I intended to have detained them; but as Tee and Oedidee both assured me that Maritata and his people were quite innocent, I suffered them to be taken away also, and desired Tee to tell Otoo, that I should give myself no farther concern about the musket, since I was satisfied none of his people had stolen it.  Indeed, I thought it was irrecoverably lost; but, in the dusk of the evening it was brought to the tents, together with some other things we had lost, which we knew nothing of, by three men who had pursued the thief, and taken them from him.  I know not if they took this trouble of their own accord, or by the order of Otoo.  I rewarded them, and made no other enquiry about it.  These men, as well as some others present, assured me that it was one of Maritata’s people who had committed this theft; which vexed me that I had let his canoes so easily slip through my fingers.  Here, I believe, both Tee and Oedidee designedly deceived me.

When the musket and other things were brought in, every one then present, or who came after, pretended to have had some hand in recovering them, and claimed a reward accordingly.  But there was no one who acted this farce so well as Nuno, a man of some note, and well known to us when I was here in 1769.  This man came, with all the savage fury imaginable in his countenance, and a large club in his hand, with which he beat about him, in order to shew us how he alone had killed the thief; when, at the same time, we all knew that he had not been out of his house the whole time.

Thus ended this troublesome day; and next morning early, Tee, Otoo’s faithful ambassador, came again on board, to acquaint me that Otoo was gone to Oparree, and desired I would send a person (one of the natives as I understood), to tell him that I was still his Tiyo.  I asked him why he did not do this himself, as I had desired.  He made some excuse; but, I believe the truth was, he had not seen him.  In short, I found it was necessary for me to go myself; for, while we thus spent our time in messages, we remained without fruit, a stop being put to all exchanges of this nature; that is, the natives brought nothing to market.  Accordingly, a party of us set out with Tee in our company, and proceeded to the very utmost limits of Oparree, where, after waiting some considerable time, and several messages having passed, the king at last made his appearance.  After we were seated under the shade of some trees, as usual, and the first salutations were over, he desired me to parou (that is, to speak).  Accordingly, I began with blaming him for being frightened and alarmed at what had happened, since I had always professed myself his friend, and I was not angry with him or any of his people, but with those of Tiarabou, who were the thieves.  I was then asked, how I came to fire at the canoes?  Chance on this occasion furnished me with a good excuse.  I told them, that they belonged to Maritata, a Tiarabou man, one