Plentymorewheretheycomefrom。Notdeadthough,thinkonlysleep,nolikecold,likedormouse。Butnevermindcannibalpig。Theyserveourturn,iftheylive,live;iftheydie,dieandGodhavemercyonsouls,ifcannibalhavesoul。Ah!hereweare,“andfrombeneathsixinchesofwaterhedraggedupthetinboxcontainingLittleBonsa,fromwhichheextractedthefetish,wetbutuninjured。
“Putheronnow,Major。Putheronatonceandcomesitinprowofcanoe。MustreachAsiki-landinproperstyle。Prieststhinkityourreverendunclecomebackagain,justasheleave。Makeverygoodimpression。“
“Ican’t,“saidAlanfeebly。“Iamplayedout,Jeekie。“
“Oh!buckup,Major,buckup!“herepliedimploringly。“Onekickmoreandyouwinrace,mustn’tspoilshipforha’porthoftar。Youjustwearfetish,whistleonceonland,andthengotosleepforwholeweekifyoulike。Idorest,sayitallmagic,andsoforth——thatyoubeendeadandjustcomeoutofgrave,oranythingyoulike。NomatterifyouturnupasannouncedonbillandGodblesshurricanethatblowusherewhenweexpectdie。Come,Major,quick,quick!mistmeltandsoontheyseeyou。“ThenwithoutwaitingforananswerJeekieclappedthewetmaskonhismaster’shead,tiedthethongsandledAlantotheprowofthecanoe,wherehesethimdownonalittlecrossbench,stoodbehindsupportinghimandagainbegantosinginagreattriumphantvoice。
Themistclearedaway,rollinguplikeacurtainandrevealingontheshoreanumberofmenandwomencladinwhiterobes,whoweremartialledinranksthere,chantingandstaringoutatthedimwatersofthelagoon。Yonderuponthewaters,drivenforwardbythegentlebreeze,floatedacanoeandlo!intheprowofthatcanoesatawhitemanandonhisheadthegodwhichtheyhadlostawholegenerationgone。Ontheheadofawhitemanithaddeparted;ontheheadofawhitemanitreturned。Theysawandfellupontheirknees。