“Two or three boat-loads came off that very evening, and in a couple of days all the captain asked for was supplied. The chief was then set at liberty, and told to go about his business.
“The captain observed that he was doing his duty to his owners, and getting a cargo in the cheapest way he could; he seemed, indeed, to pride himself on his cleverness.
“As sandal-wood was becoming scarce in most of the islands, we took on board, whenever we had the opportunity, as many casks of cocoa-nut oil as we could collect; but pearls were our chief object, and we continued our voyage till we reached the island I mentioned.
“The natives were said to be friendly to white men, and therefore we had no fear of them. They had a few pearls already, which the captain took in exchange for some of the beads, cutlery, looking-glasses, and trinkets we had brought to trade with. He then told the natives that they must go off in their canoes to the reef where the pearl-oysters were to be found, and be quick in bringing him as many as he wanted, threatening them if they were not sharp about it he would carry off their chiefs, cut down their cocoa-nut trees, and leave their wives and children to starve. This made them all alive, though they grumbled a little, and every evening they returned bringing a fair supply of shells. They dared not refuse to work, seeing that they had no muskets; and as their island was perfectly flat, they had no place to fly to and hide themselves, so that by landing a few of our men we could, if we had wished, have burned their huts, cut down their trees, and have carried off as many of them as we wanted.
“One day when they had brought fewer shells than usual, the captain sent a party of us on shore, and having caught two of their chiefs, we brought them on board, and kept them in irons, telling them that we should carry them away unless their people would stir themselves.
“Next day a double quantity was brought on board. The captain seemed mightily pleased.
”‘Now, my boys, this shows what you can do,’ he said, in the lingo the savages spoke. ‘I am going to make a cruise to some other islands not far off, and I shall take your chiefs with me. If, when I come back, you have not got as many pearls as I want,’ and he told them the quantity he should require, ‘up go your chiefs to our yard-arms.’
“I don’t mean that he said this in as many words, but it was what he wished the people to understand.
“The other islands we visited could supply us only with cocoa-nut oil, and though we had a quarrel now and then about it, we generally managed to get what we wanted at the price we chose to give.
“On our return we found the supply of shells the captain had ordered.