat of + trespass. They keep then a festival, which answers to our own New-Year’s + day in Europe. Next morning, in accordance with custom, the King of the + Rain and the Queen of the Clouds were to be publicly slain, in order that + a new and more vigorous king and queen should be chosen in their place, + who might make the crops grow better and the sky more clement. In the + midst of this horrid ceremony, you and mademoiselle, by pure chance, + arrived. You were immediately selected by Tu-Kila-Kila, for some reason of + his own, which I do not sufficiently understand, but which is, + nevertheless, obvious to all the initiated, as the next representatives of + the rain-giving gods. You were presented to Heaven on their little + platform raised about the ground, and Heaven accepted you. Then you were + envisaged with the attributes of divinity; the care of the rain and the + clouds was made over to you; and immediately after, as soon as you were + gone, the old king and queen were laid on an altar near Tu-Kila-Kila’s + home, and slain with tomahawks. Their flesh was next hacked from their + bodies with knives, cooked, and eaten; their bones were thrown into the + sea, the mother of all waters, as the natives call it. And that is the + fate, I fear the inevitable fate, that will befall you and mademoiselle at + these wretches’ hands about the commencement of a fresh season.” + </p> + <p> + Felix knew the worst now, and bent his head in silence. His worst fears + were confirmed; but, after all, even this knowledge was better than so + much uncertainty. + </p> + <p> + And now that he knew when “his time was up,” as the natives + phrased it, he would know when to redeem his promise to Muriel. + </p> + <p> + <br /><br /> + </p> + <hr /> + <p> + <a name="link2HCH0016" id="link2HCH0016"> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + CHAPTER XVI. — A VERY FAINT CLUE. + </h2> + <p> + “But you hinted at some hope, some chance of escape,” Felix + cried at last, looking up from the ground and mastering his emotion. + “What now is that hope? Conceal nothing from me.” + </p> + <p> + “Monsieur,” the Frenchman answered, shrugging his shoulders + with an expression of utter impotence, “I have as good reasons for + wishing to find out all that as even you can have. <i>Your</i> secret is + <i>my</i> secret; but with all my pains and astuteness I have been unable + to discover it. The natives are reticent, very reticent indeed, about all + these matters. They fear taboo; and they fear Tu-Kila-Kila. The women, to + be sure, in a moment of expansion, might possibly tell one; but, then, the + women, unfortunately, are not admitted to the mysteries. They know no more + of all these things than we do. The most I have been able to gather for + certain is this—that on the discovery of the secret depend + Tu-Kila-Kila’s life and power. Every Boupari man knows this Great + Taboo; it is communicated to him in the assembly of adults when he gets + tattooed and reaches manhood. But no Boupari man ever communicates it to + strangers; and for that reason, perhaps, as I believe, Tu-Kila-Kila often + chooses for Korong, as far as possible, those persons who are cast by + chance upon the island. It has always been the custom, so far as I can + make out, to treat castaways or prisoners taken in war as gods, and then + at the end of their term to kill them ruthlessly. This plan is popular + with the people at large, because it saves themselves from the dangerous + honors of deification; but it also serves Tu-Kila-Kila’s purpose, + because it usually elevates to Heaven those innocent persons who are + unacquainted with that fatal secret which is, as the natives say, + Tu-Kila-Kila’s death—his word of dismissal.” + </p> + <p> + “Then if only we could find out this secret—” Felix + cried. + </p> + <p> + His new friend interrupted him. “What hope is there of your finding + it out, monsieur,” he exclaimed, “you, who have only a few + months to live—when I, who have spent nine long years of exile on + the island, and seen two Tu-Kila-Kilas rise and fall, have been unable, + with my utmost pains, to discover it? <i>Tenez</i>; you have no idea yet + of the superstitions of these people, or the difficulties that lie in the + way of fathoming them. Come this way to my aviary; I will show you + something that will help you to realize the complexities of the situation.” + </p> + <p> + He rose and led the way to another cleared space at the back of the hut, + where several birds of gaudy plumage were fastened to perches on sticks by + leathery lashes of dried shark’s skin, tied just above their talons. + “I am the King of the Birds, monsieur, you must remember,” the + Frenchman said, fondling one of his screaming <i>protégés</i>. “These + are a few of my subjects. But I do not keep them for mere curiosity. Each + of them is the Soul of the tribe to which it belongs. This, for example—my + Cluseret—is the Soul of all the gray parrots; that that you see + yonder—Badinguet, I call him—is the Soul of the hawks; this, + my Mimi, is the Soul of the little yellow-crested kingfisher. My task as + King of the Birds is to keep a representative of each of these always on + hand; in which endeavor I am faithfully aided by the whole population of + the island, who bring me eggs and nests and young birds in abundance. If + the Soul of the little yellow kingfisher now were to die, without a + successor being found ready at once to receive and embody it, then the + whole race of little yellow kingfishers would vanish altogether; and if I + myself, the King of the Birds, who am, as it were, the Soul and life of + all of them, were to die without a successor being at hand to receive my + spirit, then all the race of birds, with one accord, would become extinct + forthwith and forever.” + </p> + <p> + He moved among his pets easily, like a king among his subjects. Most of + them seemed to know him and love his presence. Presently, he came to one + very old parrot, quite different from any Felix had ever seen on any trees + in the island; it was a parrot with a black crest and a red mark on its + throat, half blind with age, and tottering on its pedestal. This solemn + old bird sat apart from all the others, nodding its head oracularly in the + sunlight, and blinking now and again with its white eyelids in a curious + senile fashion. + </p> + <p> + The Frenchman turned to Felix with an air of profound mystery. “This + bird,” he said, solemnly stroking its head with his hand, while the + parrot turned round to him and bit at his finger with half-doddering + affection—“this bird is the oldest of all my birds—-is + it not so, Methuselah?—and illustrates well in one of its aspects + the superstition of these people. Yes, my friend, you are the last of a + kind now otherwise extinct, are you not, <i>mon vieux?</i> No, no, there—gently! + Once upon a time, the natives tell me, dozens of these parrots existed in + the island; they flocked among the trees, and were held very sacred; but + they were hard to catch and difficult to keep, and the Kings of the Birds, + my predecessors, failed to secure an heir and coadjutor to this one. So as + the Soul of the species, which you see here before you, grew old and + feeble, the whole of the race to which it belonged grew old and feeble + with it. One by one they withered away and died, till at last this + solitary specimen alone remained to vouch for the former existence of the + race in the island. Now, the islanders say, nothing but the Soul itself is + left; and when the Soul dies, the red-throated parrots will be gone + forever. One of my predecessors paid with his life in awful tortures for + his remissness in not providing for the succession to the soulship. I tell + you these things in order that you may see whether they cast any light for + you upon your own position; and also because the oldest and wisest natives + say that this parrot alone, among beasts or birds or uninitiated things, + knows the secret on which depends the life of the Tu-Kila-Kila for the + time being.” + </p> + <p> + “Can the parrot speak?” Felix asked, with profound emotion. + </p> + <p> + “Monsieur, he can speak, and he speaks frequently. But not one word + of all he says is comprehensible either to me or to any other living + being. His tongue is that of a forgotten nation. The islanders understand + him no more than I do. He has a very long sermon or poem, which he knows + by heart, in some unknown language, and he repeats it often at full length + from time to time, especially when he has eaten well and feels full and + happy. The oldest natives tell a romantic legend about this strange + recitation of the good Methuselah—I call him Methuselah because of + his great age—but I do not really know whether their tale is true or + purely fanciful. You never can trust these Polynesian traditions.” + </p> + <p> + “What is the legend?” Felix asked, with intense interest. + “In an island where we find ourselves so girt round by mystery + within mystery, and taboo within taboo, as this, every key is worth + trying. It is well for us at least to learn everything we can about the + ideas of the natives. Who knows what clue may supply us at last with the + missing link, which will enable us to break through this intolerable + servitude?” + </p> + <p> + “Well, the story they tell us is this,” the Frenchman replied, + “though I have gathered it only a hint at a time, from very old men, + who declared at the same moment that some religious fear—of which + they have many—prevented them from telling me any further about it. + It seems that a long time ago—how many years ago nobody knows, only + that it was in the time of the thirty-ninth Tu-Kila-Kila, before the reign + of Lavita, the son of Sami—a strange Korong was cast up upon this + island by the waves of the sea, much as you and I have been in the present + generation. By accident, says the story, or else, as others aver, through + the indiscretion of a native woman who fell in love with him, and who + worried the taboo out of her husband, the stranger became acquainted with + the secret of Tu-Kila-Kila. As the natives themselves put it, he learned + the Death of the High God, and where in the world his Soul was hidden. + Thereupon, in some mysterious way or other, he became Tu-Kila-Kila + himself, and ruled as High God for ten years or more here on this island. + Now, up to that time, the legend goes on, none but the men of the island + knew the secret; they learned it as soon as they were initiated in the + great mysteries, which occur before a boy is given a spear and admitted to + the rank of complete manhood. But sometimes a woman was told the secret + wrongfully by her husband or her lover; and one such woman, apparently, + told the strange Korong, and so enabled him to become Tu-Kila-Kila.” + </p> + <p> + “But where does the parrot come in?” Felix asked, with still + profounder excitement than ever. Something within him seemed to tell him + instinctively he was now within touch of the special key that must sooner + or later unlock the mystery. + </p> + <p> + “Well,” the Frenchman went on, still stroking the parrot + affectionately with his hand, and smoothing down the feathers on its + ruffled back, “the strange Tu-Kila-Kila, who thus ruled in the + island, though he learned to speak Polynesian well, had a language of his + own, a language of the birds, which no man on earth could ever talk with + him. So, to beguile his time and to have someone who could converse with + him in his native dialect, he taught this parrot to speak his own tongue, + and spent most of his days in talking with it and fondling it. At last, + after he had instructed it by slow degrees how to repeat this long sermon + or poem—which I have often heard it recite in a sing-song voice from + beginning to end—his time came, as they say, and he had to give way + to another Tu-Kila-Kila; for the Bouparese have a proverb like our own + about the king, ‘The High God is dead; may the High God live + forever!’ But before he gave up his Soul to his successor, and was + eaten or buried, whichever is the custom, he handed over his pet to the + King of the Birds, strictly charging all future bearers of that divine + office to care for the parrot as they would care for a son or a daughter. + And so the natives make much of the parrot to the present day, saying he + is greater than any, save a Korong or a god, for he is the Soul of a dead + race, summing it up in himself, and he knows the secret of the Death of + Tu-Kila-Kila.” + </p> + <p> + “But you can’t tell me what language he speaks?” Felix + asked with a despairing gesture. It was terrible to stand thus within + measurable distance of the secret which might, perhaps, save Muriel’s + life, and yet be perpetually balked by wheel within wheel of more than + Egyptian mystery. + </p> + <p> + “Who can say?” the Frenchman answered, shrugging his shoulders + helplessly. “It isn’t Polynesian; that I know well, for I + speak Bouparese now like a native of Boupari; and it isn’t the only + other language spoken at the present day in the South Seas—the + Melanesian of New Caledonia—for that I learned well from the Kanakas + while I was serving my time as a convict among them. All we can say for + certain is that it may, perhaps, be some very ancient tongue. For parrots, + we know, are immensely long-lived. Some of them, it is said, exceed their + century. Is it not so, eh, my friend Methuselah?” + </p> + <p> + <br /><br /> + </p> + <hr /> + <p> + <a name="link2HCH0017" id="link2HCH0017"> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + CHAPTER XVII. — FACING THE WORST. + </h2> + <p> + Muriel, meanwhile, sat alone in her hut, frightened at Felix’s + unexpected disappearance so early in the morning, and anxiously awaiting + her lover’s return, for she made no pretences now to herself that + she did not really love Felix. Though the two might never return to Europe + to be husband and wife, she did not doubt that before the eye of Heaven + they were already betrothed to one another as truly as though they had + plighted their troth in solemn fashion. Felix had risked his life for her, + and had brought all this misery upon himself in the attempt to save her. + Felix was now all the world that was left her. With Felix, she was happy, + even on this horrible island; without him, she was miserable and + terrified, no matter what happened. + </p> + <p> + “Mali,” she cried to her faithful attendant, as soon as she + found Felix was missing from his tent, “what’s become of Mr. + Thurstan? Where can he be gone, I wonder, this morning?” + </p> + <p> + “You no fear, Missy Queenie,” Mali answered, with the childish + confidence of the native Polynesian. “Mistah Thurstan, him gone to + see man-a-oui-oui, the King of the Birds. Month of Birds finish last + night; man-a-oui-oui no taboo any longer. King of the Birds keep very old + parrot, Boupari folk tell me; and old parrot very wise, know how to make + Tu-Kila-Kila. Mistah Thurstan, him gone to find man-a-oui-oui. Parrot tell + him plenty wise thing. Parrot wiser than Boupari people; know very good + medicine; wise like Queensland lady and gentleman.” And Mali set + herself vigorously to work to wash the wooden platter on which she served + up her mistress’s yam for breakfast. + </p> + <p> + It was curious to Muriel to see how readily Mali had slipped from savagery + to civilization in Queensland, and how easily she had slipped back again + from civilization to savagery in Boupari. In waiting on her mistress she + was just the ordinary trained native Australian servant; in every other + respect she was the simple unadulterated heathen Polynesian. She + recognized in Muriel a white lady of the English sort, and treated her + within the hut as white ladies were invariably treated in Queensland; but + she considered that at Boupari one must do as Boupari does, and it never + for a moment occurred to her simple mind to doubt the omnipotence of + Tu-Kila-Kila in his island realm any more than she had doubted the + omnipotence of the white man and his local religion in their proper place + (as she thought it) in Queensland. + </p> + <p> + An hour or two passed before Felix returned. At last he arrived, very + white and pale, and Muriel saw at once by the mere look on his face that + he had learned some terrible news at the Frenchman’s. + </p> + <p> + “Well, you found him?” she cried, taking his hand in hers, but + hardly daring to ask the fatal question at once. + </p> + <p> + And Felix, sitting down, as pale as a ghost, answered faintly, “Yes, + Muriel, I found him!” + </p> + <p> + “And he told you everything?” + </p> + <p> + “Everything he knew, my poor child. Oh, Muriel, Muriel, don’t + ask me what it is. It’s too terrible to tell you.” + </p> + <p> + Muriel clasped her white hands together, held bloodless downward, and + looked at him fixedly. “Mali, you can go,” she said. And the + Shadow, rising up with childish confidence, glided from the hut, and left + them, for the first time since their arrival on the central island, alone + together. + </p> + <p> + Muriel looked at him once more with the same deadly fixed look. “With + you, Felix,” she said, slowly, “I can bear or dare anything. I + feel as if the bitterness of death were past long ago. I know it must + come. I only want to be quite sure when.... And besides, you must + remember, I have your promise.” + </p> + <p> + Felix clasped his own hands despondently in return, and gazed across at + her from his seat a few feet off in unspeakable misery. + </p> + <p> + “Muriel,” he cried, “I couldn’t. I haven’t + the heart. I daren’t.” + </p> + <p> + Muriel rose and laid her hand solemnly on his arm. “You will!” + she answered, boldly. “You can! You must! I know I can trust your + promise for that. This moment, if you like. I would not shrink. But you + will never let me fall alive into the hands of those wretches. Felix, from + <i>your</i> hand I could stand anything. I’m not afraid to die. I + love you too dearly.” + </p> + <p> + Felix held her white little wrist in his grasp and sobbed like a child. + Her very bravery and confidence seemed to unman him, utterly. + </p> + <p> + She looked at him once more. “When?” she asked, quietly, but + with lips as pale as death. + </p> + <p> + “In about four months from now,” Felix answered, endeavoring + to be calm. + </p> + <p> + “And they will kill us both?” + </p> + <p> + “Yes, both. I think so.” + </p> + <p> + “Together?” + </p> + <p> + “Together.” + </p> + <p> + Muriel drew a deep sigh. + </p> + <p> + “Will you know the day beforehand?” she asked. + </p> + <p> + “Yes. The Frenchman told me it. He has known others killed in the + self-same fashion.” + </p> + <p> + “Then, Felix—-the night before it comes, you will promise me, + will you?” + </p> + <p> + “Muriel, Muriel, I could never dare to kill you.” + </p> + <p> + She laid her hand soothingly on his. She stroked him gently. “You + are a man,” she said, looking up into his eyes with confidence. + “I trust you. I believe in you. I know you will never let these + savages hurt me.... Felix, in spite of everything, I’ve been happier + since we came to this island together than ever I have been in my life + before. I’ve had my wish. I didn’t want to miss in life the + one thing that life has best worth giving. I haven’t missed it now. + I know I haven’t; for I love you, and you love me. After that, I can + die, and die gladly. If I die with <i>you</i>, that’s all I ask. + These seven or eight terrible weeks have made me feel somehow unnaturally + calm. When I came here first I lived all the time in an agony of terror. I’ve + got over the agony of terror now. I’m quite resigned and happy. All + I ask is to be saved—by you—from the cruel hands of these + hateful cannibals.” + </p> + <p> + Felix raised her white hand just once to his lips. It was the first time + he had ever ventured to kiss her. He kissed it fervently. She let it drop + as if dead by her side. + </p> + <p> + “Now tell me all that happened,” she said. “I’m + strong enough to bear it. I feel such a woman now—so wise and calm. + These few weeks have made me grow from a girl into a woman all at once. + There’s nothing I daren’t hear, if you’ll tell me it, + Felix.” + </p> + <p> + Felix took up her hand again and held it in his, as he narrated the whole + story of his visit to the Frenchman. When Muriel had heard it, she said + once more, slowly, “I don’t think there’s any hope in + all these wild plans of playing off superstition against superstition. To + my mind there are only two chances left for us now. One is to concoct with + the Frenchman some means of getting away by canoe from the island—I’d + rather trust the sea than the tender mercy of these dreadful people; the + other is to keep a closer lookout than ever for the merest chance of a + passing steamer.” + </p> + <p> + Felix drew a deep sigh. “I’m afraid neither’s much use,” + he said. “If we tried to get away, dogged as we are, day and night, + by our Shadows, the natives would follow us with their war-canoes in + battle array and hack us to pieces; for Peyron says that, regarding us as + gods, they think the rain would vanish from their island forever if once + they allowed us to get away alive and carry the luck with us. And as to + the steamers, we haven’t seen a trace of one since we left the + Australasian. Probably it was only by the purest accident that even she + ever came so close in to Boupari.” + </p> + <p> + “At any rate,” Muriel cried, still clasping his hand tight, + and letting the tears now trickle slowly down her pale white cheeks, + “we can talk it all over some day with M. Peyron.” + </p> + <p> + “We can talk it over to-day,” Felix answered, “if it + comes to that; for Peyron means to step round, he says, a little later in + the afternoon, to pay his respects to the first white lady he has ever + seen since he left New Caledonia.” + </p> + <p> + <br /><br /> + </p> + <hr /> + <p> + <a name="link2HCH0018" id="link2HCH0018"> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + CHAPTER XVIII. — TU-KILA-KILA PLAYS A CARD. + </h2> + <p> + Before the Frenchman could carry out his plan, however, he was himself the + recipient of the high honor of a visit from his superior god and chief, + Tu-Kila-Kila. + </p> + <p> + Every day and all day long, save on a few rare occasions when special + duties absolved him, the custom and religion of the islanders prescribed + that their supreme incarnate deity should keep watch and ward without + cessation over the great spreading banyan-tree that overshadowed with its + dark boughs his temple-palace. High god as he was held to be, and + all-powerful within the limits of his own strict taboos, Tu-Kila-Kila was + yet as rigidly bound within those iron laws of custom and religious usage + as the meanest and poorest of his subject worshippers. From sunrise to + sunset, and far on into the night, the Pillar of Heaven was compelled to + prowl up and down, with spear in hand and tomahawk at side, as Felix had + so often seen him, before the sacred trunk, of which he appeared to be in + some mysterious way the appointed guardian. His very power, it seemed, was + intimately bound up with the performance of that ceaseless and irksome + duty; he was a god in whose hands the lives of his people were but as dust + in the balance; but he remained so only on the onerous condition of pacing + to and fro, like a sentry, forever before the still more holy and + venerable object he was chosen to protect from attack or injury. Had he + failed in his task, had he slumbered at his post, all god though he might + be, his people themselves would have risen in a body and torn him limb + from limb before their ancestral fetich as a sacrilegious pretender. + </p> + <p> + At certain times and seasons, however, as for example at all high feasts + and festivals, Tu-Kila-Kila had respite for a while from this constant + treadmill of mechanical divinity. Whenever the moon was at the + half-quarter, or the planets were in lucky conjunctions, or a red glow lit + up the sky by night, or the sacred sacrificial fires of human flesh were + lighted, then Tu-Kila-Kila could lay aside his tomahawk and spear, and + become for a while as the islanders, his fellows, were. At other times, + too, when he went out in state to visit the lesser deities of his court, + the King of Fire and the King of Water made a solemn taboo before He left + his home, which protected the sacred tree from aggression during its + guardian’s absence. Then Tu-Kila-Kila, shaded by his divine + umbrella, and preceded by the noise of the holy tom-toms, could go like a + monarch over all parts of his realm, giving such orders as he pleased + (within the limits of custom) to his inferior officers. It was in this way + that he now paid his visit to M. Jules Peyron, King of the Birds. And he + did so for what to him were amply sufficient reasons. + </p> + <p> + It had not escaped Tu-Kila-Kila’s keen eye, as he paced among the + skeletons in his yard that morning, that Felix Thurstan, the King of the + Rain, had taken his way openly toward the Frenchman’s quarters. He + felt pretty sure, therefore, that Felix had by this time learned another + white man was living on the island; and he thought it an ominous fact that + the new-comer should make his way toward his fellow-European’s hut + on the very first morning when the law of taboo rendered such a visit + possible. The savage is always by nature suspicious; and Tu-Kila-Kila had + grounds enough of his own for suspicion in this particular instance. The + two white men were surely brewing mischief together for the Lord of Heaven + and Earth, the Illuminer of the Glowing Light of the Sun; he must make + haste and see what plan they were concocting against the sacred tree and + the person of its representative, the King of Plants and of the Host of + Heaven. + </p> + <p> + But it isn’t so easy to make haste when all your movements are + impeded and hampered by endless taboos and a minutely annoying ritual. + Before Tu-Kila-Kila could get himself under way, sacred umbrella, + tom-toms, and all, it was necessary for the King of Fire and the King of + Water to make taboo on an elaborate scale with their respective elements; + and so by the time the high god had reached M. Jules Peyron’s + garden, Felix Thurstan had already some time since returned to Muriel’s + hut and his own quarters. + </p> + <p> + Tu-Kila-Kila approached the King of the Birds, amid loud clapping of + hands, with considerable haughtiness. To say the truth, there was no love + lost between the cannibal god and his European subordinate. The savage, + puffed up as he was in his own conceit, had nevertheless always an + uncomfortable sense that, in his heart of hearts, the impassive Frenchman + had but a low opinion of him. So he invariably tried to make up by the + solemnity of his manner and the loudness of his assertions for any + trifling scepticism that might possibly exist in the mind of his follower. + </p> + <p> + On this particular occasion, as he reached the Frenchman’s plot, + Tu-Kila-Kila stepped forward across the white taboo-line with a suspicious + and peering eye. “The King of the Rain has been here,” he + said, in a pompous tone, as the Frenchman rose and saluted him + ceremoniously. “Tu-Kila-Kila’s