. m mi
 
 liarolit S. Doultoit 
 iHtrninar
 
 tld l-tl 
 
 A *.*" 
 
 CCSB LIBRARY
 
 THE ADVENTURES 
 OF A SUPERCARGO
 
 BY THE SAME AUTHOR 
 UNIFORM EDITION 
 
 BY REEF AND PAI,M AND THE 
 EBBING OF THE TIDE 
 
 PACIFIC TAI.ES 
 
 HEI<EN ADAIR 
 
 RODMAN THE BOATSTEERER 
 
 YORK.E THE ADVENTURER 
 
 J. B. LIPPINCOTT COMPANY
 
 THE ADVENTURES 
 OF A SUPERCARGO 
 
 'By LOUIS BECKE 
 
 PHILADELPHIA: 
 J. B. LIPPINCOTT COMPANY
 
 PRINTED IK CHEAT BRITAIN
 
 TO 
 
 MY OLD SHIPMATE IN SOUTHERN SEAS 
 MY DAUGHTER 
 
 NORA LOIS 
 
 HONFI.EUR, CAI.VADOS, 
 January, 1906.
 
 THE ADVENTURES 
 OF A SUPERCARGO 
 
 CHAPTER I 
 
 THE night air was heavy with the perfume of the wild 
 convolvulus and the flowers of the golden wattle, as a 
 lad of sixteen, carrying a weighty fish basket slung from 
 his shoulder, began the ascent of a narrow, rocky path 
 leading from the shores of the quiet little bay to the 
 densely timbered uplands. 
 
 The summit gained, he freed himself of his load, by 
 slipping the leather strap over, his head, and as the 
 basket touched the ground, it canted on one side, and a 
 number of large silvery bream, still alive, slid out upon 
 the grass, their bodies gleaming under the light of the 
 myriad stars shining out from a vault of cloudless blue. 
 
 With a sigh of content, the youth sat down upon the 
 sward and looked at the scene below, and then across 
 the slumbering water to the blaze of the lights of the city, 
 four miles away. Just beneath was the deep, land-
 
 8 The Adventures of a Super car go 
 
 locked bay, darkened by the shadows of the high, tree- 
 clad hills, and showing no sign of life, except a faint 
 gleam from the stern ports of a large barque, whose bulk 
 impressively dominated over that of several smaller 
 vessels brigs, schooners, and a dismantled and ancient 
 paddle-wheel steamer. All even the lofty-sparred 
 barque herself were " condemned " craft, and had been 
 moored in the cove for a long time, some for three or 
 four years. And they were all dear to the heart of the 
 boy, who was now regarding them with wistful eyes, and 
 building up romances about them in his imaginative 
 brain. For he had known them ever since they had been 
 towed into the secluded little cove, to await being sold 
 as coal hulks, or to be broken up for the sake of their 
 copper or Muntz metal bolts. 
 
 Once, when he was three years younger, there had 
 been as many as fifteen " condemneds " in sleepy Sirius 
 Cove, and then one day there came along two panting 
 tugs, and four of them were taken away to be made 
 " fit for sea " again to take coal to California or Panama 
 or Valparaiso. For those were the days when the 
 private marine surveyors had very pleasant financial 
 relations with the official Marine Board of New South 
 Wales, and many hundreds of sailormen went to their 
 deaths in heavily-insured, ex-condemned, and rotten old 
 crates called ships, whose captains and officers well 
 knew that there were ten chances to one of the vessel
 
 The Adventures of a Supercargo 9 
 
 not reaching her destination if she met with bad weather. 
 But they were heavily-insured ; and the " hard-up " 
 captains and mates who signed the articles at the 
 Shipping Office were always broken and reckless men 
 who cared little for their own lives, and still less for 
 those of the scratch crews of dead-beats and loafers, 
 who called themselves " Able Bodied," and " Ordinary 
 Seamen." If the ship arrived at her port of discharge, 
 the skipper and his officers received a bonus in addition 
 to their wages, and the crew, who had already spent 
 their one or two months' advance, and were in debt to 
 the ship, were encouraged to stick to her for the return 
 voyage by the gift of a few bottles of Queensland rum, 
 and the seizure by the captain of such wretched effects 
 as they possessed. These were locked up in the cabin, 
 so that if any one of the hands before the mast deserted, 
 he would go ashore with nothing but what he stood up 
 in a ragged shirt, and a pair of worn-out pants, with 
 perhaps an ancient pair of shoes or sea-boots. 
 
 But, if the ship never turned up again, and was 
 reported " missing " at Lloyds, there was but little 
 comment made, except by the people in the insurance 
 office. They took big risks, and charged big premiums, 
 and had no concern otherwise about men's lives. And 
 even in these latter days, the life of a merchant seaman 
 too often counts for naught.
 
 io The Adventures of a Supercargo 
 
 For half-an-hour or more, the lad lay upon the grassy 
 sward, watching the changing lights of the city, and 
 listening to the soft rustle of the branches of the gum- 
 trees overhead as they were stirred by the gentle breath 
 of the land breeze from the west. Then came the sound 
 of hurried footsteps upon the dry, crisp and fallen 
 leaves which covered the path, and he sat up. 
 
 " Tom," cried a childish voice, " are you here ? " 
 
 " Yes, I am, Sab. But whatever has made you come 
 to this place ? " 
 
 " To look for you, Tom," and the speaker, a girl of 
 ten years of age, who was bare-headed, but had a light 
 muslin shawl over her shoulders, rushed excitedly up 
 to the boy, and placed her trembling hands in his. 
 
 " Come home, Tom dear, come home quickly. You 
 said you would be back at five o'clock, and now it is 
 nine, and oh, Tom, Aunt Christina means to do some- 
 thing dreadful ! I am sure she does, for she told Mrs. 
 Potter to serve dinner for her at eight o'clock, and she 
 has dressed herself in her best black silk dress with the 
 long gold chain " 
 
 The boy put his arm round his sister's waist. 
 
 " Yes ; but go easy, Sabbie, and don't talk so 
 fast." 
 
 " I must talk quickly, Tom. Something horrid is 
 about to happen ! Aunt Christina has written to Canon 
 Cooper about you, and has asked him to come to-morrow
 
 The Adventures of a Supercargo 1 1 
 
 to see you and oh, Tom, I'm sure she means to send you 
 to England to College." 
 
 The boy's square jaw set firmly, and he grasped his 
 sister's hand tightly. 
 
 " No, Sabbie, she shall not send me to England ! 
 Aunt has made me pretty miserable for three years, but 
 I am not a toddling infant, and I am sick of her continual 
 bullying. I'll run away from home." 
 
 " Oh, no, no, Tom, don't do that, and leave me all 
 alone. But come, let us get back. Aunt is so dread- 
 fully angry. You know you said you would be home at 
 five." 
 
 " I know I did. But old Ryder is very ill, and I 
 stayed on board the barque and made supper for him. 
 Then at six o'clock he became much worse and asked 
 me to go for a doctor, so I pulled over to the Circular 
 Quay, and brought Dr. Lascelles over. He stayed 
 half-an-hour, and then went back in his own boat, but 
 poor old Captain Ryder begged me to stay longer, so I 
 sat on the transoms, and fished out of the stern port until 
 eight, when he fell asleep. What else could I do but 
 say ' yes,' when he asked me to stay ? He is all alone 
 and very weak. See, there is his cabin light. I filled 
 and trimmed the lamp, and left a note on the table say- 
 ing I would be back again sometime to-night. And I 
 mean to keep my promise if there were fifty Aunt 
 Christmas."
 
 12 
 
 The girl made no answer. She knew how deeply 
 her brother was attached to the old ship-keeper. 
 
 ******* 
 
 " Aunt Christina " sat alone in the spacious dining- 
 room with her open Bible upon her knees. She was a 
 tall, thin, handsome woman, with a white, stern face, 
 and dressed in a style of fifty years back, the high 
 starched cap she wore was no whiter and stiffer looking 
 than the carefully arranged little curls on each side of 
 her face. A hard, severe face it was, yet at times there 
 would come into the cold grey eyes a gleam of kindly 
 light but alas ! never for her nephew Tom, who was 
 now standing outside the door, uncertain whether to 
 seek admission or not. On his table he had found a few 
 lines written in his aunt's thin Italian hand. 
 
 " THOMAS, I have instructed Mrs. Potter not to give 
 you any supper, and wish you to at once retire. In the 
 morning, dress yourself in your best clothes, and, after 
 breakfast, come to me in the library at ten o'clock." 
 
 " I'll try and see if she won't let me explain," the lad 
 muttered to himself. Then he knocked gently. 
 
 " Come in, Sabina." 
 
 Tom opened the door. " It is I, Aunt Christina. 
 Sabbie is in bed. I want to explain, Aunt " 
 
 " I shall listen to no shallow explanations. Go to 
 your room," and Miss Denison turned slightly in her 
 chair, and bent her eyes upon her Bible.
 
 The Adventures of a Supercargo 13 
 
 " But, Aunt, do please hear what I have to say." 
 
 The lady turned sharply, and her nephew's sun- 
 tanned face flushed as she spoke : 
 
 " I am grievously disappointed with you, Thomas. 
 Your conduct has, for many months past, given me very 
 many bitter hours of reflection. Unfortunately, in 
 Australia, the lax scholastic discipline that prevails " 
 
 " I am really very sorry, Aunt Christina " 
 
 " Do not interrupt me. I cannot listen to your 
 excuses. I am too deeply hurt and mortified to discuss 
 any further your outrageous behaviour." 
 
 " Once more, Aunt, let me ask you to listen to me 
 if only for one minute. Captain Ryder " 
 
 " I desire not to hear you. I place no faith in any- 
 thing you may have to say by way of excuse." 
 
 " Am I a liar, Aunt ? " he burst out hotly. 
 
 " How dare you use such coarse language to me ! 
 Leave the room ! " and Miss Denison, rising, pointed 
 to the door. 
 
 Too mortified to even say good-night, Tom went out 
 and ascended to his room. For a few minutes he stood 
 at the open window, gazing out upon the sleeping waters 
 of Sydney Harbour. Then he looked at his watch a 
 quaint old-fashioned silver Geneva, the gift of his dead 
 father ; it was a quarter past ten. 
 
 He tapped against the wall of his room, " Are you 
 awake, Sabbie ? "
 
 14 The Adventiires of a Supercargo 
 
 " Yes, Tom, come in," and then he heard his sister 
 strike a match. 
 
 " Sabbie," he said quickly, " Aunt has refused to 
 listen to me, and I am going out again. I could do so 
 without her knowing anything about it, but I won't. 
 I may not be home till the morning perhaps if old Ryder 
 is no better. There, good-night." 
 
 A few minutes later he was in the hall, where he met 
 Mrs. Potter, the housekeeper, who had just locked up 
 the house and was going to bed. 
 
 " Open the front door, if you please, Mrs. Potter. 
 I am going out to stay with a sick man." 
 
 Mrs. Potter looked at him aghast, " I cannot, Master 
 Thomas your aunt " 
 
 " Then I'll open it myself," he said with assumed 
 roughness, and taking the bunch of keys from her hand, 
 he quietly opened the hall door. 
 
 " Good-night, Mrs. Potter. Please tell my aunt that 
 I may not be home till the morning."
 
 CHAPTER II 
 
 TOM and his sister, who was six years younger than 
 himself, were orphans, having by a dreadful tragedy, 
 lost both their parents when the boy was thirteen years 
 of age. Mr. Denison had been one of the first civilian 
 magistrates appointed in the colony of Tasmania, where 
 he had been stationed for many years previous to his 
 marriage. His wife was the daughter of a retired 
 military settler, a Major Lotherington, who was a man of 
 considerable wealth, and who bequeathed the whole of 
 his fortune to his daughter ; he was a widower, and Mrs. 
 Denison his only child. He died when Tom was so 
 young that the boy had but an indistinct remembrance 
 of a fussy, red-faced old gentleman with enormous 
 bushy white eyebrows and bright blue eyes, who would 
 come occasionally to visit his father and mother, and 
 who was the terror of the servants. He, however, was 
 very kind to Tom, and indeed, was intensely fond and 
 proud of his sturdy grandchild. He would often, much 
 to Mrs. Denison's frantic terror, insist upon taking the 
 youngster for what he called " a bit of a trot," which 
 
 15
 
 1 6 The Adventures of a Supercargo 
 
 meant riding about the station paddocks at a hard 
 gallop, holding the boy in front of him, and making 
 the horse jump huge logs. 
 
 " Never mind, Marion," the boy's father would say, 
 " that horse of your father's is one of the best ' leppers ' 
 in Tasmania, as he says, and they will never come to 
 any harm." 
 
 After the death of the old, hard-riding Irishman, 
 Mrs. Denison found herself a fairly wealthy woman, and 
 insisted upon her husband resigning his magistrateship 
 and devoting himself to pastoral pursuits ; and so in a 
 few months the family removed to her former home, 
 much to the delight of the late major's servants, " bond " 
 and " free," for they all had a great affection for " Miss 
 Marion," as they still persistently called her. 
 
 The estate consisted of about one hundred square 
 miles of splendid cattle country, and Denison entered 
 with a zest into the more active life now afforded him, 
 and the first year of their life in the Huon Valley passed 
 very happily, although the district as indeed was the 
 whole of the northern part of the colony was much 
 disturbed by the presence of numerous gangs of desperate 
 bushrangers, who, in addition to daring robberies, had 
 committed many appalling murders. Settlers' home- 
 steads had been pillaged and the male occupants who 
 offered resistance had been shot down mercilessly by 
 these men, who were nearly all escaped convicts from
 
 Port Arthur and other penal establishments. Not 
 only the police, but the military were employed in the 
 pursuit of these gangs, but it was not often that many of 
 them were taken alive, for they preferred death by the 
 bullet or starvation in the Tasmanian bush to the 
 certainty of hanging, or at least re-incarceration in that 
 abode of horror Port Arthur, where the slightest offence 
 against the prison discipline was visited by a severe 
 flogging. 
 
 Only those who have read Marcus Clarke's novel, 
 " For the Term of His Natural Life," or studied the 
 penal records of Australia, can gain an idea of the 
 wickedness and savagery of the then " Convict System " 
 of New South Wales (which applied to Tasmania as well 
 as to the mother colony), and the regulations and punish- 
 ments of which Tom's father, when he was a magistrate, 
 had to administer, though his innermost soul revolted 
 at them. Hundreds of unfortunate prisoners who, 
 even under the severest penal discipline of the present 
 day, would have proved amenable and obedient, were, 
 by the ferocious regime that prevailed at Port Arthur, 
 turned into demons, and many convicts in the chain 
 gangs would sometimes agree among themselves to 
 murder one of their fellow-prisoners or an overseer so 
 that they might escape the horrors and miseries of 
 existence by a simultaneous exit into the other world 
 by the hangman's noose.
 
 1 8 The Adventures of a Supercargo 
 
 Brutalising, soul-destroying and revolting in the 
 extreme was the administration of a system that had 
 been intended as a deterrent to crime it resulted as an 
 incentive to it. 
 
 During Mr. Denison's career as a magistrate he had 
 had brought before him several prisoners who had 
 escaped and been recaptured by either the military, the 
 police, or by settlers, and in each case although he 
 was loth to do so he had no other course but to send 
 them back to Port Arthur and the chain gang. On 
 several occasions, however, owing to want of a proper 
 escort or to the country being flooded by the heavy rains, 
 he had been compelled to keep the prisoners in confine- 
 ment at the homestead much to their satisfaction, for 
 they were, although handcuffed, treated in a humane 
 manner and liberally supplied with food, and, above all, 
 with tobacco. 
 
 So far, " Huon Bank," as the station was called, had 
 escaped molestation, although nearly every other 
 homestead in the vicinity had suffered at the hands of 
 these desperate men. One day he guessed at the reason 
 of his immunity from attack. He had sent a man with 
 a cartload of provisions to some of his shepherds in a 
 distant part of the run ; four miles from " Huon Bank," 
 the cart was stopped by three well-armed bushrangers 
 who, without hurting the driver, made him give them as 
 much salt beef, flour, and tea and sugar as they could
 
 carry. Then the leader, a man named Marshall, asked 
 the driver for his " ration book " and a pencil. Tearing 
 out a sheet, he laboriously wrote a few lines and bade the 
 man give it to his master and Mr. Denison had to 
 laugh when he read it. 
 
 " Mr. Denison sir i am sory we had to stik up your 
 cart we are hard up for tucker but i only took 6 plugs 
 of terbaccer and lef 6 for the sepherds so you must 
 excuse liberty taken. This is to warn you that Tim 
 Hogan and his crowd are about here and mean to stik 
 up huon bank, but me and my pals wil have no hand 
 in it respectfully Samuel Marshall No. 7429." 
 
 Marion Denison's face paled when she heard the name 
 of Tim Hogan a man who had committed several 
 atrocious murders and who was the leader of a gang of 
 six other ruffians almost as bloodthirsty and cruel as 
 himself. For twelve months he had defied all attempts 
 to capture him, and had made a boast that before he 
 " was switched off at Port Arthur he would add a magis- 
 trate or a soldier officer to his tally." 
 
 Mr. Denison did not disregard the warning of " Samuel 
 Marshall, No. 7429," and for many weeks he and his 
 men-servants slept with their loaded arms by their side. 
 Then word was sent officially from Port Arthur, that 
 Hogan's band, hard pressed by the police, had separated, 
 and that Hogan himself had escaped from the colony 
 in one of the American whaleships that cruised about
 
 2O The Adventures of a Supercargo 
 
 the Tasmanian coast in the summer months. But the 
 authorities were deceived, for although the gang had 
 been dispersed, Hogan and one of his fellow-ruffians 
 were in a safe hiding-place in the Huon Valley, about 
 twenty miles from the Denison homestead, watching for 
 an opportunity to slip through the cordon of military 
 and constables and gain the coast. 
 
 And then, into the childish lives of Tom and his infant 
 sister came a great tragedy. 
 
 One hot, windless night, three or four months after 
 Mr. Denison had received Marshall's note, he was 
 awakened by one of the station dogs which began bark- 
 ing furiously and then suddenly stopped. It was past 
 midnight, and the men-servants were fast asleep in 
 their quarters, which were situated some hundreds of 
 yards distant from the main building. 
 
 Springing out of bed, and bidding Mrs. Denison not 
 to be alarmed, he seized his heavy Colt's pistol and 
 walking quietly out of the bedroom he opened the front 
 door as noiselessly as possible and looked out towards 
 the men's quarters. All seemed to be quiet, but he 
 determined to ascertain the cause of the dog's barking, 
 and was just about to step out across the dew-laden grass 
 when he felt his wife's arm upon his shoulder. 
 
 " Do not go alone, Harry," she whispered, " ring the 
 yard bell. I just looked out of the window and saw two 
 men coming across from the storehouse. They must
 
 The Adventures of a Supercargo 2 1 
 
 be here quite near the house, if not inside. The dining- 
 room windows are all open." 
 
 " Take my pistol, Marion," he said, " and stand here, 
 in the shadow, I'll go and ring the bell." 
 
 " No, you won't ! " cried a mocking savage voice, 
 and a man, whom Mrs. Denison instantly divined was 
 the dreaded Hogan, seemed to spring from out of the 
 darkness, and, putting a pistol to Denison's chest, 
 shot him through the heart ; and then a second figure 
 dealt the unfortunate lady a blow upon the head with a 
 cutlass and felled her, dying, to the ground. 
 
 In a few seconds the men from the outbuildings 
 were rushing towards the homestead, but were too late 
 to seize Hogan and his fellow-criminal, who made their 
 escape and were never again heard of in Tasmania. 
 
 Only for a few hours did Marion Denison live. 
 
 " Bring my children to me, Williams," she said faintly 
 to the station-overseer as she was carried into the dining- 
 room, which had been lighted up. " I am dying. Bring 
 them quickly." 
 
 And then Tom and little Sabina were aroused from 
 their slumber and brought to the dying woman. She 
 held out her arms to them, and then in a few minutse 
 passed quietly away.
 
 CHAPTER III 
 
 Six months after the deaths of Mr. and Mrs. Denison 
 Miss Christina Denison arrived from England to assume 
 her charge of the orphaned children. She was quite 
 twenty years older than her late brother, and a more 
 unsuitable person to be given the control of an active, 
 high-spirited lad of nearly seventeen, like her nephew 
 Tom, could not possibly have been found. For the most 
 of her life she had lived in the dull and restricted social 
 atmosphere of a remarkably dull village in the Midlands, 
 where the most exciting function of the year was the 
 Vicar's garden party, which took place on the same 
 afternoon as the local flower show, at which she was one 
 of the judges. The news of the terrible tragedy at 
 " Huon Bank " was communicated to her by one of 
 her brother's executors, an old friend and neighbour 
 named Maning. Denison, actuated no doubt by the 
 disturbed condition of the country owing to the bush- 
 rangers, had been careful enough to make his will a few 
 months before his death. In some respects this will
 
 The Adventures of a Supercargo 23 
 
 was pleasing to his sister, in others it was not. Her 
 brother had always allowed her one hundred pounds a 
 year, even when he was only in receipt of his salary as a 
 magistrate, " but," wrote Mr. Maning, " the death of Mrs. 
 Denison has greatly complicated matters and I am much 
 concerned about my dear friends' boy and girl. I am 
 an old bachelor, lead a very rough life in the Tasmanian 
 bush, and I am quite unfitted to have the care of 
 children ; and, unless you come to my assistance 
 which I earnestly hope you will do I shall be com- 
 pelled to commit the care and education of these un- 
 fortunate orphans to utter strangers." Then he went 
 on to say that if Miss Denison would come to Australia 
 and take the charge of Tom and Sabina he would increase 
 her allowance to five hundred pounds per annum, and 
 provide her with a suitable house in Sydney, where Tom 
 at least could receive a fairly good education in the 
 public school, and where she, he hoped, would find 
 congenial society and pleasant surroundings. " Your 
 poor brother," he added, " often told me of his intention 
 to send the boy to Sydney to a public school, and there- 
 fore I feel bound to carry out his wishes in this respect." 
 With the letter he enclosed a draft for two hundred 
 pounds to cover the lady's travelling expenses, " feel- 
 ing almost sure that she could not decline the respon- 
 sibility of the care of an affectionate brother's orphaned 
 children."
 
 24 The Adventures of a Supercargo 
 
 Miss Denison would have much preferred to have had 
 her nephew and niece sent to England. The prospect 
 of a voyage to Australia even in a luxuriously-appointed 
 P. & 0. steamer rilled her maidenly bosom with fear, 
 but, at the same time, she was not devoid of a sense of 
 duty to the children of the brother who had been so good 
 to her in the past ; and then the five hundred pounds 
 a year meant positive wealth to her. She was not by 
 nature an unkindly or unsympathetic woman only an 
 old maid, born, brought up and living for forty years in 
 the prim, conventional and confined circle of an English 
 country village where the vicar and his curates were 
 regarded as beings of a superior order, whose sermons 
 and stodgy dinners were equally to be listened to and 
 to be eaten with that respect due to the Established 
 Church. 
 
 And so Miss Denison came to Sydney, where she was 
 met by Maning and taken to the house he had secured 
 for her. It overlooked the placid waters of Sirius Cove, 
 and was furnished in a manner that afforded her consider- 
 able surprise. She had expected to find a rude, barn- 
 like dwelling with two or three rough servants, and 
 wanting in all the primary elements of civilisation and 
 refinement ; she found a handsome, stone-built house 
 surrounded by orchards, vineyards and gardens, a staff 
 of servants who, in their attire and demeanour, might 
 have been taken from those of some well-regulated
 
 English country manor, and have been approved of by 
 even the wife of the Reverend Chesters-Masters, D.D., 
 LL.D., etc. a lady with a cross eye and large elastic 
 side boots, who was a severe critic of servants, male and 
 female. 
 
 " Where are Master Tom and Miss Sabina, Mrs. 
 Potter ? " asked Maning of the housekeeper, as she 
 brought in afternoon tea to the new chatelaine. 
 
 " Very sorry sir, but Master Tom and Miss Sabina 
 have gone off on board one of the hulks in the cove. 
 They said they wanted to catch some fish for Miss 
 Denison's dinner." Maning laughed ; but Miss Denison 
 sat up erect in her chair. 
 
 " You should have kept them at home, Mrs. Potter," 
 said Maning. 
 
 " Couldn't, sir. Master Tom took up my apron and 
 tied it over my head, and told me to go to bed. Then 
 he ran off with Miss Sabina. But he promised to be 
 back soon." 
 
 Miss Denison's thin lips set. 
 
 " I wish you, Mrs. Potter, to send a messenger to to 
 the hulks, did you say ? and tell Master Thomas and 
 Miss Sabina that their aunt wishes them to return home 
 at once." 
 
 " Yes, ma'am." 
 
 " Poor Tom," said Maning to himself as Miss Denison, 
 with dignified austerity, poured out a cup of tea, " you
 
 26 The Adventures of a Sii-p er car go 
 
 are in for a pretty tough time." And for three years 
 Tom did have a " tough time " with his aunt. 
 
 It was past eleven when Tom clambered softly on 
 board, over the barque's port side in the waist, and made 
 his way to the big, roomy cabin in which his old friend 
 lay. 
 
 The lamp, which a few hours previously he had set 
 on the table and turned down low, was now burning 
 brightly. 
 
 " Is it you, Tom," enquired a feeble voice. 
 
 " Yes, Captain Ryder. I said I would come back 
 I told Dr. Lascelles so." 
 
 " Come here, my boy. I have been writing since you 
 left me. See, there is a letter for you on the table, Tom, 
 my lad. . . ." 
 
 " Yes, sir." 
 
 " Will you stay here with me until the morning ? " 
 
 " Yes, Captain Ryder," and Tom placed his hand on 
 the sailor's forehead it was cold and grey with the 
 shadows of coming dissolution of soul from body. 
 
 " Tom, my lad, I may die before morning. Are you 
 afraid to stay ? " 
 
 " No, Captain Ryder." 
 
 " Ah, you saw your poor father and mother . . . 
 I forgot that. Tom, my lad, keep the lamp high . . .
 
 The Adventures of a Supercargo 27 
 
 You have been a good boy to me, and for two years you 
 and your little sister have made the last years of a mis- 
 spent and broken life happy. . . . When I used to 
 command the Hypatia . . . but I have told you the 
 story so often, Tom how I used to back and fill her 
 among the fishing boats off the American coast, and 
 never once hit anything, and how the owners gave me a 
 bonus of five hundred sovereigns at the end of six 
 years' service . . . And now I am dying ... a 
 worn-out hulk as old and worn out as this old 
 barque herself, and the other hulks here in ' Rotten 
 Row.' " 
 
 Tom saw by the strange expression in the old seaman's 
 eyes that he was not only very ill but was wandering in 
 his mind ; but that he was so near death he did not 
 understand. 
 
 " Will you take some more of your medicine, Captain 
 Ryder ? " 
 
 " No, lad, no ; Dr. Lascelles need not have left it. 
 But give me some cold water from the bag under the 
 awning, my son, I feel thirsty." 
 
 Tom slipped on deck, unhooked a canvas water-bag, 
 which was slung under the awning on the poop deck, 
 brought it below, and poured out a tumblerful. The 
 old man drank it eagerly. 
 
 " Ah, that is good, Tom, now put a little grog in the 
 glass and fill it up again to the brim. Tom, you have
 
 28 The Adventures of a Supercargo 
 
 been a good lad to me a poor, friendless old shell- 
 back. " 
 
 " And you have been a good, kind friend to me, 
 Captain," was the grateful reply. " You have taught me 
 so many things." 
 
 " Such as I knew, lad, such as I knew ; a bit of navi- 
 gation, a bit of seaman's work such as I could teach you 
 on a condemned hulk, and a bit of common-sense. Is 
 the little maid in bed ? ah, of course she is. How goes 
 the time, lad ? " 
 
 " Seven bells, sir." 
 
 " Tom, lad." 
 
 " Yes, sir." 
 
 " I have a matter of forty-seven pounds at the Savings 
 Bank ; it is for the little maid. You will find it all put 
 down in the letter, and Potts and Paul, the ship-chand- 
 lers, have ten pounds of mine to see me buried decently, 
 ship-shape and Bristol fashion. And I want you and the 
 little lass to come and see me stowed away under the 
 soil. There will only be you and little Sabbie, and maybe 
 Mr. Paul, if he isn't too busy to come. Tom," and he 
 partly raised himself in his bunk, " does your aunt know 
 you are here with me ? " 
 
 " Yes, Captain, I left word with Mrs. Potter that I 
 was coming to stay with you until the morning." 
 
 " That's right, my lad, that's right. She's a hard 
 woman is your aunt, a hard woman ; but she means
 
 well, and is just according to her lights. And you must 
 obey her orders, Tom. Never go against them as has 
 been put in authority over you. You will give her my 
 respects, lad, and tell her that I never said nothing to 
 you that I wouldn't say to her or any other lady, except 
 the day when you nearly got Jack bitted in halves by a 
 shark. Where is Jack ? " 
 
 " Asleep on the skylight, sir." 
 
 " And Jacob ? " 
 
 " Here, sir, under the table," and Tom stooped down 
 and lifted up an enormous, plethoric old torn cat, half 
 blind with age. 
 
 " Put him here with me, lad, the poor old fellow is 
 like me and Jack and the old Simon Bolivar we have 
 run our time, hulks, old hulks. Now, my lad, bring me 
 the dog." 
 
 Jack, the old Newfoundland dog who had sailed with 
 Ryder on many a voyage, rose and stretched himself as 
 Tom aroused him from his slumbers and let him below to 
 his master, who, putting out his hand, patted the animal's 
 head. 
 
 " Lie down, Jack, old dog, lie down here, beside me." 
 A few minutes passed, and the old man closed his eyes. 
 Then he roused himself suddenly. 
 
 " What is the time, lad ? " 
 
 " Five minutes to twelve, sir." 
 
 " Tom, come closer to me . . . give me your hand
 
 30 The Adventures of a Supercargo 
 
 . . . now strike eight bells and call the watch." 
 And then his head fell back upon the pillow and he 
 closed his eyes, and the boy knew that the end had come 
 to the sea-worn old guardian of the hulks.
 
 CHAPTER IV 
 
 " COME, Tom, you must be reasonable, and remember 
 that you are but a boy," and Canon Cooper, a ruddy- 
 faced, bright-eyed old gentleman of sixty, placed his 
 hand kindly on the lad's shoulder. 
 
 " I am nearly seventeen, sir. And I cannot submit to 
 be treated by my aunt as if I were a boy of ten I 
 really cannot, sir. I hate being ridiculed, and Aunt 
 Christina makes me cut a very ridiculous figure some- 
 times," and as he spoke his sunburnt face flushed 
 angrily and a sullen look came into the grey eyes. 
 
 The clergyman was silent. He knew that Miss 
 Denison's estimate of her nephew's character and dis- 
 position was an entirely erroneous one, and that she was 
 fast alienating the affection that she could have so easily 
 gained. 
 
 " For instance, sir," went on Tom, encouraged by 
 the Canon's not replying to his remark, " I cannot do as 
 she insists I shall do in the matter of clothes wear an 
 
 Eton jacket and top hat on Sundays to church I 
 
 31
 
 32 The Adventures of a Supercargo 
 
 should be guyed out of my life and have to fight someone 
 every day of my life as long as I was seen in such a rig- 
 out. Have you ever seen any boy in Australia dressed 
 in that mannikin fashion ? " 
 
 The Canon shifted uneasily in his chair. " In 
 England it is the proper and correct dress for school- 
 boys, Tom ; and young gentlemen who conform to the 
 customs of society are not considered * mannikins.' 
 Still, I think your aunt does not quite see that it would be 
 somewhat inadvisable for her to to try and er 
 inaugurate such a departure from the colonial style of 
 dress," and he turned away to hide a smile. 
 
 " As it is, sir, I had the biggest thrashing I have ever 
 had in my life last year from Mr. Brodman, the Head 
 Master, all through one of Aunt Christina's collars I 
 mean a collar she made me wear on Prize Day." 
 
 " How was that, Tom ? " and the clergyman leant 
 back in his chair and stretched out his legs. " Shut 
 the door, my boy. Here I am, listening to your com- 
 plaints instead of severely scolding you, for I believe you 
 are not as good a lad as you might be, and have had too 
 much of your own way. Now tell me about the collar." 
 
 " It was the biggest turn-down collar you ever saw 
 as big as a kid's cape." 
 
 " Kid, kid ? you are vulgar, Tom." 
 
 " I beg your pardon, sir. I mean as big, or at least 
 a quarter as big as a baby's cape. I put it on to please
 
 The Adventures of a Supercargo 33 
 
 her, but took in my pocket another of the kind I always 
 wear." 
 
 " Deceitful, Thomas Denison, deceitful," and the 
 Canon tried to assume a severe expression of counten- 
 ance, but lamentably failed. 
 
 " But somehow I lost the other collar, and when I 
 got to Sydney, all the shops were closed as it was Queen's 
 Birthday ; so I had to go to the prize-giving looking like 
 a guy. I had hardly got inside the big gates at Fort 
 Street, when big Sam Buttle, the rich butcher's son, 
 and a lot of other boys in the Fifth, began to make fun 
 of me, and Sam Buttle sang out, ' Look at 
 
 ' " Wee Willie Wood 
 
 Who was always so good," 
 
 and all that stuff about the kid the boy I mean who 
 was such a marvel of goodness. So I went for him." 
 
 " You mean you quarrelled ? " 
 
 Tom nodded. " Yes, sir, he's bigger and smarter 
 with his hands than I am, but I stood up to him all 
 right and caught him one on the left eye and shut it up 
 in the first round, and then up came the Governor's 
 carriage with Lord Belmore and Lady Belmore and six 
 mounted police riding ahead, and they couldn't get in 
 through the gate, because, you see, sir, there were about 
 two hundred boys in the road and we had a regular ring 
 like." 
 
 3
 
 34 
 
 " Shocking, shocking ! " and the old clergyman's 
 right foot went pit-a-pat, pit-a-pat, upon the floor as 
 his memory went back to the old college days, and with 
 closed eyes he listened for more " go on, Thomas." 
 
 " Well, Lord Belmore looked very angry and stroked 
 his black beard and said something to Lady Belmore who 
 bent down her head and laughed. Isn't she a lovely 
 woman, sir ? " 
 
 " Yes, yes, very beautiful," assented the cleric hurried- 
 ly, " go on, what happened then ? " 
 
 Tom hesitated " I thought you might have seen 
 something about it in the Herald, sir. It really was not 
 my fault." 
 
 " I did see something about a disgraceful affair at 
 Fort Street School, Thomas, but no names were men- 
 tioned for which, for your sake, I am glad." 
 
 " Well, two of the assistant masters, that red-headed 
 Fenian Droyer, and Mr. Hare, the drawing-master, 
 rushed in and seized hold of me and Sam Buttle, and then 
 one of the mounted trooper's horses began to buck and 
 threw him sky-high into the air, and he fell with an awful 
 crash into the middle of the Governor's carriage, and the 
 four carriage horses began plunging and kicking, and 
 Inspector Scott, who is a very heavy man, was also 
 thrown from his horse and his sword broke in halves, 
 and he became purple in the face, and the Governor 
 called for a doctor, and Mr. Desmazures, the French
 
 The Adventures of a Supercargo 35 
 
 Consul, who is a doctor, and had just driven up in his 
 carriage to the gate, jumped out, and bis sword caught 
 something or somebody, and he tripped and fell as he 
 was trying to speak to the Governor, and his cocked hat 
 fell into the road, and one of the horses put his foot on it 
 and squashed it as flat as a board and " 
 
 The old gentleman could no longer restrain his laughter 
 and Miss Denison, in her sitting-room, heard him 
 and frowned was this the lecture he was administer- 
 ing ? 
 
 " And then, in the midst of it all, the two masters and 
 a foot constable dragged Buttle and myself out of the 
 melee and locked us up in the lodge-keeper's storehouse. 
 Then after prize-giving was over we were sent for, and 
 the headmaster gave us both a most awful flogging 
 it was the worst he ever gave me." 
 
 " Ha, then you have had more than one ? " 
 
 " Not more than six in all the two years I have been 
 at Fort Street, sir. Mr. Brodman does not believe in 
 flogging, but when he has to flog, he does it properly. 
 Four out of the six times Sam Buttle and I had it 
 together." 
 
 " What for ? " 
 
 " Fighting," was the candid reply. 
 
 " Why do you quarrel ? " 
 
 " For nothing. He's the school bully, and although 
 he has whipped me every time he's not satisfied ; be-
 
 36 The Adventures of a Supercargo 
 
 cause he takes longer to do me up than he does any one 
 else in the school." 
 
 " Well, well, Tom. I suppose there will always be 
 fighting among boys it's natural and very English- 
 like." He took out his watch and looked at it. " Now, 
 Tom, you have taken me into your confidence and I shall 
 take you into mine. Your aunt has heard from Mr. 
 Maning, who now consents to your being sent to school 
 in England." 
 
 The boy's mouth set. Then he said slowly and firmly, 
 " Mr. Maning told me, sir, not once, but often, that I 
 should leave school when I was seventeen. I shall be 
 seventeen in three months from now. If my father were 
 alive he would not send me to England." 
 
 " Mr. Maning has changed his views, Tom. And he 
 is one of your guardians and anxious for your future. I 
 urge you to bear that in mind and give a cheerful 
 acquiescence to his and your aunt's wishes. When 
 ' Huon Bank ' was sold it only brought eight thousand 
 pounds, which will be divided what is left of it 
 between your sister and yourself when you are of 
 age." 
 
 " I shall take none of it, sir. Sabbie shall have it all. 
 I am old enough now to earn my own living if aunt will 
 allow me. And, sir, I shall NOT go to England." 
 
 " I think, Tom, that you are not wise. Furthermore, 
 it is more than likely that your aunt and sister will also
 
 37 
 
 go to England later on. And what could you do at your 
 age to earn your living ? " 
 
 " Bob Stenhouse went to Valparaiso last year, sir, 
 to help his uncle, who has a nitrate mine at Iquique. 
 He is seventeen and could not speak a word of Spanish, 
 and his uncle is paying him two hundred pounds a year. 
 I took the first and two special prizes for Spanish and 
 French, and I think I really can speak both languages 
 pretty well, for twice a week I go for two hours to Captain 
 Herrera, the Spanish Consul, and he and his little 
 daughter Carmen read and talk Spanish with me." 
 
 The clergyman nodded. He had heard of this from 
 Miss Denison. " Then you think of a commercial life, 
 Tom ? 
 
 " Yes, sir if I cannot go to sea. Poor Captain Ryder, 
 although he told me he was not a crack navigator, has 
 taught me all he knew, and Commander Pym, of the 
 Marine Board, will take me into his private class for ten 
 guineas the half-year." 
 
 " Ah, dear, dear me the all-embracing sea," and the 
 old man sighed, " 'tis like the golden fountain of Ponce 
 de Leon to youthful minds." He paused ; " Would you 
 not like to go into the Navy ? " 
 
 " Indeed I should, sir ; but Commander Pym told 
 me that I might as well try to get to the moon no 
 Australian-born boy can get into the Navy unless his 
 friends have plenty of money and have some one of
 
 38 The Adventures of a Super car go 
 
 influence in England to do ' a bit of back-scratching 
 at the Admiralty.' Australians, he says, have a mighty 
 poor chance for either the Army or the Navy." 
 
 " True, true," said the Canon, more to himself than 
 Tom, " and the pity of it is that it is true." 
 
 Then aloud. " How would you care to go into the 
 Bank of New South Wales, Tom ? I have quite enough 
 influence with the general manager." 
 
 " No, sir, no thank you," was the quick and emphatic 
 reply ; " I could never become a bank-clerk I would 
 rather go into a ship chandler's as a shop boy, or drive a 
 baker's cart, than be put behind a counter with a pen in 
 my ear to count filthy bank notes." 
 
 " Tom, Tom, you're a radical ; banking is considered 
 a very gentlemanly avocation as good as the law in 
 fact." 
 
 The boy was silent, though his heart beat high with 
 hope. He felt sure that he had enlisted the sympathies 
 of the kindly-hearted old clergyman, and that Aunt 
 Christina's plans had fallen to the ground. 
 
 " Now, Tom," said the old gentleman as he rose, 
 " I am going to talk to your aunt. She is very, very 
 angry with you for going out last night." 
 
 " How could I stay at home, sir, when poor Captain 
 Ryder was dying, and I had promised to come and stay 
 with him ? I did try very hard to tell my aunt how very, 
 very ill he was, but she would not listen to me."
 
 39 
 
 " You did quite right, my boy, quite right ; and I 
 will explain it all to your aunt presently. And I shall 
 read the burial service over your old friend to-morrow 
 instead of Mr. Vickers, who stutters dreadfully and is 
 very nervous. And let your mind be at rest about 
 England." And then he did a most unclerical thing 
 he winked.
 
 CHAPTER V 
 
 THE " Crows' Nest," as Miss Denison's home was called, 
 being so far from Sydney, necessitated Tom leaving home 
 very early for school. In fine weather he invariably 
 crossed the harbour in his lightly-built, but strong 
 fourteen-foot boat, easy to pull with sculls and a great 
 sailer. It often happened, however, especially during 
 the winter months, that he had to leave his boat in the 
 shed, and walk five miles, through what was practically 
 " bush " to the North Shore ferry, the steamers of which 
 plied between the marine suburb of St. Leonard's and the 
 Circular Quay. This was not at all to his liking 
 walking so far twice a day not being agreeable to the lad 
 who almost from his infancy had been used to horses 
 and riding. But Miss Denison had a mortal terror of, 
 and objection to horses and cattle, and though she was 
 compelled to tolerate a few cows for the sake of their 
 milk and butter, she flatly refused to have even a pony 
 kept for the use of Tom's sister, and when the lady went 
 either to St. Leonard's, or to Sydney, to church, she
 
 The Adventures of a Supercargo 41 
 
 always walked, sending Tom and Sabina in front of her, 
 armed with sticks to kill any snakes and there were 
 sometimes many that might be lying on the path. And 
 so Tom, much to his disgust, was now obliged, when he 
 could not use his boat, to " pad the hoof," as he termed 
 it, to school, or at least, as far as the steam ferry. But 
 now came a surprise for him. 
 
