! 'Tis I who call! Tis I, Papu
(Bob), of Anaa! I, who have sought thee long. Binoke! Nohal!"

Then came a sudden rush of feet and brown, naked bodies from all around,
and in another moment the young man was almost lifted off hid feet by
Tommy Topsail-tie, who, clasping his mighty arms around him, pressed him
passionately to his bosom.

"My boy, my boy!... See, 'tis I, Binoke, thy friend, thy slave, thy
Binoke!" and then the savage creature wept as only wild people such as
he was weep from excess of joy.

In a few minutes Flemming was hurried along by the friendly hands of
six or eight of the "wild men" to their refuge further up on the
mountain-side, where he found not only "Jack Waterwitch," but one of
the Anaa natives, who had been carried off ten years before; the other
native of Anaa, he was told by Tommy Topsail-tie, had died a year or two
previously. There were, he found, twelve natives in all--Topsail-tie,
who was their leader, Jack Waterwitch, the Anaa man, four Solomon
Islanders, and five others from various islands.

For an hour or more the young man conversed with his old friends, who
delightedly agreed to leave their mountain retreat and go on board the
brigantine as soon as she was ready to sail. The remaining eight men,
however, refused to leave, although Flemming told them that they could
all come down from the mountain at night-time, and be very easily stowed
away on board, and that even if they were discovered the captain would
be able to protect them, should the German manager make any demand
for them to be delivered over to him. But all his arguments were in
vain--they shook their heads and said that never, again would they go,
willingly or unwillingly, upon the deep sea.

Then the supercargo and Topsail-tie made their plans, and after spending
another hour or so with the escapees, Flemming shook hands with them
all, and guided by Nobal, returned to the base of the mountain.

Here he parted from his companion, who quickly plunged into the forest
again, and reached the plantation just as the manager was mustering the
plantation hands for his inspection. Not deeming it advisable to tell
his host of the discovery he had just made, he yet tried to display as
much interest as possible, and after walking up and down the triple rows
of men and looking at them rapidly one by one, he said that there was no
one of them whom he had ever seen before. Then the manager dismissed the
men, and Flemming, thankin