eyes are sharp. They never + sleep. The sun is his sight. He beholds all things. You cannot hide aught + in heaven or earth from the knowledge of him that dwells in heaven. I look + down upon land and sea, and spy out all that takes place or is planned in + them. I am very holy and very cruel. I see all earth and I drink the blood + of all men. The King of the Rain has come this morning to visit the King + of the Birds. Where is he now? What has your divinity done with him?” + </p> + <p> + He spoke from under the sheltering cover of his veiled umbrella. The + Frenchman looked back at him with as little love as Tu-Kila-Kila himself + would have displayed had his face been visible. “Yes, you are a very + great god,” he answered, in the conventional tone of Polynesian + adulation, with just a faint under-current of irony running through his + accent as he spoke. “You say the truth. You do, indeed, know all + things. What need for me, then, to tell you, whose eye is the sun, that my + brother, the King of the Rain, has been here and gone again? You know it + yourself. Your eye has looked upon it. My brother was indeed with me. He + consulted me as to the showers I should need from his clouds for the + birds, my subjects.” + </p> + <p> + “And where is he gone now?” Tu-Kila-Kila asked, without + attempting to conceal the displeasure in his tone, for he more than half + suspected the Frenchman of a sacrilegious and monstrous design of chaffing + him. + </p> + <p> + The King of the Birds bowed low once more. “Tu-Kila-Kila’s + glance is keener than my hawk’s,” he answered, with the + accustomed Polynesian imagery. “He sees over the land with a glance, + like my parrots, and over the sea with sharp sight, like my albatrosses. + He knows where my brother, the King of the Rain, has gone. For me, who am + the least among all the gods, I sit here on my perch and blink like a + crow. I do not know these things. They are too high and too deep for me.” + </p> + <p> + Tu-Kila-Kila did not like the turn the conversation was taking. Before his + own attendants such hints, indeed, were almost dangerous. Once let the + savage begin to doubt, and the Moral Order goes with a crash immediately. + Besides, he must know what these white men had been talking about. “Fire + and Water,” he said in a loud voice, turning round to his two chief + satellites, “go far down the path, and beat the tom-toms. Fence off + with flood and flame the airy height where the King of the Birds lives; + fence it off from all profane intrusion. I wish to confer in secret with + this god, my brother. When we gods talk together, it is not well that + others should hear our converse. Make a great Taboo. I, Tu-Kila-Kila, + myself have said it.” + </p> + <p> + Fire and Water, bowing low, backed down the path, beating tom-toms as they + went, and left the savage and the Frenchman alone together. + </p> + <p> + As soon as they were gone, Tu-Kila-Kila laid aside his umbrella with a + positive sigh of relief. Now his fellow-countrymen were well out of the + way, his manner altered in a trice, as if by magic. Barbarian as he was, + he was quite astute enough to guess that Europeans cared nothing in their + hearts for all his mumbo-jumbo. He believed in it himself, but they did + not, and their very unbelief made him respect and fear them. + </p> + <p> + “Now that we two are alone,” he said, glancing carelessly + around him, “we two who are gods, and know the world well—we + two who see everything in heaven or earth—there is no need for + concealment—we may talk as plainly as we will with one another. + Come, tell me the truth! The new white man has seen you?” + </p> + <p> + “He has seen me, yes, certainly,” the Frenchman admitted, + taking a keen look deep into the savage’s cunning eyes. + </p> + <p> + “Does he speak your language—the language of birds?” + Tu-Kila-Kila asked once more, with insinuating cunning. “I have + heard that the sailing gods are of many languages. Are you and he of one + speech or two? Aliens, or countrymen?” + </p> + <p> + “He speaks my language as he speaks Polynesian,” the Frenchman + replied, keeping his eye firmly fixed on his doubtful guest, “but it + is not his own. He has a tongue apart—the tongue of an island not + far from my country, which we call England.” + </p> + <p> + Tu-Kila-Kila drew nearer, and dropped his voice to a confidential whisper. + “Has he seen the Soul of all dead parrots?” he asked, with + keen interest in his voice. “The parrot that knows Tu-Kila-Kila’s + secret? That one over there—the old, the very sacred one?” + </p> + <p> + M. Peyron gazed round his aviary carelessly. “Oh, that one,” + he answered, with a casual glance at Methuselah, as though one parrot or + another were much the same to him. “Yes, I think he saw it. I + pointed it out to him, in fact, as the oldest and strangest of all my + subjects.” + </p> + <p> + Tu-Kila-Kila’s countenance fell. “Did he hear it speak?” + he asked, in evident alarm. “Did it tell him the story of + Tu-Kila-Kila’s secret?” + </p> + <p> + “No, it didn’t speak,” the Frenchman answered. “It + seldom does now. It is very old. And if it did, I don’t suppose the + King of the Rain would have understood one word of it. Look here, great + god, allay your fears. You’re a terrible coward. I expect the real + fact about the parrot is this: it is the last of its own race; it speaks + the language of some tribe of men who once inhabited these islands, but + are now extinct. No human being at present alive, most probably, knows one + word of that forgotten language.” + </p> + <p> + “You think not?” Tu-Kila-Kila asked, a little relieved. + </p> + <p> + “I am the King of the Birds, and I know the voices of my subjects by + heart; I assure you it is as I say,” M. Peyron answered, drawing + himself up solemnly. + </p> + <p> + Tu-Kila-Kila looked askance, with something very closely approaching a + wink in his left eye. “We two are both gods,” he said, with a + tinge of irony in his tone. “We know what that means.... <i>I</i> do + not feel so certain.” + </p> + <p> + He stood close by the parrot with itching fingers. “It is very, very + old,” he went on to himself, musingly. “It can’t live + long. And then—none but Boupari men will know the secret.” + </p> + <p> + As he spoke he darted a strange glance of hatred toward the unconscious + bird, the innocent repository, as he firmly believed, of the secret that + doomed him. The Frenchman had turned his back for a moment now, to fetch + out a stool. Tu-Kila-Kila, casting a quick, suspicious eye to the right + and left, took a step nearer. The parrot sat mumbling on its perch, + inarticulately, putting its head on one side, and blinking its + half-blinded eyes in the bright tropical sunshine. Tu-Kila-Kila paused + irresolute before its face for a second. If he only dared—one wring + of the neck—one pinch of his finger and thumb almost!—and all + would be over. But he dared not! he dared not! Your savage is overawed by + the blind terrors of taboo. His predecessor, some elder Tu-Kila-Kila of + forgotten days, had laid a great charm upon that parrot’s life. + Whoever hurt it was to die an awful death of unspeakable torment. The King + of the Birds had special charge to guard it. If even the Cannibal God + himself wrought it harm, who could tell what judgment might fall upon him + forthwith, what terrible vengeance the dead Tu-Kila-Kila might wreak upon + him in his ghostly anger? And that dead Tu-Kila-Kila was his own Soul! His + own Soul might flare up within him in some mystic way and burn him to + ashes. + </p> + <p> + And yet—suppose this hateful new-comer, the King of the Rain, whom + he had himself made Korong on purpose to get rid of him the more easily, + and so had elevated into his own worst potential enemy—suppose this + new-comer, the King of the Rain, were by chance to speak that other + dialect of the bird-language, which the King of the Birds himself knew + not, but which the parrot had learned from his old master, the ancient + Tu-Kila-Kila of other days, and in which the bird still recited the secret + of the sacred tree and the Death of the Great God—ah, then he might + still have to fight hard for his divinity. He gazed angrily at the bird. + Methuselah blinked, and put his head on one side, and looked craftily + askance at him. Tu-Kila-Kila hated it, that insolent creature. Was he not + a god, and should he be thus bearded in his own island by a mere Soul of + dead birds, a poor, wretched parrot? But the curse! What might not that + portend? Ah, well, he would risk it. Glancing around him once more to the + right and left, to make sure that nobody was looking, the cunning savage + put forth his hand stealthily, and tried with a friendly caress to seize + the parrot. + </p> + <p> + In a moment, before he had time to know what was happening, Methuselah—sleepy + old dotard as he seemed—had woke up at once to a sense of danger. + Turning suddenly round upon the sleek, caressing hand, he darted his beak + with a vicious peck at his assailant, and bit the divine finger of the + Pillar of Heaven as carelessly as he would have bitten any child on + Boupari. Tu-Kila-Kila, thunder-struck, drew back his arm with a start of + surprise and a loud cry of pain. The bird had wounded him. He shook his + hand and stamped. Blood was dropping on the ground from the man-god’s + finger. He hardly knew what strange evil this omen of harm might portend + for the world. The Soul of all dead parrots had carried out the curse, and + had drawn red drops from the sacred veins of Tu-Kila-Kila. + </p> + <p> + One must be a savage one’s self, and superstitious at that, fully to + understand the awful significance of this deadly occurrence. To draw blood + from a god, and, above all, to let that blood fall upon the dust of the + ground, is the very worst luck—too awful for the human mind to + contemplate. + </p> + <p> + At the same moment, the parrot, awakened by the unexpected attack, threw + back its head on its perch, and, laughing loud and long to itself in its + own harsh way, began to pour forth a whole volley of oaths in a guttural + language, of which neither Tu-Kila-Kila nor the Frenchman understood one + syllable. And at the same moment, too, M. Peyron himself, recalled from + the door of his hut by Tu-Kila-Kila’s sharp cry of pain and by his + liege subject’s voluble flow of loud speech and laughter, ran up all + agog to know what was the matter. + </p> + <p> + Tu-Kila-Kila, with an effort, tried to hide in his robe his wounded + finger. But the Frenchman caught at the meaning of the whole scene at + once, and interposed himself hastily between the parrot and its assailant. + “<i>Hé!</i> my Methuselah,” he cried, in French, stroking the + exultant bird with his hand, and smoothing its ruffled feathers, “did + he try to choke you, then? Did he try to get over you? That was a brave + bird! You did well, <i>mon ami</i>, to bite him!... No, no, Life of the + World, and Measurer of the Sun’s Course,” he went on, in + Polynesian, “you shall not go near him. Keep your distance, I beg of + you. You may be a high god—though you were a scurvy wretch enough, + don’t you recollect, when you were only Lavita, the son of Sami—but + I know your tricks. Hands off from my birds, say I. A curse is on the head + of the Soul of dead parrots. You tried to hurt him, and see how the curse + has worked itself out! The blood of the great god, the Pillar of Heaven, + has stained the gray dust of the island of Boupari.” + </p> + <p> + Tu-Kila-Kila stood sucking his finger, and looking the very picture of the + most savage sheepishness. + </p> + <p> + <br /><br /> + </p> + <hr /> + <p> + <a name="link2HCH0019" id="link2HCH0019"> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + CHAPTER XIX. — DOMESTIC BLISS. + </h2> + <p> + Tu-Kila-Kila went home that day in a very bad humor. The portent of the + bitten finger had seriously disturbed him. For, strange as it sounds to + us, he really believed himself in his own divinity; and the bare thought + that the holy soil of earth should be dabbled and wet with the blood of a + god gave him no little uneasiness in his own mind on his way homeward. + Besides, what would his people think of it if they found it out? At all + hazards almost, he must strive to conceal this episode of the bite from + the men of Boupari. A god who gets wounded, and, worse still, gets wounded + in the very act of trying to break a great taboo laid on by himself in a + previous incarnation—such a god undoubtedly lays himself open to the + gravest misapprehensions on the part of his worshippers. Indeed, it was + not even certain whether his people, if they knew, would any longer regard + him as a god at all. The devotion of savages is profound, but it is far + from personal. When deities pass so readily from one body to another, you + must always keep a sharp lookout lest the great spirit should at any + minute have deserted his earthly tabernacle, and have taken up his abode + in a fresh representative. Honor the gods by all means; but make sure at + the same time what particular house they are just then inhabiting. + </p> + <p> + It was the hour of siesta in Tu-Kila-Kila’s tent. For a short space + in the middle of the day, during the heat of the sun, while Fire and + Water, with their embers and their calabash, sat on guard in a porch by + the bamboo gate, Tu-Kila-Kila, Pillar of Heaven and Threshold of Earth, + had respite for a while from his daily task of guarding the sacred banyan, + and could take his ease after his meal in his own quarters. While that + precious hour of taboo lasted, no wandering dragon or spirit of the air + could hurt the holy tree, and no human assailant dare touch or approach + it. Even the disease-making gods, who walk in the pestilence, could not + blight or wither it. At all other times Tu-Kila-Kila mounted guard over + his tree with a jealousy that fairly astonished Felix Thurstan’s + soul; for Felix Thurstan only dimly understood as yet how implicitly + Tu-Kila-Kila’s own life and office were bound up with the + inviolability of the banyan he protected. + </p> + <p> + Within the hut, during that playtime of siesta, while the lizards (who are + also gods) ran up and down the wall, and puffed their orange throats, + Tu-Kila-Kila lounged at his ease that afternoon, with one of his many + wives—a tall and beautiful Polynesian woman, lithe and supple, as is + the wont of her race, and as exquisitely formed in every limb and feature + as a sculptured Greek goddess. A graceful wreath of crimson hibiscus + adorned her shapely head, round which her long and glossy black hair was + coiled in great rings with artistic profusion. A festoon of blue flowers + and dark-red dracæna leaves hung like a chaplet over her olive-brown neck + and swelling bust. One breadth of native cloth did duty for an apron or + girdle round her waist and hips. All else was naked. Her plump brown arms + were set off by the green and crimson of the flowers that decked her. + Tu-Kila-Kila glanced at his slave with approving eyes. He always liked + Ula; she pleased him the best of all his women. And she knew his ways, + too: she never contradicted him. + </p> + <p> + Among savages, guile is woman’s best protection. The wife who knows + when to give way with hypocritical obedience, and when to coax or wheedle + her yielding lord, runs the best chance in the end for her life. Her model + is not the oak, but the willow. She must be able to watch for the rising + signs of ill-humor in her master’s mind, and guard against them + carefully. If she is wise, she keeps out of her husband’s way when + his anger is aroused, but soothes and flatters him to the top of his bent + when his temper is just slightly or momentarily ruffled. + </p> + <p> + “The Lord of Heaven and Earth is ill at ease,” Ula murmured, + insinuatingly, as Tu-Kila-Kila winced once with the pain of his swollen + finger. “What has happened today to the Increaser of Bread-Fruit? My + lord is sad. His eye is downcast. Who has crossed my master’s will? + Who has dared to anger him?” + </p> + <p> + Tu-Kila-Kila kept the wounded hand wrapped up in a soft leaf, like a + woolly mullein. All the way home he had been obliged to conceal it, and + disguise the pain he felt, lest Fire and Water should discover his secret. + For he dared not let his people know that the Soul of all dead parrots had + bitten his finger, and drawn blood from the sacred veins of the man-god. + But he almost hesitated now whether or not he should confide in Ula. A god + may surely trust his own wedded wives. And yet—such need to be + careful—women are so treacherous! He suspected Ula sometimes of + being a great deal too fond of that young man Toko, who used to be one of + the temple attendants, and whom he had given as Shadow accordingly to the + King of the Rain, so as to get rid of him altogether from among the crowd + of his followers. So he kept his own counsel for the moment, and disguised + his misfortune. “I have been to see the King of the Birds this + morning,” he said, in a grumbling voice; “and I do not like + him. That God is too insolent. For my part I hate these strangers, one and + all. They have no respect for Tu-Kila-Kila like the men of Boupari. They + are as bad as atheists. They fear not the gods, and the customs of our + fathers are not in them.” + </p> + <p> + Ula crept nearer, with one lithe round arm laid caressingly close to her + master’s neck. “Then why do you make them Korong?” she + asked, with feminine curiosity, like some wife who seeks to worm out of + her husband the secret of freemasonry. “Why do you not cook them and + eat them at once, as soon as they arrive? They are very good food—so + white and fine. That last new-comer, now—the Queen of the Clouds—why + not eat her? She is plump and tender.” + </p> + <p> + “I like her,” Tu-Kila-Kila responded, in a gloating tone. + “I like her every way. I would have brought her here to my temple + and admitted her at once to be one of Tu-Kila-Kila’s wives—only + that Fire and Water would not have permitted me. They have too many + taboos, those awkward gods. I do not love them. But I make my strangers + Korong for a very wise reason. You women are fools; you understand + nothing; you do not know the mysteries. These things are a great deal too + high and too deep for you. You could not comprehend them. But men know + well why. They are wise; they have been initiated. Much more, then, do I, + who am the very high god—who eat human flesh and drink blood like + water—who cause the sun to shine and the fruits to grow—without + whom the day in heaven would fade and die out, and the foundations of the + earth would be shaken like a plantain leaf.” + </p> + <p> + Ula laid her soft brown hand soothingly on the great god’s arm just + above the elbow. “Tell me,” she said, leaning forward toward + him, and looking deep into his eyes with those great speaking gray orbs of + hers; “tell me, O Sustainer of the Equipoise of Heaven; I know you + are great; I know you are mighty; I know you are holy and wise and cruel; + but why must you let these sailing gods who come from unknown lands beyond + the place where the sun rises or sets—why must you let them so + trouble and annoy you? Why do you not at once eat them up and be done with + them? Is not their flesh sweet? Is not their blood red? Are they not a + dainty well fit for the banquet of Tu-Kila-Kila?” + </p> + <p> + The savage looked at her for a moment and hesitated. A very beautiful + woman this Ula, certainly. Not one of all his wives had larger brown + limbs, or whiter teeth, or a deeper respect for his divine nature. He had + almost a mind—it was only Ula? Why not break the silence enjoined + upon gods toward women, and explain this matter to her? Not the great + secret itself, of course—the secret on which hung the Death and + Transmigration of Tu-Kila-Kila—oh, no; not that one. The savage was + far too cunning in his generation to intrust that final terrible Taboo to + the ears of a woman. But the reason why he made all strangers Korong. A + woman might surely be trusted with that—especially Ula. She was so + very handsome. And she was always so respectful to him. + </p> + <p> + “Well, the fact of it is,” he answered, laying his hand on her + neck, that plump brown neck of hers, under the garland of dracæna leaves, + and stroking it voluptuously, “the sailing gods who happen upon this + island from time to time are made Korong—but hush! it is taboo.” + He gazed around the hut suspiciously. “Are all the others away?” + he asked, in a frightened tone. “Fire and Water would denounce me to + all my people if once they found I had told a taboo to a woman. And as for + you, they would take you, because you knew it, and would pull your flesh + from your bones with hot stone pincers!” + </p> + <p> + Ula rose and looked about her at the door of the tent. She nodded thrice; + then she glided back, serpentine, and threw herself gracefully, in a + statuesque pose, on the native mat beside him. “Here, drink some + more kava,” she cried, holding a bowl to his lips, and wheedling him + with her eyes. “Kava is good; it is fit for gods. It makes them + royally drunk, as becomes great deities. The spirits of our ancestors + dwell in the bowl; when you drink of the kava they mount by degrees into + your heart and head. They inspire brave words. They give you thoughts of + heaven. Drink, my master, drink. The Ruler of the Sun in Heaven is + thirsty.” + </p> + <p> + She lay propped on one elbow, with her face close to his; and offered him, + with one brown, irresistible hand, the intoxicating liquor. Tu-Kila-Kila + took the bowl, and drank a second time, for he had drunk of it once with + his dinner already. It was seldom he allowed himself the luxury of a + second draught of that very stupefying native intoxicant, for he knew too + well the danger of insecurely guarding his sacred tree; but on this + particular occasion, as on so many others in the collective life of + humanity, “the woman tempted him,” and he acted as she told + him. He drank it off deep. “Ha, ha! that is good!” he cried, + smacking his lips. “That is a drink fit for a god. No woman can make + kava like you, Ula.” He toyed with her arms and neck lazily once + more. “You are the queen of my wives,” he went on, in a dreamy + voice. “I like you so well, that, plump as you are, I really + believe, Ula, I could never make up my mind to eat you.” + </p> + <p> + “My lord is very gracious,” Ula made answer, in a soft, low + tone, pretending to caress him. And for some minutes more she continued to + make much of him in the fulsome strain of Polynesian flattery. + </p> + <p> + At last the kava had clearly got into Tu-Kila-Kila’s head. Then Ula + bent forward once more and again attacked him. “Now I know you will + tell me,” she said, coaxingly, “why you make them Korong. As + long as I live, I will never speak or hint of it to anybody anywhere. And + if I do—why, the remedy is near. I am your meat—take me and + eat me.” + </p> + <p> + Even cannibals are human; and at the touch of her soft hand, Tu-Kila-Kila + gave way slowly. “I made them Korong,” he answered, in rather + thick accents, “because it is less dangerous for me to make them so + than to choose for the post from among our own islanders. Sooner or later, + my day must come; but I can put it off best by making my enemies out of + strangers who arrive upon our island, and not out of those of my own + household. All Boupari men who have been initiated know the terrible + secret—they know where lies the Death of Tu-Kila-Kila. The strangers + who come to us from the sun or the sea do not know it; and therefore my + life is safest with them. So I make them Korong whenever I can, to prolong + my own days, and to guard my secret.” + </p> + <p> + “And the Death of Tu-Kila-Kila?” the woman whispered, very + low, still soothing his arm with her hand and patting his cheek softly + from time to time with a gentle, caressing motion. “Tell me where + does that live? Who holds it in charge? Where is Tu-Kila-Kila’s + great spirit laid by in safety? I know it is in the tree; but where and in + what part of it?” + </p> + <p> + Tu-Kila-Kila drew back with a little cry of surprise. “You know it + is in the tree!” he cried. “You know my soul is kept there! + Why, Ula, who told you that? and you a woman! Bad medicine indeed! Some + man has been blabbing what he learned in the mysteries. If this should + reach the ears of the King of the Rain—” he paused + mysteriously. + </p> + <p> + “What? What?” Ula cried, seizing his hand in hers, and + pressing it hard to her bosom in her anxiety and eagerness. “Tell me + the secret! Tell me!” + </p> + <p> + With a sudden sharp howl of darting pain, Tu-Kila-Kila withdrew his hand. + She had squeezed the finger the parrot had bitten, and blood began once + more to flow from it freely. + </p> + <p> + A wild impulse of revenge came over the savage. He caught her by the neck + with his other hand, pressed her throat hard, till she was black in the + face, kicked her several times with ferocious rage, and then flung her + away from him to the other side of the hut with a fierce and + untranslatable native imprecation. + </p> + <p> + Ula, shaken and hurt, darted away toward the door, with a face of abject + terror. For every reason on earth she was intensely alarmed. Were it + merely as a matter of purely earthly fear, she had ground enough for + fright in having so roused the hasty anger of that powerful and implacable + creature. He would kill her and eat her with far less compunction than an + English farmer would kill and eat one of his own barnyard chickens. But + besides that, it terrified her not a little in more mysterious ways to see + the blood of a god falling upon the earth so freely. She knew not what + awful results to herself and her race might follow from so terrible a + desecration. + </p> + <p> + But, to her utter astonishment, the great god himself, mad with rage as he + was, seemed none the less almost as profoundly frightened and surprised as + she herself was. “What did you do that for?” he cried, now + sufficiently recovered for thought and speech, wringing his hand with + pain, and then popping his finger hastily into his mouth to ease it. + “You are a clumsy thing. And you want to destroy me, too, with your + foolish clumsiness.” + </p> + <p> + He looked at her and scowled. He was very angry. But the savage woman is + nothing if not quick-witted and politic. In a flash of intuition, Ula saw + at once he was more frightened than hurt; he was afraid of the effect of + this strange revelation upon his own reputation for supreme godship. With + every mark and gesture of deprecatory servility the woman sidled back to + his side like a whipped dog. For a second she looked down on the floor at + the drops of blood; then, without one word of warning or one instant’s + hesitation, she bit her own finger hard till blood flowed from it freely. + “I will show this to Fire and Water,” she said, holding it up + before his eyes all red and bleeding. “I will say you were angry + with me and bit me for a punishment, as you often do. They will never find + out it was the blood of a god. Have no fear for their eyes. Let me look at + your finger.” + </p> + <p> + Tu-Kila-Kila, half