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+The Project Gutenberg eBook, Kit Musgrave's Luck, by Harold Bindloss
+
+
+This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with
+almost no restrictions whatsoever.  You may copy it, give it away or
+re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included
+with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org
+
+
+
+
+
+Title: Kit Musgrave's Luck
+
+
+Author: Harold Bindloss
+
+
+
+Release Date: April 14, 2012  [eBook #39453]
+
+Language: English
+
+Character set encoding: ISO-646-US (US-ASCII)
+
+
+***START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK KIT MUSGRAVE'S LUCK***
+
+
+E-text prepared by Steven desJardins and the Online Distributed
+Proofreading Team (http://www.pgdp.net)
+
+
+
+KIT MUSGRAVE'S LUCK
+
+by
+
+HAROLD BINDLOSS
+
+Author of Partners of the Out Trail, The Lure of the North, The
+Wilderness Mine, etc.
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+[Illustration]
+
+Grosset & Dunlap
+Publishers   New York
+
+Made in the United States of America
+
+Copyright, 1921, by
+Frederick A. Stokes Company
+
+Published in England Under the Title
+"Musgrave's Luck"
+
+All rights reserved
+
+Printed in the United States of America.
+
+
+
+
+CONTENTS
+
+PART I
+
+THE WIDE HORIZON
+
+ CHAPTER                 PAGE
+       I.--KIT'S PLUNGE      3
+      II.--OTHER RULES       12
+     III.--A MOUNTAIN EXCURSION       20
+      IV.--KIT'S OBSTINACY       28
+       V.--MRS. AUSTIN'S VERANDA       35
+      VI.--THE INJURED PASSENGER       44
+     VII.--THE BULLET       52
+    VIII.--A SWIMMING MATCH       60
+      IX.--KIT GIVES HIS CONFIDENCE       69
+       X.--MRS. AUSTIN MAKES SOME PLANS       79
+      XI.--THE PLANS WORK       88
+
+
+PART II
+
+RESPONSIBILITY
+
+       I.--OLIVIA'S EXPERIMENT       99
+      II.--THE FIRST VOYAGE        108
+     III.--KIT'S SURPRISE       116
+      IV.--WOLF GIVES A FEAST       124
+       V.--WOLF'S OFFER       133
+      VI.--BETTY CARRIES A MESSAGE       140
+     VII.--SHIPPING CAMELS       148
+    VIII.--AN IDLE AFTERNOON       156
+      IX.--THE THIRD VOYAGE       165
+       X.--SMOKE ON THE HORIZON       173
+      XI.--MIGUEL TAKES CONTROL       181
+     XII.--THE RETREAT TO THE BOAT       189
+
+
+PART III
+
+KIT FINDS HIS LEVEL
+
+       I.--ILLUMINATION       199
+      II.--"CAYMAN'S" START       208
+     III.--THE WADY       215
+      IV.--KIT NEGOTIATES       222
+       V.--THE RETURN TO THE BEACH       229
+      VI.--BETTY DEMANDS HELP       236
+     VII.--THE "LUCIA" ARRIVES       244
+    VIII.--"CAYMAN'S" RETURN       253
+      IX.--KIT'S REWARD       261
+       X.--OLIVIA'S REFUSAL       270
+      XI.--DAYBREAK       277
+
+
+
+
+KIT MUSGRAVE'S LUCK
+
+
+
+
+PART I
+
+THE WIDE HORIZON
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER I
+
+KIT'S PLUNGE
+
+
+The morning was hot, and Kit Musgrave, leaning on the African liner's
+rail, watched the volcanic rocks of Grand Canary grow out of the silver
+haze. He was conscious of some disappointment, because on the voyage to
+Las Palmas he had pictured a romantic white city shining against green
+palms. Its inhabitants were grave Spaniards, who secluded their wives
+and daughters in old Moorish houses with shady patios where fountains
+splashed. Now he saw he had got the picture wrong.
+
+Las Palmas was white, but not at all romantic. A sandy isthmus, swept by
+rolling clouds of dust, connected the town and the frankly ugly port.
+The houses round the harbor looked like small brown blocks. Behind them
+rose the Isleta cinder hill; in front, coal-wharfs and limekilns, hidden
+now and then by dust, occupied the beach. Moreover, the Spaniards on
+board the boats about the ship were excited, gesticulating ruffians.
+Bombay peddlers, short, dark-skinned Portuguese, and Canario dealers in
+wine, tobacco, and singing birds, pushed up the gangway. All disputed
+noisily in their eagerness to show their goods to the passengers.
+
+Yet Kit was not altogether disappointed. Somehow the industrial
+ugliness of the port and the crowd's businesslike activity were
+soothing. Kit had not known much romantic beauty, but he knew the
+Lancashire mining villages and the mean streets behind the Liverpool
+docks. Besides, he was persuaded that commerce, particularly British
+commerce, had a civilizing, uplifting power.
+
+Seeing he would buy nothing, the peddlers left him alone, and he mused
+about the adventure on which he had embarked. Things had happened
+rapidly since he went one morning to Don Arturo's office in Liverpool
+and joined the crowd in the great man's waiting-room. Don Arturo was not
+Spanish, but at Grand Canary he was generally given the Castilian title
+and the Spaniards declared the island would soon be his. He was an
+English merchant of the new Imperialist school and he gave Kit exactly
+one and a half minutes. Perhaps he approved the embarrassed lad, for
+half an hour afterwards Kit had engaged to start for the Canaries and
+take a _sobrecargo_'s post on board a Spanish steamer. The secretary
+admitted the pay was small, but argued that since Don Arturo controlled
+all the business worth controlling in the Canaries and West Africa, the
+chances for promotion were remarkably good. In short, Kit could sail in
+two days and was a fool if he did not go.
+
+Kit agreed and signed the contract. He knew some Castilian, which he had
+studied at evening classes conducted by the Liverpool Y.M.C.A. Since he
+thought the association's motto, _Mens sana in corpore sano_, good, he
+had also trained his muscles at the Y.M.C.A gymnasium. For a city clerk
+he was healthy and strong.
+
+The two days before he sailed were marked by new and disturbing thrills.
+Kit was conservative, and sprang from cautious, puritanical stock. His
+grandfather was a Cumberland sheep farmer, his father kept a shop and
+had taught Kit the virtues of parsimonious industry. His mother was kind
+but dull, and had tried not to indulge her son. Although Kit was honest
+and something of a prig, he had the small clerk's respect for successful
+business. He was raw and his philosophy was Smiles'. In order to make
+progress one must help oneself.
+
+Yet he had not altogether escaped the touch of romance, and when he
+agreed to sail his first duty was to explain things to Betty. She kept
+the books at a merchant's office, and sometimes they went to a tea-shop
+and sometimes to a cheap concert. Betty did not go to theaters, but now
+and then took Kit to church. She was high-church and wore a little
+silver cross. Betty was thin, pale and quiet, and Kit's mother approved
+her, although nothing had been said about their marrying. Kit saw that
+in the meantime marriage was not for him. To marry on pay like his was
+not fair to the girl. Yet he imagined he loved Betty; anyhow, he liked
+her much.
+
+When she left the office in the evening they went to a tea-shop. Kit
+found a quiet corner and helped Betty to cakes. He was embarrassed and
+his careless talk was forced. Betty studied him and did not say much.
+Her quietness had some charm, and she was marked by a touch of beauty
+that might have developed had she enjoyed fresh air, good food, and
+cheerful society. Women had not then won much reward for their labor,
+and Betty was generally tired. At length Kit, with awkward haste, told
+her his plans. Betty drained her cup and gave him a level glance. Kit
+thought her paler than before, but the electric light was puzzling.
+
+"You are going to the Canaries and perhaps to West Africa! Are you going
+for good?" she said.
+
+"Why, no!" said Kit. "I expect I'll stop for a year or two. Anyhow, if
+I make much progress, I'll come back then. You see, I'm forced to go.
+There's no chance for me in Liverpool; you get old while you wait for
+the men in front to move up the ladder. If I stop until I'm forty, I
+might get up a few rounds."
+
+"Is it necessary to get up?" Betty asked.
+
+Kit looked at her with surprise. Sometimes Betty's philosophy was
+puzzling, and he wondered whether she got it at church. Kit had not
+heard another clergyman preach like the vicar and thought him privately
+rather a fool. But Betty seldom argued and they did not jar.
+
+"Of course!" he said. "So long as you can get up honestly, you have got
+to get up. You can't stop in the pushing crowd at the bottom."
+
+Betty was quiet for a few moments. She looked tired and Kit imagined she
+knew all he knew about the pressure of the crowd. Then she said, "If
+only we didn't push! Perhaps there's room enough, and we might make
+things better."
+
+"Oh, well," said Kit, rather comforted by her calm, but vaguely
+disappointed because she could philosophise. "Anyhow, although it's
+hard, I must seize my chance. I shall miss you. You have been much to
+me; now I've got to go, I begin to see how much. Perhaps it's strange I
+didn't see before. You don't argue, you belong to my lot, but somehow
+one feels you're finer than other girls one meets--"
+
+He stopped and Betty gave him a curious smile. "Do you know many girls,
+Kit?"
+
+"I don't," he admitted. "I haven't bothered about girls; I haven't had
+time. They expect you to tell them they're pretty, to send them things,
+to josh and make them laugh, and now and then to quarrel about nothing.
+Rather a bore when you'd sooner be quiet; but you're not like that. We
+have been pals, and now I wish you were going out with me."
+
+"There's not much use in wishing."
+
+"That is so," Kit agreed and hesitated for a moment or two while his
+face got red. "You couldn't go now, but I'm coming back. Suppose I get
+on and my pay is good? Will you marry me when I go out again?"
+
+Betty gave him a long, level glance. For all that, he thought her hand
+shook when she moved her cup and his heart beat.
+
+"No," she said quietly. "Anyhow, I won't promise. Perhaps, if you do
+come back, we'll talk about it, but you mustn't feel you're bound to
+ask."
+
+Kit got a jolt. That Betty liked him was obvious, and the girls he knew
+were keen for a lover. Betty, of course, was not like them, but she was
+human. In a sense, however, her refusal was justified. Perhaps he was a
+dull fellow; a girl by whom he was once attracted declared he was as
+gloomy as a funeral. Then, with his rather shabby clothes and small pay,
+he was certainly not worth bothering about. For all that, Betty's
+refusal strengthened his resolve.
+
+She was firm, but he got a hint of strain. The thrill of his adventure
+had gone and he was sorry for Betty. He knew how she lived; the dreary
+shabby street she left in the morning for her nine hours' work, the
+pinching to make her pay go round. All was dull and monotonous for her,
+but he was going to a land of wine and sun. He could not move her, and
+she left him, puzzled and unhappy, in the street.
+
+The evening before he sailed they went to a concert, and Betty let him
+come with her to the door of her lodgings. She opened the door and then
+looked up the street. Nobody was about and when Kit advanced
+impulsively, she put her arms round his neck and kissed him. Then she
+firmly pushed him back.
+
+"Good-bye!" she said, and the door shut.
+
+Kit thought about it while he leaned against the rails on board the
+African boat. Perhaps it was strange, but he had not kissed Betty
+before. To hold her in his arms had rather moved him to a curious
+tenderness than to passion. When he thought about Betty he felt gentle;
+but he braced himself and forced a smile, for the new governor of an
+African jail came up with Bones and Blades.
