Is THAT what maggot means here! I admit the name has been offputting to me, but I figured there must be some sort of slang or regional or archaic meaning I didn't know... As indeed there is, apparently.

What a fascinatingly odd story! One always winces more than a little at a tale of missionaries and idyllic made-up Pacific islands, but at least this one seems to have turned out okay for everybody (except possibly Mr. Fortune, depending on how upset he is about his crisis of faith, I suppose).