A native who was listening said, “You may let him see them. They will not hurt him. He goes everywhere and sees everything, and he is all right.”
Aveo sighed and looked strangely at Tamate. Then he said, “I am afraid, but I will think about it.”
At night Tamate lay down to sleep. His hammock was slung on the platform of a village house. He was very tired, but when he lay down he could not sleep. The night was hot and the air heavy. Strange noises rose to his ears from the other houses of the village and from the wild bush all round. About midnight another noise sounded through those vague ones. It was the sound of the fall of a naked foot on the palm fronds of the platform. It came nearer and nearer. Then a hand touched him and a voice whispered:
“Are you asleep?”
“No, I am not. Is it you, Aveo?”
“Yes, do you really wish to see those things?”
“Yes, I do.”
“Are you sure they won’t kill you? Will you not get sick and then die after you have seen them?”
“No, certainly not.”
“I am afraid, greatly afraid, but come with me!”