+
+Considine was an old soldier, with a red face and twinkling eyes, who
+had been long in India, but did not state his rank. Bones and Blades
+were raw lads from Lancashire going out to a West African factory for
+the yearly pay of eighty pounds. Their notion of life at the factory was
+romantically inaccurate.
+
+"The boat stops six hours," Considine remarked. "Long enough to see the
+town, and they tell me wine is cheap. I'll go ashore with you, Musgrave.
+Where's my money, Bones?"
+
+"I'll keep t' brass until you come back," Bones rejoined.
+
+Considine was fat and his hair was going white, but he turned with
+unexpected swiftness and seizing the lad, took his cap.
+
+"No time to get my boots, but your deck-shoes won't go on! Hand out my
+pocket-book."
+
+Bones gave up the book and went to the gangway with Kit.
+
+"I expect that's your boat. We were pretty good pals on this voyage and
+I hope we'll meet again. What do you say, Blades?"
+
+"I'd like it," agreed the other and then his friendly grin vanished and
+his freckled face got grave. "All the same, Africa's a queer country and
+you can't have adventures without some risk. Well, good luck, Musgrave!
+I'd better say good-bye!"
+
+Kit gave him his hand and afterwards learned that Blades' dream of
+romantic adventures was not realized. His job was to count bottles of
+trade gin, and he and Bones died of fever before they earned their first
+year's pay.
+
+In the meantime, Considine jumped into the boat. He wore neat white
+clothes, thin, red slippers, and Bones' cap, which was much too small.
+
+"I ought to have stopped on board," he said with a twinkle. "All the
+same, when I get to Africa I'll have long enough to play up to my job.
+At Las Palmas I'm not important. When you want a frolic, go where you're
+not known."
+
+Kit did not want a frolic. He was thoughtful and rather daunted. All his
+old landmarks were gone; he was in a new country where people did not
+use the rules he had known at Liverpool. Besides, he was thinking about
+Betty. For all that, when the Spanish boatman rowed him across the
+harbor to a lava mole he roused himself. The _patron_ declared that
+although the fare was fixed in pesetas English passengers paid with
+shillings. It was, however, not for nothing Kit sprang from sternly
+frugal stock. He stated in his best Castilian that the peseta was worth
+ninepence and he would pay with Spanish money or would not pay at all.
+The _patron_'s violent arguments did not move him, but when he heard a
+laugh he looked up.
+
+Two ladies occupied the pavement at the top of the steps. One was
+little, dressed in white, with fine lace on her fashionable clothes, and
+looked dignified. The other was young and wore a dress of corn-yellow.
+Her eyes were brown and luminous, her hair was nearly black, and her
+rather olive skin had something of a peach's bloom. Her type of beauty
+was new to Kit, but when he saw she remarked his glance he turned to the
+gesticulating boatman.
+
+Mrs. Austin was an important lady at Las Palmas, where her husband, and
+her father, Don Pancho Brown, carried on a merchant business. People
+said Jacinta Austin ruled both. Olivia, her sister, had not long
+returned from an English school.
+
+Senor Don Erminio Martinez, captain of a small Spanish mail steamer,
+engaged the ladies in talk, because Olivia was beautiful and he waited
+for his boat. Don Erminio was big, brown-skinned and athletic. He wore
+shabby English clothes and a small English cap, and looked something
+like a bullfighter. On the whole, he was a trustful, genial ruffian,
+although the Barcelona anarchists were his political models. He used a
+little uncouth French and English.
+
+Mrs. Austin noted her sister's glance at the boat. The tall young man
+was obviously English, and had come to take a post; he was raw and did
+not wear the tourist's stamp. Mrs. Austin knew men and there was
+something honest and thoughtful about him that she approved. All the
+same, she did not want Olivia to approve.
+
+"Book Castilian; I think the accent's Lancashire," the girl remarked. "I
+wonder where he's going; African shipping office: bananas, or coal?"
+
+"It's not important," Mrs. Austin rejoined.
+
+"Oh, well, unless he's a hermit, we are bound to meet him, and he's
+fresh blood anyway. One gets very bored by the banana and coaling men.
+Still I think he's their type."
+
+"The type's plain, but I doubt if he's for the coaling wharf; the young
+man looks honest," said Mrs. Austin, and turning to the captain, added:
+"I expect he will join the _correillo_."
+
+_Correillo_ is not classical Castilian, but the captain knew she meant a
+small mail steamer and spread out his hands.
+
+"Aha! Another animal. He come to me. All animales the Yngleses of Don
+Arturo. _Verdad._ People without shame and education----"
+
+"I am English, my friend," Mrs. Austin rejoined.
+
+"One forgets; the thing looks impossible," said Don Erminio, with a bow.
+"You have a charm and sympathy. But the others! With teeth and neck like
+the camel, and the air commanding. They come on board my steamer. 'I am
+Ynglesa. All the ship for me.' But another animal of a _sobrecargo_!
+Senora, I am your servant. I go and tear my hair."
+
+He went off, and Olivia laughed. "It's strange, but people don't like
+us, and at the beginning I expect the young man will have some trouble
+on board _Campeador_. All the same, Don Erminio's really a good sort.
+Well, it looks as if the dispute about the fare had stopped. He's beaten
+the _patron_."
+
+She stepped back, for Kit came up the steps behind a boatman who carried
+his tin box. Considine followed, and at the end of the mole the boatman
+called a _tartana_. Kit got into the little trap, and Considine, pushing
+the driver from his seat, seized the reins. The horse kicked, the
+_tartana_ rocked, and they started for Las Palmas in a cloud of dust.
+
+"At home, we're a sober lot," Mrs. Austin remarked. "In the South, we're
+joyfully irresponsible. How do you account for it?"
+
+"I don't account for it," said Olivia. "There's no use in bothering
+about things like that. Besides, the young man looks remarkably sober."
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER II
+
+OTHER RULES
+
+
+After a collision with a steam tram, the _tartana_ reached Las Palmas
+and Considine got down at a wine shop. He refused to pay for the damage
+to the trap, and wishing Kit good luck, vanished among the barrels in
+the dark shop. The _tartanero_ drove Kit to the steamship office, and
+sitting on the doorstep declared he would not go away until his just
+claim was met. Kit, somewhat embarrassed, was shown into the manager's
+room and received by a little, fastidiously neat Spanish gentleman. The
+driver's mournful voice pierced the lava walls, and when Kit narrated
+the grounds for his complaint, Don Ramon shrugged.
+
+"It is not important; when the tourists are about, such disputes are
+numerous," he said in careful English, and gave a clerk some orders.
+
+The _tartanero_'s clamour stopped and Don Ramon resumed: "We will send a
+note to the purser, and if your countryman does not miss his ship, the
+thing is finished. Many do miss their ships and there is trouble for us.
+I have much admiration for the English, but they make disturbances."
+
+"We are not all like that," Kit objected.
+
+"You are not like that in England; I was at the Company's office," Don
+Ramon agreed. "All was in stern order, but in this country you have
+other rules. Well, it is not important. To-night you join your steamer;
+I will tell you your duties."
+
+He did so with kind politeness, and Kit liked the man then and
+afterwards. By and by Don Ramon sent him to a Spanish hotel, and for a
+time he wrote letters to his mother and Betty behind a bougainvillea
+that climbed from the flagged _patio_ to a balcony. The creeper's
+splendid purple shone against the yellow wall and on the opposite
+balcony old bronze rails twinkled. The shade was cool, and all was quiet
+but for the rumble of the Atlantic surf. While Kit wrote his frank,
+boyish letters, he thought about Betty with shy tenderness. In a sense
+she had refused him, but his normal mood was calm and he had not known
+passion yet. He wrote to Betty very much as he wrote to his mother.
+
+By and by he put up his writing case and went off to get some stamps at
+a baker's shop. In Spanish countries one cannot, as a rule, buy stamps
+at a post office. Then he looked at his watch, and seeing it was two
+o'clock, walked across the town. Don Ramon had stated that he need not
+go on board before midnight. The streets were strangely quiet and for
+the most part nobody was about; Kit understood the citizens went to
+sleep in the afternoon. He saw nothing romantic. Las Palmas rather
+looked business-like and modern than picturesque. The houses had
+straight, square fronts and the roofs were flat. Only the white belt of
+surf and background of broken volcanic mountains relieved the
+utilitarian ugliness.
+
+The wine shops had no call for Kit, but he noted the splashed floors,
+pungent smells, and swarms of flies. A girl on a balcony near the
+cathedral dropped a red oleander and another smiled, but Kit did not
+turn his head. He sprang from sober, puritanical stock, and his code was
+austere; one earned one's pay and studied in order to earn more; one
+shunned indulgence and trained one's body. Kit had trained his at the
+gymnasium and a cheap swimming club. In summer he sailed races on board
+cheap little boats. Although his horizon was not wide, his health and
+nerve were good.
+
+He followed the _carretera_ that runs south from the town. In Spain, a
+road is often a bridle-track a mule can hardly climb, but the government
+_carretera_ is wide and level. In the distance was Telde, where oranges
+grow, and Kit set off in the dust and scorching heat. The Trade-breeze
+blew behind him; on his left hand the Atlantic broke in shining foam
+against black lava reefs; on his right, across the thin belt of
+cultivation, dark rocks, melted by volcanic fire, rose like a giant
+wall.
+
+A few palms and fields of feathery sugar cane bordered the road. Then
+Kit saw vines, tied to sticks and growing in hot dust, and by and by a
+thread of water in a deep _barranco_. Washerwomen knelt by the channel,
+beating wet clothes with stones, and Kit understood afterwards why his
+shirts wore out. Some of the women were young, but when he stopped for a
+moment at the bridge they did not look up. To beat the clothes was their
+job, and maize flour and goat's milk cheese are dear. Farther on, Kit
+saw others, carrying big earthen jars on their heads. They looked like
+Moorish women, for their feet and arms were very brown, and long black
+shawls half hid their faces. In the fields, barefooted men laboured
+among the tomatoes and vines. It was obvious the _peons_ did not sleep
+in the afternoon; but for the most part their white clothes were good
+and they looked happy.
+
+Soon after he passed a lava village, Kit got tired. This was strange,
+but the sun was hot; and there was a wall about which lizards
+ran. Behind, grew fleshy green bananas, with big flowers like
+bleeding-hearts; and he sat down in the shade. He had meant to walk to
+Telde; going four miles an hour, one could get back before nine o'clock,
+but it was cool among the bananas and he had begun to feel the drowsy
+calm of the islands where nothing is important and the sun always
+shines.
+
+He mused about Betty. She was thin and often looked tired. If he could
+bring her out, to feel the sun and balmy wind and see the blaze of
+colour! He pictured her bending over her account books in a dark office
+and going home through the dreary streets. She knew no joy and
+brightness; his horizon was getting wider, but hers was not. Then he
+remembered Betty's silver cross. Betty went to church; perhaps she found
+her romance there and saw things beyond his view. She had refused to
+marry him and perhaps her kiss was meant for good-bye. He did not know,
+but when he got promotion he was going back to try again. In the
+meantime, for Betty's sake, he meant to keep his simple rules; to go
+straight, do what he said, cheat nobody, and by diligence force his way
+to fortune.
+
+He heard shouts and mocking laughter, and looked up. The governor of the
+African jail was running along the road, his face red, and wet by sweat;
+Bones' small cap occupied ridiculously the back of his head. His white
+jacket had lost some buttons and blew open; his thin, red slippers were
+trodden down at the heels. He laboured on with stern resolution, looking
+straight in front. Behind came a swarm of ragged children, pelting him
+with soil and stones.
