Short Stories
and wept. Mauki interrupted rudely.
"You savve me—me big fella marster my country. You no
like 'm this fella white marster. Me no like 'm. Plenty good you
put hundred cocoanut, two hundred cocoanut, three hundred
cocoanut along cutter. Him finish, you go sleep 'm good fella.
Altogether kanaka sleep 'm good fella. Bime by big fella noise
along house, you no savve hear 'm that fella noise. You alto-
gether sleep strong fella too much."
In like manner Mauki interviewed the boat-boys. Then he
ordered Bunster's wife to return to her family house. Had she
refused, he would have been in a quandary, for his tambo
would not have permitted him to lay hands on her.
The house deserted, he entered the sleeping-room, where
the trader lay in a doze. Mauki first removed the revolvers,
then placed the ray fish mitten on his hand. Bunster's first
warning was a stroke of the mitten that removed the skin the
full length of his nose.
"Good fella, eh?" Mauki grinned, between two strokes, one
of which swept the forehead bare and the other of which
cleaned off one side of his face. "Laugh, you, laugh."
Mauki did his work thoroughly, and the kanakas, hiding in
their houses, heard the "big fella noise" that Bunster made and
continued to make for an hour or more.
When Mauki was done, he carried the boat compass and all
the rifles and ammunition down to the cutter, which he proceed-
ed to ballast with cases of tobacco. It was while engaged in this
that a hideous, skinless thing came out of the house and ran
screaming down the beach till it fell in the sand and mowed
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