emainder and unrove it from the block, and went back to their ship.

"It was twenty-four hours before the ship-keeper was sufficiently sober
to break out of the berth in which he had been locked, by which time the
barque was well out to sea; and it was another three days before the
body of the mandarin was found. An active search was then made for the
murderers, but as they were strangers to the ship-keeper, no clues to
their whereabouts could be discovered.

"Meanwhile, the four murderers were a good deal exercised as to the
disposal of the booty. Since it could not be divided, it was evident
that it must be entrusted to the keeping of one of them. The choice in
the first place fell upon Wo-li, in whose chest the pendant was
deposited as soon as the party came on board, it being arranged that the
Chinaman should produce the jewel for inspection by his confederates
whenever called upon.

"For six weeks nothing out of the common occurred; but then a very
singular event befell. The four conspirators were sitting outside the
galley one evening, when suddenly the cook uttered a cry of amazement
and horror. The other three turned to see what it was that had so
disturbed their comrade, and then they, too, were struck dumb with
consternation; for, standing at the door of the companion-hatch--the
barque was a flush-decked vessel--was the mandarin whom they had left
for dead. He stood quietly regarding them for fully a minute, while they
stared at him transfixed with terror. Then he beckoned to them, and went
below.

"So petrified were they with astonishment and mortal fear that they
remained for a long time motionless and dumb. At last they plucked up
courage, and began to make furtive inquiries among the crew; but no
one--not even the steward--knew anything of any passengers, or, indeed,
of any Chinaman, on board the ship, excepting Wo-li.

"At day-break the next morning, when the cook's mate went to the galley
to fill the coppers, he found Wo-li hanging from a hook in the ceiling.
The cook's body was stiff and cold, and had evidently been hanging
several hours. The report of the tragedy quickly spread through the
ship, and the three conspirators hurried off to remove the pearl from
the dead man's chest before the officers should come to examine it. The
cheap lock was easily picked with a bent wire, and the jewel
abstracted; but now the question arose as to who should take charge of
it. The eagerness to be the actual cust