entreaties to his own men, managed to effect a separation before murder
was done, Rawlings and Barradas aiding him by striking out right and
left with belaying-pins, for the chief officer kept calling out to them
not to fire.

The whole affair did not last more than ten minutes, and as soon as the
ship was quiet, Barry urged the captain to send Warner's men below into
the main hold. This was done, though the savages at first refused to
go until they were satisfied that their master was not dead. They were
allowed to go aft and see him. He was sitting up and barely able to
speak, for in falling he had struck his head heavily. Rawlings gave
him some brandy, which he drank, and then, supported by two seamen, he
was taken below to recover.

Barry then explained the cause of the disturbance to the captain and
Barradas, both of whom said that he could have acted in no other way.

"We shall want a couple of doctors soon if we have any more of this
cursed business," said Rawlings. "Here's the boatswain badly hurt;
Billy Onotoa, who you say is a good man, with a couple of knife holes
in his hide; Warner's head man with two stove-in ribs, and Warner
himself with a bad head; and now there's three or four more of these
black and brown devils cut about. Curse the whole thing!"

"I'm not at all sorry about that blackguard's head," said the mate,
with some degree of irritation; "he deserved all he got from me--much
more than that poor devil of a nigger of his."

"Come below, Mr. Barry," said the captain, seeing that his officer
resented his tone; "I don't think a drop of good brandy and water would
do any of us any harm."

"Certainly, sir," he answered, his good temper at once asserting
itself; "and, look over there--there's the breeze coming at last."

Before eight bells struck the vessel was slipping through the water
before a fresh, cool breeze; the Solomon Islanders were allowed to come
on deck, and Barry paid a round of visits to the wounded men, including
Mr. Billy Warner, who freely cursed him and frankly assured him of his
intention to "take it out" at the first opportunity that offered after
the ship reached Arrecifos.

"Right you are," was the reply, "but it will pay you better to leave me
alone, I think."

That night, however, the captain and Warner had a conversation, which
resulted in the red-bearded scoundrel coming up to the mate and
professing sorrow for what had occurred--his excuse of course being
th