r, when the
chief interrupted him--

"What you do with my brother?" he said suddenly; "he die too, in Fiji?"

The white man's face paled. "I don't know, Banderah. I didn't know your
brother was aboard when my mate put the hatches on. I thought he had
gone ashore. I never meant to take him away to Fiji anyway."

"All right; never mind that. But what you want talk to me about?" And
then, as if to put his visitor at his ease, he added, "You dam rogue, me
dam rogue."

"Yes, yes," assented Captain Bilker cheerfully; "but look here now,
Bandy, I'm not only going to pay you for those men I took, but give you
a lot of money as well--any amount of money; make you a big, rich chief;
big as Maafu Tonga.{*} But I want you to help me."

* Maafu of Tonga, the once dreaded rival of King Cacobau of
Fiji. He died in 1877.

"You speak me true?" inquired the chief.

"I swear it," answered the captain promptly, extending his hand, which,
however, Banderah did not appear to see.

"All right," he said presently, after a silence of a few moments; then
making a sign for his women and slaves to withdraw to the further end
of the room, so that their muttered talk might not disturb the white man
and himself, he lit his pipe and said, "Go on, tell me what you want me
to do, Cap'en."

"Look," said the ex-blackbirder, laying a finger on the chiefs arm and
speaking in a low voice, "these two white men on board the yacht have
got any amount of money, gold, sovereigns--boxes and boxes of it They
stole it; I know they stole it, although I didn't see them do it."

Banderah nodded his huge, frizzy head. "I savee. These two fellow rogue,
all same you an' me."

"See, now, look here, Banderah. I mean to have that gold, and I want you
to help me to get it. As soon as these men on board are dead I will give
you a thousand golden sovereigns--five thousand dollar. Then I'll go
away in the schooner. Now, listen, and I'll tell you how to do it. The
Yankee and Peter are going to help."

Then Captain Bilker, _alias_ Sykes, unfolded his plan as follows:
Banderah was to entice De Vere and his friend some miles into the
interior, where there was a large swamp covered with wild-fowl. Here
they were to be clubbed by Banderah and his people, and the bodies
thrown into the swamp. Then Bilker, accompanied by Schwartzkoff and
Burrowes, were to go on board the schooner and settle the mate and the
white steward.

"How much sovereign you goin' to gi