midday
When we turned out on the following morning our two resuscitated savages were nowhere to be seen , and the bodies of the three dead had also vanished ; but a glance in the direction of the beach showed that they were still somewhere on the island , for their canoe lay hauled up on the sand , alongside the catamaran , where we had left her on the previous night , and the prints of their naked feet on the sand indicated that they had made some three or four journeys to the eastern extremity of the bay . We therefore concluded that the two were performing the obsequies of their departed companions , and made no endeavour to discover their whereabouts , taking it for granted that they would reappear when they had disposed of their dead to their satisfaction . While we were partaking of breakfast a big cloud of smoke arose from the woods situated at the eastern extremity of the bay , causing us to surmise that the dead were at that moment undergoing the process of cremation ; but we made no attempt to investigate , leaving the savages to their own devices for that day , and proceeding to the shipyard as usual immediately after breakfast . Shortly after midday our two savages hove in sight , making their way down the cliff path to the shipyard , having evidently followed the path over the plateau which we had beaten in our frequent passages to and fro between the two bays . They displayed no fear of us , approaching us without the slightest hesitation , but exhibiting more curiosity than any natives with whom I had thus far been brought into contact . They seemed to be filled with astonishment at the whiteness of our skins when , following our usual custom , we discarded our scanty clothing and plunged into the sea for a few minutes before partaking of our midday meal ; and did not appear to be able to understand how it was that , while our faces , necks , hands , and arms were almost as dark as their own skins , the remaining portions of our bodies , ordinarily protected from the sun by our clothing , should be so very much lighter . They were not oppressed by any feeling of false modesty or bashfulness , but examined us minutely at close quarters , jabbering together with the utmost animation all the while and lightly running their fingers over our arms and necks , with the apparent purpose of finding the join in the differently coloured portions of our skin .