 On the afternoon following the morning on which the 
 old ship-keeper had been buried, as Tom was sitting in 
 his bedroom feeling very miserable and despondent, 
 Mrs. Potter came to him and said that his aunt wished 
 to speak to him in the dining-room. She (Miss Denison) 
 had not attended the funeral, but had, early in the 
 morning, dressed herself in black, and had allowed all 
 the servants to accompany him and Sabina to the little 
 cemetery overlooking a great part of the beautiful 
 panorama of Sydney Harbour. 
 
 " Thomas," said his aunt as he entered the room, and 
 for the first time in many months she actually smiled 
 at him, " I have decided to get a pony for Sabina, and 
 you can buy it for me in town to-morrow." 
 
 " That is kind of you, Aunt. Sabbie will be delighted. 
 Can I tell her ? " 
 
 " No, let it be a surprise for her," she paused a 
 moment " and, Thomas, I am sorry I was so hasty the
 
 42 The Adventures of a Supercargo 
 
 other day. Mr. Cooper has told me the cause of your 
 having been out so late ; I regret that I did not listen to 
 you." 
 
 " And I was sorry to go out again, knowing that you 
 were angry with me." 
 
 " Well, we were both in error. Now what are you 
 doing this afternoon ? " 
 
 " I should like to go on board the old barque, and get 
 the new ship-keeper to give me the things that Captain 
 Ryder left me." 
 
 " Very well," was the gracious remark, " but try and 
 be punctual for dinner," and Tom went off, very much 
 pleased that she had not brought up the subject of the 
 clergyman's visit. But Miss Denison meant to bide her 
 time for renewing the attack upon Tom's aversion to 
 going to England, and although she had at first been very 
 angry when the Canon had related all that had passed 
 between Tom and himself, she had agreed not to pursue 
 the matter any further till her nephew left school, 
 which would be in two months' time. 
 
 " Don't try and drive him, my dear Miss Denison. He 
 can be as obstinate as a mule very like your poor 
 brother in fact but if you will yield to him in some 
 things, you'll find him very amenable. And he is by no 
 means lacking in either respect or affection for you, 
 of that I can assure you. Say no more to him on the 
 matter for the next two months."
 
 The Adventures of a Supercargo 43 
 
 " I am afraid I do not understand boys," confessed 
 the lady, with a faint smile. 
 
 " Oh yes, you do, you do ; but Tom is a boy of boys 
 as full of animal spirits as a young colt. But he has 
 brains, Miss Denison he has brains, and will turn out 
 all right in the end, I am certain. He is rough, as you 
 say, but he is as straightforward and truthful as you are 
 yourself, and I am sure that you will never regret your 
 assiduous care of and solicitude for the lad," and with 
 this artful compliment, which Miss Denison thoroughly 
 believed, the old gentleman made his escape, mentally 
 registering a vow to never again attempt to influence 
 Tom in regard to his aunt's cheiished scheme of sending 
 him to the Mother Country. 
 
 Sabbie met him at the door. She was a fair, delicate 
 child, with ethereal blue-grey eyes, which at times, 
 when she was in thought, seemed to change their hue 
 into a dark brown. A greater contrast than that which 
 existed between the personal appearance of herself and 
 her dark-faced brother could not be imagined. 
 
 " Has Aunt forgiven Tom, Mr. Cooper ? " she asked 
 anxiously. 
 
 " Quite, my dear, quite," and the Canon bent down 
 and kissed the sweet, serious little face. 
 
 Tom found the new ship-keeper to be a handsome,
 
 44 The Adventures of a Supercargo 
 
 stalwart, and very civil Polynesian half-caste, of about 
 five-and-twenty years of age. He met Tom as he 
 ascended the rope-ladder at the waist, and lifted his 
 cap to him. 
 
 " Good-day, sir. Mr. Paul told me that you might 
 come on board to-day. I have taken Captain Ryder's 
 place. My name is Jack Castles." 
 
 Tom held out his hand, " How do you do ? Mr. 
 Paul told me about you, and said that you would not 
 mind my coming on board the barque and the other 
 vessels, and fishing, and pottering about, and all that, 
 just as I have done for the last two years, w r hen Captain 
 Ryder was in charge." 
 
 " Certainly, sir. I shall be very glad indeed. It will 
 be a very lonely game here for me taking care of these 
 condemned old crates." 
 
 " You are lame, I see." 
 
 " Yes, sir. I only came out of Sydney Hospital last 
 week. I was second mate on the old Coquttte, which 
 belongs to Potts and Paul, and was shot in the foot at 
 the Solomon Islands in a trading cruise. A man-of-war 
 doctor did something wrong to it, and so I came to 
 Sydney, as every one said I should have to lose my leg. 
 But the hospital doctors fixed me up, and I shall be all 
 right in a few weeks. Mr. Paul came to see me in the 
 hospital, and said he would look after me until I was fit 
 to go to sea again. Then Captain Ryder died, and Mr.
 
 The Adventures of a Super car go 45 
 
 Paul said I could have this berth. Will you come 
 below, sir, and show me what of Captain Ryder's gear 
 you are taking away, so that I can stow the rest in his 
 chest, and send it ashore to Mr. Paul's store." 
 
 Tom soon collected the few articles which the old man 
 had asked him to accept his nautical instruments and 
 books, a watch and chain, and a small oaken cabinet, 
 filled to the brim with all those little odds and ends that 
 every seaman manages to accumulate, and never throws 
 away from roping-palms to broken knives and spare 
 watch-glasses, and much-soiled reels of cotton, and hanks 
 of thread. 
 
 Coming on deck, Tom placed his parcel on the sky- 
 light, and leaning on the rail looked at the scene before 
 him. The little bay was quieter even than usual, and 
 no sign of life was visible, except a column of pale blue 
 smoke, ascending straight in air from the barque's 
 galley, where Castles was preparing his supper the 
 other two ship-keepers being asleep under the awnings 
 of their respective vessels. The water was as smooth as 
 glass, and lay gleaming like silver under the still torrid 
 rays of the westering sun. Now and then a leaping fish 
 would flash up like a knife blade, and then fall back, send- 
 ing out widening ripples, then again all would be quiet. 
 
 As Tom, with folded arms, leant upon the rail, Castles 
 came out of the galley, and asked him if he would have a 
 cup of tea, and " a bit of supper at six o'clock " ?
 
 46 The Adventures of a Supercargo 
 
 " Thank you, I will. Isn't it very calm and quiet 
 this afternoon ? " 
 
 " Yes, sir," assented the sailor, " I suppose you know 
 the names and stones of all these old hookers, sir ? " 
 and he waved his hand towards the silent ships. 
 
 " Oh yes. I know all about them, and have been 
 over them all dozens of times. This old barque, the 
 Simon Bolivar, was once a coolie ship, and on her last 
 voyage to Callao the coolies rose and murdered all the 
 officers and crew. If you look about in the cabin, you 
 will see scores of bullet-holes in the woodwork the 
 captain and officers made their last stand in the cabin, 
 but the Chinamen fired at them through the skylight, 
 until all were killed. That dismantled old wooden 
 paddle-steamer is the Queen Carolina ; she was once a 
 Dutch gunboat, and came to Sydney to be docked and 
 repaired, but it was found it would cost so much that she 
 was sold, and her engines taken out of her, and she was 
 turned into a collier now she is rotting away ; that big 
 fore and aft schooner, with her lower masts painted 
 yellow, is the Oscar. She was a slaver, and was captured 
 off New Britain four years ago by the Virago, with a 
 hundred natives on board, and her captain and two mates 
 are now in prison. On the voyage to Sydney she ran 
 on a reef, and hogged herself, so no one will buy her, 
 although she is otherwise a beautiful vessel. She 
 belongs to a parson in Sydney ; at the captain's trial,
 
 47 
 
 he said he really didn't know what the vessel had been 
 doing he left everything to the captain, and he pre- 
 tended to be greatly horrified at learning she had been 
 ' blackbirding,' but the captain proved that he knew all 
 about that, and two other voyages as well. 
 
 " That fat-looking, chunky brig with the bulging 
 quarters, and stern ports, and built-up masts is one of 
 the oldest vessels afloat ; her name is The Fenus, and 
 she was built for the Navy as a ten-gun brig at Port 
 Royal in Jamaica in 1800, was twice captured by the 
 French, and then recaptured ; then she was turned into 
 a convict transport, and I know a lot of old convicts 
 in Tasmania, who came out in her from 1831 to 1838. 
 She has the most lovely old cabin all mahogany panel- 
 ling, black with age. I hear she has just been sold, 
 and is to be docked and rigged, and sent to Port 
 Darwin as a storeship for the Overland Telegraph 
 Company. And," he added with a sigh, " I shall miss 
 the poor old thing very much, for just under her stern, 
 Captain Ryder, the man who is in charge of her, and I 
 caught one of the biggest sharks ever seen in Sydney. 
 It was eighteen feet long, and as big round the body as a 
 bullock. We set a floating bait for him with an empty 
 beef-keg for a drogue, and let it drift about the cove. 
 About nine o'clock at night, we heard a fearful splashing, 
 and saw that he was hooked, and was careering around. 
 We yelled and shouted to the men who live at the sand-
 
 48 The^Adventures of a Supercargo 
 
 stone quarries just over there on the point, to come over 
 in their boat and help us. And a nice time we had it 
 took eleven of us to get the great brute into shallow 
 water, where Captain Ryder and one of the other ship- 
 keepers killed it with whaling-lances." 
 
 The half-caste listened with keen interest. " I think 
 after all, I shall have some fun here. I'm great on shark- 
 catching, Mr. Denison." 
 
 " So am I ; I believe I have caught over twenty since 
 we came here to live. That is my shark tackle there, 
 in that hen coop. I always keep it here. Do you 
 mind ? " 
 
 " Not at all, sir. Perhaps we can use it in a day or 
 two." 
 
 " Of course. This bay is full of sharks, especially 
 when the sea salmon come in ' tigers,' and ' grey 
 nurses,' and even in winter the ground sharks some- 
 times come into the Cove." 
 
 The half-caste showed his white, even teeth in a 
 pleased smile, and then peering down through the sky- 
 light, looked at the cabin clock. 
 
 " Will you have supper soon, please ? " and he limped 
 off to the galley, and in a quarter of an hour returned with 
 a tin dish, containing a great fried steak, with onions, 
 tomatoes, and potatoes, and a kettle of strong black 
 tea. 
 
 " I hope you will come on board to-morrow, Mr.
 
 The Adventures of a Supercargo 49 
 
 Denison," he said, as he arranged the dish on the sky- 
 light. 
 
 " Oh, yes, I shall," replied Tom. 
 
 But the morrow was to bring about a sudden severance 
 from the quiet little bay and the sleeping hulks, which 
 Tom was not to see again for a long, long time.
 
 CHAPTER VI 
 
 THE Manager of the Sydney " TattersalPs " in Castle- 
 reagh Street, was well known to Tom, who on the follow- 
 ing day called at his establishment, eager to fulfil his 
 aunt's commission, and was told, much to his disappoint- 
 ment, that there was not then a suitable pony in the 
 stables for sale. 
 
 " But," said Mr. Cosgrove, " I expect a draft of saddle 
 horses for my next Saturday's auction from Dr. Jenkins 
 of Nepean Towers, and I'll write and ask him to send 
 down a couple of well-broken-in ponies on approval." 
 
 " Unbroken will do as well, Mr. Cosgrove. In fact 
 I should like to break-in the pony for my sister. I have 
 plenty of spare time now and will be glad of having some- 
 thing to do with horses again." 
 
 Leaving Tattersall's, Tom strolled about the streets 
 for an hour or two, putting in the time till it was time for 
 lunch. He had left home early in the morning, and did 
 not intend to return till late in the afternoon, as he wished 
 to see the Volunteer Artillery practice from the forts, 
 
 which was to begin at three o-clock ; after lunch he 
 
 &o
 
 The Adventures of a Supercargo 51 
 
 meant to call on his friend Captain Herrera, who lived 
 at Dawes Point, and who was always at home in the 
 afternoon. 
 
 Entering Compagnoni's restaurant in Pitt Street, he 
 took a seat, and was scanning the menu card, when he 
 heard his name called from the other end of the room. 
 
 " Hallo, Denny ! Come over here, and feed with us," 
 cried a tall, stout lad about eighteen, who with three 
 other youths had just come in, " there's plenty of room 
 at this table." 
 
 The speaker was Tom's old antagonist Sam Buttle. 
 He seemed in high good humour, and made room for 
 Tom next to his own seat. He was really, despite his 
 bullying manner, and inordinate conceit of himself, not 
 a bad-natured youth, and although Tom and he had 
 fought so often, there was not the slightest ill-will 
 between them. 
 
 " Denny," he said to Tom, " we are all off for a week's 
 camp-out at Narrabeen Lagoon. Will you come with 
 us ? We shall have a rattling good time, the lagoon is 
 fairly swarming with fish, and black duck as well. We 
 have four guns I'll get another for you any amount of 
 tucker, and a tent. We'll sail down to Manly in Jim 
 Stannard's fishing boat, and a spring cart will be waiting 
 there to take us to Narrabeen it will be moonlight 
 after eleven and we'll jog along easy, and be in camp by 
 daylight."
 
 52 The Adventures of a Supercargo 
 
 " Ah, I wish I could go, Sam it's just the thing I 
 like. But I can't manage it. You see I am taking home 
 some stores this evening a bag of flour, a bag of sugar, 
 meat and a case of groceries. But I daresay I could join 
 you in a day or two. When do you start ? " 
 
 " Seven o'clock." 
 
 Tom thought a moment. " That is a bit late for me 
 I was thinking we might keep company as far as Pinch- 
 gut." 
 
 " Well, we'll say six. Will that do ? " 
 
 " Yes," and thereupon they agreed to meet at the 
 Circular Quay at that hour, and start together. Lunch 
 over, Tom set out for Dawes Point, intending to ask 
 Carmen Herrera to come with him to the battery at 
 Lady Macquarie's Chair, and see the firing of the old 
 muzzle-loading 68-pounder guns at a floating target. 
 
 Carmen opened the door to him. She was a handsome 
 girl of eleven, tall for her age, and her dark brown hair 
 fell in clustering ringlets about her shoulders, according 
 to the then prevailing fashion. 
 
 " Come up stairs, Tom ; mother is there, just writing 
 to your aunt to see if Sabbie can't come to us for a few 
 days. Father is asleep in the garden as usual after 
 lunch." 
 
 Mrs. Herrera was an English lady who had married 
 Captain Herrera in Spain, where she had been governess 
 to an English family, and she had lived with him at
 
 The Adventures of a Supercargo 53 
 
 Capetown, and then at Bombay before he was appointed 
 to Sydney at his especial request, for his wife's health 
 had never been good at either of the former^places. 
 Carmen had been born in Sydney, and therefore called 
 herself an Australian girl. Like her friend Tom, she 
 was fond of the study of languages, and like him also, 
 had taken all the first and special prizes in the Girl's 
 School at Fort Street, much to her father's and mother's 
 satisfaction, for the family were in poor circumstances 
 Herrera's salary as Spanish Consul being barely 
 sufficient to enable them to keep up appearances and 
 they felt sure that Carmen would at least be able to earn 
 her living as a teacher of languages in due course ; and 
 a competent teacher in Australia was not paid the starvel- 
 ing fees that were, in those days, grudgingly given to 
 governesses and male teachers in England. 
 
 Between Tom and her there was a strong comrade- 
 ship cemented by an almost daily intercourse for two 
 years past. It began in a very simple manner. 
 
 On the very first day that he went to school, and was 
 leaving at half-past four to go to his boat, which he had 
 left at one of the wharves on the western side of the 
 Circular Quay, he noticed a little girl of eight or nine 
 years of age walking in front of him, and concluded by 
 the satchel of books she carried that she was also a pupil 
 at Fort Street. Just as she was passing a row of cottages 
 in Upper Fort Street, she stooped down to tie a boot-lace,
 
 54 'The Adventures of a Supercargo 
 
 and a little white, curly-haired French poodle, with the 
 usual bleary red eyes, and disgusting appearance 
 generally, darted out from a doorway, and set its teeth 
 into the calf of the child's white-stockinged leg. In 
 two seconds Tom had seized it by the throat, and after 
 choking it into insensibility, he swung it by the tail 
 against a lamp post, and then with many uncompli- 
 mentary remarks threw the dead cur into the house from 
 which it had emerged. Then he bound up the girl's 
 bleeding leg with his handkerchief, and took her home 
 and from then began a very happy friendship with the 
 Herrera family. 
 
 " I am glad to see you, Tom," said Mrs. Herrera, 
 " you can take my letter to your aunt instead of my 
 posting it. Now, Tom, I am sure you want to take Car- 
 men to the battery I can see it in your eye. But you 
 must not. It is altogether too hot, and I am sure that a 
 * southerly ' is coming on." 
 
 " Oh no, not until to-morrow, Mrs. Herrera," said Tom, 
 who was fairly weather-wise, " it's not hot enough for a 
 ' southerly burster ' to-day, is it, Carmen ? " 
 
 " Hardly, I think, Tom," replied Carmen demurely. 
 
 " Carmen," said her mother placidly, " go down- 
 stairs and tell Florence to make tea. Tom, you are 
 not going to take Carmen out, and bring her back with
 
 The Adventures of a Super car go 55 
 
 her hair and eyes filled with ' southerly burster ' dust. 
 Now, sit down and tell me all about poor old Captain 
 Ryder." 
 
 After staying for an hour Tom said good-bye, and pro- 
 ceeded to the battery, where he remained until four 
 o'clock, watching the firing, then went to the wharf, 
 where he kept his boat. The provisions he had bought 
 had arrived, and were in the care of the wharfinger, who 
 helped him to stow them in the boat. Besides the fresh 
 meat and provisions, there were some gardening tools 
 for the gardener at the " Crows' Nest," and an awkward 
 and heavy roll of oilcloth, which was too long to be 
 stowed under the thwarts, but after some trouble it was 
 placed so that it would not interfere with the jib and 
 mainsail, nor the sculls, if they had to be used. By the 
 time everything was stowed, Sam Buttle and his friends 
 came up in their boat. 
 
 " You are not starting a bit too soon," said Gable, 
 the wharfinger, to Tom. " There's a heavy sou'wester 
 brewing, and you have rather too much of a load. I 
 think, after all, that you had better leave the oilcloth 
 and tools behind." 
 
 But Tom differed with him, both as regards the south- 
 westerly and the boat being too deep, and so he started, 
 a gentle air taking both boats out of Circular Quay as 
 far as Farm Cove, and then it suddenly fell calm. 
 
 " Gable was right after all, Sam," cried Tom, and he
 
 56 The Adventures of a Supercargo 
 
 pointed astern, " we shall get it hot in another ten 
 minutes. You had better reef down, Sam, before it is 
 too late," and so saying, he stood up, and unshipped the 
 sprit of his own sail from the becket, regretting now that 
 he had disregarded the wharfinger's advice. 
 
 Buttle and his companions were some time in reefing 
 their large sail, for curiously enough three out of the four 
 lads, unlike most Sydney boys, were not used to boats, 
 and got in each other's way to such an extent that finally 
 Tom sculled up alongside, and went on board and showed 
 them what to do. He was not a minute too soon, for it 
 was now dark, and suddenly a hot gust of wind came 
 sweeping down, and both boats heeled sharply over to it. 
 
 " Better lower away the peak, Sam," shouted Tom, 
 jumping back into his own boat, " quick, lower away, 
 or you may lose your mast," and as he spoke the squall 
 came down upon them in earnest, and enveloped them 
 in thick blinding dust, and Tom's little craft, heavily 
 loaded as she was, leapt forward and passed the other 
 boat in the darkness. The occupants had not been quick 
 enough in lowering the peak of the mainsail, and they 
 were evidently in a great muddle when Tom passed them. 
 He was, however, pretty sure that they would come to 
 no harm the boat was a centre-board, of great beam, 
 like all the Sydney fishing-boats, and unless they ran 
 her ashore in the darkness, they had nothing to fear. 
 But for himself he did feel somewhat concerned, for in
 
 57 
 
 ten minutes after losing sight of Buttle and his friends, 
 the violence of the wind exerting itself against the strong 
 flood tide, set up a rough and dangerous sea for a small 
 boat, and although he had now taken in the mainsail 
 at the imminent risk of broaching to and filling and the 
 little craft was under the jib only, she began to take in 
 water so much that he, with one hand on the tiller, 
 could not bale it out fast enough. 
 
 " Aunt Christina's oilcloth will have to go to the 
 sharks," he said to himself ; " but how I am going to get 
 it overboard I don't know." 
 
 By this time the darkness was intense, and although 
 he guessed that he was now abreast of Sirius Cove, he 
 had no other course but to run before the storm. If he 
 could but sight the lights of the lightship on the Sow and 
 Pigs' Reef, he would be able to run the boat ashore on 
 the beach of Watson's Bay. If he missed seeing them, 
 he might drive through the Heads into the open sea. 
 
 Suddenly, even through the howling of the wind, he 
 heard the sound of beating surf, and dimly discerned 
 the dark outline of Shark Island a few hundred yards 
 away on the starboard hand. Risking being swamped, 
 he ran under its lee, where there was some shelter from 
 the wind, and then bringing to. Exerting all his 
 strength, he succeeded in " fleeting " the heavy roll of 
 oilcloth overboard into what he hoped was shallow 
 water, where it might be recovered. Then as the boat
 
 58 The Adventures of a Supercargo 
 
 pitched and tossed, and rolled about, he cut open the 
 3-cwt. bag of flour, and began shovelling the contents 
 over the side with the bailer, until it was half empty, 
 and he was able to pour out the remainder, and throw 
 away the soddened bag after it. 
 
 " Aunt Christina will break her heart over this," he 
 thought, as he took up the light sculls, determined, now 
 that there was no more water coming inboard, to try 
 and get on shore on the lee-side of the rock-bound island 
 a tiny spot of about three acres in extent. Bending 
 forward, he plunged the sculls into the water, and, at the 
 first stroke, one broke in halves. 
 
 " There, I'm done for now unless I can anchor." 
 
 He went for'ard and dropped his kellick and line of 
 ten fathoms in the hope that it might touch and catch 
 bottom. It hung straight up and down, and, with some 
 expressions of disgust hauling it up again, he went aft, 
 and headed the boat for Watson's Bay, or rather for 
 where he thought Watson's Bay lay. 
 
 Lightened by nearly a quarter of a ton, the boat, as 
 ahe sped before the storm under her jib only, now took 
 in no more water, and Tom felt very pleased when a 
 quarter of an hour later he discerned the swaying green, 
 red, and white lights of the lightship on the Sow and 
 Pigs' Reef, and altered his course. 
 
 " I am all right now," he said to himself, and he headed 
 for the lights, little knowing that the Bramble, an old
 
 The Adventures of a Supercargo 59 
 
 ex-ten-gun brig of Her Majesty's Navy, which had been 
 condemned, after many years of service, to illuminate 
 the Sow and Pigs' Reef, had just then parted her moor- 
 ings, and was being blown out through Sydney Heads 
 into the wide Pacific.
 
 CHAPTER VII 
 
 " HULLO ! what is the matter with the lightship ? " 
 cried Tom, as suddenly from her deck a rocket shot up 
 in the air, and then a blue light was burnt ; the ghastly 
 glare of the latter soon showed him what had happened 
 the Bramble was adrift, and was signalling for assist- 
 ance to the pilot steamer, Captain Cook, which was 
 always stationed with steam up at Watson's Bay, just 
 inside the Inner South Head. In a few seconds an answer- 
 ing rocket made a red, curved line of fire through the 
 blackness, and then, as Tom noticed the direction from 
 which it came, a sudden fear smote him as the startling 
 fact was borne in upon him that he must be right in mid- 
 channel, and in half-an-hour would be between Sydney 
 Heads. 
 
 To reach Watson's Bay beach now was impossible, 
 for he was abreast of it, and had only one scull ; to make 
 sail on the boat and try to beat up to it in such a sea 
 meant capsizing in a few minutes, and to bear away to 
 port meant being dashed to death against the great grim 
 cliff of North Head. 
 
 60
 
 The Adventures of a Supercargo 61 
 
 " I must stick to the boat," he thought somewhat 
 despairingly, knowing what a heavy sea he would en- 
 counter a little further on. 
 
 Then another blue light was burned by the lightship, 
 and answered by a second rocket from the steamer, now 
 hastening to her assistance ; and Tom's spirits rose. 
 The pilot steamer would pass pretty close to him, and 
 would very likely see him, and every now and then he 
 glanced astern in the hope of seeing her lights ; then he 
 had to give his attention to his steering, for now the boat 
 was rising and falling to the rollers of the Pacific, as 
 they came sweeping in through the Heads. 
 
 Ten anxious minutes passed, and then he saw the 
 steamer's mast-head light shining through the inky 
 darkness ; but alas ! she was half a mile away, and was 
 steaming straight for North Head, towards which the 
 Bramble was drifting, and then Tom's heart sank within 
 him. 
 
 Every now and then the great flashlight on Outer 
 South Head would send a streak of white across the 
 tumbling blackness between the Heads, but he had but 
 little hope of its rays revealing the boat to human eyes, 
 except that by some luck the look-out on some in- 
 coming steamer should see it. He prayed silently for 
 succour, and then, as if in response to his appeal to the 
 Power above, there came a gradual, but nevertheless 
 unmistakable lull in the force of the wind, and he thought
 
 62 The Adventures of a Supercargo 
 
 no longer of possible help from the pilot steamer, but 
 kept steadily on, steering very carefully, and keeping a 
 sharp look-out for any light ahead. 
 
 By the time the boat was fairly outside the Heads 
 and on the Pacific, the wind had decreased so much that 
 he was able to bring to, bail out, and take a drink of 
 water. Then he considered what was the best course to 
 be pursued. 
 
 Three miles south of North Head there was, he knew, 
 a little cove called Blue Fish Bay, which was well shelter- 
 ed from any winds except northerly and easterly, and 
 there he could safely anchor till daylight. The moon, 
 he was aware, would rise about eleven ; and, looking 
 at his watch, he saw that it was within ten minutes of 
 that time. 
 
 After re-stowing the boat, he set the mainsail again, 
 and then stood along, as close as he dared, to the steep-to 
 cliffs of the northern shore, for he was determined not to 
 be carried too far off the land if he could possibly avoid 
 it. At last the moon rose, and revealed the high walls 
 of rock close to on the port hand, with the heavy breakers 
 thundering at their base ; and he edged away a little, 
 fearful of being carried in too close. And to be caught 
 by one of those mighty rollers, or by its back-wash, and 
 capsized or swamped, meant one of two deaths being 
 dashed to pieces against the grim cliffs, or by the jaws 
 of the great " grey nurse " sharks that cruised to and
 
 The Adventures of a Supercargo 63 
 
 fro, day and night, just outside the break of the surf. 
 
 Suddenly he heard, between the thunderings of the 
 surf, a hoarse, humming sound, and looking astern, he 
 saw the lights of a steamer, not a quarter of a mile away. 
 She had stopped, and under the now bright moonlight 
 Tom saw that she was blowing off steam at a furious 
 rate. No lights were visible, but from her stern was 
 arising some thin yellowish smoke. 
 
 " She must be on fire," he thought, and on the impulse 
 of the moment he headed towards her, and was soon 
 alongside. 
 
 " What do you want ? " cried a gruff voice from the 
 bridge. 
 
 " Nothing, only came to see what was the matter," 
 and then he asked if the ship was on fire. 
 
 " She was," was the reply, after a little pause, and the 
 speaker leant over the bridge, and scanned Tom, " what 
 are you doing out here in that cockleshell, youngster ? " 
 
 Tom hurriedly told him what had occurred. 
 
 " Come on board," and then a line was thrown to 
 him, and Tom, jumping up on the sponson on the port 
 side, clambered over the bulwarks on deck. 
 
 " Come up here, youngster," said the voice from the 
 bridge, and Tom obeyed, and found himself face to face 
 with an enormously tall and fat man, with a clean- 
 shaven face, who shook hands with him. 
 
 " Don't be alarmed," he said, with apparent good
 
 64 The Adventures of a Supercargo 
 
 humour, " a steam-pipe has burst, and we have had to 
 draw the fires, and the steward upset a lamp in the cabin 
 a little while ago, and all but set the ship afire aft. 
 But we have put it out now, and as soon as the engineers 
 have repaired the steam-pipe, I'll turn round for Sydney 
 again, and you can come with us. That seems a smart 
 little boat of yours." 
 
 " Yes, sir. She was built by Looke of Balmain, and 
 cost nearly fifty pounds. She is beautifully fitted up 
 and rigged." 
 
 " Ah, well, I'll have her hoisted in," and leaning over 
 the bridge he called out. 
 
 " Bos'un, hoist that boat aboard. We'll take her 
 and this young gentleman back to Sydney. He was 
 blown out to sea." 
 
 " Aye, aye, sir," was the reply, and then to Tom's 
 intense satisfaction, the boat was hoisted up and lowered 
 on the fore-deck. 
 
 " There, my young friend," said the big man, affably 
 placing his great hand on Tom's shoulder, " there is 
 your boat all safe and sound, and you need not worry 
 about her. Now come into my cabin and have a tumbler 
 of hot wine to warm you up. Then you had better turn 
 in and get some rest. The engineers won't have that 
 steam-pipe fixed for the next three hours or so, and no 
 one will disturb you in my cabin." 
 
 Tom followed him down the bridge to his cabin, which
 
 The Adventures of a Supercargo 65 
 
 was on the after-deck, and eagerly drank a tumblerful 
 of hot red wine, which a steward brought to him a few 
 minutes later. Then, at the captain's request, he related 
 his adventures since six o'clock that evening, and added 
 that he hoped his aunt and sister would think that he 
 was still in Sydney, having decided to remain there all 
 night on account of the " southerly " lasting so long. 
 
 The big man nodded and lit a cigar, " Oh well, Miss, 
 Miss what is the lady's name ? " 
 
 " Denison she is my father's sister. We live at 
 ' Crows' Nest ' over Sirius Cove." 
 
 " Miss Denison will soon be satisfied that you are all 
 right. But you have had a narrow squeak." 
 
 " Yes, and I was thinking only just now that perhaps 
 after all, I might not have been able to anchor in Blue 
 Fish Bay. I have only ten fathoms of kellick line, and 
 the water is quite that depth, even close in to the rocks." 
 
 " Just so. But it is an ill wind that blows no one any 
 good if we had not burst a steam-pipe and had to stop, 
 you might have anchored at Blue Fish, and lost your boat 
 perhaps your life as well. Now I must go and see the 
 engineers. But I see you are wet through." He 
 touched the bell, and a man appeared. He was most 
 unlike the usual steward, being dressed like an ordinary 
 seaman, with the addition of sea-boots. 
 
 " Sam, can't you get this young gentleman a change of 
 clothes from some one ? " 
 
 5
 
 66 The Adventures of a Supercargo 
 
 " Certainly, sir. Frank has plenty. And pyjamas 
 too, sir ? " and he looked enquiringly at Tom. 
 
 " Thank you," said Tom, " I'll be glad of the pyjamas, 
 my own clothes will be nearly dry by the time I am ready 
 to go on shore again." 
 
 " Just so," said the captain, stroking his fat chin, 
 " pyjamas, Sam. And bring some more hot wine for 
 Mr. Denison." 
 
 " Thank you very much, sir," said Tom to the captain, 
 as a few minutes later the steward appeared with the 
 wine and a clean suit of pyjamas, " what is the name of 
 this steamer, sir ? " 
 
 The big man had a sudden fit of coughing, and for a 
 quarter of a minute seemed to lose his breath. 
 
 " Confound it," he gasped at last, " I chewed a bit of 
 the end of my cigar, and it nearly choked me, oh, this is 
 the Warrigal, Sydney to Arakoon River up the coast 
 to the northward, you know." 
 
 " Oh yes," said Tom somewhat sleepily, " I know 
 where the Arakoon is, I should very much like to go 
 there some day it's just on the Queensland border, 
 isn't it ? " 
 
 " Yes, just on the border," replied the captain, as 
 he rose, " fine river, but a very bad bar. Now, good- 
 night." 
 
 Ten minutes later, when Tom was sound asleep, the 
 skipper re-entered his cabin, looked intently at the slum-
 
 The Adventures of a Supercargo 67 
 
 bering youth with a not unkindly expression, and then 
 turning out the light, went on to the bridge again, and 
 whistled down to the engine-room. 
 
 " How much longer are you going to be, Clancy ? 
 In God's name hurry up," and then he paced angrily 
 to and fro on the bridge. 
 
 Two minutes later the chief engineer ascended to the 
 bridge. 
 
 " We can start in another twenty minutes, and then 
 I'll drive her for all she's worth. Does that satisfy 
 you ? " 
 
 " It must. But we have had a narrow shave. Only 
 for the old Bramble breaking away from her moorings 
 as this youngster told me, and as I had imagined was the 
 case, we should have been collared by the Captain Cook, 
 which can steam two knots quicker than we can. But 
 hurry, Clancy, hurry." 
 
 A quarter of an hour passed, and then the paddle- 
 wheels of the Warrigal began to revolve, and the big 
 man, with a sigh of relief, turned to the sailor at the 
 wheel. 
 
 "East by north." 
 " East by north, sir." 
 
 But presently the engine stopped. Then once more 
 the captain whistled down the tube for the chief engineer 
 to come on deck. 
 
 " What is wrong ? " he asked. " Rush her, Clancy.
 
 68 The Adventures of a Supercargo 
 
 Try and get thirteen knots out of her. We must be 
 fifty miles away by daylight, or the game is up." 
 
 " Oh, well we are all right, and can start in earnest 
 now very soon. Don't wear out your soul-case."
 
 CHAPTER VIII 
 
 FOR some minutes after the engineer left him, the captain 
 restlessly paced to and fro on the bridge, anxiously 
 scanning the surface of the ocean, especially in the 
 direction of Sydney Heads. There was, however, 
 nothing in sight, except a schnapper-fishing boat coming 
 from the fishing grounds off Barrenjoey Reef, and bound 
 for Sydney. She was then about a mile distant, and a 
 light north-east breeze which had now sprung up was 
 bringing her towards the steamer, which lay directly in 
 her course. 
 
 " For'ard there," cried the captain suddenly to the 
 lookout, " come up here on the bridge." 
 
 The man obeyed, and the skipper pointed to the boat. 
 
 " Rockett, you see that boat there. Keep your eye on 
 her whilst I write a letter. It won't take me ten minutes, 
 but don't let her pass. Hail her if I am not here, and 
 tell them I will give them five sovereigns to take a letter 
 to Sydney for me. But don't let any of them come 
 aboard, savee."
 
 70 The Adventures of a Supercargo 
 
 " Right you are," replied the man with an easy 
 familiarity that the commander of the Warrigal did not 
 seem to resent in the slightest. In another minute he 
 was again in his cabin, and, lighting the lamp, busily 
 engaged in hurriedly writing a short note, the contents of 
 which would have filled Tom with the most unbounded 
 astonishment had he read the lines. 
 
 MADAM, Your nephew was last night blown out to 
 sea in the southerly, and had a very narrow escape from 
 death. He is now sound asleep in my berth, and his 
 boat is on board my vessel. I regret that certain cir- 
 cumstances (into which I cannot now enter) absolutely 
 prevent me from letting him return to Sydney, and I 
 shall have to keep him with me for perhaps several 
 weeks, or even months. But I assure you most solemnly 
 that he shall be treated well, and will not be any the 
 worse for having fallen in with me. Only the sternest 
 necessity compels me to act as I do, and I entreat you to 
 believe me that the lad shall come to no harm. I can 
 assure you that I thoroughly realise the distress I am 
 causing you and the lad's sister, but necessity knows no 
 law, I am, Madam, your obedient servant, 
 
 " JAMES CHRISTIE. 
 
 " P.S. If you will read the Sydney papers of to-day, 
 you will gain an idea of the cause of my conduct." 
 
 Closing the letter, he addressed it to " Miss Denison, 
 ' Crows' Nest ', Sirius Cove," and marked it " urgent," 
 and then putting out the light again, returned to the 
 bridge. The boat was now within hailing distance, and 
 in response to his call came alongside. 
 
 " Had a good catch, boys ? " he asked.
 
 The Adventures of a Supercargo 7 1 
 
 " No," was the reply of one of the men, who added 
 some very lurid observations about the " southerly 
 burster," having split the mainsail, and nearly driven 
 the boat on Barrenjoey Reef. 
 
 " What is your catch worth ? " 
 
 " You can have it for a quid (^i) seven schnapper and 
 half a dozen bream." 
 
 " Very well, pass 'em up ; now, see here, boys ; if 
 you'll take a letter ashore for me straightaway I'll give 
 you five sovereigns. But it is important, very im- 
 portant. Do you know Miss Denison's place at Sirius 
 Cove ? " 
 
 " Yes." 
 
 " Well, take this letter to her as quick as you can. 
 With this breeze, light as it is, you'll get there by day- 
 light." 
 
 " Right you are, skipper. We won't fail you," said 
 the man, as the letter and six sovereigns were passed 
 down into the boat. " What's the matter with the 
 steamer ? " 
 
 " Oh, nothing much burst a steam-pipe. Now 
 sheer off, lads, as we are ready to start again." 
 
 The boat, with its now exceedingly contented crew of 
 three men, veered astern, and a few minutes later word 
 was sent up from the engine-room that the repairs had 
 been effected. 
 
 The big man again heaved a sigh of satisfaction, as
 
 he seized the handle of the engine-room telegraph, and 
 rang down, " Full-speed ahead." 
 
 And as Tom, under the effects of the " red wine " 
 which had so kindly been given him, was sleeping heavily, 
 the steamer's paddles once more ploughed up the water, 
 and she headed to the east, away from the land. 
 
 When the red sun shot up, and illumined a sea that was 
 almost as calm as a mountain tarn, the steamer was 
 twenty leagues from the coast of Australia, and was being 
 driven at her utmost speed, when the man Clancy again 
 appeared on the bridge, followed by a sailor carrying two 
 large mugs of steaming coffee, and a plate of biscuits for 
 the captain and himself. He was hot and tired, and 
 threw himself wearily into a seat. 
 
 " We must slow down, Jim," he said to the captain, 
 " I'm done up, and so are the other two." 
 
 The captain nodded, went to the telegraph, and rang 
 " half-speed." He had himself been doing two hours' 
 stoking, and was almost as tired, and quite as dirty in 
 his appearance as Clancy. 
 
 " Tell Frank and the bos'un to hurry up with their 
 coffee, Sam, and they and you can take a turn in the 
 stokehole for half an hour. Tell the chaps that we are 
 only running at half-speed for the next hour or two. Who 
 is in the engine-room, Clancy ? "
 
 The Adventures of a Supercargo 73 
 
 " The little red-headed fellow, and the Savage Island 
 boy. They'll do all right for half an hour. Nothing in 
 sight, is there ? " 
 
 " Nothing," and the captain swept the skyline astern 
 with his glasses he had nothing to fear from anything 
 that might be sighted ahead " and after the way we 
 have been skipping along for the last four hours, I don't 
 believe there's anything in Sydney Harbour which could 
 catch up to us." 
 
 " I'm dead certain there is not. The Cook might, in a 
 long chase, as she can do fifteen, but then she never has 
 more than two or three days' coal in her bunkers. As 
 for the Challenger and the old Esk, they can neither of 
 them do more than ten, and their fires would be out in 
 any case." (he was speaking of the two war-ships 
 lying in Farm Cove the commodore's ship, the Challen- 
 ger, and a paddle-wheel gunboat, the Esk.) 
 
 The captain nodded as he sipped his coffee, then he 
 put down the mug, and asked his companion to take the 
 wheel. 
 
 " I must go and see our young friend, Clancy and I 
 don't half like it, I can tell you. But the sooner he 
 knows the better." 
 
 Descending the bridge, he went aft to his cabin, and 
 opened the door. Tom was still asleep, but quickly 
 awakened when the captain spoke to him and asked 
 him to dress.
 
 74 The Adventures of a Supercargo 
 
 " There are your own clothes, my lad," he said, 
 pleasantly, pointing to Tom's garments, which had been 
 dried, and placed beside him. 
 
 " Are we not in Sydney^ yet ? " asked Tom, as he 
 sprang from the bunk and began to dress. " Why, I 
 thought I could hear the engines going about three 
 o'clock. I could see the time of my watch by the moon- 
 light, but I was too sleepy to come on deck and see 
 where we were." 
 
 The man made no answer for a few moments. He 
 was thinking of what he should say, and how he should 
 say it to the unsuspecting lad. But James Christie was 
 a man who was quick to decide and act when emergency 
 demanded it, and he determined to, in a measure, take 
 Tom into his confidence, and tell him a certain part of 
 the truth. So he waited until he was dressed and ready 
 to come out on deck. 
 
 " Sit down again, my lad. I have something very 
 serious to tell you something that will give you great 
 distress. This steamer is not going back to Sydney." 
 
 Tom's face clouded with disappointment, and his 
 thoughts flew at once to those at home at " Crows' 
 Nest." Then he raised a faint smile. " I'm sorry to 
 hear this, sir. My poor aunt and sister will, of course, 
 think that I am drowned. I am sorry now that I came 
 alongside." 
 
 " So am I," said Christie quickly, " but I am glad to
 
 The Adventures of a Supercargo 75 
 
 tell you that by this time your aunt and sister know that 
 you are safe and well." 
 
 Tom gazed at him wonderingly, and he saw the man's 
 face flush scarlet. 
 
 " When you were asleep I spoke a fishing boat, and 
 wrote a letter to your aunt, telling her what had happen- 
 ed to you, and that you were safe on board this steamer. 
 The fishermen promised me I gave them five sovereigns 
 to put that letter in your aunt's hands as quickly as 
 possible. And as a breeze had sprung up they must have 
 reached Sirius Cove not later than four o'clock this 
 morning." 
 
