Jephson is taken to a temple where the lucky charm proves to be an ear from a giant stone idol. This causes the Africans to worship Jephson as the bearer of the missing ear, and he is treated with reverence, although it is clear that he remains a prisoner. During the night he is visited by Goring, who explains the history and significance of the statue and the stone ear. He also tells Jephson that he has a hatred of the white race, and, in revenge for the ill-treatment of himself and his family by white slave owners, he carried out a series of murders of white people in the United States. He explains that on the "Marie Celeste" he killed the captain and the captain's wife and child, and tampered with the navigation instruments so that Hyson would unwittingly steer for Africa. Now he finds he cannot bear the presence of white people and intends to become the head of the tribe of Africans, whom he considers to have a purity he cannot find anywhere else. The passengers and crew of the "Marie Celeste" were to be his last victims, but the stone ear complicated matters.