appeased by her clever quickness, held his hand out + sulkily, like a disobedient child. Ula examined it close. “A bite,” + she said, shortly. “A bite from a bird! a peck from a parrot.” + </p> + <p> + Tu-Kila-Kila jerked out a surly assent. “Yes, the Soul of all dead + parrots,” he answered, with an angry glare. “It bit me this + morning at the King of the Birds’. A vicious brute. But no one else + saw it.” + </p> + <p> + Ula put the finger up to her own mouth, and sucked the wound gently. Her + medicine stanched it. Then she took a thin leaf of the paper mulberry, + soft, cool, and soothing, and bound it round the place with a strip of the + lace-like inner bark, as deftly as any hospital nurse in London would have + done it. These savage women are capital hands in sickness. Tu-Kila-Kila + sat and sulked meanwhile, like a disappointed child. When Ula had + finished, she nodded her head and glided softly away. She knew her chance + of learning the secret was gone for the moment, and she had too much of + the guile of the savage woman to spoil her chances by loitering about + unnecessarily while her lord was in his present ungracious humor. + </p> + <p> + As she stole from the hut, Tu-Kila-Kila, looking ruefully at his wounded + hand, and then at that light and supple retreating figure, muttered + sulkily to himself, with a very bad grace, “the woman knows too + much. She nearly wormed my secret out of me. She knows that Tu-Kila-Kila’s + life and soul are bound up in the tree. She knows that I bled, and that + the parrot bit me. If she blabs, as women will do, mischief may come of + it. I am a great god, a very great god—keen, bloodthirsty, cruel. + And I like that woman. But it would be wiser and safer, perhaps, after + all, to forego my affection and to make a great feast of her.” + </p> + <p> + And Ula, looking back with a smile and a nod, and holding up her own + bitten and bleeding hand with a farewell shake, as if to remind her divine + husband of her promise to show it to Fire and Water, murmured low to + herself as she went, “He is a very great god; a very great god, no + doubt; but I hate him, I hate him! He would eat me to-morrow if I didn’t + coax him and wheedle him and keep him in a good temper. You want to be + sharp, indeed, to be the wife of a god. I got off to-day with the skin of + my teeth. He might have turned and killed me. If only I could find out the + Great Taboo, I would tell it to the stranger, the King of the Rain; and + then, perhaps, Tu-Kila-Kila would die. And the stranger would become + Tu-Kila-Kila in turn, and I would be one of his wives; and Toko, who is + his Shadow, would return again to the service of Tu-Kila-Kila’s + temple.” + </p> + <p> + But Fire, as she passed, was saying to Water, “We are getting tired + in Boupari of Lavita, the son of Sami. If the luck of the island is not to + change, it is high time, I think, we should have a new Tu-Kila-Kila.” + </p> + <p> + <br /><br /> + </p> + <hr /> + <p> + <a name="link2HCH0020" id="link2HCH0020"> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + CHAPTER XX. — COUNCIL OF WAR. + </h2> + <p> + That same afternoon Muriel had a visitor. M. Jules Peyron, formerly of the + Collége de France, no longer a mere Polynesian god, but a French gentleman + of the Boulevards in voice and manner, came to pay his respects, as in + duty bound, to Mademoiselle Ellis. M. Peyron had performed his toilet + under trying circumstances, to the best of his ability. The remnants of + his European clothes, much patched and overhung with squares of native + tappa cloth, were hidden as much as possible by a wide feather cloak, very + savage in effect, but more seemly, at any rate, than the tattered garments + in which Felix had first found him in his own garden parterre. M. Peyron, + however, was fully aware of the defects of his costume, and profoundly + apologetic. “It is with ten thousand regrets, mademoiselle,” + he said, many times over, bowing low and simpering, “that I venture + to appear in a lady’s <i>salon</i>—for, after all, wherever a + European lady goes, there her <i>salon</i> follows her—in such a <i>tenue</i> + as that in which I am now compelled to present myself. <i>Mais que + voulez-vous? Nous ne sommes pas à Paris</i>!” For to M. Peyron, as + innocent in his way as Mali herself, the whole world divided itself into + Paris and the Provinces. + </p> + <p> + Nevertheless, it was touching to both the new-comers to see the Frenchman’s + delight at meeting once more with civilized beings. “Figure to + yourself, mademoiselle,” he said, with true French effusion—“figure + to yourself the joy and surprise with which I, this morning, receive + monsieur, your friend, at my humble cottage! For the first time after nine + years on this hateful island, I see again a European face; I hear again + the sound, the beautiful sound of that charming French language. My + emotion, believe me, was too profound for words. When monsieur was gone, I + retired to my hut, I sat down on the floor, I gave myself over to tears, + tears of joy and gratitude, to think I should once more catch a glimpse of + civilization! This afternoon, I ask myself, can I venture to go out and + pay my respects, thus attired, in these rags, to a European lady? For a + long time I doubt, I wonder, I hesitate. In my quality of Frenchman, I + would have wished to call in civilized costume upon a civilized household. + But what would you have? Necessity knows no law. I am compelled to + envelope myself in my savage robe of office as a Polynesian god—a + robe of office which, for the rest, is not without an interest of its own + for the scientific ethnologist. It belongs to me especially as King of the + Birds, and in it, in effect, is represented at least one feather of each + kind or color from every part of the body of every species of bird that + inhabits Boupari. I thus sum up, <i>pour ainsi dire</i>, in my official + costume all the birds of the island, as Tu-Kila-Kila, the very high god, + sums up, in his quaint and curious dress, the land and the sea, the trees + and the stones, earth and air, and fire and water.” + </p> + <p> + Familiarity with danger begets at last a certain callous indifference. + Muriel was surprised in her own mind to discover how easily they could + chat with M. Peyron on such indifferent subjects, with that awful doom of + an approaching death hanging over them so shortly. But the fact was, + terrors of every kind had so encompassed them round since their arrival on + the island that the mere additional certainty of a date and mode of + execution was rather a relief to their minds than otherwise. It partook of + the nature of a reprieve, not of a sentence. Besides, this meeting with + another speaker of a European tongue seemed to them so full of promise and + hope that they almost forgot the terrors of their threatened end in their + discussion of possible schemes for escape to freedom. Even M. Peyron + himself, who had spent nine long years of exile in the island, felt that + the arrival of two new Europeans gave him some hope of effecting at last + his own retreat from this unendurable position. His talk was all of + passing steamers. If the Australasian had come near enough once to sight + the island, he argued, then the homeward-bound vessel, <i>en route</i> for + Honolulu, must have begun to take a new course considerably to the + eastward of the old navigable channel. If this were so, their obvious plan + was to keep a watch, day and night, for another passing Australian liner, + and whenever one hove in sight, to steal away to the shore, seize a stray + canoe, overpower, if possible, their Shadows, or give them the slip, and + make one bold stroke for freedom on the open ocean. + </p> + <p> + None of them could conceal from their own minds, to be sure, the extreme + difficulty of carrying out this programme. In the first place, it was a + toss-up whether they ever sighted another steamer at all; for during the + weeks they had already passed on the island, not a sign of one had + appeared from any quarter. Then, again, even supposing a steamer ever hove + in sight, what likelihood that they could make out for her in an open + canoe in time to attract attention before she had passed the island? + Tu-Kila-Kila would never willingly let them go; their Shadows would watch + them with unceasing care; the whole body of natives would combine together + to prevent their departure. If they ran away at all, they must run for + their lives; as soon as the islanders discovered they were gone, every + war-canoe in the place would be manned at once with bloodthirsty savages, + who would follow on their track with relentless persistence. + </p> + <p> + As for Muriel, less prepared for such dangerous adventures than the two + men, she was rather inclined to attach a certain romantic importance (as a + girl might do) to the story of the parrot and the possible disclosures + which it could make if it could only communicate with them. The mysterious + element in the history of that unique bird attracted her fancy. “The + only one of its race now left alive,” she said, with slow + reflectiveness. “Like Dolly Pentreath, the last old woman who could + speak Cornish! I wonder how long parrots ever live? Do you know at all, + monsieur? You are the King of the Birds—you ought to be an authority + on their habits and manners.” + </p> + <p> + The Frenchman smiled a gallant smile. “Unhappily, mademoiselle,” + he said, “though, as a medical student, I took up to a certain + extent biological science in general at the Collége de France, I never + paid any special or peculiar attention in Paris to birds in particular. + But it is the universal opinion of the natives (if that counts for much) + that parrots live to a very great age; and this one old parrot of mine, + whom I call Methuselah on account of his advanced years, is considered by + them all to be a perfect patriarch. In effect, when the oldest men now + living on the island were little boys, they tell me that Methuselah was + already a venerable and much-venerated parrot. He must certainly have + outlived all the rest of his race by at least the best part of + three-quarters of a century. For the islanders themselves not infrequently + live, by unanimous consent, to be over a hundred.” + </p> + <p> + “I remember to have read somewhere,” Felix said, turning it + over in his mind, “that when Humboldt was travelling in the wilds of + South America he found one very old parrot in an Indian village, which, + the Indians assured him, spoke the language of an extinct tribe, + incomprehensible then by any living person. If I recollect aright, + Humboldt believed that particular bird must have lived to be nearly a + hundred and fifty.” + </p> + <p> + “That is so, monsieur,” the Frenchman answered. “I + remember the case well, and have often recalled it. I recollect our + professor mentioning it one day in the course of his lectures. And I have + always mentally coupled that parrot of Humboldt’s with my own old + friend and subject, Methuselah. However, that only impresses upon one more + fully the folly of hoping that we can learn anything worth knowing from + him. I have heard him recite his story many times over, though now he + repeats it less frequently than he used formerly to do; and I feel + convinced it is couched in some unknown and, no doubt, forgotten language. + It is a much more guttural and unpleasant tongue than any of the soft + dialects now spoken in Polynesia. It belonged, I am convinced, to that yet + earlier and more savage race which the Polynesians must have displaced; + and as such it is now, I feel certain, practically irrecoverable.” + </p> + <p> + “If they were more savage than the Polynesians,” Muriel said, + with a profound sigh, “I’m sorry for anybody who fell into + their clutches.” + </p> + <p> + “But what would not many philologists at home in England give,” + Felix murmured, philosophically, “for a transcript of the words that + parrot can speak—perhaps a last relic of the very earliest and most + primitive form of human language!” + </p> + <p> + At the very moment when these things were passing under the wattled roof + of Muriel’s hut, it happened that on the taboo-space outside, Toko, + the Shadow, stood talking for a moment with Ula, the fourteenth wife of + the great Tu-Kila-Kila. + </p> + <p> + “I never see you now, Toko,” the beautiful Polynesian said, + leaning almost across the white line of coral-sand which she dared not + transgress. “Times are dull at the temple since you came to be + Shadow to the white-faced stranger.” + </p> + <p> + “It was for that that Tu-Kila-Kila sent me here,” the Shadow + answered, with profound conviction. “He is jealous, the great god. + He is bad. He is cruel. He wanted to get rid of me. So he sent me away to + the King of the Rain that I might not see you.” + </p> + <p> + Ula pouted, and held up her wounded finger before his eyes coquettishly. + “See what he did to me,” she said, with a mute appeal for + sympathy—though in that particular matter the truth was not in her. + “Your god was angry with me to-day because I hurt his hand, and he + clutched me by the throat, and almost choked me. He has a bad heart. See + how he bit me and drew blood. Some of these days, I believe, he will kill + me and eat me.” + </p> + <p> + The Shadow glanced around him suspiciously with an uneasy air. Then he + whispered low, in a voice half grudge, half terror, “If he does, he + is a great god—he can search all the world—I fear him much, + but Toko’s heart is warm. Let Tu-Kila-Kila look out for vengeance.” + </p> + <p> + The woman glanced across at him open-eyed, with her enticing look. “If + the King of the Rain, who is Korong, knew all the secret,” she + murmured, slowly, “he would soon be Tu-Kila-Kila himself; and you + and I could then meet together freely.” + </p> + <p> + The Shadow started. It was a terrible suggestion. “You mean to say—” + he cried; then fear overcame him, and, crouching down where he sat, he + gazed around him, terrified. Who could say that the wind would not report + his words to Tu-Kila-Kila? + </p> + <p> + Ula laughed at his fears. “Pooh,” she answered, smiling. + “You are a man; and yet you are afraid of a little taboo. I am a + woman; and yet if I knew the secret as you do, I would break taboo as + easily as I would break an egg-shell. I would tell the white-faced + stranger all—if only it would bring you and me together forever.” + </p> + <p> + “It is a great risk, a very great risk,” the Shadow answered, + trembling. “Tu-Kila-Kila is a mighty god. He may be listening this + moment, and may pinch us to death by his spirits for our words, or burn us + to ashes with a flash of his anger.” + </p> + <p> + The woman smiled an incredulous smile. “If you had lived as near + Tu-Kila-Kila as I have,” she answered, boldly, “you would + think as little, perhaps, of his divinity as I do.” + </p> + <p> + For even in Polynesia, superstitious as it is, no hero is a god to his + wives or his valets. + </p> + <p> + <br /><br /> + </p> + <hr /> + <p> + <a name="link2HCH0021" id="link2HCH0021"> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + CHAPTER XXI. — METHUSELAH GIVES SIGN. + </h2> + <p> + All the hopes of the three Europeans were concentrated now on the bare + off-chance of a passing steamer. M. Peyron in particular was fully + convinced that, if the Australasian had found the inner channel + practicable, other ships in future would follow her example. With this + idea firmly fixed in his head, he arranged with Felix that one or other of + them should keep watch alternately by night as far as possible; and he + also undertook that a canoe should constantly be in readiness to carry + them away to the supposititious ship, if occasion arose for it. Muriel + took counsel with Mali on the question of rousing the Frenchman if a + steamer appeared, and they were the first to sight it; and Mali, in whom + renewed intercourse with white people had restored to some extent the + civilized Queensland attitude of mind, readily enough promised to assist + in their scheme, provided she was herself taken with them, and so relieved + from the terrible vengeance which would otherwise overtake her. “If + Boupari man catch me,” she said, in her simple, graphic, Polynesian + way, “Boupari man kill me, and lay me in leaves, and cook me very + nice, and make great feast of me, like him do with Jani.” From that + untimely end both Felix and Muriel promised faithfully, as far as in them + lay, to protect her. + </p> + <p> + To communicate with M. Peyron by daytime, without arousing the + ever-wakeful suspicion of the natives, Felix hit upon an excellent plan. + He burnished his metal matchbox to the very highest polish it was capable + of taking, and then heliographed by means of sun-flashes on the Morse + code. He had learned the code in Fiji in the course of his official + duties; and he taught the Frenchman now readily enough how to read and + reply with the other half of the box, torn off for the purpose. + </p> + <p> + It was three or four days, however, before the two English wanderers + ventured to return M. Peyron’s visit. They didn’t wish to + attract too greatly the attention of the islanders. Gradually, as their + stay on the island went on, they learned the truth that Tu-Kila-Kila’s + eyes, as he himself had boasted, were literally everywhere. For he had + spies of his own, told off in every direction, who dogged the steps of his + victims unseen. Sometimes, as Felix and Muriel walked unsuspecting through + the jungle paths, closely followed by their Shadows, a stealthy brown + figure, crouched low to the ground, would cross the road for a moment + behind them, and disappear again noiselessly into the dense mass of + underbrush. Then Mali or Toko, turning round, all hushed, with a terrified + look, would murmur low to themselves, or to one another, “There goes + one of the Eyes of Tu-Kila-Kila!” It was only by slow degrees that + this system of espionage grew clear to the strangers; but as soon as they + had learned its reality and ubiquity, they felt at once how undesirable it + would be for them to excite the terrible man-god’s jealousy and + suspicion by being observed too often in close personal intercourse with + their fellow-exile and victim, the Frenchman. It was this that made them + have recourse to the device of the heliograph. + </p> + <p> + So three or four days passed before Muriel dared to approach M. Peyron’s + cottage. When she did at last go there with Felix, it was in the early + morning, before the fierce tropical sun, that beat full on the island, had + begun to exert its midday force and power. The path that led there lay + through the thick and tangled mass of brushwood which covered the greater + part of the island with its dense vegetation; it was overhung by huge + tree-ferns and broad-leaved Southern bushes, and abutted at last on the + little wind-swept knoll where the King of the Birds had his appropriate + dwelling-place. The Frenchman received them with studied Parisian + hospitality. He had decorated his arbor with fresh flowers for the + occasion, and bright tropical fruits, with their own green leaves, did + duty for the coffee or the absinthe of his fatherland on his homemade + rustic table. Yet in spite of all the rudeness of the physical + surroundings, they felt themselves at home again with this one exiled + European; the faint flavor of civilization pervaded and permeated the + Frenchman’s hut after the unmixed savagery to which they had now + been so long accustomed. + </p> + <p> + Muriel’s curiosity, however, centred most about the mysterious old + parrot, of whose strange legend so much had been said to her. After they + had sat for a little under the shade of the spreading banyan, to cool down + from their walk—for it was an oppressive morning—M. Peyron led + her round to his aviary at the back of the hut, and introduced her, by + their native names, to all his subjects. “I am responsible for their + lives,” he said, gravely, “for their welfare, for their + happiness. If I were to let one of them grow old without a successor in + the field to follow him up and receive his soul—as in the case of my + friend Methuselah here, who was so neglected by my predecessors—the + whole species would die out for want of a spirit, and my own life would + atone for that of my people. There you have the central principle of the + theology of Boupari. Every race, every element, every power of nature, is + summed up for them in some particular person or thing; and on the life of + that person or thing depends, as they believe, the entire health of the + species, the sequence of events, the whole order and succession of natural + phenomena.” + </p> + <p> + Felix approached the mysterious and venerable bird with somewhat + incautious fingers. “It looks very old,” he said, trying to + stroke its head and neck with a friendly gesture. “You do well, + indeed, in calling it Methuselah.” + </p> + <p> + As he spoke, the bird, alarmed at the vague consciousness of a hand and + voice which it did not recognize and mindful of Tu-Kila-Kila’s + recent attack, made a vicious peck at the fingers outstretched to caress + it. “Take care!” the Frenchman cried, in a warning voice. + “The patriarch’s temper is no longer what it was sixty or + seventy years ago. He grows old and peevish. His humor is soured. He will + sing no longer the lively little scraps of Offenbach I have taught him. He + does nothing but sit still and mumble now in his own forgotten language. + And he’s dreadfully cross—so crabbed—<i>mon Dieu</i>, + what a character! Why, the other day, as I told you, he bit Tu-Kila-Kila + himself, the high god of the island, with a good hard peck, when that + savage tried to touch him; you’d have laughed to see his godship + sent off bleeding to his hut with a wounded finger! I will confess I was + by no means sorry at the sight myself. I do not love that god, nor he me; + and I was glad when Methuselah, on whom he is afraid to revenge himself + openly, gave him a nice smart bite for trying to interfere with him.” + </p> + <p> + “He’s very snappish, to be sure,” Felix said, with a + smile, trying once more to push forward one hand to stroke the bird + cautiously. But Methuselah resented all such unauthorized intrusions. He + was growing too old to put up with strangers. He made a second vicious + attempt to peck at the hand held out to soothe him, and screamed, as he + did so, in the usual discordant and unpleasant voice of an angry or + frightened parrot. + </p> + <p> + “Why, Felix,” Muriel put in, taking him by the arm with a + girlish gesture—for even the terrors by which they were surrounded + hadn’t wholly succeeded in killing out the woman within her—“how + clumsy you are! You don’t understand one bit how to manage parrots. + I had a parrot of my own at my aunt’s in Australia, and I know their + ways and all about them. Just let me try him.” She held out her soft + white hand toward the sulky bird with a fearless, caressing gesture. + “Pretty Poll, pretty Poll!” she said, in English, in the + conventional tone of address to their kind. “Did the naughty man go + and frighten her then? Was she afraid of his hand? Did Polly want a lump + of sugar?” + </p> + <p> + On a sudden the bird opened its eyes quickly with an awakened air, and + looked her back in the face, half blindly, half quizzingly. It preened its + wings for a second, and crooned with pleasure. Then it put forward its + neck, with its head on one side, took her dainty finger gently between its + beak and tongue, bit it for pure love with a soft, short pressure, and at + once allowed her to stroke its back and sides with a very pleased and + surprised expression. The success of her skill flattered Muriel. “There! + it knows me!” she cried, with childish delight; “it + understands I’m a friend! It takes to me at once! Pretty Poll! + Pretty Poll! Come, Poll, come and kiss me!” + </p> + <p> + The bird drew back at the words, and steadied itself for a moment + knowingly on its perch. Then it held up its head, gazed around it with a + vacant air, as if suddenly awakened from a very long sleep, and, opening + its mouth, exclaimed in loud, clear, sharp, and distinct tones—and + in English—“Pretty Poll! Pretty Poll! Polly wants a buss! + Polly wants a nice sweet bit of apple!” + </p> + <p> + For a moment M. Peyron couldn’t imagine what had happened. Felix + looked at Muriel. Muriel looked at Felix. The Englishman held out both his + hands to her in a wild fervor of surprise. Muriel took them in her own, + and looked deep into his eyes, while tears rose suddenly and dropped down + her cheeks, one by one, unchecked. They couldn’t say why, + themselves; they didn’t know wherefore; yet this unexpected echo of + their own tongue, in the mouth of that strange and mysterious bird, + thrilled through them instinctively with a strange, unearthly tremor. In + some dim and unexplained way, they felt half unconsciously to themselves + that this discovery was, perhaps, the first clue to the solution of the + terrible secret whose meshes encompassed them. + </p> + <p> + M. Peyron looked on in mute astonishment. He had heard the bird repeat + that strange jargon so often that it had ceased to have even the + possibility of a meaning for him. It was the way of Methuselah—just + his language that he talked; so harsh! so guttural! “Pretty Poll! + Pretty Poll!” he had noticed the bird harp upon those quaint words + again and again. They were part, no doubt, of that old primitive and + forgotten Pacific language the creature had learned in other days from + some earlier bearer of the name and ghastly honors of Tu-Kila-Kila. Why + should these English seem so profoundly moved by them? + </p> + <p> + “Mademoiselle doesn’t surely understand the barbarous dialect + which our Methuselah speaks!” he exclaimed in surprise, glancing + half suspiciously from one to the other of these incomprehensible Britons. + Like most other Frenchmen, he had been brought up in total ignorance of + every European language except his own; and the words the parrot + pronounced, when delivered with the well-known additions of parrot + harshness and parrot volubility, seemed to him so inexpressibly barbaric + in their clicks and jerks that he hadn’t yet arrived at the faintest + inkling of the truth as he observed their emotion. + </p> + <p> + Felix seized his new friend’s hand in his and wrung it warmly. + “Don’t you see what it is?” he exclaimed, half beside + himself with this vague hope of some unknown solution. “Don’t + you realize how the thing stands? Don’t you guess the truth? This + isn’t a Polynesian, dialect at all. It’s our own mother + tongue. The bird speaks English!” + </p> + <p> + “English!” M. Peyron replied, with incredulous scorn. “What! + Methuselah speak English! Oh, no, monsieur, impossible. <i>Vous vous + trompez, j’en suis sûr</i>. I can never believe it. Those harsh, + inarticulate sounds to belong to the noble language of Shaxper and + Newtowne! <i>Ah, monsieur, incroyable! vous vous trompez; vous vous + trompez!