In Search of an Unknown Race — page 245: what you’re looking at

Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.

VAN. 231 ‘¢S’pose white fellow palaver.” Gently touching Van’s shoulder as he thus spoke, the Kroo, with a grin of significance in the direction of the distant boat, took a seat beside him on the house. ‘‘We make waddy some white fellow,” he repeated, with a significant gesture, but he either would or could not understand Van’s questioning and pantomime by which he tried to find out how many or who had been the victims. And now followed a long ‘‘ palaver,” to use the word by which the Kroo managed to express so many dif- ferent meanings. Of course Van knew very well that the intent and purpose of the blacks would be to return to their own island of New Hebrides. Yet there were many obvious reasons why this plan could not be carried out. In the first place, Van knew that his duty was to take the schooner to San Francisco if possible, at all hazards, in order that his guardian might not only receive his long lost property, but alse be relieved from additional anxiety as to the fate of Van himself. Then again he did not feel himself by any means competent to navigate the vessel among the intricacies of the South Sea Islands, and even had he been com- netent, how could he ever get away from New Hebrides without a proper crew, which he could not of course find there ? These, with other obstacles to such a course of action, which will readily occur to the reader, presented them- selves to Van’s mind as he listened to the jargon of the Kroo, who interpreted his own clumsy answers to the natives, EOMIGcdoOO (E(o)