 " But but, sir, I don't quite understand," and Tom 
 brushed back his hair with his hand. " Why did you 
 not rouse me, and send me ashore with the fishermen ? 
 It will be a fortnight before this steamer gets back to 
 Sydney from the Arakoon." 
 
 This remark gave Christie an easier and better opening 
 for telling some of the truth than he had thought would 
 be afforded him. 
 
 " Come on deck, and I will tell you." 
 
 Tom followed him to the bridge, and as they passed 
 Clancy at the wheel, he saw by the compass that the 
 steamer was steering east by north, and then turning on 
 his heel, and looking astern, he saw nothing but the 
 boundless ocean there was no land in sight ! 
 
 " Sit down there, please," said Christie, pointing to a
 
 76 The Adventures of a Supercargo 
 
 seat on the starboard side of the bridge, and, taking one 
 himself, he drew it near to Tom, and placed his hand on 
 the lad's knee. 
 
 " My lad, this steamer is the Warrigal, as I told you, 
 but I am going to give her another name. Now, I'll 
 tell you why I put something into your wine to make you 
 sleep soundly. I, and some friends of mine collared her 
 last night, and are running away with her piracy, rank 
 piracy. Do you know what that means ? " 
 
 Tom threw away his hand contemptuously, and then 
 turned upon the big man, his eyes blazing with anger. 
 
 " Why could you not let me go on shore, either in my 
 own or the fishermen's boat ? You great hulking beast ! 
 I suppose you mean to try and turn me into a cabin boy 
 or an engine-room greaser. But you won't, you treacher- 
 ous, fat-faced hound ! " 
 
 " Stop that, ye young ass," cried Clancy from the 
 wheel, " or maybe ye'll not be as kindly trated as we 
 mane yez to be." 
 
 " You dirty Irish ruffian," was Tom's passionate 
 response, " I've seen a lot of your breed in Tasmania 
 in the chain-gangs ! " 
 
 The Irishman, with blazing eyes, let go the wheel 
 and sprang at him, but Christie gripped him by both 
 wrists and forced him back to the port side of the bridge 
 away from Tom. 
 
 " Don't you dare to raise your hand to the boy,
 
 The Adventures of a Supercargo 77 
 
 Terence Clancy ; if you do, I'll pound you into a pulp, 
 old mates as we are. Man, you forget yourself." 
 
 " Did ye hear what he said about the chain-gangs 
 and Tasmania," said Clancy fiercely. 
 
 " I did. And I thought of what you did not know 
 that his father was always a good friend to any of the 
 prisoners from the ould sod." 
 
 " Then God forgive me," said Clancy, and he came 
 up to Tom with outstretched hand. 
 
 " I don't want to touch your dirty paw. I won't 
 shake hands with kidnappers and pirates. You are a 
 pair of scoundrels, and if you think you are going to 
 ' haze ' me, you are mistaken. I am not such a fool as 
 I may look." 
 
 Christie could not suppress a start of astonishment 
 at the word " haze. " 
 
 " What do you mean by talking about ' hazing ' ? " 
 he said with pretended roughness, " I told you that you 
 would be well treated. Get off the bridge, and out of 
 the way, and go into my cabin or the main saloon, and 
 wait until some breakfast is brought to you." 
 
 " I won't take breakfast in your cabin, you hulking 
 thief," said Tom sullenly, as he turned away. 
 
 Christie made no answer. He turned aside to the 
 starboard rail of the bridge, and leaning over it, gazed 
 moodily down into the swaying curves abreast of the 
 sponson.
 
 78 The Adventures of a Supercargo 
 
 " What is the matter, Jim ? " said Clancy, after a few 
 minutes. 
 
 " Nothing, Terence ; but that youngster has upset me 
 a bit a considerable large bit and we shall have 
 trouble with him." 
 
 " A bit av a taste av a rope's ind " 
 
 " Stow that," and he turned fiercely upon the engineer, 
 and pushed him away from the wheel, " the first man 
 who touches him with a rope's end, or anything else, 
 won't forget it. And I'm boss of this rackett, Clancy. 
 Do you understand ? If you don't, you had better 
 learn it ' rightaway,' as the Yankees say." 
 
 " It's some breakfast ye're wantin', Jim," said Clancy, 
 as he turned aside with a good-humoured smile, and left 
 Christie alone on the bridge.
 
 CHAPTER IX 
 
 EIGHT bells had just struck, and as Tom was leaning 
 over the stern rail, gazing moodily at the steamers' 
 boiling wake, his name was called. 
 
 " Will you come to breakfast, sir ? It is ready." 
 
 The speaker was a young seaman of about twenty-five 
 years of age, with a rather prepossessing countenance, 
 and he spoke very civilly. At first Tom was about to 
 decline, but then thought it would not improve matters 
 by refusing to have any breakfast, so he followed the 
 man below, and for the first time entered the saloon, 
 which was large and handsomely fitted up. Only the 
 after end of the table was laid for four persons ; and 
 presently Christie, Clancy, and another man, whom 
 Tom recognised as the boatswain, appeared. 
 
 " Will you take this seat, Mr. Denison ? " said the 
 captain, politely indicating one of the revolving chairs, 
 " You must be hungry." 
 
 " Yes, I am, or else I should not have felt inclined 
 to come," was the blunt reply. 
 
 Christie laughed somewhat strainedly. " Ah, well, 
 79
 
 8o The Adventures of a Supercargo 
 
 try and make yourself as comfortable as you can. 
 Frank," and he turned to the man who had called Tom to 
 breakfast, " which is the best of the staterooms ? " 
 
 " Number seven, sir." 
 
 " Well, that will be Mr. Denison's as long as he is 
 with us. Fix it up for him properly." 
 
 " It is quite ready, sir." 
 
 " I am obliged to you," said Tom, whose indignation 
 was fast vanishing under the aroma of beefsteak and 
 onions, to which he was liberally assisted by the captain ; 
 and so the meal began, all who partook of it eating as 
 heartily as Tom himself, and losing no time in con- 
 versation. 
 
 The captain was the first to finish, and leave the table, 
 and as he rose, he asked Tom to come to him on the 
 bridge as soon as he could. 
 
 " All right, sir," said Tom, who was now beginning 
 to feel assured that he should meet with no injury from 
 any one on board not even from Clancy, who sat 
 opposite to him, and who continued to press him to eat. 
 
 The boatswain was the next to leave, and then Clancy, 
 whilst the steward was out of hearing, leant across the 
 table and said : 
 
 " I'm wantin' to tell ye it's sorry I am fur losin' me 
 temper." 
 
 Tom could not refuse such an amende honorable. 
 
 " And I'm sorry for what I said about Irishmen and
 
 The Adventures of a Supercargo 8 1 
 
 the chain-gangs in Tasmania. You see, although my 
 father was always very kind to the Irish prisoners, he 
 was shot dead by one of them, and my mother was killed, 
 too, at the same time." 
 
 Clancy had heard from Christie half an hour before the 
 story of the tragedy at " Huon Bank," and now felt a 
 genuine and friendly interest in, and sympathy for 
 Tom, and in his rough way wanted to show it, and so 
 when he held out his hand across the table, Tom could 
 not decline to take it. 
 
 " Sure if ye'll give me the privilege of being of any 
 service to ye, Mr. Denison, I'll feel proud I will indeed. 
 I'm not an entirely bad mahn, with all me faults," and 
 then he hurriedly rose and went on deck, leaving Tom 
 alone. 
 
 " Are you the regular steward ? " he enquired of 
 Frank, who was pouring him out a second cup of coffee. 
 
 " Yes, I suppose so," he replied somewhat evasively, 
 and then he added, " I ain't allowed to answer ques- 
 tions." 
 
 Tom took the hint, and then went on deck. The 
 captain was on the bridge at the wheel. 
 
 " Here, read that," he said, taking a folded sheet of 
 paper out of his pocket, and handing it to Tom, " that 
 is about as fair a copy as I can remember of the letter I 
 wrote to your aunt. Thought you would like to see it." 
 
 As the youth read it, he felt very thankful that his
 
 82 The Adventures of a Supercargo 
 
 aunt and Sabbie would by now feel assured of his safety. 
 He thanked the captain, and then asked him if he minded 
 his staying on the bridge. 
 
 " Not at all. You can do whatever you like, and have 
 the entire run of the ship, if you will promise me one 
 thing." 
 
 " What is that ? " 
 
 " Not to ask any one but myself any questions about 
 this ship. I mean about the manner of her leaving 
 Sydney." 
 
 Tom considered a few moments. 
 
 " Very well, I promise." 
 
 " That's right, and now in my turn I'll tell you this 
 much straight out. When we took her and turned out 
 those who were in charge of her, we hurt no one." 
 
 " I am glad to hear that," and then Tom again 
 noticed what he had observed on other occasions the 
 big man was steering with his left hand only, and that 
 his right was bandaged in a black silk handkerchief. 
 
 " You have a bad hand, I see," he remarked. " I 
 will take the wheel if you like." 
 
 " Why, can you steer ? but of course you can what 
 am I thinking about. I shall be obliged if you'll take 
 the wheel for half an hour or so. You see we are very 
 short-handed and I have neither a first nor second officer, 
 and had to do a bit of stoking last night. I burnt my 
 hand in putting out the fire in the saloon."
 
 The Adventures of a Supercargo 83 
 
 Tom took the wheel, and noted the course, E. by N 
 Christie watched him in silence for a few minutes. 
 
 " How was the fire caused, sir ? " Tom ventured to ask. 
 
 Christie replied that he had given orders for all lights 
 to be put out, and the man who was sent to do this must 
 have dropped a lighted match or hot ashes from his 
 pipe amongst the thick cushions and curtains with which 
 the transoms bunks were covered, as soon after the 
 steamer had passed through the Heads it was found that 
 she was on fire ; and in extinguishing it the captain had 
 his right hand rather badly burnt. 
 
 Leaving Tom at the wheel, Christie went round the 
 ship with the boatswain and gave his orders as to what 
 was to be done ; and a few minutes later they were 
 joined by five other hands, and the steward Frank, and 
 then the four boats which the steamer carried were 
 swung inboard from the davits, and made secure on 
 deck. This took quite an hour or more, and then 
 Christie returned to the bridge. 
 
 " We are so short-handed," he explained, " and as all of 
 us have to take a turn in the stoke-hold, I took the chance 
 of getting the boats inboard whilst it is fine, rather than 
 run the risk of losing them if we meet with heavy 
 weather from the eastward." 
 
 '' Yes, and we seem very deep in the water." 
 
 " Very. There is a full cargo under hatches I wish 
 some of it was coal. Would you mind taking a look at
 
 84 The Adventures of a Supercargo 
 
 the taffrail log, and tell me what it shows ? It was set 
 afresh at eight bells." 
 
 Tom ran aft and glanced at the dial, and then returned 
 to the bridge. 
 
 " Nearly seventeen." 
 
 " Ah ! that's not so bad a little over eight knots. 
 Now we'll set our canvas, which will help us. The 
 breeze is freshening, and I want to save my coal." 
 
 " Can I lend a hand ? " 
 
 " Only too glad if you will." 
 
 Like most of the steamers on the Australian coast, 
 in those days when pole masts and twin screws were not, 
 the Warrigal was square-rigged for'ard, and could show 
 quite a spread of canvas for a vessel of under seven 
 hundred tons. 
 
 In half a minute, Tom was aloft with the big sailor, 
 Sam, casting off the gaskets, and then as the topsails 
 and the foresail were dropped by them and sheeted home 
 by the hands on deck, and the freshening breeze bellied 
 out the canvas, Christie called down to Clancy. 
 
 " How's that, Terence ? " he asked, as the engineer 
 appeared, and he pointed to the sails. 
 
 " Ah, it's beautiful, me boy, beautiful ! It means a 
 ton less of coal an hour." Then he noticed Tom, who 
 had been helping the men to hoist the head sails, and 
 was now coming aft again, flushed and pleasedly excited. 
 
 " He's made friends with me, Jim."
 
 The Adventures of a Supercargo 85 
 
 " I'm glad of it, Terence. He's a fine lad. And if it 
 can be done safely, I'll try and put him on shore at Lord 
 Howe's Island or Norfolk Island. But if it can't be done, 
 he'll have to come on with us to Callao, poor lad ! " 
 
 " Maybe we might meet with an Australian-bound 
 ship after we pass Norfolk Island " 
 
 " No, not at all likely on the course we are taking. We 
 may very probably see a few Yankee sperm whalers, 
 but I haven't the heart to put him aboard a whale ship, 
 which might not put into a civilised port for six months." 
 Tom appeared on the bridge. 
 
 " Thank you, my lad," said Christie. " Mr. Clancy 
 and I are going into the saloon for a glass of grog. Come 
 with us and have a glass of wine." 
 
 " Anything in it this time ? " 
 
 Christie's face flushed scarlet, " I deserve that, but " 
 
 Tom's laugh interrupted him " I am not afraid, 
 captain. I'll come with you and Mr. Clancy. Then I 
 should like to have a look at the engine-room." 
 
 " Indade, you shall," said Clancy, " an' ye'll see no 
 finer nor better engines in the hull of any ship afloat of 
 the size of the Warrigal"
 
 CHAPTER X 
 
 WHEN the south-wester which blew Tom out to sea 
 burst upon the northern shores of the harbour, and filled 
 the air with dust and flying leaves and twigs torn from 
 the iron-bark and gum trees, neither Miss Denison nor 
 her niece had felt any apprehensions as to his safety ; 
 for in the sheltered position of the " Crows' Nest " they 
 had but a faint idea of the fury of the wind. But Jack 
 Castles, the ship-keeper of the Simon Bolivar, as he 
 hoisted the barque's bright riding light, felt uneasy as he 
 listened to the howling of the storm through the old 
 ship's weather-worn rigging, and heard, although he 
 could not see it, the beating of the surf upon the southern 
 head of the little cove, a few hundred fathoms away. 
 
 " It must be very bad out in the open, when such a 
 sea is breaking in this sheltered spot," he long afterwards 
 told Tom, he had said to himself, " there's not much of 
 a show for a small boat in a blow like this." And for 
 many hours he kept a lookout ; and then about three 
 in the morning, long after the southerly had spent itself, 
 
 86
 
 The Adventures of a Supercargo 87 
 
 and then ceased, he saw a boat with three men in it sail 
 past, and then land at the head of the cove. Here she 
 remained for half an hour, and having lowered her sail 
 the crew took to the oars and pulled away again in the 
 direction of Manly. 
 
 " Smuggling fishermen," thought Castles, " been 
 landing and hiding tobacco somewhere in the scrub, I 
 suppose." 
 
 At six o'clock he could see that Tom's boat was not 
 at its moorings, so getting into his own, he pulled on 
 shore, meaning to enquire at the house if Tom had re- 
 turned home by the road from St. Leonard's and left 
 his boat at Sydney. He found the servants in a state 
 of great excitement, and Mrs. Potter weeping profusely 
 in the kitchen, and after some questioning, succeeded 
 in learning between her sobs that Master Tom had been 
 " kidnapped and murdered and taken away." He asked 
 to see the lady of the house, and in a few moments he 
 was shown into the dining-room, where he found Miss 
 Denison and Sabbie, both fully dressed, and both show- 
 ing traces of recent tears. 
 
 " What has happened to the young gentleman, 
 madam ? " he asked respectfully. 
 
 " Sit down, please, and I will tell you," and Miss 
 Denison took a letter from her pocket, and said, speaking 
 very quietly, although the poor lady's voice trembled 
 somewhat :
 
 88 The Adventures of a Supercargo 
 
 " As my nephew had not returned at eleven o'clock, I 
 concluded he had decided to stay in Sydney for the 
 night, on account of its being so windy. There is always 
 a bed for him at the house of his friend Captain Herrera ; 
 so my niece and I retired, but left a light burning in the 
 hall in case he did return later on. 
 
 " Soon after three o'clock this morning, some one 
 tapped loudly at the front door and awakened the house- 
 keeper. He said he was a fisherman, and had a letter 
 for me that was to be delivered immediately. Then 
 without waiting to see me, he went away. Now, let 
 me read the letter." 
 
 She read it slowly and distinctly, and when she uttered 
 the words, " Your obedient servant, James Christie," 
 the half-caste started. 
 
 " James Christie, madam ? " 
 
 " Yes, James Christie. Do you know the person ? " 
 
 " Very well indeed, madam. I was boatswain with 
 him for two voyages about four years ago in a South 
 Sea trading barque named the Petite 'Jeanne. But I 
 left her at Levuka in Fiji, and have never heard anything 
 of him since." 
 
 " Then my nephew is with him on the Petite Jeanne ? ' : 
 
 " No, madam, the Petite Jeanne, I know, was wrecked 
 on Tahiti soon after I left her in Fiji." 
 
 Miss Denison's tears began to fall, and Sabbie put her 
 arms around her waist. In a few moments, however,
 
 The Adventures of a Supercargo 89 
 
 her aunt recovered her composure, and turned to the 
 sympathetic half-caste. 
 
 " I cannot help crying, but I must collect my thoughts. 
 No doubt we shall learn the name of the vessel which has 
 taken away my nephew. But I am anxious to learn 
 something about this man Christie. Do you think he 
 will really do as he says treat my nephew kindly ? " 
 
 " I am sure, madam," was the emphatic reply, 
 " whatever he promises to do he will do. If he told a 
 man he would punish him, he would punish him very, 
 very severely ; if he said he would let a matter pass, he 
 would not break his word." 
 
 " That is consoling to me. Now this post-script. I 
 am going over to Sydney at once to get this morning's 
 Herald, and see Captain M'Lerie, the chief of Police " 
 
 " Let me take you over in my dinghy, madam. I 
 can land you at Circular Quay two hours sooner than if 
 you went by road to St. Leonard's." 
 
 Her anxiety to learn all she could as quickly as possible 
 overcame her fear of crossing the harbour in a small boat, 
 and half an hour later she was seated in Castles' boat on 
 her way to the city, wondering if this handsome, well- 
 spoken half-caste sailor was a reclaimed cannibal, and 
 who was the particular missionary who had plucked him 
 from the burning. 
 
 As the boat passed Farm Cove, Castles noticed that 
 H.M.S. Esk was leaving her mooring, a cloud of black
 
 go The Adventures of a Supercargo 
 
 smoke pouring from her funnels ; and hundreds of people 
 were lining the stone embankments of the Botanical 
 Gardens watching her movements. Pulling into the 
 Circular Quay, he set Miss Denison on shore, and almost 
 as soon as she landed she heard numbers of the news- 
 boys crying out a special sheet of the morning paper. 
 
 "PIRACY IN SYDNEY HARBOUR!" 
 
 She bought a copy and hurriedly entering the Custom 
 House sat upon a bench in the hall, and began to read. 
 It was headed in large letters, 
 
 "DARING ACT OF PIRACY." 
 
 and was as follows : 
 
 " This morning at daylight it was noticed that the 
 steamer Warrigal, which had been lying in Mossman's 
 Bay, was missing, and some surprise was felt, as her 
 owner, Mr. Tobias Pattermore, had, owing to an accident 
 to her machinery, delayed her departure for Fiji for 
 two days. 
 
 " Mossmans' Bay, as our readers are aware, is a very 
 quiet spot, and there are only one or two houses within 
 a radius of some miles. In the bay itself are two hulks, 
 one used as a coal barge, and the other for storing 
 kerosene ; no one usually lived on either, but occasion- 
 ally a man sleeps on the latter vessel when it holds cargo. 
 Last night, however, there was no one on board, nor had 
 there been for some weeks. 
 
 " At ve a.m. some Greek fishermen entered the bay
 
 The Adventures of a Supercargo 9 1 
 
 in their boat, and as they passed the kerosene hulk, they 
 heard the sound of violent hammering within the hold, 
 and, they fancied, also voices. On going on board they 
 found the hatches were on, but the tarpaulin that is used 
 to cover them was thrown aside. Lifting off one hatch 
 they made the astonishing discovery that four men were 
 imprisoned below ; they were the chief officer (Mr. 
 Watts), second steward (Guy), and two A.B.'s of the 
 W arrigal \ 
 
 " Their story is an astounding one. The W arrigal is 
 generally known as one of the fastest (or the fastest) 
 steamers in Australian waters, and is almost new. Some 
 months ago she was purchased by Mr. Pattermore, and 
 after being thoroughly overhauled, loaded a valuable 
 general cargo for Levuka on behalf of her owner, who has 
 there just established a large trading business. 
 
 " Yesterday the steamer made a satisfactory trial trip, 
 but on returning to port, something went wrong with 
 her machinery, and the chief engineer (Mr. Clancy), 
 finding upon examination that it was more serious than 
 he at first imagined, the steamer went into Mossman's 
 Bay, where she anchored. 
 
 " Captain Toll went on shore to sleep at his house, and 
 before leaving the vessel also gave liberty to the second 
 officer, and several of the crew to remain on shore for 
 the night, as the W arrigal was lying in a perfectly safe 
 and sheltered position, and there was no need for her full 
 crew to stay on board. 
 
 " Last night one of the most violent south-westers ever 
 experienced set in early in the evening, and lasted for an 
 unprecedented time, and Mr. Watts, knowing that the 
 steamer was perfectly safe, and that there were two men 
 on watch on deck, turned in about nine o'clock. 
 
 " At some time later in the night he was roughly 
 awakened by several men two of whom he recognised 
 as members of the newly-shipped crew and a pistol was 
 pressed to his forehead by a tall, stout man, who threat-
 
 ga The Adventures of a Supercargo 
 
 ened to shoot him dead if he made the slightest noise, 
 or attempted to resist. Then he was handcuffed and 
 locked 'in his cabin. 
 
 " Half an hour later he was brought out, and saw 
 lying on the deck the second steward and two other 
 members of the crew. They were not bound, and he 
 imagined that they had been murdered ; later on he 
 found that they were helplessly intoxicated. 
 
 " With a pistol still threatening him, the unfortunate 
 officer was compelled to descend into a boat, into which 
 his three companions were also lowered, and in a few 
 minutes he found himself on board the kerosene hulk, 
 and he then noticed, dark as it was, that a thick volume 
 of smoke was pouring from the funnel of the Warrigal. 
 
 " His intoxicated companions were first lowered into 
 the dark hold of the hulk, and then himself. Then the 
 hatches were put on, and the officer was left in Cimmer- 
 ian darkness. Soon after daylight one of the seamen 
 awakened (he declared that he and the other men were 
 given drugged liquor by some of the crew), and by his 
 assistance Mr. Watts freed himself of his handcuffs, and 
 tried to gain access to the deck. But the desperadoes 
 who have pirated the Warrigal had taken all precautions ; 
 both the for'ard and after bulkheads of the hulk were 
 secured on the other side, and even had they been forced, 
 the fore scuttle was covered with a coiled-up towing 
 hawser weighing nearly a ton. Had it not been for the 
 Greek fishermen, the unfortunate men might still be 
 imprisoned. Their captors, however, had placed food 
 and water for them, so they would not have suffered the 
 pangs of hunger or thirst. 
 
 " One of our representatives has been despatched to 
 Mr. Pattermore, who, living at Parramatta, fifteen miles 
 from Sydney, is not yet aware of this astounding act of 
 piracy. We hope to publish a special further edition 
 within a few hours. 
 
 " Immediately Mr. Watts reported what had happened 
 to the authorities, the Commodore was seen, and he at
 
 The Adventures of a Supercargo 93 
 
 once gave instructions for the Esk to proceed to sea, 
 and search for the pirated steamer." 
 
 Ten minutes later Miss Denison was at the newspaper 
 office, and telling her story of the mysterious letter to the 
 editor. 
 
 And at the same time Mr. Tobias Pattermore, a fat, 
 bald-headed gentleman, who had just recovered from a 
 fit, was lying on a sofa in the breakfast room, with his 
 wife and daughter by his side, fanning him. 
 
 " Christie said he would have his revenge," he gasped, 
 and then he began to weep. " Oh, why is human nature 
 so wicked ! He has robbed me of my steamer twenty 
 thousand pounds, Maria, twenty thousand pounds ! 
 and the cargo, Maria ! and the cargo forty thousand 
 pounds more . . . Sixty thousand pounds ! All 
 gone at once."
 
 CHAPTER XI 
 
 FOR ten days under cloudless skies, and through a gently 
 heaving sea the Warrigal had been steaming at a 
 moderate rate of speed, economising her coal as much 
 as possible by using her canvas whenever the wind 
 favoured, and was now within a hundred miles of Rapa 
 Island, at which Christie intended to call, for he was ill 
 so ill that he was barely able to navigate the ship 
 and was in hopes that he would there be able to obtain 
 relief from one of the French missionaries, who was a 
 medical man, and known to him personally. 
 
 There now existed between him and Tom almost a 
 feeling of friendship. When Lord Howe Island was 
 sighted, Christie had sent for him and said : 
 
 " Tom, there is Lord Howe Island, four hundred miles 
 from Sydney. I am sending a boat on shore to find out 
 if there is a vessel there bound for Sydney, or, if not, 
 when the settlers expect one. I know that they send 
 away a cargo of produce once every three months or so, 
 
 94
 
 Th e Adv entures of a Sup ercarg o 95 
 
 and it may be that there is a vessel there now. If so, or 
 if one is expected soon, I will land you and your boat. 
 If not, we may meet with a Sydney ship at Norfolk 
 Island, five hundred miles further to the east." 
 
 Then he added that Tom, even if he did not stay at 
 Lord Howe Island, might as well write to his aunt, and 
 further assure her of his safety, and that the letter could 
 be left with the settlers to forward by first oppor- 
 tunity. 
 
 Having reasons for not approaching too near the 
 island, and being boarded by any of the inhabitants 
 who were nearly all retired English and American 
 whaling skippers with their families Christie stopped 
 the steamer's engines when she was about six miles from 
 the shore, and sent away Tom's boat. It was absent 
 some hours, and returned laden deep with onions, for 
 which the island is renowned. 
 
 " Well ? " said Christie enquiringly to Frank, who was 
 in charge of the boat, as he stepped on deck. 
 
 " The settlers' schooner left a week ago, sir, and won't 
 be back for three months." Then he called the captain 
 aside, and added in low tones : 
 
 " And they told me that the Orpheus, corvette, called 
 there two days ago, bound for Norfolk Island, where she 
 will stay for a week, as the captain is to make a fresh 
 survey of the island." 
 
 " All right, Frank, hoist the boat aboard. Tom,
 
 96 The Adventures of a Supercargo 
 
 come on the bridge with me." Then he asked Frank if 
 he had left the letter. 
 
 " Yes, sir ; and the man who is a sort of a magistrate 
 there, said it was quite possible that one of the Hobart 
 Town whalers might call there any day on the way 
 home, and if so, he would not fail to send Mr. Denison's 
 letter." 
 
 As soon as they were on the bridge, Christie said : 
 
 " It is no use your landing at this island, Tom, on the 
 chance of a homeward-bound Hobart whaler coming 
 along. And neither can I land you at Norfolk Island, 
 which I must keep clear of the Orpheus is there. It 
 would be good for you, but bad for me, if I had to show 
 my papers. I'm very sorry, but you will have to stay 
 with us for some time longer." 
 
 " Well, it can't be helped," was the philosophic answer. 
 
 Christie nodded, then the steamer went ahead again 
 on the same course, instead of bearing to the north for 
 Norfolk Island. 
 
 It was soon after this incident that Christie was 
 taken ill, and he rapidly became worse, until at last he 
 was unable to go on the bridge, unassisted, to take an 
 observation, and his anxiety concerning the navigation 
 of the Warrigal through the dangerous seas of the Pau- 
 motu Group, which the steamer was now nearing, 
 hourly increased, and Tom could not help a feeling of 
 pity for the man ; and so one day he told him what he
 
 The Adventures of a Supercargo 97 
 
 had hitherto carefully concealed from him that he 
 had been taught navigation by Captain Ryder, and 
 that although he had never had the opportunity of 
 working out a ship's position at sea, he was pretty sure 
 he could do so with a little further instruction from 
 him. 
 
 Christie gave a sigh of relief, and at once became more 
 cheerful. 
 
 " Ah, my lad, if you will help me and you can help me 
 greatly I shall be very grateful. If you will take the 
 sights we can work them out together." Then he sank 
 back in his bunk, too exhausted to speak further. 
 
 After Lord Howe Island was passed, no further land 
 was seen till the bold, rugged outlines and verdant hills 
 of Sunday Island hove in sight, and here the Warrigal 
 remained three days at anchor, taking in firewood, 
 which Christie bought from the one family living there, 
 who had a large supply cut and ready for sale to the 
 numerous American whaleships that yearly called at the 
 island. The family consisted of father, mother and 
 eleven children, some of whom were grown up. They 
 had come from New Zealand which was distant but a 
 few days' sail and although their existence was some- 
 what monotonous at times, it was yet a very happy one, 
 and Tom could not but envy the younger members. 
 They both sons and daughters helped their father in 
 his work ; he was a boat-builder by trade, and always
 
 98 The Adventures of a Supercargo 
 
 had one or two beautifully finished whaleboats ready to 
 sell to any whaleship which was short of boats through 
 a mishap ; then they cultivated an extensive and pro- 
 lific garden, shot the wild pigs with which the island 
 abounded, and salted them down, and caught and cured 
 a great quantity of fish, which was taken to Auckland 
 (New Zealand) every few months in a small cutter they 
 owned, or sold to the whaleships, together with the salt 
 pork and vegetables. The house was large and com- 
 fortably furnished, and the only disturbing element in 
 their lives was the frequent shocks of earthquake which 
 shook the island. 
 
 During the time that the firewood was being shipped, 
 Christie stayed on shore at the settler's house, and his 
 health improved slightly by the rest ; Tom remained 
 with him at night, but during the day spent his time with 
 two of the settler's sons, either shooting pigeons, which 
 were very plentiful in the mountain forest, or fishing in 
 the deep waters of the bay in which the steamer was 
 anchored. Meanwhile the energetic Clancy and his men 
 had altered the fire bars of the steamer's furnaces, so 
 that either wood or coal could be burned, and Christie 
 was well pleased when, on the evening of the third day 
 he went on board, and found every available inch of 
 deck space piled up with logs of firewood as high as the 
 sheerpoles, with only narrow alleyways on each side of 
 the ship, so that the hands could pass fore and aft with-
 
 The Adventures of a Supercargo 99 
 
 out inconvenience when working the running gear if 
 the vessel should be under canvas only. And Christie 
 had great hopes of meeting with strong north-westerly 
 winds in the vicinity of the Paumotu Archipelago, and 
 so still further economise his fuel. 
 
 During his stay on the island the hospitable settler 
 had several times pressed Tom to remain there for 
 another month, when he would give him a passage to 
 New Zealand, but Tom, who had only told him as much 
 of his story as he deemed advisable, declined the offer 
 with many thanks. One reason for this was, that he 
 was now certain that Miss Denison and his sister knew 
 of his safety, and that he would return home sooner or 
 later ; another was that he had in a manner pledged 
 himself to Christie to stay with, and assist him with the 
 navigation of the steamer during his illness ; and thirdly, 
 and lastly, his whole soul was aflame with the desire for 
 adventure, and the wild longing to see strange lands 
 and strange peoples, and he often congratulated himself 
 upon his knowledge of Spanish, now that he would 
 certainly see South America. Perhaps, too, he might 
 come across his former friend Bob Stenhouse, although 
 Iquique was a long cry from Valparaiso. Then, too, 
 three of the male members of the Bell family, who had 
 made voyages to the Arctic in American whaleships, had 
 fired him with the desire to do the same thing, and a wide 
 vista of his future lay before him like some great and
 
 ioo The Adventures of a Supercargo 
 
 unknown sea suddenly revealed to one, who, standing 
 upon a mountain top, sees it lying before him glinting 
 and sparkling under the roseate glories of the rising 
 sun.
 
 CHAPTER XII 
 
 IT was towards sunset on a glorious day that the Warri- 
 gal stopped her engines off Ahurei Harbour on Rapa, 
 and waited for a native pilot, and Tom, as he stood on the 
 bridge, saw before him a panorama of strange and 
 wondrous beauty. High, forest-clad mountains of a 
 bright vivid green, rose steep-to from a sleeping sea 
 which, under the rays of the sinking sun, gleamed like 
 a mirror of burnished silver ; and all along, and nestling 
 in between the deep valleys, were glinting beaches of 
 snow-white sand, fringed with groves of cocos and bread- 
 fruit trees, from out of which peeped the russet-brown 
 thatched roofs of the native dwellings, whilst far up on 
 the side of the 'highest peak of all, whose jagged pinnacle 
 of purple rock was silhouetted against a sky of cloudless 
 blue, there shone a long, straight line of silvery white 
 a mountain cascade, which fell a sheer three hundred 
 feet into the dark green shades of a valley below, from 
 whence the brawling water swept eastward to the sea 
 through groves of palms and orange, sweet-smelling 
 cedar, mango, and other trees. And as he gazed
 
 IO2 The Adventures of a Supercargo 
 
 (oblivious even of Christie, who, ill as he was, had taken 
 the wheel, and was watching the approach of the canoe 
 bringing off the pilot), his memory went back to a letter 
 which the Governor of Tasmania had shown to his 
 father a treasured letter written by the unhappy and 
 maligned Fletcher Christian, the leader of the Bounty 
 mutineers, to the woman he loved in far-off Dorsetshire, 
 and who died broken-hearted, when after that one 
 passionate letter reached her, she never again heard from 
 her sailor lover. Christian told her the story of the 
 mutiny, and how after he and his comrades had returned 
 to Tahiti, and had again sailed to seek a resting-place in 
 one of the many islands in the South Pacific they had 
 come to an island of such wondrous beauty, that although 
 the natives were so fierce and warlike, that were she with 
 him he " would be content to live and die there. So 
 beautiful is it, my Doris, that I cannot attempt to 
 portray it in paper for those sweet grey eyes of yours 
 to read ; and yet my comrade Edward Young and I are 
 told of another island in the same cluster as this of 
 Tubuai, which is still more beautiful, and where the 
 people are mild and gentle-mannered. It is called Rapa 
 by our Tahitians, and lies a hundred leagues to the 
 South." 
 
 In the canoe were four stalwart, reddish-brown skin- 
 ned natives, with straight black hair, and very regular 
 features. Two of them were dressed in the shirts and
 
 The Adventures of a Super car go 103 
 
 trousers of civilisation, the other wore the Tahitian 
 pareu, or waist-cloth of soft tappa, made from the bark 
 of the paper mulberry tree. Only the pilot spoke 
 English, and as soon as he ascended the bridge, he shook 
 hands with Christie, who asked him if he could take the 
 steamer in to a safe anchorage. He smiled and showed 
 his white pearly teeth under a well-trained and Frenchi- 
 fied black moustache. 
 
 " Oh yes, I can take you anywhere through any of the 
 island ; but this is the first time of me to take 
 steamer into Ahurei, but plenty time I take in sailing 
 vessel brig, barque, schooner, full-rig ship." 
 
 Christie, quite satisfied, rang " half-speed ahead," 
 the pilot took the wheel, and half an hour later the anchor 
 of the Warrigal was lying upon a ground of dead coral 
 and sand in nine fathoms of water, so clear that the 
 smallest pebble could be seen lying on the bottom. Just 
 abreast of the steamer was a native village of about 
 thirty houses, surrounded by orange trees, under which 
 were gathered all the women and children, arrayed in 
 their flowing draperies of muslin, awaiting the arrival 
 of the white men. Most of the men folk were away 
 fishing on the other side of the island, and so had not 
 observed the steamer ; but those who had remained at 
 the village, and who numbered less than a dozen, soon 
 came on board, with their canoes laden deeply with 
 fruit and vegetables, fowls, ducks, and squealing pigs.
 
 IO4 The Adventures of a Supercargo 
 
 All these were bought by Christie and his crew for a few 
 shillings and two 5o-lb. tins of ship biscuit. They 
 informed Christie that the French priest he wished to see 
 was away at another village across the bay, but that he 
 would be sure to come on board in a few hours, as the 
 people there had seen the steamer entering the harbour. 
 He was, they said, the only white man then on the island, 
 though a few years previously there had been two others 
 traders living on the island. One, however, had 
 died, and the other, who was a native of Pitcairn Island, 
 and a descendant of Quintal, one of the Bounty mutineers, 
 had wearied of Rapa and its beauties, and gone back to 
 the lonely little island always so dear to the hearts and 
 memories of its people. 
 
 A few hours after the steamer had anchored, the 
 French missionary's whaleboat appeared, sailing across 
 the smooth waters of the lovely harbour, which were now 
 sparkling under the silvery light of an all but full moon. 
 She ranged alongside, and there stepped out of her an 
 active little man with snow-white hair and beard, 
 dressed in the usual priestly vestment of black. He 
 started with pleased astonishment when he heard 
 Christie's voice addressing him as he stood on the gang- 
 way. Grasping the skipper's outstretched hand he 
 poured forth in mingled French and English, questions 
 and compliments in the one breath, and when he learned 
 that Christie was ill, he at once became very sympathetic,
 
 The Adventures of a Supercargo 105 
 
 and went with him to his cabin, where he remained for 
 some time. Then Christie called for Tom, whom he 
 introduced to the cleric as " the young gentleman who 
 had been blown out to sea from Sydney Harbour." 
 The old gentleman's kindly, beady black eyes lit up with 
 pleasure, when Tom, in answer to his enquiry if he could 
 speak French, answered in the affirmative, and added 
 that he had been taught both French and Spanish. 
 
 " Spanish, too, Tom ? " said Christie, astonished. 
 " Why, you are a secretive youngster. Now, if I had 
 known that you could speak Spanish, I should have 
 asked you to give me lessons, for a little knowledge of it 
 would be a big help to me later on." 
 
 " Oh, well, there is plenty of time yet, captain." 
 
 Christie nodded pleasedly, and then said, " Tom, I am 
 going ashore to stay with Pere Leblond for a few days. 
 He is going to doctor me up and put me to rights. Now, 
 will you ask Mr. Clancy to muster the hands and bring 
 them aft." 
 
 Clancy and the eight men who formed the steamer's 
 complement soon appeared, and Christie told them all 
 that on the morrow they could have three days' liberty 
 on shore, and enjoy themselves. " Father Leblond," 
 he added, " tells me that he will get the chief of Ahurai 
 to put a tapu on the ship, and that not a single native 
 will come on board if I object." 
 
 The men thanked him and then went off ; and shortly
 
 106 The Adventures of a Supercargo 
 
 after Christie and the priest started for the shore. The 
 mission-house was situated on a spur of one of the ver- 
 dure-clad mountains, and Tom, although he was asked to 
 accompany them, and was anxious to put foot on shore, 
 decided to remain on board with Clancy, who, like him- 
 self, was an ardent fisherman, and who had been told by 
 the natives that splendid fish could be caught from the 
 steamer, and that they would bring them off some flying 
 fish for bait. This they did, and Tom and the Irish 
 engineer had some glorious sport with some great bream- 
 like fish, called by the natives tabulu, many of which 
 weighed over thirty pounds. 
 
 The two slept on the bridge, enjoying to the full the 
 cool breeze from the shore between the deep mountain 
 valley, bringing with it the sweet odours of orange 
 blossom and the yellow flowers of the pandanus palms. 
 
 At dawn, and whilst Clancy was still sleeping, Tom 
 rose, and as he looked across to the entrance of the har- 
 bour he saw a large paddle-wheel steamer just bringing 
 to, to anchor, and as her cable rushed through her 
 hawse-pipe, there came a flash and a puff of smoke 
 from her deck, and then the report of a gun. 
 
 Clancy sprang to his feet, wide awake in an instant, 
 and with Tom gazed at the stranger. 
 
 " She's a Yankee," he said, with a sigh of relief, 
 " see her walking beam. We have nothing to be afraid 
 of j but I wonder what the blazes she is doing in this
 
 The Adventures of a Supercargo 107 
 
 part of the world. Ah, there's another gun ! She wants 
 assistance, perhaps, as well as a pilot." 
 
 Rousing the hands, he had one of the WarrigaVs 
 boats lowered and manned, and a quarter of an hour 
 later he and Tom were on board the stranger, which they 
 found was the Aztec City, bound from San Francisco to 
 Sydney, and in distress, with a mutinous crew as well.
 
 CHAPTER XIII 
 
 THE captain of the Aztec City was a Scotsman, named 
 Seaton, two of his officers were Americans, and the crew 
 of five-and-twenty were, he informed Clancy, a collec- 
 tion of dead-beat loafers, and thieves, put on board by 
 the 'Frisco crimping houses. 
 
 He told Clancy his story as briefly as possible. The 
 steamer, which was a cumbersome and very old vessel 
 of sixteen hundred tons, had sailed from San Francisco 
 nearly six weeks before for Sydney via Honolulu, carry- 
 ing a number of saloon passengers for both ports. A 
 week after leaving Honolulu the crew began to show a 
 mutinous disposition, and ended up by broaching cargo, 
 and providing themselves with all the liquor they wanted. 
 Then to add to Captain Seaton's troubles, the steamer 
 sprang a-leak, and although some of the crew had 
 worked at the pumps fairly well, most of them had told 
 the officers that the ship could go down as far as they 
 were concerned, and they had plenty of liquor and 
 provisions in the fo'scle. " But," Seaton went on, 
 
 108
 
 The Adventures of a Supercargo 109 
 
 " We have a bit of a pull on them now. Last night my 
 officers and I managed to secure ten of them after a bit 
 of a tussle, in which pistols were used on both sides, 
 though no one was killed. I have the brutes safely in 
 irons now in the after-part of the ship, where they can't 
 be rescued, and where a diet of a biscuit each and water 
 for three or four days will take some of the devilry out 
 of them. The rest of them are a little more civil this 
 morning, but I can't trust them, and am afraid they will 
 set the ship on fire, either in one of their drunken orgies, 
 or out of revenge ; for among those in irons are two or 
 three who would hesitate at nothing." 
 