</i>” + </p> + <p> + As he spoke, the bird put its head on one side once more, and, looking out + of its half-blind old eyes with a crafty glance round the corner at + Muriel, observed again, in not very polite English, “Pretty Poll! + Pretty Poll! Polly wants some fruit! Polly wants a nut! Polly wants to go + to bed!... God save the king! To hell with all papists!” + </p> + <p> + “Monsieur,” Felix said, a certain solemn feeling of surprise + coming over him slowly at this last strange clause, “it is perfectly + true. The bird speaks English. The bird that knows the secret of which we + are all in search—the bird that can tell us the truth about + Tu-Kila-Kila—can tell us in the tongue which mademoiselle and I + speak as our native language. And what is more—and more strange—gather + from his tone and the tenor of his remarks, he was taught, long since—a + century ago, or more—and by an English sailor!” + </p> + <p> + Muriel held out a bit of banana on a sharp stick to the bird. + Methuselah-Polly took it gingerly off the end, like a well-behaved parrot? + “God save the king!” Muriel said, in a quiet voice, trying to + draw him on to speak a little further. + </p> + <p> + Methuselah twisted his eye sideways, first this way, then that, and + responded in a very clear tone, indeed, “God save the king! Confound + the Duke of York! Long live Dr. Oates! And to hell with all papists!” + </p> + <p> + <br /><br /> + </p> + <hr /> + <p> + <a name="link2HCH0022" id="link2HCH0022"> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + CHAPTER XXII. — TANTALIZING, VERY. + </h2> + <p> + They looked at one another again with a wild surmise. The voice was as the + voice of some long past age. Could the parrot be speaking to them in the + words of seventeenth-century English? + </p> + <p> + Even M. Peyron, who at first had received the strange discovery with + incredulity, woke up before long to the importance of this sudden and + unexpected revelation. The Tu-Kila-Kila who had taught Methuselah that + long poem or sermon, which native tradition regarded as containing the + central secret of their creed or its mysteries, and which the cruel and + cunning Tu-Kila-Kila of to-day believed to be of immense importance to his + safety—that Tu-Kila-Kila of other days was, in all probability, no + other than an English sailor. Cast on these shores, perhaps, as they + themselves had been, by the mercy of the waves, he had managed to master + the language and religion of the savages among whom he found himself + thrown; he had risen to be the representative of the cannibal god; and, + during long months or years of tedious exile, he had beguiled his leisure + by imparting to the unconscious ears of a bird the weird secret of his + success, for the benefit of any others of his own race who might be + similarly treated by fortune in future. Strange and romantic as it all + sounded, they could hardly doubt now that this was the real explanation of + the bird’s command of English words. One problem alone remained to + disturb their souls. Was the bird really in possession of any local secret + and mystery at all, or was this the whole burden of the message he had + brought down across the vast abyss of time—“God save the king, + and to hell with all papists?” + </p> + <p> + Felix turned to M. Peyron in a perfect tumult of suspense. “What he + recites is long?” he said, interrogatively, with profound interest. + “You have heard him say much more than this at times? The words he + has just uttered are not those of the sermon or poem you mentioned?” + </p> + <p> + M. Peyron opened his hands expansively before him. “Oh, <i>mon Dieu</i>, + no, monsieur,” he answered, with effusion. “You should hear + him recite it. He’s never done. It is whole chapters—whole + chapters; a perfect Henriade in parrot-talk. When once he begins, there’s + no possibility of checking or stopping him. On, on he goes. Farewell to + the rest; he insists on pouring it all forth to the very last sentence. + Gabble, gabble, gabble; chatter, chatter, chatter; pouf, pouf, pouf; boum, + boum, boum; he runs ahead eternally in one long discordant sing-song + monotone. The person who taught him must have taken entire months to teach + him, a phrase at a time, paragraph by paragraph. It is wonderful a bird’s + memory could hold so much. But till now, taking it for granted he spoke + only some wild South Pacific dialect, I never paid much attention to + Methuselah’s vagaries.” + </p> + <p> + “Hush. He’s going to speak,” Muriel cried, holding up, + in alarm, one warning finger. + </p> + <p> + And the bird, his tongue-strings evidently loosened by the strange + recurrence after so many years of those familiar English sounds, “Pretty + Poll! Pretty Poll!” opened his mouth again in a loud chuckle of + delight, and cried, with persistent shrillness, “God save the king! + A fig for all arrant knaves and roundheads!” + </p> + <p> + A creepier feeling than ever came over the two English listeners at those + astounding words. “Great heavens!” Felix exclaimed to the + unsuspecting Frenchman, “he speaks in the style of the Stuarts and + the Commonwealth!” + </p> + <p> + The Frenchman started. “<i>Époque Louis Quatorze</i>!” he + murmured, translating the date mentally into his own more familiar + chronology. “Two centuries since! Oh, incredible! incredible! + Methuselah is old, but not quite so much of a patriarch as that. Even + Humboldt’s parrot could hardly have lived for two hundred years in + the wilds of South America.” + </p> + <p> + Felix regarded the venerable creature with a look of almost superstitious + awe. “Facts are facts,” he answered shortly, shutting his + mouth with a little snap. “Unless this bird has been deliberately + taught historical details in an archaic diction—and a shipwrecked + sailor is hardly likely to be antiquarian enough to conceive such an idea—he + is undoubtedly a survival from the days of the Commonwealth or the + Restoration. And you say he runs on with his tale for an hour at a time! + Good heavens, what a thought! I wish we could manage to start him now. + Does he begin it often?” + </p> + <p> + “Monsieur,” the Frenchman answered, “when I came here + first, though Methuselah was already very old and feeble, he was not quite + a dotard, and he used to recite it all every morning regularly. That was + the hour, I suppose, at which the master, who first taught him this + lengthy recitation, used originally to impress it upon him. In those days + his sight and his memory were far more clear than now. But by degrees, + since my arrival, he has grown dull and stupid. The natives tell me that + fifty years ago, while he was already old, he was still bright and lively, + and would recite the whole poem whenever anybody presented him with his + greatest dainty, the claw of a moora-crab. Nowadays, however, when he can + hardly eat, and hardly mumble, he is much less persistent and less + coherent than formerly. To say the truth, I have discouraged him in his + efforts, because his pertinacity annoyed me. So now he seldom gets through + all his lesson at one bout, as he used to do at the beginning. The best + way to get him on is for me to sing him one of my French songs. That seems + to excite him, or to rouse him to rivalry. Then he will put his head on + one side, listen critically for a while, smile a superior smile, and + finally begin—jabber, jabber, jabber—trying to talk me down, + as if I were a brother parrot.” + </p> + <p> + “Oh, do sing now!” Muriel cried, with intense persuasion in + her voice. “I do so want to hear it.” She meant, of course, + the parrot’s story. + </p> + <p> + But the Frenchman bowed, and laid his hand on his heart. “Ah, + mademoiselle,” he said, “your wish is almost a royal command. + And yet, do you know, it is so long since I have sung, except to please + myself—my music is so rusty, old pieces you have heard—I have + no accompaniment, no score—<i>mais enfin</i>, we are all so far from + Paris!” + </p> + <p> + Muriel didn’t dare to undeceive him as to her meaning, lest he + should refuse to sing in real earnest, and the chance of learning the + parrot’s secret might slip by them irretrievably. “Oh, + monsieur,” she cried, fitting herself to his humor at once, and + speaking as ceremoniously as if she were assisting at a musical party in + the Avenue Victor Hugo, “don’t decline, I beg of you, on those + accounts. We are both most anxious to hear your song. Don’t + disappoint us, pray. Please begin immediately.” + </p> + <p> + “Ah, mademoiselle,” the Frenchman said, “who could + resist such an appeal? You are altogether too flattering.” And then, + in the same cheery voice that Felix had heard on the first day he visited + the King of Birds’ hut, M. Peyron began, in very decent style, to + pour forth the merry sounds of his rollicking song: + </p> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> +“Quand on conspi-re, + Quand sans frayeur + On peut se di-re + Conspirateur + Pour tout le mon-de + Il faut avoir + Perruque blon-de + Et collet noir.” + </pre> + <p> + He had hardly got as far as the end of the first stanza, however, when + Methuselah, listening, with his ear cocked up most knowingly, to the + Frenchman’s song, raised his head in opposition, and, sitting bolt + upright on his perch, began to scream forth a voluble stream of words in + one unbroken flood, so fast that Muriel could hardly follow them. The bird + spoke in a thick and very harsh voice, and, what was more remarkable + still, with a distinct and extremely peculiar North Country accent. + “In the nineteenth year of the reign of his most gracious majesty, + King Charles the Second,” he blurted out, viciously, with an angry + look at the Frenchman, “I, Nathaniel Cross, of the borough of + Sunderland, in the county of Doorham, in England, an able-bodied mariner, + then sailing the South Seas in the good bark Martyr Prince, of the Port of + Great Grimsby, whereof one Thomas Wells, gent., under God, was master—” + </p> + <p> + “Oh, hush, hush!” Muriel cried, unable to catch the parrot’s + precious words through the emulous echo of the Frenchman’s music. + “Whereof one Thomas Wells, gent., under God, was master—go on, + Polly.” + </p> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> +“Perruque blonde + Et collet noir,” + </pre> + <p> + the Frenchman repeated, with a half-offended voice, finishing his stanza. + </p> + <p> + But just as he stopped, Methuselah stopped too, and, throwing back his + head in the air with a triumphant look, stared hard at his vanquished and + silenced opponent out of those blinking gray eyes of his. “I thought + I’d be too much for you!” he seemed to say, wrathfully. + </p> + <p> + “Whereof one Thomas Wells, gent., under God, was master,” + Muriel suggested again, all agog with excitement. “Go on, good bird! + Go on, pretty Polly.” + </p> + <p> + But Methuselah was evidently put off the scent now by the unseasonable + interruption. Instead of continuing, he threw back his head a second time + with a triumphant air and laughed aloud boisterously. “Pretty Polly,” + he cried. “Pretty Polly wants a nut. Tu-Kila-Kila maroo! Pretty + Poll! Pretty Polly!” + </p> + <p> + “Sing again, for Heaven’s sake!” Felix exclaimed, in a + profoundly agitated mood, explaining briefly to the Frenchman the full + significance of the words Methuselah had just begun to utter. + </p> + <p> + The Frenchman struck up his tune afresh to give the bird a start; but all + to no avail. Methuselah was evidently in no humor for talking just then. + He listened with a callous, uncritical air, bringing his white eyelids + down slowly and sleepily over his bleared gray eyes. Then he nodded his + head slowly. “No use,” the Frenchman murmured, pursing his + lips up gravely. “The bird won’t talk. It’s going off to + sleep now. Methuselah gets visibly older every day, monsieur and + mademoiselle. You are only just in time to catch his last accents.” + </p> + <p> + <br /><br /> + </p> + <hr /> + <p> + <a name="link2HCH0023" id="link2HCH0023"> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + CHAPTER XXIII. — A MESSAGE FROM THE DEAD. + </h2> + <p> + Early next morning, as Felix lay still in his hut, dozing, and just + vaguely conscious of a buzz of a mosquito close to his ear, he was aroused + by a sudden loud cry outside—a cry that called his native name three + times, running: “O King of the Rain, King of the Rain, King of the + Rain, awake! High time to be up! The King of the Birds sends you health + and greeting!” + </p> + <p> + Felix rose at once; and his Shadow, rising before him, and unbolting the + loose wooden fastener of the door, went out in haste to see who called + beyond the white taboo-line of their sacred precincts. + </p> + <p> + A native woman, tall, lithe, and handsome, stood there in the full light + of morning, beckoning. A strange glow of hatred gleamed in her large gray + eyes. Her shapely brown bosom heaved and panted heavily. Big beads + glistened moistly on her smooth, high brow. It was clear she had run all + the way in haste. She was deeply excited and full of eager anxiety. + </p> + <p> + “Why, what do you want here so early, Ula?” the Shadow asked, + in surprise—for it was indeed she. “How have you slipped away, + as soon as the sun is risen, from the sacred hut of Tu-Kila-Kila?” + </p> + <p> + Ula’s gray eyes flashed angry fire as she answered. “He has + beaten me again,” she cried, in revengeful tones; “see the + weals on my back! See my arms and shoulders! He has drawn blood from my + wounds. He is the most hateful of gods. I should love to kill him. + Therefore I slipped away from him with the early dawn and came to consult + with his enemy, the King of the Birds, because I heard the words that the + Eyes of Tu-Kila-Kila, who pervade the world, report to their master. The + Eyes have told him that the King of the Rain, the Queen of the Clouds, and + the King of the Birds are plotting together in secret against + Tu-Kila-Kila. When I heard that, I was glad; I went to the King of the + Birds to warn him of his danger; and the King of the Birds, concerned for + your safety, has sent me in haste to ask his brother gods to go at once to + him.” + </p> + <p> + In a minute Felix was up and had called out Mali from the neighboring hut. + “Tell Missy Queenie,” he cried, “to come with me to see + the man-a-oui-oui! The man-a-oui-oui has sent me for us to come. She must + make great haste. He wants us immediately.” + </p> + <p> + With a word and a sign to Toko, Ula glided away stealthily, with the + cat-like tread of the native Polynesian woman, back to her hated husband. + </p> + <p> + Felix went out to the door and heliographed with his bright metal plate, + turned on the Frenchman’s hill, “What is it?” + </p> + <p> + In a moment the answer flashed back, word by word, “Come quick, if + you want to hear. Methuselah is reciting!” + </p> + <p> + A few seconds later Muriel emerged from her hut, and the two Europeans, + closely followed, as always, by their inseparable Shadows, took the + winding side-path that led through the jungle by a devious way, avoiding + the front of Tu-Kila-Kila’s temple, to the Frenchman’s + cottage. + </p> + <p> + They found M. Peyron very much excited, partly by Ula’s news of + Tu-Kila-Kila’s attitude, but more still by Methuselah’s + agitated condition. “The whole night through, my dear friends,” + he cried, seizing their hands, “that bird has been chattering, + chattering, chattering. <i>Oh, mon Dieu, quel oiseau!</i> It seems as + though the words heard yesterday from mademoiselle had struck some lost + chord in the creature’s memory. But he is also very feeble. I can + see that well. His garrulity is the garrulity of old age in its last + flickering moments. He mumbles and mutters. He chuckles to himself. If you + don’t hear his message now and at once, it’s my solemn + conviction you will never hear it.” + </p> + <p> + He led them out to the aviary, where Methuselah, in effect, was sitting on + his perch, most tremulous and woebegone. His feathers shuddered visibly; + he could no longer preen himself. “Listen to what he says,” + the Frenchman exclaimed, in a very serious voice. “It is your last, + last chance. If the secret is ever to be unravelled at all, by Methuselah’s + aid, now is, without doubt, the proper moment to unravel it.” + </p> + <p> + Muriel put out her hand and stroked the bird gently. “Pretty Poll,” + she said, soothingly, in a sympathetic voice. “Pretty Poll! Poor + Poll! Was he ill! Was he suffering?” + </p> + <p> + At the sound of those familiar words, unheard so long till yesterday, the + parrot took her finger in his beak once more, and bit it with the + tenderness of his kind in their softer moments. Then he threw back his + head with a sort of mechanical twist, and screamed out at the top of his + voice, for the last time on earth, his mysterious message: + </p> + <p> + “Pretty Poll! Pretty Poll! God save the king! Confound the Duke of + York! Death to all arrant knaves and roundheads! + </p> + <p> + “In the nineteenth year of the reign of his most gracious majesty, + King Charles the Second, I, Nathaniel Cross, of the borough of Sunderland, + in the county of Doorham, in England, an able-bodied mariner, then sailing + the South Seas in the good bark Martyr Prince, of the Port of Great + Grimsby, whereof one Thomas Wells, gent., under God, was master, was, by + stress of weather, wrecked and cast away on the shores of this island, + called by its gentile inhabitants by the name of Boo Parry. In which + wreck, as it befell, Thomas Wells, gent., and his equipment were, by + divine disposition, killed and drowned, save and except three mariners, + whereof I am one, who in God’s good providence swam safely through + an exceeding great flood of waves and landed at last on this island. There + my two companions, Owen Williams, of Swansea, in the parts of Wales, and + Lewis le Pickard, a French Hewgenott refugee, were at once, by the said + gentiles, cruelly entreated, and after great torture cooked and eaten at + the temple of their chief god, Too-Keela-Keela. But I, myself, having + through God’s grace found favor in their eyes, was promoted to the + post which in their speech is called Korong, the nature of which this + bird, my mouthpiece, will hereafter, to your ears, more fully discover.” + </p> + <p> + Having said so much, in a very jerky way, Methuselah paused, and blinked + his eyes wearily. + </p> + <p> + “What does he say?” the Frenchman began, eager to know the + truth. But Felix, fearful lest any interruption might break the thread of + the bird’s discourse and cheat them of the sequel, held up a warning + finger, and then laid it on his lips in mute injunction. Methuselah threw + back his head at that and laughed aloud. “God save the king!” + he cried again, in a still feebler way, “and to hell with all + papists!” + </p> + <p> + It was strange how they all hung on the words of that unconscious + messenger from a dead and gone age, who himself knew nothing of the import + of the words he was uttering. Methuselah laughed at their earnestness, + shook his head once or twice, and seemed to think to himself. Then he + remembered afresh the point he had broken off at. + </p> + <p> + “More fully discover. For seven years have I now lived on this + island, never having seen or h’ard Christian face or voice; and at + the end of that time, feeling my health feail, and being apprehensive lest + any of my fellow-countrymen should hereafter suffer the same fate as I + have done, I began to teach this parrot his message, a few words at a + time, impressing it duly and fully on his memory. + </p> + <p> + “Larn, then, O wayfarer, that the people of Boo Parry are most + arrant gentiles, heathens, and carribals. And this, as I discover, is the + nature and method of their vile faith. They hold that the gods are each + and several incarnate in some one particular human being. This human being + they worship and reverence with all ghostly respect as his incarnation. + And chiefly, above all, do they revere the great god Too-Keela-Keela, + whose representative (may the Lord in Heaven forgive me for the same) I + myself am at this present speaking. Having thus, for my sins, attained to + that impious honor. + </p> + <p> + “God save the king! Confound the Duke of York! To hell with all + papists! + </p> + <p> + “It is the fashion of this people to hold that their gods must + always be strong and lusty. For they argue to themselves thus: that the + continuance of the rain must needs depend upon the vigor and subtlety of + its Soul, the rain-god. So the continuance and fruitfulness of the trees + and plants which yield them food must needs depend upon the health of the + tree-god. And the life of the world, and the light of the sun, and the + well-being of all things that in them are, must depend upon the strength + and cunning of the high god of all, Too-Keela-Keela. Hence they take great + care and woorship of their gods, surrounding them with many rules which + they call Taboo, and restricting them as to what they shall eat, and what + drink, and wherewithal they shall seemly clothe themselves. For they think + that if the King of the Rain at’ anything that might cause the + colick, or like humor or distemper, the weather will thereafter be stormy + and tempestuous; but so long as the King of the Rain fares well and + retains his health, so long will the weather over their island of Boo + Parry be clear and prosperous. + </p> + <p> + “Furthermore, as I have larned from their theologians, being myself, + indeed, the greatest of their gods, it is evident that they may not let + any god die, lest that department of nature over which he presideth should + wither away and feail, as it were, with him. But reasonably no care that + mortal man can exercise will prevent the possibility of their god—seeing + he is but one of themselves—growing old and feeble and dying at + last. To prevent which calamity, these gentile folk have invented (as I + believe by the aid and device of Sathan) this horrid and most unnatural + practice. The man-god must be killed so soon as he showeth in body or mind + that his native powers are beginning to feail. And it is necessary that he + be killed, according to their faith, in this ensuing fashion. + </p> + <p> + “If the man-god were to die slowly by a death in the course of + nature, the ways of the world might be stopped altogether. Hence these + savages catch the soul of their god, as it were, ere it grow old and + feeble, and transfer it betimes, by a magic device, to a suitable + successor. And surely, they say, this suitable successor can be none other + than him that is able to take it from him. This, then, is their horrid + counsel and device—that each one of their gods should kill his + antecessor. In doing thus, he taketh the old god’s life and soul, + which thereupon migrates and dwells within him. And by this tenure—may + Heaven be merciful to me, a sinner—do I, Nathaniel Cross, of the + county of Doorham, now hold this dignity of Too-Keela-Keela, having slain, + therefor, in just quarrel, my antecessor in the high godship.” + </p> + <p> + As he reached these words Methuselah paused, and choked in his throat + slightly. The mere mechanical effort of continuing the speech he had + learned by heart two hundred years before, and repeated so often since + that it had become part of his being, was now almost too much for him. The + Frenchman was right. They were only just in time. A few days later, and + the secret would have died with the bird that preserved it. + </p> + <p> + <br /><br /> + </p> + <hr /> + <p> + <a name="link2HCH0024" id="link2HCH0024"> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + CHAPTER XXIV. — AN UNFINISHED TALE. + </h2> + <p> + For a minute or two Methuselah mumbled inarticulately to himself. Then, to + their intense discomfiture, he began once more: “In the nineteenth + year of the reign of his most gracious majesty, King Charles the Second, + I, Nathaniel Cross—” + </p> + <p> + “Oh, this will never do,” Felix cried. “We haven’t + got yet to the secret at all. Muriel, do try to set him right. He must + waste no breath. We can’t afford now to let him go all over it.” + </p> + <p> + Muriel stretched out her hand and soothed the bird gently as before. + “Having slain, therefore, my predecessor in the high godship,” + she suggested, in the same singsong voice as the parrot’s. + </p> + <p> + To her immense relief, Methuselah took the hint with charming docility. + </p> + <p> + “In the high godship,” he went on, mechanically, where he had + stopped. “And this here is the manner whereby I obtained it. The + Too-Keela-Keela from time to time doth generally appoint any castaway + stranger that comes to the island to the post of Korong—that is to + say, an annual god or victim. For, as the year doth renew itself at each + change of seasons, so do these carribals in their gentilisme believe and + hold that the gods of the seasons—to wit, the King of the Rain, the + Queen of the Clouds, the Lord of Green Leaves, the King of Fruits, and + others—must needs be sleain and renewed at the diverse solstices. + Now, it so happened that I, on my arrival in the island, was appointed + Korong, and promoted to the post of King of the Rain, having a native + woman assigned me as Queen of the Clouds, with whom I might keep company. + This woman being, after her kind, enamored of me, and anxious to escape + her own fate, to be sleain by my side, did betray to me that secret which + they call in their tongue the Great Taboo, and which had been betrayed to + herself in turn by a native man, her former lover. For the men are + instructed in these things in the mysteries when they coom of age, but not + the women. + </p> + <p> + “And the Great Taboo is this: No man can becoom a Too-Keela-Keela + unless he first sleay the man in whom the high god is incarnate for the + moment. But in order that he may sleay him, he must also himself be a full + Korong, only those persons who are already gods being capable for the + highest post in their hierarchy; even as with ourselves, none but he that + is a deacon may become a priest, and none but he that is a priest may be + made a bishop. For this reason, then, the Too-Keela-Keela prefers to + advance a stranger to the post of Korong, seeing that such a person will + not have been initiated in the mysteries of the island, and therefore will + not be aware of those sundry steps which must needs be taken of him that + would inherit the godship. + </p> + <p> + “Furthermore, even a Korong can only obtain the highest rank of + Too-Keela-Keela if he order all things according to the forms and + ceremonies of the Taboo parfectly. For these gentiles are very careful of + the levitical parts of their religion, deriving the same, as it seems to + me, from the polity of the Hebrews, the fame of whose tabernacle must sure + have gone forth through the ends of the woorld, and the knowledge of whose + temple must have been yet more wide dispersed by Solomon, his ships, when + they came into these parts to fetch gold from Ophir. And the ceremony is, + that before any man may sleay the ‘arthly tenement of + Too-Keela-Keela and inherit his soul, which is in very truth, as they do + think the god himself, he must needs fight with the person in whom + Too-Keela-Keela doth then dwell, and for this reason: If the holder of the + soul can defend himself in fight, then it is clear that his strength is + not one whit