They seemed adverse to the experiment, till Marama grew furious with them and at last burst into tears saying that he could no longer drag this terrible burden about with him, and he touched the growth.

He would rather die.

Then they gave way.
I will tell the rest as shortly as I can.
A hideous wooden idol was brought on board, wrapped in leaves and feathers, and upon it the chief and his head people swore safety to us whether he lived or died, making us the guests of their land.

There were, however, two provisos made, or as such we understood them.

These seemed to be that we should offer no insult or injury to their god, and secondly, that we should not set foot on the island in the lake.