noon
On the following morning , Hayes called several of the head men of the island into his cabin , and told them that if they were willing , he would take one hundred of the people -- men , women , and children -- to the German trading station and plantation at Ponapé in the Caroline Islands . Here , he told them , they would have to work for three years for 5 dollars per month each . If , at the end of six months , they found that the Germans did not treat them well , he would bring them back again to their own island on his next voyage to Ponapé . They accepted his offer with the strongest protestations of gratitude , and before noon we sailed with over a hundred of the poor people on board . Before we left , however , Hayes gave the remainder of the population nearly a ton of rice and several casks of biscuits . `` You can pay me when the sky of brass has broken and the rain falls , and the land is fertile once more , '' said the so-called pirate . We made a quick passage to the Caroline Islands , touching at Kusaie or Strong 's Island on our way , and on a Sunday evening swept into Jakoits Harbour on the island of Ponapé before a strong trade-wind .