 Clancy, after explaining that he was the chief engineer 
 of the Warrigal, expressed his sympathy, and said : " I 
 am sure that Captain Christie would lend you some men if 
 he had them to spare, but the fact is we are so short- 
 handed that he is going to try to get half-a-dozen 
 natives here, and we are a long way off our port 
 yet." 
 
 Seaton nodded. " Perhaps I may induce a few to 
 ship with me, too ; I must do something drastic with my 
 pack of sweeps. You see I have a number of passengers 
 on board as well ; some are a theatrical company. You 
 will see them presently, they're dressing to go on shore 
 before breakfast, I think." Then he enquired if there 
 were plenty of fresh provisions to be obtained at 
 Rapa.
 
 1 10 The Adventures of a Supercargo 
 
 " Tons," replied Clancy, " pigs, wild goats, a few 
 cattle, and poultry, vegetables and fruit galore." Then 
 he rose to return to the Warrigal. " Captain Christie is 
 
 111 on shore at the Marist Brothers' Mission, but he will 
 be glad to see you. Perhaps he may be able to assist 
 you in the matter of getting some men here, through 
 the priest." 
 
 " Ah, thank you, I will," and he introduced his chief 
 officer who had just then entered the captain's cabin 
 " this is my chief officer, sir Mr., or rather, I should 
 say, ' Captain ' Thoreau." 
 
 Thoreau, a quiet-faced, grey-eyed, and determined- 
 looking young man of thirty, shook hands with the two 
 visitors, and, as he sat down, Tom saw the outline of a 
 pistol in his hip pocket. 
 
 " Thoreau, I'm going on shore to see the captain of the 
 steamer. You'll be all right for a couple of hours, eh ? " 
 
 The officer nodded. " I guess so, sir. I have just 
 bagged two more of our beauties and put them with the 
 other ten saints." 
 
 Seaton's face lit up. " Ha, that is good, how did 
 you manage it ? " 
 
 " Found them both asleep under the windlass, and 
 snapped the bracelets on them. Then Mason " (the 
 second officer) " and I hustled them aft. Good-morning, 
 gentlemen," and with a brisk nod to Clancy and Tom 
 he went off.
 
 The Adventures of a Super car go in 
 
 Just as they, accompanied by Captain Seaton were 
 leaving the cabin, the latter enquired if they would care 
 about seeing any Californian papers. 
 
 " There is not much news," he added, as he took up a 
 bundle of San Francisco journals, " except that there is 
 another burst-up coming off between Chile and Peru." 
 
 Clancy's eyes sparkled. " Ah, that is news for us, 
 and will please the captain. Which will come out on 
 top, do you think ? " 
 
 " Hard to say, just yet. They have both been spoil- 
 ing for a fight for a year past. The Peruvians, however, 
 want arms badly for their troops, but if there is any sea- 
 fighting, I think they'll give the Chilenos some nasty 
 shocks. They have some good ships, officered mostly 
 by Europeans Englishmen and Germans and are 
 buying and arming more." 
 
 Clancy made no further remarks, but Tom could see 
 that he was very anxious to get on shore and tell Christie 
 the news. Without losing time over breakfast on board 
 the Warrigal, where Tom was just given time to get the 
 gun and ammunition which Christie had lent or rather 
 given him at Sunday Island, a few minutes later they 
 had landed in front of the village. Tom was instantly 
 pounced upon by two stalwart young natives, each 
 carrying a smooth-bore ; they were, they said, just about 
 to start for the mountains to shoot wild goats would he 
 come ?
 
 H2 The Adventures of a Slip er car go 
 
 " Go, by all means," said Clancy, as Tom hesitated. 
 
 " Yes," cried one of the natives, who spoke English, 
 " plenty goat on mountain plenty goat, and plenty big, 
 fine pigeon. But first you come to my house and get 
 some things to eat." 
 
 The " some things to eat " was a revelation to Tom. 
 Led by the hand by one of the young men as if he were a 
 child of five, he was brought to one of the largest houses 
 of the village, where he was met by the mother, wife, 
 and the family of his new friend. They all first shook 
 hands and then gravely rubbed noses with him, and 
 appeared delighted to see him. When his host, whose 
 name was Tao, addressing the household, told them 
 that their visitor was a taata Eeretane (an Englishman), 
 they were still more pleased, one charming young lady of 
 sixteen coming over to him, and stroking his hand, 
 said, " Beretane : maitai maitai, Oui, Oui," (the con- 
 temptuous term for Frenchmen) " e kino." By this she 
 meant that Englishmen were very, very good, and that 
 Frenchmen were the reverse. Later on Tom learnt that 
 the people of Rapa, whilst some of them were converts 
 to the Roman Catholic faith, greatly resented the idea of 
 France seizing their island as they had Tahiti. The girl, 
 whose name was Tero, was remarkably handsome, and 
 had eyes that Clancy afterwards said were like " two 
 great black pearls floatin' in a say of crystal." 
 
 Somewhat embarrassed by the attentions lavished
 
 The Adventures of a Su-percar go 113 
 
 upon him, Tom seated himself upon a fine, soft mat, 
 which was spread out for him on the coarser kind that 
 covered the ground of the clean and delightfully cool 
 house, and then with some dismay watched the kindly- 
 natured people place before him a repast of cold-baked 
 fowls, fish, vegetables, and fruit, that would have sufficed 
 for three starving men. But, as he was hungry, he 
 contrived " to do full justice, etc.," but had to blush at 
 the tender ministrations of the beautiful Tero and her 
 brother Toa, who sat one on each side of him, gravely 
 picking out the best portions of food, and placing it 
 upon his platter of banana leaf, whilst the rest of the 
 family, in the old-time Rapa fashion, sat in respectful 
 silence with their backs turned to their guest. But the 
 culminating point was reached when Toa, asking him if 
 he had had enough, and being answered in the affirma- 
 tive, said something to the family, who all " slewed 
 round," with smiling faces and nodding heads, as 
 Mademoiselle Tero, bringing a wooden bowl containing 
 clean water, first washed his hands using the pith of a 
 wild orange as soap and then carefully dried them with 
 a spotlessly white handkerchief, produced by the 
 mother from a wooden chest containing the family 
 treasures. 
 
 " Now we go," said Toa. 
 
 The entire population of the village greeted Tom as he 
 and the two natives passed through it towards the
 
 mountains, nearly every family asking them to " stop 
 just a little while and eat and drink." But they pressed 
 on, and in a few minutes had entered the fringe of the 
 cool, dark forest of huge, many buttressed trees called 
 tamana, in whose boughs the deep, booming notes of 
 the great blue pigeon mingled with the soft plaintive 
 coo of the ring-dove, and the shrill cries of thousands of 
 green and golden-hued parrakeets feeding upon the 
 sweet berries of the masoi a species of cedar. 
 
 It was nearing sunset when Tom and his companions 
 returned. Each of the natives had shot a goat, and Tom 
 had as many pigeons as he could carry. He had had a 
 delightful day, for in addition to excellent sport, he had 
 ascended to the summit of the highest peak, and ex- 
 amined the ruins of an ancient native fortification 
 which crowned it ; and then two thousand feet below he 
 had seen the placid blue waters of Ahurei Harbour 
 shining in the sun, with here and there tiny moving 
 specks, which he knew were canoes passing to and fro 
 between the Aztec City and the shore, or engaged in 
 fishing. 
 
 As they came into the village they were met by the 
 young sailor Frank, who had been anxiously awaiting 
 Tom's return for some hours. 
 
 " The captain is very ill, sir, so ill that the priest 
 thinks he cannot last through the night. And he wants 
 to see you."
 
 The Adventures of a Supercargo 115 
 
 Throwing down his birds, and giving his gun to Toa, 
 Tom, with Frank, set off towards the mission-house, 
 which was a mile distant, and half-way up the verdured 
 side of a spur of the mountain he had just descended.
 
 CHAPTER XIV 
 
 THE old priest met Tom and the seaman as they stepped 
 on the verandah of the neat, trim-looking mission- 
 house. 
 
 " I am glad, very glad, that you have come," he said 
 to Tom, " Captain Christie is so ill that I fear for him 
 very much. He brightened up after he had seen Mr. 
 Clancy and the American captain this morning, but at 
 noon and afterwards he had several fainting fits. When 
 he recovered from the last he asked for you, and now he 
 wishes to see Mr. Clancy again. I have sent for him, and 
 expect him here in a few minutes. Come in and see 
 him." 
 
 Christie was reclining on a cane lounge in the priest's 
 sitting-room, and his usually florid face was now deathly 
 pale. Extending his hand to Tom he enquired if Clancy 
 was coming. 
 
 " He will be here in a few minutes, Captain Christie." 
 
 " Ah, that is well, I wish to see him he cannot come 
 
 116
 
 The Adventures of a Supercargo 117 
 
 too soon. Tom, I expect I shall slip my cable before to- 
 morrow's sun in fact I know I shall and I have much 
 to say to him ; " he smiled feebly, " that is to say it is 
 much for me, for talking is difficult and painful." 
 
 " Then do not talk to me, Captain," said Tom, who 
 was deeply distressed at the unmistakable signs of 
 suffering on the big man's face. 
 
 " No, Tom, I shall not have much to say to you ; but 
 in my despatch box in my cabin there is a letter for you. 
 When I am gone Clancy will give it to you. Read it, it 
 is the story of my life. I wrote it nearly a week ago, 
 after I had my worst attack, and when I began to feel 
 that I had not much time before me. And I wanted 
 you to know, after I am dead, that the man who pirated 
 the Warrigal was not altogether bad." 
 
 Tom pressed his hand. " Can nothing at all be done 
 for you, sir ? Cannot the priest, who is a doctor, help 
 you " 
 
 " No, lad, no. Nothing can be done for me." He 
 paused. " I sent for you, Tom, to say good-bye for 
 even if I recovered we should have to part, for I have 
 arranged with Captain Seaton for your saloon passage 
 to Sydney in the Aztec City ; she will sail in a few 
 days." 
 
 " I shall not leave you Captain Christie. I could not 
 as I see you now. And you have always been very 
 good to me."
 
 1 1 8 The Adventures of a Supercargo 
 
 The man's eyes gleamed with pleasure. " Ah, it 
 does me good to hear you say that, Tom. But it must 
 not be. You will obey my wishes in this matter, and 
 then some day after you have read my story you will 
 forgive me for tearing you away from your home so 
 cruelly." 
 
 " I forgave you long ago for that. And much as I 
 wish to return to Australia I can wait. A month or 
 two more will make no difference now that my aunt and 
 Sabbie know that I am well and that " 
 
 Christie shook his head. 
 
 " I cannot leave you when you are so ill," resumed 
 Tom so resolutely that Christie sighed. 
 
 " You must, Tom it is your duty to go, and mine to 
 see that you go." 
 
 " Who is to navigate the Warrigal to Valparaiso 
 when I mean if " 
 
 " When I am dead ? That is all arranged, Tom. 
 Captain Seaton is lending his second mate to me or I 
 should say my comrade Clancy." 
 
 Tom was silent, and an irresistible feeling of dis- 
 appointment swept over him. Christie saw it in his 
 face, and sighed again. 
 
 " You see, Tom," he began, when he was interrupted 
 by loud cries in the native tongue from without, and then 
 he and Tom heard the priest speaking ; he was asking 
 what was the matter. A chorus of excited voices
 
 The Adventures of a Supercargo 119 
 
 answered him, and in a few moments he entered the 
 sitting-room very hurriedly. 
 
 " What is the matter, father ? " said Christie quickly, 
 raising himself on his couch. " Why is not Mr. Clancy 
 here ? " 
 
 The old pere placed his hand gently but firmly on the 
 seaman's forehead. " Lie down, my friend. Mr. 
 Clancy cannot be far off now, for he landed on the beach 
 ten minutes since, and is now climbing the path. But 
 the American steamer is on fire, and is, I fear, doomed, 
 for there is a vast body of flame to be seen." 
 
 Christie, with his seaman's instincts to render assist- 
 ance brought into sudden life, sprang from his couch, 
 and staggered to the door ; ere he could reach it he fell 
 heavily and for some minutes remained unconscious. 
 
 As soon as he was sufficiently recovered, Tom and the 
 priest, assisted by some natives, carried his burly figure 
 back to the couch, and then gave him half a tumblerful 
 of brandy and water. He drank it eagerly. 
 
 " It is no use, father," he muttered, " I can do no- 
 thing. My head swims. Can you see her, Tom ? " 
 
 " No, sir, not from here, but she must be burning fast, 
 for the whole harbour is lit up, and standing on the 
 verandah we can hear the crackling and roaring of the 
 flames." 
 
 " God help those on board with such a crew ! Seaton 
 told me that he feared they would some day set the ship
 
 1 20 The Adventures of a Supercargo 
 
 on fire," and the big man's hands clenched in angry 
 impotence. 
 
 Presently in came Tom's friend, the girl Tero, with the 
 news that two of the steamer's boats, and a number of 
 canoes were leaving the burning vessel crowded with 
 people. 
 
 " Thank God for that," said Pere Leblond, as he put 
 on his hat, " I will go to the shore and meet them. 
 Ah, here is Mr. Clancy." 
 
 " Can we help that steamer in any way, Clancy ? " 
 was Christie's first question, as the engineer, sitting 
 beside him, took his hand. 
 
 " No. She's alight from stem to stern, and all her 
 superstructure has gone already. When I was half- 
 way up the path I saw our two boats pulling for her, 
 and her own and a lot of canoes as well coming away 
 crowded with people, so I don't think any lives will be 
 lost. Don't trouble about her, Jim. How are you 
 now ? " and he looked anxiously in the sick man's 
 face. 
 
 " Better for your coming, Terence," and then he turned 
 to Tom. 
 
 " My poor lad, I am sorry for you," meaning that the 
 burning of the Aztec City had destroyed his chance of 
 returning to Australia. 
 
 " Don't trouble about me, I beg of you, Captain 
 Christie," said Tom earnestly. " Now as you want to
 
 The Adventures of a Supercargo 121 
 
 talk to Mr. Clancy, I think I will go down to the village 
 and get a canoe to take me off to the Warrigal^ and find 
 out all that is happening." 
 
 " Do, and come back as quickly as you can," said 
 Clancy. " Tell the hands that I shall be back in an 
 hour or so." 
 
 Running down the narrow mountain path, which was 
 illumined not only by the moon, but by the glare from 
 the burning steamer, Tom soon reached the village, 
 which he found in a state of wild commotion, for the 
 escaped passengers and the crew had just landed, and 
 were taken to the various houses by the sympathetic 
 natives, who thronged around them. Among the 
 terrified passengers were five or six ladies, whom Tom 
 at once guessed to be some of the theatrical party. 
 Two of them, who were in a fainting condition, were 
 being carried by the male members of the company. 
 As he pushed his way through the excited natives, Tom 
 heard the voice of the chief officer of the steamer, Mr. 
 Thoreau, cry out in menacing tones : 
 
 " Back into that boat again, you mongrel curs ! 
 There may be some one still on board, or floating about 
 the harbour on wreckage. There are three of the stoke- 
 hold hands missing." 
 
 " Man de boat yerself, me gallant count," replied a 
 mocking voice, " we boys don't take any orders from 
 you now. We've come on shore to be gentlemen,"
 
 122 The Adventures of a Supercargo 
 
 A pistol shot, dulled by the clamour of the natives, 
 sounded, and Tom saw one of a group of half-a-dozen 
 men fall upon the sand, the rest turned and fled among 
 the coconut trees followed by bullets from Thoreau's 
 revolver. Tom ran up to the fallen man, and saw that 
 he was dead. There was a bullet hole through his fore- 
 head. 
 
 " Don't trouble about him, my friend," said the 
 American as he reloaded his pistol, then as he came closer 
 he recognised Tom as one of Captain Seaton's morning 
 visitors. 
 
 " Where is Captain Seaton ? " asked Tom. 
 
 " Dead. He, the second mate, and the boatswain, 
 were shot by the crew just before supper. The rest of 
 them managed in some way to set free the twelve men 
 we had in irons, and in the fighting that followed Captain 
 Seaton and the others were killed. Before this, however, 
 the mutineers had already set the ship on fire in the 
 'tween decks, and I and those few of the crew who stood 
 to me had a hard time to save the lives of those of the 
 passengers who were still on board. Luckily, we had 
 had all our boats lowered, and two of them were along- 
 side the others had been taken on shore by some of the 
 passengers, who meant to remain for the night." 
 
 As he was speaking Pere Leblond came up, accom- 
 panied by a number of natives, who offered to man the 
 officer's boat and take him out to the burning steamer,
 
 The Adventures of a Supercargo 123 
 
 although they were certain, they said, that if there had 
 been any more survivors they would have been rescued 
 by the numerous canoes still paddling about in the 
 vicinity. 
 
 " Very well, sir," said Thoreau to the priest, " I shall 
 not trouble about making any search. I thank you very 
 much. Will you ask some one to get me a drink of water. 
 I can scarcely speak." 
 
 In a moment or two he had satisfied his raging thirst, 
 and then declining the good father's invitation to come 
 to the mission-house, on the ground that he wished to 
 see if any of the passengers were missing, he, accompanied 
 by Tom and the priest, went from house to house, 
 finding out who were the people brought in, and how they 
 were being cared for. In one house they found one of 
 the mutineers, surrounded by natives, lying upon the 
 matted floor, dying from a bullet wound. The priest 
 knelt beside him, cross in hand. 
 
 Thoreau watched in silence, and listened to the old 
 man's whispered words, to which there was no response, 
 for the man was past speaking. Presently Pere Leblond 
 rose. 
 
 " He is dead, M'sieur le captaine." 
 
 Thoreau nodded. " It is as well, father. Had he 
 lived it would only have been for the gallows." 
 
 Leaving Thoreau (who was now joined by two or 
 three of the crew, who promised obedience to him) to
 
 124 The Adventures of a Supercargo 
 
 attend to the welfare of the passengers, Tom and the 
 priest returned to the mission-house. Clancy was 
 sitting beside Christie's still figure, his face buried in his 
 hands.
 
 CHAPTER XV 
 
 UNDER the wide spreading branches of a lofty masoi tree, 
 which stood on the verge of one of the many mountain 
 spurs overlooking the bay, Tom was sitting alone, think- 
 ing of James Christie and of the story that the dead man 
 had written, and which lay beside him on the leaf- 
 carpeted ground. 
 
 ******* 
 
 Three days had passed since the captain of the Warri- 
 gal had died, and the fire-gutted hull of the American 
 steamer had sunk, a charred and blackened mass, to lie 
 amidst the coral forest at the bottom of the deep waters 
 of Ahurei ; and in those three days many things had 
 happened, and Tom and Clancy had taken no small 
 share therein. 
 
 In the first place, Thoreau, aided by the natives and 
 some of the hands from the Warrigal had captured and 
 disarmed all the mutinous members of the crew of the 
 Aztec City. They were brought into the village square, 
 and placed upon the ground, bound hand and foot with 
 
 "5
 
 126 The Adventures of a Super car go 
 
 native cinnet ; and then left there under guard with 
 their backs against coco-palms for some hours until the 
 entire population of the island were assembled from the 
 various villages, all wondering what was to happen, for 
 the natives had heard that the captain and two of his 
 officers had been killed, and that Thoreau had shot two 
 of the mutineers. 
 
 Among those who came to witness the proceedings 
 were the members of the theatrical company five 
 ladies and nine men, and Tom noticed among the 
 former an extremely beautiful, but delicate-looking 
 girl, with big hazel eyes, who clung to the arm of a fat 
 old actress (with a kindly Irish face) whom he had heard 
 addressed as " Auntie Riley," by her associates. 
 
 Presently from one of the houses there stepped forth 
 the head chief of the island, an old bald-headed, but 
 vigorous man of seventy years of age. Beside him 
 walked Father Leblond and Thoreau, and as the muti- 
 neers saw the expression on the officer's dark sunburned 
 face, they felt their hearts sink for they knew the man. 
 
 Standing in the midst of the circle formed by the 
 people, the old priest, after one shuddering glance of 
 repulsion at the ruffianly faces of the bound men, raised 
 his hand to command silence. 
 
 " Men of Rapa ! Look at these eleven men bound 
 hand and foot, and hear from me of the crimes they have 
 done. They last night rose against their captain, and
 
 The Adventures of a Supercargo 127 
 
 slew him and two of his arikii (officers). This did they 
 so that they might get possession of the casks of grog 
 which were in the belly of the ship, and of the money 
 which was in the care of the captain. And in their 
 madness and rage they set fire to the ship in many 
 places, so that now it hath sunk, and lieth at the bottom 
 of the sea, and all the koloa (merchandise) with which she 
 was loaded is destroyed, and many people will suffer 
 poverty through their wickedness." 
 
 He paused a moment and a low murmur of anger 
 came from the natives, who looked threateningly at the 
 mutineers. 
 
 Thoreau, who had stepped back, and was now standing 
 with Tom and Clancy, moved his feet restlessly, " I 
 wish the old gentleman would hurry up," he said in low 
 tones ; " but I suppose he is doing his best." 
 
 " Thirteen of these evil-hearted men were there last 
 night," resumed the old man, raising his voice to its 
 highest pitch, " but two of them were killed by this 
 ariki " (he turned and pointed to Thoreau) " he killed 
 them because they disputed his authority. Whether he 
 did right or not in the sight of God I cannot tell, but yet 
 he is, I believe, a just man, and it is not for me nor ye 
 to question what he hath done. The laws for the 
 sailor and the soldier are different from the law for the 
 people. 
 
 " Now as for these eleven men. We cannot keep them
 
 128 The Adventures of a Supercargo 
 
 bound for days and days and moons and moons, until 
 we be rid of them should an English or French ship-of- 
 war come here. Neither can we give them liberty to 
 roam about Rapa and make mischief. 
 
 " This is what the chief Patari, and the white ariki 
 Toro (Thoreau) and I think is best to be done. They 
 shall be put together in the little valley of Ma-hi-rua, 
 where a house shall be built for them this day, and there 
 must they stay till a ship-of-war comes. Food shall 
 they have in plenty, but if they put foot out of bounds 
 of the valley they do so at peril of their lives. Is it 
 well ? " 
 
 A loud chorus of Maitai ! Maitai ! (good ! good !) 
 came from the assembled natives, and then Thoreau, 
 at the priest's request, stepped forward and addressed 
 the mutineers. He was to explain to them the conditions 
 on which they could have their freedom. But first of 
 all he signed to the natives who were guarding them to 
 cut their bonds and give them water, for they were 
 suffering from thirst not from the inhumanity of the 
 natives, but at Thoreau's request. 
 
 " You darned, infernal cut-throats. Instead of hang- 
 ing the lot of you, or shooting you like the rats you are, 
 I am going to give you a chance for your lives. The 
 natives are putting you into a little valley three miles 
 from here, where you will be supplied with food. Put 
 a foot outside the marked boundary of cinnet cord you
 
 Th e Adv entures of a Sup ercarg o 129 
 
 will see there, and you are dead men. The natives will 
 watch you, and I have promised them ten dollars for 
 every one of your dead, dirty carcasses they bring to me. 
 Get ! " and he turned away from them with savage 
 contempt, and as he ceased speaking, and at a sign from 
 the old chief Patari, a number of natives silently closed 
 in upon the white seamen, and hurried them away to 
 the valley of Ma-hi-rua. 
 
 Then Thoreau, who seemed bent upon business, 
 whispered a few words to Pere Leblond, who nodded his 
 head and smiled. 
 
 " My son, I can refuse you nothing," he said in French, 
 " you are irresistible, and I feel that you mean well to 
 the young lady, and that it will be best for her to be 
 away from that man." 
 
 Thoreau, a grim smile for a moment moving his 
 quiet, but somewhat saturine features, stepped up to 
 where the group of the ladies and gentlemen of the 
 Imperial Dramatic Company were gathered together, 
 and addressed himself to the manager, a fat, tall and 
 dark-faced, hook-nosed man, who bore the name of 
 Courcy d'Epinasse. 
 
 " Now, Mr. Courcy d'Epinasse, or Moses Solomons, 
 or whatever is your real name I have a chance of talking 
 to you pretty freely in the presence of your company. 
 Poor Captain Seaton always said he would give a month's 
 pay for the pleasure of kicking you, for he thought, as I 
 
 9
 
 130 The Adventures of a Supercargo 
 
 think, that you are the two ends and bight of a low-down 
 scoundrel. Now Seaton is dead, and therefore you are 
 safe from him, but I have formed myself into a com- 
 mittee of one, and I am going to let myself out upon you 
 a little for the benefit of your company. You thought 
 that we didn't know that you beat your wife, and that 
 you have been persecuting Miss Rawlinson with your 
 beastly attentions ever since she was so unfortunate as 
 to join your company in 'Frisco six months ago. But 
 we did know. And now, my fat friend, I am going to 
 give you a hammering. Ladies, will you kindly with- 
 draw. Mrs. Riley, will you and Miss Rawlinson accept 
 the hospitality of Father Leblond it is his wish that 
 you do so during the time we may have to remain on 
 the island. Now, my greasy friend, come down to the 
 beach." 
 
 A young, pale-faced actor darted in front of him. 
 
 " No, no, Mr. Thoreau, let me settle with the brute. 
 It will add five years to my life." 
 
 Thoreau glanced with satirical amusement first at 
 the slender-framed young actor, and then at the burly 
 figure of the scowling Jewish manager, who was en- 
 deavouring to make a retreat, but was impeded by the 
 male members of the company, who were delighted at 
 the prospect of seeing him receive a thrashing. 
 
 " No, Mr. Courtney," said Thoreau, " I cannot 
 deprive myself of such a pleasure, so don't ask me. Now,
 
 The Adventures of a Supercargo 131 
 
 ladies, you must retire. Come, Moses, or Isaacs, or 
 whatever your name may be." 
 
 The manager, gripped by the iron hands of Clancy and 
 Toa, was led to the beach, and, as he refused to fight, 
 was kicked, first by Thoreau, and then by the members 
 of his company, who hated him to a man for his meanness 
 and brutality. 
 
 Then Thoreau, who had managed to save some cigars, 
 passed them around to the company, and said as they 
 watched the writhing figure of the manager of The 
 Imperial Dramatic Company, lying upon the sand : 
 
 " I feel real good to-night, boys. I have saved all 
 the specie that was on board the old Aztec, have put out 
 two of the men who murdered poor Captain Seaton and 
 Mr. Mason and the boatswain, have seen that low-down 
 bully of a Jew manager of yours kicked by his own 
 company, and am to be married at the mission-house to- 
 morrow to Miss Rawlinson. Nine o'clock is the time." 
 
 A cheer broke from the company, a cheer in which the 
 pale-faced young actor did not join for he was in love 
 with the girl with the hazel eyes. 
 
 And of all these things Tom was thinking as he lay 
 under the shade of the great masoi tree.
 
 CHAPTER XVI 
 
 JUST as Tom was about to return to the village he heard 
 the -''sound of footsteps approaching, and, presently, 
 Thoreau, his two days' bride, and Clancy appeared. 
 They had been directed to his retreat by the girl Tero, 
 who had pointed out the spot to him early in the morning, 
 and then left him alone to read Christie's story. 
 
 " Tom," said the Irishman, " I came on shore to look 
 for you, and on the way up I met Mr. and Mrs. Thoreau. 
 I'm sorry to disturb you, but I shall be glad if you will 
 come on board for an hour or so." 
 
 " I was just leaving to come to you," replied Tom 
 gravely, as he put Christie's manuscript in his pocket, 
 and then leaving Mr. and Mrs. Thoreau to themselves 
 which was what they no doubt desired he and Clancy 
 returned to the village, and then went off to the Warri- 
 gal 
 
 " Tom," said Clancy, as they seated themselves at 
 the cabin table, " now that you know the story of the 
 wrongs of James Christie and myself, can you wonder at 
 
 132
 
 The Adventures of a Supercargo 133 
 
 our revenging ourselves upon the scoundrel who made us 
 suffer as we suffered." 
 
 " No, I do not wonder. You have both suffered 
 cruelly, and I think that this old villain of a Tobias 
 Pattermore deserves to lose his ship and go to prison 
 for the rest of his wicked life. But then, Clancy, you 
 must not forget that you and all those with you are 
 pirates, and if you are captured you know what it 
 means." 
 
 The Irishman nodded. " Yes, ten years' penal 
 servitude at least for me seven for the others." He 
 paused, and then said very slowly. " Tom, now you 
 know our whole story, and how truly sorry both poor 
 Jim Christie and I were for you. We acted cruelly, but 
 we were desperate men." 
 
 " Say no more about that it has passed, and I bear 
 no resentment. And, what is more, I decided this 
 morning to tell you that I am willing to navigate the 
 steamer to any South American port, if you will sign a 
 statement to the effect that I had no hand in the Sydney 
 business, but you must get the hands to witness it." 
 
 Clancy's eyes sparkled. " Indeed I will ! To tell 
 you the exact truth, Tom, I don't know what on earth 
 I should do if you cut adrift from me. I daresay I 
 could blunder along somehow, and hit the South Ameri- 
 can coast somewhere, but against that is the very great 
 likelihood of our knocking up against some of these low-
 
 134 
 
 lying coral islands in the night and losing the ship." 
 
 " Just so there is a very great risk. But first of all, 
 tell me what you intend to do when we get to 
 Valparaiso ? " 
 
 " Sell the ship and cargo to the Government. The 
 Warrigal is just the sort of steamer Chile should want 
 now, that country is going to war with Peru, and she is 
 worth from twenty to thirty thousand pounds, for she 
 is almost new, and very fast. And then the cargo is 
 worth between thirty and forty thousand pounds. I'll 
 show you the manifest." 
 
 He went to his cabin and returned with the document, 
 and then he and Tom together went over the contents. 
 
 " You see, Tom, that there are over five thousand 
 rifles of various kinds principally Sniders, with nearly 
 a million rounds of ammunition. Now, if we can only 
 get along either to Valparaiso or Callao, I can sell these 
 arms to either the Peruvians or the Chilians at almost 
 any price I ask. The Chilians have the most money, 
 and so I think that Valparaiso will be the best place for 
 us." 
 
 " Yes, I suppose so. And I shall be glad of it, as I 
 have a friend in Chile named Stenhouse. I am looking 
 forward to the expression on his fat face when he sees 
 me. Now look here, Clancy, I know that I am doing 
 wrong in having any further hand in your venture 
 ' venture ' sounds more polite than ' piracy,' just as
 
 The Adventures of a Supercargo 135 
 
 ' gentleman of the road ' sounds better than * highway- 
 man,' but if you wish it I'll copy out all of that manifest 
 into Spanish. I daresay I shall make a few mistakes in 
 the names of some of the goods, but it won't matter 
 much." 
 
 Clancy was delighted. " We'll start at it right 
 away no, not at once, for I shall now write out that 
 statement, and get the hands to witness it." 
 
 " Very well. I'll go on deck, and soon as you are 
 finished, you can give me a call." 
 
 Half an hour later the crew were assembled in the 
 saloon, and Clancy, after reading the " statement " 
 concerning Tom, asked them to sign it. This they did 
 most willingly, even to Pohiri, the Savage Island sailor, 
 for Tom was a great favourite with all on board. 
 
 Then after Pohiri had made his " cross " his hand 
 being guided by Tom, who then went on deck again 
 Clancy addressed the men, and told them what his 
 intentions were in regard to the Warrigal^ and the dis- 
 posal of her cargo. 
 
 " Boys," he said, " we must stand to each other in 
 the future as we have done in the past, when we collared 
 the steamer. Captain Christie is gone, and now I am 
 skipper and chief engineer as well, and you must stand 
 to me as you did to him. Young Mr. Denison is going 
 to navigate for us, and I want you to treat him with 
 proper respect and not call him ' Tom,' as I have heard
 
 136 The Adventures of a Supercargo 
 
 some of you doing at times. He is ' Mr. Denison, the 
 
 Supercargo,' and I am ' Captain Clancy,' and by if 
 
 any one of you forget that, he will be sorry for it." 
 
 He scanned the face of each man in turn, and then 
 taking up a small canvas bag before him, cut the string, 
 and poured out a stream of sovereigns upon the table. 
 
 " Here are a thousand of old Tobias Pattermore's 
 sovereigns, meant for Fiji. You know that Captain 
 Christie told every one of you that you would have a 
 hundred each when we got to Callao or Valparaiso. 
 Well, the skipper is dead, but before he died he asked me 
 to give you your money before we left Rapa. Here, 
 Rockett, and you, Sam you are the two oldest men 
 count out a hundred yellow boys for each man that 
 makes nine hundred the other hundred goes back into 
 the bag until we get to Valparaiso. Then, as soon as I 
 sell the ship and cargo to the Dagoes, I'll give every man 
 another hundred pounds in Spanish or American gold. 
 Satisfied ? " 
 
 " Aye, aye, Captain Clancy," said Rockett, as he and 
 the big sailor, Sam, divided the money. Then he asked, 
 as he and his companions were about to leave the saloon, 
 what were " Captain " Clancy's orders ? 
 
 " Make ready for sea. We leave at daylight to- 
 morrow." 
 
 " Aye, aye, sir."
 
 The Adventures of a Supercargo 137 
 
 As Tom stood on the bridge waiting for the boat to 
 take him on shore to say good-bye to Pere Leblond and 
 Thoreau, Rockett came up and touched his cap. 
 
 " The boat is ready, Mr. Supercargo."
 
 CHAPTER XVII 
 
 ONCE more the Warrigal was steaming eastward over a 
 sea now flecked with the white horses of a strong south- 
 east breeze, keeping an E. by N. course, so as to skirt 
 the westerly oceanic current until Easter Island was 
 sighted, when a direct course would be steered for 
 Valparaiso. 
 
 It was with a feeling of sincere regret that Tom had 
 bade good-bye to the kind old priest, and Thoreau and 
 his fair young wife ; but he found it hardest of all to 
 part from his friend Toa and his beautiful sister, Tero, 
 for they both evinced such profound grief that Tom was 
 not only sorrowful but distressed to witness it. 
 
 " Never more shall we see each others' faces Tamu,"(i) 
 said the girl sadly through her sobs, Pohiri, the Savage 
 Islander, translating her words, for he could speak 
 Tahitian, a language very similar to that spoken by the 
 people of Rapa. 
 
 Tom asked Pohiri to tell the poor girl and her brother 
 that they certainly would meet again perhaps within a 
 year, for he meant to return to the South Sea Islands in 
 
 (i) Tom. 
 138
 
 The Adventures of a Supercargo 139 
 
 another ship as a tuhi tuhi (supercargo) or trader, and if he 
 came in the latter capacity he would surely come to 
 Rapa to settle, for it was a very beautiful island, and he 
 liked the people very much. At this Tero dried her 
 tears, and her brother's handsome face beamed with 
 delight. They were the last to leave the steamer and 
 from the bridge Tom could see them a quarter of an hour 
 later, sitting in their canoe gazing sadly at the swiftly 
 receding vessel, which, sweeping around the wooded point 
 of Ahurei was at once out of sight, leaving behind 
 her only a long trail of black smoke. 
 
 " I wonder how Captain Thoreau will get on, Tom," 
 observed Clancy ; " he has his hands full with that 
 theatrical company, let alone a mutinous crew who 
 know that he saved the three thousand pounds in gold 
 belonging to the Aztec City. Any one of them would 
 murder him for three thousand cents if he were given 
 the chance. And then he has a brand new wife to look 
 after as well." 
 
 " That ought to console him for all his worries," said 
 Tom with an air of profound wisdom. " I like Captain 
 Thoreau, and feel sorry to think I shall never see him 
 again." 
 
 " One never knows. If you have made up your mind 
 for sailorising you may meet him. When I was ten years 
 old and at school at Rathmines in the ould sod, there was 
 a red-headed boy in the same class with me named Peter
 
 140 The Adventures of a Supercargo 
 
 Croly. I left school when I was eleven, and just twenty 
 years afterwards, when I was second engineer of a Hong- 
 kong-Penang steamer I had an arm very badly blood 
 poisoned, and was taken to the hospital at Hong-kong. 
 
 " ' Your arm will have to come off, my man,' says one 
 of the doctors to me, looking at it lovingly. 
 
 " ' If ye put a knife on me, I'll have your life, ye 
 murtherous young butcher,' says I. ' All it wants is a 
 thumping poultice of bran, mixed with the yolks of a 
 dozen eggs.' 
 
 " Just then I heard another voice say, ' Don't be in 
 such a hurry, Saunders. Let me have a luk at the mahn,' 
 and then who should come up but red-headed Peter 
 Croly we knew each other at once. 
 
 " ' Get out, ye murdering Scotch villain,' I said to the 
 young doctor, * get out, or I'll do ye to death this minute. 
 Peter, me boy, stand to me.' And stand to me he did, 
 and saved my arm." 
 
 For three days the steamer made good progress, and 
 then as she drew near Easter Island, the wind hauled 
 round to the eastward and blew with so much violence 
 that a heavy head sea soon arose, and the Warrigal 
 began to make such bad weather of it that Clancy 
 slowed down to half-speed had he not done so the 
 steamer's decks would have been swept, for she now 
 carried a higher deck-load of timber for her furnaces 
 than that taken on board at Sunday Island. It con-
 
 The Adventures of a Supercargo 141 
 
 sisted of thick, heavy and irregularly shaped logs cut by 
 the natives of Rapa, and known as ngiia (" the hardest 
 wood "), and whilst it was an excellent fuel, the awkward 
 shape of the logs had made it very difficult to stow them 
 securely, and their weight made the steamer roll so 
 dangerously that Tom at times thought she would 
 " turn turtle " and go to the bottom. 
 
 " We can't sacrifice a single log, Tom," said Clancy 
 to him, " there's over two hundred stowed away below 
 in all parts of the ship, where we could find room in the 
 engine-room, stokehole, and among the bunker coal. 
 But the worst of it is, that in this sort of weather we 
 cannot use as much of it as I should like, and so are 
 digging into our coal again it is impossible to get such 
 crooked logs through the furnace doors when we are 
 rolling and pitching like this. If it gets any worse we 
 shall have to shift some more of this deck-load below 
 some way, or else we shall have trouble. The forehold 
 is full to the coamings with casks and cases of liquor, 
 and all sorts of goods, but it will be better for us to sling 
 the lot overboard, and dump the firewood down. The 
 wood is worth more to us than that part of the cargo. 
 And if we lost our wood fuel we should have to put in to 
 Juan Fernandez to get more, and we shall not have 
 enough coal to take us there if this sort of thing keeps 
 up." 
 
 That night was an anxious and trying one for all on
 
 142 The Adventures of a Supercargo 
 
 board the Warrigal, for although the wind did not 
 increase in strength, the sea was something fearful even to 
 look at, and huge volumes of water every now and then 
 descended upon the decks and smothered her. So much 
 water found its way below that the stokehole plates 
 were covered, and all through the night the donkey pump 
 clanked and clattered madly to save the furnace fires 
 from being extinguished. To have tried to heave-to under 
 such conditions would have been courting destruction 
 there was nothing else to be done but to keep on, head to 
 the sea. Rockett, an old and experienced seaman, 
 twice urged Clancy to let the deck-load of fuel go, so 
 that the steamer might be hove-to with safety, but he 
 refused. 
 
 " As long as we can keep the fires alight we can do," 
 he said, " if the stokehole is flooded the wood will go 
 adrift of its own accord, mighty quick, once she falls off 
 into the trough of the sea. But I mean to save that 
 wood." 
 
 When dawn broke the sea was still running mountains 
 high, but was fast settling down into a long steady 
 sweep, and the wind had sensibly decreased, and the 
 exhausted stokers were enabled to get a little rest, 
 Clancy, Tom, and the native sailor, Pohiri, taking their 
 places. 
 
 Soon after breakfast both wind and sea had moderated 
 to such an extent that thirty tons of firewood were,
 
 The Adventures of a Supercargo 143 
 
 after hard work, passed below, and the furnaces denied 
 further coal ; and, as the day wore on the steamer was 
 breasting the surging waves at ten knots an hour, tossing 
 up showers of spray as her sharp cutwater bows rushed 
 into the sweeping billows. The damage done to the 
 deck-houses and other parts of the steamer's super- 
 structure was repaired as well as could be done without 
 a carpenter, and only the salt-coated and rust-stained 
 funnel and two badly damaged boats showed what she 
 had passed through during the night. 
 
 Towards evening on the third day after the storm, 
 and when the grey loom of Easter Island was in sight, 
 right ahead, a little red-headed man, who was now chief 
 engineer in place of Clancy, came on the bridge, and told 
 the Irishman that two of his three men were so done up 
 that they were lying down exhausted. 
 
 " It's no use, boss," he added, " we can't go on like 
 this for another day. I'm fairly cooked myself, and 
 unless you and Rockett and Sam give us a spell, I can't 
 keep up enough steam to give us steerage way. That 
 
 wood is all right enough, but we can't get one log 
 
 in five into the furnaces, it's that twisted and curled 
 like a ram's horns." 
 
 " How much coal is left, Tanker ? " 
 
 " About forty ton." 
 
 Clancy leant on the bridge rail and thought for a few 
 moments. Then he called to Tom.
 
 144 The Adventures of a Supercargo 
 
 " Tom, do you know if there are many natives on 
 Easter Island ? " 
 
 " Captain Christie told me that there were about 
 five hundred." 
 
 " Quiet ? " 
 
 " Oh yes, quite. They are like the Rapa people." 
 
 "Well, we'll have to stop there and try and get a 
 dozen or so of them. The men are breaking down," 
 and then he repeated what Tanker had just told him, 
 adding that he (Clancy) was a fool not to have got some 
 of the Rapa natives. 
 
 Tom then told him that Christie, who had twice 
 visited the island had said that there were two white 
 settlers there engaged in sheep and cattle breeding, and 
 there were several good anchorages. 
 
 " Very well, we'll see what can be done in the morning. 
 Tanker, tell those two men to take a good spell, and we'll 
 keep her going dead slow until daylight." 
 
 Soon after dawn the Warrigal anchored in the road- 
 stead of Hanga Roa Bay, in sight of a native village, 
 and Tom and Clancy went on shore.
 
