rse," continued the commodore, "if a tiger shark happens
along and picks the niggers up, it ain't none of our business. As
for me and Scraggsy, we'll sit on deck and smoke. My head aches
and I guess Scraggsy's in a similar fix."

"Anythin' to be agreeable," acquiesced McGuffey.

After breakfast Commodore Gibney ordered that the prisoners be
brought before him. The cook served them with breakfast, and as
they ate, the commodore reminded them that it was only through
his personal efforts and his natural disinclination to return
blow for blow that they were at that moment enjoying a square
meal instead of swinging in the rigging.

"I'm goin' to give you two yeggs a chance to reform," concluded
Mr. Gibney, addressing Tabu-Tabu. "If you show us where we can
get a cargo of black coral and work hard and faithful helpin' us
to get it aboard, it may help you to comb a few gray hairs. I'm
goin' to take the irons off now, but remember! At the first sign
of the double-cross you're both shark meat."

On behalf of himself and the king, Tabu-Tabu promised to behave,
and McGuffey kicked them both into the small boat. The mate and
two seamen followed in another boat, in which the air-pump and
diving apparatus was carried, and Tabu-Tabu piloted them to a
patch of still water just inside the reef. The water was so clear
that McGuffey was enabled to make out vast marine gardens thickly
sprinkled with the precious black coral.

"Over you go, you two smokes," rasped McGuffey, menacing the
captives with his rifle. "Dive deep, my hearties, and bring up
what you can find, and if a shark comes along and takes a nip out
of your hind leg, don't expect no help from B. McGuffey,
Esquire--because you won't get any."

Thus encouraged, the two cannibals dove overboard. McGuffey could
see them pawing around on the bottom of the little bay, and after
half a minute each came up with a magnificent spray of coral.
They hung to the side of the boat until they could get their
breath, then repeated the performance. In the meantime, the mate
had sent his two divers below to loosen the coral; with the
result that when both boats returned to the _Maggie II_ at noon
Captain Scraggs fairly gurgled with delight at the results of the
morning's work, and Mr. Gibney declared that his headache was
gone. He and Captain Scraggs had spent the morning seated on deck
under an awning, watching the beach for signs of a sortie on the
part of the natives of Kandavu to r