I stood on the deck in an attitude as bold and imposing as I could command; but I did not succeed in intimidating them.

They leaped, one after the other, on deck, and surrounded me, uttering loud cries.

I could not discover whether they were cries of joy or of fury; but I showed no fear, and addressed them in a friendly tone, in some words from Capt.

Cook's vocabulary; but they did not seem to comprehend me, neither could I understand any of theirs except _ecroue_ (father), which they frequently repeated, and _tara-tauo_ (woman).

One of them had Fritz's gun, from which I concluded they were of the party that had carried off Jack.