+
+"Shilling, _penique_, _puerco_ Ynglisman!" they cried.
+
+For a moment or two Kit gazed at Considine with angry impatience. He did
+not know if the fellow was very drunk, but it was obvious he was not
+sober, and his breathless panting jarred on the drowsy calm. Don Ramon
+had said the English made disturbances. Yet the fellow was Kit's
+countryman; and he got up. Driving off the children, he stopped
+Considine.
+
+"Where are you going?"
+
+"Must catch my ship. Purser said five o'clock."
+
+Kit looked at his watch. It was four o'clock, and Las Palmas was some
+distance off. The port was three miles farther, but one could get a
+_tartana_ at the town.
+
+"You're heading the wrong way," he said. "Can you run?"
+
+"Turn me round and see me go," Considine replied. "Beat you, anyway.
+Loser pays for drinks."
+
+Kit turned him round and they started, but when a piece of lava a boy
+threw struck his head, it cost Kit something to use control. Now and
+then Considine's red slippers came off and they were forced to stop.
+Considine declared that if he stooped he could not get straight again,
+and Kit resignedly put the slippers on his feet. He felt himself
+ridiculous and wanted to leave the wastrel, but somehow could not. If
+Considine lost his ship and got into trouble at Las Palmas, he might
+lose his post. Kit saw his business was to help him out.
+
+He got very hot. The Trade-breeze blew the dust in his face, and the
+dust turned to mud on his wet skin; he saw dark patches on his white
+jacket. Considine's slippers came off oftener, and Kit remarked that not
+much of his stockings was left, but they made progress, and at length
+the town was close in front. Kit wondered whether the citizens had
+finished their afternoon sleep, and did not know if it was a relief or
+not to find the first street empty and quiet. He did not want people to
+see him, but he must find a _tartana_, and none was about. Considine,
+going five miles an hour, was a yard or two in front. When he saw a wine
+shop he stopped.
+
+"Here we are!" he gasped. "The loser pays."
+
+Kit pushed him across the pavement; Considine turned and knocked off his
+hat. While Kit picked up his hat the other reeled towards the wine shop
+and people came out. Kit seized him and drove him on. The market was
+not far off and he had seen _tartanas_ in the square. He was breathless,
+tired and dusty, and had trodden on his soft grey hat. People were
+beginning to run after them, but he meant to put Considine on board a
+_tartana_ and send him to the port.
+
+The market was nearly deserted, for in the Canaries one buys food before
+the sun is high, but a few stalls were occupied and three or four small
+traps waited for hire. Kit waved to a driver and seized Considine. Then
+he tried to get his breath, and wiping his hot face, smeared his skin
+with muddy grit.
+
+"Loser pays," said Considine. "What's good stopping in the sun? Let's
+get some wine!"
+
+He tried to make off, but Kit shook him angrily and glanced about. A
+crowd had begun to gather and all the traps were coming. At the end of a
+neighbouring street, the girl he had noted at the mole talked to a man
+in English clothes. She was very handsome and looked cool and dignified.
+Kit was young and got hotter when he saw her eyes were fixed on his
+dishevelled companion. He felt humiliated and could have borne it better
+had she looked amused, but she did not. She watched him and Considine
+with grave curiosity, as if she studied people of another type than
+hers. Kit got very angry.
+
+Four traps arrived, the drivers gesticulating and cracking whips, and
+Kit dragged Considine to the nearest. Considine struggled and tried to
+push him back.
+
+"Not going yet," he shouted. "Beat you easy. Where's my wine? Don't you
+pay your debts?"
+
+His jacket tore and he almost got away, but Kit got a better hold.
+
+"You're going now! Get in!"
+
+"Won't go with that fellow. Don't like his horse," Considine declared.
+
+The crowd had got thicker and people jeered and laughed.
+
+"_Todos animales. Gente sin verguenza!_" one remarked.
+
+Kit frowned. He knew the Castilian taunt about people who have no shame,
+but he held on to Considine. The drivers did not help; they disputed
+noisily who should get the passenger. Then the man Kit had noted with
+the girl came up.
+
+"Put him on board. I'll lift his legs," he said.
+
+They did so with some effort, for Considine was heavy and kicked.
+
+"To the mole; African steamer's boat," said Kit; Considine occupied the
+driver's seat.
+
+"Show you how to drive!" he said, and shoving back the _tartanero_, used
+the whip.
+
+The horse plunged, the wheels jarred the pavement, there was a crash as
+a stall overturned, and the _tartana_ rolled across the square and
+vanished. Kit heard Considine's hoarse shout and all was quiet. He
+looked about. The girl who wore the yellow dress was gone, but the man
+stood close by and gave him a quiet smile. He had a thin, brown face and
+Kit saw a touch of white in his hair. A mark on his cheek looked like an
+old deep cut.
+
+"You didn't go with your friend," he remarked.
+
+"I did not; I've had enough," said Kit and added anxiously: "D'you think
+he'll get the African boat?"
+
+The other looked at his watch. "If he runs over nothing before he makes
+the port, it's possible. A West-coast trader, I expect?"
+
+"No," said Kit. "He's the governor of a jail. An old soldier, I
+understand."
+
+His companion smiled. "The British Colonial office uses some curious
+tools, but if he sweated for you in India, their plan's perhaps as good
+as handing out a job to a political boss."
+
+"Then, you're not English?"
+
+"I'm an American. I don't know if it's important, but since you'd had
+enough of the fellow, why did you bother?"
+
+"For one thing, I wanted to get rid of him," Kit said naively. "Then, of
+course, since he is English, I felt I had to see him out."
+
+The other nodded. "A pretty good rule, but if you stick to it at Las
+Palmas, I reckon you'll be occupied! Which way do you go?"
+
+"To the _Fonda Malaguena_," said Kit.
+
+His companion indicated a shady street and left him at the top, and when
+Kit loafed in the _patio_ after his six o'clock dinner, he pondered. Las
+Palmas was not at all the romantic city he had thought, and the men he
+had met going south on board the steamer were a new type. They were
+business men, holding posts at African factories, but they were not the
+business men he knew at Liverpool. He could not picture them punctual,
+careful about small things, or remarkably sober. They had a touch of
+rashness he distrusted but rather liked. Yet he understood some occupied
+important posts. In fact, it looked as if the Liverpool small clerk's
+rules did not apply everywhere; in the south men used others. Although
+Kit was puzzled his horizon was widening.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER III
+
+A MOUNTAIN EXCURSION
+
+
+Two weeks after Kit joined his ship, she returned to Las Palmas, and on
+the whole he was satisfied with his occupation. _Campeador_ was fast and
+built on a steam yacht's model, except that her bow was straight.
+Although she rolled horribly across the combers the Trade-breeze piles
+up, she shipped no heavy water. Then Kit thought it strange, but she was
+kept as clear as a British mail-liner.
+
+He had begun to like her crew; the grave bare-legged fishermen who rowed
+the cargo launches, and the careless officers. All were Spanish but Don
+Pedro Macallister, the chief engineer, for although the _roll_ stated
+that his birthplace was Portobello, it was not in Spain. The rules
+require that Spanish mail-boats be manned by Spanish subjects, but
+government officials are generally poor and English merchant houses
+sometimes generous.
+
+For two weeks _Campeador_ steamed round the islands, stopping at
+surf-hammered beaches to pick up cattle, camels, sheep and mules. Now
+the livestock was landed and Kit, waiting for a boat to carry him
+ashore, mused about his first encounter with the captain. _Campeador_
+was steaming out from Las Palmas, rolling violently as she breasted the
+long, foam-crested seas, and Kit staggered in the dark across the
+lumbered deck where the crew were throwing cargo into the hold. She had,
+as usual, started late, for in Spain nobody bothers about punctuality.
+
+He reached the captain's room under the bridge. Don Erminio had pulled
+off his uniform and now wore a ragged white shirt and shabby English
+clothes. His cap, ridiculously shrunk by spray, was like a schoolboy's.
+Kit inquired politely what he was to do about some goods not recorded in
+the ship's manifest, and the blood came to the captain's olive skin.
+
+"Another animal! All _sobrecargos_ are animals; people without honour or
+education!" he shouted. "I am a Spanish gentleman, not a smuggler!"
+
+Kit was half daunted by the other's theatrical fury, but his job was to
+keep proper cargo lists, and what he undertook he did. It was not for
+nothing his ancestors were hard sheep-farmers in the bleak North.
+
+"Nevertheless, I want to know about the chemical manure for Palma," he
+said.
+
+Don Erminio seized the tin dispatch-box and threw it on the floor.
+
+"Look for the documents! Do I count bags of manure? I am not a clerk.
+When the company doubts my honour I am an anarchist!" He kicked the
+tumbled papers. "If you find five pesetas short, I throw the manure in
+the sea. People without education! I go and tear my hair!"
+
+He went, and when the door banged Kit sat down and laughed. He had borne
+some strain, but the thing was humorous. To begin with, Don Erminio's
+hair was very short. Then, although his grounds for anger were not
+plain, Kit thought it possible the cargo belonged to a relation of the
+captain's. Picking up the papers, he returned to his office, and when
+_Campeador_ reached port the bags of manure were entered on the
+manifest. Don Erminio, however, bore him no grudge. In the morning he
+met Kit with a friendly smile and gave him a list of the passengers, for
+whom landing dues must be paid.
+
+"Sometimes one disputes about the sum. It is human, but not important,"
+he remarked. "You will write three lists for the robbers who collect the
+dues."
+
+Kit said the list obviously did not give the names of all on board, and
+Don Erminio grinned.
+
+"It is a custom of the country. If one pays all one ought, there is no
+use in having official friends. I put down the names of people the
+collectors know."
+
+When the steamer was ready to leave Palma, Kit and Don Erminio went to
+the agent's office and were shown a pile of bags of silver. There was a
+bank at Las Palmas, but for the most part the merchants did not use its
+cheques, and Kit's duty was to carry the money to their creditors. The
+agent gave him a list.
+
+"You will count the bags before you sign? It is the English habit!" he
+said.
+
+Kit saw Don Erminio studied him and imagined the agent's voice was
+scornful. For a moment or two he thought hard, and then took up a pen.
+
+"I expect all the money is here?"
+
+"I have counted," said the agent and Kit signed the document.
+
+He knew he had broken a sound business rule and perhaps had run some
+risk, but he had begun to see the rules were different in Spain. When he
+went out he heard the agent say, "_Muy caballero!_"
+
+"This one is not altogether an animal," the captain agreed.
+
+Kit afterwards counted the silver and found the list accurate. On the
+morning he waited for his boat at Las Palmas, he mused about it, and
+admitted that perhaps his philosophy did not cover all the complexities
+of human nature. By and by Macallister joined him, and he asked: "Who is
+the American with a scar on his cheek I met before we sailed?"
+
+"I'm thinking ye mean Jefferson. A fine man! He was Austin's partner
+and they transact some business together noo."
+
+"Then who is Austin?"
+
+"He was _sobrecargo_ and held your post, but he didna bother aboot the
+freight. Pented pictures, until he and Jefferson salved the _Cumbria_
+and I married him to Jacinta Brown."
+
+"_You_ married him to the lady," Kit remarked.
+
+"Weel, I reckon I had something to do with it. For a' that, Don Pancho
+Brown is cautious, and although he's anither daughter, I doubt if I
+could do as much again. Ony way, if ye trust old Peter, ye'll no go far
+wrang."
