"How?" asked Dr Macphail, not without surprise.
"I instituted fines. Obviously the only way to make people realise that an action is sinful is to punish them if they commit it. I fined them if they didn't come to church, and I fined them if they danced. I fined them if they were improperly dressed. I had a tariff, and every sin had to be paid for either in money or work. And at last I made them understand."
"But did they never refuse to pay?"
"How could they?" asked the missionary.
"It would be a brave man who tried to stand up against Mr Davidson," said his wife, tightening her lips.
Dr Macphail looked at Davidson with troubled eyes. What he heard shocked him, but he hesitated to express his disapproval.
"You must remember that in the last resort I could expel them from their church membership."
"Did they mind that?"
Davidson smiled a little and gently rubbed his hands.
"They couldn't sell their copra. When the men fished they got no share of the catch. It meant something very like starvation. Yes, they minded quite a lot."