THE PACIFIC 213 



moon was now above the mountainous little island that lay in the 

 sea but half a mile from the village. These utterings, as they 

 were interpreted, were hailed with appreciative mumblings 

 from the exhausted dancers and the Rotumans who were sitting 

 round them. Then an elderly male dancer spoke to the inter- 

 preter, who turned to the Captain. 'They ask if you have talcum 

 powder with you,' he said. The Captain looked baffled, and the 

 interpreter explained that to sprinkle such scented powder upon 

 the dancers at this stage would have been the highest praise the 

 ship could have showered upon them. The surprised Captain re- 

 covered himself and said that next time he sailed to Rotuma he 

 would bring a cargo of such powder from Fiji instead of the 

 Public Works Department water tanks that he had brought on 

 this occasion. This caused a roar of applause and the speeches 

 were over. 



Hours later the sailors reached the coral beach to embark again. 

 The sleepy boat's crew who had been waiting on the shore were 

 surprised to see their messmates, grass skirts about their waists 

 and leis about their necks, being farewelled by the girls of 

 Rotuma as if they had been Rotumans themselves going out on 

 a journey to the world beyond the reef. 



