tle city,
had seen him in the dock, and heard something of his career; and so,
when he saw him standing on the after-deck of the _Gambier_, he had
given Gerrard his hurriedly scribbled warning.

The discovery by Swires of the location of the secret safe in the
purser's cabin had come about in a very simple manner. A plan of the
electric connections between the dynamo in the engine-room, and Adlam's
cabin and other parts of the ship, had come under his notice through
the carelessness of the chief engineer, who had left it on the purser's
table, and Swires had studied it so carefully that although he had
not the time to make a copy, he had been able to explain the mechanism
perfectly to Pinkerton and Capel. The unlocking of the door of the
purser's cabin was a very easy matter to professionals like Cheyne,
Pinkerton, and Barney Green, and so when their conference closed, and
the oily-voiced steward bade the gang good-night, the latter were highly
elated at the prospect of making a big haul with scarcely any danger of
detection.

CHAPTER XXII

When the _Gambier_ arrived at Cooktown at the mouth of the Endeavour
River, a scene of the greatest activity presented itself, for several
other steamers had just reached the port, some bringing European diggers
from the southern colonies and New Zealand, and others from Hongkong
with Chinese. The latter numbered over a thousand, and they landed
amid a storm of execration and missiles from the white miners, who
had preceded them to the shore. But the yellow men made no show of
resistance, not even when some of their number were seized--and thrown
into the water with their heavily weighted baskets; they crowded
together like sheep, and gazed with stolid faces at the Customs
officials remorselessly capsizing their baskets upon the ground, and
kicking the contents apart in the search for opium. Bags of rice were
cut open and the grain spilled upon the ground, to the delight of
the white diggers, especially when a tin of opium was found, and the
would-be smuggler had his pigtail tied to that of another until there
were several groups of a dozen so secured to be driven to the roughly
constructed jail and court-house, where justice was administered in an
exceedingly expeditious manner by heavy fines. Had it not been that
the angry diggers were anxious to get to the newly-discovered fields as
quickly as possible, a riot would have taken place, for they knew that
within a few weeks