“When they had gone, my captain called me to him, and, turning to the other white men, said, ’This man hath saved my life.  He hath a brave heart.  I shall do much for him in the time to come.’  Then he and the others all shook my hand and praised me, and I was silent and said nothing, for I was ashamed to think I was about to run away from such a good captain.

“In the morning we went back to the ship, and the boats were then sent away to fill and bring off casks of water.  Every time my boat went I took something with me; tobacco and clothing and other things which I had in my sea chest.  Sipi and some other girls met us at the watering place, and they took these from me and put them in a place of safety.  That afternoon as the boats were about to leave the shore for the last time, towing the casks, I slipped into the forest which grew very densely on both sides of the little river, and ran till I came to the spot where Sipi was awaiting me.  Then together we went inland towards the mountains and kept on walking till nightfall.  That night we slept in the forest; we were afraid to make a fire lest it should be seen by some of Nanakin’s people and betray us, for I knew that my captain would cause a great search to be made for me.  When dawn came we again set out and went on steadily till we came to the summit of the range of mountains which divides the island.  There was a clear space on the side of the mountain; a great village had once stood there, so Sipi told me, but all those who had dwelt there had long since died, and their ghosts could be heard flitting to and fro at night time.  Far below us we could see the blue sea, and the long waving line of reef with the surf beating upon it, and within, anchored in the green water, were the seven ships and Preston’s schooner.

“All that day and the next the girl and I worked at building a little house for us to live in until the ships had gone.  We had no fear of any one seeking us out in that place, for it had a bad name and none but travelling parties from Ro|an Kiti ever passed there.  Sipi had brought with her a basket of cooked food; in the deserted plantations we found plenty of bananas and yams, and in the stream at the foot of the valley we caught many small fish.  Four days went by, and then one morning we saw the ships set their sails and go to sea.  We watched them till they touched the sky rim and disappeared; then we went back to Jakoits.

“The white man and Solepa were sitting under the shade of a tree in front of their house.  I went boldly up to him and asked him to give me work to do.  At first he was angry, for he and my captain were great friends, and said he would have naught to do with me.  Why did I run away from such a good man and such a good ship?  There were too many men like me, he said, in Ponape, who had run away so that they might do naught but wander from village to village and eat and drink and sleep.  Then again he asked why I had run away.