decayed, nor is his vigor feailing; nor yet has his assailant + been able to take his soul from him. But if the Korong in open fight do + sleay the person in whom Too-Keela-Keela dwells, he becometh at once a + Too-Keela-Keela himself—that is to say, in their tongue, the Lord of + Lords, because he hath taken the life of him that preceded him. + </p> + <p> + “Yet so intricate is the theology and practice of these loathsome + savages, that not even now have I explained it in full to you, O + shipwrecked mariner, for your aid and protection. For a Korong, though it + be a part of his privilege to contend, if he will, with Too-Keela-Keela + for the high godship and princedom of this isle, may only do so at certain + appointed times, places, and seasons. Above all things, it is necessary + that he should first find out the hiding-place of the soul of + Too-Keela-Keela. For though the Too-Keela-Keela for the time that is, be + animated by the god, yet, for greater security, he doth not keep his soul + in his own body, but, being above all things the god of fruitfulness and + generation, who causes women to bear children, and the plant called taro + to bring forth its increase, he keepeth his soul in the great sacred tree + behind his temple, which is thus the Father of All Trees, and the chiefest + abode of the great god Too-Keela-Keela. + </p> + <p> + “Nor does Too-Keela-Keela’s soul abide equally in every part + of this aforesaid tree; but in a certain bough of it, resembling a + mistletoe, which hath yellow leaves, and, being broken off, groweth ever + green and yellow afresh; which is the central mystery of all their + Sathanic religion. For in this very bough—easy to be discerned by + the eye among the green leaves of the tree—” the bird paused + and faltered. + </p> + <p> + Muriel leaned forward in an agony of excitement. “Among the green + leaves of the tree—” she went on soothing him. + </p> + <p> + Her voice seemed to give the parrot a fresh impulse to speak. “—Is + contained, as it were,” he continued, feebly, “the divine + essence itself, the soul and life of Too-Keela-Keela. Whoever, then, being + a full Korong, breaks this off, hath thus possessed himself of the very + god in person. This, however, he must do by exceeding stealth; for + Too-Keela-Keela, or rather the man that bears that name, being the + guardian and defender of the great god, walks ever up and down, by day and + by night, in exceeding great cunning, armed with a spear and with a + hatchet of stone, around the root of the tree, watching jealously over the + branch which is, as he believes, his own soul and being. I, therefore, + being warned of the Taboo by the woman that was my consort, did craftily, + near the appointed time for my own death, creep out of my hut, and my + consort, having induced one of the wives of Too-Keela-Keela to make him + drunken with too much of that intoxicating drink which they do call kava, + did proceed—did proceed—did proceed—In the nineteenth + year of the reign of his most gracious majesty, King Charles the Second—” + </p> + <p> + Muriel bent forward once more in an agony of suspense. “Oh, go on, + good Poll!” she cried. “Go on. Remember it. Did proceed to—” + </p> + <p> + The single syllable helped Methuselah’s memory. “—Did + proceed to stealthily pluck the bough, and, having shown the same to Fire + and Water, the guardians of the Taboo, did boldly challenge to single + combat the bodily tenement of the god, with spear and hatchet, provided + for me in accordance with ancient custom by Fire and Water. In which + combat, Heaven mercifully befriending me against my enemy, I did coom out + conqueror; and was thereupon proclaimed Too-Keela-Keela myself, with + ceremonies too many and barbarous to mention, lest I raise your gorge at + them. But that which is most important to tell you for your own guidance + and safety, O mariner, is this—that being the sole and only end I + have in imparting this history to so strange a messenger—that after + you have by craft plucked the sacred branch, and by force of arms + over-cootn Too-Keela-Keela, it is by all means needful, whether you will + or not, that submitting to the hateful and gentile custom of this people—of + this people—Pretty Poll! Pretty Poll! God save—God save the + king! Death to the nineteenth year of the reign of all arrant knaves and + roundheads.” + </p> + <p> + He dropped his head on his breast, and blinked his white eyelids more + feebly than ever. His strength was failing him fast. The Soul of all dead + parrots was wearing out. M. Peyron, who had stood by all this time, not + knowing in any way what might be the value of the bird’s + disclosures, came forward and stroked poor Methuselah with his caressing + hand. But Methuselah was incapable now of any further effort. He opened + his blind eyes sleepily for the last, last time, and stared around him + with a blank stare at the fading universe. “God save the king!” + he screamed aloud with a terrible gasp, true to his colors still. “God + save the king, and to hell with all papists!” + </p> + <p> + Then he fell off his perch, stone dead, on the ground. They were never to + hear the conclusion of that strange, quaint message from a forgotten age + to our more sceptical century. + </p> + <p> + Felix looked at Muriel, and Muriel looked at Felix. They could hardly + contain themselves with awe and surprise. The parrot’s words were so + human, its speech was so real to them, that they felt as though the + English Tu-Kila-Kila of two hundred years back had really and truly been + speaking to them from that perch; it was a human creature indeed that lay + dead before them. Felix raised the warm body from the ground with positive + reverence. “We will bury it decently,” he said in French, + turning to M. Peyron. “He was a plucky bird, indeed, and he has + carried out his master’s intentions nobly.” + </p> + <p> + As they spoke, a little rustling in the jungle hard by attracted their + attention. Felix turned to look. A stealthy brown figure glided away in + silence through the tangled brushwood. M. Peyron started. “We are + observed, monsieur,” he said. “We must look out for squalls! + It is one of the Eyes of Tu-Kila-Kila!” + </p> + <p> + “Let him do his worst!” Felix answered. “We know his + secret now, and can protect ourselves against him. Let us return to the + shade, monsieur, and talk this all over. Methuselah has indeed given us + something to-day very serious to think about.” + </p> + <p> + <br /><br /> + </p> + <hr /> + <p> + <a name="link2HCH0025" id="link2HCH0025"> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + CHAPTER XXV. — TU-KILA-KILA STRIKES. + </h2> + <p> + And yet, when all was said and done, knowledge of Tu-Kila-Kila’s + secret didn’t seem to bring Felix and Muriel much nearer a solution + of their own great problems than they had been from the beginning. In + spite of all Methuselah had told them, they were as far off as ever from + securing their escape, or even from the chance of sighting an English + steamer. + </p> + <p> + This last was still the main hope and expectation of all three Europeans. + M. Peyron, who was a bit of a mathematician, had accurately calculated the + time, from what Felix told him, when the Australasian would pass again on + her next homeward voyage; and, when that time arrived, it was their united + intention to watch night and day for the faintest glimmer of her lights, + or the faintest wreath of her smoke on the far eastern horizon. They had + ventured to confide their design to all three of their Shadows; and the + Shadows, attached by the kindness to which they were so little accustomed + among their own people, had in every case agreed to assist them with the + canoe, if occasion served them. So for a time the two doomed victims + subsided into their accustomed calm of mingled hope and despair, waiting + patiently for the expected arrival of the much-longed-for Australasian. + </p> + <p> + If she took that course once, why not a second time? And if ever she hove + in sight, might they not hope, after all, to signal to her with their + rudely constructed heliograph, and stop her? + </p> + <p> + As for Methuselah’s secret, there was only one way, Felix thought, + in which it could now prove of any use to them. When the actual day of + their doom drew nigh, he might, perhaps, be tempted to try the fate which + Nathaniel Cross, of Sunderland, had successfully courted. That might gain + them at least a little respite. Though even so he hardly knew what good it + could do him to be elevated for a while into the chief god of the island. + It might not even avail him to save Muriel’s life; for he did not + doubt that when the awful day itself had actually come the natives would + do their best to kill her in spite of him, unless he anticipated them by + fulfilling his own terrible, yet merciful, promise. + </p> + <p> + Week after week went by—month after month passed—and the date + when the Australasian might reasonably be expected to reappear drew nearer + and nearer. They waited and trembled. At last, a few days before the time + M. Peyron had calculated, as Felix was sitting under the big shady tree in + his garden one morning, while Muriel, now worn out with hope deferred, lay + within her hut alone with Mali, a sound of tom-toms and beaten palms was + heard on the hill-path. The natives around fell on their faces or fled. It + announced the speedy approach of Tu-Kila-Kila. + </p> + <p> + By this time both the castaways had grown comparatively accustomed to that + hideous noise, and to the hateful presence which it preceded and heralded. + A dozen temple attendants tripped on either side down the hillpath, to + guard him, clapping their hands in a barbaric measure as they went; Fire + and Water, in the midst, supported and flanked the divine umbrella. Felix + rose from his seat with very little ceremony, indeed, as the great god + crossed the white taboo-line of his precincts, followed only beyond the + limit by Fire and Water. + </p> + <p> + Tu-Kila-Kila was in his most insolent vein. He glanced around with a + horrid light of triumph dancing visibly in his eyes. It was clear he had + come, intent upon some grand theatrical <i>coup</i>. He meant to take the + white-faced stranger by surprise this time. “Good-morning, O King of + the Rain,” he exclaimed, in a loud voice and with boisterous + familiarity. “How do you like your outlook now? Things are getting + on. Things are getting on. The end of your rule is drawing very near, isn’t + it? Before long I must make the seasons change. I must make my sun turn. I + must twist round my sky. And then, I shall need a new Korong instead of + you, O pale-faced one!” + </p> + <p> + Felix looked back at him without moving a muscle. + </p> + <p> + “I am well,” he answered shortly, restraining his anger. + “The year turns round whether you will or not. You are right that + the sun will soon begin to move southward on its path again. But many + things may happen to all of us meanwhile. <i>I</i> am not afraid of you.” + </p> + <p> + As he spoke, he drew his knife, and opened the blade, unostentatiously, + but firmly. If the worst were really coming now, sooner than he expected, + he would at least not forget his promise to Muriel. + </p> + <p> + Tu-Kila-Kila smiled a hateful and ominous smile. “I am a great god,” + he said, calmly, striking an attitude as was his wont. “Hear how my + people clap their hands in my honor! I order all things. I dispose the + course of nature in heaven and earth. If I look at a cocoa-nut tree, it + dies; if I glance at a bread-fruit, it withers away. We will see before + long whether or not you are afraid of me. Meanwhile, O Korong, I have come + to claim my dues at your hands. Prepare for your fate. To-morrow the Queen + of the Clouds must be sealed my bride. Fetch her out, that I may speak + with her. I have come to tell her so.” + </p> + <p> + It was a thunderbolt from a clear sky, and it fell with terrible effect on + Felix. For a moment the knife trembled in his grasp with an almost + irresistible impulse. He could hardly restrain himself, as he heard those + horrible, incredible words, and saw the loathsome smirk on the speaker’s + face by which they were accompanied, from leaping then and there at the + savage’s throat, and plunging his blade to the haft into the vile + creature’s body. But by a violent effort he mastered his indignation + and wrath for the present. Planting himself full in front of Tu-Kila-Kila, + and blocking the way to the door of that sacred English girl’s hut—oh, + how horrible it was to him even to think of her purity being contaminated + by the vile neighborhood, for one minute, of that loathsome monster! He + looked full into the wretch’s face, and answered very distinctly, in + low, slow tones, “If you dare to take one step toward the place + where that lady now rests, if you dare to move your foot one inch nearer, + if you dare to ask to see her face again, I will plunge the knife + hilt-deep into your vile heart, and kill you where you stand without one + second’s deliberation. Now you hear my words and you know what I + mean. My weapon is keener and fiercer than any you Polynesians ever saw. + Repeat those words once more, and by all that’s true and holy, + before they’re out of your mouth I leap upon you and stab you.” + </p> + <p> + Tu-Kila-Kila drew back in sudden surprise. He was unaccustomed to be so + bearded in his own sacred island. “Well, I shall claim her + to-morrow,” he faltered out, taken aback by Felix’s unexpected + energy. He paused for a second, then he went on more slowly: “To-morrow + I will come with all my people to claim my bride. This afternoon they will + bring her mats of grass and necklets of nautilus shell to deck her for her + wedding, as becomes Tu-Kila-Kila’s chosen one. The young maids of + Boupari will adorn her for her lord, in the accustomed dress of + Tu-Kila-Kila’s wives. They will clap their hands; they will sing the + marriage song. Then early in the morning I will come to fetch her—and + woe to him who strives to prevent me!” + </p> + <p> + Felix looked at him long, with a fixed and dogged look. + </p> + <p> + “What has made you think of this devilry?” he asked at last, + still grasping his knife hard, and half undecided whether or not to use + it. “You have invented all these ideas. You have no claim, even in + the horrid customs of your savage country, to demand such a sacrifice.” + </p> + <p> + Tu-Kila-Kila laughed loud, a laugh of triumphant and discordant merriment. + “Ha, ha!” he cried, “you do not understand our customs, + and will you teach <i>me</i>, the very high god, the guardian of the laws + and practices of Boupari? You know nothing; you are as a little child. I + am absolute wisdom. With every Korong, this is always our rule. Till the + moon is full, on the last month before we offer up the sacrifice, the + Queen of the Clouds dwells apart with her Shadow in her own new temple. So + our fathers decreed it. But at the full of the moon, when the day has + come, the usage is that Tu-Kila-Kila, the very high god, confers upon her + the honor of making her his bride. It is a mighty honor. The feast is + great. Blood flows like water. For seven days and nights, then, she lives + with Tu-Kila-Kila in his sacred abode, the threshold of Heaven; she eats + of human flesh; she tastes human blood; she drinks abundantly of the + divine kava. At the end of that time, in accordance with the custom of our + fathers, those great dead gods, Tu-Kila-Kila performs the high act of + sacrifice. He puts on his mask of the face of a shark, for he is holy and + cruel; he brings forth the Queen of the Clouds before the eyes of all his + people, attired in her wedding robes, and made drunk with kava. Then he + gashes her with knives; he offers her up to Heaven that accepted her; and + the King of the Rain he offers after her; and all the people eat of their + flesh, Korong! and drink of their blood, so that the body of gods and + goddesses may dwell within all of them. And when all is done, the high god + chooses a new king and queen at his will (for he is a mighty god), who + rule for six moons more, and then are offered up, at the end, in like + fashion.” + </p> + <p> + As he spoke, the ferocious light that gleamed in the savage’s eye + made Felix positively mad with anger. But he answered nothing directly. + “Is this so?” he asked, turning for confirmation to Fire and + Water. “Is it the custom of Boupari that Tu-Kila-Kila should wed the + Queen of the Clouds seven days before the date appointed for her + sacrifice?” + </p> + <p> + The King of Fire and the King of Water, tried guardians of the etiquette + of Tu-Kila-Kila’s court, made answer at once with one accord, + “It is so, O King of the Rain. Your lips have said it. Tu-Kila-Kila + speaks the solemn truth. He is a very great god. Such is the custom of + Boupari.” + </p> + <p> + Tu-Kila-Kila laughed his triumph in harsh, savage outbursts. + </p> + <p> + But Felix drew back for a second, irresolute. At last he stood face to + face with the absolute need for immediate action. Now was almost the + moment when he must redeem his terrible promise to Muriel. And yet, even + so, there was still one chance of life, one respite left. The mystic + yellow bough on the sacred banyan! the Great Taboo! the wager of battle + with Tu-Kila-Kila! Quick as lightning it all came up in his excited brain. + Time after time, since he heard Methuselah’s strange message from + the grave, had he passed Tu-Kila-Kila’s temple enclosure and looked + up with vague awe at that sacred parasite that grew so conspicuously in a + fork of the branches. It was easy to secure it, if no man guarded. There + still remained one night. In that one short night he must do his best—and + worst. If all then failed, he must die himself with Muriel! + </p> + <p> + For two seconds he hesitated. It was hateful even to temporize with so + hideous a proposition. But for Muriel’s sake, for her dear life’s + sake, he must meet these savages with guile for guile. “If it be, + indeed, the custom of Boupari,” he answered back, with pale and + trembling lips, “and if I, one man, am powerless to prevent it, I + will give your message, myself, to the Queen of the Clouds, and you may + send, as you say, your wedding decorations. But come what will—mark + this—you shall not see her yourself to-day. You shall not speak to + her. There I draw a line—so, with my stick in the dust, if you try + to advance one step beyond, I stab you to the heart. Wait till to-morrow + to take your prey. Give me one more night. Great god as you are, if you + are wise, you will not drive an angry man to utter desperation.” + </p> + <p> + Tu-Kila-Kila looked with a suspicious side glance at the gleaming steel + blade Felix still fingered tremulously. Though Boupari was one of those + rare and isolated small islands unvisited as yet by European trade, he + had, nevertheless, heard enough of the sailing gods to know that their + skill was deep and their weapons very dangerous. It would be foolish to + provoke this man to wrath too soon. To-morrow, when taboo was removed, and + all was free license, he would come when he willed and take his bride, + backed up by the full force of his assembled people. Meanwhile, why + provoke a brother god too far? After all, in a little more than a week + from now the pale-faced Korong would be eaten and digested! + </p> + <p> + “Very well,” he said, sulkily, but still with the sullen light + of revenge gleaming bright in his eye. “Take my message to the + queen. You may be my herald. Tell her what honor is in store for her—to + be first the wife and then the meat of Tu-Kila-Kila! She is a very fair + woman. I like her well. I have longed for her for months. Tomorrow, at the + early dawn, by the break of day, I will come with all my people and take + her home by main force to me.” + </p> + <p> + He looked at Felix and scowled, an angry scowl of revenge. Then, as he + turned and walked away, under cover of the great umbrella, with its + dangling pendants on either side, the temple attendants clapped their + hands in unison. Fire and Water marched slow and held the umbrella over + him. As he disappeared in the distance, and the sound of his tom-toms grew + dim on the hills, Toko, the Shadow, who had lain flat, trembling, on his + face in the hut while the god was speaking, came out and looked anxiously + and fearfully after him. + </p> + <p> + “The time is ripe,” he said, in a very low voice to Felix. + “A Korong may strike. All the people of Boupari murmur among + themselves. They say this fellow has held the spirit of Tu-Kila-Kila + within himself too long. He waxes insolent. They think it is high time the + great God of Heaven should find before long some other fleshly tabernacle.” + </p> + <p> + <br /><br /> + </p> + <hr /> + <p> + <a name="link2HCH0026" id="link2HCH0026"> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + CHAPTER XXVI. — A RASH RESOLVE. + </h2> + <p> + The rest of that day was a time of profound and intense anxiety. Felix and + Muriel remained alone in their huts, absorbed in plans of escape, but + messengers of many sorts from chiefs and gods kept continually coming to + them. The natives evidently regarded it as a period of preparation. The + Eyes of Tu-Kila-Kila surrounded their precinct; yet Felix couldn’t + help noticing that they seemed in many ways less watchful than of old, and + that they whispered and conferred very much in a mysterious fashion with + the people of the village. More than once Toko shook his head, sagely, + “If only any one dared break the Great Taboo,” he said, with + some terror on his face, “our people would be glad. It would greatly + please them. They are tired of this Tu-Kila-Kila. He has held the god in + his breast far, far too long. They would willingly see some other in place + of him.” + </p> + <p> + Before noon, the young girls of the village, bringing native mats and huge + strings of nautilus shells, trooped up to the hut, like bridesmaids, with + flowers in their hands, to deck Muriel for her approaching wedding. Before + them they carried quantities of red and brown tappa-cloth and very fine + net-work, the dowry to be presented by the royal bride to her divine + husband. Within the hut, they decked out the Queen of the Clouds with + garlands of flowers and necklets of shells, in solemn native fashion, + bewailing her fate all the time to a measured dirge in their own language. + Muriel could see that their sympathy, though partly conventional, was + largely real as well. Many of the young girls seized her hand convulsively + from time to time, and kissed it with genuine feeling. The gentle young + English woman had won their savage hearts by her purity and innocence. + “Poor thing, poor thing,” they said, stroking her hand + tenderly. “She is too good for Korong! Too good for Tu-Kila-Kila! If + only we knew the Great Taboo like the men, we would tell her everything. + She is too good to die. We are sorry she is to be sacrificed!” + </p> + <p> + But when all their preparations were finished, the chief among them raised + a calabash with a little scented oil in it, and poured a few drops + solemnly on Muriel’s head. “Oh, great god!” she said, in + her own tongue, “we offer this sacrifice, a goddess herself, to you. + We obey your words. You are very holy. We will each of us eat a portion of + her flesh at your feast. So give us good crops, strong health, many + children!” + </p> + <p> + “What does she say?” Muriel asked, pale and awestruck, of + Mali. + </p> + <p> + Mali translated the words with perfect <i>sang-froid</i>. At that awful + sound Muriel drew back, chill and cold to the marrow. How inconceivable + was the state of mind of these terrible people! They were really sorry for + her; they kissed her hand with fervor; and yet they deliberately and + solemnly proposed to eat her! + </p> + <p> + Toward evening the young girls at last retired, in regular order, to the + clapping of hands, and Felix was left alone with Muriel and the Shadows. + </p> + <p> + Already he had explained to Muriel what he intended to do; and Muriel, + half dazed with terror and paralyzed by these awful preparations, + consented passively. “But how if you never come back, Felix?” + she cried at last, clinging to him passionately. + </p> + <p> + Felix looked at her with a fixed look. “I have thought of that,” + he said. “M. Peyron, to whom I sent a message by flashes, has helped + me in my difficulty. This bowl has poison in it. Peyron sent it to me + to-day. He prepared it himself from the root of the kava bean. If by + sunrise to-morrow you have heard no news, drink it off at once. It will + instantly kill you. You shall <i>not</i> fall alive into that creature’s + clutches.” + </p> + <p> + By slow degrees the evening wore on, and night approached—the last + night that remained to them. Felix had decided to make his attempt about + one in the morning. The moon was nearly full now, and there would be + plenty of light. Supposing he succeeded, if they gained nothing else, they + would gain at least a day or two’s respite. + </p> + <p> + As dusk set in, and they sat by the door of the hut, they were all + surprised to see Ula approach the precinct stealthily through the jungle, + accompanied by two of Tu-Kila-Kila’s Eyes, yet apparently on some + strange and friendly message. She beckoned imperiously with one finger to + Toko to cross the line. The Shadow rose, and without one word of + explanation went out to speak to her. The woman gave her message in short, + sharp sentences. “We have found out all,” she said, breathing + hard. “Fire and Water have learned it. But Tu-Kila-Kila himself + knows nothing. We have found out that the King of the Rain has discovered + the secret of the Great Taboo. He heard it from the Soul of all dead + parrots. Tu-Kila-Kila’s Eyes saw, and learned, and understood. But + they said nothing to Tu-Kila-Kila. For my counsel was wise; I planned that + they should not, with Fire and Water. Fire and Water and all the people of + Boupari think, with me, the time has come that there should arise among us + a new Tu-Kila-Kila. This one let his blood fall out upon the dust of the + ground. His luck has gone. We have need of another.” + </p> + <p> + “Then for what have you come?” Toko asked, all awestruck. It + was terrible to him for a woman to meddle in such high matters. + </p> + <p> + “I have come,” Ula answered, laying her hand on his arm, and + holding her face close to his with profound solemnity—“I have + come to say to the King of the Rain, ‘Whatever you do, that do + quickly.’ To-night I will engage to keep Tu-Kila-Kila in his temple. + He shall see nothing. He shall hear nothing. I know not the Great Taboo; + but I know from him this much—that if by wile or guile I keep him + alone in his temple to-night, the King of the Rain may fight with him in + single combat; and if the King of the Rain conquers in the battle, he + becomes himself the home of the great deity.” + </p> + <p> + She nodded thrice, with her hands on her forehead, and withdrew as + stealthily as she had come through the jungle. The Eyes of Tu-Kila-Kila, + falling into line, remained behind, and kept watch upon the huts with the + closest apparent scrutiny. + </p> + <p> + More than ever they were hemmed in by mystery on mystery. + </p> + <p> + The Shadow went back and reported to Felix. Felix, turning it over in his + own mind, wondered and debated. Was this true, or a trap to lure him to + destruction? + </p> + <p> + As the night wore on, and the hour drew nigh, Muriel sat beside her friend + and lover, in blank despair and agony. How could she ever allow him to + leave her now? How could she venture to remain alone with Mali in her hut + in this last extremity? It was awful to be so girt with mysterious + enemies. “I must go with you, Felix! I must go, too!” she + cried over and over again. “I daren’t remain behind with all + these awful men. And then, if he kills either of us, he will kill us at + least both together.” + </p> + <p> + But Felix knew he might do nothing of the sort. A more terrible chance was + still in reserve. He might spare Muriel. And against that awful + possibility he felt it his duty now to guard at all hazard. + </p> + <p> + “No, Muriel,” he said, kissing her, and holding her pale hand, + “I must go alone. You can’t come with me. If I return, we will + have gained at least a respite, till the Australasian may turn up. If I + don’t, you will at any rate have strength of mind left to swallow + the poison, before Tu-Kila-Kila comes to claim you.” + </p> + <p> + Hour after hour passed by slowly, and Felix and the Shadow watched the + stars at the door, to know when the hour for the attempt had arrived. The + eyes of Tu-Kila-Kila, peering silent from just beyond the line, saw them + watching all the time, but gave no sign or token of disapproval. With + heads bent low, and tangled hair about their faces, they stood like + statues, watching, watching sullenly. Were they only waiting till he + moved, Felix wondered; and would they then hasten off by short routes + through the jungle to warn their master of the impending conflict? + </p> + <p> + At last the hour came when Felix felt sure there was the greatest chance + of Tu-Kila-Kila sleeping soundly in his hut, and forgetting the defence of + the sacred bough on the holy banyan-tree. He rose from his seat with a + gesture for silence, and moved forward to Muriel. The poor girl flung + herself, all tears, into his arms. “Oh, Felix, Felix,” she + cried, “redeem your promise now! Kill us both here together, and + then, at least, I shall never be separated from you! It wouldn’t be + wrong! It can’t be wrong! We would surely be forgiven if we did it + only to escape falling into the hands of these terrible savages!” + </p> + <p> + Felix clasped her to his bosom with a faltering heart. “No, Muriel,” + he said, slowly. “Not yet. Not yet. I must leave no opening on earth + untried by which I can possibly or conceivably save you. It’s as + hard for me to leave you here alone as for you to be left. But for your + own dear sake, I must steel myself. I must do it.” + </p> + <p> + He kissed her many times over. He wiped away her tears. Then, with a + gentle movement, he untwined her clasping arms. “You must let me go, + my own darling,” he said, “You must let me go, without + crossing the border. If you pass beyond the taboo-line to-night, Heaven + only knows what, perhaps, may happen to you. We must give these people no + handle of offence. Good-night, Muriel, my own heart’s wife; and if I + never come back, then good-by forever.” + </p> + <p> + She clung to his arm still. He disentangled himself, gently. The Shadow + rose at the same moment, and followed in silence to the open door. Muriel + rushed after them, wildly. “Oh, Felix, Felix, come back,” she + cried, bursting into wild floods of hot, fierce tears. “Come back + and let me die with you! Let me die! Let me die with you!” + </p> + <p> + Felix crossed the white line without one word of reply, and went forth + into the night, half unmanned by this effort. Muriel sank, where she + stood, into Mali’s arms. The girl caught her and supported her. But + before she had fainted quite away, Muriel had time vaguely to see and note + one significant fact. The Eyes of Tu-Kila-Kila, who stood watching the + huts with lynx-like care, nodded twice to Toko, the Shadow, as he passed + between them; then they stealthily turned and dogged the two men’s + footsteps afar off in the jungle. + </p> + <p> + Muriel was left by herself in the hut, face to face with Mali. + </p> + <p> + “Let us pray, Mali,” she cried, seizing her Shadow’s + arm. + </p> + <p> + And Mali, moved suddenly by some half-obliterated impulse, exclaimed in + concert, in a terrified voice, “Let us pray to Methodist God in + heaven!” + </p> + <p> + For her life, too, hung on the issue of that rash endeavor. + </p> + <p> + <br /><br /> + </p> + <hr /> + <p> + <a name="link2HCH0027" id="link2HCH0027"> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + CHAPTER XXVII. — A STRANGE ALLY. + </h2> + <p> + In Tu-Kila-Kila’s temple-hut, meanwhile, the jealous, revengeful + god, enshrined among his skeletons, was having in his turn an anxious and + doubtful time of it. Ever since his sacred blood had stained the dust of + earth by the Frenchman’s cottage and in his own temple, + Tu-Kila-Kila, for all his bluster, had been deeply stirred and terrified + in his inmost soul by that unlucky portent. A savage, even if he be a god, + is always superstitious. Could it be that his own time was, indeed, + drawing nigh? That he, who had remorselessly killed and eaten so many + hundreds of human victims, was himself to fall a prey to some more + successful competitor? Had the white-faced stranger, the King of the Rain, + really learned the secrets of the Great Taboo from the Soul of all dead + parrots? Did that mysterious bird speak the tongue of these new + fire-bearing Korongs, whose doom was fixed for the approaching solstice? + Tu-Kila-Kila wondered and doubted. His suspicions were keen, and deeply + aroused. Late that night he still lurked by the sacred banyan-tree, and + when at last he retired to his own inner temple, white with the grinning + skulls of the victims he had devoured, it was with strict injunctions to + Fire and Water, and to his Eyes that watched there, to bring him word at + once of any projected aggression on the part of the stranger. + </p> + <p> + Within the temple-hut, however, Ula awaited him. That was a pleasant + change. The beautiful, supple, satin-skinned Polynesian looked more + beautiful and more treacherous than ever that fateful evening. Her great + brown limbs, smooth and glossy as pearl, were set off by a narrow girdle + or waistband of green and scarlet leaves, twined spirally around her. + Armlets of nautilus shell threw up the dainty plumpness of her soft, round + forearm. A garland hung festooned across one shapely shoulder; her bosom + was bare or but half hidden by the crimson hibiscus that nestled + voluptuously upon it. As Tu-Kila-Kila entered, she lifted her large eyes, + and, smiling, showed two even rows of pearly white teeth. “My master + has come!” she cried, holding up both lissome arms with a gesture to + welcome him. “The great god relaxes his care of the world for a + while. All goes on well. He leaves his sun to sleep and his stars to + shine, and he retires to rest on the unworthy bosom of her, his mate, his + meat, that is honored to love him.” + </p> + <p> + Tu-Kila-Kila was scarcely just then in a mood for dalliance. “The + Queen of the Clouds comes hither to-morrow,” he answered, casting a + somewhat contemptuous glance at Ula’s more dusky and solid charms. + “I go to seek her with the wedding gifts early in the morning. For a + week she shall be mine. And after that—” he lifted his + tomahawk and brought it down on a huge block of wood significantly. + </p> + <p> + Ula smiled once more, that deep, treacherous smile of hers, and showed her + white teeth even deeper than ever. “If my lord, the great god, rises + so early to-morrow,” she said, sidling up toward him voluptuously, + “to seek one more bride for his sacred temple, all the more reason + he should take his rest and sleep soundly to-night. Is he not a god? Are + not his limbs tired? Does he not need divine silence and slumber?” + </p> + <p> + Tu-Kila-Kila pouted. “I could sleep more soundly,” he said, + with a snort, “if I knew what my enemy, the Korong, is doing. I have + set my Eyes to watch him, yet I do not feel secure. They are not to be + trusted. I shall be happier far when I have killed and eaten him.” + He passed his hand across his bosom with a reflective air. You have a + great sense of security toward your enemy, no doubt, when you know that he + slumbers, well digested, within you. + </p> + <p> + Ula raised herself on her elbow, and gazed snake-like into his face, + “My lord’s Eyes are everywhere,” she said, reverently, + with every mark of respect. “He sees and knows all things. Who can + hide anything on earth from his face? Even when he is asleep, his Eyes + watch well for him. Then why should the great god, the Measurer of Heaven + and Earth, the King of Men, fear a white-faced stranger? To-morrow the + Queen of the Clouds will be yours, and the stranger will be abased: ha, + ha, he will grieve at it! To-night, Fire and Water keep guard and watch + over you. Whoever would hurt you must pass through Fire and Water before + he reach your door. Fire would burn, Water would drown. This is a Great + Taboo. No stranger dare face it.” + </p> + <p> + Tu-Kila-Kila lifted himself up in his thrasonic mood. “If he did,” + he cried, swelling himself, “I would shrivel him to ashes with one + flash of my eyes. I would scorch him to a cinder with one stroke of my + lightning.” + </p> + <p> + Ula smiled again, a well-satisfied smile. She was working her man up. + “Tu-Kila-Kila is great,” she repeated, slowly. “All + earth obeys him. All heaven fears him.” + </p> + <p> + The savage took her hand with a doubtful air. “And yet,” he + said, toying with it, half irresolute, “when I went to the + white-faced stranger’s hut this morning, he did not speak fair; he + answered me insolently. His words were bold. He talked to me as one talks + to a man, not to a great god. Ula, I wonder if he knows my secret?” + </p> + <p> + Ula started back in well-affected horror. “A white-faced stranger + from the sun know your secret, O great king!” she cried, hiding her + face in a square of cloth. “See me beat my breast! Impossible! + Impossible! No one of your subjects would dare to tell him so great a + taboo. It would be rank blasphemy. If they did, your anger would utterly + consume them!” + </p> + <p> + “That is true,” Tu-Kila-Kila said, practically, “but I + might not discover it. I am a very great god. My Eyes are everywhere. No + corner of the world is hid from my gaze. All the concerns of heaven and + earth are my care, And, therefore; sometimes, I overlook some detail.” + </p> + <p> + “No man alive would dare to tell the Great Taboo!” Ula + repeated, confidently. “Why, even I myself, who am the most favored + of your wives, and who am permitted to bask in the light of your presence—even + I, Ula—I do not know it. How much less, then, the spirit from the + sun, the sailing god, the white-faced stranger!” + </p> + <p> + Tu-Kila-Kila pursed up his brow and looked preternaturally wise, as the + savage loves to do. “But the parrot,” he cried, “the + Soul of all dead parrots! <i>He</i> knew the secret, they say:—I + taught it him myself in an ancient day, many, many years ago—when no + man now living was born, save only I—in another incarnation—and + <i>he</i> may have told it. For the strangers, they say, speak the + language of birds; and in the language of birds did I tell the Great Taboo + to him.” + </p> + <p> + Ula pooh-poohed the mighty man-god’s fears. “No, no,” + she cried, with confidence; “he can never have told them. If he had, + would not your Eyes that watch ever for all that happens on heaven or + earth, have straightway reported it to you? The parrot died without + yielding up the tale. Were it otherwise, Toko, who loves and worships you, + would surely have told me.” + </p> + <p> + The man-god puckered his brows slightly, as if he liked not the security. + “Well, somehow, Ula,” he said, feeling her soft brown arms + with his divine hand, slowly, “I have always had my doubts since + that day the Soul of all dead parrots bit me. A vicious bird! What did he + mean by his bite?” He lowered his voice and looked at her fixedly. + “Did not his spilling my blood portend,” he asked, with a + shudder of fear, “that through that ill-omened bird I, who was once + Lavita, should cease to be Tu-Kila-Kila?” + </p> + <p> + Ula smiled contentedly again. To say the truth, that was precisely the + interpretation she herself had put on that terrific omen. The parrot had + spilled Tu-Kila-Kila’s sacred blood upon the soil of earth. + According to her simple natural philosophy, that was a certain sign that + through the parrot’s instrumentality Tu-Kila-Kila’s life would + be forfeited to the great eternal earth-spirit. Or, rather, the + earth-spirit would claim the blood of the man Lavita, in whose body it + dwelt, and would itself migrate to some new earthly tabernacle. + </p> + <p> + But for all that, she dissembled. “Great god,” she cried, + smiling, a benign smile, “you are tired! You are thirsty! Care for + heaven and earth has wearied you out. You feel the fatigue of upholding + the sun in heaven. Your arms must ache. Your thews must give under you. + Drink of the soul-inspiring juice of the kava! My hands have prepared the + divine cup. For Tu-Kila-Kila did I make it—fresh, pure, + invigorating!” + </p> + <p> + She held the bowl to his lips with an enticing smile. Tu-Kila-Kila + hesitated and glanced around him suspiciously. “What if the + white-faced stranger should come to-night?” he whispered, hoarsely. + “He may have discovered the Great Taboo, after all. Who can tell the + ways of the world, how they come about? My people are so treacherous. Some + traitor may have betrayed it to him.” + </p> + <p> + “Impossible,” the beautiful, snake-like woman answered, with a + strong gesture of natural dissent. “And even if he came, would not + kava, the divine, inspiriting drink of the gods, in which dwell the + embodied souls of our fathers—would not kava make you more vigorous, + strong for the fight? Would it not course through your limbs like fire? + Would it not pour into your soul the divine, abiding strength of your + mighty mother, the eternal earth-spirit?” + </p> + <p> + “A little,” Tu-Kila-Kila said, yielding, “but not too + much. Too much would stupefy me. When the spirits, that the kava-tree + sucks up from the earth, are too strong within us, they overpower our own + strength, so that even I, the high god—even I can do nothing.” + </p> + <p> + Ula held the bowl to his lips, and enticed him to drink with her beautiful + eyes. “A deep draught, O supporter of the sun in heaven,” she + cried, pressing his arm tenderly. “Am I not Ula? Did I not brew it + for you? Am I not the chief and most favored among your women? I will sit + at the door. I will watch all night. I will not close an eye. Not a + footfall on the ground but my ear shall hear it.” + </p> + <p> + “Do.” Tu-Kila-Kila said, laconically. “I fear Fire and + Water. Those gods love me not. Fain would they make me migrate into some + other body. But I myself like it not. This one suits me admirably. Ula, + that kava is stronger than you are used to make it.” + </p> + <p> + “No, no,” Ula cried, pressing it to his lips a second time, + passionately. “You are a very great god. You are tired; it overcomes + you. And if you sleep, I will watch. Fire and Water dare not disobey your + commands. Are you not great? Your Eyes are everywhere. And I, even I, will + be as one of them.” + </p> + <p> + The savage gulped down a few more mouthfuls of the intoxicating liquid. + Then he glanced up again suddenly with a quick, suspicious look. The + cunning of his race gave him wisdom in spite of the deadly strength of the + kava Ula had brewed too deep for him. With a sudden resolve, he rose and + staggered out. “You are a serpent, woman!” he cried angrily, + seeing the smile that lurked upon Ula’s face. “To-morrow I + will kill you. I will take the white woman for my bride, and she and I + will feast off your carrion body. You have tried to betray me, but you are + not cunning enough, not strong enough. No woman shall kill me. I am a very + great god. I will not yield. I will wait by the tree. This is a trap you + have set, but I do not fall into it. If the King of the Rain comes, I + shall be there to meet him.” + </p> + <p> + He seized his spear and hatchet and walked forth, erect, without one sign + of drunkenness. Ula trembled to herself as she saw him go. She was playing + a deep game. Had she given him only just enough kava to strengthen and + inspire him? + </p> + <p> + <br /><br /> + </p> + <hr /> + <p> + <a name="link2HCH0028" id="link2HCH0028"> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + CHAPTER XXVIII. — WAGER OF BATTLE. + </h2> + <p> + Felix wound his way painfully through the deep fern-brake of the jungle, + by no regular path, so as to avoid exciting the alarm of the natives, and + to take Tu-Kila-Kila’s palace-temple from the rear, where the big + tree, which overshadowed it with its drooping branches, was most easily + approachable. As he and Toko crept on, bending low, through that dense + tropical scrub, in deathly silence, they were aware all the time of a low, + crackling sound that rang ever some paces in the rear on their trail + through the forest. It was Tu-Kila-Kila’s Eyes, following them + stealthily from afar, footstep for footstep, through the dense undergrowth + of bush, and the crisp fallen leaves and twigs that snapped light beneath + their footfall. What hope of success with those watchful spies, keen as + beagles and cruel as bloodhounds, following ever on their track? What + chance of escape for Felix and Muriel, with the cannibal man-gods toils + laid round on every side to insure their destruction? + </p> + <p> + Silently and cautiously the two men groped their way on through the dark + gloom of the woods, in spite of their mute pursuers. The moonlight + flickered down athwart the trackless soil as they went; the hum of insects + innumerable droned deep along the underbrush. Now and then the startled + scream of a night jar broke the monotony of the buzz that was worse than + silence; owls boomed from the hollow trees, and fireflies darted dim + through the open spaces. At last they emerged upon the cleared area of the + temple. There Felix, without one moment’s hesitation, with a firm + and resolute tread, stepped over the white coral line that marked the + taboo of the great god’s precincts. That was a declaration of open + war; he had crossed the Rubicon of Tu-Kila-Kila’s empire. Toko stood + trembling on the far side; none might pass that mystic line unbidden and + live, save the Korong alone who could succeed in breaking off the bough + “with yellow leaves, resembling a mistletoe,” of which + Methuselah, the parrot, had told Felix and Muriel, and so earn the right + to fight for his life with the redoubted and redoubtable Tu-Kila-Kila. + </p> + <p> + As he stepped over the taboo-line, Felix was aware of many native eyes + fixed stonily upon him from the surrounding precinct. Clearly they were + awaiting him. Yet not a soul gave the alarm; that in itself would have + been to break taboo. Every man or woman among the temple attendants within + that charmed circle stood on gaze curiously. Close by, Ula, the favorite + wife of the man-god, crouched low by the hut, with one finger on her + treacherous lips, bending eagerly forward, in silent expectation of what + next might happen. Once, and once only, she glanced at Toko with a mute + sign of triumph; then she fixed her big eyes on Felix in tremulous + anxiety; for to her as to him, life and death now hung absolutely on the + issue of his enterprise. A little farther back the King of Fire and the + King of Water, in full sacrificial robes, stood smiling sardonically. For + them it was merely a question of one master more or less, one Tu-Kila-Kila + in place of another. They had no special interest in the upshot of the + contest, save in so far as they always hated most the man who for the + moment held by his own strong arm the superior godship over them. Around, + Tu-Kila-Kila’s Eyes kept watch and ward in sinister silence. Taboo + was stronger than even the commands of the high god himself. When once a + Korong had crossed that fatal line, unbidden and unwelcomed by + Tu-Kila-Kila, he came as Tu-Kila-Kila’s foe and would-be successor; + the duty of every guardian of the temple was then to see fair play between + the god that was and the god that might be—the Tu-Kila-Kila of the + hour and the Tu-Kila-Kila who might possibly supplant him. + </p> + <p> + “Let the great spirit itself choose which body it will inhabit,” + the King of Fire murmured in a soft, low voice, glancing toward a dark + spot at the foot of the big tree. The moonlight fell dim through the + branches on the place where he looked. The glibbering bones of dead + victims rattled lightly in the wind. Felix’s eyes followed the King + of Fire’s, and saw, lying asleep upon the ground, Tu-Kila-Kila + himself, with his spear and tomahawk. + </p> + <p> + He lay there, huddled up by the very roots of the tree, breathing deep and + regularly. Right over his head projected the branch, in one part of whose + boughs grew the fateful parasite. By the dim light of the moon, straggling + through the dense foliage, Felix could see its yellow leaves distinctly. + Beneath it hung a skeleton, suspended by invisible cords, head downward + from the branches. It was the skeleton of a previous Korong who had tried + in vain to reach the bough, and perished. Tu-Kila-Kila had made high feast + on the victim’s flesh; his bones, now collected together and + cunningly fastened with native rope, served at once as a warning and as a + trap or pitfall for all who might rashly venture to follow him. + </p> + <p> + Felix stood for one moment, alone and awe-struck, a solitary civilized + man, among those hideous surroundings. Above, the cold moon; all about, + the grim, stolid, half-hostile natives; close by, that strange, + serpentine, savage wife, guarding, cat-like, the sleep of her cannibal + husband; behind, the watchful Eyes of Tu-Kila-Kila, waiting ever in the + background, ready to raise a loud shout of alarm and warning the moment + the fatal branch was actually broken, but mute, by their vows, till that + moment was accomplished. Then a sudden wild impulse urged him on to the + attempt. The banyan had dropped down rooting offsets to the ground, after + the fashion of its kind, from its main branches. Felix seized one of these + and swung himself lightly up, till he reached the very limb on which the + sacred parasite itself was growing. + </p> + <p> + To get to the parasite, however, he must pass directly above Tu-Kila-Kila’s + head, and over the point where that ghastly grinning skeleton was + suspended, as by an unseen hair, from the fork that bore it. + </p> + <p> + He walked along, balancing himself, and clutching, as he went, at the + neighboring boughs, while Tu-Kila-Kila, overcome with the kava, slept + stolidly and heavily on beneath him. At last he was almost within grasp of + the parasite. Could he lunge out and clutch it? One try—one effort! + No, no; he almost lost footing and fell over in the attempt. He couldn’t + keep his balance so. He must try farther on. Come what might, he must go + past the skeleton. + </p> + <p> + The grisly mass swung again, clanking its bones as it swung, and groaned + in the wind ominously. The breeze whistled audibly through its hollow + skull and vacant eye-sockets. Tu-Kila-Kila turned uneasily in his sleep + below. Felix saw there was not one instant of time to be lost now. He + passed on boldly; and as he passed, a dozen thin cords of paper mulberry, + stretched every way in an invisible network among the boughs, too small to + be seen in the dim moonlight, caught him with their toils and almost + overthrew him. They broke with his weight, and Felix himself, tumbling + blindly, fell forward. At the cost of a sprained wrist and a great jerk on + his bruised fingers, he caught at a bough by his side, but wrenched it + away suddenly. It was touch and go. At the very same moment, the skeleton + fell heavily, and rattled on the ground beside Tu-Kila-Kila. + </p> + <p> + Before Felix could discover what had actually happened, a very great shout + went up all round below, and made him stagger with excitement. + Tu-Kila-Kila was awake, and had started up, all intent, mad with wrath and + kava. Glaring about him wildly, and brandishing his great spear in his + stalwart hands, he screamed aloud, in a perfect frenzy of passion and + despair: “Where is he, the Korong? Bring him on, my meat! Let me + devour his heart! Let me tear him to pieces. Let me drink of his blood! + Let me kill him and eat him!” + </p> + <p> + Sick and desperate at the accident, Felix, in turn, clinging hard to his + bough with one hand, gazed wildly about him to look for the parasite. But + it had gone as if by magic. He glanced around in despair, vaguely + conscious that nothing was left for it now but to drop to the ground and + let himself be killed at leisure by that frantic savage. Yet even as he + did so, he was aware of that great cry—a cry as of triumph—still + rending the air. Fire and Water had rushed forward, and were holding back + Tu-Kila-Kila, now black in the face from rage, with all their might. Ula + was smiling a malicious joy. The Eyes were all agog with interest and + excitement. And from one and all that wild scream rose unanimous to the + startled sky: “He has it! He has it! The Soul of the Tree! The + Spirit of the World! The great god’s abode. Hold off your hands, + Lavita, son of Sami! Your trial has come. He has it! He has it!” + </p> + <p> + Felix looked about him with a whirling brain. His eye fell suddenly. + There, in his own hand, lay the fateful bough. In his efforts to steady + himself, he had clutched at it by pure accident, and broken it off + unawares with the force of his clutching. As fortune would have it, he + grasped it still. His senses reeled. He was almost dead with excitement, + suspense, and uncertainty, mingled with pain of his wrenched wrist. But + for Muriel’s sake he pulled himself together. Gazing down and trying + hard to take it all in—that strange savage scene—he saw that + Tu-Kila-Kila was making frantic attempts to lunge at him with the spear, + while the King of Fire and the King of Water, stern and relentless, were + holding him off by main force, and striving their best to appease and + quiet him. + </p> + <p> + There was an awful pause. Then a voice broke the stillness from beyond the + taboo-line: + </p> + <p> + “The Shadow of the King of the Rain speaks,” it said, in very + solemn, conventional accents. “Korong! Korong! The Great Taboo is + broken. Fire and Water, hold him in whom dwells the god till my master + comes. He has the Soul of all the spirits of the wood in his hands. He + will fight for his right. Taboo! Taboo! I, Toko, have said it.” + </p> + <p> + He clapped his hands thrice. + </p> + <p> + Tu-Kila-Kila made a wild effort to break away once