stolen the pearls could keep them, or hide them, for that matter,
unless they had been thrown back into the sea again.

So far as the governor himself was concerned he would not suffer from
the loss. The yearly crop of pearls was not like the money tax, a
stated sum, nor could the Sultan enforce his claims as did the Spanish
government. His title to the fisheries was too slight for it to be
policy for him to make trouble. Besides that, Sulu was so far away that
its ruler might never hear that this year's crop had been larger than
usual. Not all the gems had been taken. The governor could turn over
what had been left him, and it was not at all likely that any questions
would be asked. In fact, if it had not been for his evident concern,
which I did not believe him clever enough to have simulated, I would
almost have believed he had stolen the pearls himself. He certainly
was indefatigable in his attempts to find the missing property. Not
a native left the village for any purpose that his clothing and his
boat, if he was going out upon the water, were not inspected.

My own stay in Palawan was nearly ended at the time, and it was
not long after that before I had completed my collections, packed
my specimens, and was ready to go. Poljensio had agreed to go with
me as far as Manila, to handle my freight and baggage, and to help
me there about repacking and shipping my specimens. On my going to
Europe he was to return to Palawan.

When I was ready to go, and had my luggage in shape to be sent on
board the sail boat which was to take me to a port visited by the
monthly steamer to Manila, I wondered if the "Gobernadorcillo" would
let me go. He proved very obliging, however, shook hands, and hoped
I would have a pleasant voyage. Poljensio, though, had to submit to
the usual ordeal of having his clothing searched. Luggage he had none,
so he was not troubled in that respect.

I had planned to stop in Hong Kong a month on my way to Europe. On
the morning of the day that I was to leave there I was surprised to
receive a package by one of the local English expresses of the city,
and more surprised to find that the package contained a small box of
specimens which had been missing when I had repacked my property at
Manila. The specimens in this box were particularly choice ones, and
their loss had been as annoying as it had been unaccountable. The
pleasure which I felt in getting them back, though, was nothing
compared to my amaz