"I'm going to sneak up behind my hut and try to get the attention of my nona. I want you to stay here and keep a lookout. If you see any unusual activity, whistle softly twice in succession."
"Won't that attract the suspicion of the tribespeople?"
"Not if they're still asleep. Just try to sound like one of those seabirds."
"Fat chance of that," I said, realizing I still had much to learn about her island. "What should I do if you get caught?"
"Same thing we talked about earlier. It'll be safer for you to return to our lagoon until things quiet down. I'll steal away when I can and find you."
I shook my head and furrowed my brow at the fragility of her plan.
"You might not have enough time. The other tribe is going to attack in two days."
"Once my father finds out about their plans, I'll be the least of his concerns. He won't be able to spare any extra tribesmen to watch over me. It shouldn't be too hard to break away during all the distraction."
I placed my hands around Te's arms and stared into her eyes.
"Just tell me no matter what happens that you won't stay and fight. I don't know what I'd do if I lost you."
Teuila smiled at me as she cupped my face and kissed me gently. Then she pulled the heart-shaped stone we'd found on the beach out of a pouch in her loincloth and patted her chest with the palm of her hand to symbolize the beating of her heart.
"You'll always be with me, Jade. Forever and ever."
I pulled her close to me and squeezed her tightly against my chest.
"Please be careful."
Te' nodded, then crept quietly around the perimeter of the camp toward the chief's hut. As she disappeared behind the cabins, I glanced toward the beach and noticed Manaia stowing something in one of the village's outrigger canoes. It seemed odd that he'd be up alone at this early hour and I peered back toward Teuila, unsure if she'd seen him. For a moment, I pursed my lips preparing to send a warning signal. But he seemed unaware of her presence and I decided it was best not to risk any further distraction.
When I looked back in Manaia's direction, I noticed a flickering light emanating from inside the hull, as smoke began to rise above the gunwales.
He's setting fire to their outrigger canoe! I realized, pinching my eyebrows in confusion. Why would he be doing that?
Teuila had told me how important the village's few outrigger canoes were to their tribe and how long it took them to hollow them out from the thick trunks of the island's breadfruit trees. If they needed them as their sole method of navigation around the island and for deep sea fishing, what purpose would he have in destroying them?
Then it suddenly dawned on me. The timing of his act of sabotage was too coincidental. He must be a spy for the other tribe! By virtue of his status as Teuila's chosen mate, he'd have unique access to her father and his plans for protecting the village. He must have been offered some kind of preferential treatment by the other tribe for him to take such drastic action.
I turned back in Teuila's direction just as she slipped behind the rear of her family's hut. If I gave the warning signal now, she mightn't hear me and just attract the attention of Manaia. As I swiveled my head frantically back and forth between the two scenes at opposite ends of the village square, I heard some rustling coming from the chief's cabin. A few moments later, Te's grandmother appeared at the front entrance. She slowly swiped the door covering aside and tiptoed down the front steps toward the back of the cabin.
Te' pressed her finger to her lips when she saw her nona, and two women retreated further up the path away from their hut. I could see the two of them talking quietly at the edge of the forest, then her grandmother began gesticulating wildly with her hands, obviously upset about what Teuila had told her. When I turned back in the direction of the beach, I noticed two more canoes had been set aflame and there was no sign of Manaia.
I wasn't sure if he had escaped into the bush to rejoin his comrades, or if he'd retreated to his cabin to maintain the guise that the other tribe had sabotaged their canoes. Either way, Teuila needed to be warned so she could notify her grandmother of the betrayal within their ranks. I pursed my lips and strained to whistle as loudly as I dared.
It took longer than I hoped to attract Teuila's attention, and by the time she finally looked in my direction, the flap of her hut's front door swung open as her father stood in the entrance, peering
from side to side. From her position many yards away from her family's hut, she was unaware that her father had been roused. I wanted to scream out loud to her and tell her to run, but by now many of the villagers had begun to stream out of their huts, attracted by the unusual smell of burning wood.
When the chief caught sight of the burning canoes, he hollered something in his native tongue and a swarm of tribesmen converged on the beach trying to put out the flames with baskets of seawater. But it was too little, too late. By the time they were finally extinguished and the gray smoke stopped pouring out of the hulls, all three of the village's outrigger canoes had been cut in half by the charred ruins of the fire.
When I looked back toward Teuila's hut, I was horrified to see that Manaia had found her and was holding her arms tightly behind her back as her father stormed back up the path in their direction. When he confronted his daughter, they hollered at each other for a few moments as Te' struggled helplessly against Manaia's hold. Her younger sisters and brothers began streaming out of the hut, and the chief muttered something to Manaia, motioning for him to take Teuila inside.
When they disappeared behind the door curtain, the chief castigated nona for helping his daughter then yelled to the tribesmen returning from the beach, pointing into the woods in my direction.
"Saili latou!" he shouted, as the angry warriors spread out into the jungle.
19
As the tribesmen darted toward me, my mind raced trying to devise an escape plan. All I could think about was Teuila's dream where her father tied me to a stake and burned me alive after he found us. It seemed like an extreme punishment for two lovers following their hearts, but from the crazed look in his eyes, I couldn't rule anything out right now. And with her jealous boyfriend demonstrating increasingly suspicious behavior, I'd have one more enemy wanting me out of the picture.