eave-yeo under
their breaths. All the fight had clean gone out of him, and the only
thing he did was to squeal a little when he bumped against the trunk,
and tried to fill up with air to make himself lighter. But he reached
the top all right, and I landed him very careful, he squatting down on
the floor and saying, "Oh, my God!" I was too busy clearing away, and
letting the block down to Tom, for me to hear much else he said, but
when I was through and went to take a last look at him, he seemed quite
snug and contented, and glad he had come. He shook hands very grateful,
looking for me to come back the following night and report, I to make an
owl signal like we had agreed on previously.

I wished him happy dreams, and come down, all three of us setting out
for home with the truck and the gear, my wife in a tantrum at our having
threatened to desert Old Dibs when he acted so cowardly. Tom made it
worse by saying the Kanakas were losing all respeck for whites, and if
_he_ was married to a Tongan, and was spoken to like that, he'd quit--by
gum, that's what _he'd_ do! Then she said it would serve me right if she
went away in the schooner with the white men, and I would never see her
again. And I said, "Oh, dear, but I'd feel sorry for the white man that
got you!" Then she said she'd give all the gold Old Dibs had made her a
present of to be back home in Tonga; and then I said I'd gladly add mine
to hers. And when Tom added his, I thought we were in for a race war.

We all got back pretty cross and tired, but a little beer put heart in
us; and I pulled her down on my knee and said she was the only girl in
the world, and that I wouldn't trade her for a ten-ton cutter; while Tom
counted out the money Old Dibs had given us previous, and said we were
all a pack of fools, and that he was as fond of Sarah as anybody. So
peace descended like a beautiful vision, and there was four hundred and
forty dollars for each of us, with a twenty over that we tossed for, and
engineered to let Sarah win. Tom said we might shake hands on a good
night's work, and went home in high spirits, jingling his money in a
bandanner.

It wasn't long after breakfast the next morning when I heard a great
stamping and tramping out in front, and there, if you please, was the
whole schooner party, Phelps, Nettleship, the bookkeeper, and the
captain. They had thrown off the mask now, and Phelps had a warrant a
yard long for the apprehension of Runyon Rufe, whi