ight, while
the others crowded round with hands extended, and were served as fast as
the boy could place dabs of the sticky syrup on the hard biscuits.

They crowded him so that several times over he whisked the spoon round,
giving one a dab on the hand, another on the cheek, while one had a
topper on his thick, black-haired head--all these rebuffs being received
with shouts of laughter, the recipients setting to work at once to
prevent the saccharine mess from being wasted.

But at last all were supplied, and the boy rested for half a minute,
looking at the merry, delighted crowd with good-humoured contempt.

"Well, you are a set of savages," he said.

"More--gib more," cried Black Jack, who had just finished.

"You look a pretty sticky beauty," said Carey.

"Berry 'ticky good," said Black Jack. "Gib more; plenty 'ticky."

Carey took another biscuit from the basket and put a very small dab of
treacle upon it, to the black's great disgust.

"No, no, no!" he yelled, with childlike annoyance. "Plenty 'ticky--
plenty 'ticky."

"Not good," said Carey, mockingly. "Kill a black fellow."

Black Jack's face expanded again into a tremendous grin.

"Yah!" he cried; "baal mumkull. Good--good--good!"

"There you are, then," said Carey, giving the spoon a twirl and dabbing
a goodly portion on the biscuit. "That do?"

"Good, plenty 'ticky," cried the savage, gumming his face gloriously and
grinding up the biscuit as easily as if it were a cracknel.

By this time the others were finishing, and for another quarter of an
hour the boy was kept busy at work, to find in the very thick of it that
he had an addition to his audience in the shape of the coarse-faced
beachcomber, who looked less ferocious now, with his countenance
softened by a good-humoured grin.

"Feeding 'em up then," he said. "Mind they don't finish up by eating
you."

"I'm not afraid of that," said Carey, shortly.

"Aren't you? Well, perhaps we shall see. But it's your turn now:
breakfast. Come on."

Carey followed him without a word, and, like his companions in
adversity, ate the meal in silence.

CHAPTER NINETEEN.

The doctor made no opposition and showed no sign of resentment, for he
was biding his time. The beachcomber asked questions and he answered
them, about the lading of the vessel; but both Carey and Bostock noticed
that he carefully avoided all reference to the bullion that was on
board.

Later on in the morning the invad