uess you're goin'
to maroon me, eh? Well, this here island looks a durn sight purtier
than the spot that you took me off of; I won't gainsay that. And are
all these here things in the boat mine? What's this here--a tent? You
don't say! Well now, that's downright handsome of you, Squire, and no
mistake. And here's fishin'-lines, and--" He went on to enumerate the
various articles, until he had gone through them all. Then--

"Here, stop a bit, though," he cried. "I don't see no gun, no powder
and shot; and--where's my share of the pearls what we fished up the
other day?"

Mildmay stared at the man for a moment, and then burst into a hearty
laugh.

"Well," he exclaimed, "you are a cool hand, Barker, if ever there was
one! Your coolness, however, will not avail you here; those things are
all that we intend to give you, and they are a precious sight more than
you deserve."

"All right, Skipper," answered the fellow; "I'm not complainin'. You've
got the bulge on me, and I'm the bottom dog this time. Only I thought
there was no harm in just mentionin' them little matters."

"No harm in the world," agreed Mildmay, cheerily, as the boat's forefoot
slid up on the smooth sand of the beach. "You will be able to amuse
yourself by mentioning a good many other `little matters' from time to
time while you are here. Now, out you go! I will pass the things out
to you."

Half an hour later, the _Flying Fish_ passed out to sea through the
usual gap in the reef, by which time Barker had already got his tent
rigged, a fire lighted, and was cooking his first meal. There could be
no manner of doubt that, whatever else he might be, the man was a
thoroughly sound philosopher.

At noon that day, Mildmay ascertained his exact latitude; and having
thus, in conjunction with his usual morning observations for the
determination of the longitude, fixed the exact position of the ship on
the chart, a course was laid off for the pearl-island. The ship, going
at full speed, rose into the calm belt, and that same afternoon settled
down again in her former berth in the pearl-island lagoon.

On the following morning the four men went ashore and resumed their
disagreeable task of separating the pearls from the putrid mass of
decomposed matter in which they were imbedded; and this time they
persevered until they had dealt with all the oysters that they had
fished up. The result was so enormously rich a harvest of magnificent
pearls t