mate, who was less of a brute than the
skipper, managed to get some rum and biscuit down into the fo'c's'le;
then they turned-to and manned the boats. At noon the second mate,
who was in charge of the cutting party, signalled from the shore that
something was wrong.

On Fordham reaching the shore the second mate told him that all the
native crew had run off into the bush.

The chief of the island was sent for, and Fordham told him to catch the
runaways--fourteen in number--promising seven muskets in return. The
white crew were working close by in sullen silence. They grinned when
they heard the chief say it would be difficult to capture the men;
they were natives, he remarked--if they were white men it would be easy
enough. But he would try if the captain helped him.

*****

An hour afterwards the chief was in the bush, talking to the deserters,
and taking in an account of the vast amount of trade lying on board the
barque.

"See," said he, to the only man among them who spoke his dialect--a
Fijian half-caste from Loma-loma--"this is my scheme. The captain of the
ship and those that come with him will I entice into the bush and kill
them one by one, for the path is narrow----"

"Good," said Sam the half-caste, "and then ten of us, with our hands
loosely tied, will be taken off to the ship by two score of your men,
who will tell the mate that the captain has caught ten of us, and has
gone to seek the other four. Then will the ship be ours."

*****

"Halloa!" said the mate of the barque to the carpenter, "here's a
thundering big crowd of niggers coming off in our two boats, and none
of our white chaps with 'em. Stand by, you chaps, with your muskets. I
ain't going to let all that crowd aboard with only six men in the ship."

The men left on board watched the progress of the two boats as they were
pulled quickly towards the ship. They hardly apprehended any attempt at
cutting-off, as from the ship they could discern the figures of some
of their shipmates on shore stacking the sandalwood on a ledge of rock,
handy for shipping in the boats.

"It's all right," called out the mate presently, "the niggers have
collared some of our native chaps. I can see that yaller-hided Fiji Sam
sitting aft with his hands lashed behind him. Let 'em come alongside."

*****

"Cap'en been catch him ten men," said the native in charge to the mate,
"he go look now find him other fellow four men. He tell me you give me
two bottle r