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When they were with the Ailikoleeps, the castaways believed themselves among the lowest and most degraded beings in the human scale; but about this they have now changed their minds, a short acquaintance with the Tekeneekas having revealed to them a type of man still lower, and a state of existence yet more wretched, if that be possible; indeed, nothing can come much nearer to the "missing link" than the natives of central Tierra del Fuego.
The people in the canoes, whoever they may be, are evidently on a peaceful expedition; possibly they are some tribe or community on its way to winter quarters. And they may not be Ailikoleeps after all; or, at all events, not the former assailants of Whale-boat Sound. These tranquillising reflections occur while the Fuegians are yet far-off.
The wigwams are of Tekeneeka construction, differing, as already said, from those of the Ailikoleeps, in being acutely cone-shaped and in having their floors sunk several feet below the surface of the ground. Their ribs, moreover, are stout tree-trunks instead of slender saplings, while the thatches are partly of rushes and partly of broad strips of bark.
Nor are they afraid of the blaze betraying them here, as the fog will prevent its being seen from any distance. Besides, they are in every way more confident than hitherto. They have passed beyond the country of the Ailikoleeps with their lives miraculously preserved, and everything now looks well for getting to Good Success Bay the haven of safety they are seeking.
But agin it, thar's a contrary sarcumstance, in thar bein' two sarts o' Tekeneekas: one harmless and rayther friendly disposed torst white people, t'other bein' jest the revarse 'most as bad as the Ailikoleeps. The bad uns are called Yapoos, an' hev thar squattin' groun' east'ard 'long the channel beyont, whar a passage leads out, knowed as the Murray Narrer.
The fact of the fishing party having been Ailikoleeps is too sure evidence that danger is still impending. And such danger! It only needs recalling the late attack the fiendish aspect of the savages, with their furious shouts and gestures, the darting of javelins and hurling of stones to fully realise what it is.
Some change is sure to come when the absent members of the tribe return. Should they prove to be those encountered in Whale-Boat Sound, the question would be too easily answered. But it is now known that, although Ailikoleeps, they cannot be the same. The cause of their absence has also been discovered by the ever alert ears of Seagriff.
The Ailikoleeps are enemies of theirs, but a wide belt of neutral territory between the two prevents frequent encounters. They more often have quarrels with the Yapoos living to the eastward, though these are tribally related to them. But their most dreaded foes are the Oensmen, whose country lies north of the channel, beyond the range of high mountains that borders it.
"Do you fear some danger?" queries the skipper, in a tone of apprehension. "Jest that; an' bad kind o' danger. As fur's I kin see, we've drifted onto a part of the Feweegin coast where the Ailikoleeps live; the which air the worst and cruellest o' savages some of 'em rank cannyballs!
Strange words from a man who, while giving utterance to them, is industriously masticating a piece of raw seal flesh. Is there a people or nation on earth that does not believe itself superior to some other? Jemmy further declares that the hostile party encountered in Whale-Boat Sound must have been Ailikoleeps; though Eleparu had denied it.
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