下载辰思小说免费APP
TheambassadorwhoaccompaniedusonourreturntoButaritarifoundhimretiredtoasmallislandonthereef，inahuffwiththeOldMen，atiffwiththetraders，andmorefearofinsurrectionathomethanappetiteforwarsabroad。Theplenipotentiaryhadbeenplacedundermyprotection；andwesolemnlysalutedwhenwemet。Heprovedanexcellentfisherman，andcaughtbonitoovertheship’sside。Hepulledagoodoar，andmadehimselfusefulforawholefieryafternoon，towingthebecalmedEQUATORoffMariki。Hewenttohispostanddidnogood。Hereturnedhomeagain，havingdonenoharm。OSISICOMNES！
CHAPTERVI-THEKINGOFAPEMAMA：DEVIL-WORK
THEoceanbeachofApemamawasourdailyresort。Thecoastisbrokenbyshallowbays。Thereefisdetached，elevated，andincludesalagoonaboutknee-deep，theunrestfulspending-basinofthesurf。Thebeachisnowoffinesand，nowofbrokencoral。Thetrendofthecoastbeingconvex，scarceaquarterofamileofitistobeseenatonce；thelandbeingsolow，thehorizonappearswithinastone-cast；andthenarrowprospectenhancesthesenseofprivacy。Manavoidstheplace-evenhisfootprintsareuncommon；
butagreatnumberofbirdshoverandpipetherefishing，andleavecrookedtracksuponthesand。Apartfromthese，theonlysound(andIwasgoingtosaytheonlysociety)，isthatofthebreakersonthereef。
Oneachprojectionofthecoast，thebankofcoralclinkersimmediatelyabovethebeachhasbeenlevelled，andapillarbuilt，perhapsbreast-high。Thesearenotsepulchral；allthedeadbeingburiedontheinhabitedsideoftheisland，closetomen’shouses，and(whatisworse)totheirwells。Iwastoldtheyweretoprotecttheisleagainstinroadsfromthesea-divineordiabolicalmartellos，probablysacredtoTaburik，GodofThunder。
ThebayimmediatelyoppositeEquatorTown，whichwecalledFuBay，inhonourofourcook，wasthusfortifiedoneitherhorn。Itwaswellshelteredbythereef，theenclosedwaterclearandtranquil，theenclosingbeachcurvedlikeahorseshoe，andbothsteepandbroad。Thepathdebouchedaboutthemidstofthere-entrantangle，thewoodsstoppingsomedistanceinland。Infront，betweenthefringeofthewoodandthecrownofthebeach，therehadbeendesignedaregularfigure，likethecourtforsomenewvarietyoftennis，withbordersofroundstonesimbedded，andpointedattheangleswithlowposts，likewiseofstone。Thiswastheking’sPrayPlace。Whenheprayed，whatheprayedfor，andtowhomheaddressedhissupplicationsIcouldneverlearn。Thegroundwastapu。
Intheangle，bythemouthofthepath，stoodadesertedmaniap’。
Nearbytherehadbeenahousebeforeourcoming，whichwasnowtransportedandfiguredforthemomentinEquatorTown。Ithadbeen，anditwouldbeagainwhenwedeparted，theresidenceoftheguardianandwizardofthespot-Tamaiti。Here，inthisloneplace，withinsoundofthesea，hehadhisdwellinganduncannyduties。Icannotcalltomindanothercaseofamanlivingontheoceansideofanyopenatoll；andTamaitimusthavehadstrongnerves，thegreaterconfidenceinhisownspells，or，whatI
believetobethetruth，anenviablescepticism。WhetherTamaitihadanyguardianshipofthePrayPlaceIneverheard。Buthisownparticularchapelstoodfartherbackinthefringeofthewood。Itwasatreeofrespectablegrowth。AroundittherewasdrawnacircleofstoneslikethosethatenclosedthePrayPlace；infront，facingtowardsthesea，astoneofamuchgreatersize，andsomewhathollowed，likeapiscina，stoodcloseagainstthetrunk；
infrontofthatagainaconicalpileofgravel。InthehollowofwhatIhavecalledthepiscina(thoughitprovedtobeamagicseat)layanofferingofgreencocoa-nuts；andwhenyoulookedupyoufoundtheboughsofthetreetobeladenwithstrangefruit：
palm-brancheselaboratelyplaited，andbeautifulmodelsofcanoes，finishedandriggedtotheleastdetail。Thewholehadtheappearanceofamid-summerandsylvanChristmas-treeALFRESCO。
YetwewerealreadywellenoughacquaintedintheGilbertstorecogniseit，atthefirstsight，forapieceofwizardry，or，astheysayinthegroup，ofDevil-work。
Theplaitedpalmswerewhatwerecognised。WehadseenthembeforeonApaiang，themostchristianisedofalltheseislands；whereexcellentMr。Binghamlivedandlabouredandhasleftgoldenmemories；whenceallthe
