tened his pencil with great
energy and waited, stamping his feet impatiently.

"I will see this thing through," he muttered to himself. "And I will
have it all square and ship-shape; see if I don't! Are you going to
bring that lamp, you son of a crippled mud-turtle? I am waiting."

The gleam of the light on the paper placated his professional anger, and
he wrote rapidly, the final dash of his signature curling the paper up
in a triangular tear.

"Take that to this white Tuan's house. I will send the boat back for you
in half an hour."

The coxswain raised his lamp deliberately to Willem's face.

"This Tuan? Tau! I know."

"Quick then!" said Lingard, taking the lamp from him--and the man went
off at a run.

"Kassi mem! To the lady herself," called Lingard after him.

Then, when the man disappeared, he turned to Willems.

"I have written to your wife," he said. "If you do not return for good,
you do not go back to that house only for another parting. You must come
as you stand. I won't have that poor woman tormented. I will see to it
that you are not separated for long. Trust me!"

Willems shivered, then smiled in the darkness.

"No fear of that," he muttered, enigmatically. "I trust you implicitly,
Captain Lingard," he added, in a louder tone.

Lingard led the way down the steps, swinging the lamp and speaking over
his shoulder.

"It is the second time, Willems, I take you in hand. Mind it is the
last. The second time; and the only difference between then and now is
that you were bare-footed then and have boots now. In fourteen years.
With all your smartness! A poor result that. A very poor result."

He stood for awhile on the lowest platform of the steps, the light of
the lamp falling on the upturned face of the stroke oar, who held the
gunwale of the boat close alongside, ready for the captain to step in.

"You see," he went on, argumentatively, fumbling about the top of
the lamp, "you got yourself so crooked amongst those 'longshore
quill-drivers that you could not run clear in any way. That's what comes
of such talk as yours, and of such a life. A man sees so much falsehood
that he begins to lie to himself. Pah!" he said, in disgust, "there's
only one place for an honest man. The sea, my boy, the sea! But you
never would; didn't think there was enough money in it; and now--look!"

He blew the light out, and, stepping into the boat, stretched quickly
his hand towards Willems, with friendly care. Wil