solid rock, and on them had once stood a city, now pounded into

dust and fragments. We struggled over the broken blocks of stone
to what we had taken for a temple, which stood near the lip of

the crater, for without doubt this mound was an extinctvolcano,
or rather its crest. All we could make out when we arrived was

that here had once stood some great building, for its courts
could still be traced; also there lay about fragments of steps

and pillars.
Apparently the latter had once been carved, but the passage of

innumerable ages had obliterated the work and we could not turn
these great blocks over to discover if any remained beneath. It

was as though the god Thor had broken up the edifice with his
hammer, or Jove had shattered it with his thunderbolts; nothing

else would account for that utter wreck, except, as Bickley
remarked significantly, the scientific use of high explosives.

Following the line of what seemed to have been a road, we came
to the edge of the volcano and found, as we expected, the usual

depression out of which fire and lava had once been cast, as from
Hecla or Vesuvius. It was now a lake more than a quarter of a

mile across. Indeed it had been thus in the ancient days when the
buildings stood upon the terraces, for we saw the remains of

steps leading down to the water. Perhaps it had served as the
sacred lake of the temple.

We gazed with wonderment and then, wearied out, scrambled back
through the ruins, which, by the way, were of a different stone

from the lava of the mountain, to the mouth of the great cave.
Chapter X

The Dwellers in the Tomb
By now it was drawing towards sunset, so we made such

preparations as we could for the night. One of these was to
collect dry driftwood, of which an abundance lay upon the shore,

to serve us for firing, though unfortunately we had nothing that
we could cook for our meal.

While we were thus engaged we saw a canoe approaching the
table-rock and perceived that in it were the chief Marama and a

priest. After hovering about for a while they paddled the canoe
near enough to allow of conversation which, taking no notice of

their presence, we left it to them to begin.
"O, Friend-from-the-Sea," called Marama, addressing myself, "we

come to pray you and the Great Healer to return to us to be our
guests as before. The people are covered with darkness because of

the loss of your wisdom, and the sick cry aloud for the Healer;
indeed two of those whom he has cut with knives are dying."

"And what of the Bellower?" I asked, indicating Bastin.
"We should like to see him back also, Friend-from-the-Sea, that

we may sacrifice and eat him, who destroyed our god with fire and
caused the Healer to kill his priest."

"That is most unjust," exclaimed Bastin. "I deeply regret the
blood that was shed on the occasion, unnecessarily as I think."

"Then go and atone for it with your own," said Bickley, "and
everybody will be pleased."

Waving to them to be silent, I said:
"Are you mad, Marama, that you should ask us to return to

sojourn among people who tried to kill us, merely because the
Bellower caused fire to burn an image of wood and its head to fly

from its shoulders, just to show you that it had no power to hold
itself together, although you call it a god? Not so, we wash our

hands of you; we leave you to go your own way while we go ours,
till perchance in a day to come, after many misfortunes have

overtaken you, you creep about our feet and with prayers and
offerings beg us to return."

I paused to observe the effect of my words. It was excellent,
for both Marama and the priest wrung their hands and groaned.

Then I went on:
"Meanwhile we have something to tell you. We have entered the

cave where you said no man might set a foot, and have seen him
who sits within, the true god." (Here Bastin tried to interrupt,

but was suppressed by Bickley.)
They looked at each other in a frightened way and groaned more

loudly than before.
"He sends you a message, which, as he told us of your approach,

we came to the shore to deliver to you."
"How can you say that?" began Bastin, but was again violently

suppressed by Bickley.
"It is that he, the real Oro, rejoices that the false Oro,

whose face is copied from his face, has been destroyed. It is
that he commands you day by day to bring food in plenty and lay

it upon the Rock of Offerings, not forgetting a supply of fresh
fish from the sea, and with it all those things that are stored

in the house wherein we, the strangers from the sea, deigned to
dwell awhile until we left you because in your wickedness you

wished to murder us."
"And if we refuse--what then?" asked the priest, speaking for

the first time.
"Then Oro will send death and destruction upon you. Then your

food shall fail and you shall perish of sickness and want, and
the Oromatuas, the spirits of the great dead, shall haunt you in

your sleep, and Oro shall eat up your souls."
At these horrible threats both of them uttered a kind of wail,

after which, Marama asked:
"And if we consent, what then, Friend-from-the-Sea?"

"Then, perchance," I answered, "in some day to come we may
return to you, that I may give you of my wisdom and the Great

Healer may cure your sick and the Bellower may lead you through
his gate, and in his kindness make you to see with his eyes."

This last clause of my ultimatum did not seem to appeal to the
priest, who argued a while with Marama, though what he said we

could not hear. In the end he appeared to give way. At any rate
Marama called out that all should be done as we wished, and that

meanwhile they prayed us to intercede with Oro in the cave, and
to keep back the ghosts from haunting them, and to protect them

from misfortune. I replied that we would do our best, but could
guarantee nothing since their offence was very great.

Then, to show that the conversation was at an end, we walked
away with dignity, pushing Bastin in front of us, lest he should

spoil the effect by some of his ill-timed and often over-true
remarks.

"That's capital," said Bickley, when we were out of hearing.
"The enemy has capitulated. We can stop here as long as we like,

provisioned from the mainland, and if for any reason we wish to
leave, be sure of our line of retreat."

"I don't know what you call capital," exclaimed Bastin. "It
seems to me that all the lies which Arbuthnot has just told are

sufficient to bring a judgment upon us. Indeed, I think that I
will go back with Marama and explain the truth."

"I never before knew anybody who was so anxious to be cooked
and eaten," remarked Bickley. "Moreover, you are too late, for

the canoe is a hundred yards away by now, and you shan't have
ours. Remember the Pauline maxims, old fellow, which you are so

fond of quoting, and be all things to all men, and another that
is more modern, that when you are at Rome, you must do as the

Romans do; also a third, that necessity has no law, and for the
matter of that, a fourth, that all is fair in love and war."

"I am sure, Bickley, that Paul never meant his words to bear
the debased sense which you attribute to them--" began Bastin,