"We didn't think her one of our worst,"says he,"when she was at Fale-alii;and if Uma bears malice I shall be tempted to fancy she has good cause.""Well,there we are at service number two,"said I."I want to tell you our yarn,and see if you can let a little daylight in.""Is it long?"he asked.
"Yes,"I cried;"it's a goodish bit of a yarn!""Well,I'll give you all the time I can spare,"says he,looking at his watch."But I must tell you fairly,I haven't eaten since five this morning,and,unless you can let me have something I am not likely to eat again before seven or eight to-night.""By God,we'll give you dinner!"I cried.
I was a little caught up at my swearing,just when all was going straight;and so was the missionary,I suppose,but he made believe to look out of the window,and thanked us.
So we ran him up a bit of a meal.I was bound to let the old lady have a hand in it,to show off,so I deputised her to brew the tea.
I don't think I ever met such tea as she turned out.But that was not the worst,for she got round with the salt-box,which she considered an extra European touch,and turned my stew into sea-water.Altogether,Mr.Tarleton had a devil of a dinner of it;but he had plenty entertainment by the way,for all the while that we were cooking,and afterwards,when he was making believe to eat,Ikept posting him up on Master Case and the beach of Falesa,and he putting questions that showed he was following close.
"Well,"said he at last,"I am afraid you have a dangerous enemy.
This man Case is very clever and seems really wicked.I must tell you I have had my eye on him for nearly a year,and have rather had the worst of our encounters.About the time when the last representative of your firm ran so suddenly away,I had a letter from Namu,the native pastor,begging me to come to Falesa at my earliest convenience,as his flock were all 'adopting Catholic practices.'I had great confidence in Namu;I fear it only shows how easily we are deceived.No one could hear him preach and not be persuaded he was a man of extraordinary parts.All our islanders easily acquire a kind of eloquence,and can roll out and illustrate,with a great deal of vigour and fancy,second-hand sermons;but Namu's sermons are his own,and I cannot deny that Ihave found them means of grace.Moreover,he has a keen curiosity in secular things,does not fear work,is clever at carpentering,and has made himself so much respected among the neighbouring pastors that we call him,in a jest which is half serious,the Bishop of the East.In short,I was proud of the man;all the more puzzled by his letter,and took an occasion to come this way.The morning before my arrival,Vigours had been sent on board the LION,and Namu was perfectly at his ease,apparently ashamed of his letter,and quite unwilling to explain it.This,of course,Icould not allow,and he ended by confessing that he had been much concerned to find his people using the sign of the cross,but since he had learned the explanation his mind was satisfied.For Vigours had the Evil Eye,a common thing in a country of Europe called Italy,where men were often struck dead by that kind of devil,and it appeared the sign of the cross was a charm against its power.
"'And I explain it,Misi,'said Namu,'in this way:The country in Europe is a Popey country,and the devil of the Evil Eye may be a Catholic devil,or,at least,used to Catholic ways.So then Ireasoned thus:if this sign of the cross were used in a Popey manner it would be sinful,but when it is used only to protect men from a devil,which is a thing harmless in itself,the sign too must be,as a bottle is neither good nor bad,harmless.For the sign is neither good nor bad.But if the bottle be full of gin,the gin is bad;and if the sign be made in idolatry bad,so is the idolatry.'And,very like a native pastor,he had a text apposite about the casting out of devils.
"'And who has been telling you about the Evil Eye?'I asked.
"He admitted it was Case.Now,I am afraid you will think me very narrow,Mr.Wiltshire,but I must tell you I was displeased,and cannot think a trader at all a good man to advise or have an influence upon my pastors.And,besides,there had been some flying talk in the country of old Adams and his being poisoned,to which I had paid no great heed;but it came back to me at the moment.
"'And is this Case a man of a sanctified life?'I asked.
"He admitted he was not;for,though he did not drink,he was profligate with women,and had no religion.
"'Then,'said I,'I think the less you have to do with him the better.'
"But it is not easy to have the last word with a man like Namu.He was ready in a moment with an illustration.'Misi,'said he,'you have told me there were wise men,not pastors,not even holy,who knew many things useful to be taught -about trees for instance,and beasts,and to print books,and about the stones that are burned to make knives of.Such men teach you in your college,and you learn from them,but take care not to learn to be unholy.
Misi,Case is my college.'