Eagle River review. [volume] (Eagle River, Wis.) 1890-1927, 1894-05-24

CHAPTER IV.-Continued.
AS he spoke, sudden idea, sug
gested by his words, struck Felix's
mind. Superstition is the great lever
by which to move the savage intelli
and fragments of stick on the shore,
he laid them together in a pile, and
awaited in silence the arrival of the
foremost islanders. The first canoe ad-
vanced slowly and cautiously, the men
in it eying these proceedings with
evident suspicion; the rest hung back,
with their spears in array, and their
hands just ready to use them with ef-
feet should occasion demand it.
The leader of the first canoe, coming
close to the shore, jumped out upon
the reef in shallow water. Half u
dozen of his followers jumped after
him without hesitation, and brandlshed
their weapons round their heads as
they advanced, in savage unison. But
Felix, pretending hardly to notice
these hostile demonstrations, stepped
boldly up toward his little pile with
great deliberation, though trembling
lnwardly, and proceeded before their
eyes to take match from his box,
which he displayed Ostentatiously, all
savage. The leader stood by and
waite he'd him close with eyes of silent
wonder. Then Felix. kneeling down,
struck the match on the box, and APP
piled it, as it lighted, to the dry leaves
beside him.
A chorus of establishment burst
unanimously from the delighted ma
tives as the dry leaves leaped all at
once into q tongue of flame, and the
little pile caught quickly from the fire
in the vesta.
The leader looked hard at the two
white faces, and then at the fire on the
beach, with evident appreciation. "It is
as TuKila-Kila said" he exclaimed at
last with profound awe. ''They are
spirits from the sun, and they carry
with them pure fire in shining boxes. "
Then, advancing pace and point
ing toward the canoe, he motioned
Felix and Muriel to take their seats
within it with native savage polite
ness. "Tu-kila-Kila has sent for you, "
he said, in his grandest aristocratic
air, "for your chief is gentleman. He
wishes to receive you. He saw your
message-fre on the reef last night, and
you Il very great Taboo. He has put
you under protection of Fire and
Water"
The people in the boats, with one
accord shouted out in wild chorus, as
II to confirm his words, Taboo! Taboo.
Tu-kila-kila has said it! Taboo Ia
boo. Ware Fire! Ware Water..'
Though the dialect in which they
spoke differed somewhat from that in
use in Fiji, Felix could still make out
With care almost every word of what
the chief had said to him; and the uni
Versal Polynesian expression, Taboo, ;"
IN particular. somewhat reassurcd him
as to their friendly intentions. Among
rSrnote-heathen islanders like these,
he iolt sure, the very word itself was
far too sacred to be taken in vain.
They would respect its inviolability.
He turned round to Muriel. ''It's our
one chance left of life now Don't be
too terrified; there is still some hope
They say somebody they call Tu-Kila-
kila has tabooed us. Noone will dare
TO hurt us against SO great q Taboo; for
Tu-Kila-Kila is evidently some very
important king or chief. You must
step into the boat. 1tcan't be avoided.
If any harm is threatened, be sure |
won't forgetmy promise"
Murlel shrank back in alarm, and
chung still to his arm now as naturally
as she would have chung to a brothers.
"Oh, Mr.. Thurstan," she cried -"fe-
liX, don't know what to say; can't go
with them
Felix put his arm gently round her
girlish waist, and half lifted her into
the boat in spite of her reluctance
You must" he said, with great firm
ness. "You must do as [ say. [ will
watch over you and take care of you.
If the worst comes, / have always my
knife, and won't forget. Now, FRIEND
ne went Oh, in Fiian, turning round
to the chief, as he took his seat in the
canoe feariessly among all those dusly,
half-clad figures, ''we are ready to
start. We do not fear. We wish to
60 Take us to Tu-kila-kila.
And all the savages around, shouting
in their surprise and awe, exclaimed
once more in concert, "Tu-kila-kila is
great. We will take them, as he bids,
forthwith to Heaven"
"What do they say?" Muriel cried,
clinging close to the white mans side
In her speechIess terror. 500 you un-
derstand their language"
'iWell. | can't quite make it out, ="
helix answered, much puzzled; 'that
is to say, not every word of it. They
say they'll take us somewhere, [ don't
quite know where; but in t'ijian, the
word certainly mean to Heaven"
Muriel shuddered visibly. "You
don't think" she said, with tremu-
lous tongue, ''they mean to kill us?'
mo, don't think so, Felix replied,
not over-confidently "They said we
were Taboo. But with savages like
these. of course, one can never in any
case be quite certain"
CHAPTER V.