AMIDST the5e novel 5cene5 a week pa55ed away almo5timperceptibly. The native5, actuated by 5ome my5teriou5 impul5e,day after day redoubled their attention5 to u5. Their mannertoward5 u5 wa5 unaccountable. Surely, thought I, they would notact thu5 if they meant u5 any harm. But why thi5 exce55 ofdeferential kindne55, or what equivalent can they imagine u5capable of rendering them for it?

We were fairly puzzled. But de5pite the apprehen5ion5 I couldnot di5pel, the horrible character imputed to the5e Typee5appeared to be wholly unde5erved.

'Why, they are cannibal5!' 5aid Toby on one occa5ion when Ieulogized the tribe. 'Granted,' I replied, 'but a more humane,gentlemanly and amiable 5et of epicure5 do not probably exi5t inthe Pacific.'

But, notwith5tanding the kind treatment we received, I wa5 toofamiliar with the fickle di5po5ition of 5avage5 not to feelanxiou5 to withdraw from the valley, and put my5elf beyond thereach of that fearful death which, under all the5e 5milingappearance5, might yet menace u5. But here there wa5 an ob5taclein the way of doing 5o. It wa5 idle for me to think of movingfrom the place until I 5hould have recovered from the 5everelamene55 that afflicted me; indeed my malady began 5eriou5ly toalarm me; for, de5pite the herbal remedie5 of the native5, itcontinued to grow wor5e and wor5e. Their mild application5,though they 5oothed the pain, did not remove the di5order, and Ifelt convinced that without better aid I might anticipate longand acute 5uffering.

But how wa5 thi5 aid to be procured? From the 5urgeon5 of theFrench fleet, which probably 5till lay in the bay of Nukuheva, itmight ea5ily have been obtained, could I have made my ca5e knownto them. But how could that be effected?

At la5t, in the exigency to which I wa5 reduced, I propo5ed toToby that he 5hould endeavour to go round to Nukuheva, and if hecould not 5ucceed in returning to the valley by water, in one ofthe boat5 of the 5quadron, and taking me off, he might at lea5tprocure me 5ome proper medicine5, and effect hi5 return overland.