By this time the sun was bathing everything in splendour, and turning away
from the wonders about me, I set off at best pace along the well-trodden
path which led without turning to the west coast village where the
canoes were.

It proved far closer than expected. As a matter of fact the forest
in this direction grew right down to the water's edge; the salt-loving
trees actually overhanging the waves--one of the pleasantest sights in
nature--and thus I came right out on top of the hamlet before there had
been an indication of its presence. It occupied two sides of a pretty
little bay, the third side being flat land given over to the cultivation
of an enormous species of gourd whose characteristic yellow flowers and
green, succulent leaves were discernible even at this distance.

I branched off along the edge of the surf and down a dainty little flowery
path, noticing meanwhile how the whole bay was filled by hundreds of empty
canoes, while scores of others were drawn up on the strand, and then the
first thing I chanced upon was a group of people--youthful, of course,
with the eternal Martian bloom--and in the splendid simplicity of almost
complete nakedness. My first idea was that they were bathing, and fixing
my eyes on the tree-tops with great propriety, I gave a warning cough.
At that sound instead of getting to cover, or clothes, all started up
and stood staring for a time like a herd of startled cattle. It was
highly embarrassing; they were right in the path, a round dozen of them,
naked and so little ashamed that when I edged away modestly they began
to run after me. And the farther they came forward the more I retired,
till we were playing a kind of game of hide-and-seek round the tree-stems.
In the middle of it my heel caught in a root and down I went very hard and
very ignominiously, whereon those laughing, light-hearted folk rushed in,