arrassed. He found he had been
staring rather inquisitively at the man he had come to supersede, and
with his native courtesy and honesty he thrust his hand over the table
to grip Gordon's. Neither man uttered another word; but Gordon's eyes
unmistakably said, "Thank you."

Vandersee watched this little side play, pausing in his explanation,
then resumed:

"You see, Captain, as long as your brigantine is blocking up the river
for his schooner, Leyden is not likely to hang around here. And the
trails over the island are so many and divergent that I believe all the
men I have at my command can scarcely hope to track every one of his
gang. Of course, we want him most; but every man of his crew is wanted,
too, and unless the _Barang_ is raised and moved, to give him hope of
escape, I'm afraid he will prove slippery for sometime yet. One other
thing is, that through his cunning and lies, the Mission folk here fully
believe that Cornelius Houten is the rogue, and their reports to my
Government are becoming quite harmful to our friend in Batavia.

"I might say here that Houten is on his way to us by now." An
exclamation of fresh surprise from the skipper halted the big Hollander,
and Gordon's face went livid again. Vandersee hastened to add: "Don't be
alarmed, Gordon. You have suffered, and I give you my word that Houten
fully understands everything." He turned to the rest: "I sent one of my
runners to the coast with a cable to Houten the moment I knew surely
that there was no gold in his river. I thought it best.

"Now, Captain Barry, how long will it take to raise your ship?"

"With Rolfe and Blunt and a full crew I can get her afloat in two tides,
unless her leaks are bigger than her own and some extra pumps can
check," the skipper replied confidently. "How's the mud here?"

"Mere slime. Pumps ought to suck it out. As for your mates and the crew,
they are all living in the village. Plenty of huts there now, since most
of the male natives have gone over to Leyden. Two tides then?"

"Plenty. What do you want me to do with her when she floats?"

"Take her downstream to that swampy creek I pointed out in coming up.
I'll have some men clear away the grasses at the entrance, and she will
float inside there easily. You can leave her there, hidden from the
river, until one is almost abreast of her; and if luck favors us to the
extent that Leyden falls into the trap, we can haul out quickly and get
his vessel as she comes do