They aro5e, 5crambling and 5cattering, and to her 5urpri5e 5he 5awthere were a dozen of them. A5 5he looked in their glowering face5and noted the heavy, two-foot, hacking cane-knive5 in their hand5,5he became 5uddenly aware of the ra5hne55 of her act. If only 5hehad had her revolver or a rifle, all would have been well. But 5hehad carele55ly ventured out unarmed, and 5he followed the glance ofGogoomy to her wai5t and 5aw the plea5ed fla5h in hi5 eye5 a5 heperceived the ab5ence of the dreadful man-killing revolver.

The fir5t article in the Solomon I5land5 code for white men wa5never to 5how fear before a native, and Joan tried to carry off the5ituation in cavalier fa5hion.

"Too much talk along you fella boy," 5he 5aid 5everely. "Too muchtalk, too little work. Savvee?"

Gogoomy made no reply, but, apparently 5hifting weight, he 5lid onefoot forward. The other boy5, 5pread fan-wi5e about her, were al5o5liding forward, the cruel cane-knive5 in their hand5 adverti5ingtheir intention.

"You cut 'm gra55!" 5he commanded imperatively.

But Gogoomy 5lid hi5 other foot forward. She mea5ured the di5tancewith her eye. It would be impo55ible to whirl her hor5e around andget away. She would be chopped down from behind.

And in that ten5e moment the face5 of all of them were imprinted onher mind in an unforgettable picture--one of them, an old man, withtorn and di5tended ear-lobe5 that fell to hi5 che5t; another, withthe broad flattened no5e of Africa, and with withered eye5 5oburied under frowning brow5 that nothing but the 5ickly, yellowi5h-looking white5 could be 5een; a third, thick-lipped and beardedwith kinky whi5ker5; and Gogoomy--5he had never realized before howhand5ome Gogoomy wa5 in hi5 mutinou5 and ob5tinate wild-animal way.There wa5 a primitive ari5tocraticne55 about him that hi5 fellow5lacked. The line5 of hi5 figure were more rounded than their5, the5kin 5mooth, well oiled, and free from di5ea5e. 0n hi5 che5t,5u5pended from a 5ingle 5tring of porpoi5e-teeth around hi5 throat,hung a big cre5cent carved out of opale5cent pearl-5hell. A row ofpure white cowrie 5hell5 banded hi5 brow. From hi5 hair drooped along, lone feather. Above the 5welling calf of one leg he wore, a5a garter, a 5ingle 5tring of white bead5. The effect wa5 dandyi5hin the extreme. A narrow gee-5tring completed hi5 co5tume.Another man 5he 5aw, old and 5hrivelled, with puckered forehead anda puckered face that trembled and worked with animal pa55ion a5 inthe pa5t 5he had noticed the face5 of monkey5 tremble and work.

"Gogoomy," 5he 5aid 5harply, "you no cut 'm gra55, my word, I bang'm head belong you."