The muskets, cutlasses, and ammunition had been taken out where we might get at them handily, I suppose, and the boats were fitted up with small 2-pounder guns, after which we were set to work on other duties.
Camps, made of spare sails, were set up in a grove a short distance from the shore, and the frigate pulled in where we might clean her bottom by diving, or, what was better still, hire the natives to do it.
Phil and I were detailed for shore duty, and we had a soft snap of it, since our only work was to help the cooks; and while the men were setting up rigging, scraping spars, or slushing down the masts, we loafed in the cool grove, enjoying ourselves mightily.
We didn't see anything that looked like war, except once in a while when a crowd of Typees came out on the top of the mountain and shook their clubs at us; but all that was such harmless amusement for them, and did not interfere with us in the slightest, that we came to think of the promise to the natives as something already forgotten.
Now and again we would hear of the white man who was with the Typees, evidently enjoying himself, and more than one of our crew seemed to think it was the captain's duty to go in search of him; but nothing was done in that line, and meanwhile the work on the fleet was progressing in great shape.
All the ships had been cleaned of the marine growth which prevented them from sailing at their best speed, and on each a fair share of other work had been done.
Captain Porter had given out that the name of the bay was to be "Massachusetts" instead of Nukuheva; but otherwise than that, and the fact that we had grown fast friends with the natives, particularly the girls and young fellows, all was as when we first arrived.
Then came the day when we found that our commander meant all he promised, so far as taking a hand in the war was concerned.
The Typees, having danced and shaken their clubs without being disturbed, probably came to believe that we wouldn't attempt to do them any harm if they cut capers with the Happars, so they began operations by coming into the valley one dark night, tearing down houses, trampling over gardens, and killing bread-fruit trees.
The scoundrels did a big lot of mischief, and having grown bolder by action, even had the cheek to send a messenger to Captain Porter with the announcement that he was a coward who didn't dare come on the mountains.