ea. Everything is
brought overland to Aratat and placed in the vaults of the bank. Four
times a year the rubies and sapphires are shipped to the brokers in
London and Paris and Vienna. It's quite a neat and regular arrangement,
sir."

"But I should think the confounded natives would steal everything they
got their hands on."

"What would be the use, sir? They couldn't dispose of a single gem on
the island, and nothing is taken away from here except in the company's
chests. Besides, my lord, these people are not thieves. They are
absolutely honest. Smugglers have tried to bribe them, and the smugglers
have never lived to tell of it. They may kill people occasionally, but
they are quite honest, believe me. And, in any event, are they not a
part of the great corporation? They have their share in the working of
the mines and in the profits. Mr. Wyckholme and Mr. Skaggs were honest
with them and they have been just as honest in return."

"Sounds very attractive," muttered Deppingham sceptically.

"I should think they'd be terribly tempted," said Lady Agnes. "They look
so wretchedly poor."

"They _are_ a bit out at the knees," said her husband, with a great
laugh.

"My lady," said Bowles, "there are but four poor men on the island:
myself and the three Englishmen who operate the bank. There isn't a poor
man, woman or child among the natives. This is truly a land of rich men.
The superintendent of the mines is a white man--a German--and the three
foremen are Boers. They work on shares just as the natives do and save
even more, I think. The clerical force is entirely native. There were
but ten white men here before you came, including two Greeks. There are
no beggars. Perhaps you noticed that no one was asking for alms as you
came up."

"'Gad, I should say we did," exclaimed Deppingham ruefully. "There
wasn't even a finger held out to us. But is this a holiday on the
island?"

"A holiday, my lord?"

"Yes. No one seems to be at work."

"Oh? I see. Being part owners the natives have decided that four hours
constitutes a day's work. They pay themselves accordingly, as it were.
No one works after midday, sir."

"I say, wouldn't this be a paradise for the English workingman?" said
Deppingham. "That's the kind of a day's labor they'd like. Do you mean
to say that these fellows trudge eight miles to work every morning and
back again at noon?"

"Certainly not, sir. They ride their thoroughbred horses to work and
ride