340 Wild Life in Southern Seas » 
A long time—six seasons—had passed. Tairoa, 
the boy, had become strong and hardy, and 
Aimata, “ the bright-eyed,” as beautiful as her 
mother. All this time Matara the priest 
watched and waited, seeking for revenge upon 
Hino-riri and her two fair children, and Tati 
the chief who had supplanted him ; but yet 
he was a cunning man and hid his thoughts 
carefully from all men. 
Then one day there came a cry of “ E pahi! 
E pahi ! (A ship ! A ship !) ” And the people 
of Vahitahi, running from their houses, beheld 
a great ship which sailed to and fro outside the 
lagoon in sight of the village. In a little while 
a boat came ashore, and in the boat were two 
white men, who were priests of the new lotu 
(Christianity). When all the people were 
assembled before the house of Tati, the two 
white men spoke in the tongue of Tahiti, which 
is like to that of Vahitahi, and said— 
“ We have come to thee, O men of Vahitahi, 
to tell thee of the new faith, and of Christ, the 
son of the one True God.” Then as the people 
listened and wondered, they told them that the 
men of Tahiti, and Bora-bora and Raiatea, 
and many other islands had cast away their old 
