THE SOCIETY ISLANDS 231 



formed by Captain Gierke that a midshipman 

 and a sailor of the Discovery were missing at 

 roll-call. Their desertion was not in doubt, for 

 the midshipman had several times declared that 

 the dream of his life was to end his days among 

 the delights of these marvellous islands, where 

 the sky was infinitely brighter than in England 

 and existence easier than in the British Navy. 

 As several men in both crews had expressed 

 similar wishes, it was highly important to stifle 

 these tendencies to desertion and to recover the 

 two fugitives. Cook, accompanied by Oreo, 

 went with two armed boats to the island of 

 Otaha, where he had been told that the deserters 

 were to be found. On his arrival there he learnt 

 that they had fled to the neighbouring island of 

 Bolabola. Esteeming it useless to pursue them 

 there, he resolved to put into execution a more 

 efficacious plan. Profiting by the fact that Oreo, 

 his son, his daughter and son-in-law had come 

 on board the Resolution, he retained the three 

 last and declared to Oreo that he would hold 

 them as prisoners until the two English sailors 

 should be brought back. In reply to the grief 

 expressed by the chief. Cook told him that since 

 he, Oreo, and several of his subjects had had the 

 temerity to assist the escape of these two men, 

 and thus sought to corrupt others, he was justi- 

 fied in acting thus. He added that he would 



