carry it on among these wild people. It never crossed his mind that
he should hold back to save himself from danger. It was for this work
that he had crossed the world.

"Let down the whale-boat." His voice rang out without a tremor of
fear. His eyes were on the canoe in which three black Erromangans were
paddling across the bay. As the boat touched the water, he and the
crew of four dropped into her, with Captain Morgan and two friends,
Harris and Cunningham. The oars dipped and flashed in the morning sun
as the whale-boat flew along towards the canoe. When they reached it,
Williams spoke in the dialects of his other islands, but none could
the three savages in the canoe understand. So he gave them some beads
and fish-hooks as a present to show that he was a friend and again his
boat shot away toward the beach.

They pulled to a creek where a brook ran down in a lovely valley
between two mountains. On the beach stood some Erromangan natives,
with their eyes (half fierce, half frightened) looking out under their
matted jungle of hair.

Picking up a bucket from the boat, Williams held it out to the chief
and made signs to show that he wished for water from the brook. The
chief took the bucket, and, turning, ran up the beach and disappeared.
For a quarter of an hour they waited; and for half an hour. At last,
when the sun was now high in the sky, the chief returned with the
water.

Williams drank from the water to show his friendliness. Then his
friend, Harris, swinging himself over the side of the boat, waded
ashore through the cool, sparkling, shallow water and sat down. The