“Vell, vell now,” muttered the Norwegian cook, as he sat on the side of his bunk taking his trousers off. The Solomon Islander continued:
“I was young then and could run with the swiftness of a horse, and, knowing that there was no time to lose, I never stopped once as I ran across country and round the coast for miles. At length, about midday, I arrived at Tooka village, which is on the coast, rushed up the shore and thumped at the door of the first white man’s bungalow that I saw. They all came rushing from their houses when they heard what I had to say. Directly they heard all they rushed back to their homes and got their guns and revolvers, and in no time were all astride on horseback galloping across the country.
“At sunset we arrived at the village where the caves were. I was brave, for I knew the white men would protect me, so I led the way at once to the caves; but we were too late; they were deserted; the sailors had been taken away. At once the leader of the white men, who was a big man with a heavy grey moustache, shouted to me that I should take them to the spot where they had eaten the sailor. Quickly I ran on in front, and they all came behind, their faces stern and white-looking. When we reached the place they said nothing, but all quietly tightened the reins of the horses and then, dismounting, crept together to the edge of the forest. The white man who led them made a terrible oath when they all peeped through the bamboos; for the savages had just clubbed two of the sailors and a great fire was blazing in the middle of the cleared patch by the huts; and not far off from the dead bodies stood the chief mate, bound hand and foot, waiting to be clubbed too. The white men hesitated one moment, then rushed across the cleared patch, firing their revolvers. Several of the natives fell dead as the tribe scampered off into the forest. They only saved the chief mate out of the four men who had survived that shipwreck. They burnt the village to the ground and buried the bodies of the boatswain and the cook. Not far from where the fire had been they found some shrivelled clothes and a small peaked cap; in the pockets were some little medicine phials, and, close by, the ship’s doctor’s feet—still in his boots! I told them about the ship’s salt-beef barrels hidden under the shore sand. They dug them all up and took the bodies miles away and buried them. The skipper’s daughter was never heard of any more. About two years after that high chief Torao, who stole the white girl, became a Christian, and taught the native children lotu songs in the mission rooms. I went and lived with the white men at Tooka; they gave me good clothes, and I was their servant, and found them good and kind masters.”
“Clear out of this fo’c’sle, yer God-d——d son of a cannibal!” shouted the boatswain directly the overseer had finished; and though he had befriended our countrymen we too felt a bit disgusted, and knew how the boatswain felt as we looked up at the thick-lipped Solomon Islander’s face.
The foregoing is as much as I can tell you of the main facts of the native’s story. I have left out all the gruesome embellishments and the heart-rending cruelty of the native’s description of the white girl’s grief in the hands of the cannibal monsters. Let us hope it was not true; but I must admit many things made my heart thump as I listened to all that seemed too true. The boatswain and his shipmate never argued over that tale. The Norwegian cook at last pulled his trousers right off and said, “Vell now, it’s too terrible to tink of,” and swung his legs round into his bunk. I turned in also, just opposite him, and said: “Let’s keep the lamp on; I don’t feel sleepy to-night.”
Next day we dropped anchor in Suva harbour and stayed there two days. I had previously been to the Fiji Group and stayed there for a considerable time, having various experiences with the natives and traders, experiences which will appear in the second half of these reminiscences.
The crew went ashore and had a fly round, walked the parade and visited all the drinking establishments. The boatswain and his mate came back arm in arm, arguing at the top of their voices; they had been drinking rather heavily. When they got on board the boatswain sighted the natives poking their heads out of the fore-peak hatchway, and, thinking of the tale the overseer had told us, he shouted at them, “Get down below, yer d——d cannibals,” and then made a rush for them. We were obliged to hold on to him to keep him from going down between decks. At last we got him into his bunk; but none of us had any sleep, for he shouted about cannibals all night and swore that we had got thousands of them on board.
Next day, just before we left Suva, a passenger came on board. He was an old gentleman with bristly eyebrows, who wore a monocle. He carried two large portmanteaux and came puffing up the gangway, and directly he got on deck he started shouting: “Stew-ard! Stew-ard!” Spying the boatswain by the main hatch, he mistook him for the steward, and, looking through his eyeglass, said: “Where’s the saloon?” At the same time he handed him the largest of the portmanteaux. With disgust wrinkling his florid nut-cracker face, the boatswain pointed forward. Off went the old man, muttering something under his breath about the discourteous behaviour of sailors. “Down there,” shouted the boatswain, as the passenger got up against the fore-peak and called once more: “Steward!” Then down the fore-peak he went. In a few seconds we heard a wild yell, and up came the old fellow, hatless, with his face pallid with fright. He had landed in the middle of the huddled natives below.
“Help, help!” he shouted. I told him it was all right, put his hat on for him and went down quickly and fetched up his portmanteau, which he had dropped in his fright. He was “all of a-tremble”; his hand shook visibly as he clutched his property. The German steward came hurrying forward and, when he sighted the old gentleman’s massive gold chain and jewelled fingers, almost fell forward on his face, bowing and scraping in his apologies.
When the old fellow recovered he swore he’d sue the boatswain, in Sydney, for damages.