These people, all talking excitedly and laughing after their fashion, stopped at a distance, so we took no notice of them.

Presently Marama, clad in his feather cloak, and again accompanied by priests or medicine-men, appeared walking down the path on the cliff face, and, standing below, made salutations and entered into a conversation with us of which I give the substance--that is, so far as we could understand it.
He reproached us for not having come to him as he expected we would do.
We replied that we preferred to remain where we were until we were sure of our greeting and asked him what was the position.

He explained that only once before, in the time of his grandfather, had any people reached their shores, also during a great storm as we had done.

They were dark-skinned men like themselves, three of them, but whence they came was never known, since they were at once seized and sacrificed to the god Oro, which was the right thing to do in such a case.
We asked whether he would consider it right to sacrifice us.

He replied: Certainly, unless we were too strong, being gods ourselves, or unless an arrangement could be concluded.