+
+Kit was frankly puzzled about his new friend. Macallister's hair was
+going white, but his eyes twinkled humorously, and Kit often found it
+hard to determine whether he joked or not. All the same, people did
+trust Macallister. In the meantime, Kit wanted to know about Austin and
+Jefferson. Macallister told him.
+
+Jefferson was mate of an American sailing ship, and inheriting a small
+legacy, undertook to float a wreck on the African coast. His money soon
+ran out, his men fell sick, and when he fronted disaster Jacinta Brown
+sent Austin to help. Austin was poor and not ambitious, but he had some
+talent that Jacinta roused him to use. Macallister said Jacinta could
+make any man do what she wanted and the girl Jefferson married was her
+friend. Money was raised, Austin went to Africa, and he and Jefferson
+salved the stranded ship. Their adventures made a moving tale and when
+they returned Pancho Brown gave Austin a share in his merchant business.
+Macallister repeated that he was really accountable for Jacinta's
+marrying Austin, and when he stopped, studied Kit.
+
+"I dinna ken what I can do for you," he said in a thoughtful voice.
+"Ye're no like Austin. He was a lad o' parts. Aweel, ye're young and a'
+the lassies are no' fastidious."
+
+"Anyhow, I'm not an adventurer," Kit rejoined and hesitated. "Besides,
+if I'm ever rich enough to marry, there's a girl at home----"
+
+"Yin?" remarked Macallister. "Man, when I was young I had the pick o'
+twelve! Then I'm thinking it was no' for nothing she let ye away. Maybe
+ye have some talents, but ye're no' amusing."
+
+He turned, for Juan the mate, who wore spectacles, and the captain came
+on deck. Don Erminio carried an old pinfire gun, hung round his
+shoulders by a strap; he wore a big cartridge belt and black leggings,
+and looked like a brigand.
+
+"_Vamos!_" he said. "Me, I am _cazador_. I go shoot the rabbit. If the
+_patron_ is not about, perhaps I shoot the goat."
+
+A boat came to the ladder and Kit, rather doubtfully, got on board. He
+knew something about his companions and imagined the excursion might be
+marked by adventures. For one thing, the goats that roamed among the
+hills were not altogether wild but belonged to somebody. When the party
+landed he thought his doubts were justified. Two horses, a big white
+donkey, and a mule were waiting, and a violent dispute began, for the
+muleteer declared he went with the animals and must be paid before they
+started. He called his saint to witness that he knew the captain.
+
+"_Buen!_" Don Erminio remarked at length and turned to Kit. "He is more
+animal than the mulo, but it is not important. _Vamos!_ Now we start."
+
+They set off in a dust cloud, but presently left the road and laboured
+across a waste of hot sand. When the sand stopped they went by winding
+paths to the hills, and when they pushed up a dry watercourse Kit's
+troubles began. The track was rough, and dangerous in places where the
+sharp lava blocks were piled in heaps, but Don Erminio rode his lean
+horse like a _gaucho_. The fat mate rode like a sack, but his big,
+cautious donkey knew the hills, and Macallister had the carriage and
+balance of a cavalry soldier. He declared he had learned to ride in the
+Greys, and Kit thought it possible, although Macallister's statements
+were sometimes not accurate. He carried a sharp stick, with which at
+awkward spots he pricked Kit's mule.
+
+A Spanish mule is as surefooted as a cat, but riding is not a pastime
+for small shipping clerks, and Kit had not mounted before. The
+pack-saddle was very wide and galled his legs, the jolts shook him hard,
+and when they reached the top of the watercourse his muscles ached
+intolerably. The muleteer ran beside him, sometimes holding on by the
+stirrup and sometimes by the animal's tail. At the top the path went
+obliquely up a precipitous cinder bank and Macallister used his pointed
+stick. The mule kicked and Kit, falling backwards, rolled for some
+distance down the pitch. When he got up he was shaken, bruised and very
+sore, but he saw Macallister's twinkle and heard Don Erminio's hoarse
+laugh. His mouth went hard. He had engaged to ride to a hill village and
+he was going to ride there.
+
+The muleteer helped him up and they presently reached a row of square
+lava houses standing among palms and sugar cane. There was a small, dark
+wine shop, at which Don Erminio stopped.
+
+"_Buen' caballero!_" he remarked to Kit. "Now we take a drink and then I
+shoot the goat."
+
+There was no glass in the wine shop windows and the Trade-breeze blew
+through the room. After the glare outside, to sit in the shade and rest
+one's aching muscles was soothing, and Kit drank two cups of red wine.
+The captain drank _cana_, a raw rum, and presently picking up a guitar
+began to sing. His voice was good and Kit liked the music, although he
+did not know it was classic opera. He sang on, without embarrassment,
+when Macallister began, "Gae bring to me a pint o' wine," and the
+clashing melodies brought a group of _peons_ to the door.
+
+"Ave Maria!" one exclaimed. "But they are strange, the men of the sea!"
+
+By and by Kit noted the empty bottles and got up. He had had enough and
+resolved he would not help Don Erminio to shoot another's goat.
+Moreover, he imagined his companions had had too much. Starting for the
+port, he left the village but soon afterwards sat down by a euphorbia
+bush. Although his head was clear, his legs were a trifle unsteady; the
+red wine was stronger than he had thought, but perhaps his coming out
+from the cool, dark shop into the scorching sun accounted for something.
+He frowned, and resolving he would not again indulge like that, began to
+look about.
+
+Overhead, a tremendous rampart of broken mountains cut the sky. In
+places, the rocks, torn by volcanic heat, were black as ink; in places
+they were red, and some belts shone in the searching light like polished
+steel. In the hollow of a _barranco_ where water ran were tall palms and
+luminous green cane, dotted by red oleanders and geraniums. The sky was
+all blue and the Atlantic glimmered like a big turquoise.
+
+Kit felt the landscape's charm, for he had not known much of Nature's
+beauty. At Liverpool, when one went out with a bicycle on Saturdays, one
+followed the tram-lines across a flat country stained by smoke and the
+dust of traffic. He had once stopped for a week with his father's
+relations in the North and remembered the quiet, green valley where the
+river ran, but the moors about it were hidden by rain-clouds, and mist
+rolled down the long wet slopes. Now sea and mountains were touched
+with splendid colour by the Southern sun.
+
+He mused about his companions. He thought Macallister a good sort, and
+liked the Mate and Don Erminio. Their irresponsible carelessness had
+charm, but Kit did not altogether approve; his friends and relations
+were frugal, industrious folk. He had a vague notion that their
+utilitarian virtues were sometimes shabby; for example, in Kit's circle,
+one was sober because soberness paid. But at the same time, to waste his
+youth and talents in indulgence was folly.
+
+Yet he was not altogether moved by selfish caution; Kit's unconscious
+asceticism was his by inheritance. The blood of yeomen flockmasters, who
+by stern self-denial had held their sheep-walks on the bleak hills, was
+in his veins. They were hard folk, who fronted bitter gales, took no
+thought for their bodies, and lived that they might work.
+
+But, since he was not a hermit, it was plain he must go with his new
+friends as far as his code allowed, but when he had done so he would
+stop. He thought, for example, he had stopped in time when he left the
+wine shop after Macallister ordered another bottle. Then, looking at his
+watch, he got up and started for Las Palmas.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER IV
+
+KIT'S OBSTINACY
+
+
+When he had gone some distance Kit climbed down a ravine that promised a
+short line to the harbour, and stopped as he crossed a field of maize at
+the bottom. A girl, standing by a horse, was occupied by a strap, and
+Kit knew her before she looked up. She wore a short linen riding-skirt,
+a thin yellow jacket, and a big yellow hat that shone against the tall
+green corn. Her olive skin had a warm tinge; her brown hair looked
+burnished. She was Mrs. Austin's sister, and Kit admitted he had not in
+England met a girl like this. He thought her vivid; it was the proper
+word.
+
+"Have you some bother about the harness?" he asked.
+
+Olivia looked up and noted that he was tall and straight. His colour was
+fresh, for Kit was not much sunburned yet, and his eyes were frank. In a
+way, he was rather an attractive fellow, but not altogether her sort.
+For one thing, he was Don Arturo's man and his white clothes were cheap.
+All the same, when the winter tourists were gone, young men were not
+numerous.
+
+"A strap has broken," she replied. "Perhaps one could get a piece of
+string through the hole. Have you some?"
+
+"I have a leather bootlace," said Kit. "If you'll wait a minute----"
+
+He was going off, but she stopped him. "You had better see how much we
+need, because if you cut too much, you may have some trouble to reach
+Las Palmas."
+
+"That is so; you're rather clever," said Kit, who looked at the broken
+strap. "Well, I'll find a block where I can take off my boot."
+
+Olivia smiled. Lava blocks were all about, but she liked his
+fastidiousness. In a minute or two he came back with a piece of the lace
+and began to mend the strap.
+
+"Let me help," said Olivia. "That loop is not very neat; I don't think
+you are much of a workman."
+
+"In England, I was a shipping clerk," Kit rejoined.
+
+Olivia noted his frankness. As a rule, the young men from the coal wharf
+and banana stores talked guardedly about their English occupations. Some
+had come for a warmer climate and some for fresh experience, but none
+admitted he had come for better pay. She helped Kit to pull the loop
+straight and he remarked that it did not look very firm.
+
+"It will hold," she said. "In Grand Canary harness is mainly string. You
+are on board the _correillo_, are you not? I think I saw you land from
+the African boat."
+
+Kit said he had joined the ship two weeks since, and Olivia wondered
+whether he was dull. He ought to have seen that her remembering his
+arrival was flattering, but he obviously did not.
+
+"Well," she resumed, "what do you think about the _correillo_'s
+officers?"
+
+"I don't know yet. You see, one doesn't meet men like these at
+Liverpool. For one thing, _Campeador_ generally sails an hour or two
+late. That's significant."
+
+"In Spanish countries, punctuality is not a virtue and nobody is a slave
+to rules. We do what we like, when we like, and let people wait."
+
+"Sometimes it must make things awkward," Kit remarked. "However, if
+you're satisfied about the harness, can I help you up?"
+
+Olivia gave him a quick glance; it looked as if he were willing to let
+her go. He was dull, but his dullness was intriguing. In fact, since
+Olivia knew her charm, it was something of a challenge. She said she
+would walk across the maize field and signed Kit to lead the horse.
+
+"I expect you'll make for the _carretera_," he said "Isn't it the
+easiest way to your side of the town?"
+
+"If you know where I live, you know who I am."
+
+"I do know. You are Mrs. Austin's sister. Macallister told me."
+
+Olivia frowned. She was not jealous, but sometimes she felt as if
+Jacinta's popularity swamped hers.
+
+"What did Don Pedro tell you about my sister?"
+
+"He said she ruled the English colony and at Las Palmas what she said
+went."
+
+"Oh, well! Perhaps he did not exaggerate very much. Macallister does
+exaggerate, you know. But was this all?"
+
+Kit was embarrassed. Macallister had said much more.
+
+"He told me something about Mr. Austin and the wreck on the African
+coast."
+
+Olivia pondered. She knew Macallister and noted Kit's embarrassment.
+
+He occupied the post Austin had occupied. On the whole, Olivia was
+amused, but while she thought about it they passed the end of a path
+that turned off through the corn.
+
+Kit was quiet. He felt the vivid light and colour made a proper
+background for his companion's exotic beauty, and not long since it was
+unthinkable that a girl like this should engage him in friendly talk.