 I 
 
 CHAPTER XVIII 
 
 ON landing they were met by a European and a number 
 of handsome, light-skinned natives, who received them 
 very kindly. The white man invited them to his house, 
 and on the way thither told them that he was the mana- 
 ger for the firm of Brander and Salmon of Tahiti, who had 
 twenty-five thousand sheep and cattle on the island. 
 Neither of the partners were there then, they having 
 only just left the place, after a stay of six months, and 
 returned to Tahiti. 
 
 After the manager, whose name was Tate, had given 
 his guests some refreshment, he heard from Clancy the 
 reason of his visit to the island, and said he had no doubt 
 but that he would be able to engage some natives as 
 seamen if they were offered good wages. Many of the 
 men had served in American whale-ships, and were 
 fairly good sailor-men if well treated. 
 
 " But I must tell you that you will have some trouble 
 in getting them at first, when you tell them that the 
 Warrigal is going to South America. They don't like 
 South America or the Spanish people ; they have good 
 reason to hate them after what occurred here in 1863." 
 
 143 10
 
 146 The Adventures of a Supercargo 
 
 " What was that ? " enquired Clancy. 
 
 " Three vessels under Peruvian colours two barques 
 and a brig anchored here on a Sunday morning, and 
 some hundreds of natives there were over two thousand 
 in the various villages on the island then crowded off on 
 board in boats and canoes. As many as possible were en- 
 ticed below to the cabins, and then suddenly those on 
 deck were attacked by the crews of the ships, who made 
 them prisoners, tumbled them into the 'tween decks, and 
 leg-ironed them. Some jumped overboard, and tried to 
 escape in the boats and canoes, but were nearly all 
 captured by the ship's boats, which had been lowered 
 and manned and armed in readiness. Some, who 
 resisted, were either shot or cut down. 
 
 " After all those who had been seized on board had 
 been securely ironed in the 'tween decks, seven boats 
 crowded with Chileno and Peruvian sailors, and officered 
 by Europeans of some low-down breed, left the ships and 
 landed. They captured every poor beggar they came 
 across, chasing them from one village to another, and 
 bagged over sixty. With their hands tied behind their 
 backs the wretched creatures were driven at the cutlass 
 point down to the boats and taken on board. The rest 
 of the people fled to the interior of the island and hid 
 among the craters and ancient cemeteries, where they 
 could not be followed. 
 
 " In all there were three hundred and seventy of them
 
 The Adventures of a Supercargo 147 
 
 carried away by the slavers, who took them to work the 
 guano deposits on the Chincha Islands, off the coast 
 of Peru, where most of them died in slavery before France 
 and England made the Peruvian Government send the 
 survivors back. Those that did return brought with 
 them the small-pox, which nearly exterminated the rest 
 of the population. So you see, it is only natural they 
 don't like Dagoes." 
 
 Clancy nodded. " Quite so. But I can assure you 
 that I'll treat well any men you can get me, give them a 
 hundred dollars each in advance, before I leave, another 
 hundred each when we get to Valparaiso, and a free 
 passage back to their home." 
 
 " That is an offer they can't resist," said Tate, " and 
 although they would rather go anywhere else than to 
 South America, they know well that they will be safe 
 from harm under the old red flag of England. You can 
 easily get ten or twenty good men, but not right away, 
 as these people are much attached to their homes, and 
 have strong family ties and all that sort of thing, and 
 there will have to be some feasting and farewelling which 
 will take a couple of days." 
 
 " Ah well, it's not grumbling I am," said Clancy 
 with a laugh, and then he asked Tate if he would get 
 some natives to at once come on board and cut or saw 
 the troublesome ngiia logs into lengths suitable for the 
 furnaces.
 
 148 The Adventures of a Super cargo 
 
 This matter Tate soon arranged with the chief of 
 Hanga Roa, who was present, and who was most 
 anxious to go on board the steamer, and see the wondrous 
 engines which " made the ship fight the eye of the wind." 
 
 Clancy and Tate, accompanied by the chief and a 
 number of natives, went off to the Warrigal> and Tom 
 remained on shore, for he was anxious to see as much of 
 Easter Island as he possibly could. Christie had told 
 him that the island was one of the wonders of the world, 
 on account of the huge sculptured human figures, 
 stones, and terraced platforms which were to be seen all 
 round the coast, and constituted an ethnographical 
 problem that had never yet been solved. The present 
 people had but one tradition, which was that the builders 
 of the platforms, and the carvers of the mighty statues 
 had come to Rapa Nui (Great Rapa) as they called the 
 island, from Rapa-iti (Little Rapa), the island at which 
 the Warrigal had stopped, in five great canoes, each 
 carrying many hundreds of men. With them were two 
 kings, brothers, who caused the statues and the terraces 
 to be made from the hard trachyte taken from the extinct 
 crater of Otu-iti on the north side of the island. 
 
 As Tom was leaving the trader's dwelling, he was met 
 by several natives, some of whom spoke to him in 
 English, and asked him to visit their houses and " eat 
 something." Declining their hospitable offers, he 
 explained his desire to see the carvings, terraces and
 
 The Adventures of a Supercargo 149 
 
 curious and ancient houses of stone, some of which were 
 in present use by the natives. 
 
 Two of the men at once volunteered their services 
 as guides, and after providing themselves with some 
 bottles of water for the island being almost treeless, 
 walking under a fierce sun over the red volcanic sand, 
 scoriae and jagged lava which covers much of the land, 
 soon created a great thirst. 
 
 After a tramp of half a mile, the first of the great 
 papaku or terraces was reached, and here at its base were 
 two of the huge stone images of trachyte, both in an 
 upright position, with their bases buried deep in the 
 volcanic sand, and their faces turned towards the sea. 
 Each head was crowned with a circle of red tufa stone 
 quarried from one of the many craters with which the 
 island abounds, and the figures themselves were nearly 
 twenty feet in height. 
 
 Tom stood beside the colossal figures, gazing upward 
 at their strange, massive, and disdainful faces, wondering 
 whose were the hands that had carved them, and for 
 how many long centuries those hands had been turned to 
 dust, and when occurred the awful catastrophe that had 
 wiped out of existence what had certainly been a teem- 
 ing population, and changed a once forest-clad and 
 fertile land into a barren and sterile wilderness of blasted 
 mountains and sand-covered valleys of desolation, 
 melancholy and appalling to the human eye.
 
 1 50 The Adventures of a Supercargo 
 
 Leaving the first terrace they were proceeding towards 
 the coast, where there was an ancient village of the 
 circular stone dwellings, which Tom was anxious to 
 examine, when they heard a cry from behind, and 
 turning, Tom saw Pohiri, the Savage Islander, running 
 towards them, shouting and gesticulating wildly, and 
 pointing backwards over his bare, red-brown shoulder 
 he had discarded his shirt on account of the heat. 
 When within a few yards of Tom and the two men, he 
 gave full play to his lungs, which were by no means 
 weak. 
 
 " Te vaka afi, Mist Tamu ! Te vaka afi pu fana ! 
 Te mana-oa ! Ke toso te vaka kila tolu ? " (" A steamer, 
 Mr. Tom ! A steamer with cannons ! A man-of-war ! 
 It is towing a ship with three masts.") 
 
 Then he added that soon after Tom had left the 
 village the steamer had appeared suddenly coming round 
 the western point of the island, with a barque in tow, 
 and had dropped anchor quite close to the Warrigal, 
 
 " Is she an English man-of-war, Pohiri ? " 
 
 " No, Spaniola (Spanish)," replied Pohiri in English, 
 " but the barque has English flag." 
 
 Then he added that Clancy and Tate, who had gone 
 off to the man-of-war, had sent him to seek for Tom, and 
 ask him to return to the village as quickly as possible. 
 
 No time was lost, Tom and his three companions 
 setting off at a run, despite the intense heat. When
 
 The Adventures of a Super car go 151 
 
 they reached the trader's house they found it surrounded 
 by excited natives, and inside, seated around the table, 
 were Clancy, two strangers in the Chilian naval uniform, 
 another in civilian clothes, and Tate. 
 
 As soon as Tom entered Clancy rose. 
 
 " Tom, I am glad you have returned so soon. This 
 gentleman here is Captain Ramon Tompson, commander 
 of the Chilian war-ship O'Higgins. This is the doctor, 
 whose name I cannot pronounce, as I didn't catch it, 
 and don't understand Spanish, and this is Captain 
 Grace of the barque Meg Merrilies. And now you will 
 have to talk Spanish for me to Commander Tompson." 
 
 Tom shook hands with them all in turn, and the 
 Chilian commander, a little grey-headed man with a 
 long snow-white moustache, said that he would like him 
 to act as interpreter on an important matter to be dis- 
 cussed by himself and " El Captain Clancy."
 
 CHAPTER XIX 
 
 BEFORE entering upon the " important business " 
 Clancy told Tom how it happened that the O'Higgins 
 came to be at Easter Island at a time when her presence 
 would be urgently needed in home waters. She had, it 
 appeared, been making an extended cruise to the east- 
 ward for the training of a number of cadets she carried, 
 and amongst other islands had touched at Tahiti, where 
 her commander learned of the impending struggle 
 between Chile and Peru. He put to sea immediately 
 he had coaled, and steamed as hard as possible for 
 Valparaiso, and when within a few miles of the north 
 side of Easter Island, had fallen in with the English 
 barque, whose rudder gudgeons had carried away. It 
 was a dead calm at the time, and the barque's boats 
 were trying ineffectually to tow her off the iron-bound 
 coast, towards which she was being carried to destruction 
 by a strong current. In response to Captain Grace's 
 urgent appeal for assistance, the Chilian commander, 
 although time was of vital importance to him, consented 
 
 153
 
 The Adventures of a Supercargo 153 
 
 to at least tow her into Hanga Roa roadstead to an 
 anchorage. 
 
 The barque was from Liverpool, bound to Sydney via 
 Samoa and the Fiji Islands, and almost the first words 
 which Captain Grace spoke to Tom was to offer him a 
 passage home. 
 
 Tom looked at Clancy with a troubled air, then said, 
 " I thank you, Captain Grace ; but I cannot decide just 
 at the moment." 
 
 Tate and Grace then left the room, leaving Clancy 
 and Tom with the two Chilian officers. The business, 
 important as it was, did not take half an hour. Briefly 
 it was this : Clancy had already contrived to make 
 Commander Tompson understand that the Warrigal 
 carried a very valuable cargo, amongst which were some 
 thousands of small arms and ample ammunition, and 
 that he was willing to sell the cargo, and ship as well, to 
 the Chilian Government ; and the commander had 
 eagerly taken upon himself the responsibility of accepting 
 the offer on behalf of his government ; the price which 
 Clancy asked was to be paid as soon as he and Com- 
 mander Tompson handed over the Warrigal to the senior 
 naval officer at Valparaiso. 
 
 " Tell Captain Clancy, Seiior Denison, that I pledge 
 him my personal honour that my country will not 
 repudiate my action in this matter." He spoke with 
 such sincerity that neither Tom nor Clancy could doubt
 
 154 The Adventures of a Supercargo 
 
 his integrity. And long after Tom learnt that they were 
 not mistaken. 
 
 Clancy was as eager to sell as the naval officer was to 
 buy, and a tentative agreement was drawn up in English 
 and Spanish, which was duly signed and witnessed, much 
 to the delight of the two officers, and Clancy as well. 
 
 Then it was agreed that as it was possible the two 
 steamers might fall in with Peruvian cruisers on the 
 South American coast, and have to fight, that part of 
 the armament of the & Biggins should at once be trans- 
 ferred to the Warrigal, with the first lieutenant and 
 forty men. The two steamers were to keep close com- 
 pany the Warrigal accommodating her speed to that of 
 the cruiser, which, although heavily armed for her size, 
 was slow. 
 
 The commander and surgeon with Tom and Clancy 
 then went off to the war-ship, where, after a considerable 
 number of bottles of champagne had been drunk with 
 the other officers, work was proceeded with in earnest. 
 Six of the cruiser's Armstrongs were dismounted, and 
 their traverses taken up whilst the Warrigal came along- 
 side, and her crew, having nothing to do, either lounged 
 about the decks, or went on shore ; Clancy, after having 
 explained what had occurred, having given them a whole 
 night and day's liberty. Then he and Tom had a long 
 conversation. 
 
 " Much as I hate the idea of our parting, Clancy, I
 
 The Adventures of a Supercargo 155 
 
 know that what you r say is right, and that I must 
 accept Captain Grace's offer. But, oh, by Jove, it is 
 hard." 
 
 " It is that, Tom," was the sympathetic reply, " and 
 when we part I'll have a hole in my heart that a mountain 
 won't fill; but " 
 
 " I know, Clancy, I know. I daresay if it were not 
 for the thought of my poor sister Sabbie waiting and 
 longing to see me again, that the temptation would be too 
 strong for me." He walked away and looked out upon 
 the harbour through one of the stern windows. 
 
 " You will not fail to write to me, Clancy ? " said he, 
 without turning his face to the Irishman, who sat at the 
 saloon table with a pile of papers before him. 
 
 " Indeed I will not, Denison. Of course I can never 
 put foot on British soil again, but maybe we shall meet 
 again. I hope so, most truly. And as for writing, I 
 promise you that you will have many and many a letter 
 from the man you have befriended." 
 
 " And I shall answer them, wherever you may be, 
 Clancy." 
 
 " South America Chile, most likely will be my 
 home, Tom. I have neither kith nor kin in the world 
 except an uncle, who is a priest somewhere in New 
 Zealand, and whom I have never seen, and don't want to 
 see." Then he added with his infectious Irish laugh. 
 " It's a Spanish, or a Mexican, or a Chileno grandee I'll
 
 156 The Adventures of a Supercargo 
 
 be, wid a sombrero an' velvet jacket, an' silver spurs, 
 an' me own special father confessor." 
 
 " I wish you well, Clancy, whatever you do, or where- 
 ever you go," then Tom turned, and, hiding his depres- 
 sion under a smiling face, added : 
 
 " You're a nice sort of a man ! You have not told 
 Tate that you won't need those natives, now that the 
 Warrigal is turned into a man-of-war. So get away on 
 shore and tell him, whilst I go on board the barque and 
 let Captain Grace know that I am sailing with him. I 
 see that he is heaving down his ship so as to get at her 
 stern post, and repair his rudder. And, oh, Clancy ! 
 Will you let me have Pohiri ? You will have no need of 
 him on the Warrigal" 
 
 " Take him with you by all means, Tom. He is, I 
 know, very fond of you. Christie and I picked him up in 
 Sydney when he was stranded and in want of a ship, 
 and although he doesn't know the true story of the 
 Warrigal) I think he guesses a good deal." 
 
 Tom laughed, " I am sure he does, although he has 
 never said anything to me beyond that you and Christie 
 met him one night as he was loafing about the street, and 
 asked him if he wanted a ship." 
 
 Clancy went off on shore, and Tom, in his own boat, 
 pulled over to the Meg Merrilies. She was a fine, 
 handsome barque of seven hundred tons, and although 
 she was now hove-down, and all her standing and running
 
 The Adventures of a Supercargo 157 
 
 gear in disorder, Tom, as soon as he clambered on board, 
 saw that she was a ship so well kept that her master had 
 good reason to be proud of her. 
 
 Aided by the carpenter from the O'Higgins, the mate 
 and carpenter of the barque soon had new gudgeons 
 fitted, and the rudder re-shipped ; and just as Tom came 
 on board, the work was completed and the vessel being 
 put back on an even keel. 
 
 " Captain Grace," he said to the master, " I shall be 
 glad to go to Sydney, with you. But you were saying 
 that you wished you had a supercargo to help you in 
 your trading cruise. Now, give me the berth. I'll 
 do my best to please you and I'll come without pay 
 rather than make the voyage as a passenger." 
 
 Grace shook hands with him heartily " That will 
 suit me splendidly, Mr. Denison. When will you come 
 aboard ? I shall be ready for sea to-morrow." 
 
 " I'm ready at any time, captain. But I want you 
 to take my boat, if you can find stowage for her." 
 
 " Certainly. She's a beautiful little craft, and from 
 what Captain Clancy told me I know you would not like 
 leaving her behind." 
 
 " Then I want another favour." 
 
 " Out with it." 
 
 " There is a young South Sea Island sailor on board the 
 Warrigal who wants to come with me. He is a good sea- 
 man, and I should like to take him to Sydney with me."
 
 158 The Adventures of a Supercargo 
 
 " Done. I'll put him on the ship's articles. Any- 
 thing- else ? " 
 
 " Nothing, thank you." 
 
 " Then what say you to a glass of good old Tennant ? " 
 said Grace, who was a rough, sturdy mariner of the old 
 school. 
 
 " With pleasure. I'm thirsty, captain." 
 
 They went below, and Grace called the steward. 
 
 " Steward, bring two bottles of Tennant. This is 
 Mr. Denison, who is to be my supercargo. Fix up a 
 berth for him. Savee ? " 
 
 " Aye, aye, sir." 
 
 " I really shall believe I am a genuine supercargo at 
 last," thought Tom, as he sat down and began a chat with 
 the genial old captain. 
 
 Soon after breakfast next morning Tom bade Clancy 
 and the crew of the Warrigal a sorrowful good-bye, and 
 then returned on board the barque, which, with cable 
 hove-short, was waiting for him and Captain Grace. 
 
 As the Meg Merrilies paid off, the CfHiggins dipped 
 her colours, together with the Warrigal, and the barque, 
 with her white canvas swelling to the breeze, stood out 
 upon the sun-lit billows of the wide Pacific.
 
 CHAPTER XX 
 
 THREE weeks had slipped by uneventfully on board the 
 Meg Merrilies, which had passed safely through the 
 dangers of the Paumotu Archipelago, and was now 
 rippling over a gently undulating sea sparkling under the 
 morning sun and scarcely disturbed by the breath of the 
 cool south-east trade wind. Three miles away on the 
 starboard hand was Palmerston Island, a long, low 
 stretch of living green, encircled by beaches of gleaming 
 white the whole lying within the great circle of barrier 
 reef, denoted by its wavering line of creamy surf. 
 
 The ship was very quiet, for it was Sunday, and scarce 
 a sound broke in upon the pleasant silence save the swish 
 and rustle of the water along her sides, as the barque 
 clove her way through it, and now and then the creaking 
 of a block, and the soft rustle of a sail as it filled and 
 swelled, and then sank again, for the wind was as yet 
 very light. 
 
 Tom, lying against the raised after-flap of the skylight, 
 had come on deck to laze away an hour or two, but he 
 first wished to re-read James Christie's story, and as he
 
 160 The Adventures of a Supercargo 
 
 looked at the big firm characters, the writing reminded 
 him of the man himself. 
 
 " My dear Tom," it began, " I have a conviction 
 that I have not many days to live, for the complaint 
 from which I suffer, is, I fear, beyond the power of the 
 best doctors, let alone the French priest, who has not 
 had much chance of practising since he became a mis- 
 sionary. 
 
 " So I have made myself ready. Clancy will know 
 what to do in all matters concerning the Warrigal, and 
 also about yourself. When you return home I want you 
 to tell your aunt and your sister that James Christie 
 begs their forgiveness as he begged yours for the wrong 
 I did you. 
 
 " Now, I will tell you my story in as few words as 
 possible. 
 
 " Seventeen years ago, I was master of a steamer 
 named the Bass Rock. She belonged to Liverpool, and 
 was owned by Tobias Pattermore, who was then living 
 in Birkenhead. The steamer was in the Mediterranean 
 trade, but was not making much money for Pattermore, 
 who was always grumbling, and hinting to me that he 
 would have to make a change of skippers if I could not 
 make things ' hum.' 
 
 " Now I must go back a bit.
 
 The Adventures of a Supercargo 161 
 
 " At this time I had been married six years, and had 
 one dear child a girl of five. My wife had married me 
 much against the wishes of her people, who loathed the 
 idea of her uniting herself to a common merchant sea- 
 captain a man, too, of a * common ' family for my 
 father was a farm bailiff. Then, too, she had money 
 a few thousand pounds left her by a relative. God 
 knows I didn't want the money, I only wanted her. 
 
 " When we first met, I was mate of a Calcutta ship, 
 the Earl Bathurst, and my future wife, her father and 
 mother, and her two sisters were passengers. The 
 father had been in the Indian Civil Service, and was 
 returning to England to live on his pension. He was a 
 pompous, overbearing man, and his wife thought 
 him a small God Almighty like most wives of Indian 
 officials. 
 
 " We had a bad voyage from the start, calms and 
 hurricanes alternating, and once nearly foundered 
 through being taken aback between Calcutta and the 
 Cape. All this rough experience brought the passengers 
 and ship's officers much more in contact than would have 
 been the case if nothing out of the common had occurred, 
 and somehow or other Alice Chester and I became great 
 friends, and before I knew it I was in love with her, and 
 felt sure that she cared for me more than her father 
 would have liked had he known of it. 
 
 " Colonel Chester he had been one of the old Com-
 
 1 62 The Adventures of a Supercargo 
 
 pany's soldiers before he went into the Civil Service 
 never dreamt that very often when it was my watch 
 below I was on deck talking to his daughter. If any one 
 had told him of it, he would have rejected such a tale as 
 utterly preposterous for a daughter of his to display 
 more than a condescending interest in a common 
 merchant ship-officer would be transcending the bounds 
 of possibility. 
 
 " Soon after rounding the Cape, several of our sixty 
 cabin passengers were taken ill with fever, caught no 
 doubt at Capetown, and among them was Alice's younger 
 sister a girl of thirteen. The doctor had his hands full, 
 for most of his patients soon became delirious. 
 
 " One night in the middle watch, just after I had come 
 on deck to relieve the second officer, and whilst the ship 
 was running free over a lumpy sea, one of the hands told 
 me that one of the strands of the log line had parted. I 
 went to reeve another, and just as I passed the com- 
 panion-way, Nina Chester, followed by one of the cuddy- 
 boys, in her nightdress, rushed past me, clambered up 
 on the wheel gratings, and sprang overboard. I follow- 
 ed, and the cuddy-boy who was Terence Clancy 
 jumped after me. 
 
 " To make my yarn of this matter as short as possible, 
 Tom ; I soon found the child and collared her. She was 
 a thin, delicate creature, and gave me no trouble to keep 
 her up, although she was unconscious. Then presently
 
 The Adventures of a Supercargo 163 
 
 Terence, who is as good a swimmer as I am, found us, and 
 in a quarter of an hour we were all back on board again, 
 for the third mate had brought the ship to in no time, and 
 lowered a boat. 
 
 " Old Colonel Chester was very grateful and next 
 morning offered me fifty pounds ! I looked at him and 
 then at Alice, and without a word walked out of his cabin. 
 Before many hours had passed Alice Chester and I had 
 met again, and she had told me that she loved me and 
 would be my wife. 
 
 " * It is no use asking my father for me, Jim,' she said. 
 ' You might as well ask him to blacken his face and sing 
 a comic nigger song to the sailors in the foc'scle.' Then 
 she cried a bit over the fifty pounds matter, and said that 
 her father had treated Terry, the cuddy-boy, just as he 
 had treated me had offered him ten pounds. 
 
 " ' Never mind, Jim, dear,' she said, half-crying, 
 half-laughing, ' if my kisses are worth only a farthing 
 each, and Terry will take them in payment, he shall 
 have more than ten pounds' worth before we reach 
 England. I have made a good start already, and Nina 
 will help me as soon as she is able to get up.' 
 
 " Well, Tom, she kept her promise. Within a month 
 after I was paid off from the Bathurst, I was in Belfast 
 waiting for her. She left home, came to me, and there 
 we were married. Her father never answered her letters, 
 but he wrote to me in such terms that even now, when I
 
 164 The Adventures of a Supercargo 
 
 have not many suns to see, the recollection of those 
 insulting words stings me like the lash of a whip. 
 
 " I was not long out of a berth, and was soon in com- 
 mand of a barque belonging to Pattermore, in which I 
 made a two years' voyage to the South Seas. It was 
 then that I met old Pere Leblond in Samoa. 
 
 " When I returned home, Pattermore offered me the 
 command of the Bass Rock. I eagerly accepted, and 
 the first thing I did was to write to Terence Clancy, who 
 was second engineer on one of the Holyhead and Dublin 
 boats, and ask him to come with me as chief. We 
 had always kept in touch since we had left the old 
 Bathurst. 
 
 " We made several voyages to the Mediterranean, 
 and, as I have said, the steamer did not pay. She was 
 slow, and a great coal-eater, and Pattermore always had 
 a black face for me when the ship's accounts were 
 squared. 
 
 " One day, however soon after he had hinted to me 
 that he would have to make a change of skippers, he 
 asked my wife and me to dinner. He was very gracious 
 and oily, and ' slithery ' as Irish people say, and after 
 dinner took me into the library and said : 
 
 " ' Christie, I am sure I can trust you, and can take 
 you into my confidence, can I not ? ' 
 
 " ' You can, sir,' I replied. 
 
 " ' Well, there is a certainty offering me to make a
 
 pot of money if I have a man like you to carry out my 
 plans. But there are risks attached.' 
 
 " ' What are they ? ' 
 
 " ' The possibility of your being seized or even killed 
 if you fail I want you to land a cargo of arms for the 
 rebel party in Venezuela. But everything will be so 
 arranged that you will not fail. I have been in treaty 
 with the rebel agent here, and have decided to make the 
 venture. If you will carry out my instructions I will 
 pay you one thousand pounds on your return." 
 
 " I jumped at the offer. ' Put it down on paper,' I 
 said. 
 
 " He shook his head. ' No, Christie, there must not 
 be anything like that. I am a big shipowner, and run 
 more risk than you will in going into this business. I 
 have Government contracts, and if it was known that 
 I had a hand in this matter it would mean ruin to me. 
 But to show you how much confidence I have in you I 
 am going to transfer the ownership of the Bass Rock 
 to you, and put her under the Liberian flag. The cargo 
 of arms is ready at this moment in Liverpool ; as soon 
 as it is under hatches you can steam away as fast as you 
 can for a place called Cazones between Porto Cabello and 
 La Guayra. There you will find General Padro Valdez, 
 with part of the rebel forces waiting for you, and you can 
 land your cargo without danger, as the Government 
 have only two cruisers, and both of these will be engaged
 
 1 66 The Adventures of a Supercargo 
 
 in watching the coast about Caracas.' Then he added 
 that I could pay off the present crew if I liked and ship 
 another men whom I could trust. 
 
 " Perhaps I was too eager ; but things had gone badly 
 with us since our marriage, my wife having lost her 
 little fortune in a bank smash. 
 
 " I went home with my wife, highly elated, and a week 
 later bade her good-bye, and left the Mersey, ostensibly 
 bound for Sierra Leone. I never saw my wife and child 
 again."
 
 CHAPTER XXI 
 
 " I GOT to Cazones all right, and found Valdez and his 
 ragged rapscallions awaiting me, and within forty-eight 
 hours we had landed all the arms, and I was ready for 
 sea again, when at sunset a Government cruiser suddenly 
 appeared round the point. I slipped the cable, and hav- 
 ing a full head of steam, tried to escape, when the cruiser 
 at once opened fire on us at less than a couple of cable 
 lengths, and the fourth shell from her Armstrong 40- 
 pounders burst in the engine-room, killed three men, 
 made a holy smash up of the engines, and brought us to. 
 
 " Half an hour afterwards I, Clancy, big Sam and 
 Rockett, and the rest of the crew were in irons and on our 
 way to Caracas. There we were tried and sentenced to 
 death, but later on the sentence was commuted to seven 
 years in irons. The ship being under the Liberian flag 
 the British Government could not, or would not inter- 
 fere on our behalf, and left us to our fate. 
 
 " For three long years we suffered the torments of 
 the damned in that hell of a prison in Caracas, and would 
 
 have been there for another four, had not a second 
 
 167
 
 168 The Adventures of a Super car go 
 
 revolution burst up the rotten government, and opened 
 the doors of our prison. 
 
 " With Clancy I made my way back to Liverpool, 
 and found that my wife and child had left for Caracas 
 two months after the Bass Rock had been captured. 
 She wished to at least be near me in my captivity, for 
 she had learnt from the Foreign Office that there was 
 no possible hope of the British Government attempting 
 to interfere on my behalf, but thought that with the 
 two hundred pounds she possessed she would perhaps be 
 able to do something for me with my gaolers. First 
 of all, though, on the day after that on which the news 
 of my seizure was published, she went to Pattermore and 
 begged him to lend her a few hundred pounds. (I was 
 told all this by Nina Chester.) He professed to be highly 
 indignant at her making such an appeal to him. 
 
 " ' What have I to do with your husband, madam ? ' 
 he said. * The Bass Rock was not my ship ; if your 
 husband chooses to engage in such improper transactions 
 and is caught, what right have you to come begging to 
 me for assistance ? It is quite bad enough for me to see 
 reports in the newspapers that I was the owner of the 
 steamer reports which I have promptly contradicted. 
 Good morning, madam.' 
 
 " My poor wife went away bewildered, and desperate. 
 On the following day she wrote to her father and begged 
 him to give her a hundred pounds to aid her in effecting
 
 The Adventures of a Supercargo 169 
 
 my release. Her letter was returned to her unopened. 
 Then she and her sister Nina, who had always been loyal 
 to her, tried to see Pattermore at his office. A clerk came 
 and said that Mr. Pattermore declined to see Mrs. Christie 
 either then or at any other time. 
 
 /' She made her way to London, and took passages for 
 herself and the child in a steamer named The Hope, for 
 La Guayra. She was an old and ill-found craft, but my 
 wife had no choice ; she had not anything like enough 
 money to pay her passage in a better ship, and the 
 captain of The Hope, taking pity on her, only charged her 
 a nominal sum, for which the Almighty will reward 
 him. 
 
 " Six weeks after the steamer sailed from London, 
 one of her boats was picked up near Blanquilla Island, 
 off the Venezuelan coast. In it were the dead bodies of 
 my wife, my child, and the captain and five other men 
 they had all perished of thirst. Another boat in charge 
 of the mate reached Tortuga, and reported that The 
 Hope had foundered in a hurricane between Grenada and 
 Tortuga. 
 
 " When Clancy and I reached England we found that 
 Tobias Pattermore had sold out his English interests and 
 gone to Australia, where he had established a big busi- 
 ness. We, accompanied by Rockett and big Sam, 
 followed, for I was burning with resentment against the 
 hypocritical scoundrel for the way in which he had
 
 170 The Adventures of a Supercargo 
 
 treated my wife. At night, Tom, I would dream, oh 
 God ! such agonising dreams ! I saw her with blackened 
 lips and hollow eyes, waving her hand to me and trying 
 to utter my name, and then, pointing to our dead child, 
 who lay upon her knees, as the boat drifted upon a sea 
 of glass under a blazing sun, and I called to her, ' Alice, 
 my Alice, I am coming,' and tried to rise, and then I 
 would hear the clank of my chains as I tried to burst my 
 fetters in my agony of despair, then the vision would 
 fade and I awoke with trembling limbs and aching 
 heart. 
 
 " We worked our passages out to Sydney in a sailing 
 ship, for we had only a few pounds between us. But I 
 felt sure that Pattermore would dared not refuse to 
 pay me the tjne thousand pounds he had promised me, 
 cruelly and meanly as he had treated my poor wife, for 
 whose dreadful fate I held him to be responsible. It was 
 my intention to make him pay me the money which 
 was to be divided between us four and then give the 
 scoundrel a thrashing. 
 
 " On reaching Sydney I went direct to Pattermore's 
 offices in Pitt Street. In that I made a mistake I 
 should have waited and gone to his house at Parramatta, 
 where our conversation would have been private but 
 I was too impetuous and spoilt everything, at least as 
 far as making him pay me was concerned. 
 
 " I sent in my name by a clerk, who returned and said
 
 The Adventures of a Supercargo 171 
 
 Mr. Pattermore did not wish to see me I was no longer 
 in his employ, and he had no time to waste. I pushed 
 the clerk aside, and stepped into the private office ; 
 Pattermore was there and certainly was busy, for there 
 were two other men seated at the table with him. 
 
 " ' What do you mean, sir, by coming in here after 
 receiving my message ? ' he said, leaning back in his 
 chair, and scowling at me, * what do you want ? ' 
 
 " ' I want that one thousand pounds you owe me for 
 delivering a cargo of arms for you to General Valdez, 
 three and a half years ago,' I said, trying to speak 
 calmly. 
 
 " ' Bah ! the fellow is mad or intoxicated ' he 
 said with a sneer, turning to an old gentleman next to 
 him. ' Now, look here, Christie, take yourself off as 
 quickly as possible, before I send for a policeman.' 
 
 " A mad fury possessed me. ' Murderer of my wife 
 and child ! ' I cried, and then I sprang at him and seized 
 him by the throat, with murder in my heart. 
 
 " I have no doubt but that I should have strangled 
 him had not three or four of his clerks rushed in, and one 
 of them, seizing a heavy ruler, struck me blow after 
 blow on the head until I became insensible, and my grip 
 was taken from his throat. When I came to I found 
 two policemen beside me, and a doctor attending to 
 Pattermore. 
 
 " As I was led away to be charged at the police
 
 172 The Adventures of a Supercargo 
 
 station, I turned to Pattermore, who had recovered 
 consciousness and said : ' You heartless scoundrel. 
 I have not done with you yet. Some day I shall have 
 my revenge.' 
 
 " I was sentenced to six months' imprisonment in 
 Darlinghurst Gaol an imprisonment, that wearisome 
 as it was, was heaven compared to the horrors I endured 
 in Caracas, for the officials treated me not only kindly, 
 but considerately. 
 
 " The day I was liberated the governor handed me 
 sixty pounds, which had been sent to him for me in 
 several sums from time to time by Terence Clancy, 
 Rockett, and big Sam, who had all written to me during 
 my imprisonment. All three had stuck together ; 
 Clancy getting a berth as chief engineer on one of the 
 Melbourne boats, and Rockett and big Sam were 
 quartermasters. 
 
 " They were away when I came out of Darlinghurst, 
 but a week later we met, and I then told them that I 
 meant to have my revenge on Pattermore, and explained 
 how I meant to carry it into effect. They agreed to 
 join me when I was ready no matter when or where. 
 
 " Within a few weeks, I got the command of a South 
 Sea trading barque named the Petite Jeanne, running 
 between Sydney and Fiji, and during the following two 
 years I was patiently watching for my chance. At 
 last it came. Clancy got the berth of chief engineer on
 
 The Adventures of a Supercargo 1 73 
 
 the Warrigal, which had just been bought by Patter- 
 more, and he and I made our plans definitely. 
 
 " How we got possession of her, Clancy will tell you. 
 
 " Tom, dear lad, good-bye, and try to think kindly of 
 poor JIM CHRISTIE."
 
 CHAPTER XXII 
 
 THE Meg Merrilies lay at anchor in Apia Harbour, 
 Samoa, which port she had reached three weeks after 
 sighting Palmerston Island, light winds and calms 
 having made the passage a lengthy one, though not too 
 long for Tom, who had spent the time very advantage- 
 ously. In the first place, he, Captain Grace, and the 
 carpenter had built a new deck house, or rather extended 
 that on the after-deck, and fitted it up as a trade room 
 with shelves, etc., and by the time the barque reached 
 Apia it was stocked with samples of nearly everything 
 that was under hatches much to the skipper's satis- 
 faction. 
 
 " Tom," he said, as, on the day the work was com- 
 pleted, he sat down on a case of rifles, lit his pipe, and 
 looked around the trade room, " you're a genius. It's 
 a regular emporium anything from a needle to an 
 anchor ; silk ribbons for the brown girls' hair, and cut- 
 lasses for the men to cut each other up ; Jamaica rum 
 for the common garden trader, and Moet and Chandon for 
 the Consuls and other big swells." 
 
 174
 
 The Adventures of a Supercargo 1 75 
 
 The supercargo laughed, " I told you I knew how to 
 fit up a trade room. Poor old Captain Ryder told me 
 all about it in the first place, and then whenever an island 
 trading ship came to Sydney I always went on board and 
 had a look around. I have fitted up ours as near as I 
 could to that of the brig Au Revoir you can put your 
 hand on anything you want rightaway." 
 
 Every evening since the barque had left Easter Island, 
 Pohiri, the Savage Islander, had come aft and given Tom 
 two hours' instruction in his own and the Samoan lan- 
 guage. The former, which is a sort of bastard Maori- 
 Samoan, was easy to acquire, the mellifluous Samoan, 
 though akin to the Savage Island dialect in some respects, 
 he found more difficult, owing to his instructor's habit of 
 always substituting the Nuiean K for the Samoan T 
 (there is no K in the latter language) and his only speak- 
 ing the " common " language, which is distinct from that 
 used by the common people to chiefs and strangers, 
 though they (the chiefs) never use it if speaking of them- 
 selves. Still Pohiri knew a few of the terms used when 
 addressing chiefs or members of their families. He 
 told Tom, for instance, " S'pose you want to tell some 
 chief you been shoot wild pig, you don' say ' I shoot 
 puaa ' (pig), you say ' I shoot le vae fa ' (' I have shot the 
 four-legged thing '). If you ask chief if he has headache, 
 you don' say ulu ; you say ao. You see, ulu is same 
 name for breadfruit, but you mus' not call chief's head
 
 176 The Adventures of a Supercargo 
 
 ulu. And you mus' not call chief's wife ava that 
 is what common man call his wife, you mus' say 
 faletua or masiqfo. But if some chief speak to you 
 'bout his wife he will say Vou ava (my wife) like common 
 man. If he has headache he will say lau ulu (my head) 
 and not say lau ao ; but if he speak to you or some 
 other stranger he will say lau ao (your head). If he say 
 lau ulu to you it mean he want to soli (insult) you." 
 
 Soon after Tom landed in Apia he was given a Samoan 
 grammar by a storekeeper, in which he found Pohiri's 
 statements practically confirmed by the Rev. S. G. 
 Whitmee, a missionary, who remarks on the peculiarities 
 of the Samoan language : 
 
 " There is a large number of words used to chiefs and 
 strangers ; and to use any other when addressing such 
 is equivalent to an insult. These words are never 
 used by a chief when speaking of himself. Amongst 
 these are words used according to the rank of the person 
 addressed ; e.g., tausami, to eat a respectful term to a 
 tulafale (the town orator), taumafa to a chief ; taute to 
 the highest chief. This use of special words in address- 
 ing persons of rank is an important feature of the Samoan 
 language . . . there is a great number of words used 
 specially to a chief. Almost every member of his body 
 has a name different from that applied to a common man. 
 His feelings, his actions, and his possessions have different 
 names. In many instances the common name of a
 
 The Adventures of a Supercargo 177 
 
 thing is changed for another when that thing is spoken of 
 in his presence. In some cases the particular grade of a 
 man's rank is indicated by the word used, as in the words 
 to eat, mentioned above. The following words to come, 
 furnish another example of this. Sau is used to a com- 
 mon man, maliu mai is a respectful term a grade higher ; 
 susu mai is used only to titled chiefs ; afio mai, properly 
 only to those of the highest rank." 
 
 Grace was highly pleased at the result of his visit to 
 Apia, for he had sold nearly half of his cargo to the 
 merchants and traders at a large profit, and Tom felt 
 delighted when the old man told him that he had that 
 day at the British Consulate put him (Tom) on the 
 ship's articles as supercargo at twenty-five pounds a 
 month. 
 
 " You see, Tom, I asked Mr. Williams " (the Consul) 
 " what was a fair wage for a supercargo, and he told me 
 that an experienced man usually gets thirty to forty 
 pounds a month, so I thought and he thought too 
 that it would be a fair thing if I gave you twenty-five 
 pounds to start with, beginning from the day you came 
 on board. And although you haven't had any previous 
 experience, you have done very well for me, and taken a 
 lot of work off my hands. I was told in Liverpool that 
 I ought to take a supercargo, and the agent wanted to 
 shove one of his sons on to me, but I wouldn't have lu'm, 
 meaning to pull along by myself as well as I could until
 
 178 Th e Adv entures of a Sup ercarg o 
 
 we got to Sydney, where I knew I could get a 
 proper supercargo, and not a quill driver from an 
 office." 
 
 " Well, Captain Grace, I hope to gain more experience, 
 and if you will have me for your next voyage I shall be 
 very pleased. My aunt won't like it, but as I am nearing 
 eighteen, it is time I struck out for myself and earned 
 my living." 
 
 " Right you are, Tom, it's a deal. You shall come 
 with me next voyage, and I hope we shall be together 
 for a good many years. I intend to stay out in the 
 Pacific for four or five years ; and, if things go as well 
 as they are going now, I mean to sell the barque and buy 
 another and bigger ship." 
 
 One afternoon, nearly a month after the Meg Merrilies 
 had reached the port, and just as Grace and Tom were 
 about to go on shore for a bathe in the Vaisigago River, 
 they saw a barque beating up to the port from the west- 
 ward against the lusty south-east trades, and, as she 
 drew nearer, Tom recognised her as a Sydney vessel 
 the Rotumah. She was soon abreast of the passage, and 
 came flying in in gallant style. In order to bring up 
 under Matautu Point she had to pass close to the stern 
 of the Meg Merrilies, and then Tom saw a man jump up 
 on the after rail and wave his cap. 
 
 " Mr. Denison, Mr. Denison ! " he shouted " come 
 aboard ! "
 
 The Adventures of a Supercargo 179 
 
 In an instant Tom recognised him it was Jack 
 Castles, the former ship-keeper of the Simon Bolivar. 
 
 Hurriedly explaining to Grace who the man was, Tom 
 called some of the hands, and in a few minutes was in 
 one of the ship's boats, pulling after the Rotumab, 
 which presently brought to, and let go anchor. 
 
 Clambering on deck he was met by Castles and the 
 skipper, Captain Robertson, who both shook hands with 
 him warmly. 
 
 " Wai, wal, this ez a knock-out surprise," cried 
 Robertson, a big, burly new Englander, " Mr. Denison, 
 yew will be glad to hear thet your aunt got that letter 
 from Captain Christie all right, and she and your sister 
 Sabbie were mighty pleased, I can tell yew. Naow, 
 Jack," and he turned to the half-caste, whose handsome 
 face was beaming with smiles, " I'll let you go off with 
 Mr. Denison, so that you can spin him the yarn." 
 
