ng to piece up the puzzle. If Carlsen was a potential murderer, if
he intended to let Simms die, why should he want to marry the girl? He
thought he solved that issue.

As his wife Carlsen would retain her share. If he gave her up, it would
go into the common purse. But, if he expected to trick the men out of it
all, that would be unnecessary. Did he really love the girl? Or was his
lust for gold mingled with a passion for possession of her? He might
know that the girl would kill herself before she would submit to
dishonor. Perhaps he knew she had the means!

One thing became paramount. To save Peggy Simms. Lund might fight for
the gold; Rainey would battle for the girl's sanctity. And, armed with
that resolve, Rainey went out into the main cabin.

Carlsen took the head of the table. Lund faced him at the other end. All
six of the hunters, as privileged characters, were present, but only
three of the seamen, awkward and diffident at being aft. The nine, with
Rainey, ranged themselves on either side of the table, five and five,
with Rainey on Lund's right.

Tamada had brought liquor and glasses and cigars, and gone forward. The
door between the main cabin and the corridor leading to the galley was
locked after him by Deming. The girl was not present. Yet her share was
an important factor.

Lund sat with folded arms, his great body relaxed. Now that the table
was set, the cards all dealt, and the first play about to be made, the
giant shed his tenseness. Even his grim face softened a trifle. He
seemed to regard the affair with a certain amount of humor, coupled with
the zest of a gambler who loves the game whether the stakes are for
death or dollars.

Carlsen had a paper under his hand, but deferred its reading until he
had addressed the meeting.

"A ship," he said, "is a little community, a world in itself. To its
safety every member is a necessity, the lookout as much as the man at
the wheel, the common seaman, the navigator. And, when a ship is engaged
in a certain calling, those who are hired as experts in that line are
equally essential with the rest."

"All the way from captain to--cook?" drawled Lund.

"Each depends upon his comrade's fulfilment of duty," went on Carlsen.
"So an absolute equality is evolved. Each man's responsibility being
equal, his reward should be also equal. It seems to me that this status
of affairs is arrived at more naturally aboard the _Karluk_ than it
might be elsewhere. We are