+Yet, although one got a hint of pride and cultivation, she was frank and
+he thought her kind. The dreariness he had known at Liverpool was gone;
+walking in the splendid sunshine by Olivia's horse, he felt another
+man. For all that, Olivia thought they had talked long enough and when
+they came out from the maize she stopped. Then she saw with some
+annoyance she had passed the proper path.
+
+They had reached the edge of the narrow tableland, and in front a bank
+of volcanic cinders ran down steeply and vanished, as if there was a
+cliff not far below. The smooth surface was broken here and there by the
+marks of horses' feet, and one saw in the distance a bridle path wind
+among the rocks. A little cement channel, carrying water from the hills,
+crossed the steepest pitch, and indicated how the horses had reached an
+easier gradient. Yet to ride along the channel looked horribly risky,
+and Kit thought the bank of cinders had recently slipped down and
+carried away the path.
+
+"Give me the bridle," said Olivia.
+
+"You're not going to get up?"
+
+Olivia smiled. She had pluck and rode like a Spaniard. Moreover, in the
+Canaries, the hill roads are generally bad. Then perhaps she was willing
+Kit should see her cross the awkward spot.
+
+"My sister is waiting for me. Can you hold the stirrup?"
+
+"I won't try! You mustn't ride along the channel."
+
+The blood came to Olivia's skin. Jacinta ruled all the men she knew and
+Olivia thought something of her sister's power was hers. Then she was
+proud and young, and the fellow had told her she _must not_.
+
+"Do you mean you won't help me up?" she said. "After all, I can get up
+without you."
+
+Kit went forward a few yards and then turned and fronted her. He blocked
+the way and his mouth was firm. Olivia looked at him haughtily and her
+eyes sparkled. His object was plain; he meant to stop and force her to
+go another way.
+
+"Move back, please!" she said sharply.
+
+"Not yet," said Kit and indicated the watercourse. "You see, for a few
+yards there's nothing but the channel. You couldn't walk across the
+cinders and lead the horse. The pitch is very steep."
+
+"One could ride along the channel."
+
+"I think not. The top's rounded and the cement's smooth. The horse would
+slip."
+
+"Do you know much about horses?" Olivia asked.
+
+Kit coloured, because he imagined he understood her taunt. "I know
+nothing; until this morning I hadn't mounted a horse. All the same, the
+risk is obvious."
+
+Olivia looked at her wrist-watch. "My sister has some engagements for
+the afternoon and needs me. I ought to be at home. This is the shortest
+line to the town, but since you won't let me use it, perhaps you have
+another plan."
+
+"I have," said Kit. "I'll ride the horse across."
+
+With an effort he got into the saddle. The saddle was a man's, but he
+had not long since finished his first riding lesson, and all his muscles
+ached. Olivia marked his awkwardness and hesitated, although she let him
+go. The thing was not so risky as he thought and the horse was steady.
+Still she admitted that the fellow's nerve was good.
+
+Kit's heart beat and his look was strained. He expected to fall and
+might roll over the cliff. Then he noted that the horse tried the
+treacherous cinders with its feet as it climbed obliquely to the
+watercourse. He thought the animal was used to the hill-tracks, and if
+it knew how to get across, he would let it. One could not go up hill
+because of the rocks, and on the other side the slope was precipitous.
+Not far off, the bank of cinders stopped and one saw nothing but a
+vulture poised against the sky. He left the bridle slack and the horse
+went on. After a few minutes the animal stepped off the watercourse and
+headed cautiously down the slope.
+
+To brace himself back hurt horribly, but Kit did so. They had nearly
+passed the top of the cliff and in front a slump of cactus grew beside a
+winding path. If he could hold out until they reached the clump, he
+could get down. In the meantime, his stiff, galled knees had no grip and
+the animal's cautious movements jarred his aching back. He sat like a
+sack until the horse stepped on a rolling stone, and then his feet came
+out of the awkward Spanish stirrups. He struck the ground, and rolled
+into the cactus. A cloud of dust marked his plunge.
+
+When the dust blew away Kit was rather surprised to find he had stuck to
+the bridle and the horse had not run off. Then he was conscious of a
+strange pricking over much of his body, as if he had been stung by
+nettles. He looked at his clothes and saw they were pierced by small
+spines like needles. He pulled out a number, but they stuck to his hands
+and it was plain both ends were sharp. Then he looked at the cactus and
+understood why it was called prickly pear. The needles grew in tufts on
+the round fruit and thick, fleshy leaves. He got up and shook his
+clothes, but could not shake off the tormenting spines. While he was
+occupied Olivia joined him.
+
+"Since you have got across, I expect you see you're not very logical,"
+she remarked.
+
+"It looks like that," said Kit. "Nevertheless, I was logical as far as I
+knew."
+
+Olivia studied him quietly and Kit got embarrassed. His clothes and skin
+were smeared by dust and he felt like a pincushion. The prickling was
+intolerable and he wanted to rub his leg. Olivia's charm was strong,
+but he wished she would go. In fact, he imagined she knew this, because
+her eyes twinkled.
+
+"Your logic's not very sound," she resumed. "For example, I began to
+ride when I was eight years old, and you admitted you began this
+morning. Why did you imagine you could ride along the channel when I
+could not? However, you have kept me for some time and I mustn't stop."
+
+Kit did not know what he ought to do, but he gave her the bridle and
+held the stirrup.
+
+"Not that way! Keep your hand firm and your arm stiff," she said, and
+putting her foot on his hand, sprang to the saddle. Then she turned and
+smiled. "You have pluck, but you had better get back on board and change
+your clothes."
+
+She started the horse, and leaning back in a strangely graceful pose,
+let the animal go. The pitch was steep, and the soil was loose, but they
+plunged down the hill. Kit knew nothing about a horse's paces; he rather
+thought it skated. When Olivia had gone he tried to pull out the spines,
+but finding that for the most part they stuck to his hands he gave it
+up. Then he lighted a cigarette and reflected moodily.
+
+To begin with, it looked as if Miss Brown knew all about prickly pear,
+and her amused sympathy annoyed him. Then his battling her was obviously
+not justified, and as he watched her speed down the slopes below he
+frowned. He had refused to let a girl who rode like that undertake a
+feat he had tried; and then had fallen into the prickly pear. The thing
+was ridiculous. In the meantime, his skin was tingling; he must get off
+his clothes, and he started for Las Palmas.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER V
+
+MRS AUSTIN'S VERANDA
+
+
+Don Erminio and Kit were fishing in the bay behind the Isleta, the hill
+of volcanic cinders that shelters the Port of Light. Off-shore, the
+Trade-breeze was fresh, but in the bay the rocks broke the sea. The
+captain had moored his _barquillo_ to a reef and stood in a pool, with
+the warm, green water washing about his knees. His legs and arms were
+bare, as were Kit's, but they wore rawhide sandals, because where the
+sea-urchin grows one protects one's feet. Don Erminio carried a dripping
+bag, in which something moved, and a pole with a sharp hook like a
+salmon gaff. Kit carried a short fishing rod and was rather wet.
+Stepping out on a dry ledge, he looked about.
+
+A quarter of a mile off, the long, white-topped combers rolled across
+the bay and then broke on the north shore of the island in a belt of
+foam. Mist had begun to creep down the mountain wall, and in the
+distance Galdar hill rose against the sunset. Farther off, across a belt
+of shining sea, Teneriffe's snowy peak glimmered upon a background of
+dull green and red. Some distance from land, a small ketch-rigged vessel
+steered for the Isleta. It was nearly six o'clock and would soon be
+dark.
+
+"_Vamos!_" said Don Erminio. "One does not get rich while one looks
+about, and the salt fish I sent home from San Sebastian is almost gone."
+
+Kit remarked that the captain had sent a large box and asked if Senora
+Martinez liked salt fish.
+
+"She does not, but it is not important," said Don Erminio. "Children are
+always hungry and meat costs much. When one is a sportsman, fish costs
+nothing, and there is more money for me."
+
+He stepped on some wet weed, and staggering across the ledge, declared
+the man who made his sandals had no shame, but Don Erminio was seldom
+angry long, and Kit admitted he was a sportsman. They were looking for
+the big, yellow-striped eel, which in the Canaries is a delicacy, and
+when the captain got his breath he plunged into the shallow water and
+began to whistle.
+
+"_Salta, morena!_" he called in a thin, high-pitched note.
+
+The _morena_ feeds on pulps, the squid and octopus, which blow out air
+with a whistling noise when the pools get dry. The Spaniards eat the
+small pulps, but some are large and _morena_-fishers state they eat men.
+After a time Don Erminio jumped into a chasm where the surge swung to
+and fro, and presently stopped in front of a dark cave. Long weed tossed
+about with the wash, and the light that touched the rock was broken by
+puzzling reflections, in which the captain's legs shone lividly white.
+Kit, standing behind him, rather wished he would leave the cave alone.
+Somehow the dark hole looked forbidding, but Don Erminio declared he had
+seen a _morena_ go in and Kit resigned himself to wait.
+
+By and by he remarked, under water, a dark object stretched across a
+rock. It was spotted and looked rather like a thick stalk of weed. He
+thought it wavered, but the movement of the water might account for
+this, and Don Erminio began to pull about the weed. When Kit looked down
+again, the object was curved and thicker than he had thought. It
+obviously moved and its outer end was getting near the captain's leg.
+Then Kit saw another, and for a moment stood stiff and quiet while
+something throbbed in his ears. He knew the objects were the arms of an
+octopus.
+
+He roused himself, and pushing the captain back, lifted his rod and
+struck. Don Erminio saw and shouted, but turned to the cavern and his
+pole jarred on Kit's. The weed tossed, the water got disturbed and
+thick, and Kit saw indistinctly three or four waving arms. It looked as
+if the thing was coming out, and he struck in savage panic at the spot
+he thought it occupied. Then Don Erminio leaped on to a dry ledge and
+pulled Kit up. When they looked back an indistinct, spotted horror
+writhed about the mouth of the cave. For a few moments Kit fought
+against a sense of nausea and the throbbing in his ears got worse.
+
+"_Buen mozo!_" said the captain, beating his shoulder. "One has enough;
+the big pulpo is the devil. _Vamos!_ In English, we get out."
+
+While they pulled their boat to the rocks a man some distance off
+crossed the reef, and waved a white jacket. It looked as if he signalled
+and Kit saw the ketch he had noted was nearer land, but thought her too
+far off for the crew to see. The man, however, saw the boat, for he
+began to scramble across the rocks, shouting to Don Erminio.
+
+"The ketch is Senor Jefferson's and they do not want her to make the
+port, where she must pay some dues," the captain said to Kit. "She is to
+go on to Africa, but the fellow says his boat is damaged and he cannot
+carry the message. Me, I think the wind is too strong for him. However,
+Senor Jefferson is very much a gentleman and the thing is possible."
+
+Kit looked at the sea and doubted. The wind was fresh and outside the
+shelter of the rocks the combers were white and big, but Don Erminio
+could handle a small sailing boat. Kit signed agreement and the captain
+turned to the fisherman.
+
+"Go home, mackerel-eater, and say two sailors have taken on your job."
+
+They got on board, and while the captain rowed Kit reefed the latine
+sail. The boat plunged and spray began to blow about. When the sail was
+hoisted Kit got on the windward gunwale and the captain took the helm.
+The _barquillo_ was small and did not carry much ballast, and the reefed
+sail pressed her, but in order to reach the ketch she must be driven to
+windward boldly. The others saw her coming for they hove their vessel to
+some distance off. Kit knew they durst not run far into the rocky bay.
