“Before the sun goes down we shall see land,” said the chief.
“What land?” inquired Kelea.
“Oahu,” was the reply, but the chief was not greeted with the look of surprise expected.
“I am not disappointed,” returned the princess, quite indifferently. “You seem to have been sailing by the wandering stars last night, for before daylight I looked up and saw by Kao that your course was directly toward the place of sunset.”
Five of the planets—Mercury, Mars, Venus, Jupiter and Saturn—were known to the ancient Hawaiians, and designated as na hoku aea, or wandering stars. The fixed stars were also grouped by them into constellations, and Kao was their name for Antares.
With a look of genuine surprise Kalamakua replied:
“I did not know before that so correct a knowledge of navigation was among the many accomplishments of the sister of Kawao.”
“It required no great knowledge of the skies to discover last night that we were not bearing southward, and needs still less now to observe that we are sailing directly west,” Kelea quietly remarked.
“I will not attempt to deceive one who seems to be able to instruct me in journeying over the blue waters,” said Kalamakua, politely. “Your judgment is correct. We are sailing nearly westward, and the first land sighted will probably be the headlands of Kaawa.”
“You have acted treacherously,” resumed the princess, after a pause, as if suddenly struck with the propriety of protesting against the abduction.