ted. Perhaps the palm oil aft isn't spoiled."

"The barrels will have gone to bits."

"Oak barrel staves stand salt water long."

"The iron hoops do not," Cartwright rejoined. "Anyhow, I don't reckon on
the cargo; I expect to make my profit on buying the hull."

"Yet the cargo is worth something. I imagine you know she carried some
valuable gums, ivory and a quantity of gold?"

Cartwright smiled. "I do know the goods were on the ship's manifest. How
much gold did the salvage company get?"

"Six boxes; but this was not all that was shipped."

"I imagine it's all that will be recovered!" Cartwright remarked.

The other looked hard at him, but his face was inscrutable and he went
on: "Well, I don't want the cargo, and may be forced to heave much of it
overboard in order to lighten the hull. However, if we find stuff worth
saving, we'll put it on the beach and I'll take a third-part of the
value, and you can send out an agent to tally the goods."

"Very well," said the other, who approved the latter plan, although he
imagined Cartwright knew something he did not. "Let's be frank," he
resumed. "Personally, I felt from the beginning there was a mystery
about the wreck."

"Oh, well," said Cartwright, "the owners of the boat went broke, and the
merchant who put the goods on board died. His son sold the business to a
small company, in which he took shares. The new house is prosperous and
respectable; it would be necessary to know your ground well before you
bothered them. Then I have nothing to go upon but a vague supposition.
In fact, the thing's a risky plunge, and if you refuse my offer, I won't
grumble. All the same, I doubt if anybody else would give you, for
example, five hundred pounds for _Arcturus_."

"Five hundred pounds is, of course, ridiculous," the other rejoined, and
they began to bargain.

When Cartwright left the office he was, on the whole, satisfied. He
could finance the undertaking, but this was all. There would be no
margin to cover unforeseen difficulties. It was his last gamble, and,
besides his money, he staked his post and reputation. If he lost, he was
done for, and the house must fall. Soon after his return he sent for
Lister and told him about the wreck and his salvage plans.

"I had some bother to get a captain," he said. "The job has not much
attraction for a sober man, but Brown is not sober; he's frankly
reckless and irresponsible. The strange thing is, I've known him make
good wher