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Ah! thought I, he reckons three days from the morning of his departure—to-morrow he will arrive. But that weary day also closed upon me without his return. Even yet I would not despair. I thought that something detained him—that he was waiting for the sailing of a boat at Nukuheva, and that in a day or two, at farthest, I should see him again.
In all this the leading object we had in view was to seclude ourselves from sight until the departure of the vessel; then to take our chance as to the reception the Nukuheva natives might give us; and after remaining upon the island as long as we found our stay agreeable, to leave it the first favourable opportunity that offered.
The point was one of vital importance, as the natives of Happar were not only at peace with Nukuheva, but cultivated with its inhabitants the most friendly relations, and enjoyed beside a reputation for gentleness and humanity which led us to expect from them, if not a cordial reception, at least a shelter during the short period we should remain in their territory.
Among the adverse tribes dwelling about the shores of the other bays, and by all voyagers, it is generally known by the name bestowed upon the island itself—Nukuheva.
“Then there is no hope for you,” exclaimed the sailor, “for if I leave you here on the beach, as soon as I am gone you will be carried back into the valley, and then neither of you will ever look upon the sea again.” And with many oaths he swore that if he would only go to Nukuheva with him that day, he would be sure to have me there the very next morning.
This was a most unlooked-for discovery, and one that promised to defeat our plans altogether, for we could not think of descending the mountain on the Nukuheva side in quest of food.
To this species of medical treatment, however, I would by no means accede, much as he insisted upon it; and so we partook of our usual morsel, and silently resumed our journey. It was the fourth day since we left Nukuheva, and the gnawings of hunger became painfully acute.
The party with the poles were King Mowanna's men, and by his orders they had been gathering them in the ravines for his allies the French. Leaving these fellows to trudge on with their loads, Toby and his companions now pushed forward again, as the sun was already low in the west. They came upon the valleys of Nukuheva on one side of the bay, where the highlands slope off into the sea.
But how he had gained the knowledge of these matters I could not understand, unless it were that he had just come from Nukuheva a supposition which his travel-stained appearance not a little supported. But, if a native of that region, I could not account for his friendly reception at the hands of the Typees.
And as they had done before, when my comrade, to oblige me, started on his perilous journey to Nukuheva, they looked upon me, in his absence, as one of two inseparable friends who was a sure guaranty for the other's return. This is only my own supposition, however, for as to all their strange conduct, it is still a mystery.
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