ave thought we'd be in his way."

"Has he paid his share of the lodgings?" it occurred to me to ask.

We felt quite bitter against Yank, and we carefully avoided his usual
haunts, for we did not want to meet him. Then we began to think it
strange we had not run across him somewhere on the streets. Then we
began to look for him. We found that Yank had disappeared!

At that, a little alarmed, we set ourselves to a serious search and
inquiry. A few remembered to have seen him, but were vague as to when
and where. The authorities moved sluggishly, and with little enthusiasm.
Men were dying every day; and disappearing underground, leaving no trace
of themselves behind. One more or less seemed unimportant.

In the meanwhile we spent much of our time by the shore, together with a
comfortable majority of our fellow argonauts, awaiting the sighting of a
vessel. We had engaged, and paid daily, a boatman to be in readiness to
take us off; and we settled our lodgings account a week ahead.

"There's going to be a scramble for that blessed ship," said Talbot;
"and we'll just be prepared."

To that end we also kept our effects packed and ready for instant
removal.

The beach was not a bad place. It ran out the peninsula in a long gentle
curve; and the surges broke snow white on yellow sands. Across deep blue
water was an island; and back of us palm trees whipped in the trade
winds. We sat under them, and yarned and played cards and smoked. In bad
weather--and it rained pretty often--we huddled in smoky little huts;
those of us who could get in. The rest tried to stick it out; or
returned with rather a relieved air to the town.

The expected ship came, of course, on one of these dull gray days; and
those who had thought themselves unlucky in being crowded out of the
huts were the first to sight her. They sneaked down very quietly and
tried to launch two of the boats. Of course the native boatmen were all
inside; trust them! As a high surf was running, and as none of the men
were in any sense good boatmen, they promptly broached to and filled.
The noise brought us to the door.

Then there was a fine row. One of the two boats commandeered by the
early birds happened to be ours! All our forethought seemed to have been
in vain. The bedraggled and crestfallen men were just wading ashore when
we descended upon them. Talbot was like a raving lunatic.

"You hounds!" he roared. "Don't you dare try to sneak off! You catch
hold here an