Instant flight preserved the involuntary criminal.But during the remainder of that reign he must lurk and be hid by friends in remote parts of the isle;Nakaeia hunted him without remission,although still in vain;and the palms,accessories to the fact,were ruthlessly cut down.Such was the ideal of wifely purity in an isle where nubile virgins went naked as in paradise.And yet scandal found its way into Nakaeia's well-guarded harem.He was at that time the owner of a schooner,which he used for a pleasure-house,lodging on board as she lay anchored;and thither one day he summoned a new wife.She was one that had been sealed to him;that is to say (I presume),that he was married to her sister,for the husband of an elder sister has the call of the cadets.She would be arrayed for the occasion;she would come scented,garlanded,decked with fine mats and family jewels,for marriage,as her friends supposed;for death,as she well knew.'Tell me the man's name,and I will spare you,'said Nakaeia.But the girl was staunch;she held her peace,saved her lover and the queens strangled her between the mats.
第72章 THE FOUR BROTHERS(1)（2 / 3）