+
+The long yard began to bend and foam leaped about the gunwale. The
+_barquillo_ was fast, and the latine sail took her well to windward, but
+a small boat going to windward is generally wet. When she lurched
+obliquely across the rollers the spray blew in clouds from her weather
+bow, and now and then their tops broke on board. Kit durst not get down
+to throw out the water; his weight was needed for a counterbalance on
+her lifted side, and he presently imagined she could not stand much
+more. Don Erminio's clothes and face were wet, but he met the big,
+curling seas with cool confidence, and somehow the boat went across.
+
+When Kit could look ahead he saw the ketch was not far off. Her mainsail
+was lowered and, with jib and mizzen set, she swung her forefoot out of
+the foam and sank until her rail was hidden. It was plain the boat could
+not reach her on one tack, and by and by Don Erminio waved his cap.
+
+"Let them do something. Now they must come to us," he said.
+
+The ketch's helm went up, she swung round before the wind, and when she
+luffed the boat was close under her lee. Don Erminio and the _patron_
+shouted, a letter was thrown across, the ketch hoisted her mainsail, and
+Kit slacked the latine sheet. Going back, the wind was fair and they
+sped, with bows out of the water, across the long seas, while a wedge of
+foam stood up above the depressed stern. When they landed behind a reef
+it was nearly dark and Don Erminio studied Kit with a grin.
+
+"Senor Jefferson is very much a gentleman and the letter is important,"
+he said. "If you go by the _triana_ and do not stop near the lights,
+nobody will see you. I must take the fish to my senora before she buys
+some meat."
+
+Kit did not want to go. For one thing, his thin, wet clothes stuck to
+his body, he wore rawhide sandals, and could not find one sock. Yet he
+would rather like to meet Jefferson, who no doubt expected the letter.
+He started for the town and after a time stopped at a house in a quiet
+street. Somebody opened an iron gate in a narrow arch and Kit crossed
+the _patio_. He saw the stars shine over the court and shadowy
+bougainvilleas trail from the balconies. A fountain splashed in the
+gloom, and he smelt flowers. Then Jefferson came from a lighted room and
+took him in. He gave Kit a quick glance and noted his wet clothes, but
+did not look surprised. To look surprised was not Jefferson's habit.
+
+"You have saved me some port dues and an awkward delay," he said when he
+had read the letter. "Will you take a drink?"
+
+Kit refused politely and Jefferson resumed: "My wife can't receive you;
+she's at Palma, and there's something about which I ought to put Austin
+wise. Will you come along? I expect you know Mrs. Austin?"
+
+"Perhaps I can claim to know Miss Brown?" Kit replied and then indicated
+his clothes.
+
+"You're near my height and I can fix you; I didn't mean to let you go
+off like that," said Jefferson smiling.
+
+Kit wanted to go and when he had put on a white suit of Jefferson's they
+started. Mrs. Austin's house was modern and occupied a natural terrace
+on the hill behind the town. A veranda ran along the front, and Kit saw
+a group of people in basket chairs. When Jefferson presented him Mrs.
+Austin's smile was kind and Olivia gave him her hand. Presently Kit sat
+down in a corner and looked about.
+
+The veranda was wide and Mrs. Austin used it for a drawing-room. English
+and Spaniards owned her influence, she meddled benevolently with other's
+affairs, and presided over something like a salon of the old French
+school. At one end of the veranda a lamp stood on a bronze pillar, and
+bright beams shone out from the rooms behind, but Kit's corner was in
+the gloom and he was satisfied, since he rather doubted the fit of
+Jefferson's clothes. In front, one saw the clustered lights of the town
+and the white belt of surf that ran back to the shadowy Isleta. The sea
+sparkled in the moon's track, and then melted into the blue dark behind
+which was the African coast.
+
+Kit studied his hosts. Mrs. Austin was slender and small. Her skin was
+olive and he noted some white in her hair. She was very graceful, but
+her glance was rather thoughtful than commanding. Austin loafed in his
+easy-chair. He was handsome, but looked languid--his hands were white
+and finely-shaped, his glance was careless. Kit could hardly picture him
+the hero of Macallister's romantic tale. In fact, Austin and Jacinta
+rather disappointed Kit.
+
+On the whole, it was easier to picture Jefferson doing something big. He
+was thin, and although he was quiet, looked resolute and, so to speak,
+rough-hewn. Kit thought his was the Abraham Lincoln type. The others,
+however, were not really important when Olivia was about. She wore black
+and amber; a Spanish dress of diaphanous material and lace. Her olive
+skin was faintly touched, like a peach, by red. Kit thought her
+strangely beautiful and got a hint of pride and conscious power. By and
+by she crossed the floor and joined him.
+
+"Have you gone for another ride?" she asked.
+
+"Not yet," he said. "We have been at sea and one ride is enough for some
+time."
+
+"Do you mean, you were shaken by your fall? If so, I'm sorry."
+
+"I don't mean the fall. Going up the _barranco_ to the hills shook me
+worse. I think you know it was my first adventure on horseback. Anyhow,
+you saw its inglorious close."
+
+"But I rather thought you enjoyed adventures," Olivia replied with a
+twinkle. "Shortly before you arrived I was at a shop in the _triana_,
+and you crossed the front of the window."
+
+Kit coloured, for he had seen his reflection in Jefferson's dressing
+glass; he imagined Olivia knew his shoes pinched and the clothes he wore
+were not his. Her quiet amusement jarred, but he reflected that clothes
+were not really important.
+
+"My last adventure was on board a boat not long since," he said.
+"However, I do know a little about a boat."
+
+"Mr. Musgrave certainly does know," Jefferson remarked. "He went off to
+meet _Cayman_ in a fresh breeze that scared the fellow I sent."
+
+"Now you ought to be satisfied!" said Olivia.
+
+"I'm not satisfied. I didn't expect Mr. Jefferson to back my
+statement."
+
+"Then you didn't want to persuade me you can manage a boat?"
+
+"Not at all," said Kit. "I wanted to state that when you stick to things
+you know, you're not ridiculous. When I met you at the maize field I was
+ridiculous, because it was pretty obvious I couldn't manage a horse. In
+fact, I feel I ought to apologise."
+
+"I wonder. You declared you were logical as far as you knew, and when I
+thought about it I agreed. You imagined the channel wasn't safe and saw
+I was obstinate. In consequence, you resolved to ride the horse across.
+On the whole, I think you were nice!"
+
+"Are you disputing?" Mrs. Austin asked.
+
+"Oh, no," said Olivia. "I am trying to persuade Mr. Musgrave he was
+rather noble. Not long since he rode my horse across a spot he didn't
+think safe for me."
+
+"Then I reckon his nerve is pretty good!" Jefferson remarked.
+
+Austin laughed, Mrs. Austin said nothing, but looked interested, and the
+blood came to Kit's skin. He almost thought Olivia shabby. Anyhow, he
+had had enough. If he stopped, he might look like a fool again, and he
+declared he must write out some cargo lists. Mrs. Austin told him he
+might come back, and after a glance at Olivia he turned to Jefferson.
+
+"Thank you for the clothes," he said in rather a loud voice. "I'll send
+them home to-morrow."
+
+He went off and Mrs. Austin said: "I don't altogether see----"
+
+"It isn't very obvious," Olivia replied. "However, I imagine Mr.
+Musgrave has some grounds for thinking I ought to understand." She
+smiled and resumed: "Well, one gets rather tired of the banana men, and
+although Mr. Musgrave has some drawbacks I think he's good stuff. What
+do you think, Jake?"
+
+"I reckon you _know_," said Jefferson, who looked at Mrs. Austin. "You
+see, I brought the young fellow."
+
+"Oh, well," said Olivia, "we will admit that is something, but perhaps
+it's not important. Mr. Musgrave has engaged to return your clothes. If
+you had trusted anybody else on board his ship, I expect you would not
+have got them back. The _correilleros_ keep all they get."
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER VI
+
+THE INJURED PASSENGER
+
+
+The red sunset shone behind Lanzarote's broken hills, and the Trade-wind
+had, for an hour or two, dropped to a light breeze. _Campeador_'s boat,
+under jib and spritsail, was beating up the coast. Don Erminio held the
+tiller; Kit sat on the gunwale and smoked and looked about. Between sea
+and mountains ran an empty plain, crossed by lava ridges and covered by
+sand that had blown, for sixty miles, from the Sahara. In the distance,
+the little whitewashed port of Arrecife glimmered against the dark sea.
+The landscape was clean-cut and arid. Kit thought it looked like
+pictures of Palestine.
+
+Rabbits and vividly-coloured fish occupied the bottom of the boat, for
+Don Erminio was a keen sportsman and made his sport pay. As a rule, his
+other ventures were not profitable, and he had taken Kit along the coast
+to look at a new tomato farm, in which he had bought shares. They found
+a rude wall, enclosing a belt of sand in which Kit imagined nothing
+could be forced to grow, and the captain stormed about the knavery of
+the people who had persuaded him to speculate, until he saw a goat. Now,
+however, he was resigned and philosophical.
+
+"Business is not for sailors, who are honest people," he remarked in
+English. "You have seen the _finca de tomate_. _Buen' ejemplo!_"
+
+Kit had seen, and sympathised with the captain.
+
+"Did you invest much money?" he asked.
+
+"Fifty-dollar. Money of my senora, and when I arrive at my house she
+make _escandolo_. When they start the _finca_ there is a feast, mucho
+talk and drinky. Me I say, '_Viva la industria._ Take my fifty-dollar.'
+_Hombre_, when I calculate the vermouth fifty-dollar buy!"
+
+Kit said it was hard luck and tried not to smile, for the captain's
+speculations were something of a joke at Las Palmas.
+
+"Other time I buy the mule cart," Don Erminio resumed. "I say, if the
+merchant want his cargo, he must use my cart. The plan is good, I buy
+more cart and get rich quick. _Vaya!_ The cart is on the mole, two good
+mule in front. Comes the _locomotura_, pushing the concrete block. _Mal
+rayo!_ The driver not look, and the mule is in the sea. I am no more
+_commerciante_; I am anarchist!"
+
+Kit thought he understood the accident, for the mole at Las Palmas is
+narrow and the concrete blocks, carried on rails to its end, are large.
+The captain paused and coughed.
+
+"Don Pedro savvy much; he buy whisky," he went on. "Now I have seen the
+_finca_ mi t'roat is like the lime pit."
+
+Kit's throat did not bother him. He had inherited an ascetic vein and,
+in a country where wine is cheap, he was abstemious. For all that, he
+was hungry and he looked ahead to see if the little port got nearer. He
+hoped the breeze would not freshen much before they arrived. Then he
+heard blocks rattle and looked astern. A schooner had gone about behind
+them and was overtaking the boat. Her forefoot swung out of the smooth
+swell, and a thin streak of foam marked her waterline; her high sails
+were black against the sunset. As she came up she swerved, a jib was
+hauled aback to stop her, and her after-canvas flapped.
+
+"_La Malaguena_," said Don Erminio. "Now we get a drink!"
+
+When the schooner forged past somebody threw a rope, Kit pulled down the
+boat's mast, and in a few minutes he and Don Erminio got on board. She
+was a beautifully-modelled vessel, belonging to the fruit-carrying
+fleet, but Kit understood an English merchant had recently chartered
+her. When he jumped down from the bulwarks, Wolf, the merchant, crossed
+the deck.