 " How strange it is that we should meet, Castles," 
 said Tom, as the boat was being pulled back to the Meg 
 Merrilies. 
 
 " Aye, sir ; strange indeed. I never thought that 
 when I shipped as A.B. on the Rotumab, that I would 
 meet you in Samoa."
 
 CHAPTER XXIII 
 
 DENISON was delighted to know that his aunt and 
 Sabbie knew that he was safe, and he, Castles and 
 Captain Grace had quite an hour's talk before the half- 
 caste returned to the Rotumah. He told them that the 
 last time he had called at the " Crows' Nest " to say 
 good-bye to Miss Denison and Sabbie, he had found 
 Carmen Herrera there. 
 
 " Miss Denison told me sir, that Miss Herrera had come 
 to stay with Miss Sabbie until you came back." 
 
 Tom laughed. " She will be there for a long time, 
 Castles." 
 
 " Not too long for your aunt, sir. Miss Denison has 
 regular took to her, and one day all three with Canon 
 Cooper, came on board the old Bolivar, and I made tea 
 for them. And then I was foolish enough to show them 
 your shark-fishing gear in the hen-coop, and Miss 
 Sabbie and the Spanish girl both began to cry and I 
 felt as if I could kick myself." 
 
 Just as Castles was going over the side he said to Tom, 
 " I wish I were sailing with you, sir. Do you think 
 
 180
 
 The Adventures of a Supercargo 1 8 1 
 
 Captain Grace would take me the skipper of the Rotu- 
 mab will be willing to let me leave if you ask him." 
 
 Tom was only too delighted at the suggestion, and 
 telling the half-caste to wait, he went below to Captain 
 Grace ; in a few minutes he returned with a beaming 
 face. 
 
 " It is all right, Castles, and I'm coming with you to 
 see Captain Robertson." 
 
 The skipper of the barque very good-naturedly 
 acceded to the half-caste's request, paid him what wages 
 were due to him, shook hands and wished him and Tom 
 good-bye, and " whips of luck," as the Meg Merrilies 
 was to sail in the morning for Levuka. 
 
 Pohiri, who was much attached to Tom, eyed Castles 
 at first with some jealousy, but this soon wore off, 
 especially when the half-caste addressed him in his own 
 language, which he spoke very fluently, as he did many 
 other Polynesian dialects, for in his many voyages 
 throughout the South Seas, he had had for shipmates 
 natives of many of the Pacific Isles, from Easter Island 
 to the far-away Pelews. 
 
 The Meg Merrilies sailed at noon on the following 
 day, and Denison looked back at the green mountains 
 of beautiful Upolu with a feeling of regret, for during 
 his month's stay he had made many friends especially 
 with the natives and he made a resolution that if ever 
 he did decide to settle down as a trader, that Samoa
 
 1 82 The Adventures of a Supercargo 
 
 would run Rapa very closely in his choice, although he 
 had not forgotten his promise to Toa and the beautiful 
 Te"ro. 
 
 The barque made a splendid run from Samoa to Levu- 
 ka the then capital town of Fiji and dropped anchor 
 amongst a number of vessels of all rigs and sizes, with 
 which the little reef-bound harbour was crowded. 
 Grace went on shore to the Consul with his papers, 
 leaving Tom to entertain a noisy and thirsty host of 
 visitors planters, traders, merchants, and officials of 
 the newly-established government of His Majesty King 
 Cacobau. Some merely came to talk and get free 
 liquor others to buy it, and provisions, etc., and Tom 
 had a busy two hours ere the last of them departed. 
 
 Shortly before lunch Grace returned, evidently in a 
 great hurry. 
 
 " Tom," he said, as he entered the cabin, hot and 
 perspiring, " I have some news for you. First of all, 
 though, I must tell you that if you want to get to Sydney 
 quickly, you can leave here to-morrow in that little 
 brig lying astern of us the Rio. She sails in a couple of 
 days." 
 
 " I am in no hurry, captain. I will stay with you. 
 But I can write by her and tell my people that they will 
 soon see me." 
 
 " Ah, do for I want you to stay with me. But I 
 must tell you that the news I have heard from the
 
 The Adventures of a Supercargo 1 83 
 
 Consul means that we won't be in Sydney for the next 
 six months." 
 
 " I don't mind that, captain. I mean to keep with 
 you till the end of this cruise and after as well. But 
 what has changed your plans ? " 
 
 " I have just met a man in Levuka named Ross, who 
 has offered me big money for a four months' charter for 
 the barque. He has found a big bed of pearl-shell 
 somewhere about New Guinea, and came here with his 
 wife and one native in a little bit of a cutter a voyage 
 of two thousand five hundred miles, and most of it 
 beating against the south-east trades. He has some 
 friends here who are backing him, and from what I 
 gather, he and they expect to make a pile out of his dis- 
 covery. I have come to terms with them, and agreed 
 to have the barque ready for sea in a week from now. 
 Where we are going to exactly I don't know, for Ross 
 he's an American would not tell me anything more 
 just now, than that he wanted me to proceed to ' some- 
 where about 2 30' S. Long, and 147 E.' ; but once we 
 are clear of Levuka he will give me exact sailing in- 
 structions." 
 
 " I see. I suppose he thinks you might talk about it 
 to some one here." 
 
 " Exactly ; and so I said I would take my sailing 
 directions from him when he chose to give them." Then 
 he went on to say that Ross had told him that the
 
 184 The Adv entures of a Sup ercarg o 
 
 natives of the island where the pearl beds were situated, 
 were a very dangerous lot of savages, and the crew of 
 the barque would have to be doubled, and all well- 
 armed. 
 
 As quickly as possible Grace sold the remainder of 
 his cargo, and in a few days began to prepare the ship in 
 accordance with Ross's wishes. Ross himself, with his 
 friends, had meanwhile found ten good native seamen 
 Rarotongans, Nuieans, and two Samoans. They were 
 told that they were required for boat work, and sup- 
 posed, as did the white residents of Levuka, that the 
 barque was fitting out for a " labour " cruise among the 
 Solomon Islands and the New Hebrides Group. In 
 those days vessels engaged in the labour trade, or 
 " black-birding " as it was termed, had to be well-armed 
 to resist the determined attempts sometimes made to 
 capture them by the savage natives. The German 
 ships in particular more resembled old-time privateers 
 than any other kind of craft, and yet in some cases they 
 had had narrow escapes from capture. 
 
 On the following day Ross came on board with his 
 wife and introduced himself to Denison. He was a tall, 
 thin, grey-haired man of over fifty years of age, with 
 deep-set, resolute eyes, and a square jaw, and although 
 he was a somewhat reserved man, Tom and he were 
 quickly on friendly terms. His wife, who was a half- 
 caste Marquesan, was a slenderly-built woman, or rather
 
 The Adventures of a Supercargo 185 
 
 girl, of about twenty, and when Tom asked her if she 
 was coming with her husband, she opened her dark, 
 beautiful eyes in astonishment at his question. 
 
 " Why, of course I am, Mr. Denison. Do you think 
 he would leave me behind, or that I would let him go 
 alone ? " and she smiled at her husband.
 
 CHAPTER XXIV 
 
 Six hours after the Meg Merrilies left Levuka, and when 
 the lofty irregular peaks of Ovalau Island were low down 
 on the horizon astern, Ross came to Grace. 
 
 " Boudeuse Bay, Admiralty Island, is the place, 
 Captain Grace." 
 
 The master of the barque took down his roll of charts 
 and spread out Sheet No. 12. 
 
 " There it is," and the American indicated a small inlet 
 on the north side of the island. 
 
 " All right. North about round New Ireland will be 
 our best course, I suppose ? " 
 
 " Yes, best and easiest. We'll run into the two knot 
 westerly current just off the Santa Cruz Group, and carry 
 it right along up to Admiralty Island." 
 
 Steering a north-westerly course the barque was soon 
 clear of the Fiji Group, and under every stitch of canvas 
 she could set was flying before the strong south-east 
 trade. At supper that night, as there was now no further 
 need of concealment, Ross told Denison and Grace his 
 story. 
 
 1 86
 
 The Adventures of a Supercargo 187 
 
 " You saw my little cutter in Levuka. I built her 
 myself three years ago at Nuku-Hiva in the Marquesas, 
 where I was trading, and where I married. My wife's 
 father was an Englishman, and had knocked about the 
 South Seas for forty years. He died a year ago from 
 sheer old age. 
 
 " One day he and I were talking about our experiences, 
 and he told me that when he was cooper of a Marble- 
 head whaler, the ship put into Gallic Harbour on Ad- 
 miralty Island to wood and water Gallic Harbour is 
 about four miles to leeward of Boudeuse Bay and that 
 the natives who came on board brought with them for 
 barter lots of big, golden-edged pearl shells and pearls 
 as well, and told him that there was any amount of shell 
 at several places on the north side of the island. 
 
 " I was not doing well at trading on Nuku-Hiva, and 
 after the old man died, Sina and I made up our minds to 
 try the Admiralty Group, and see if we could hit upon the 
 pearl beds of which he had been told. We left Nuku- 
 Hiva in June with a crew of four, all Nuku-Hiva men, 
 and all good divers, and reached a place near Boudeuse 
 Bay in the middle of July. I anchored for the night off 
 a village of about fifty houses, and at daylight we were 
 boarded by a lot of natives, and in a few minutes I was 
 satisfied that we had come to the right place, for one of 
 them brought off a small basket with ten of the biggest 
 pearl shells I have ever seen. In the course of the day I
 
 1 88 The Adventures of a Supercargo 
 
 was shown one place where, in six fathoms, I could see 
 big shell quite plainly without a water glass. 
 
 " I arranged with the chief of this particular village to 
 build me a small dwelling-house on a tiny island of less 
 than three acres in extent, and situated a mile from the 
 mainland. Here, I felt, we would be safer from attack 
 than were we living in or near the native village. We 
 could not remain on the cutter until after she had been 
 beached and repaired ; for she was leaking badly ; 
 so we put her ashore on the lee-side of the islet, and set to 
 work. The natives from the village, which was under a 
 chief named Norok, visited us several times, bringing 
 provisions, and giving me assistance with the cutter in a 
 friendly manner. 
 
 " All went well for about ten days. The cutter was 
 finished and was afloat again, and at anchor a cable 
 length from the beach, ready to start on a trip along the 
 coast in the morning with Norok as pilot. Norok 
 himself slept on the island that night with some of his 
 young men about twenty. 
 
 " My wife, most fortunately, decided to stay on shore 
 with me, and slept in the little house ; Norok, one of my 
 Marquesans, and I spread our mats outside under the 
 trees, and remained up smoking and talking well past 
 midnight. The chief is a very intelligent man you'll 
 see him when we get to Boudeuse and had given me 
 much useful information about the great island and its
 
 The Adventures of a Supercargo 1 89 
 
 people, who are divided into several clans, and always 
 at war with each other. Thirty miles away from his own 
 village, he told me, was a big village under a chief named 
 Varogi, who had living with him a white man called 
 ' Timi.' Norok had never seen him, for Varogi and he 
 (Norok) were enemies their respective clans having 
 been at loggerheads for over fifty years. 
 
 " * The white man,' said Norok, ' came here ten years 
 ago, and Varogi, who is a kai kanak (man-eater) made 
 much of him, and gave him land, a house, and many 
 wives. He has red hair, and his nose is broken in the 
 middle, and is turned on one side. Five years ago a 
 sandal-wood brig anchored off Varogi's village, and he 
 and Timi enticed the captain and three other white men 
 on shore to sleep, and murdered them as they slept. 
 Then, at dawn as the rest of the white men on board the 
 brig were asleep, Varogi's young men, led by the white 
 man, swam off to her and killed all of them. They 
 plundered the ship, and then burnt it ; and after they 
 had eaten the bodies of the white men, they dried and 
 smoked their heads and put them in the gamal house.' 
 
 " I had told the three Marquesans who were sleeping 
 on board, that they need not keep watch. They had 
 been working hard all day, were tired out, and wanted a 
 rest, and, besides that, Norok's men were lying on their 
 mats on the beach close to their canoes, and, if anything 
 did occur in the night, such as sudden squalls coming
 
 190 The Adventures of a Supercargo 
 
 down from the mountains and causing the cutter to 
 drag, we could have gone to the crew's assistance in less 
 than five minutes. 
 
 " The night was calm and quiet, and only the dulled 
 sound of the surf on the reef, and the swish of the coco- 
 nut branches as they swayed to the land breeze was 
 heard by those of Norok's men who were not asleep. 
 Then, just as dawn broke, I was aroused by wild cries, 
 and Norok cried out that the cutter was being attacked 
 by four strange canoes, which had laid alongside of her 
 unseen by any of our people from the shore. 
 
 " We all made a rush for our canoes on the beach, 
 and in a few minutes were on board, fighting hand to 
 hand with over fifty natives. We succeeded in beating 
 them off after a sharp struggle, killing seven and taking 
 three prisoners. These before Norok's men clubbed 
 them on the deck told us that the white man, Timi, 
 from Varogi's village, had led the party, and had gone 
 away wounded. He had seen the cutter off the coast on 
 the day we came, and he and Varogi arranged to cut her 
 out, if they had to do it right under Norok's eyes. And 
 they would have succeeded if this cut-throat of a Timi 
 which I suppose means either ' Jim ' or ' Tim ' had 
 been a sailorman, and known how to slip the cable and 
 make sail. The prisoners said that he and his crowd 
 were trying to get the anchor aboard by hauling in the 
 cable by hand when we came upon them.
 
 The Adventures of a Supercargo 191 
 
 " My three poor Marquesans had been slaughtered 
 in their sleep, I imagine. Their headless bodies were 
 lying on the main hatch. We took them ashore to the 
 little island, and I buried them decently. Then Norok 
 and I had a long talk, and I told him that I was going 
 away to Fiji, but should come back with a big ship and 
 a strong crew, get the pearl shell, and give him a chance 
 to get even with Varogi. Now, gentlemen, that's the 
 end of my yarn. Captain Grace, I'm thirsty. Sina, 
 turn in." 
 
 Ross was not a talkative man, and said nothing to 
 Denison and Grace of the fearful hardships that he, his 
 wife, and the surviving native seaman had endured on 
 the long voyage to Fiji.
 
 CHAPTER XXV 
 
 TEN weeks had gone by, and the barque was at anchor 
 in the little bay on the shore of which stood Norok's 
 village. She had made a very fast passage from Fiji, 
 and Norok and his people were delighted to see Ross back 
 so soon, and for some days there was much slaughter 
 of hogs and fowls, and subsequent feasting in honour of 
 the visitors. 
 
 Denison found Norok to be as Ross had said, a very 
 intelligent person. He was a handsome well-built man 
 of about fifty years of age, but had lost the use of his 
 left arm by a pistol shot, which had fractured the elbow 
 joint. He frankly admitted that he had received the 
 injury in his younger days, when he and a number of his 
 people cut off an American whaleship, and massacred 
 every soul on board. 
 
 Within a week after the arrival of the barque, Ross had 
 begun operations. Every morning two boats manned by 
 the native crew left the ship, and proceeded to the pearl 
 shell beds, seven miles distant, returning at night. 
 
 Norok always sent a large canoe, manned by thirty of 
 
 193
 
 The Adventures of a Supercargo 193 
 
 his men to protect Ross and his divers, should they be 
 attacked by Varogi's people, for the beds were near to 
 that part of the coast of which he was chief, and on 
 several occasions canoes from Varogi's villages had 
 approached within musket shot of the boats, and fired 
 at the divers with the few old-fashioned smooth bore 
 muskets they possessed. Then, one day, Ross let them 
 approach so near that he and his natives were able to 
 use their breech-loading rifles with effect, killing and 
 wounding several of the enemy, who at once headed for 
 the shore with all possible speed, and they did not again 
 venture within gunshot of the boats. 
 
 But, shortly after this, some of Varogi's people cap- 
 tured a little girl belonging to Norok's village, and held 
 her to ransom. The ransom was paid, and when the 
 child was brought back she delivered a message from 
 Varogi to the chief. 
 
 " Tell Norok that I, Varogi and my white man Timi, 
 will have his head, and the head of some of the white 
 men in my gamal house before many moons have 
 passed." 
 
 The insult stung Norok, and he pressed Ross to lend 
 him his native crew with their rifles, so that he could 
 make a night attack on Varogi's town and burn it. 
 
 " Not now, Norok. But I will fulfil the promise I 
 made to you when I was here before. When I have 
 finished the work I am doing, I myself will lead my men, 
 
 13
 
 194 
 
 and help you to your revenge. I mean also to have utu 
 (revenge) upon the white man with the broken nose 
 he who killed my three sailors, one of whom was my wife's 
 foster-brother." 
 
 Norok was so pleased that he summoned a meeting 
 of the people, and told them that before long Varogi's 
 head, and the head of the white man as well might be in 
 his, (Norok's) gamal house, and old Captain Grace 
 shuddered when a savage yell of delight burst from many 
 hundreds of throats, and Pohiri translated his words to 
 him and Denison. 
 
 " Well, I won't have any hand in it," he said, " Cap- 
 tain Ross can do what he likes with his natives, but 
 none of my men will go." 
 
 The barque was moored so close in to the beach that 
 the end of her jibboom almost touched the branches of 
 a giant teak tree, which, with other forest monarchs, 
 stood on a spur of the mountain range that seemed to 
 start sheer upwards from the north side of the usually 
 calm waters of the little bay ; on the south side was 
 the village, lying back a few hundred yards from the 
 white beach, and almost hidden from view by groves of 
 breadfruit and orange trees, and far back a waterfall 
 a thin, silvery thread showed out clearly against 
 the verdured mountain side.
 
 The Adventures of a Super car go , 195 
 
 One afternoon, as the sun was sloping westward, and 
 the forest shadows were lengthening out across the 
 unruffled surface of the bay, Denison and Sina Ross 
 were lying in their hammocks under the awning on the 
 after-deck. The ship was very quiet, for Grace, with 
 the two mates, and most of the hands had gone on shore 
 with the ship's seine to drag one of the mountain pools 
 for fish, leaving only two or three men on board with 
 Jack Castles (who was now boatswain) in charge. 
 
 " Of what are you thinking, Mr. Denison ? " asked 
 Mrs. Ross, as she turned in her hammock and looked 
 at the supercargo, who was lying with his hands under his 
 head, buried in thought. 
 
 " I was thinking, Mrs. Ross, of this scoundrel of a 
 white man Timi, as the natives call him, and trying to 
 piece together what I was told when I was a child, of the 
 man who shot my father in Tasmania. He was, as I 
 have told you, named Tim Tim Hogan and had a 
 broken nose and red hair, and soon after my father's 
 death it was rumoured that he had escaped from Tas- 
 mania in an American whale-ship." 
 
 " Ah ! " and Sina Ross's dark eyes gleamed as she 
 sat up and tossed back her jetty locks, " ah, you think it 
 is the same man ! I wonder if he is ! If it is the man, 
 then you have the greater right for utu than I, for 
 although he killed my foster-brother and took away his 
 head, he murdered your father cruelly oh, I long for
 
 196 The Adventures of a Supercargo 
 
 the time when my husband has finished with the pearl- 
 ing ; for I mean to go with him and Norok when they 
 burn that town." 
 
 " And so do I, Mrs. Ross. If possible, I mean to see 
 this man Timi, alive or dead, and satisfy myself as to 
 whether he is the man who murdered my poor father." 
 
 " Ah, you must see him alive, Mr. Denison," and the 
 half-caste showed her white teeth, " you must see him 
 alive, and find out if he is the man then if he is, you can 
 kill him yourself oh, yes, take your utu." 
 
 " I could not do that in cold blood, Mrs. Ross. If he 
 is the man who killed my father, I should like to take him 
 to Australia, and hand him over to the authorities, 
 who " 
 
 The Marquesan, with eyes aglow, slipped from her 
 hammock, and came over to him. 
 
 " What good will that do you ? that is not revenge. 
 Do you think if any one killed my husband that I would 
 be satisfied to know that his murderer would be put to 
 death by strangers ! Ah, no, Mr. Denison, I should kill 
 him myself, even if I died for it." 
 
 And as Tom looked into her flashing eyes, he fully 
 believed her.
 
 CHAPTER XXVI 
 
 ONE gloriously bright morning, just as the rising sun 
 began to dispel the fleecy sea mist, and the loud croo ! 
 croo ! of the great red-crested pigeons sounded from the 
 teak tree forest, Denison, Castles, Pohiri, and one of the 
 
 Norok's men set out in Tom's own boat for a three days' 
 
 & * 
 
 cruise around the coast, intending to go as far as a town 
 named Lak, nearly forty miles to the eastward of Boude- 
 nse Bay. Its chief was a very old man, who was a blood 
 relation of Norok, and the latter assured Tom that he 
 and his party would be treated with the greatest hos- 
 pitality. The Lak people, he said, were, like his own, at 
 enmity with Varogi, whose territory lay between, and 
 he warned Tom against keeping in too close to the land 
 when sailing past that part of the coast belonging to 
 Varogi. 
 
 " The wind might fail you," he said, " and although 
 you have rifles which fire many shots quickly, Varogi's 
 men could shoot you all from the forest, which is very 
 thick, and which comes right down to the water's edge 
 so beware." 
 
 197
 
 1 98 The Adventures of a Supercargo 
 
 During the passage from Levuka, Castles had China- 
 rigged Tom's boat, i.e., fitted her mainsail with a dozen 
 of bamboo laths running all the way across it, which had 
 the effect of so flattening the sail that the little craft 
 sailed much closer up into the wind, and when going 
 about, she would spin round on her heel like a 
 top. 
 
 The native who was accompanying them as pilot and 
 interpreter was a nephew of Norok. He was a fine, 
 stalwart young fellow of about twenty-five years of age, 
 and had proudly informed Denison that he had taken 
 the heads of seven of Varogi's people, had three wives, 
 two slaves, and had made a voyage in a New Bedford 
 w r haler. He insisted on bringing with him his own arms 
 half-a-dozen slender spears pointed with obsidian, a 
 club, and an obsidian dagger, and observed in a casual 
 manner to Castles that on the way back he intended 
 to try and purchase or abduct one of the Lak girls for a 
 fourth wife. If he failed at Lak, no doubt Tamu 
 (Denison) would let him try his luck at some small 
 isolated village elsewhere on the coast ; perhaps if he 
 could not secure a girl handsome enough for a wife, he 
 might capture a boy for a slave possibly also he might 
 be lucky enough to get the head of a grown man. 
 
 Denison laughed as Castles translated these remarks 
 to him, " What a thundering ruffian he is, Jack. He'll 
 get us into trouble if we don't watch him. If he wants
 
 The Adventures of a Supercargo 199 
 
 to do any wife-stealing he can go in his own craft, and 
 not lead us into any mess." 
 
 Pat, as the would-be abductor, head-searcher, and 
 slave-seeker was named, looked disappointed when he 
 was told that the boat was not bound on a wife-stealing 
 trip, and would avoid Varogi's villages. However, he 
 soon brightened up when Sina Ross presented him with a 
 new pipe, two sticks of tobacco and a large box of wax 
 matches. 
 
 " Why, Mr. Denison," she said as she leant over the 
 rail and looked down at the boat, " your boat is a little 
 man-of-war two rifles, two shot guns and spears, a 
 club, and Pat's glass dagger. Oh, I wish I had known 
 you were going I am sure my husband would let me come 
 with you. I shall be dull until the boats come back." 
 
 " Why not take your gun and go pigeon-shooting up 
 the mountain, Mrs. Ross. Pat says that now is the time, 
 too, for the manu mea (i) in the banana plantations. 
 Come, get your gun, and we will put you on shore on the 
 other side of the river." 
 
 (i) The manu mea (the " Red Bird " of Samoa) is, 
 although now almost extinct in Samoa and Fiji, still 
 fairly plentiful in New Britain and other islands to the 
 N.W. It is a tooth-billed pigeon (Didunculus Strigir- 
 ostris) and has the beak of a parrot, the upper mandible 
 hooked, the lower deeply serrated. It feeds upon the 
 wild yam, and also upon bananas and pineapples. It is 
 about the size of a three-quarter grown hen pheasant ; 
 plumage of head, neck, breast and back, of darlc greenish
 
 2OO The Adventures of a Supercargo 
 
 " Ah, that is just the thing," said the lively Mar- 
 quesan, and she tripped below, returning in a few minutes 
 with her gun and game bag, and looking very charming 
 in her white blouse, short blue skirt, and white Panama 
 hat, which almost hid the dark oval face and black glossy 
 locks. 
 
 Descending the gangway ladder, Mrs. Ross seated her- 
 self beside Tom, the boat cast off, and was soon gliding 
 gently over the smooth waters of the way, as yet only 
 beginning to ripple to the first breaths of the trade wind. 
 A run of a quarter of an hour, and she was run on to a 
 soft beach of yellow sand, fringed by the usual forest of 
 coconut and areca palms, through which a shady path 
 led to Norok's banana and taro plantations. Some 
 young girls who were seated on the beach making baskets, 
 ran to meet Mrs. Ross and begged her to let them come 
 with her, for she was already a great favourite, especially 
 with the women and children, and they all soon dis- 
 appeared among the trees. 
 
 Pushing off again, the boat was headed to the east and 
 
 black; the sides, wings and lower parts of the body gener- 
 ally of a purple red ; the bill, reddish orange, with tips 
 of pale yellow ; legs and feet a brilliant scarlet, the toes 
 thick, coarse, and wide-spread like those of a turkey. 
 The writer confesses with sorrow, that in his younger 
 days, not knowing that the manu mea was a bird eagerly 
 sought for by the scientific world, he has shot and eaten 
 numbers of them ; others he kept as pets, and had them 
 either stolen or devoured by cats.
 
 T h e Adv entures of a Sup ercarg o 201 
 
 north, making a short leg and a long one against the now 
 freshening breeze. In another hour, just after rounding 
 a low, wooded point, Ross's pearling boats were sighted 
 at work about a mile from the shore, with Norok's 
 big canoe containing the covering party of armed natives 
 standing by on guard. 
 
 After spending an hour with Ross, and watching the 
 diving, Denison bade him good-bye, and then once more 
 the smart little craft spun out to sea, beating to the 
 eastward.
 
 CHAPTER XXVII 
 
 TOWARDS four o'clock in the afternoon the boat had 
 worked up to within ten miles of Lak, and was abreast 
 of Varogi's principal town, the houses of which could be 
 seen. Two miles further to the eastward, there was, so 
 Pat said, another and much smaller town, in which the 
 white man Timi lived, and which could not be seen from 
 the sea, as it was situated inland, on a spur of the 
 mountain range facing to the south. 
 
 Towards sunset, the boat was put about, and was 
 lying well up along the barrier reef when the wind be- 
 came very light a most unusual occurrence at that time 
 of the year, and soon, much to Denison's disgust, it fell 
 a dead calm, and the air grew hot and uncomfortable. 
 
 " I think we are going to have a bit of an afa (squall) 
 from the eastward," said Castles. " Look," and he 
 pointed to the eastern horizon, " it's blackening up 
 much too fast for my liking. We had better reef down 
 at once. It will be no joke if we get caught here with the 
 reef so close under our lee, and no opening to run for 
 until we get abreast of Lak passage."
 
 The Adventures of a Supercargo 203 
 
 " Why not let us down sail and pull back for a couple 
 of miles, till we get abreast of Varogi's town," said 
 Denison ; " there is a passage through the reef there, 
 and as it is now dark, no one will see us, and once we are 
 inside the reef we shall be in smooth water, and can rip 
 along up the coast." 
 
 But to this proposition Pat objected most strongly. 
 There were certain to be some of Varogi's people out on 
 the reef fishing, for the tide was on the ebb ; and, as if to 
 confirm his words, there suddenly flared out the lights of 
 several torches, and in less than ten minutes there 
 were several scores of them visible and moving 
 about. 
 
 " They are men catching crayfish," said Pat, " and 
 could not but see us, for they are walking along the reef 
 on both sides of the passage." And then he added that 
 even if the boat did get through unobserved, that the 
 smooth water inside the reef was full of hidden dangers 
 detached coral reefs, and a great number of stone fish 
 weirs, upon which the boat would certainly strike, for 
 they were scattered about everywhere between the outer 
 or barrier reef and the shore. And then he remarked 
 in a very decided tone that he at any rate did not mean 
 to go into one of Varogi's ovens, and have his head put 
 into a gamal house. 
 
 " Oh, well, it is no use talking," said Denison crossly, 
 " down sail and mast, Castles, and let us pull out and get
 
 204 The Adventures of a Su-per car go 
 
 as good an offing as we can before the squall is down on 
 us as it is we are too close in to the breakers." 
 
 In a very few minutes the boat was heading due east, 
 Castles and Denison pulling, and Pohiri steering. The 
 sky was now of an intense blackness, not a single star 
 was visible, and as the two men strained at the oars, 
 and the little craft rose and fell over the heave of the sea, 
 the perspiration poured from them. 
 
 " I should like to see it whiten a bit," remarked the 
 half-caste, as he turned and looked ahead, " there's a 
 lot of wind, and very little rain. Listen," and he stopped 
 pulling, " by Jove, sir, we shall get it hot and no mistake. 
 Listen to the hum of it." 
 
 There was no need to listen, for a curious droning 
 sound could be distinctly heard. 
 
 " Up with the mast again, Mr. Denison, and we'll 
 give her just a couple of the laths only. Smart's the 
 word, or we'll feel sorry." 
 
 Quickly stepping the light but strong mast, and 
 hooking on and tautening the stays, Denison then went 
 aft, and sent the native amidships to stand by and bail, 
 and Castles hoisted the closely-reefed sail, and all four 
 anxiously awaited. Suddenly the whole firmament was 
 ablaze, for one brief moment, with a network of chain 
 lightning, then again the black pall of darkness enveloped 
 them, and a breath of hot air smote their heated faces, 
 and the boat heeled over to it.
 
 The Adventures of a Supercargo 205 
 
 " Hard up, hard up ! " cried Castles, " let her run a 
 bit until we get the hang of it " (he meant the direction 
 of the squall), and in a few minutes the boat was racing 
 over the long rolling swell, and their voices drowned in 
 the angry roar of the wind. 
 
 " That'll do, sir," shouted Castles, " let her come up a 
 bit. She'll stand it, and we can lie along the reef without 
 getting in any closer." 
 
 Tom obeyed, and the boat heeled over, and then 
 plunged and darted over a sea and into the trough beyond 
 with a splash that half-smothered her. 
 
 " Watch her, sir, watch her ! " roared the half-caste, 
 as he and his companions were almost blinded by a quick 
 succession of appalling lightning flashes, and Pat threw 
 himself on his face on the bottom boards, too terrified 
 to again look up, and not troubling to attend to his 
 bailing. 
 
 For nearly a quarter of an hour the boat flew along 
 over the tops of the now fierce sea, shipping but little 
 water, but straining and working in an alarming manner. 
 Every now and then the fearful lightning would for a 
 moment reveal the wild swirl of seething billows, and 
 Denison and Castles sat in anxious silence, hoping that 
 the strength of the squall would soon pass. 
 
 Then came a savage gust that nearly capsized the 
 boat, and a yell from Castles, as with one hand he let 
 go the halliards, and with the other " downed " the bit
 
 206 The Adventures of a Supercargo 
 
 of sail. He was too late. The weather stay had parted, 
 and the mast snapped off at the thwart and went over- 
 board.
 
 CHAPTER XXVIII 
 
 As the mast and sail went over the side, Castles, a born 
 sailor-man, cut the other stay and saved the boat from 
 being overwhelmed by the seas, for the whole gear 
 mast and bamboo-lathed sail was soon floating ahead, 
 and made an excellent sea-anchor, held to the boat's 
 head by the steel wire forestay, which was, however, 
 too short for her to ride at with safety. 
 
 Shouting to Denison and Pat to keep aft and bail, 
 the half-caste and Pohiri broke the ring of the stay with 
 a hatchet, and then made the end of it fast to the painter 
 and gradually payed out the lengthened line, with the 
 result that the staunch little craft rode much more easily 
 over the seas. 
 
 " Can you see anything of the reef ? " called Castles 
 to Tom, as he sat on the mast-thwart with his back 
 turned, peering, or rather trying to peer, through the 
 darkness at the sea-anchor line, fearful that it would 
 part. 
 
 " No, but we cannot be more than a mile away, I 
 
 ao7
 
 208 The Adventures of a Supercargo 
 
 think ; but I can see nothing not even any of the 
 natives' torches now." 
 
 " Oh, they will light up again, I daresay, as soon as the 
 wind takes off. It can't last much longer it came on 
 too suddenly." 
 
 Some anxious minutes passed, and then all four of 
 them heard through the wild whistle of the wind the 
 dulled thunder of the surf, and knew that despite the 
 sea-anchor retarding their drifting very considerably, 
 they would be among the breakers in another quarter of 
 an hour, or less. 
 
 " Look ! " cried Castles presently, " it is beginning to 
 break to windward I can see a few stars coming out. I 
 have never known any of these black easterly squalls 
 with no first rain to last more than an hour sometimes 
 not more than twenty minutes." Then he asked Pat 
 his opinion, and the native replied that he was sure that 
 the wind would die away very quickly, and most likely 
 be followed by a heavy downpour of rain. 
 
 " All the better for us," said Castles, " for if the wind 
 and sea go down, and we have some more starlight, we 
 ought to be able to get the boat somewhere over the reef. 
 Those natives who are fishing must be a mile off, and 
 cannot see us, and they'll have no chance at all of dis- 
 covering the boat if the rain begins to fall. Now, this 
 is what I think the four of us should do, Mr. Denison. 
 Can you hear me speaking ? "
 
 The Adventures of a Supercargo 209 
 
 " Yes, go ahead. I can hear you whispering some- 
 thing," shouted the supercargo, " and I can hear that 
 beastly reef making a deuce of a row as well." 
 
 " Well, let us drift in as we are, until we get close 
 enough to the surf. Then we'll get the mast and sail 
 aboard, stow everything as well as we can, and stand by 
 for a chance to get over the reef in front of a big sea. I 
 and Pat will come aft and steer, and you and Pohiri 
 must pull your best it is our only chance." 
 
 One by one the stars came out, and the violence of the 
 squall rapidly decreased. Again the extinguished 
 torches of the savages who were fishing on the reef were 
 lit and began to move about, and Denison and Pohiri set 
 to work, and secured every article of value not wanted in 
 connection with the proposed attempt to get over the 
 dreaded reef. The guns were rolled up in Castles' oilskin 
 coat, parcelled quickly but strongly around with native 
 cinnet cord, and lashed under the thwarts, so that if 
 the boat was capsized, they at least would not be lost, 
 unless the craft went to pieces. The European provi- 
 sions tinned meats, a 5O-lb. tin of biscuits, and a 
 2-cwt. tierce of twist tobacco, intended as a present for 
 the chief of Lak, were dropped overboard, and the boat 
 lightened as much as possible. One small water-tight 
 chest containing a few pounds of tobacco, matches, 
 fishing tackle, and ammunition for the two rifles and 
 two shot guns, was placed in the after locker, which itself 
 
 14
 
 2IO 
 
 was water-tight, as Torn knew by his former experience 
 when he was blown out to sea from Sydney Harbour. 
 
 Nearer and nearer the gallant little craft, straining 
 at her sea-anchor, stern-on, approached the howl and 
 roar of the boiling surf, which was now plainly visible 
 under the starlight. The black ledge of the reef itself 
 much to the satisfaction of Castles could not be dis- 
 cerned, which showed that the tide was not very low, 
 and that the boat, if " rushed " in, in front of a sea at the 
 proper moment, would, if she did not broach-to, get 
 over without striking or being capsized. 
 
 When within a few cable lengths of the backwash of 
 the breakers, the boat was hauled up to her sea-anchor, 
 the mast and sail taken inboard, and lashed fore and aft 
 amidships, across the four thwarts. 
 
 " Steady now, sir, steady," cried Castles to Tom and 
 Pohiri, as they wore the boat round, " pull easy, very 
 easy until I give you the word," and then under the 
 excitement of the moment he became " Jack Castles, the 
 Recruiter," and did not mince his words. 
 
 " Pull steady when I tell you. D'ye understand ? 
 and don't turn your heads to see what is ahead of us 
 if you do, I'll smash you with the tiller. I'll do all the 
 looking out ahead ; but you two must watch astern and 
 tell me when you think there is a bit of a lull." 
 
 They were now so close to the wild boil of surf that 
 Castles caught a glimpse of several jagged coral teeth,
 
 The Adventures of a Super cargo 211 
 
 which were bared for a few seconds by the back-wash. 
 
 " Mr. Denison," he cried, " if we should touch on the 
 edge, you and Pohiri jump out and hold on to the bows 
 like grim death, or we'll be sucked over by the back-wash 
 I and Pat will jump over astern to lighten her, and " 
 
 " Now's onr chance ! " shouted Tom, who although 
 listening to Castles was intently watching the seas astern, 
 and then he and Pohiri put forth all their strength, as 
 a long, heaving sea came sweeping after the boat. As 
 her stern rose to it, and her bows went down, she sped 
 forward like an arrow, and then with a wild yell of excite- 
 ment arid triumph from Pat, was lifted high on the crest 
 of the wave, as it burst with a thundering roar, and the 
 boat shot forward like an arrow as it broke, and swept 
 her, in the midst of seething foam, a hundred fathoms 
 shorewards. 
 
 " Did it like a bird," panted Castles, as the boat 
 gradually lost her way, and then touched sandy bottom 
 in smooth water.
 
 CHAPTER XXIX 
 
 SCARCELY had the boat grounded, when rain began to 
 fall a heavy downpour, which drowned even the roar 
 and clamour of the ever-restless surf, but it was very wel- 
 come to Denison and his companions, for it ensured their 
 safety from observation. 
 
 " I think we all deserve a drink," bawled Denison to 
 Castles, as he opened one of the stern lockers, and pulled 
 out a demijohn of rum and a tin pannikin. 
 
 " Aye, sir, it will do us good, but we must be quick and 
 get the boat into deeper water, as the tide is falling fast, 
 and it won't do for us to be stranded for six hours. I 
 think we had best all get out, and feel our way along 
 as soon as we have struck a light and had a look at the 
 compass. Pat says that there are channels between 
 the reef and the mainland, but they are very tortuous 
 and blocked in places by those cursed fish weirs. But 
 close in to the land the water is deep, and clear of rocks or 
 weirs, and we can pull along the shore as hard as we like 
 without fear of hitting anything." 
 
 After serving out the rum, Denison lit the boat lantern,
 
 The Adventures of a Supercargo 213 
 
 covered it over with the sail, and placed the compass 
 beside it. Then he cut up enough tobacco for all four 
 men, filled and lighted pipes for his three companions in 
 turn, passed them out, and then they all had a short 
 smoke in the pouring rain with the bowls of their pipes 
 turned upside down. 
 
 Castles, daring as he was, was yet always cautious, 
 and before they started to wade with the boat through 
 the darkness and blinding rain, he loaded the rifles and 
 guns, and placed them on the thwarts, where they could 
 be seized in a moment. 
 
 " We might run up against a fish weir with some of 
 Varogi's people dragging it now that the sky is clear 
 and the tide is low," he said, " and I, like Pat, don't want 
 to have my head put into one of Varogi's gamal houses, 
 and my bones gnawed by cannibals." 
 
 For two hours they waded with, or pulled the boat 
 through narrow channels, jumping in when the water 
 deepened, and getting out when it shallowed ; their 
 course lightened at intervals when the rain ceased and 
 the stars shone out, but always keenly on the alert. 
 Once only did they see the blaze of torches on a fish 
 weir on the starboard hand, less than a quarter of a mile 
 distant, and heard the shouts of the fishermen as they, 
 beating the water with canoe paddles, drove their prey 
 into the long, narrow and curved cul-de-sac at the sea end 
 of the weir.
 
 214 The Adventures of a Supercargo 
 
 " You have never killed a man yet, Mr. Denison," 
 said Castles, as the boat was brought to at the foot of a 
 high, densely-wooded bluff, where they rested for a few 
 minutes, and again filled their pipes, " and I hope you 
 won't have to make a beginning here ; but, to tell you 
 the exact truth, I think we may find ourselves in a tight 
 place when daylight comes. I don't see how we can 
 possibly get clear of this part of the coast before sunrise, 
 and get to the country bossed by the old chief of Lak. 
 It must be quite seven miles to the boundary and we 
 can't feel our way along much further the tide will be 
 dead low in a couple of hours. We must try and find a 
 hiding place before dawn somewhere where we can hide 
 the boat and lie low ourselves until it is dark again." 
 Then he spoke to Pat asking him a question, and the 
 native made him an answer that was evidently satis- 
 factory, for they conversed rapidly for some minutes, 
 and Denison several times heard the native use the word 
 baran-o (alligators), and wondered what alligators had 
 to do with the situation. Then Castles explained. 
 
 " I asked him if there was any place along the shore 
 where the tree branches overhung the water, so that we 
 could get the boat under them. He says no, but that a 
 mile or so away there is a creek running out through a 
 belt of mangroves. There is a bar of rocks at the mouth, 
 but even at dead-low tide there is enough water on it to 
 float the boat. Once over the bar, he says, we shall be
 
 The Adventures of a Supercargo 215 
 
 as right as rain, for the creek takes a sharp turn to the 
 left, and the belt of mangroves outside quite hides it 
 from the sea. But he doesn't like the idea of our going 
 there, and says that even Varogi's people always keep 
 clear of it, as it is full of alligators, and that the mosqui- 
 toes will eat \is alive." 
 
 " Better to chance the laran-o and the mosquitoes 
 than run the risk of being cut off by some of Varogi's 
 amiable gentry." 
 
 " Just so. Let us push on, and get there as soon as 
 we can." 
 
