ected, were not denying their stomachs. Probably
making up for the enforced starvation they had lately suffered.

He wondered if the men imprisoned in the hold had been given food, or
whether they were being starved, like the boatswain, because of Dr.
Ichi's whim. Beneath the Japanese gentleman's velvet exterior existed
a merciless humor. He delighted in cruelty, and Martin sensed that,
for some reason, he bore a sly and implacable hatred toward the entire
company of the _Cohasset_.

Martin wondered just what position Ichi filled in Carew's following.
In the cabin, his manner toward Carew had been of a man toward an
equal, rather than a subordinate to a leader. Martin wondered if the
yellow crew were at bottom Carew's men or Ichi's. They jumped to
Ichi's orders; there, at the rail, Carew's mate was actually fawning
upon Ichi's words. Ichi was plainly the owners' man.

Yip stuck his head out of the galley door, looked aft, and then
withdrew from sight. Immediately after there issued from the galley
the shrill caterwauling of a Chinese song, and a renewed rattle of pots.

Martin listened resentfully. Charley Bo Yip's cheerful acceptance of
change of masters angered him. He had been quite friendly with Yip
during the passage, and he knew the Chinaman was a veteran of the
Chinese revolution and a professed enemy of all Japanese. Yet here he
was working for these same Japanese, apparently content with events,
and serenely indifferent to the fate of his shipmates. During the
scene in the cabin, Martin had divined from Ichi's bearing toward Yip
that the thugs from the _Dawn_ regarded the Chinaman--or rather,
disregarded him--contemptuously, as one of a despised and slavish race,
born to serve obediently and menially. Which he was, thought Martin
disgustedly.

During this short period of his musing, Martin's eyes were not idle.
He suddenly was aware of the cause for Ichi's delay.

From the recesses forward appeared Moto and another man, coming aft.
Moto carried a lantern in each hand, and the fellow who followed him
bore a watch-tackle on his shoulder. As they passed the galley, Yip's
song ceased, and the Chinaman also stepped out on deck and ambled aft.

Martin wasted no glance on the cook. He watched with interest the
Japs. The burdens they bore were to aid in the exploration of the
caves, he knew. At the sight of the lanterns, a dim plan for future
action germinated in his mind.

The two Japs reached