+
+"If you'll come below and smoke, we'll tow your boat," he said and
+addressed Don Erminio in good Castilian. "Hallo, my friend! How do
+things go?"
+
+"They do not go well," said the other. "I have seen the tomato farm."
+
+Wolf laughed and took them to the small stern cabin, where he got out
+two or three bottles, some figs, and cigars. Kit took a _copita_ of
+sweet, white muscatel and studied his host. Wolf was dark-skinned and
+wore white clothes, Canary rawhide slippers and a Spanish sash, but his
+English was good. Although he was fat, his movements and glance were
+quick.
+
+"We'll put you on board your steamer when we anchor off the town," he
+said presently.
+
+"Then, you're not going in?" said Kit.
+
+"I think not. Arrecife is an awkward port to make in the dark. If the
+wind holds light, we'll anchor and wait for daybreak."
+
+"The wind she freshen," said Don Erminio. "I know the reefs like a fish.
+I pilot you."
+
+A steward had lighted the swivelled lamp and Kit occupied a locker
+behind the small swing table. Don Erminio and Wolf were opposite and Kit
+thought the captain's offer embarrassed the merchant. He, however,
+smiled and said they would wait. They could not land cargo until the
+morning, the casino was dull, and to win three or four pesetas was not
+exciting. Then he turned to Kit.
+
+"Since you sail for Las Palmas soon, I'll give you a passenger. I expect
+you know we are trying to start a trade with the tribes on the Sahara
+coast. One of my men got hurt, and if he goes with you, the doctor will
+look after him to-morrow. I'd like you to send on a note I'll give you
+as soon as you arrive and keep the man on board until a boat comes. Then
+perhaps you needn't register him in your passenger lists. He's not a
+Spanish subject and we don't want the _commandancia_ officers to make
+inquiries about the accident."
+
+"The officers are animals. Me, I know them!" Don Erminio remarked.
+
+"Sometimes they bother one," Wolf agreed. "However, I'll pay the
+_sobrecargo_ for a first-class berth."
+
+Don Erminio spread out his hands indignantly. "No, senor! A friend of
+yours is a friend of mine. There is no use in being captain if one's
+friends must pay."
+
+"Oh, well," Wolf said, smiling. "I expect the _sobrecargo_ is
+accountable for the passengers."
+
+He put down an envelope and some money. Kit counted the coins and pushed
+back three or four.
+
+"You have given me too much."
+
+Wolf looked at Don Erminio, and Kit thought he slightly lifted his
+brows. Don Erminio shrugged, and Wolf leaned forward to pick up the
+money. Kit did not know if he got it, for the schooner lurched and the
+floor slanted. One heard the water rush along her side and a noise on
+deck. Loose canvas banged, ropes and blocks rattled, and it was plain
+the breeze had not kept light. As a rule, the boisterous north-easter
+freshens after dark.
+
+Don Erminio jumped for the ladder and a few moments afterwards Kit got
+on deck. All was dark and showers of spray blew about, but he saw the
+schooner was now lying-to, and the crew had partly lowered the big
+mainsail. The indistinct figures hanging on to the long boom were trying
+down a reef. Presently they rehoisted the sail and when the schooner
+started, foam boiled about her lee bulwarks and all forward was lost in
+a cloud of spray. Kit looked aft and saw _Campeador_'s boat, lifted half
+her length out of water, at the end of the towrope.
+
+They made two tacks and then hove the schooner to with the lights of the
+little town abeam. The crew pulled up _Campeador_'s boat, and Kit,
+balancing on the schooner's rail, waited for a minute before he jumped.
+Long, white-topped combers ran in the dark, the schooner rolled, lifting
+her wet side out of the foam. Sometimes the boat bumped her planks and
+sometimes swung away on the backwash. At length Kit jumped, and held her
+off while Don Erminio, rather unsteadily, came down a rope. Then two men
+appeared at the gangway, carrying another. The boat swung towards the
+vessel, Kit, bracing himself to bear a load, reached up, and next moment
+the man fell upon him.
+
+A rope splashed, he stepped the little mast and hoisted the jib. Don
+Erminio seized the tiller, the schooner vanished, and the boat headed
+for Arrecife. The passenger lay in her bottom and did not move. By and
+by _Campeador_'s lights tossed in the dark ahead, for there was no moon
+and the gloom was thickened by spray and blowing sand. The steamer
+rolled savagely and Kit knew if they missed her, it would be awkward to
+make the shallow, surf-swept port. One could not trust the captain's
+pilotage; Wolf had been generous with his liquor.
+
+Riding on a comber's crest, they sped past _Campeador_'s stern and Kit
+saw her side, pierced by lights, lengthen out. He jumped for the mast
+and dropped sail while Don Erminio shoved down the helm. The boat ran
+on towards the illuminated square of the gangway under the saloon-deck,
+and a rope came down. Then Kit, pulling out the mast, held her off with
+the hook and the steamer rolled her bilge out of the water. Gangway and
+ladder went up, her side looked like a high, slanted wall; and then she
+rolled back and buried the ladder in swirling foam.
+
+Indistinct figures cut against the light and scrambled down the ladder.
+Kit let the boat swing in, and somebody seized the passenger and dragged
+him out of the boat. Next moment Kit was on the platform at the bottom
+of the ladder with the water about his knees, helping the others, who
+pulled their load through the gangway. The officers' mess-room was
+opposite, and carrying in the man they put him on the locker cushions.
+He looked young, but his eyes were shut, he breathed heavily, and a
+dirty bandage covered the lower part of his face. When they entered
+Macallister got up.
+
+"Wha's this? Where did ye get him?"
+
+"His name's Scot and we brought him from Wolf's schooner. He's hurt."
+
+"Maybe; the bandage indicates it," said Macallister, who studied the
+man. "For a' that, I alloo he's drunk."
+
+Kit was surprised and rather indignant, but Macallister grinned.
+
+"I'm telling ye, and I ought to ken."
+
+"_Verdad!_" said the captain. "Don Pedro savvy much. Me, I savvy
+something too. _Es cierto._ The animal is drunk."
+
+The ship was crowded by emigrants for Cuba and when they had put a
+pillow under Scot's head, Kit went for his dispatch box and got to work.
+At midnight he returned to the mess-room and found Scot sitting up with
+his back against the bulkhead. His eyes were dull and his pose was
+slack, but he awkwardly sucked up some liquor through a maize stalk.
+Macallister sat opposite, looking sympathetic.
+
+"Is that stuff good for him?" Kit asked.
+
+"D'ye ken what the stuff is?" Macallister rejoined.
+
+Kit admitted that he did not and remembered that the other sometimes
+doctored the captain from the ship's medicine-chest. When Don Erminio
+had friends on board his throat was generally bad.
+
+"Anyhow," Kit added, "I only see one glass."
+
+"He can hear ye, although he canna talk," Macallister resumed.
+
+"Where were you when you got hurt?" Kit asked.
+
+Scot moved his hand over his shoulder and Kit thought he meant to
+indicate the African coast.
+
+"How did you get hurt?"
+
+The other felt in his pocket and taking out a piece of lead dropped it
+on the table. Kit saw it was a bullet and the end was flattened.
+
+"Hit a bone," Macallister remarked.
+
+"But how did they get the bullet out? Wolf has not a doctor on board."
+
+Macallister smiled scornfully. "When ye have gone to sea langer ye'll
+ken a sailor's talents. For a' that, ye'll no trust the captain if the
+boat carries an engineer. But I'm modest and will not boast."
+
+_Campeador_, steaming before the big rollers, plunged violently. One
+heard the measured beat of engines and roar of broken seas. The
+mess-table slanted and Kit picked up the bullet, which rolled about and
+struck the ledge. He wanted to ask Scot something, but Macallister waved
+his hand.
+
+"Dinna bother the puir fellow. Away and count your tickets!"
+
+Kit went and got a bath, and was afterwards occupied until _Campeador_
+steamed into the Port of Light, when he sent off Wolf's note. Some time
+afterwards a boat with a Portuguese runner from a big hotel came
+alongside and they put Scot on board. In the evening Kit went to ask for
+him, but the clerk declared Scot had not arrived, and he doubted if
+their runner had gone to meet the _correillo_. Muleteers and
+camel-drivers from Arrecife did not stop at fashionable hotels. Kit was
+forced to be satisfied, but he thought the thing was strange.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER VII
+
+THE BULLET
+
+
+All the basket chairs on Mrs. Austin's veranda were occupied and two or
+three young men leaned against the posts. Mrs. Austin used no formality.
+People came and went when they liked. Jacinta had a smile for all; to
+some she talked in a low voice and with some she joked. She knew things
+her guests hid from everybody else, and held a clue to numerous
+intrigues. The others revolved about her; Jacinta, so to speak, occupied
+the middle of the stage.
+
+Austin, as usual, was satisfied to leave his wife alone. The evening
+reception was her business, and if she needed his help he would know. In
+the meantime, he talked to Jefferson and Kit. Kit was half conscious
+that he owed his hostess much. His clothes were better and the colours
+did not clash. He had dropped one or two mannerisms Mrs. Austin quietly
+discouraged, and had begun to take for models her husband and Jefferson.
+Jefferson was thin and hard and often quiet, although his smile was
+friendly. Austin was urbane and looked languid, but Kit now imagined he
+was not. In fact, both had a calm and balance Kit admired. They had
+risked and done much, but they did not talk down to him; to feel they
+weighed his remarks was flattering.
+
+Notwithstanding this, he was rather annoyed by the young man who talked
+to Olivia. The fellow had returned from England and was telling her
+about cricket and tennis matches and London restaurants. Olivia looked
+interested, and Kit was jealous. His cricket was elementary and he knew
+nothing about tennis, but he thought Olivia ought to see Nasmyth was a
+fool. For one thing, he wore Spanish alpaca clothes, a black Spanish hat
+and a red sash, and looked like a brigand from the opera. Kit
+instinctively hated a theatrical pose, and wished Olivia had seen the
+fellow crumple up after a few minutes' dispute with Macallister about
+some coal.
+
+He was not in love with Olivia; this was, of course, ridiculous. She did
+not move him, as Betty had moved him, to a shy tenderness that was
+mainly protective. When he was with Olivia he was romantic and
+ambitious; she inspired him with vague resolves to make his mark and use
+his talents. Her charm was strong, but Kit knew his drawbacks.
+
+By and by Jefferson asked: "Did you see Wolf's schooner when you were on
+the Lanzarote coast?"
+
+"Why, yes," said Kit. "We went on board one evening and brought back a
+hurt man."
+
+He stopped for a moment. Wolf had asked him not to enter Scot on the
+list of passengers, but then he had not asked him not to talk about it.
+Besides, the thing was puzzling, and Kit was curious. He narrated their
+getting Scot on board and sending him off with the hotel runner at Las
+Palmas. When he stopped he thought Austin looked thoughtful.
+
+"Do you know Wolf?" Austin asked.
+
+"I do not," said Kit. "I hadn't met him before. He was polite, but, of
+course, he knew my post."
+
+"You mean, he reckoned you were not worth cultivating?" Jefferson
+remarked. "Sometimes a mail-boat's _sobrecargo_ is a useful friend."
+
+"I don't expect Wolf has much use for me. He's trading in North-west
+Africa, is he not? What does he get?"
+
+"The Sahara's not all desert. There are oases, and _wadys_ where water
+runs. The Berber tribes have goods to trade and some of the stuff that
+comes out of the hinterland is valuable. In fact, the caravan roads may
+presently go west to the Atlantic and not north to Algiers."
