savages. They had but to let the arrows from their bows and all would
have been over. There was silence. What order would Pouta give?

Then from the bank on their right came the sound of an answering
voice. In a flash every arrow was taken from its bow, and again not a
weapon was to be seen.

Iko then called out again to Pouta, and Tamate told Iko what he was to
say to his friend, the savage chief. For some minutes the conversation
went on. At last Iko came to the point of asking for a canoe to take
them ashore.

Chief Pouta hesitated. Then he gave his command, and a large canoe was
launched from the bank into the river and slowly paddled towards the
_Miro_.

As the canoe came towards them, Tamate turned to Mrs. Abel, who had
stood there without flinching with all the arrows pointed toward the
boat; and he spoke words like these: "Your bravery is our strength.
Seeing you makes them believe that we come for peace. You give them
greater confidence in us than all our words."

By this time the canoe had paddled alongside the launch. Tamate went
over the side first into the canoe, then Mrs. Abel, then Mr. Abel,
Iko, and Vaaburi. The canoe pushed off again and paddled toward the
landing place, where a crowd of Ialan savages filled every inch of
space.

As soon as the bow of the canoe touched the bank, Tamate, without
hesitating a second, stepped out with Iko. Together they walked up to