more. But the King of + Fire, standing opposite him, spoke still louder and clearer. “If you + touch the Korong before the line is drawn,” he said, with a voice of + authority, “you are no Tu-Kila-Kila, but an outcast and a criminal. + All the people will hold you with forked sticks, while the Korong burns + you alive slowly, limb by limb, with me, who am Fire, the fierce, the + consuming. I will scorch you and bake you till you are as a bamboo in the + flame. Taboo! Taboo! Taboo! I, Fire, have said it.” + </p> + <p> + The King of Water, with three attendants, forced Tu-Kila-Kila on one side + for a moment. Ula stood by and smiled pleased compliance. A temple slave, + trembling all over at this conflict of the gods, brought out a calabash + full of white coral-sand. The King of Water spat on it and blessed it. By + this time a dozen natives, at least, had assembled outside the taboo-line, + and stood eagerly watching the result of the combat. The temple slave made + a long white mark with the coral-sand on one side of the cleared area. + Then he handed the calabash solemnly to Toko. Toko crossed the sacred + precinct with a few inaudible words of muttered charm, to save the Taboo, + as prescribed in the mysteries. Then he drew a similar line on the ground + on his side, some twenty yards off. “Descend, O my lord!” he + cried to Felix; and Felix, still holding the bough tight in his hand, + swung himself blindly from the tree, and took his place by Toko. + </p> + <p> + “Toe the line!” Toko cried, and Felix toed it. + </p> + <p> + “Bring up your god!” the Shadow called out aloud to the King + of Water. And the King of Water, using no special ceremony with so great a + duty, dragged Tu-Kila-Kila helplessly along with him to the farther + taboo-line. + </p> + <p> + The King of Water brought a spear and tomahawk. He handed them to Felix. + “With these weapons,” he said, “fight, and merit heaven. + I hold the bough meanwhile—the victor takes it.” + </p> + <p> + The King of Fire stood out between the lists. “Korongs and gods,” + he said, “the King of the Rain has plucked the sacred bough, + according to our fathers’ rites, and claims trial which of you two + shall henceforth hold the sacred soul of the world, the great + Tu-Kila-Kila. Wager of Battle decides the day. Keep toe to line. At the + end of my words, forth, forward, and fight for it. The great god knows his + own, and will choose his abode. Taboo, Taboo, Taboo! I, Fire, have spoken + it.” + </p> + <p> + Scarcely were the words well out of his mouth, when, with a wild whoop of + rage, Tu-Kila-Kila, who had the advantage of knowing the rules of the + game, so to speak, dashed madly forward, drunk with passion and kava, and + gave one lunge with his spear full tilt at the breast of the startled and + unprepared white man. His aim, though frantic, was not at fault. The spear + struck Felix high up on the left side. He felt a dull thud of pain; a + faint gurgle of blood. Even in the pale moonlight his eye told him at once + a red stream was trickling—out over his flannel shirt. He was + pricked, at least. The great god had wounded him. + </p> + <p> + <br /><br /> + </p> + <hr /> + <p> + <a name="link2HCH0029" id="link2HCH0029"> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + CHAPTER XXIX. — VICTORY—AND AFTER? + </h2> + <p> + The great god had wounded him. But not to the heart. Felix, as good luck + would have it, happened to be wearing buckled braces. He had worn them on + board, and, like the rest of his costume, had, of course, never since been + able to discard them. They stood him in good stead now. The buckle caught + the very point of the bone-tipped spear, and broke the force of the blow, + as the great god lunged forward. The wound was but a graze, and + Tu-Kila-Kila’s light shaft snapped short in the middle. + </p> + <p> + Madder and wilder than ever, the savage pitched it away, yelling, rushed + forward with a fierce curse on his angry tongue, and flung himself, tooth + and nail, on his astonished opponent. + </p> + <p> + The suddenness of the onslaught almost took the Englishman’s breath + away. By this time, however, Felix had pulled together his ideas and taken + in the situation. Tu-Kila-Kila was attacking him now with his heavy stone + axe. He must parry those deadly blows. He must be alert, but watchful. He + must put himself in a posture of defence at once. Above all, he must keep + cool and have his wits about him. + </p> + <p> + If he could but have drawn his knife, he would have stood a better chance + in that hand-to-hand conflict. But there was no time now for such tactics + as those. Besides, even in close fight with a bloodthirsty savage, an + English gentleman’s sense of fair play never for one moment deserts + him. Felix felt, if they were to fight it out face to face for their + lives, they should fight at least on a perfect equality. Steel against + stone was a mean advantage. Parrying Tu-Kila-Kila’s first desperate + blow with the haft of his own hatchet, he leaped aside half a second to + gain breath and strength. Then he rushed on, and dealt one deadly + downstroke with the ponderous weapon. + </p> + <p> + For a minute or two they closed, in perfectly savage single combat. Fire + and Water, observant and impartial, stood by like seconds to see the god + himself decide the issue, which of the two combatants should be his living + representative. The contest was brief but very hard-fought. Tu-Kila-Kila, + inspired with the last frenzy of despair, rushed wildly on his opponent + with hands and fists, and teeth and nails, dealing his blows in blind + fury, right and left, and seeking only to sell his life as dearly as + possible. In this last extremity, his very superstitions told against him. + Everything seemed to show his hour had come. The parrot’s bite—the + omen of his own blood that stained the dust of earth—Ula’s + treachery—the chance by which the Korong had learned the Great Taboo—Felix’s + accidental or providential success in breaking off the bough—the + length of time he himself had held the divine honors—the probability + that the god would by this time begin to prefer a new and stronger + representative—all these things alike combined to fire the drunk and + maddened savage with the energy of despair. He fell upon his enemy like a + tiger upon an elephant. He fought with his tomahawk and his feet and his + whole lithe body; he foamed at the mouth with impotent rage; he spent his + force on the air in the extremity of his passion. + </p> + <p> + Felix, on the other hand, sobered by pain, and nerved by the fixed + consciousness that Muriel’s safety now depended absolutely on his + perfect coolness, fought with the calm skill of a practised fencer. + Happily he had learned the gentle art of thrust and parry years before in + England; and though both weapon and opponent were here so different, the + lesson of quickness and calm watchfulness he had gained in that civilized + school stood him in good stead, even now, under such adverse + circumstances. Tu-Kila-Kila, getting spent, drew back for a second at + last, and panted for breath. That faint breathing-space of a moment’s + duration sealed his fate. Seizing his chance with consummate skill, Felix + closed upon the breathless monster, and brought down the heavy stone + hammer point blank upon the centre of his crashing skull. The weapon drove + home. It cleft a great red gash in the cannibal’s head. Tu-Kila-Kila + reeled and fell. There was an infinitesimal pause of silence and suspense. + Then a great shout went up from all round to heaven, “He has killed + him! He has killed him! We have a new-made god! Tu-Kila-Kila is dead! Long + live Tu-Kila-Kila!” + </p> + <p> + Felix drew back for a moment, panting and breathless, and wiped his wet + brow with his sleeve, his brain all whirling. At his feet, the savage lay + stretched, like a log. Felix gazed at the blood-bespattered face + remorsefully. It is an awful thing, even in a just quarrel, to feel that + you have really taken a human life! The responsibility is enough to appall + the bravest of us. He stooped down and examined the prostrate body with + solemn reverence. Blood was flowing in torrents from the wounded head. But + Tu-Kila-Kila was dead—stone-dead forever. + </p> + <p> + Hot tears of relief welled up into Felix’s eyes. He touched the body + cautiously with a reverent hand. No life. No motion. + </p> + <p> + Just as he did so, the woman Ula came forward, bare-limbed and beautiful, + all triumph in her walk, a proud, insensitive savage. One second she gazed + at the great corpse disdainfully. Then she lifted her dainty foot, and + gave it a contemptuous kick. “The body of Lavita, the son of Sami,” + she said, with a gesture of hatred. “He had a bad heart. We will + cook it and eat it.” Next turning to Felix, “Oh, Tu-Kila-Kila,” + she cried, clapping her hands three times and bowing low to the ground, + “you are a very great god. We will serve you and salute you. Am not + I, Ula, one of your wives, your meat? Do with me as you will. Toko, you + are henceforth the great god’s Shadow!” + </p> + <p> + Felix gazed at the beautiful, heartless creature, all horrified. Even on + Boupari, that cannibal island, he was hardly prepared for quite so low a + depth of savage insensibility. But all the people around, now a hundred or + more, standing naked before their new god, took up the shout in concert. + “The body of Lavita, the son of Sami,” they cried. “A + carrion corpse! The god has deserted it. The great soul of the world has + entered the heart of the white-faced stranger from the disk of the sun; + the King of the Rain; the great Tu-Kila-Kila. We will cook and eat the + body of Lavita, the son of Sami. He was a bad man. He is a worn-out shell. + Nothing remains of him now. The great god has left him.” + </p> + <p> + They clapped their hands in a set measure as they recited this hymn. The + King of Fire retreated into the temple. Ula stood by, and whispered low + with Toko. There was a ceremonial pause of some fifteen minutes. + Presently, from the inner recesses of the temple itself, a low noise + issued forth as of a rising wind. For some seconds it buzzed and hummed, + droningly. But at the very first note of that holy sound Ula dropped her + lover’s hand, as one drops a red-hot coal, and darted wildly off at + full speed, like some frightened wild beast, into the thick jungle. Every + other woman near began to rush away with equally instantaneous signs of + haste and fear. The men, on the other hand, erect and naked, with their + hands on their foreheads, crossed the taboo-line at once. It was the + summons to all who had been initiated at the mysteries—the sacred + bull-roarer was calling the assembly of the men of Boupari. + </p> + <p> + For several minutes it buzzed and droned, that mystic implement, growing + louder and louder, till it roared like thunder. One after another, the men + of the island rushed in as if mad or in flight for their lives before some + fierce beast pursuing them. They ran up, panting, and dripping with sweat; + their hands clapped to their foreheads; their eyes starting wildly from + their staring sockets; torn and bleeding and lacerated by the thorns and + branches of the jungle, for each man ran straight across country from the + spot where he lay asleep, in the direction of the sound, and never paused + or drew breath, for dear life’s sake, till he stood beside the + corpse of the dead Tu-Kila-Kila. + </p> + <p> + And every moment the cry pealed louder and louder still. “Lavita, + the son of Sami, is dead, praise Heaven! The King of the Rain has slain + him, and is now the true Tu-Kila-Kila!” + </p> + <p> + Felix bent irresolute over the fallen savage’s bloodstained corpse. + What next was expected of him he hardly knew or cared. His one desire now + was to return to Muriel—to Muriel, whom he had rescued from + something worse than death at the hateful hands of that accursed creature + who lay breathless forever on the ground beside him. + </p> + <p> + Somebody came up just then, and seized his hand warmly. Felix looked up + with a start. It was their friend, the Frenchman. “Ah, my captain, + you have done well,” M. Peyron cried, admiring him. “What + courage! What coolness! What pluck! What soldiership! I couldn’t see + all. But I was in at the death! And oh, <i>mon Dieu</i>, how I admired and + envied you!” + </p> + <p> + By this time the bull-roarer had ceased to bellow among the rocks. The + King of Fire stood forth. In his hands he held a length of bamboo-stick + with a lighted coal in it. “Bring wood and palm-leaves,” he + said, in a tone of command. “Let me light myself up, that I may + blaze before Tu-Kila-Kila.” + </p> + <p> + He turned and bowed thrice very low before Felix. “The accepted of + Heaven,” he cried, holding his hands above him. “The very high + god! The King of all Things! He sends down his showers upon our crops and + our fields. He causes his sun to shine brightly over us. He makes our pigs + and our slaves bring forth their increase. All we are but his meat. We, + his people, praise him.” + </p> + <p> + And all the men of Boupari, naked and bleeding, bent low in response. + “Tu-Kila-Kila is great,” they chanted, as they clapped their + hands. “We thank him that he has chosen a fresh incarnation. The sun + will not fade in the heavens overhead, nor the bread-fruits wither and + cease to bear fruit on earth. Tu-Kila-Kila, our god, is great. He springs + ever young and fresh, like the herbs of the field. He is a most high god. + We, his people, praise him.” + </p> + <p> + Four temple attendants brought sticks and leaves, while Felix stood still, + half dazed with the newness of these strange preparations. The King of + Fire, with his torch, set light to the pile. It blazed merrily on high. + “I, Fire, salute you,” he cried, bending over it toward Felix. + </p> + <p> + “Now cut up the body of Lavita, the son of Sami,” he went on, + turning toward it contemptuously. “I will cook it in my flame, that + Tu-Kila-Kila the great may eat of it.” + </p> + <p> + Felix drew back with a face all aglow with horror and disgust. “Don’t + touch that body!” he cried, authoritatively, putting his foot down + firm. “Leave it alone at once. I refuse to allow you.” Then he + turned to M. Peyron. “The King of the Birds and I,” he said, + with calm resolve, “we two will bury it.” + </p> + <p> + The King of Fire drew back at these strange words, nonplussed. This was, + indeed, an ill-omened break in the ceremony of initiation of a new + Tu-Kila-Kila, to which he had never before in his life been accustomed. He + hardly knew how to comport himself under such singular circumstances. It + was as though the sovereign of England, on coronation-day, should refuse + to be crowned, and intimate to the archbishop, in his full canonicals, a + confirmed preference for the republican form of Government. It was a + contingency that law and custom in Boupari had neither, in their wisdom, + foreseen nor provided for. + </p> + <p> + The King of Water whispered low in the new god’s ear. “You + must eat of his body, my lord,” he said. “That is absolutely + necessary. Every one of us must eat of the flesh of the god; but you, + above all, must eat his heart, his divine nature. Otherwise you can never + be full Tu-Kila-Kila.” + </p> + <p> + “I don’t care a straw for that,” Felix cried, now + aroused to a full sense of the break in Methuselah’s story and + trembling with apprehension. “You may kill me if you like; we can + die only once; but human flesh I can never taste; nor will I, while I + live, allow you to touch this dead man’s body. We will bury it + ourselves, the King of the Birds and I. You may tell your people so. That + is my last word.” He raised his voice to the customary ceremonial + pitch. “I, the new Tu-Kila-Kila,” he said, “have spoken + it.” + </p> + <p> + The King of Fire and the King of Water, taken aback at his boldness, + conferred together for some seconds privately. The people meanwhile looked + on and wondered. What could this strange hitch in the divine proceedings + mean? Was the god himself recalcitrant? Never in their lives had the + oldest men among them known anything like it. + </p> + <p> + And as they whispered and debated, awe-struck but discordant, a shout + arose once more from the outer circle—a mighty shout of mingled + surprise, alarm, and terror. “Taboo! Taboo! Fence the mysteries. + Beware! Oh, great god, we warn you. The mysteries are in danger! Cut her + down! Kill her! A woman! A woman!” + </p> + <p> + At the words, Felix was aware of somebody bursting through the dense crowd + and rushing wildly toward him. Next moment, Muriel hung and sobbed on his + shoulder, while Mali, just behind her, stood crying and moaning. + </p> + <p> + Felix held the poor startled girl in his arms and soothed her. And all + around another great cry arose from five hundred lips: “Two women + have profaned the mysteries of the god. They are Tu-Kila-Kila’s + trespass-offering. Let us kill them and eat them!” + </p> + <p> + <br /><br /> + </p> + <hr /> + <p> + <a name="link2HCH0030" id="link2HCH0030"> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + CHAPTER XXX. — SUSPENSE. + </h2> + <p> + In a moment, Felix’s mind was fully made up. There was no time to + think; it was the hour for action. He saw how he must comport himself + toward this strange wild people. Seating Muriel gently on the ground, Mali + beside her, and stepping forward himself, with Peyron’s hand in his, + he beckoned to the vast and surging crowd to bespeak respectful silence. + </p> + <p> + A mighty hush fell at once upon the people. The King of Fire and the King + of Water stood back, obedient to his nod. They waited for the upshot of + this strange new development. + </p> + <p> + “Men of Boupari,” Felix began, speaking with a marvellous + fluency in their own tongue, for the excitement itself supplied him with + eloquence; “I have killed your late god in the prescribed way; I + have plucked the sacred bough, and fought in single combat by the + established rules of your own religion. Fire and Water, you guardians of + this holy island, is it not so? You saw all things done, did you not, + after the precepts of your ancestors?” + </p> + <p> + The King of Fire bowed low and answered: “Tu-Kila-Kila speaks, + indeed, the truth. Water and I, with our own eyes, have seen it.” + </p> + <p> + “And now,” Felix went on, “I am myself, by your own + laws, Tu-Kila-Kila.” + </p> + <p> + The King of Fire made a gesture of dissent. “Oh, great god, pardon + me,” he murmured, “if I say aught, now, to contradict you; but + you are not a full Tu-Kila-Kila yet till you have eaten of the heart of + the god, your predecessor.” + </p> + <p> + “Then where is now the spirit of Tu-Kila-Kila, the very high god, if + I am not he?” Felix asked, abruptly, thus puzzling them with a hard + problem in their own savage theology. + </p> + <p> + The King of Fire gave a start, and pondered. This was a detail of his + creed that had never before so much as occurred to him. All faiths have + their <i>cruces</i>. “I do not well know,” he answered, + “whether it is in the heart of Lavita, the son of Sami, or in your + own body. But I feel sure it must now be certainly somewhere, though just + where our fathers have never told us.” + </p> + <p> + Felix recognized at once that he had gained a point. “Then look to + it well,” he said, austerely. “Be careful how you act. Do + nothing rash. For either the soul of the god is in the heart of Lavita, + the son of Sami; and then, since I refuse to eat it, it will decay away, + as Lavita’s body decays, and the world will shrivel up, and all + things will perish, because the god is dead and crumbled to dust forever. + Or else it is in my body, who am god in his place; and then, if anybody + does me harm or hurt, he will be an impious wretch, and will have broken + taboo, and Heaven knows what evils and misfortunes may not, therefore, + fall on each and all of you.” + </p> + <p> + A very old chief rose from the ranks outside. His hair was white and his + eyes bleared. “Tu-Kila-Kila speaks well,” he cried, in a loud + but mumbling voice. “His words are wise. He argues to the point. He + is very cunning. I advise you, my people, to be careful how you anger the + white-faced stranger, for you know what he is; he is cruel; he is + powerful. There was never any storm in my time—and I am an old man—so + great in Boupari as the storm that rose when the King of the Rain ate the + storm-apple. Our yams and our taros even now are suffering from it. He is + a mighty strong god. Beware how you tamper with him!” + </p> + <p> + He sat down, trembling. A younger chief rose from a nearer rank, and said + his say in turn. “I do not agree with our father,” he cried, + pointing to the chief who had just spoken. “His word is evil; he is + much mistaken. I have another thought. My thought is this. Let us kill and + eat the white-faced stranger at once, by wager of battle; and let + whosoever fights and overcomes him receive his honors, and take to wife + the fair woman, the Queen of the Clouds, the sun-faced Korong, whom he + brought from the sun with him.” + </p> + <p> + “But who will then be Tu-Kila-Kila?” Felix asked, turning + round upon him quickly. Habituation to danger had made him unnaturally + alert in such utmost extremities. + </p> + <p> + “Why, the man who slays you,” the young chief answered, + pointedly, grasping his heavy tomahawk with profound expression. + </p> + <p> + “I think not,” Felix answered. “Your reasoning is bad. + For if I am not Tu-Kila-Kila, how can any man become Tu-Kila-Kila by + killing me? And if I am Tu-Kila-Kila, how dare you, not being yourself + Korong, and not having broken off the sacred bough, as I did, venture to + attack me? You wish to set aside all the customs of Boupari. Are you not + ashamed of such gross impiety?” + </p> + <p> + “Tu-Kila-Kila speaks well,” the King of Fire put in, for he + had no cause to love the aggressive young chief, and he thought better of + his chances in life as Felix’s minister. “Besides, now I think + of it, he <i>must</i> be Tu-Kila-Kila, because he has taken the life of + the last great god, whom he slew with his hands; and therefore the life is + now his—he holds it.” + </p> + <p> + Felix was emboldened by this favorable opinion to strike out a fresh line + in a further direction. He stood forward once more, and beckoned again for + silence. “Yes, my people,” he said calmly, with slow + articulation, “by the custom of your race and the creed you profess + I am now indeed, and in every truth, the abode of your great god, + Tu-Kila-Kila. But, furthermore, I have a new revelation to make to you. I + am going to instruct you in a fresh way. This creed that you hold is full + of errors. As Tu-Kila-Kila, I mean to take my own course, no islander + hindering me. If you try to depose me, what great gods have you now got + left? None, save only Fire and Water, my ministers. King of the Rain there + is none; for I, who was he, am now Tu-Kila-Kila. Tu-Kila-Kila there is + none, save only me; for the other, that was, I have fought and conquered. + The Queen of the Clouds is with me. The King of the Birds is with me. + Consider, then, O friends, that if you kill us all, you will have nowhere + to turn; you will be left quite godless.” + </p> + <p> + “It is true,” the people murmured, looking about them, half + puzzled. “He is wise. He speaks well. He is indeed a Tu-Kila-Kila.” + </p> + <p> + Felix pressed his advantage home at once. “Now listen,” he + said, lifting up one solemn forefinger. “I come from a country very + far away, where the customs are better by many yams than those of Boupari. + And now that I am indeed Tu-Kila-Kila—your god, your master—I + will change and alter some of your customs that seem to me here and now + most undesirable. In the first place—hear this!