They next all sat down to a repast that was spread on deck.  Their Majesties observing Rono use a fork, did so likewise; but though they stuck a piece of meat on the end of it, and held it in one hand, they continued carrying the viands to their mouths with the other.  At the conclusion of the feast, Willis took a pinch of snuff out of a canister.  Their Majesties insisted upon doing so likewise.  Willis handed them the canister, and they filled their noses with the treacherous powder.  Then followed a duet of sneezing, accompanied with facial contortions.  The royal personages thinking, probably, that they were poisoned, leaped into the sea like a couple of frogs, and swam to the royal barge.

“Holloa, sire,” cried Jack, “where are you off to?”

This was answered by the barge paddling away rapidly towards land.  Hitherto, the whole affair had been a farce; but now the natives, who had collected in great numbers along the shore, seeing their king and queen leap into the water with a terrified air, supposed that an attempt had been made to cut short their royal lives, and, under this impression, discharged a cloud of arrows at the pinnace, and matters began to assume a serious aspect.

“What!” exclaimed Jack, “shooting at the great Rono!”

“That,” said Fritz, “only proves they are men like ourselves.  He who is covered with incense one day, is very often immolated the next.”

“And that simply because Rono treated Mr. and Mrs. What’s-their-names to a pinch of snuff.  Serve them right to discharge the contents of the four-pounder amongst them.”

“No, no,” cried Willis; “the worthy people are, perhaps, fond of their king and queen.”

“Worthy people or not,” said Fritz, drawing out an arrow that had sunk into the capstan, “it is very likely that if this dart had hit one of us, there would only have been two instead of three in the crew of the pinnace.”

“Well,” said Willis, “Master Jack thought the voyage rather dull; now something has turned up to relieve the monotony of his log.”

“We are still without fresh water though, Willis; I wish you could say that had turned up as well.”

“It will be prudent to go in search of that somewhere else now,” said Willis, unfurling the sails.  “Fortunately the wind is fresh, and we can make considerable headway before night.”

As they steered gently out of the bay a second cloud of arrows was sent after them, but this time they fell short.

“The belief in Rono is about to be seriously compromised,” remarked Fritz; “I should advise the priestess to retire into private life.”

“Impossible.”

“Why?”