116 MYSTIC ISLES 



low, and the subdued chant in sympathy with the mel- 

 low hour. "The soft lasceevious stars leered from these 

 velvet skies." 



Lovaina had gone to bed, but, with the lights on again, 

 patrons of the prize-fight had dropped in. The Christ- 

 church Kid had beaten Teaea, a native, the match being 

 a preliminary clearing of the ground before the signal 

 encounter with the bridegi'oom. 



The glass doors of the salle-a-manger were broken in a 

 playful scuffle between the whiskered doctor of the hos- 

 pital, and Afa, the majordomo of the Tiare. The medi- 

 cal man ordered five bottles of champagne, and, putting 

 them in his immense pockets, returned to his table and 

 opened them all at once. He had them spouting about 

 him while their fizz lasted, and then drank most of their 

 contents. He then threw all the crockery of his table 

 to the roadway, and Afa wrestled him into a better state, 

 during which process the doors were smashed. When 

 the bombilation became too fearful, Lovaina called out 

 from her bed: 



"Make smaller noise! Nobody is asleep !" 



At two in the morning the gendarmes advised the last 

 revelers to retire, and the Tiare became quiet. But 

 Atupu slept in a little alcove by the bar, and any one 

 in her favor had but to enter her chamber and pull her 

 shapely leg to be served in case of dire need. 



The incidents of the departure of the Noa-Noa that 

 day for San Francisco will live in the annals of Papeete. 

 Its calamitous happenings are "in the archives." I have 

 the word of the secretary-general of the Etablissments 

 rran9ais de I'Oceanie for that, and in the saloons and 

 coffee-houses they talked loudly of the ''bataille entre 



