Placing Hickson in the boat with two men to mind mm, I took the other two with me into the cabin of the brig. W——— was seated on the floor, held up by two of his harem, and muttering unintelligibly to himself. The other two were bending over the figure on the floor, and placing their hands on her bosom.
“Come away from here, L———,” said Harry, one of our Rotumah boys, to me; “if the Ponape men come off, they will kill us all.”
We could do nothing, so we got back into the boat, and with the still senseless body of Hickson lying at our feet, pulled out to the ship.
******
When he came to he was a madman, and for his own safety our captain put him in irons. We put to sea next day, our skipper, like a wise man, saying it would go hard with us if W——— died, and four Yankee whalers in port.
The day after we got away Hickson was set at liberty, and went about his duties as usual. At nightfall I went into his deck cabin. He was lying in his bunk, in the dark, smoking. He put out his hand, and drew me close up to him.
“Harry says she is dead?”
“Yes,” I whispered.
“Poor little Kãtia; I never meant to hurt her But I am glad she is dead.”
And he smoked his pipe in silence.