—I will put + down all cannibalism. No man shall eat of human flesh on pain of death. + And to begin with, no man shall cook or eat the body of Lavita, the son of + Sami. On that I am determined—I, Tu-Kila-Kila. The King of the Birds + and I, we will dig a pit, and we will bury in it the corpse of this man + that was once your god, and whom his own wickedness compelled me to fight + and slay, in order to prevent more cruelty and bloodshed.” + </p> + <p> + The young chief stood up, all red in his wrath, and interrupted him, + brandishing a coral-stone hatchet. “This is blasphemy,” he + said. “This is sheer rank blasphemy. These are not good words. They + are very bad medicine. The white-faced Korong is no true Tu-Kila-Kila. His + advice is evil—and ill-luck would follow it. He wishes to change the + sacred customs of Boupari. Now, that is not well. My counsel is this: let + us eat him now, unless he changes his heart, and amends his ways, and + partakes, as is right, of the body of Lavita, the son of Sami.” + </p> + <p> + The assembly swayed visibly, this way and that, some inclining to the + conservative view of the rash young chief, and others to the cautious + liberalism of the gray-haired warrior. Felix noted their division, and + spoke once more, this time still more authoritatively than ever. + </p> + <p> + “Furthermore,” he said, “my people, hear me. As I came + in a ship propelled by fire over the high waves of the sea, so I go away + in one. We watch for such a ship to pass by Boupari. When it comes, the + Queen of the Clouds—upon whose life I place a great Taboo; let no + man dare to touch her at his peril; if he does, I will rush upon him and + kill him as I killed Lavita, the son of Sami. When it comes, the Queen of + the Clouds, the King of the Birds, and I, we will go away back in it to + the land whence we came, and be quit of Boupari. But we will not leave it + fireless or godless. When I return back home again to my own far land, I + will send out messengers, very good men, who will tell you of a God more + powerful by much than any you ever knew, and very righteous. They will + teach you great things you never dreamed of. Therefore, I ask you now to + disperse to your own homes, while the King of Birds and I bury the body of + Lavita, the son of Sami.” + </p> + <p> + All this time Muriel had been seated on the ground, listening with + profound interest, but scarcely understanding a word, though here and + there, after her six months’ stay in the island, a single phrase was + dimly intelligible to her. But now, at this critical moment she rose, and, + standing upright by Felix’s side in her spotless English purity + among those assembled savages, she pointed just once with her uplifted + finger to the calm vault of heaven, and then across the moonlit horizon of + the sea, and last of all to the clustering huts and villages of Boupari. + “Tell them,” she said to Felix, with blanched lips, but + without one sign of a tremor in her fearless voice, “I will pray for + them to Heaven, when I go across the sea, and will think of the children + that I loved to pat and play with, and will send out messengers from our + home beyond the waves, to make them wiser and happier and better.” + </p> + <p> + Felix translated her simple message to them in its pure womanly goodness. + Even the natives were touched. They whispered and hesitated. Then after a + time of much murmured debate, the King of Fire stood forward as a + mediator. “There is an oracle, O Korong,” he said, “not + to prejudge the matter, which decides all these things—a great + conch-shell at a sacred grove in the neighboring island of Aloa Mauna. It + is the holiest oracle of all our holy religion. We gods and men of Boupari + have taken counsel together, and have come to a conclusion. We will put + forth a canoe and send men with blood on their faces to inquire at Aloa + Mauna of the very great oracle. Till then, you are neither Tu-Kila-Kila, + nor not Tu-Kila-Kila. It behooves us to be very careful how we deal with + gods. Our people will stand round your precinct in a row, and guard you + with their spears. You shall not cross the taboo line to them, nor they to + you: all shall be neutral. Food shall be laid by the line, as always, + morn, noon, and night; and your Shadows shall take it in; but you shall + not come out. Neither shall you bury the body of Lavita, the son of Sami. + Till the canoe comes back it shall lie in the sun and rot there.” + </p> + <p> + He clapped his hands twice. + </p> + <p> + In a moment a tom-tom began to beat from behind, and the people all + crowded without the circle. The King of Fire came forward ostentatiously + and made taboo. “If, any man cross this line,” he said in a + droning sing-song, “till the canoe return from the great oracle of + our faith on Aloa Mauna, I, Fire, will scorch him into cinder and ashes. + If any woman transgress, I will pitch her with palm oil, and light her up + for a lamp on a moonless night to lighten this temple.” + </p> + <p> + The King of Water distributed shark’s-tooth spears. At once a great + serried wall hemmed in the Europeans all round, and they sat down to wait, + the three whites together, for the upshot of the mission to Aloa Mauna. + </p> + <p> + And the dawn now gleamed red on the eastern horizon. + </p> + <p> + <br /><br /> + </p> + <hr /> + <p> + <a name="link2HCH0031" id="link2HCH0031"> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + CHAPTER XXXI. — AT SEA: OFF BOUPARI. + </h2> + <p> + Thirteen days out from Sydney, the good ship Australasian was nearing the + equator. + </p> + <p> + It was four of the clock in the afternoon, and the captain (off duty) + paced the deck, puffing a cigar, and talking idly with a passenger on + former experiences. + </p> + <p> + Eight bells went on the quarter-deck; time to change watches. + </p> + <p> + “This is only our second trip through this channel,” the + captain said, gazing across with a casual glance at the palm-trees that + stood dark against the blue horizon. “We used to go a hundred miles + to eastward, here, to avoid the reefs. But last voyage I came through this + way quite safely—though we had a nasty accident on the road—unavoidable—unavoidable! + Big sea was running free over the sunken shoals; caught the ship aft + unawares, and stove in better than half a dozen portholes. Lady passenger + on deck happened to be leaning over the weather gunwale; big sea caught + her up on its crest in a jiffy, lifted her like a baby, and laid her down + again gently, just so, on the bed of the ocean. By George, sir, I was + annoyed. It was quite a romance, poor thing; quite a romance; we all felt + so put out about it the rest of that voyage. Young fellow on board, nephew + of Sir Theodore Thurstan, of the Colonial Office, was in love with Miss + Ellis—girl’s name was Ellis—father’s a parson + somewhere down in Somersetshire—and as soon as the big sea took her + up on its crest, what does Thurstan go and do, but he ups on the taffrail, + and, before you could say Jack Robinson, jumps over to save her.” + </p> + <p> + “But he didn’t succeed?” the passenger asked, with + languid interest. + </p> + <p> + “Succeed, my dear sir? and with a sea running twelve feet high like + that? Why, it was pitch dark, and such a surf on that the gig could hardly + go through it.” The captain smiled, and puffed away pensively. + “Drowned,” he said, after a brief pause, with complacent + composure. “Drowned. Drowned. Drowned. Went to the bottom, both of + ’em. Davy Jones’s locker. But unavoidable, quite. These + accidents <i>will</i> happen, even on the best-regulated liners. Why, + there was my brother Tom, in the Cunard service—same that boast they + never lost a passenger; there was my brother Tom, he was out one day off + the Newfoundland banks, heavy swell setting in from the nor’-nor’-east, + icebergs ahead, passengers battened down—Bless my soul, how that + light seems to come and go, don’t it?” + </p> + <p> + It was a reflected light, flashing from the island straight in the captain’s + eyes, small and insignificant as to size, but strong for all that in the + full tropical sunshine, and glittering like a diamond from a vague + elevation near the centre of the island. + </p> + <p> + “Seems to come and go in regular order,” the passenger + observed, reflectively, withdrawing his cigar. “Looks for all the + world just like naval signalling.” + </p> + <p> + The captain paused, and shaded his eyes a moment. “Hanged if that + isn’t just what it <i>is</i>,” he answered, slowly. “It’s + a rigged-up heliograph, and they’re using the Morse code; dash my + eyes if they aren’t. Well, this <i>is</i> civilization! What the + dickens can have come to the island of Boupari? There isn’t a darned + European soul in the place, nor ever has been. Anchorage unsafe; no + harbor; bad reef; too small for missionaries to make a living, and natives + got nothing worth speaking of to trade in.” + </p> + <p> + “What do they say?” the passenger asked, with suddenly + quickened interest. + </p> + <p> + “How the devil should I tell you yet, sir?” the captain + retorted with choleric grumpiness. “Don’t you see I’m + spelling it out, letter by letter? O, r, e, s, c, u, e, u, s, c, o, m, e, + w, e, l, l, a, r, m, e, d—Yes. yes, I twig it.” And the + captain jotted it down in his note-book for some seconds, silently. + </p> + <p> + “Run up the flag there,” he shouted, a moment later, rushing + hastily forward. “Stop her at once, Walker. Easy, easy. Get ready + the gig. Well, upon my soul, there <i>is</i> a rum start anyway.” + </p> + <p> + “What does the message say?” the passenger inquired, with + intense surprise. + </p> + <p> + “Say? Well, there’s what I make it out,” the captain + answered, handing him the scrap of paper on which he had jotted down the + letters. “I missed the beginning, but the end’s all right. + Look alive there, boys, will you. Bring out the Winchester. Take + cutlasses, all hands. I’ll go along myself in her.” + </p> + <p> + The passenger took the piece of paper on which he read, “and send a + boat to rescue us. Come well armed. Savages on guard. Thurstan, Ellis.” + </p> + <p> + In less than three minutes the boat was lowered and manned, and the + captain, with the Winchester six-shooter by his side, seated grim in the + stern, took command of the tiller. + </p> + <p> + On the island it was the first day of Felix and Muriel’s + imprisonment in the dusty precinct of Tu-Kila-Kila’s temple. All the + morning through, they had sat under the shade of a smaller banyan in the + outer corner; for Muriel could neither enter the noisome hut nor go near + the great tree with the skeletons on its branches; nor could she sit where + the dead savage’s body, still festering in the sun, attracted the + buzzing blue flies by thousands, to drink up the blood that lay thick on + the earth in a pool around it. Hard by, the natives sat, keen as lynxes, + in a great circle just outside the white taboo-line, where, with serried + spears, they kept watch and ward over the persons of their doubtful gods + or victims. M. Peyron, alone preserving his equanimity under these adverse + circumstances, hummed low to himself in very dubious tones; even he felt + his French gayety had somewhat forsaken him; this revolution in Boupari + failed to excite his Parisian ardor. + </p> + <p> + About one o’clock in the day, however, looking casually seaward—what + was this that M. Peyron, to his great surprise, descried far away on the + dim southern horizon? A low black line, lying close to the water? No, no; + not a steamer! + </p> + <p> + Too prudent to excite the natives’ attention unnecessarily, the + cautious Frenchman whispered, in the most commonplace voice on earth to + Felix: “Don’t look at once; and when you do look, mind you don’t + exhibit any agitation in your tone or manner. But what do you make that + out to be—that long black haze on the horizon to southward?” + </p> + <p> + Felix looked, disregarding the friendly injunction, at once. At the same + moment, Muriel turned her eyes quickly in the self-same direction. Neither + made the faintest sign of outer emotion; but Muriel clenched her white + hands hard, till the nails dug into the palm, in her effort to restrain + herself, as she murmured very low, in an agitated voice, “<i>Un + vapeur, un vapeur</i>!” + </p> + <p> + “So I think,” M. Peyron answered, very low and calm. “It + is, indeed, a steamer!” + </p> + <p> + For three long hours those anxious souls waited and watched it draw nearer + and nearer. Slowly the natives, too, began to perceive the unaccustomed + object. As it drew abreast of the island, and the decisive moment arrived + for prompt action, Felix rose in his place once more and cried aloud, + “My people, I told you a ship, propelled by fire, would come from + the far land across the sea to take us. The ship has come; you can see for + yourselves the thick black smoke that issues in huge puffs from the mouth + of the monster. Now, listen to me, and dare not to disobey me. My word is + law; let all men see to it. I am going to send a message of fire from the + sun to the great canoe that walks upon the water. If any man ventures to + stop me from doing it the people from the great canoe will land on this + isle and take vengeance for his act, and kill with the thunder which the + sailing gods carry ever about with them.” + </p> + <p> + By this time the island was alive with commotion. Hundreds of natives, + with their long hair falling unkempt about their keen brown faces, were + gazing with open eyes at the big black ship that ploughed her way so fast + against wind and tide over the surface of the waters. Some of them shouted + and gesticulated with panic fear; others seemed half inclined to waste no + time on preparation or doubt, but to rush on at once, and immolate their + captives before a rescue was possible. But Felix, keeping ever his cool + head undisturbed, stood on the dusty mound by Tu-Kila-Kila’s house, + and taking in his hand the little mirror he had made from the match-box, + flashed the light from the sun full in their eyes for a moment, to the + astonishment and discomfiture of all those gaping savages. Then he + focussed it on the Australasian, across the surf and the waves, and with a + throbbing heart began to make his last faint bid for life and freedom. + </p> + <p> + For four or five minutes he went flashing on, uncertain of the effect, + whether they saw or saw not. Then a cry from Muriel burst at once upon his + ears. She clasped her hands convulsively in an agony of joy. “They + see us! They see us!” + </p> + <p> + And sure enough, scarcely half a minute later, a British flag ran gayly up + the mainmast, and a boat seemed to drop down over the side of the vessel. + </p> + <p> + As for the natives, they watched these proceedings with considerable + surprise and no little discomfiture—Fire and Water, in particular, + whispering together, much alarmed, with many superstitious nods and + taboos, in the corner of the enclosure. + </p> + <p> + Gradually, as the boat drew nearer and nearer, divided counsels prevailed + among the savages. With no certainly recognized Tu-Kila-Kila to marshal + their movements, each man stood in doubt from whom to take his orders. At + last, the King of Fire, in a hesitating voice, gave the word of command. + “Half the warriors to the shore to repel the enemy; half to watch + round the taboo-line, lest the Korongs escape us! Let Breathless Fear, our + war-god, go before the face of our troops, invisible!” + </p> + <p> + And, quick as thought, at his word, the warriors had paired off, two and + two, in long lines; some running hastily down to the beach, to man the + war-canoes, while others remained, with shark’s tooth spears still + set in a looser circle, round the great temple-enclosure of Tu-Kila-Kila. + </p> + <p> + For Muriel, this suspense was positively terrible. To feel one was so + close to the hope of rescue, and yet to know that before that help + arrived, or even as it came up, those savages might any moment run their + ghastly spears through them. + </p> + <p> + But Felix made the best of his position still. “Remember,” he + cried, at the top of his voice, as the warriors started at a run for the + water’s edge, “your Tu-Kila-Kila tells you, these new-comers + are his friends. Whoever hurts them, does so at his peril. This is a great + Taboo. I bid you receive them. Beware for your lives. I, Tu-Kila-Kila the + Great, have said it.” + </p> + <p> + <br /><br /> + </p> + <hr /> + <p> + <a name="link2HCH0032" id="link2HCH0032"> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + CHAPTER XXXII. — THE DOWNFALL OF A PANTHEON. + </h2> + <p> + The Australasian’s gig entered the lagoon through the fringing reef + by its narrow seaward mouth, and rowed steadily for the landing place on + the main island. + </p> + <p> + A little way out from shore, amid loud screams and yells, the natives came + up with it in their laden war-canoes. Shouting and gesticulating and + brandishing their spears with the shark’s tooth tips, they + endeavored to stop its progress landward by pure noise and bravado. + </p> + <p> + “We must be careful what we do, boys,” the captain observed, + in a quiet voice of seamanlike resolution to his armed companions. “We + mustn’t frighten the savages too much, or show too hostile a front, + for fear they should retaliate on our friends on the island.” He + held up his hand, with the gold braid on the wrist, to command silence; + and the natives, gazing open-mouthed, looked and wondered at the gesture. + These sailing gods were certainly arrayed in most gorgeous vestments, and + their canoe, though devoid of a grinning figure-head, was provided with a + most admirable and well-uniformed equipment. + </p> + <p> + A coral rock jutted high out of the sea to the left hard by. Its summit + was crowded with a basking population of sea-gulls and pelicans. The + captain gave the word to “easy all.” In a second the gig + stopped short, as those stout arms held her. He rose in his place and + lifted the six-shooter. Then he pointed it ostentatiously at the rock, + away from the native canoes, and held up his hand yet again for silence. + “We’ll give 'em a taste of what we can do, boys,” he + said, “just to show ’em, not to hurt ’em.” At that + he drew the trigger twice. His first two chambers were loaded on purpose + with duck-shot cartridges. Twice the big gun roared; twice the fire + flashed red from its smoking mouth. As the smoke cleared away, the + natives, dumb with surprise, and perfectly cowed with terror, saw ten or a + dozen torn and bleeding birds float mangled upon the water. + </p> + <p> + “Now for the dynamite!” the captain said, cheerily, proceeding + to lower a small object overboard by a single wire, while he held up his + hand a third time to bespeak silence and attention. + </p> + <p> + The natives looked again, with eyes starting from their heads. The captain + gave a little click, and pointed with his finger to a spot on the water’s + top, a little way in front of him. Instantly, a loud report, and a column + of water spurted up into the air, some ten or twelve feet, in a boisterous + fountain. As it subsided again, a hundred or so of the bright-colored fish + that browse among the submerged, coral-groves of these still lagoons, rose + dead or dying to the seething, boiling surface. + </p> + <p> + The captain smiled. Instantly the natives set up a terrified shout. + “It is even as he said,” they cried. “These gods are his + ministers! The white-faced Korong is a very great deity! He is indeed the + true Tu-Kila-Kila. These gods have come for him. They are very mighty. + Thunder and lightning and waterspouts are theirs. The waves do as they + bid. The sea obeys them. They are here to take away our Tu-Kila-Kila from + our midst. And what will then become of the island of Boupari? Will it not + sink in the waves of the sea and disappear? Will not the sun in heaven + grow dark, and the moon cease to shed its benign light on the earth, when + Tu-Kila-Kila the Great returns at last to his own far country?” + </p> + <p> + “That lot’ll do for ’em, I expect,” the captain + said cheerily, with a confident smile. “Now forward all, boys. I + fancy we’ve astonished the natives a trifle.” + </p> + <p> + They rowed on steadily, but cautiously, toward the white bank of sand + which formed the usual landing-place, the captain holding the six-shooter + in readiness all the time, and keeping an eye firmly fixed on every + movement of the savages. But the warriors in the canoes, thoroughly cowed + and overawed by this singular exhibition of the strangers’ prowess, + paddled on in whispering silence, nearly abreast of the gig, but at a safe + distance, as they thought, and eyed the advancing Europeans with quiet + looks of unmixed suspicion. + </p> + <p> + At last, the adventurous young chief, who had advised killing Felix + off-hand on the island, mustered up courage to paddle his own canoe a + little nearer, and flung his spear madly in the direction of the gig. It + fell short by ten yards. He stood eying it angrily. But the captain, + grimly quiet, raising his Winchester to his shoulder without one second’s + delay, and marking his man, fired at the young chief as he stood, still + half in the attitude of throwing, on the prow of his canoe, an easy aim + for fire-arms. The ball went clean through the savage’s breast, and + then ricochetted three times on the water afar off. The young chief fell + stone dead into the sea like a log, and sank instantly to the bottom. + </p> + <p> + It was a critical moment. The captain felt uncertain whether the natives + would close round them in force or not. It is always dangerous to fire a + shot at savages. But the Boupari men were too utterly awed to venture on + defence. “He was Tu-Kila-Kila’s enemy,” they cried, in + astonished tones. “He raised his voice against the very high god. + Therefore, the very high god’s friends have smitten him with their + lightning. Their thunderbolt went through him, and hit the water beyond. + How strong is their hand! They can kill from afar. They are mighty gods. + Let no man strive to fight against the friends of Tu-Kila-Kila.” + </p> + <p> + The sailors rowed on and reached the landing-place. There, half of them, + headed by the captain, disembarked in good order, with drawn cutlasses, + while the other half remained behind to guard the gig, under the third + officer. The natives also disembarked, a little way off, and, making + humble signs of submission with knee and arm, endeavored, by pantomime, to + express the idea of their willingness to guide the strangers to their + friends’ quarters. + </p> + <p> + The captain waved them on with his hand. The natives, reassured, led the + way, at some distance ahead, along the paths through the jungle. The + captain had his finger on his six-shooter the while; every sailor grasped + his cutlass and kept his revolver ready for action. “I don’t + half like the look of it,” the captain observed, partly to himself. + “They seem to be leading us into an ambuscade or something. Keep a + sharp lookout against surprise from the jungle, boys; and if any native + shows fight shoot him down instantly.” + </p> + <p> + At last they emerged upon a clear space in the front, where a great group + of savages stood in a circle, with serried spears, round a large wattled + hut that occupied the elevated centre of the clearing. + </p> + <p> + For a minute or two the action of the savages was uncertain. Half of the + defenders turned round to face the invaders angrily; the other half stood + irresolute, with their spears still held inward, guarding a white line of + sand with inflexible devotion. + </p> + <p> + The warriors who had preceded them from the shore called aloud to their + friends by the temple in startled tones. The captain and sailors had no + idea what their words meant. But just then, from the midst of the circle, + an English voice cried out in haste, “Don’t fire! Do nothing + rash! We’re safe. Don’t be frightened. The natives are + disposed to parley and palaver. Take care how you act. They’re + terribly afraid of you.” + </p> + <p> + Just outside the taboo-line the captain halted. The gray-headed old chief, + who had accompanied his fellows to the shore, spoke out in Polynesian. + “Do not resist them,” he said, “my people. If you do, + you will be blasted by their lightning like a bare bamboo in a mighty + cyclone. They carry thunder in their hands. They are mighty, mighty gods. + The white-faced Korong spoke no more than the truth. Let them do as they + will with us. We are but their meat. We are as dust beneath their sole, + and as driven mulberry-leaves before the breath of the tempest.” + </p> + <p> + The defenders hesitated still a little. Then, suddenly losing heart, they + broke rank at last at a point close by where the captain of the + Australasian stood, one man after another falling aside slowly and + shamefacedly a pace or two. The captain, unhesitatingly, overstepped the + white taboo-line. Next instant, Felix and Muriel were grasping his hand + hard, and M. Peyron was bowing a polite Parisian reception. + </p> + <p> + Forthwith, the sailors crowded round them in a hollow square. Muriel and + Felix, half faint with relief from their long and anxious suspense, + staggered slowly down the seaward path between them. But there was no need + now for further show of defence. The islanders, pressing near and flinging + away their weapons, followed the procession close, with tears and + lamentations. As they went on, the women, rushing out of their huts while + the fugitives passed, tore their hair on their heads, and beat their + breasts in terror. The warriors who had come from the shore recounted, + with their own exaggerative additions, the miracle of the six-shooter and + the dynamite cartridge. Gradually they approached the landing-place on the + beach. There the third officer sat waiting in the gig to receive them. The + lamentations of the islanders now became positively poignant. “Oh, + my father,” they cried aloud, “my brother, my revered one, you + are indeed the true Tu-Kila-Kila. Do not go away like this and desert us! + Oh, our mother, great queen, mighty goddess, stop with us! Take not away + your sun from the heavens, nor your rain from the crops. We acknowledge we + have sinned; we have done very wrong; but the chief sinner is dead; the + wrong-doer has paid; spare us who remain; spare us, great deity; do not + make the bright lights of heaven become dark over us. Stay with your + worshippers, and we will give you choice young girls to eat every day, we + will sacrifice the tenderest of our children to feed you.” + </p> + <p> + It is an awful thing for any race or nation when its taboos fail all at + once, and die out entirely. To the men of Boupari, the Tu-Kila-Kila of the + moment represented both the Moral Order and the regular sequence of the + physical universe. Anarchy and chaos might rule when he was gone. The sun + might be quenched, and the people run riot. No wonder they shrank from the + fearful consequence that might next ensue. King and priest, god and + religion, all at one fell blow were to be taken away from them! + </p> + <p> + Felix turned round on the shore and spoke to them again. “My people,” + he said, in a kindly tone—for, after all, he pitied them—“you + need have no fear. When I am gone, the sun will still shine and the trees + will still bear fruit every year as formerly. I will send the messengers I + promised from my own land to teach you. Until they come, I leave you this + as a great Taboo. Tu-Kila-Kila enjoins it. Shed no human blood; eat no + human flesh. Those who do will be punished when another fire-canoe comes + from the far land to bring my messengers.” + </p> + <p> + The King of Fire bent low at the words. “Oh, Tu-Kila-Kila,” he + said, “it shall be done as you say. Till your messengers come, every + man shall live at peace with all his neighbors.” + </p> + <p> + They stepped into the gig. Mali and Toko followed before M. Peyron as + naturally as they had always followed their masters on the island before. + </p> + <p> + “Who are these?” the captain asked, smiling. + </p> + <p> + “Our Shadows,” Felix answered. “Let them come. I will + pay their passage when I reach San Francisco. They have been very faithful + to us, and they are afraid to remain, lest the islanders should kill them + for letting us go or for not accompanying us.” + </p> + <p> + “Very well,” the captain answered. “Forward all, there, + boys! Now, ahead for the ship. And thank God, we’re well out of it!” + </p> + <p> + But the islanders still stood on the shore and wept, stretching their + hands in vain after the departing boat, and crying aloud in piteous tones, + “Oh, my father, return! Oh, my mother, come back! Oh, very great + gods, do not fly and desert us!” + </p> + <p> + Seven weeks later Mr. and Mrs. Felix Thurstan, who had been married in the + cathedral at Honolulu the very morning the Australasian arrived there, sat + in an eminently respectable drawing-room in a London square, where Mrs. + Ellis, Muriel’s aunt by marriage, was acting as their hostess. + </p> + <p> + “But how dreadful it is to think, dear,” Mrs. Ellis remarked + for the twentieth time since their arrival, with a deep-drawn sigh, + “how dreadful to think that you and Felix should have been all those + months alone on the island together without being married!” + </p> + <p> + Muriel looked up with a quiet smile toward Felix. “I think, Aunt + Mary,” she said, dreamily, “if you’d been there + yourself, and suffered all those fears, and passed through all those + horrors that we did together, you’d have troubled your head very + little indeed about such conventionalities, as whether or not you happened + to be married.... Besides,” she added, after a pause, with a fine + perception of the inexorable stringency of Mrs. Grundy’s law, + “we weren’t quite without chaperons, either, don’t you + know; for our Shadows, of course, were always with us.” + </p> + <p> + Whereat Felix smiled an equally quiet smile. “And terrible as it all + was,” he put in, “I shall never regret it, because it made + Muriel know how profoundly I loved her, and it made me know how brave and + trustful and pure a woman could be under such awful conditions.” + </p> + <p> + But Mrs. Ellis sat still in her chair and smiled uncomfortably. It + affected her spirits. Taboos, after all, are much the same in England as + in Boupari. + </p> + <div style="height: 6em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <div>*** END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK 13876 ***</div> +</body> +</html> |