; slapped your face?"

"That kind of woman doesn't slap. Damn it, Mallow, she rammed a
hat-pin into me, if you will know! Keep out of her way."

Mallow whistled. "Oho! You probably acted like a fool. Drinking?"

Craig nodded affirmatively.

"Thought so. Even a Yokohama bar-maid will fight shy of a boozer. I'm
going to meet her when we get to Singapore, or my name's not Mallow."

Craig laughed with malice. "I hope she sticks the pin into your
throat. It will take some of the brag out of you. Think because
you've got picturesque gray hair and are as strong as a bull, that all
the women are just pining for you. Say, let's go aft and hunt up the
chap. I understand he's taken up quarters in the second-cabin."

"Doesn't want to run into me. All right; come on. We'll stir him up a
little and have some fun."

They found Warrington up in the stern, sitting on the deck, surrounded
by squatting Lascars, some Chinamen and a solitary white man, the chief
engineer's assistant. The center of interest was Rajah, who was
performing his tricks. Among these was one that the bird rarely could
be made to perform, the threading of beads. He despised this act as it
entailed the putting of a blunt needle in his beak. He flung it aside
each time Warrington handed it to him. But ever his master patiently
returned it. At length, recognizing that the affair might be prolonged
indefinitely, Rajah put two beads on the thread and tossed it aside.
The Lascars jabbered, the Chinamen grinned, and the chief engineer's
assistant swore approvingly.

"How much'll you take for him?"

"He's not for sale," answered Warrington.

The parrot shrilled and waddled back to his cage.

"Fine business for a whole man!"

Warrington looked up to meet the cynical eyes of Mallow. He took out
his cutty and fired it. Otherwise he did not move nor let his gaze
swerve. Mallow, towering above him, could scarcely resist the
temptation to stir his enemy with the toe of his boot. His hatred for
Warrington was not wholly due to his brutal treatment of him. Mallow
always took pleasure in dominating those under him by fear. Warrington
had done his work well. He had always recognized Mallow as his
employer, but in no other capacity: he had never offered to smoke a
pipe with him, or to take a hand at cards, or split a bottle. It had
not been done offensively; but in this attitude Mallow had recognized
his manager's disapproval of him, an inner