x66 SOMERSET chap. 
when questioned ; then we went on to Johnstone's hut, 
who, when he saw us coming, ran to wash his face, 
probably the first time for a month. He could not 
understand Mr. Savage's inquiry, but, on going inside, 
the mystery was explained ; on the bed sat his black 
gin, with a three or four day old baby in her arms ; the 
joke will probably dawn upon Johnstone some time 
during the next week. 
It was a very hot walk back through the heavy 
sand, and we were not sorry to reach the Court-house, 
where they gave us cocoa-nut milk and papaws. It 
was rather trying having to shake hands all round, 
especially as a good many of the natives were suffering 
from some kind of skin disease, and had horrid sores 
which we doctored with poultices of papaw leaves. 
" Jack " sat and talked to us for the rest of the morning, 
telling us in a sad " O tempora, O mores " tone stories 
of long ago, of shipwrecked sailors and cannibal feasts. 
We went off to the Albatross to lunch, when the 
rest of our party came ashore, and Mrs. Jardine finally 
made up her mind that a bed on the floor of the Court- 
house was preferable to that stuffy little cabin on 
board. Snap did not like his quarters that night, and 
after trying every part of his bed and then mine, he 
finally made himself a bed on my clothes. A black 
puppy also joined him and set up a piteous howl, but 
we dispensed with his society in double-quick time. 
That night the natives danced until three in the morn- 
ing, so we did not get much rest 
Mrs. Jardine and I had dinner on shore off 3^ms 
and cocoa-nut milk, and then squatted inside one of the 
huts, chatting to the men and women, one of whom 
could speak good English. A black baby left its 
mother and crawled on to my knee, and they gave me 
three immense yams, and Mrs. Jardine explained to me 
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