A piratical tribe, called the Mbutoni, had brought a large offering of their spoil as tribute to the old king, Tanoa. Custom required that a feast of human flesh should be prepared for them, but the larder was empty, and no prisoners of war could be obtained. Under these circumstances, it was the duty of Ngavindi, the chief of the _lasakau_, or fishermen, to provide victims. Two young men were accordingly entrapped; but these not being deemed sufficient, the wary fisher went forth with his men. They ran their canoes among the mangrove-bushes, and covered either end with green boughs, and then lay in wait. Soon a company of fourteen women came down to fish. They were seized and bound, and carried off to Bau to furnish a feast for the morrow. News of this reached Viwa, where Mrs Calvert and Mrs Lyth were living alone with their children, their husbands having gone to teach on another island. They determined to make an attempt to save the lives of their luckless sisters; so having induced a friendly native to take them across in his canoe, they started on their errand of mercy. As they neared the shore it was evident that the cannibals were in a state of frantic excitement: the death-drums were booming, muskets firing, in token of rejoicing; and then piercing shrieks rose above the wild din, and told that the horrid butchery had begun. It needed desperate courage for these two lone (and apparently unprotected) women to land on the isle and face that bloodthirsty rabble. But with resolute courage and unfailing faith they pressed on.