of the parti-coloured cloth on the table, the creak of the
pivot-chairs and the picture of the Japanese girl in the mineral-water
calendar which swayed on the bulkhead opposite my seat.

I can see them now; as clearly as if I were back in the old _Kut Sang_,
with the chatter of the Chinese sailors coming through the ports to spice
the tales of the China coast which Riggs kept going.

We picked up Corregidor Light, which winked at us through the ports as we
entered the channel. Somebody looked in at the door of the passage and
Riggs waved a napkin at him.

"Tell Mr. Harris to call me if he needs me," he said, and then to us:
"It's clear, and Mr. Harris, my mate, knows the Boca Grande like the palm
of his hand."

He was well launched into another of his long yarns and had a fresh cigar
between his teeth when the pitching of the steamer told us we were
heading into the China Sea. We were clear of the channel by the time he
had finished the adventure he was relating, and Trego was beginning to
fidget. We all moved as if to leave the table.

"I signed the two men you brought aboard, Mr. Meeker," said Riggs. "What
are their names?"

"That I do not know for certain," replied Meeker. "I believe the chap in
the navy-pantaloons is known as--Buckrow, and the other, the tall Briton,
is called 'Long Jim,' or some such name, by his companions. They both
appear to be worthy men, and it made me sad to see them on the beach in
Manila for the need of passage to Hong-Kong, or some other place where
they would be more likely to get a ship.

"That is why I interceded in their behalf, and it is very kind of you,
captain, to make it possible for them to better themselves, for idle men
in these ports fall into evil, and it is best that they should keep to
the sea. They were both well spoken of by Mr. Marley, who has charge of
the Sailors' Home."

"Two sailors that I see?" Trego asked the captain.

"Mr. Meeker brought two men aboard with him to carry his gear," explained
Riggs. "They wanted to get out of Manila, and, as I was short-handed for
chinks, I let 'em work their passage. They signed with the commissioner,
and will get four Hong-Kong dollars for the trip."

Trego frowned as he toyed with a bamboo napkin-ring, but said nothing.

"Your red-headed chap is a good man at the helm," said Riggs to me. "He's
got the wheel now, and, with the other two, I'll have good
quartermasters. The chinkies are poor steerers."

"Meester Trenho