e skipper here. D' ye mind, Barry?"

"I'd be glad to have Gordon with me," growled Barry surlily, "if by
having him I can get into action. I too am weary--weary to death--but
it's at the mystery and theatrical mumbo-jumbo rather than at inaction.
What's your scheme now?"

"This, gentlemen." Vandersee produced a folded map and smoothed it out
on the table. It was a map of Celebes, and across the face of it ran red
lines. Celebes is shaped like no other island on earth. It is like a
nightmarish starfish shaved clean of legs on one side. It is nothing but
a series of peninsulas, and along each peninsula runs a mountain range,
from which rivers small or fairly big run either way into the sea. It
was across the peninsula partially drained by the river they were on
that the red lines were exclusively traced, and Barry noticed with a
seaman's eye that the marked soundings showed the river survey to have
been very complete, while less frequent soundings on the ocean side gave
a condition of bottom utterly obstructive to navigation. He caught
instantly the significance of the map from a naval viewpoint but was
puzzled at its significance for him or his ship. He glanced up to find
Vandersee regarding him intently.

"Good map, Vandersee," he remarked and looked his further question.

"It is a good map, Captain. And I'll show you how it will concern you
very deeply. Then I have no doubt you will see your duty lies in raising
the _Barang_ without delay.

"You see the ocean side of this map is poorly surveyed. That is because
we have decided that the coast offers no attractions for deep vessels.
The rivers are better--and this is about the best. But over on that
side--" pointing to the ocean--"lies a thick population, and there is
Leyden's great opium market. We have driven the traffic away from there;
at least, we made it impossible for vessels to run the stuff there; but
there happens to be a tremendous combination of attractions between here
and there which has caused all this trouble.

"First there is a trail across to here--very bad, but easily passable
for natives, even fairly well burdened--and then up the mountains, right
where the trail crosses, gold is found in abundance. Begin to see?" he
smiled at his audience. They looked rather less puzzled, but still
uncertain, and he went on:

"Don't you see Leyden's scheme? You, Gordon, know it, of course." Gordon
flushed uncomfortably, and Vandersee patted him on the arm gent