had rehearsed "Just before the Battle, Mother," at some weekly picnic;
and now, in that tense moment of my life, he came (from the machine) to
be my helper.

"Captain Trent of the wreck? O yes, Mr. Dodd, he left about twelve; he
and another of the men. The Kanaka went earlier, by the _City of Pekin_;
I know that; I remember expressing his chest. Captain Trent? I'll
inquire, Mr. Dodd. Yes, they were all here. Here are the names on the
register; perhaps you would care to look at them while I go and see
about the baggage?"

I drew the book toward me, and stood looking at the four names, all
written in the same hand--rather a big, and rather a bad one: Trent,
Brown, Hardy, and (instead of Ah Wing) Jos. Amalu.

"Pinkerton," said I suddenly, "have you that _Occidental_ in your
pocket?"

"Never left me," said Pinkerton, producing the paper.

I turned to the account of the wreck.

"Here," said I, "here's the name. 'Elias Goddedaal, mate.' Why do we
never come across Elias Goddedaal?"

"That's so," said Jim. "Was he with the rest in that saloon when you saw
them?"

"I don't believe it," said I. "They were only four, and there was none
that behaved like a mate."

At this moment the clerk returned with his report.

"The captain," it appeared, "came with some kind of an express wagon,
and he and the man took off three chests and a big satchel. Our porter
helped to put them on, but they drove the cart themselves. The porter
thinks they went down town. It was about one."

"Still in time for the _City of Pekin_," observed Jim.

"How many of them were here?" I inquired.

"Three, sir, and the Kanaka," replied the clerk. "I can't somehow find
out about the third, but he's gone too."

"Mr. Goddedaal, the mate, wasn't here then?" I asked.

"No, Mr. Dodd, none but what you see," says the clerk.

"Nor you never heard where he was?"

"No. Any particular reason for finding these men, Mr. Dodd?" inquired
the clerk.

"This gentleman and I have bought the wreck," I explained; "we wish to
get some information, and it is very annoying to find the men all gone."

A certain group had gradually formed about us, for the wreck was still a
matter of interest; and at this, one of the bystanders, a rough
seafaring man, spoke suddenly.

"I guess the mate won't be gone," said he. "He's main sick; never left
the sick-bay aboard the _Tempest_; so they tell _me_."

Jim shook me by the sleeve. "Back to the consulate," said he.

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