then Tully--as fine a sailor man as ever put hand to a
rope--brought her alongside in such a manner that I could not but admire
and envy the little blackguard's skill.

[Illustration: I could not but admire and envy 148]

The boat itself was kept in fine order, and was painted like all the
king's miniature fleet--white outside, and bright salmon inside. One
glance at his boat's crew showed me that they were all armed--in a
flashy melodramatic style, like the Red Indians of a comic opera, each
naked native having a brace of revolvers buckled to a broad leather
belt around his waist, from which also hung a French navy cutlass in a
leather sheath. They were all big, stalwart fellows, though no one of
them was as tough a customer to deal with as our Tepi, who eyed them
with undisguised enmity as he caught and made fast the line they heaved
aboard.

Little Tully, red-headed, red-bearded, unwashed, and as dirty generally
as a pig from his own County Down, jumped on board and extended his
filthy paw to me effusively.

"Wal, now, I jest am surprised to see you, Jim Sherry," he said with the
"Down East" drawl he affected--he called himself an American--"why, we
haven't seen one another fer quite a stretch. Naow, tell me, where air
you from and where air you goin'?" "From Tarawa, and bound to Taputeuea"
(an island a hundred miles to the south), I replied curtly, my temper
rising, as suddenly catching sight of Lucia and Niabon, he stared rudely
at the former, then grinned and held out his hand to her. She touched it
coldly with ill-disguised aversion.

"Why, you too, Mrs. Krause! Wal, this is surprisin'. And where are
_you_ goin'? Where's the boss?" "Mr. Krause is on Tarawa," she
replied quickly, "and he has chartered Mr. Sherry's boat to take me to
Drummond's Island" (Taputeuea), "where there is a German barque loading
for Samoa." The latter part of her remark was quite true, and Tully knew
it.

"That is so, the _Wandrahm_. She's been lying there nigh on four months.
And so you goin' ter Samoa, eh? Wal, I wish I was goin' there myself;
but I've got a rosy berth here--I'm boss of King Apinoka's fleet of
trading boats, an' live like a fightin' cock."

I was about to ask him to have a glass of grog, just out of mere
civility and island custom, when Tematau and Tepi made a sudden
movement, and turning, I saw that they were trying to prevent three or
four of Tolly's boat's crew from coming on board.

"Tell your men to keep t