“Oh, Centauri! Centauri!” roared Potolili derisively; “four men, their own color, yet still in the savage state” (he laughed), “have accomplished what Centauri is still dreaming of. But the superiority of a superb people will acknowledge and praise your daring. A true savage, jealous, doubts and jeers. I worship the Centaurians; the men are gods, the women—ah!” he clasped his hands, sighing voluptuously, “the women are divine!” Fourteen hours later we parted from Potolili. “You are entering the Octrogona domain,” he told us. “I am sad at parting, but we shall meet again. Good luck.” We could not let him or his men depart without some little token of our esteem; this regard deeply affected them. Saxe. presented a canoe to Potolili. He was delighted with the gift. The canoes had attracted his attention above everything else in the car, he had never seen one before. I created a sensation by distributing money. Potolili informed me the museum contained many of these rare, valuable coins. Saxe. cautioned me to preserve my gold, and he became very stingy with his beads. Potolili had curiously examined Saxe.’s collection of beads, but preferred the canoe because it could not be found in the museum. The beads, however, were there in every variety, and were priceless; they were relics of an extinct age. Potolili embraced us and bestowed upon Saxe. a most peculiar ring of dull, coral-red metal. The width of the ring reached the first joint of the finger, and was ornamented with a diamond whose least value in our country would have reached four figures. It flashed a steel-blue glint. We learned later this magnificent gem was a production of man. The Centaurians had discovered the secret of the diamond. CHAPTER X.