230 TROPIC DAYS 



tragedy by pidgin English and expressive pantomime, 

 and obtaining as proof the coat of the reckless man who 

 had made a promise to Massai which, possibly, he had 

 never intended to fulfil. The plot of the revenge and 

 murder had been hatched out ashore at the instigation 

 of Massai 's mother. 



"Fortified with full information, he sailed away to a 

 neighbouring port, where he exhibited the coat of the 

 murdered 'Boss.' Being impressed, the official repre- 

 senting the majesty of the law gave some vague com- 

 mission to the man, who now wears other clothes than 

 a shirt, and he sailed away for ports unknown. 



"Interpreting his commission to make further in- 

 quiries very broadly, he appeared off the island, and 

 received a cordial welcome, for he was 'Hail fellow 

 well met' with the inhabitants of many a remote 

 isle. He made himself very friendly, and the frank 

 natives rather gloried than otherwise in the recitation 

 of evidence which condemned them. 



"Then he made plans for unauthorised punishment. 

 Having disarmed suspicion — just as the boat's crew 

 had done in the case of his friend — he waited, and one 

 dark night surrounded the village with a well-armed, 

 hostile force. These Papuan villages are fortified in a 

 certain sense. Some of the exits are set with traps and 

 spring spears, and none but those in the secret dares 

 venture along a track when the village has been made 

 secure for the night. 



"The man with the shirt posted his forces so that the 

 exits were commanded, and waited for dawn, his in- 

 structions being that no demonstration was to be made 

 until he gave the signal. Before the designed time a 

 shot was fired, and the conscience-stricken community 

 fled, all save one old man and infant, who met their 

 fate. 