 Once more they set out on their tedious course, wind- 
 ing their way through shallow, narrow channels, bumping 
 up against coral " mushrooms," dragging the boat over 
 the hated fish weirs, and then suddenly dropping into 
 deep water, and clambering on board again, only to find 
 a few minutes later their progress barred by a sand-bank 
 or bed of rotten coral left bare by the tide. At last, 
 however, the rain ceased, and the whole sky was lit up 
 by the stars, and they were able to make much more 
 rapid progress ; and all uttered an exclamation of 
 satisfaction when the low, dark line of mangroves came 
 in sight. 
 
 " We must not get out of the boat again now, if we can 
 help it," said Castles. " Pat says that all about here the 
 place swarms with alligators short, ugly black devils 
 like those on Santa Anna in the Solomons. If it were
 
 2 1 6 The Adventures of a Supercargo 
 
 daytime we could see them lying around on the mud- 
 banks, or swimming about in the channels." 
 
 Clambering into the boat, they felt their way along, 
 " poling " her with the o-irs, striking every now and then 
 upon a sand or mud-bank, and having to push off again. 
 
 At last, however, after nearly three hours' exhausting 
 toil they succeeded in crossing over the bar of rocks, 
 entering the creek, and mooring the boat to a tree trunk, 
 which stood up in the black, evil-smelling water.
 
 CHAPTER XXX 
 
 THE long night wore out at last, and at dawn the four 
 voyagers stood up and stretched their weary, aching 
 limbs. In addition to the discomfort of the cramped 
 positions they had had to assume, all of them had 
 suffered tortures from the myriads of mosquitoes which 
 had assailed them throughout the night, and which 
 showed no disposition to abate their venomous fury 
 with the coming of daylight. 
 
 " We can't stand any more of this, Castles," said the 
 leader, as he felt his swollen face, and then looked at his 
 hands, which had lost their deep tan, and were now more 
 of a purple hue ; " we'll be blind in another hour." 
 
 Unmooring the boat, they went up-stream, poling 
 with the oars, for the creek was very narrow. After 
 proceeding half a mile, and seeing nothing but the 
 hideous, mud-covered forms of scores of alligators 
 lying on the banks, they came to a bar of rocks or 
 rather a cataract above which the water was fresh and 
 clear, the tide ascending only as far as the bar. Here 
 the air was much cooler, and the mosquitoes not at all 
 
 217
 
 2 1 8 The Adventures of a Supercargo 
 
 troublesome, so the boat was brought in to the bank, 
 and they stepped out, wet, hungry, and tired, and, 
 before even thinking of breakfast, laved their swollen 
 faces in the sweet, cool water as it rippled over its gravelly 
 bed to lose its purity in the foul, mangrove-banked, 
 alligator-haunted pool below. 
 
 Although not daring to light a fire to make coffee, 
 they yet made an excellent breakfast of tinned beef and 
 biscuit, with rum and water instead of tea or coffee, 
 Castles urging his companions not to drink the water 
 alone, pure as it looked. 
 
 " When I was in the labour trade in the Solomon 
 Islands our skipper would not let us drink the river 
 water," he observed ; " you stand every chance of 
 getting a dose of fever that is why the natives seldom 
 drink anything but rain water caught in old canoes and 
 coconuts. I daresay if we have a look about, we'll 
 find a coconut grove somewhere once we get out of 
 this thick jungle of heavy timber." 
 
 The next few hours were spent in taking everything 
 out of the boat and drying whatever had been wetted, 
 the arms examined, and the shortened mast deftly 
 repaired by Pat stepping the broken end into a thick 
 piece of green bamboo, cut from a clump he had dis- 
 covered growing a little further up-stream. 
 
 Then, although Pat assured Denison and Castles that 
 there were no natives anywhere in the immediate
 
 2IQ 
 
 vicinity except on the shore and that the boat was 
 quite safe where she was, they decided to take her back 
 among the mangroves and leave her there, till nearly 
 dark. The country on the left bank, so Pat said, con- 
 sisted away from the creek of fairly open forest 
 country, with here and there small groves of coconuts 
 and areca palms. There, he said, they could rest for 
 the day, or climbing up the side of the range, could get 
 a view of the coast, east and west, for many miles, and 
 see if any of Varogi's canoes were about, fishing within 
 the reef. 
 
 His suggestion was quickly adopted the boat taken 
 back, and moored to the bank in deep water, and then, 
 with Pat as guide, they started off inland. Denison and 
 Castles had their rifles, Pohiri a shot gun, and a toma- 
 hawk, and Pat his own weapons. 
 
 The morning, although extremely hot, was beautifully 
 bright, and the sun shone from a sky of matchless blue 
 as they emerged from the dark jungle shades into more 
 open country, and felt a cool breeze upon their heated 
 faces. The ascent of the mountain was, although some- 
 what steep, not difficult, for, crossing a space of open 
 grassy country, covered with clumps of wild banana trees, 
 Pat, after a little searching, found a disused path, which 
 wound up the mountain side. It was in many places 
 overgrown with vines and creepers, and had evidently 
 not been trodden upon by human feet for many years.
 
 220 The Adventures of a Supercargo 
 
 " There was once," he said, " a village up there on 
 the top of the mountain. Varogi built it for a strong- 
 hold, and when I was but a lad, Norok and two hundred 
 of our people surprised it in the night and killed all in it. 
 He marched only at night time, and was three days 
 passing through the forest and fell upon the village just 
 before dawn, when all the people were asleep. Only 
 very few escaped ; and, after that, Varogi would let 
 no one live there again, although Norok did not burn 
 all the houses. Shall we go and look at it ? " Then he 
 added that in some of the deserted plantations they 
 would be sure to find plenty of ripe bananas and pine- 
 apples which they could take to the boat. 
 
 This was an inducement, as they were now short of 
 provisions, and did not know how long they might be in 
 getting to friendly Lak, so they told Pat to " go ahead." 
 
 An hour's climb brought them to the deserted village, 
 which was built on the flattened summit of one of the 
 mountain spurs, and was almost hidden from view by a 
 number of huge banyan trees. Many of the houses had 
 been burnt, but there were still half a dozen standing, 
 surrounded by the usual lines of many-hued crotons. 
 The place was very silent, save for the rustling leaves 
 overhead, and seemed utterly devoid of bird or animal 
 life. Far below were the green waters between the shore 
 and the white waving line of surf upon the barrier reef ; 
 beyond, the deep blue of the ocean ; and Pat pointed out
 
 The Adventures of a Supercargo 221 
 
 quite a fleet of canoes scattered about, either fishing, or 
 proceeding on voyages along the coast, which, he said, 
 were all manned by Varogi's people. Lak, owing to 
 the configuration of the land, could not be seen from 
 where they stood. 
 
 Presently Pohiri discerned, a quarter of a mile away, 
 a grove of mountain banana trees, and went off to get 
 a bunch of the fruit, Pat remaining with the white men, 
 engaged in fashioning a wooden spade to dig some yams 
 to take to the boat. The three had clambered to the 
 top of a square platform of stone about ten feet in height, 
 and which was directly under the wide-spreading 
 branches of a great banyan tree. It was nearly twenty 
 feet square, and on it had once stood, so Pat said, the 
 chief's " rest-house," which had been burnt by Norok 
 when he surprised the village. A thick layer of leaves 
 had fallen upon it in the course of years, and whilst 
 Denison and Castles stretched themselves out upon it 
 to await Pohiri's return, their savage companion squat- 
 ted beside them and shaped his paddle. Yielding to 
 fatigue, and to the delightfully cool breeze, the two white 
 men were soon asleep, and their example was so contagi- 
 ous that Pat, after his rude spade was finished, lay down 
 near them. 
 
 An hour had passed ; Pohiri had not returned, and 
 the three still slumbered. Then came the murmur of 
 distant voices, and Pat a\voke with a start and listened
 
 222 The Adventures of a Supercargo 
 
 intently, then, turning on his stomach, crawled to the 
 edge of the platform and peered down toward the valley. 
 In an instant he crept over to Castles and Denison, and 
 aroused them in hurried whispers. 
 
 " Lie still, keep quiet ! There are many people com- 
 ing up the hill from the valley. I can hear their voices 
 and they are Varogi's men i "
 
 CHAPTER XXXI 
 
 " WHERE is Pohiri ? " whispered Castles to Pat, as they 
 lay flat upon the soft leaves. 
 
 " I know not. He should have been here long since," 
 replied the native, " see, the sun is towards the west." 
 
 Denison looked at his watch. " We have been asleep 
 for an hour and a quarter ; Pohiri ought to have been 
 back half an hour ago. I hope the poor fellow has not 
 been killed." 
 
 " I think he is all right," said Castles, " I daresay he 
 saw or heard these people coming, and has hidden." 
 Then he questioned Pat, who replied that he was sure 
 their shipmate was in hiding somewhere. " If these 
 people who are coming had seen him, I should have 
 heard their shouts ; but they are coming up the path 
 talking very quietly. Listen some of them are singing. 
 We shall see them very soon. Look, look ! Here they 
 come ! It is a war party, with Timi the white man 
 leading." 
 
 The half-caste and Denison put their hands on their
 
 224 The Adventures of a Supercargo 
 
 rifles, but Pat in a fierce whisper told them to keep quiet. 
 
 " They do not seek us," he said emphatically, " for 
 they know not we are here. See, some of them carry 
 baskets of food. They have come here to eat and rest 
 a while on their way to Varogi's town. Let us wait 
 as we are they will not stay long. We are safe ; for 
 they have no dogs with them else we should be quickly 
 smelled out, and our heads taken." 
 
 Marching up the steep path in double file, and led by 
 the " white man " Timi, at whom Denison and Castles 
 looked with horror and disgust and Pat with envy 
 came two hundred savages, all fully armed. Some of 
 them carried baskets of cooked food, such as baked pork, 
 pigeons, fish and yams and taro. They halted at the 
 bidding of their leader, who, taking a seat upon the fallen 
 post of a house, proceeded to cut up some tobacco, and 
 fill his pipe, whilst his followers, laying down their arms, 
 proceeded to open the baskets of food, and spread the 
 contents upon the ground. 
 
 The " white man," who was attended by two young 
 men, who waited upon him in a most servile manner, 
 sat directly facing Denison and his companions, and was 
 not more than twenty yards distant from the platform 
 so close that Denison and his watching companions could 
 hear every word he uttered in his deep, growling tones, 
 and as he turned his face to speak to one of his savage 
 attendants, Denison, as his hand gripped his rifle,
 
 The Adventures of a Supercargo 225 
 
 muttered, " that is the man, Castles ! That is the man 
 who murdered my father he is Tim Hogan ! " 
 
 " Steady, sir, steady, for God's sake, and keep quiet," 
 muttered the half-caste, as he gripped Tom's rifle by 
 the barrel, and near the muzzle, " if you shoot him now 
 we shall all be wiped out. Listen, he is going to speak." 
 
 The renegade had taken his pipe from his lips, and 
 stretched out his bare right arm. 
 
 " Eat, my children, my head-seekers. The way is 
 long, Varogi awaits us, and we must not delay here. 
 After ye have eaten, I will speak. But first bring to me he 
 who has whispered that the mana (i) of Timi hath 
 weakened because I was wounded when I tried to take 
 the little ship." 
 
 " He means when he tried to cut off Captain Ross's 
 cutter," whispered Castles. 
 
 Two natives sprang to their feet, and placed their 
 hands on the shoulder of an elderly man, who was 
 seated on the ground opening a basket of food. He 
 rose quietly, and came with them, and stood before the 
 dreaded Timi, who eyed him with a cold, but savage 
 ferocity. 
 
 " He is Ga one of Timi's fathers-in-law," whispered 
 Pat to Castles. 
 
 The old man, who was fully accoutred as a warrior, 
 
 (i) Mana has many meanings ; in this case it meant 
 prestige. 
 
 'S
 
 226 The Adventures of a Supercargo 
 
 stood calmly before his son-in-law. He knew what was 
 coming. 
 
 " Ga, my father, you have spoken foolishly of me, and 
 I have let thee live many moons because of the women- 
 folk who will miss thee. But they shall be told that 
 thou wast killed in battle. For this alone have I let 
 thee come so far with me." Then, motioning to the 
 doomed man to come nearer, he took up a musket, 
 which was handed to him by one of his attendants, and, 
 without rising from his seat, shot the old man through 
 the heart. 
 
 " Take him away quickly, and give me to eat," he 
 cried savagely to his followers ; " we have no time to 
 lose. Is there any other man who thinketh that the 
 mana of Timi hath decayed ? If so, let him come before 
 me, and we shall try it out by spear or club. I am old ; 
 but my mana is strong." 
 
 No one dared answer the tyrant, who after a scowling 
 glance at his followers, tossed aside the musket, and 
 drawing a basket of food to him, began to eat, and as 
 Tom watched him, he wondered how any white man 
 could sink so low, and present such a terrifying and 
 degrading appearance. 
 
 With the exception of a thick girdle of coloured grasses 
 which descended from his waist to his knees, the man was 
 as naked as his savage companions, and his hair, which 
 was long, was twisted into innumerable little ringlets,
 
 The Adventures of a Supercargo 227 
 
 greased and powdered over with sandal-wood dust in 
 the style of the natives of New Britain ; they fell around 
 his face and down upon his shoulders like a mat of twisted 
 tow ; his brawny arms, which like the rest of his body 
 were tanned by the sun to the hue of old leather, were 
 adorned with the usual heavy armlets of white shell, and 
 his repellent appearance generally was accentuated by 
 the scarlet lips and blackened teeth of the habitual 
 betelnut chewer. Slung across his shoulders by a broad 
 leather strap was a short carbine, and in a belt around 
 his waist, were two ivory-handled Colt's revolvers 
 taken by him from the murdered captain of the sandal- 
 wooding brig which he and Varogi had cut off five years 
 before. 
 
 Presently he motioned to one of his attendants to 
 give him a young coconut to drink. He drank, and then 
 as he threw away the empty shell, said something that 
 brought forth a chorus of laughter from his followers 
 all anxious to please the great man. 
 
 " What did he say ? " asked Castles of Pat. 
 
 " He says that ere many days have passed he and 
 those with him will be drinking rom (i) instead of coco- 
 nuts or water." 
 
 His meal finished, Timi smoked his pipe for a few 
 minutes, then placed it in his girdle of grass and began to 
 speak, his followers crouching around him and listening 
 
 (i) Rum.
 
 228 The Adventures of a Supercargo 
 
 with eager, savage interest, and Pat and Castles caught 
 every word that was uttered, though the latter did not 
 
 understand all of the speech, which occupied only a few 
 minutes. 
 
 As he concluded, the savages uttered a loud peculiar 
 cry a quivering, yet hoarse Ah-h-h-h-e ! and then 
 each man sprang to his feet, seized his weapons, and with 
 the white man leading, marched swiftly away in the 
 direction of Varogi's town. 
 
 Then Pat, his eyes rolling with excitement, quickly 
 explained to Castles in detail all that had been said, and 
 he translated to Tom. 
 
 " By heavens, Mr. Denison ! it is lucky we came here ! 
 Varogi and Timi have planned to cut off the ship, and 
 murder every one on board, except Mrs. Ross, who Timi 
 means to keep for a wife ! "
 
 CHAPTER XXXII 
 
 " IT seems, sir," said the half-caste, " that since the 
 barque anchored, Varogi and the white man have been 
 sending messengers to each other, and a week ago Timi 
 told his people to get their arms and canoes in readiness, 
 as he had great work in hand. He would not tell them 
 what it was, but yesterday he picked out two hundred of 
 his best men, and told them that they were to come with 
 him overland to Varogi's town, and that on the way there 
 he would explain to them what was the work in store 
 for them. The reason he would not do so before was 
 that there are some slave women in the village, who 
 belong to Norok's town, and he was afraid that any one 
 of them, if she heard what was afoot, would make her 
 escape into the bush, and give Norok warning hullo, 
 what is that ? " and he broke off abruptly, " I hear 
 some one coming. Down flat, sir." 
 
 All three threw themselves upon the bed of leaves, 
 and listened, and then to their great joy they heard a 
 low whistle. It was Pohiri, who was searching for them. 
 
 He had, he told them, seen the war party approaching, 
 
 229
 
 230 The Adventures of a Supercargo 
 
 and hidden himself until they had passed. Carefully 
 following, he had watched Timi and his followers ascend 
 the path to the abandoned village, seen them eating, 
 and then depart. 
 
 " Here, Pohiri wait a moment, Castles take a pull 
 at this," and Tom handed the Niuean a bottle of mixed 
 rum and water, " you look as if you wanted a drink. 
 Now, go on, Castles." 
 
 " Well, sir, before Timi and his crowd, which were here 
 just now, left their town, he gave orders for another two 
 hundred men to start to-night in canoes for Varogi's 
 place, and join him there. The reason for this is that 
 although there are plenty of canoes to carry four hundred 
 men, Timi thought that, as there are signs of bad weather, 
 he had better take half of his infernal cannibals over- 
 land, in case the whole crowd had to turn back, and 
 Varogi be disappointed. If there is bad weather, the 
 canoes are not to start until it is fine, as they will have 
 to go outside the reef on account of the tides." 
 
 " Tell me, Castles how does Timi know anything 
 about Mrs. Ross being on board ? Ask Pat." 
 
 Pat replied that he had no doubt but that Timi knew 
 exactly the number of people on board the barque, how 
 they were armed, and much else ; all this he would 
 learn through some of Norok's slave women captives. 
 It was easy, he said, for these women to meet one of 
 Varogi's spies outside the town at night. A few days
 
 The Adventures of a Supercargo 231 
 
 after Ross had begun his pearling operations, one of 
 these women had escaped, and she would certainly have 
 given Timi and Varogi much information, especially as 
 to how the barque was moored. 
 
 " We must get back at once, sir," said Castles, " even 
 if we have to fight our way. It is now flood tide, and 
 there is a stiff breeze. If any of Timi's, or Varogi's 
 canoes try to intercept us, they will have their work cut 
 out, for our boat can certainly outsail them in any kind 
 of a breeze, and if it did fall a calm, and we had to fight, 
 our long range of rifles should pull us through, as they 
 have nothing but smooth-bore muskets and only a 
 few at that. Norok told me that when the sandal- 
 wooding brig was cut off, Varogi and Timi divided all 
 the arms on board between them forty muskets, and 
 about twenty cutlasses. But we must remember that 
 these Admiralty Islanders are about the pluckiest natives 
 in the Pacific. Ten years ago, a fleet of a hundred canoes 
 attacked a little but well-armed barque named the Fawn, 
 off the west end of the island, and although her big guns 
 smashed half-a-dozen of them, the rest came on, laid 
 alongside, and their crews tried to board again and again. 
 Thirty or so of them did get over the bulwarks, and 
 fought like tigers, and although they were only armed 
 with clubs and daggers, they killed seven of the barque's 
 hands before they were wiped out. I heard that the 
 skipper killed nearly a dozen at one shot from a whaler's
 
 232 The Adventures of a Supercargo 
 
 bomb gun loaded with slugs, and only then did they 
 draw off, after having lost nearly fifty men." 
 
 " Well, they will have a tough job if they tackle the 
 Meg," said Tom, " and although we carry no big guns, 
 there are at least four whaler's bomb guns on board. 
 Captain Grace brought them from Liverpool to sell, 
 but we did not meet with any whaleships, and no one 
 in Levuka wanted them. Now, let us start." 
 
 Pat, highly elated at the prospect of a fight, again led 
 the way, and an hour before sunset they had reached the 
 boat, taken her over the bar, and were spinning along 
 before a strong breeze, heading for the passage through 
 the barrier reef. They saw several canoes inside the 
 reef, engaged in fishing, but no attempt was made to 
 intercept them. But that they were seen from the 
 shore was soon made evident by numerous signal fires, 
 the smoke of which could be seen arising from the many 
 small villages along the coast. 
 
 Once outside the roaring line of the barrier reef the 
 boat was kept away on a direct course for Noan the 
 town where Norok lived. There was such a stiff breeze 
 that Tom felt certain Ross would not be out with his 
 divers, for there was too much of a swell on the pearling 
 beds for any diving to be done. 
 
 As night fell, the breeze lost its strength, but the boat 
 still made great progress, and Tom felt a thrill of pride 
 when Pohiri asked him to let him steer the Sabbie.
 
 The Adventures of a Supercargo 233 
 
 " Such a boat as this was never before built," said the 
 Niuean, speaking in Samoan, " she riseth to the seas and 
 skimmeth over them as does a katafa (frigate bird) when 
 he catches a flying-fish in flight." 
 
 Then as they sped on their course, under the starlit 
 heavens, Pat told them tales of the deeds or rather 
 misdeeds of his people, their head-huntings, their 
 former cannibalism, their cuttings off and massacring 
 of the crews of sandal-wood and whaling ships ; and then 
 Pohiri spoke of his own island, which was known as 
 " Savage Island," because Tuti (Captain Cook) had 
 thrice been repulsed in his attempts to land and make 
 friends with the people. 
 
 " But my land," he said, " though not so great as 
 thine, Pat, is a much better country, except that in it 
 there are no streams of sweet fresh water. But it is 
 rich, very rich in food and never have we eaten human 
 flesh," and he bent over the gunwale and spat in disgust. 
 
 The wind had almost died away when as the boat came 
 near the Meg Merrilies, they were hailed by the anchor 
 watch. 
 
 " Where are Captain Grace, and Captain Ross ? " 
 asked Tom, as he stepped on deck. 
 
 " Below, sir, playing euchre with Mrs. Ross and the 
 mate."
 
 CHAPTER XXXIII 
 
 THE euchre party broke up very suddenly when Tom and 
 Castles entered the cabin, and told their story, and 
 Pat was at once sent on shore to tell Norok the news, and 
 ask him to come on board. 
 
 He came quickly, late as it was, and he, Grace, and 
 Ross were soon in earnest consultation as to the means to 
 be adopted, not only to defend the ship, but to inflict 
 a crushing defeat upon Varogi and his ally, Timi. 
 
 Ross, always quiet and imperturbable, said but little 
 until towards the end of the discussion ; then he turned 
 to Castles, who was present as interpreter, and asked him 
 when Norok thought the attack would be made. 
 
 " In three or four days," replied the chief ; " but it 
 may be longer." Varogi, he explained, would be sure to 
 await the arrival of Timi's fleet of canoes, and he, Norok, 
 was sure that bad weather was coming on, that it would 
 last for several days, and that no attempt to attack the 
 
 barque would be made if there was any wind, for the 
 
 234
 
 The Adventures of a Supercargo 235 
 
 canoes could not range alongside without getting into 
 confusion. " But," he added, " it may be that there will 
 be no wind and much rain some night, and that is the 
 time when we must keep good watch, as the night dies 
 and dawn comes, for the rain hides everything, and 
 makes a great noise, and the canoes could creep up to 
 the ship without being seen or heard." 
 
 Ross nodded. " He is quite right about the weather, 
 Captain Grace, we are going to have a change pretty soon, 
 of that I'm certain. Now Castles," and he turned to 
 the half-caste, " I have a mighty high respect for Norok, 
 and want you to tell him so before I ask him a rather 
 delicate question." 
 
 Castles translated, and the chief's grim features 
 relaxed into a smile at Ross's complimentary remarks. 
 " What does Rossi (Ross) desire to ask me ? " he en- 
 quired. 
 
 " I want him to tell me if he will lend us the six brass 
 cannons that were taken from the American whaleship, 
 which his people cut off here thirty years ago, when he 
 had his elbow smashed with a pistol bullet. Tell him 
 that I know he has those guns stowed away somewhere, 
 and if he wants to see Varogi and his crowd wiped out, 
 he must lend them to us." 
 
 As Castles translated Ross's remarks, the chief's eyes 
 opened in astonishment. He wondered how Ross knew 
 anything about the brass guns, which for thirty years
 
 236 The Adventures of a Sttpercargo 
 
 had lain in one of the gamal houses. As a matter of 
 fact, all that Ross knew was that when the whaleship 
 was cut off and her crew massacred by Norok's people, 
 her guns were taken on shore. 
 
 " Yes," he said, " I have the guns, but only four. The 
 two others sank with the ship when we burned her ; 
 we had not time to take them away. But the four you 
 shall have. They are buried under one of my gamal 
 houses, and shall be dug up in the morning. But I 
 have no powder for them, and only ten cannon 
 balls were brought on shore ; those are in my own 
 house." 
 
 " Tell him that I don't think I shall want the cannon 
 balls," said Ross to Castles, " but he must get his men to 
 carry the guns over to the point at the east side of the 
 bay. Then I'll have them cleaned and mounted in 
 some sort of fashion. Varogi's canoes will have to come 
 in so close to the point to get into the bay that they will 
 be within thirty yards of the muzzles of the guns. But 
 I mean to let them pass in and tackle the ship first, then 
 when Captain Grace has given them a doing with the 
 four bomb guns and his crew's breechloaders, I'll be 
 ready for them when they try to get out of the trap I am 
 setting for them." 
 
 Castles explained this to Norok, whose eyes gleamed 
 with the anticipative lust of slaughter, and then as he 
 rose to return on shore, he asked Sina Ross, who was
 
 The Adventures of a Supercargo 237 
 
 seated at the after end of the cabin, listening to the dis- 
 cussion, if she would not leave the ship in the morning 
 and stay in his house, where she would be away from the 
 fighting. She thanked him and replied with a smile 
 that she was not afraid, and would stay with her husband, 
 either on board the ship, or at the place where the guns 
 were to be mounted. 
 
 " Ah," said the chief admiringly, " I forgot. Thou 
 canst use a gun and shoot straight like him." Both 
 Ross and his young wife were excellent shots. 
 
 After breakfast on the following morning, Ross, Grace, 
 Denison, and the barque's carpenter, went on shore to 
 look at the guns, which Norok had had dug up in readi- 
 ness for their removal to the point commanding the 
 entrance to the little bay. Their long burial had done 
 them no harm, and Ross smiled grimly when the carpen- 
 ter said he would mount all four on rough carriages by 
 sunset if he had some assistance (the former carriages 
 had long since gone to decay). 
 
 Whilst the carpenter returned on board for his tool- 
 chest, and some heavy pieces of timber, Norok's natives, 
 under Ross's supervision, lifted the guns and put 
 them in a position for cleaning, this work being 
 undertaken by Castles, Pohiri, and two white 
 seamen. 
 
 " Now," said Ross in his slow, drawling tones to Grace 
 and Tom, " come with me and I'll show you where the
 
 2^8 
 
 guns are to be mounted. Ha ! ' Lo, the poor Injun,' 
 is coming too, I see. Well, I guess I can instruct his 
 untutored mind some on the subject of how to get even 
 with Varogi." 
 
 He pointed to Norok, who was coming towards them 
 followed by several of his young men, who were carrying 
 the ten round shot taken with the guns from the un- 
 fortunate whaleship. 
 
 " Tell him, Castles," he said to the half-caste, " that, 
 after all, they (the shot) may come in handy, so they 
 can carry them over to the point with us. But if Norok 
 will come on board with us presently, I will initiate 
 him into the art of making case shot from broken bolts, 
 nuts, and washers." 
 
 Norok was deeply interested, and informed Ross that 
 he had seen both case and chain shot when he was a lad 
 shown to him by the captain of a Singapore sandal- 
 wooding ship. Then he gave the white men an im- 
 portant piece of information. Immediately on his 
 returning on shore the previous evening he had had all 
 his women-slaves who were in any way suspected of 
 being friendly to Varogi, seized and placed in strict con- 
 finement. He had done this on his own initiative, 
 knowing that they would certainly see (or hear about) 
 the guns being dug up, and would perhaps communicate 
 with Varogi. " I thought at first," he remarked, 
 " that it would be best to kill them all ; but knew
 
 The Adventures of a Supercargo 239 
 
 that you white men do not like women being killed." 
 Ross slapped him on his shoulder. " You are a 
 genius, Norok. I never thought about the slave-women. 
 Can you make this clear to him, Castles ? "
 
 CHAPTER XXXIV 
 
 BY noon of the next day the four guns were in position. 
 They were placed on their carriages at the extreme end 
 of the point, and commanded the passage, which was so 
 narrow that the barque had been kedged through it to 
 her moorings inside the bay. On the opposite side to 
 the point which was covered with a low, dense scrub 
 was a wall of solid reef, the top of which, even at high 
 tide, was four or five feet above sea-level. This wall, 
 which rose steep-to from its base, formed a perfect and 
 natural breakwater from the sweeping seas of the 
 barrier reef, and extended from the west side of the 
 entrance, right along to the land, gradually decreasing 
 in height as it joined the shore. 
 
 The distance between the end of the reef at the passage, 
 and the muzzles of the guns, was less than seventy yards, 
 and old Captain Grace shuddered at the thought of case 
 shot being fired at crowded canoes that would have to 
 pass within thirty or forty yards of the guns, some of 
 them even closer, if they came in abreast. And although 
 
 he had declined to let any of his own crew join in the 
 
 240
 
 The Adventures of a Supercargo 241 
 
 attack Ross had meditated making upon Varogi's 
 village, before the barque sailed for Sydney, it was a 
 different matter from defending his ship from capture 
 for capture meant that every soul on board would be 
 ruthlessly slaughtered and so he now took a keen 
 and active interest in the preparations that were being 
 made. 
 
 The complement of the barque, exclusive of Ross and 
 his ten divers, was fifteen Grace, the two mates, Tom, 
 the carpenter, boatswain, and nine A.B.'s ; the latter, 
 all steady reliable men, though several of them were 
 unused to handling firearms. In addition to the Sharp's 
 breech-loading rifles that were for the ship's use, there 
 was also a case of twelve breech-loading pin-fire shot- 
 guns cheap Belgian-made weapons, intended for sale 
 to natives for pigeon-shooting. These guns Grace had 
 been unable to sell, either in Samoa or Fiji much to 
 his present satisfaction, for they would certainly inflict 
 greater losses at a short range upon a boarding party 
 than the rifles. Two of the whaler's bomb guns he 
 mounted, or rather slung in the mizzen rigging, just 
 above the rail, and two on the top-gallant forecastle. 
 For these, and for the big guns on shore, there was an 
 ample supply of ammunition ; for the former there was 
 a keg of buckshot for in the Arctic seas, and especially 
 on the Alaskan coast, when the sea salmon are in season, 
 
 the whalemen frequently fire a charge of buckshot 
 
 16
 
 242 The Adventures of a Supercargo 
 
 from a bomb gun into the swarming masses of fish, 
 killing hundreds at one shot. 
 
 Ross had been busy preparing his case-shot, cutting 
 up rod-iron into inch lengths, and packing the pieces 
 tightly in i-lb. salmon tins, which just fitted the bore of 
 the guns. In this work he was eagerly assisted by Norok 
 and his admiring natives. The chief had also made 
 separate preparations of his own, of which Ross had 
 greatly approved. All along the west side of the little 
 bay, and especially about the masked battery, huge 
 torches of dry coconut leaves had been placed in readi- 
 ness to be lit at a signal to be given by him. 
 
 " I think," said Ross that day at dinner, " that this 
 will be the last time that any of the natives of this 
 island on the north side at any rate will attempt to 
 cut off a ship." 
 
 In the evening, Mrs. Ross, Tom, Grace and Pat, 
 went on shore and took a walk along the beach in front 
 of the battery ; so carefully was it masked by shrubs 
 and tree branches that it was impossible to discover it 
 from the beach. At intervals of ten yards or so was one 
 of the great torches before mentioned, each carefully 
 covered with matting to protect it from rain. Turning 
 inland, Pat led the way along a narrow path which 
 practically encircled the entire village and its plantations, 
 and found it guarded by a close cordon of sentries, who 
 kept watch day and night ; for although Norok did not
 
 The Adventures of a Supercargo 243 
 
 fear an attack in his rear, he was very apprehensive of 
 spies penetrating to the village during some rainy or 
 stormy night. His orders were that if any strangers 
 were seen they were to be taken dead or alive. 
 
 Entering the village, they were received by Norok, 
 who insisted on their partaking of food, and then wit- 
 nessing a wild dance of his young men. Then bidding 
 him good-night, they returned on board and turned in. 
 
 Just as seven bells struck, Tom heard rain falling, 
 and went on deck, where he found Owens, the Welsh 
 mate, keeping watch, with four hands. All were in 
 their oilskins, for the awnings fore and aft had been 
 taken down during the day, Grace fearing that they 
 might take fire during the coming fight if they were dry, 
 and a piece of burning wadding should fall upon the 
 canvas. 
 
 " Well, Mr. Tenison," said Owens, an old ex-man-of- 
 war's man who never seemed to sleep, " here is the rain 
 at last, and a ferry good thing it is too, for the sooner 
 these damdt savages show up the petter it will pe for 
 all of us, so that we can have the whole thing over, and 
 go apout our proper pusiness. I hope that Captain Ross 
 will not make a mess of things that is all." 
 
 " I hope not," was the soothing reply, for Denison 
 knew that the worthy mate felt affronted with Ross, 
 who had declined his offer to assist him with the guns, 
 saying that although he knew that Owens knew more
 
 244 The Adventures of a Supercargo 
 
 about working guns than he did, it would not be right to 
 deprive Captain Grace of his executive officer. (Ross 
 had really a great respect for Owens, whom he knew had 
 many years' experience in the Navy on the China station, 
 where he had seen some righting with pirates.) 
 
 Presently Grace and Ross came up from below, and 
 stood in the companion, smoking their pipes, and watch- 
 ing the steady downpour. 
 
 " Old Norok is a true weather prophet," remarked 
 Ross, " he said that if rain came on to-night from the 
 eastward, it would come about midnight, kill the wind, 
 and continue for two or three days without ceasing, 
 though during the mornings it would be very light. It is 
 just the weather that Varogi and that cut-throat Hogan 
 want, and I daresay we shall have the pleasure of their 
 company by daylight the day after to-morrow." 
 
 Then he added that Norok had advised him to send 
 away the diving boat as usual in the morning. She 
 would be sure to be seen by Varogi, who would be satis- 
 fied that no one on board the ship, nor Norok, had any 
 suspicions of his intentions else the divers would not 
 have been sent out to their daily toil.
 
 CHAPTER XXXV 
 
 THE diving boat, attended by Norok's covering canoe, 
 left as usual at six in the morning, although the rain was 
 still falling heavily, and the green mountain forest was 
 enshrouded in a thick, heavy mist. About ten o'clock, 
 however, it cleared slightly, and the sun came out for 
 an hour or so, and Tom, Mrs. Ross, and the second mate 
 were just leaving the barque in the dinghy to shoot some 
 fish for dinner with dynamite, when a messenger arrived 
 from Norok, requesting Captain Grace, Tom, and Castles, 
 to come on shore quickly, as he had news for them. 
 They at once started, and on landing were met by Pat, 
 who told them with a proud smile that he and a compan- 
 ion had succeeded in taking a prisoner one of Varogi's 
 warriors, who, with two others, they had surprised in the 
 forest that morning at daylight, near the boundary, 
 whilst they were raiding one of Norok's mountain 
 banana plantations. Two of them they killed and de- 
 capitated, the other they wounded and took prisoner. 
 
 On reaching Norok's house, they found him there with 
 the prisoner, seated on the matted floor. The man had 
 been speared through the thigh, and was sitting up 
 
 245
 
 246 The Adventures of a Supercargo 
 
 against one of the house posts, eating baked fish and 
 taro, and hardly crediting Norok's assurances that he 
 would not be killed. 
 
 Through Castles, Norok told Captain Grace that the 
 prisoner, as he lay on the ground, and was about to be 
 decapitated by Pat, cried out that if he would spare his 
 life, he would tell Norok of something of a very great 
 danger that was impending over his town and the white 
 men on the ship under his protection. 
 
 " I am the son of Ga," he said, " and the brother of 
 my sister, (i) who is one of the wives of Timi ; because 
 my father said that the mana of Timi was growing weak, 
 Timi shot him dead before me. Take me to Norok, and 
 I shall tell him great news ; for I fear that the ghost of 
 my father will visit me unless I take revenge for him 
 upon Timi." (2) 
 
 The prisoner was brought in to Norok, who asked 
 him what he had to say. 
 
 " This to-night Varogi and Timi, with all their 
 fighting men leave Varogi's town in canoes to seize the 
 ship, and kill all on board." Then he went on to say 
 
 (1) It is the custom among many of the Melanesian 
 peoples for a brother never to mention a sister by name 
 after her marriage. 
 
 (2) The natives of Admiralty Island, like those of the 
 Santa Cruz Group, firmly believe in seeing visions of 
 dead relatives or friends, who come to remind them of 
 some dereliction of duty ; to neglect the warning would 
 mean death.
 
 The Adventures of a Supercargo 247 
 
 that they intended to attack at daylight on the following 
 morning. 
 
 After a brief consultation with Norok, it was decided 
 to send a canoe out to Ross with the news, so that he 
 could return earlier than usual, and Denison and Grace 
 went back to the ship, taking with them the prisoner, as 
 Norok hinted to Castles, that although he had promised 
 to spare his life, he, Norok, would not be responsible for 
 anything that might happen to the man in his absence ; 
 so on reaching the barque Castles locked him up in the 
 sail locker, and told him that he would be freed in a day 
 or two, and allowed to return to his own country. 
 
 Two hours before sunset, Ross and his party returned, 
 and reported that one of Varogi's canoes had put off 
 from the shore to see if the divers were at work as usual, 
 and had then returned. 
 
 The night wore on quietly, rain falling steadily 
 through the darkness. Norok, who remained on board 
 till past midnight, was in an almost uncontrollable 
 state of excitement, quivering for the coming fight. 
 The enemy, he said, were now well on their way down the 
 coast, as the prisoner had told him that Varogi and 
 Timi had everything in readiness to start immediately 
 it became dark. It was probable, he added, that 
 before the fleet of canoes entered the passage into the 
 bay, Varogi, with a hundred of his best men, would 
 land at a spot about two miles distant from the point,
 
 248 The Adventures of a Supercargo 
 
 march through the bush, and surprise and burn Noan 
 at the same moment that Timi attacked the barque. 
 Timi and Varogi, he said, were discussing this matter 
 when he and his two companions set out on the 
 adventure which had terminated so fatally, but he was 
 almost certain that Varogi would attack the village, as 
 he (the prisoner) had seen a number of women engaged 
 in making small torches from the spathes of the coconut 
 tree. They were to be used in firing the houses by 
 thrusting them under the eaves, where the thatch of 
 pandanus leaves would be both thick and dry, being 
 protected from the rain. 
 
 In view of this, Norok decided to change his plans. 
 He had intended to have remained on board with a 
 hundred or so of his best men to assist Grace, whilst the 
 rest of his forces would man their canoes, and cut off 
 any of the enemy who succeeded in escaping out of the 
 bay. He therefore determined to remain on shore with 
 most of his men, and cut off Varogi and his landing party, 
 leaving only twenty men with Grace, and one hundred, 
 with ten canoes, near the battery ; these, the moment 
 the last of Varogi's fleet had passed in through the 
 passage, were to launch their canoes and block the egress 
 of any of the enemy who tried to escape by water. 
 Forty out of these hundred men were armed with 
 muskets, which Ross had personally loaded with heavy 
 charges of buckshot.
 
 The Adventures of a Super car go 249 
 
 Slowly the hours passed by. On board the barque 
 everything was in readiness. No lights were visible 
 on deck, but in the closed galley there were a dozen ship 
 lanterns lit in case they were wanted, and in the silent 
 cabin the swinging lamp was burning brightly ; on the 
 table were some bottles of spirits and glasses. 
 
 " Tom," said Grace, looking at the clock in the com- 
 panion, " it is just three bells. Take half a dozen of 
 our hands, and half of Norok's men below, and tell the 
 steward to give them each half a tumblerful of grog ; 
 then I'll follow with Mr. Owens and the rest." 
 
 Silently the seamen and the natives followed the 
 supercargo below, eagerly drank their grog, and then 
 returned on deck. 
 
 " Off with your oilskins, men," said Grace. " You can 
 handle your guns better," and then he and the mates and 
 the remainder of the crew and natives descended into 
 the cabin. 
 
 The barque was now lying with her stern towards 
 the entrance of the bay, and so close in to the shore that 
 the end of her jibboom touched the lower branches of a 
 teak tree, and there was only about ten feet of water 
 separating her on the starboard side from the shore, 
 Grace and Ross having altered her moorings, so that she 
 could only be assailed on one side.
 
 250 
 
 On shore, at the masked battery, Ross, his wife, and 
 the ten native seamen were sitting crouched under rude 
 shelters of banana leaves spread over light frameworks 
 of stick. Near by were the guns, loaded with case, and 
 covered over with mats. Under one of the shelters, 
 and carefully protected with a tarpaulin so that its 
 reflection could not be seen, was a small, bright fire, 
 in which were two of the ship's pokers, tended by a 
 watchful Manahikian one of the divers. 
 
 The rain had ceased, and many stars had come out, 
 when one of Norok's men ran silently in among them 
 panting. 
 
 " They are coming, Rossi. We can hear their 
 paddles ! " 
 
 The American threw away his cigar, and sprang to his 
 feet. " Stand by, boys, but don't cast off the mat 
 housings until I give the word. Sina, keep back."
 
 CHAPTER XXXVI 
 
 THERE was a faint flush of red tinging the eastern horizon, 
 as Ross, peering over the breastwork of the battery, 
 discerned the advancing canoes ; they were about five 
 hundred yards distant, and approaching the passage 
 very rapidly four abreast. As he watched, a second 
 messenger arrived this time from Norok saying that 
 Varogi had landed, and was leading his men into the 
 trap, and that he (Norok) only awaited the sound of the 
 first shot to fall upon them. 
 
 Nearer and nearer came the canoes, four abreast, 
 and urged along silently but swiftly by the crowded 
 natives, their paddle blades plunging into and with- 
 drawing from the water in perfect unison. Quickly 
 in the semi-darkness they passed the battery, and then 
 bore a little to port, as the four leading canoes caught 
 sight of the barque, lying so quietly before them, with 
 the ends of her fore and main yards almost touching the 
 branches df the giant teak tree, and as Timi and his 
 savages swept forward, Ross and his men threw aside 
 
 251
 
 252 The Adventures of a Supercargo 
 
 the branches and shrubs that covered the guns, and 
 waited. They had not to wait long. 
 
