“Mine!” replied Koree, defiantly.
“Are we all to fight, and only one to get the advantage of it?” asked another.
“You must fight,” retorted Koree, “or you will lose all you have. The restoration of my girl means the protection of yours.”
“If I capture her,” replied a third, “neither Koree nor any one else will get her. A girl, like a cocoanut, belongs to whomsoever gets her.”
“Whoever gets her,” replied Koree, “will get a broken head if he does not restore her to me.”
It was now feared that this altercation would lead to a civil war before the foreign war should commence; when the thoughts of the company were turned by the suggestion of Oko, the stingy fellow mentioned, that the Lali had doubtless acquired some possessions, so that they would all return laden with the spoils of war.
“If it were not so,” he added, “I would not fight at all.”
“Perhaps,” suggested one of the young men, “there are also some pretty apes among them, so that instead of one girl we may bring back many—enough for all.”
“Sosee must be recovered first,” said Koree, “when I will help you to catch all the rest.”
Some, however, could not be made to understand what the war was for.