Beside him sat a sprightly damsel of sixty, his daughter."She is all I have," he murmured plaintively, "and she has no children living."The cutter was a small, sloop-rigged affair, but large it seemed alongside Tehei's canoe.On the other hand, when we got out on the lagoon and were struck by another heavy wind-squall, the cutter became liliputian, while the Snark, in our imagination, seemed to promise all the stability and permanence of a continent.They were good boatmen.Tehei and Bihaura had come along to see us home, and the latter proved a good boatwoman herself.The cutter was well ballasted, and we met the squall under full sail.It was getting dark, the lagoon was full of coral patches, and we were carrying on.
In the height of the squall we had to go about, in order to make a short leg to windward to pass around a patch of coral no more than a foot under the surface.As the cutter filled on the other tack, and while she was in that "dead" condition that precedes gathering way, she was knocked flat.Jib-sheet and main-sheet were let go, and she righted into the wind.Three times she was knocked down, and three times the sheets were flung loose, before she could get away on that tack.
By the time we went about again, darkness had fallen.We were now to windward of the Snark, and the squall was howling.In came the jib, and down came the mainsail, all but a patch of it the size of a pillow-slip.By an accident we missed the Snark, which was riding it out to two anchors, and drove aground upon the inshore coral.
Running the longest line on the Snark by means of the launch, and after an hour's hard work, we heaved the cutter off and had her lying safely astern.
The day we sailed for Bora Bora the wind was light, and we crossed the lagoon under power to the point where Tehei and Bihaura were to meet us.As we made in to the land between the coral banks, we vainly scanned the shore for our friends.There was no sign of them.
"We can't wait," I said."This breeze won't fetch us to Bora Bora by dark, and I don't want to use any more gasolene than I have to."You see, gasolene in the South Seas is a problem.One never knows when he will be able to replenish his supply.
But just then Tehei appeared through the trees as he came down to the water.He had peeled off his shirt and was wildly waving it.
Bihaura apparently was not ready.Once aboard, Tehei informed us by signs that we must proceed along the land till we got opposite to his house.He took the wheel and conned the Snark through the coral, around point after point till we cleared the last point of all.Cries of welcome went up from the beach, and Bihaura, assisted by several of the villagers, brought off two canoe-loads of abundance.There were yams, taro, feis, breadfruit, cocoanuts, oranges, limes, pineapples, watermelons, alligator pears, pomegranates, fish, chickens galore crowing and cackling and laying eggs on our decks, and a live pig that squealed infernally and all the time in apprehension of imminent slaughter.
Under the rising moon we came in through the perilous passage of the reef of Bora Bora and dropped anchor off Vaitape village.Bihaura, with housewifely anxiety, could not get ashore too quickly to her house to prepare more abundance for us.While the launch was taking her and Tehei to the little jetty, the sound of music and of singing drifted across the quiet lagoon.Throughout the Society Islands we had been continually informed that we would find the Bora Borans very jolly.Charmian and I went ashore to see, and on the village green, by forgotten graves on the beach, found the youths and maidens dancing, flower-garlanded and flower-bedecked, with strange phosphorescent flowers in their hair that pulsed and dimmed and glowed in the moonlight.Farther along the beach we came upon a huge grass house, oval-shaped seventy feet in length, where the elders of the village were singing himines.They, too, were flower-garlanded and jolly, and they welcomed us into the fold as little lost sheep straying along from outer darkness.
Early next morning Tehei was on board, with a string of fresh-caught fish and an invitation to dinner for that evening.On the way to dinner, we dropped in at the himine house.The same elders were singing, with here or there a youth or maiden that we had not seen the previous night.From all the signs, a feast was in preparation.
Towering up from the floor was a mountain of fruits and vegetables, flanked on either side by numerous chickens tethered by cocoanut strips.After several himines had been sung, one of the men arose and made oration.The oration was made to us, and though it was Greek to us, we knew that in some way it connected us with that mountain of provender.