ter_ a native
teacher, and both these fellows are d----d touchy. The chances are that
they won't come aboard at all to-day."

"That's true," said the captain thoughtfully; "I didn't think of that."
(He never did think.) "Shall I go ashore first, and smooth down their
ruffled plumage?"

Denison said he thought it would be a good thing to do. Deasy and the
Dutchman (_i.e._, the German) were both independent traders, who had
always bought their trade goods from and sold their produce to the
_Indiana_ for years past, and were worth humouring. So Packenham went
ashore, leaving Denison to open out his wares in the brig's trade room
in readiness for the two white men.

*****

Now both Peter Deasy and Hans Schweicker were feeling very sulky--as
Denison imagined--and at that moment were talking to each other across
the road from their respective doorways, for their houses were not far
apart. They had intended boarding the ship the moment she anchored, but
abandoned the idea as soon as they saw the teacher going off. Not
that they disliked Iakopo personally, but then he was only a low-class
native, and had no business thrusting himself before his betters. So
they sat down and waited till Denison or the captain came ashore.

Peter wore a pair of clean white moleskins and a bright pink print shirt
covered with blue dogs; and as the lower portion of this latter garment
was hanging outside instead of being tucked inside his moleskins, quite
a large number of dogs were visible. Hans, dressed in pyjamas of a green
and yellow check, carefully starched, smoked a very bad German cigar;
Deasy puffed a very dirty clay dhudeen.

Presently one of Hans's wife's numerous relatives ran up to him, and
told him that the captain was coming ashore, and the atmosphere at once
cleared a little. Deasy was the elder trader, and by right of custom
expected the skipper would come to his house first. Hans, however, was
the "warmest" man of the two, and thought _he_ should be the honoured
man, especially as he had the larger quantity of copra and other island
produce to sell Packenham. Both men were very good friends at that
moment, and had been so for years past. They had frequently
lied manfully on each other's behalf when summoned before the
Deputy-Commissioner for selling arms and ammunition to the natives.
But while in social matters--such as getting drunk, circumventing the
missionaries, and making fools of her Majesty's representatives--the tw