 from one to another, gave
utterance to some hasty witticism, which was sure to be followed by peals of
laughter. To the females, as well as to the men, he addressed his discourse.
Heaven only knows what he said to them, but he caused smiles and blushes to
mantle their ingenuous faces. I am, indeed, very much inclined to believe that
Marnoo, with his handsome person and captivating manners, was a sad deceiver
among the simple maidens of the island.
    During all this time, he had never for one moment deigned to regard me. He
appeared, indeed, to be altogether unconscious of my presence. I was utterly at
a loss how to account for this extraordinary conduct. I easily perceived that he
was a man of no little consequence among the islanders; that he possessed
uncommon talents: and was gifted with a higher degree of knowledge than the
inmates of the valley. For these reasons, I therefore greatly feared lest
having, from some cause or other, unfriendly feelings toward me, he might exert
his powerful influence to do me mischief.
    It seemed evident that he was not a permanent resident of the vale, and yet,
whence could he have come? On all sides the Typees were girt in by hostile
tribes, and how could he possibly, if belonging to any of these, be received
with so much cordiality?
    The personal appearance of the enigmatical stranger suggested additional
perplexities. The face, free from tattooing, and the unshaven crown, were
peculiarities I had never before remarked in any part of the island, and I had
always heard that the contrary were considered the indispensable distinctions of
a Marquesan warrior. Altogether the matter was perfectly incomprehensible to me,
and I awaited its solution with no small degree of anxiety.
    At length, from certain indications, I suspected that he was making me the
subject of his remarks, although he appeared cautiously to avoid either
pronouncing my name, or looking in the direction where I lay. All at once he
rose from the mats where he had been reclining, and, still conversing, moved
toward me, his eye purposely evading mine, and seated himself within less than a
yard of me. I had hardly recovered from my surprise, when he suddenly turned
round, and, with a most benignant countenance, extended his right hand
gracefully toward me. Of course I accepted the courteous challenge, and, as soon
as our palms met, he bent toward me, and murmured in musical accents - »How you
do?« »How long you been in this bay?« »You like this bay?«
    Had