 Suddenly the leading canoes formed into single line, 
 the second followed, and then all eight made a rush at 
 the dark bulk of the barque, and as they came alongside, 
 two blue-lights flared, a line of fire burst from the bul- 
 warks, and a crashing volley of musketry awakened the 
 mountain echoes, followed by a cheer from the ship, 
 and yells and screams of agony. 
 
 " Light up, light up ! " shouted Ross, and, as one of 
 the huge torches blazed forth, there came the sound of 
 the bomb guns and the crashing of wood, mingled with 
 dreadful cries, as the hapless wretches in the first eight 
 canoes fell dead or dying amid the wreckage of their 
 craft. As the glare from the battery torch lit up the 
 dark water, Norok's ten canoes shot out from the beach, 
 and then the whole of the shore burst into light, and 
 revealed more clearly the fierce struggle centred round 
 the Meg Merrilies. 
 
 Standing by the guns, Ross's swarthy-faced natives 
 watched the attack with bated breath, waiting for their 
 turn to fire. 
 
 " Not yet, not yet," cried Ross, " our turn will be 
 when they are coming back. Ah, look at that ! " 
 
 Castles and the carpenter, who were on the top- 
 gallant forecastle, had reloaded their bomb guns, and 
 fired together at two fresh canoes, which, ploughing
 
 The Adventures of a Supercargo 253 
 
 their way through the wreckage of the first eight, had 
 shot alongside, unheeding the fire from the rifles the 
 murderous hail of buckshot took the leading canoe fore 
 and aft, and killed or wounded almost every one of the 
 twenty savages who manned her. 
 
 But undaunted by the slaughter, the second canoe, 
 and then half a dozen others in her wake, swept up, their 
 crews yelling defiance, as casting aside their paddles, they 
 seized their weapons, and tried madly to board, only to 
 fall back dead or dying into the blood-stained water, or 
 upon the wreckage of their canoes. From the shore 
 behind the battery came the sound of musketry, as day- 
 light enabled Norok and his men to pursue their work of 
 slaughter upon the landing party, and the whole air 
 was filled with demoniacal cries, as the clamour from the 
 barque was answered by savage cries of triumph from the 
 shore, mingled with the screams of terrified women and 
 children. 
 
 Three separate times did these valorous savages try 
 to gpin a footing on the barque, the canoes clustering 
 around her like bees. Two, manned by over forty men, 
 made a dash at her bows, and in a few seconds two- 
 thirds of them had clambered up on the top-gallant 
 forecastle, armed only with clubs and daggers ; and 
 Castles, the carpenter, two white seamen, and some of 
 Norok's men were hurled below upon the fore deck, 
 where the poor carpenter and two sailors were quickly
 
 254 The Adventures of a Supercargo 
 
 slaughtered, and Castles, as he rose, was felled by a blow 
 on the head, dealt him by a youthful warrior of about 
 eighteen years of age, who, however, was shot dead the 
 next moment by the second mate, who, with several 
 other men, had rushed forward to beat back the boarders. 
 They, however, fought with such insensate fury that 
 before they were all killed or driven over the side, the 
 steward was badly wounded, and four of the Noan 
 people killed. 
 
 Then, crowded with wounded men, the rest of the 
 canoes suddenly drew off, gave up the fight, and turned 
 seaward to escape, but quickly brought to again, when 
 they saw their way barred by the ten canoes awaiting 
 them in the passage. Their indecision, however, lasted 
 but a few moments, for, with three of the largest canoes 
 leading, they made a rush for the entrance, and then 
 from the now unmasked battery there came two bursts 
 of smoke and flame, and the sharp, crashing bang of two 
 of the brass guns, and a hail of case shot ploughed 
 through the naked bodies of the unfortunate natives, 
 smashing the canoes to fragments, and stinging the 
 water into a seething foam. Grace covered his face with 
 his hand, and turned away, sick at heart and shuddering. 
 
 " Horrible, horrible it is sheer, useless butchery," 
 he cried ; " Owens, and you, Peters, put down your 
 rifles this sickens me ! Take away the guns of these 
 infernal savages of ours and drive the brutes on shore."
 
 The Adventures of a Su-per car go 255 
 
 As the mate, Denison, and Pohiri ran along the deck, 
 calling out to the white seamen and their savage allies 
 to cease firing, they heard the two other guns thunder 
 out their messages of death, and the cries of agony from 
 the water were drowned in a long, exultant Ah-h-h-e ! 
 from Norok's people in the waiting canoes. 
 
 Fourteen only out of the entire invading fleet of canoes 
 succeeded in getting past the battery without being hit 
 when the guns opened upon them a second time ; and of 
 these six were cut off by Norok's people. The re- 
 mainder, with their crews too exhausted to paddle 
 more than a mile or so, in order to escape their relentless 
 pursuers, were run on shore, and the savages took to 
 the bush, hiding in the jungle until nightfall. 
 
 An hour after the din of the combat had ceased, and 
 the crew of the barque were endeavouring to remove the 
 dreadful traces from her once spotlessly white decks, 
 Ross and his wife came on board. They found Grace 
 and Denison in the cabin, talking in low tones. The 
 old captain, as he held out his hand to the American, 
 could scarcely speak, and his face looked white and 
 haggard.
 
 CHAPTER XXXVII 
 
 WITH a trembling voice, the master of the barque asked 
 Tom to call the two mates and Castles, and as the three 
 men came below, he motioned to the half-caste to bring 
 some liquor. 
 
 " Well, it is all over," said Ross, as he poured out some 
 brandy for Grace, then passed the decanter to the mate 
 and the others. 
 
 " Yes, thank God," said Grace, " but please don't say 
 anything more about it just now. I daresay I'll feel all 
 right presently. Don't hurry on deck, Mr. Owens. I'll 
 see to the ship awhile," and the old man left the cabin, 
 too upset to discuss the subject of the fight with Ross. 
 
 Castles, whose head was bound up, soon followed him 
 with the two mates, and then Mrs. Ross went to her own 
 cabin to lie down. 
 
 " Denison," said Ross, " I have come on board to tell 
 you that we have Mr. Tim Hogan on shore." 
 
 Tom sprang up from his seat. " Alive ? " 
 
 " Yes just about, and that's all. He may live 
 through the day, but I doubt it. He was found lying 
 
 among the scrub just abreast of the ship. I had him 
 
 a 5 6
 
 257 
 
 carried to a house in the town, where one of my men is 
 with him. Do you want to see him ? " 
 
 " Oh, yes, indeed I do I should like to know for 
 certain if he really is Tim Hogan. Can he speak ? " 
 
 " Yes, but he's so badly wounded that I don't think 
 he will be able to say much. He told me that he was in 
 the leading canoe, and when the ship opened fire, he was 
 almost the first man to fall, and tumbled overboard. 
 When he came to the surface, he found that his right 
 thigh was broken near the hip, and as he was trying to 
 swim round under the stern, he was hit again in the back. 
 He held on to the rudder for awhile, and then managed 
 to swim the few yards between the ship and the shore, 
 and crawl into the low bush under the big trees, where 
 two of my natives found him if they had been Norok's 
 beauties Mr. Timi's head would now be the admiration 
 of the intelligent populace of Noan. As it was, we had 
 trouble in getting him into the village, when he was 
 recognised. Some of the young bucks wanted to take 
 him away from us, but as I had taken Timi's two Colts, 
 and looked ugly at them, they sheered off, but followed 
 us to a house, and are waiting outside to see what is 
 going to happen. I told them that if any one of them 
 so much as put his head inside the door whilst I was away, 
 I should know how to deal with him. Oh, bring some 
 brandy for the poor wretch. He asked for it."
 
 258 The Adventures of a Supercargo 
 
 Walking through the crowd of silent, armed natives 
 who were gathered outside the house and who stepped 
 quickly aside to let them pass, Tom and Ross entered the 
 house, and the latter motioned to the seaman who was 
 guarding the wounded man to stand at the door. 
 
 The once-dreaded Timi lay upon the cane-work floor, 
 his body, from his bared chest down to his feet, covered 
 with a coarse mat, and his head resting upon a bamboo 
 pillow ; beside him was a gourd of water. His eyes were 
 closed, and for a few moments Ross and Tom stood over 
 him in silence, thinking that he slept, and unwilling to 
 disturb him. He moved, opened his eyes, and 
 then with calm indifference, looked steadily at his 
 visitors. 
 
 Ross, pouring out some brandy into a glass which 
 Denison held, knelt beside the renegade, raised his head 
 from the bamboo pillow, and told him to drink. He 
 eagerly swallowed the liquor, and then lay back again 
 upon the pillow. Then he spoke. 
 
 " What are those niggers doing outside ? " he 
 
 said, in his hoarse, growling tones, unsoftened even when 
 death was so near ; " are you going to let the swine take 
 my head ? " 
 
 " No not if I can help it," was the contemptuous 
 reply, " you are my prisoner. But if you were not a 
 dying man, you would now be swinging from the end of 
 the barque's mainyard."
 
 The Adventures of a Supercargo 2 59 
 
 The man made no answer, and then he looked at Tom, 
 who was regarding him intently. 
 
 " Well, young fellow," he growled, " what the are 
 
 you looking at ? " 
 
 " At you, Tim Hogan," was the quiet answer. 
 
 " Ah," and his fierce eyes glared at the supercargo as, 
 with a great effort, he sat up, " ah, who are you ? " 
 
 " I am the son of the man you murdered." 
 
 " What man ? " 
 
 " My name is Denison," said Tom, slowly, " do you 
 remember it r " 
 
 Something like fear crept into the wild eyes, and the 
 clenched hands trembled. Hogan breathed heavily 
 for a moment, then sank back again. 
 
 " Well, now is your chance to get even with me," 
 he said, " that chap at the door will lend you his rifle. 
 Come, hurry up and don't stand looking at me." 
 
 " I am not a murderer, Tim Hogan. I could have 
 shot you days ago, when you were within a dozen yards 
 of me, and when you murdered your wife's father in 
 cold blood." 
 
 " You were there ! " and the ex-convict's eyes blazed. 
 
 " I was there, as I said, not a dozen yards from you, 
 and saw and heard all you did and said. And, the 
 moment I saw you, I was almost certain that you were 
 the man who killed my poor father who was always 
 kind to the convicts,"
 
 260 The Adventures of a Supercargo 
 
 " Timi " closed his eyes for a few moments. " I am 
 sorry I did it," he muttered. Then he signed to Ross to 
 give him some more brandy. 
 
 Ross looked at Tom, who took the glass, half filled it 
 with brandy, and was about to add water from the gourd, 
 when Hogan stayed him. 
 
 " Don't put any water in it give it to me neat." 
 
 Again Ross raised him, and this time it was Tom who 
 held the glass to the cruel mouth. 
 
 " Thanks, young fellow," he said in softer tones. 
 " Look here, I'm done for and and I'm sorry for what 
 I did at ' Huon Bank.' " 
 
 Tom made no answer, beyond an inclination of his 
 head, as he turned his face away, rose, and stepped out- 
 side into the blazing sunlight, followed by Ross. 
 
 Telling the seaman who was guarding the door to 
 fire his rifle if any of the waiting natives tried to get into 
 the place, Ross, with Tom, then sought out Norok, who 
 was in his own house waiting to receive them. He told 
 them that in the fight with the landing party he had only 
 lost ten men, but that Varogi's party had been almost 
 annihilated, only a score or so of them succeeding in 
 escaping. Varogi himself had been killed by a spear 
 thrust, and the chief was anxious for Ross and Tom to 
 come and see his head, but Ross spat in disgust, and 
 sternly told him that white men did not like such sights. 
 
 Returning on board the barque, they found that Grace
 
 26l 
 
 was just about to tow her further in up the bay, for the 
 water all round was alive with sharks, and the spectacle 
 was so horrifying that even Ross's native divers shudder- 
 ed as they manned the boat and took the ship in tow. 
 
 At sunset Norok sent off word that " Timi " was dead 
 and buried. 
 
 " Old Norok has been mighty smart in burying him," 
 remarked Ross to Captain Grace. " I guess that Mr. 
 Timothy Hogan is shorter by a head than when Denison 
 and I saw him this morning."
 
 CHAPTER XXXVIII 
 
 FOR six weeks after the fight, Ross continued to work the 
 pearl beds with very satisfactory results ; then the 
 rainy and stormy season set in, and as nothing could be 
 done during the four months it would last, the barque 
 was made ready for sea again. 
 
 The four brass guns had been brought on board, 
 mounted on the main deck, and gun ports cut in the 
 bulwarks. Norok had presented them to Grace, to- 
 gether with an enormous quantity of yams, and as many 
 pigs and as much poultry as there was room for on the 
 decks. Furthermore, he had promised Ross that he 
 would guard the pearl-shell beds most carefully should 
 any other ship attempt to work them during the six 
 months that he (Ross) expected to be away. 
 
 A few days before the barque sailed, the survivors of 
 Varogi's expedition, with their wives and children, came 
 to Noan, made their submission to Norok, and begged 
 him to spare their lives. He, satisfied at the terrible 
 slaughter that had been inflicted upon them, and 
 
 anxious to please Ross and Grace, who pleaded for mercy 
 
 262
 
 The Adventures of a Supercargo 263 
 
 to be shown to his enemies, graciously permitted them 
 to live ; and, being an astute old savage, quickly pro- 
 vided a number of his young unmarried men with wives 
 from the female prisoners. 
 
 Early one Sunday morning the barque lifted anchor, 
 and stood out of the little bay, accompanied by a fleet 
 of canoes. Norok and Pat remained on board until the 
 last moment, and the savage old warrior actually wept 
 when he bade Ross good-bye, imploring him to come back 
 as soon as possible ; for he now had the most intense 
 admiration for the American, and was really sincere in 
 his expressions of regard. 
 
 As soon as the ship was outside, she brought to, still 
 surrounded by canoes filled with clamorous natives, all 
 yelling out their farewells, and then, to please the old 
 chief, the four guns were fired in a parting salute, and 
 every native stood up and waved his paddle in acknow- 
 ledgment, as the Meg M err Hies filled again, and stood 
 away to the westward before a steady breeze. 
 
 By sunset she had rounded the western end of the 
 great island, and then to the delight of Grace and every 
 one else on board, the north-westerly " season " set in 
 short, sharp squalls accompanied by rain and a 
 course was set to pass between New Ireland and New 
 Britain. All that night the squalls continued, and by 
 daylight a steady half-gale was blowing, and the barque 
 was leaping along before it at twelve knots, under fore-
 
 264 The Adventures of a Supercargo 
 
 and main-courses, and topgallant sails. Four days later, 
 she was sweeping through the smooth water of St. 
 George's Channel, between New Ireland and New Britain, 
 the wind still blowing with steady force, and the barque 
 now carrying more sail. The Channel which that 
 gallant old free-booter and navigator, Dampier, " prince 
 of nautical description," when he passed through it in 
 1705, described in one of his private letters, as " the 
 Devil's own tortuous water-way, full of tide rips and 
 currents and counter currents, with fierce, unlooked-for 
 squalls, howling down from the land between the 
 gloomy valleys that split up the savage mountain-sides 
 a place where, when the wind falls at night, and the 
 ship is turned round and round like a spun top by the 
 roaring eddies, the blue heaven above turns black, and 
 changes into a vaulted hell of chain lightning as fine as a 
 spider's web covering the whole firmament, and reaching 
 down to the sea-rim, staying thus for an hour or more 
 . . . with corposants hissing out their dreadful light, 
 as they travelled to and fro along the yards." 
 
 From the " Devil's Own Waterway," Grace steered 
 an S.S.E. course for the Huon Islands, off the north-west 
 end of New Caledonia ; and Tom, as the old skipper 
 spread out his chart, and he saw the words " Huon 
 Islands," wondered at the coincidence of names 
 " Huon Islands " and " Huon Bank," and his thoughts 
 went back to that sad night when he and Sabbie were
 
 The Adventures of a Supercargo 265 
 
 brought in to bid farewell to their dying mother, cut 
 down at the threshold of her home by Tim Hogan's 
 fellow criminal. 
 
 Day after day the Meg Merrilies spun along before 
 the brave and lusty north-west breeze, under a sky of 
 cloudless blue by day and star-spangled by night, and 
 Tom and Sina Ross, who were now sworn " comrades " 
 would often remain on deck the entire night, talking of 
 all they would do when they came to Sydney. 
 
 " Tom," said the pretty Marquesan, " do you think 
 your sister Sabbie will like me ? Ah, I hope she will ! 
 Your aunt, I am sure, will not, especially if she should 
 find out that I smoke cigarettes all day. And I want to 
 meet Carmen Herrera and that nice old clergyman who 
 has the fat laugh ; and I want to go to a theatre, and to 
 all sorts of places, and to dress like English girls dress, 
 so that my husband will not feel ashamed of me." 
 
 " He is very proud of you, Mrs. Ross, and so he ought 
 to be, for you are very beautiful," said Tom frankly. 
 
 " Ah, it is kind of you to say that ! I am glad that 
 you think I am pretty," and then in the most artless and 
 innocent manner she asked, " Am I as pretty as little 
 Carmen ? " 
 
 " Quite," was the prompt reply. 
 
 Sina clapped her hands delightedly in some things 
 she was but a child " I am so glad, Tom. I am very 
 vain, because my husband says the same thing ; some-
 
 266 The Adventures of a Supercargo 
 
 times I have thought that perhaps he only told me I 
 was pretty to please me. Tom, your Carmen and I are 
 going to be taio, (i) as we Marquesans say. And Tom," 
 she added, as she laughingly pinched his ear, " perhaps, 
 when you marry Carmen " 
 
 Tom made a bolt for'ard, but the lively girl caught him 
 on the main deck " When you marry Carmen Herrera, 
 some time within the next five years, I mean to be at the 
 wedding, for my husband says that he means to settle 
 in Sydney." 
 
 Tom laughed. " It is very kind of you to promise to 
 come to my wedding, but I am going to be a real down- 
 right bachelor with Sabbie to keep house for me not in 
 Sydney, but somewhere in the South Seas, Rapa, per- 
 haps, or else Samoa." Then he added, slyly, " I think, 
 as Captain Ross does, that no one whose business lies 
 in the South Seas should marry at all." 
 
 " Ah, but it is different when the wife sails with the 
 husband, and keeps him out of mischief," was the 
 quick reply. 
 
 Tom made good use of his time during the voyage ; 
 from Grace he daily had an hour or two hours' lesson 
 in navigation, and the Welsh mate and Ross taught him 
 much practical seamanship, and then in the evenings 
 he and Sina Ross studied Samoan and Nuiean under 
 Jack Castles and Pohiri. 
 
 (i) Close friends.
 
 The Adventures of a Supercargo 267 
 
 One calm afternoon, just before sunset, and when the 
 barque was becalmed off Middleton Reef midway 
 between New Caledonia and Sydney Tom went aloft 
 with Captain Grace's glasses to get a better view of a 
 spot made notorious by the many shipwrecks that had 
 occurred there. Seating himself on the fore-yard, he 
 adjusted his glasses, and began to scan the long, curving 
 line of foaming breakers, which, forming an almost 
 perfect circle, enclosed a lagoon of great dimensions. 
 The sun being against his vision, he could not at first 
 obtain a clear view, but when he did, he gave a shout. 
 
 " Come up here, Captain Grace ! There is a vessel 
 either lying at anchor outside the reef, or drifting. Her 
 foremast is gone." 
 
 The old captain and Ross both ran aloft, and a brief 
 scrutiny showed them that the vessel was drifting. 
 Her foremast was gone about four feet from the deck, 
 and she had also lost her jibboom, and no boats were 
 visible. 
 
 " She's drifting in upon the reef, and will be in the 
 breakers in another hour," said Ross. 
 
 Grace hailed the deck. " Lower and man the two 
 boats, Mr. Owens, there's a ship drifting ashore on the 
 reef over there." 
 
 In ten minutes the two boats one manned by five 
 of Ross's natives, and the other by five of the barque's 
 white seamen were pulling swiftly towards the drifting
 
 268 The Adventures of a Supercargo 
 
 vessel. Tom went with Ross in his boat, the other was 
 in charge of the second mate. 
 
 Half an hour's pull brought them alongside the dere- 
 lict, a new vessel of about three hundred tons. Her 
 decks had evidently been swept by a terrific sea, or seas, 
 for most of the bulwarks were gone, as well as the galley 
 and the for'ard deck house ; the cabin and forecastle 
 had been flooded, and the water, escaping through the 
 bulkheads, gone into the hold. 
 
 " This is a bit of luck, Tom, for Captain Grace," said 
 Ross ; " what there is under hatches I don't know, 
 but I do know that we have picked up a brand new vessel 
 which is worth about four thousand pounds dismantled 
 and half a wreck as she is. Now the first thing to do is 
 to tow her into soundings and anchor. Her ground 
 tackle is all right." 
 
 The two boats soon towed the vessel into a bight of 
 the reef, where, in ten fathoms of water, her anchor was 
 let go, and she rode in safety. One boat, with the 
 second mate, was then sent back to the barque for Cap- 
 tain Grace, and as night came on he was alongside, 
 having left the Meg Merrilies in charge of Owens, with 
 instructions to tow her in, and anchor near the derelict, 
 if possible at once. 
 
 Grace brought with him half a dozen ship lanterns, 
 and he, Ross, and Denison made a thorough examination 
 of the cabin, found the vessel's papers in the captain's
 
 The Adventures of a Supercargo 269 
 
 sea chest, and learned that the derelict was the brigan- 
 tine Cassie Revel, of Sydney, bound to Noumea (New 
 Caledonia) with a cargo of general merchandise of the 
 value of seven thousand pounds. 
 
 " Tom, my hearty," cried old Grace, " do you know 
 what this means? Salvage money, my son, thumping, 
 big, salvage money ! Ten thousand pound's worth is 
 in this ship, and we shall get two-thirds of it ! And 
 Tom, as you sighted her first, you shall chip in with me 
 and Captain Ross, and share even with us."
 
 CHAPTER XXXIX 
 
 THE night was calm and fine throughout, and at day- 
 light the barque also was brought to an anchor, and 
 immediate preparations made to rig a jury-mast for the 
 Cassie Revel, for there were several spare spars on the 
 larger vessel. All that day work was continued with 
 unabated vigour under the supervision of the two 
 captains ; the weather was all that could be desired for 
 the task, and there was but a very little swell coming into 
 the bight in which the two vessels were anchored. In 
 addition to the jury-mast there were other repairs to be 
 effected, notably replacing the wheel (which was hope- 
 lessly smashed) by a tiller ; then came the work of over- 
 hauling the stores, and much else that was absolutely 
 necessary for the voyage of six hundred miles to Sydney. 
 On the afternoon of the sixth day, the brigantine was 
 ready, and Ross, who was to sail her, went on board with 
 his native seamen, and lifted her anchor whilst Grace 
 stood by with a boat's crew ready to tow her clear of the 
 reef, for the wind was light, and the currents very tricky. 
 
 With the boat towing, and the jury-foresail filled, the 
 
 270
 
 The Adventures of a Supercargo 271 
 
 brigantine sailed slowly past the barque ; and then the 
 boat cast off, and the crew gave Ross a cheer, which was 
 responded to by his swarthy seamen. Then, as the 
 smaller vessel went slowly on ahead, the barque weighed 
 anchor and followed under her fore- and main-courses 
 only, so as not to outsail her crippled companion. 
 
 As night came on, the wind, to the delight of every one 
 on both ships, came away from the north-east and 
 settled into a fine steady breeze, and at ten o'clock, in 
 answer to Grace's signal of inquiry, Ross replied " five 
 knots." 
 
 Early in the morning, Tom, who was sleeping on deck 
 as usual, was roused by Jack Castles, who asked him if 
 he would care to board the brigantine, which was only a 
 quarter of a mile distant and abreast of the barque 
 Ross had signalled to Grace to send him some carpenter's 
 tools, and some planking, as he meant to employ his 
 spare time in building a new galley. The timber and 
 tools were soon put into one of the barque's quarter 
 boats, and in a few minutes Tom and Castles were on 
 board, and having coffee with Ross and his wife ; a 
 temporary galley having been made by housing in one 
 side of the deck under the topgallant forecastle with a 
 tarpaulin. Ross was greatly pleased with the brigan- 
 tine, and said that he meant to give her some more 
 fore-and-aft canvas during the day ; she already had her 
 mainsail set.
 
 272 The Adventures of a Supercargo 
 
 " A thumping big staysail will give her nearly another 
 two knots with the wind abaft the beam as it is now 
 and as I think it means to stay for another week or so." 
 
 Tom remained with the American and his wife for an 
 hour, the boat with two hands in her towing astern. 
 Then he bade them good-bye. 
 
 " You'll miss your afternoon tea to-day, Mrs. Ross," 
 he said to her as he was getting over the side. 
 
 " Shall I indeed, Mr. Supercargo ? At eight bells, 
 if you care to look over this way, you will see me drinking 
 it as usual. Perhaps some day, if you are nice and civil, 
 I will ask you to come on board and have tea with me ; 
 a proper tea, not horrid stuff boiled in the cook's 
 coppers." 
 
 " All right. When you signal ' tea,' I and Castles will 
 put the Sabbie over the side and pay you a visit." 
 
 Scarcely a day passed that the two vessels were not 
 close together, and it was evident that the Cassie Revel, 
 had she been fully rigged, would have outsailed the 
 barque, smart as was the latter, especially when on a 
 wind. The brigantine had been built at Auckland, New 
 Zealand, and launched from a yard famous for the fast, 
 kauri-built fore-and-aft and square-rigged vessels, of 
 from a hundred to three hundred tons, that it had 
 turned out. 
 
 Nine days after leaving Middleton Reef, and when the 
 two vessels were lying becalmed at midday, half-way
 
 The Adventures of a Supercargo 2 73 
 
 between Lord Howe Island and Sydney, the smoke of a 
 steamer was seen to the northward, and in a few hours 
 she was in sight, steering a direct course for the Cassie 
 Rev6L which was about three miles distant from the 
 barque. 
 
 " Ah," said Grace to Tom and the mate, " that fellow 
 scents salvage. Lower away the port whaler, Mr. 
 Owens, and I'll get away to Captain Ross. We'll be 
 alongside of him long before the steamer." 
 
 As the mate called the hands to lower and man the 
 boat, Grace turned to his supercargo. 
 
 " Tom, that steamer is pretty sure to be bound to 
 Sydney. Now wouldn't you like to pack up your gear 
 and get a passage ? He will be there in another forty or 
 fifty hours we may be a week." 
 
 " No, I won't. As I told you before, Captain Grace, 
 I am not going to leave the Meg until I hear the cable 
 rattling through the hawse-pipe, then I'll get ashore in a 
 hurry. But as there is plenty of time, I can at least 
 scribble a few lines to my people, and ask the steamer 
 captain to send or post the letter to my aunt. By this 
 time she can't be very much alarmed about me." 
 
 Again the old skipper was pleased at Tom's deter- 
 mination not to leave the Meg Merrilies. 
 
 " Right you are, Tom. Now write your letter, and 
 we'll be aboard of the brigantine and hear what the 
 
 steam-boat skipper has to say to Ross. I daresay he 
 
 18
 
 274 
 
 thinks that there is five hundred pounds or more hanging 
 on to a tow." 
 
 The distance between the barque and brigantine was 
 soon covered, and Ross and Grace decided not to accept 
 any offer of towage now that they were so near to Sydney, 
 and the brigantine sailed so well under her jury-rig. 
 
 The steamer stopped her engines when within a short 
 distance of the Cassu Revel, and Ross, Grace, and Deni- 
 son, boarded her, and were welcomed by the captain, 
 who told them that his steamer was the Phcebe, a Sydney 
 collier returning from Noumea with a cargo of chrome 
 ore and nickel ; and then he offered to tow the Cassie 
 Revel to Sydney for four hundred pounds. He knew all 
 about her, and was aware that she carried a valuable 
 cargo. 
 
 Ross laughed. " I guess not, Captain. We have 
 paddled along in a bully old style from Middleton Reef, 
 and I'll take my chances of getting inside Sydney Heads 
 within the next week or so." 
 
 " Well, I'll do it for two hundred and fifty," said the 
 collier skipper. " Come now, skipper, give me a chance 
 to do a bit for myself, and it's not worth your while 
 running the risk of losing: your ship for the sake of a bit 
 of towing money. Now, look here, hang me if I don't 
 pull in for two hundred pounds. Come, it's a deal." 
 
 Both Grace and Ross laughed heartily at his per- 
 sistency, and assured him that they really meant to work
 
 The Adventures of a Slip er car go 275 
 
 the Cassie Revel into Port Jackson, under her jury-rig. 
 The worthy captain's face fell, and then he came down 
 to one hundred and fifty pounds, " which means I'll 
 practically take you in for almost nothing," he pleaded. 
 
 " We wouldn't object to paying you three hundred 
 pounds to tow the vessel into port," said Grace, " but 
 the fact is that we are in no hurry for a few days, and I 
 don't feel justified in spending money unnecessarily. 
 If I thought that there was bad weather coming on, it 
 would be a different matter. But if you are willing to 
 take a letter for me to Sydney and burn a few extra tons 
 of coal, I'll give you fifty pounds. Tom, where is your 
 letter ? " 
 
 " What are you doing, Captain Grace ? " began Tom. 
 
 " Just hand me that letter and sit quiet. This young 
 man, Captain," and he turned to the master of the 
 Phoebe, " is Mr. Denison, who was taken away by the 
 Warrigal" 
 
 " Holy frost ! " shouted the collier captain, as he 
 jumped up from his seat, seized Tom's hand, and shook 
 it vigorously again and again. " I am glad to see you. 
 You'll have a regular reception when you get to Sydney. 
 I knew Jim Christie, and I'm not a bit sorry that he got 
 even with that old shark, Tobias Pattermore. Here, 
 steward, show a leg and bring us something to drink," 
 and he again shook hands with Tom, thumped him on the 
 back violently, and told him that Thoreau and some of
 
 2 76 The Adventures of a Supercargo 
 
 the crew, and all the passengers of the Aztec City had 
 reached Sydney safely, and that Miss Denison had been 
 interviewed by " the newspaper fellows," and had told 
 them the contents of Tom's letters. 
 
 Old Grace presently drew him aside, and gave him 
 Tom's letter to his aunt, together with fifty sovereigns. 
 
 " Look here, captain, I'll take the letter for nothing. 
 I don't want to be paid for doing a simple thing like that ; 
 towing and salvage is a different matter, and I have a 
 family." 
 
 " You take the fifty pounds, Captain Foster, and give 
 it to the old woman and I daresay that Miss Denison 
 won't be backward in coming forward, when you take 
 her her nephew's letter. You can tell her that I wanted 
 him to leave the barque and take a passage with you, 
 but he wouldn't do it he signed on with me as super- 
 cargo in Samoa, and I couldn't kick him out of the ship 
 now he won't leave until our mud hook is down in 
 Sydney Harbour." 
 
 Highly delighted at getting fifty pounds for simply 
 carrying a letter, the fat little skipper of the Phoebe 
 could scarcely contain himself, as he bade his visitors 
 good-bye. 
 
 " Mr. Denison," he said, " as soon as the Phoebe is 
 abreast of Sirius Cove, I'll send a boat ashore with your 
 letter. And then after I have been to the Customs, I'll 
 go and see your aunt if it costs me two quid for a
 
 T 'he Adventures of a Supercargo 277 
 
 waterman. Good-bye, gentlemen all. In ten minutes 
 you'll see the Phcebe shaking her old carcass under a full 
 head of steam, and bounding along like a dog with a 
 tin pot tied to his tail."
 
 CHAPTER XL 
 
 DURING the night, the pleasant weather that the two 
 vessels had met with all the way from Middleton Reef 
 changed, and by daylight both were running before a 
 strong easterly breeze amidst a cold, sleety rain. As 
 the day wore on, the wind became lighter, but the rain 
 heavier, and the vessels lost sight of each other, and 
 Grace began to feel somewhat anxious about " the prize," 
 as the brigantine was now called. At midnight, however, 
 the rain ceased, the stars came out, and the barque 
 hove-to until the morning, as nothing could be seen of 
 her consort ; but soon after breakfast she was discovered, 
 hull down, and by noon was within hailing distance of the 
 barque, and then both ships kept on their S.-W. course, 
 making from three to four knots an hour ; and from 
 this time forward close company was kept. 
 
 On the evening of the fourth day after the Pbabe had 
 been spoken, the outer light on Sydney South Head was 
 sighted, twenty miles distant, and the vessels hove-to 
 again until daylight, no one caring to turn-in, for every 
 
 one on board both the barque and the " prize " were too 
 
 278
 
 The Adventures of a Supercargo 2 79 
 
 excited to sleep. All sail was made at dawn, and at 
 breakfast-time, and when Sydney Heads were within 
 ten miles, the vessels were discerned by two or three 
 prowling tugs, and speedily taken in tow. Off Watson's 
 Bay they were boarded by the health officer, who greeted 
 Tom very warmly, for he knew his story, and had also 
 heard of his being on board the Meg Merrilies from the 
 collier skipper. There being no sickness on either vessel, 
 both were allowed to proceed, and an hour later they 
 were safely anchored off Sirius Cove, not a mile from the 
 " Crows' Nest." 
 
 But long before the barque's cable rattled out through 
 her hawse-pipes, Tom, Castles and Pohiri had hoisted 
 out the Sabbie resplendent in all the glory of a new coat 
 of varnish inside and out and let her tow alongside. 
 
 The moment the barque swung to her anchor Tom went 
 aft. 
 
 " Good-bye for the present, Captain Grace I'm 
 off on shore. See, there are the chimneys of the * Crows' 
 Nest ' over there among the trees and hullo ! look, 
 some one has hoisted the ensign old Captain Ryder 
 gave me ; I do believe they know this is the Meg with 
 the prize ! Now, remember, captain, you have to rush 
 your shore business over in Sydney, then go to Dawes' 
 Point, and tell Captain and Mrs. Herrera I am back, and 
 bring them over with you to dinner at the ' Crows' Nest.' 
 If you fail to be there with them at five o'clock, I'll
 
 280 The Adventures of a Supercargo 
 
 talk to you. I'm not a supercargo now not until to- 
 morrow morning." 
 
 The old man laughed, said he would not fail, and 
 asked Tom if he would like Jack Castles to pull him 
 ashore. 
 
 " Ah, indeed I should, but I didn't like to ask you." 
 Then he went to the break of the poop, and called the 
 half-caste. 
 
 " On with your shore-going duds, boatswain. The 
 captain says you can come on shore with me. Hurry 
 up, man." 
 
 " Aye, aye, sir," and Castles dived into the deck- 
 house. 
 
 As Tom was impatiently pacing the after-deck, the 
 pilot came up to him, " I'm very sorry, Mr. Denison, 
 but I forgot to tell you that there is a letter for you with 
 Miss Denison from Captain Thoreau. He went to sea 
 two days ago, in command of the brig Au Revoir, bound 
 for the Solomon Islands, on a trading voyage. I took 
 him out, and the last thing he and Mrs. Thoreau said to 
 me as I was leaving the brig outside the Heads, was to 
 tell you that they were sorry they had to leave without 
 seeing you." Then, much to Tom's pleasure, he added 
 that not only had Mrs. Thoreau been to see Miss Denison, 
 but that stately lady had actually visited the Au Revoir, 
 with Sabbie and Carmen Herrera, to bid Mrs. Thoreau 
 good-bye.
 
 The Adventures of a Super car go 281 
 
 " My aunt must be getting inclined to be giddy* 
 Captain Grace," said Tom, " just fancy her making 
 friends with an ex-actress ! I once heard her tell 
 Canon Cooper that she would rather be burnt at the stake 
 than go to a theatre." 
 
 Castles shot out of the deck-house, " I'm ready, 
 sir." 
 
 Over the side they went into the boat, and cast off the 
 painter, then with Castles pulling and Tom steering, 
 passed under the stern of the Cassie Revel, and saw Sina 
 Ross standing on the poop with her husband. 
 
 " Don't you dare to take Mrs. Ross into Sydney 
 with you to-day, captain," bawled Tom, standing up 
 with his hand on the tiller, " after I have been wept over, 
 and have changed my wet clothes, I am coming back for 
 her, and you'll find her at the ' Crows' Nest ' when you 
 and Captain Grace come back from Sydney." 
 
 The handsome, grey-haired American lifted his hat. 
 " Guess I'll be on hand, Tom. It is real kind of you to 
 think of my wife ; she let me into the secret just now, 
 when I wanted her to come on shore with me." 
 
 " And, Tom, do try and get your sister to come with 
 you," cried Mrs. Ross, who really felt nervous at meeting 
 the dignified Miss Denison without the presence and 
 company of Tom's sister, who, she felt, would be a power 
 of strength to her she had indeed once told Tom that 
 when she met and spoke to his aunt she should take
 
 282 The Adventures of a Supercargo 
 
 refuge in French, which she spoke much better than 
 English. 
 
 " Of course Sabbie will come with me," shouted back 
 Tom reassuredly, " I'm going to show her all over the 
 prize." 
 
 Castles, equally as excited as Tom, sent the Sabbie 
 flying over the water towards the little stone jetty at 
 the head of the cove, and as they approached it Tom saw 
 a procession a rather undignified one hurrying down 
 the steep path to meet the boat. 
 
 First came his sister Sabbie, Carmen Herrera, and the 
 stable-boy, all panting with excitement ; after them Mrs. 
 Potter, the housekeeper, arrayed in her best, and gasp- 
 ing ; then some twenty or thirty men and boys of all 
 ages from the surrounding district of St. Leonard's, 
 who had heard that Miss Denison's nephew Tom had come 
 back, and were anxious to welcome him home, and then 
 Miss Denison herself, " supported " by the gardener, 
 who was evidently slightly intoxicated ; and, bringing 
 up the rear, were the two chambermaids of the " Crows' 
 Nest," and the sergeant of police from St. Leonard's, 
 who was mounted, and had galloped over from the 
 police station to tell Miss Denison that the Meg Merrilies 
 and the prize had entered the Heads, and were coming 
 up the harbour. 
 
 Before Tom could jump out of the boat, Sabbie and 
 Carmen Herrera tumbled in, and all three, together with
 
 The Adventures of a Super car go 283 
 
 Jack Castles, were, for some moments, involved in 
 apparently inextricable confusion, and the boat nearly 
 stove in. Then Tom freed himself, kissed the two 
 joyously-weeping girls as hard and as quickly as he 
 could for a minute or so, and then jumped on shore, 
 and made a bee-line for Miss Denison. 
 
 " Tom, you have come back a man," said the now 
 very undignified spinster, as she laughing and blushing, 
 was lifted off her feet by her nephew, who carried her 
 unresisting up the path, " let me down at once, you dis- 
 graceful young person." 
 
 " Indeed I shall not, Aunt Christina. I am just 
 going to carry you all the way up to the crest of the hill ; 
 then, perhaps, I may let you down, just for the sake of 
 appearances yours, not mine." 
 
 Once inside the house alone with her now dearly- 
 loved nephew, Miss Denison became the tender-hearted 
 woman, and wept copiously as Tom hurriedly gave her a 
 brief outline of all that had passed since that wild night 
 on which he had been swept out to sea, down to the 
 present time. 
 
 " Now, Aunt," he concluded, " I am sure you will be 
 glad to meet old Captain Grace and Captain Ross, and 
 Mrs. Ross, won't you ? " 
 
 " Indeed I shall, Tom very, very glad to meet any
 
 284 
 
 one who has been kind to you ; but oh, Tom," and she 
 began to weep again, " I know what it all means. You 
 will not be at home with me long, and now that love for 
 you and Sabbie and Carmen has filled this old maid's 
 heart of mine, I shall miss you sadly. Now, go away, 
 Tom, for Mrs. Ross, and take Sabbie and Carmen with 
 you. But to-morrow, no matter if Captain Grace does 
 grumble, you are not to be ' Mr. Denison, supercargo,' 
 and go off with him to Sydney you are to stay at home 
 with me, and be the ' boy ' Tom the boy whose crusty 
 old Aunt Christina never knew how much she loved, 
 until she had lost him." 
 
 " Never crusty, Aunt Christina only sometimes 
 mighty stiff, as you had reason to be with such a scape- 
 grace as me." 
 
 With her hand on his shoulder, the stately old lady 
 walked to the hall door with him, where they found 
 Sabbie and Carmen eagerly listening to Jack Castle's 
 story of his and Tom's adventures. 
 
 " Here, Sabbie and Carmen here is your wanderer. 
 Ah, how do you do, Mr. Castles ? I am so pleased to 
 see you again. Now, Tom, don't stay away too long ; 
 but come back quickly with Mrs. Ross, but at the same 
 time not too quickly, for I hope that she will stay here 
 at the * Crows' Nest,' and Mrs. Potter and I will get ready 
 a room for her." 
 
 " Tom," said Sabbie, as he, Carmen, herself, and Jack
 
 The Adventures of a Supercargo 285 
 
 Castles hurried down the steep, narrow path to the boat, 
 " Aunt Christina isn't a woman now. She has turned 
 into an angel a perfect angel ever since that awful 
 night. Hasn't she, Carmen ? " 
 
 Sina Ross, looking very beautiful, awaited them on 
 the after-deck of the " prize," and came forward with 
 sparkling eyes and outstretched hands to meet the two 
 girls. 
 
 " Mrs. Ross," said Tom, as the young Marquesan 
 freed herself from his sister's loving embrace, " you need 
 not be afraid now of meeting my aunt. She has turned 
 into a ground angel so Sabbie says." 
 
 " y raiment, Tom : " she said smilingly. 
 
 " She has, indeed, Mrs. Ross. And she is now quite 
 content that I shall be ' Tom Denison, Supercargo.' ' 
 
 THE END 
 
 Printed in Great Britain by Ebenezer Baylis <$ Son, Ltd., The Trinity Press, 
 
 Worcester.
 
 UCSB LIBRARY
 
 A 000 606 973 6