2o8 CAPTAIN COOK 



rhythm, and without changing from one place, 

 their feet and particularly their fingers with ex- 

 quisite grace and lightness. 



The members of the party began to feel a cer- 

 tain uneasiness on noticing that attempts were 

 being made to separate them in order to rob them 

 more easily, and that the object of the islanders 

 was to prevent them from returning to the ships. 

 They owed their safety partly to the wonderful 

 yarns spun by Omai, who told the inhabitants of 

 Wateea that in England there were ships as big 

 as their island, with guns which could kill more 

 people than there were in Wateea. To add 

 weight to his explanations, he took a cartridge, 

 emptied out the powder and set fire to it. The 

 explosion terrified the natives, who put no fur- 

 ther obstacle in the way of the departure of 

 the Englishmen. 



The party had been unable to procure any pro- 

 visions. However, some Indians boarded the 

 ships, offering a pig, and also bananas and 

 coconuts. They were insistent that they should 

 be given a dog in exchange, and resolutely re- 

 fused to accept anything else. Omai, with spon- 

 taneous generosity, offered the dog which he had 

 brought from London, to which he was greatly 

 attached. 



The islanders who visited the ships were 

 greatly struck by the animals. They manifested 



