Presently Captain Thornton turned and said, “My son, Ahleka, has asked, that, in his name I extend the hospitality and protection of the village and island to you all, which I gladly do; he also wishes to give to Captain Gray and the two young ladies, this house and the one adjoining, which are his own. He will provide for the sailors with you’ hereafter, and, as for my son Allen, his comfort shall be my care.” During this conversation the village had literally awakened from its sleep, and from every little grass house came streaming, dusky forms. They clustered around Ahleka, listening with open-eyed astonishment to the strange story he was telling them in their own musical tongue, with many a gesture. Presently a number of smiling girls darted off, and soon returned with long leis (bands) of flowers, made by braiding the brightest and sweetest flowers with ferns, or, a sweet smelling vine, into long garlands, with which they proceeded to deck each of the strangers, putting them over one shoulder and under the other arm like a military sash, leaving long ends to fall almost to the ground. More garlands were wound about their waists, placed upon their heads and around their necks until they were fairly clothed in flowers; the girls, meantime, laughing gaily, and repeating in their soft, musical voices, ah mie ha (you are welcome.) CHAPTER IX. The village of Nahua is in a great excitement to-day. Everything wears an aspect of unusual gaiety. The houses are bedecked with flowers, and in the center of the village has been erected two rows of high poles standing about twenty feet apart and extending in a line almost two hundred feet long. Garlands of flowers are stretched from the top of these poles in all directions and are also wound around the poles, the whole forming a canopied avenue of exceeding beauty. Under this canopy were placed two rows of straw mats; further on were laid more mats in the form of a letter H. On these mats was spread a banquet consisting of raw fish with chili peppers, fish dried in the sun, fish that had been wrapped in leaves and then cooked, devil fish which had been salted and dried, its long slender tentacles being regarded as an especial dainty. Then there was lemu, or sea kale, plantain, kalo, a vegetable resembling, somewhat, the potato, there was kui, or candlenut, ground to a coarse powder and salted, to be eaten as a relish to the fish. There were mangoes, guavas, oranges, dates, figs, pomegranates, papiea, young cocoanuts, the meat of which was not yet hard, but of a thick creamy appearance and had to be scooped out with little spoon-shaped pieces of shell. Then there was a large number of small cups made of wood curiously carved, containing a peculiar, greyish looking mass of something that would put one in mind of paste, if one were not told it was a very much liked dish, in fact, being the _piece d’ resistance_ of the feast.