+
+"What sort of fellows are the tribesmen?"
+
+"Physically, they're magnificent; I reckon it's the proper word. Six
+feet tall, muscular and hard as rawhide. We don't know much about their
+morals, but they're fearless, proud, and distrust strangers. Anyhow,
+they're a pretty tough crowd to get up against."
+
+"Have you got up against them?" Kit asked.
+
+Jefferson smiled. "We have had disputes. I reckon you know Austin and I
+send the _Cayman_ across now and then. Sometimes she brings back sheep
+and barley and sometimes other goods. The trouble is the Spanish crew
+are not keen about anchoring on the Sahara coast; they know the _Moros_.
+But the fellows are not Moors, but Berbers of a sort. The true Berber is
+rather short and light; these folk are big and dark."
+
+"Whose is the country?"
+
+"The Berbers'?" Austin replied with some dryness. "Nominally, the Rio de
+Oro belt belongs to Spain. France claims the hinterland, the coast south
+of Rio de Oro and some territory north. However, did you look up the
+fellow Scot?"
+
+"I tried. He was not at the hotel, and when I went to the house where
+Wolf's note was sent, the old Spaniard I saw knew nothing about him."
+
+"Where is the house?" Austin asked.
+
+Kit told him and he looked at Jefferson, who knitted his brows.
+
+"Oh, well," said Austin. "Do you know how Scot got hurt?"
+
+Kit took out the bullet. "He couldn't talk, but when we asked about his
+injury he put this on the table. The boat was rolling and I thought the
+thing would jump off."
+
+Jefferson examined the bullet and gave it to Austin, who said nothing
+for a few moments and then lighted a cigarette.
+
+"Strange and perhaps significant!" Austin remarked.
+
+"Why is it strange? We know the man was shot," said Kit.
+
+"The Berbers use long, smooth-bore, muzzle-loading guns; beautiful guns,
+with inlaid stocks, probably made long since in Persia and India. I
+don't know how they get them, but these people are not savages. They
+have a pretty good trading system and caravan roads. This bullet was
+fired from a modern rifle; a Mauser, I think. Do you want it?"
+
+Kit said he did not and Austin glanced at Mrs. Austin, who presently
+beckoned Jefferson. He went off, and Kit pondered. On the surface, the
+others had been frank, but he doubted if they had told him all they
+knew. Then it was perhaps strange Mrs. Austin had signed to Jefferson.
+
+"Looks as if the bullet interested you," Kit ventured.
+
+"That is so," Austin admitted with a smile. "We imagined we knew the
+range of the Berbers' smooth guns. Since they make very good shooting,
+we found this useful; but a modern rifle is another thing. In fact, I
+begin to see----"
+
+Kit was intrigued by the hint of romantic adventure, but Austin stopped
+and got up, for Olivia advanced. Sitting down by Kit, she opened her
+fan.
+
+"Since you come to see us, I expect you're not bored," she said.
+
+"Not at all," said Kit. "I feel I owe Mrs. Austin much for leave to
+come. All's so new to me."
+
+"The people? Well, I suppose we're rather a mixed lot."
+
+"I didn't altogether mean the people, although they are new. At
+Liverpool, my friends were of a type; the industrious clerk's type. We
+had our rules; you must be sober and punctual, you must look important,
+and your aim was to get on. At Las Palmas, you're not a type but
+individuals, doing what you like. Still I think the new surroundings
+count for more. After the shabby streets, the rows of little mean
+houses, to come to this----"
+
+He indicated the dark volcanic mountains whose broken tops cut the
+serene sky, the Atlantic sparkling in the moon's track, and the
+twinkling lights along the belt of surf. When he stopped he heard the
+sea and the _Cazadores'_ band playing in the _alameda_. The smell of
+heliotrope came from the dusty garden.
+
+"All is really beautiful, anyhow at night, when you can't see the port,"
+Olivia agreed. "It looks as if you felt its charm, but I think you
+resist. Some people don't trust beauty!"
+
+"In a sense, to come South was like coming out of a dark room when the
+sun is bright. I'm, so to speak, dazzled and can't see which way to go."
+
+"You're not emancipated yet," Olivia rejoined. "In Spain, we don't
+bother where we go, so long as the road is easy and the sun does shine.
+However, we won't philosophise. You did look bored not long since."
+
+Kit had not imagined Olivia had noted his annoyance when she talked to
+the young man in the theatrical clothes, but he was beginning to know
+her.
+
+"Don't you think I was justified?" he asked.
+
+She laughed. "The charm of the South's insidious. When you arrived you
+were a Puritan; something of Jefferson's stamp. Well, he doesn't flatter
+one, but one trusts him."
+
+"I think him and Austin fine," Kit declared. "They're quiet and Austin's
+humorous, but you feel what they say goes. Then you know their
+politeness is sincere. But since Jefferson's American, why does he live
+at Las Palmas?"
+
+"I'll tell you his story. He was mate of an American sailing ship, some
+time since when sailing ships were numerous. She was wrecked and when
+she was sinking the crew got at some liquor and tried to kill their
+officers. I believe they did kill one or two, and then Jefferson got
+control."
+
+"You can picture his getting control," Kit remarked. "But this doesn't
+account for----"
+
+"The survivors' story was tragic and Jefferson lost his post. He came to
+Las Palmas and went to the coaling wharf. In the meantime, he had met on
+board a steamer the girl he married."
+
+"Ah!" said Kit. "Calm nights in the tropics, with the moon on the sea!
+The girl was romantic and liked adventure?"
+
+"Not at all! Muriel Gascoyne was conventional; the daughter of a
+remarkably disagreeable clergyman, who came out to stop the marriage,
+but arrived too late. Macallister had something to do with that. He
+delayed the _correillo_ when Gascoyne was crossing from Teneriffe. Then
+Jefferson got a small legacy and bought the wreck of the _Cumbria_.
+Austin went to help him and when they floated the ship, married my
+sister. The doctors said Mrs. Jefferson could not stand a northern
+climate and Jefferson stopped at Las Palmas; he and Austin had earned
+rather a large sum by their salvage undertaking. I think that's all, but
+the story's romantic. Doesn't it fire your ambition?"
+
+"To begin with, I don't expect a legacy," Kit remarked. "Then I'm not
+like Austin."
+
+Olivia smiled and shut her fan. "No, you are something like Jefferson.
+He married a clergyman's daughter! Well, I imagine Jacinta wants me."
+
+She went off and Kit's heart beat. Olivia thrilled him, but he was not a
+fool. For one thing, he knew she knew he was not her sort; then wrecks
+that poor adventurers could float were not numerous. All the same, when
+he talked to Olivia he was carried away, and wondered whether he could
+not by some bold exploit mend his fortune. He frowned and lighted a
+fresh cigarette.
+
+Soon afterwards Wolf came up the steps. With his dark skin, soft black
+sombrero and black silk belt, he looked like a Spaniard; his urbanity
+was rather Spanish than English. When he stopped by Mrs. Austin, Kit
+somehow imagined she was not pleased, but she laughed and they talked
+for a few minutes. Then Wolf joined another group and afterwards pulled
+a chair opposite Kit's.
+
+"I must thank you for landing Scot. Looks as if you used some tact. Your
+getting him quietly was an advantage."
+
+"A hotel runner brought his boat, but when I went to look him up the
+clerk knew nothing about him," Kit replied.
+
+Wolf smiled. "A dollar carries some weight with a hotel tout, and I
+didn't want to put the Port captain's men on the track. Since Scot
+landed in the hotel boat, they'd take it for granted he was a sick
+English tourist, and unless we're engaged in business, the Spanish
+officials don't bother us."
+
+Kit rather doubted if Wolf was English, as his remark implied, and
+reflected that he had not much grounds for trusting him. For one thing,
+when he paid Scot's passage he put down a larger sum than was required,
+and Kit, thinking about it afterwards, imagined the fellow expected him
+to keep the money. Then Macallister declared Scot was drunk, and Kit had
+noted that he was strangely dull. To some extent, however, Wolf's
+frankness banished his doubts.
+
+"Is Scot getting better?" he asked.
+
+"He's not making much progress. In fact, since the town is hot just now,
+we have sent him away."
+
+Kit noted that he did not state where Scot had gone, but perhaps this
+was not important, and he wanted to be just.
+
+"Are you satisfied with your post on board the _correillo_?" Wolf
+resumed.
+
+"In a way," said Kit "I like my job, but the pay is small."
+
+Wolf looked thoughtful. "Perhaps you ought to stop until you know the
+country and the Spanish merchants, but I might help you by and by. We'll
+talk about it again."
+
+He crossed the floor and by and by Kit got up. Mrs. Austin gave him her
+hand and Olivia went with him to the steps.
+
+"Is Mr. Wolf a friend of yours?" she asked.
+
+"I don't know," said Kit. "I think he's friendly."
+
+Olivia knitted her brows. "Jacinta receives him, but sometimes I
+wonder---- Anyhow, I imagine she approves you and you might find her a
+useful friend. People come to her when they can't see their way."
+
+She let him go, and Kit returned to his ship, wondering whether her
+remarks indicated that he ought to consult Mrs. Austin before he made
+friends with Wolf.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER VIII
+
+A SWIMMING MATCH
+
+
+A light breeze touched the long swell that splashed about the coaling
+mole, for the range that runs down the middle of Teneriffe cut off the
+Trade-wind. The sun was near the mountain tops and cool shadow touched
+Santa Cruz. The houses on the hillside had faded to grey, but the lower
+town shone dazzlingly white, and the sea was like wrinkled silver. At
+the end of another mole, across the flatly-curving bay, a beach of black
+sand and a green house with balconies marked the citizens' bathing
+place. The _correillo_ rode at anchor near the mole's seaward end, and
+an African mail boat rolled upon the sparkling swell between her and the
+coaling station.
+
+Kit, standing in the shade of a truck, pulled off his clothes and
+glanced at the water. The strong light pierced the smooth undulations
+and he saw the stones three or four fathoms down. A young clerk from a
+merchant house, half undressed, sat upon a lava block, and three or four
+others were stripping in the shadow of a neighbouring truck. One
+bantered Macallister, who wore a towel and talked at large.
+
+"I was a swimmer before ye were born," the engineer rejoined. "Weel, I
+alloo ye're soople and a bonny pink, but ye're saft. When I get in the
+water, I'll let ye see!"
+
+"You're not really going in?" remarked another, and a lad seized
+Macallister's arm.
+
+"Put on your clothes, Mac. We'll let you off your bet."
+
+"Ye're generous, but it's possible ye canna pay. Though I'd feel shame
+to rob ye, I never made a bet I didna try to win," Macallister replied
+and, stretching his arms above his head, balanced on his toes. "Thirty
+years sin' ye would not have seen me go, but the cares o' the world have
+worn me, no' to talk aboot keeping steam wi' short-weight coal."
+
+Kit turned to his companion. "Perhaps it's curious, but I haven't seen
+Macallister in the water. Since he started the match, I suppose he can
+swim?"
+
+"You can't argue like that about Don Pedro," said the other. "Anyhow, I
+think Nelson doubts; he tried to stop him."
+
+Kit glanced with some curiosity at the young man who had meddled.
+Crossing the plaza on the evening before, he stopped in front of a hotel
+and heard somebody singing. Perhaps it was because the song was English
+and, heard among the tall, white Spanish houses, had an extra charm, but
+Kit was moved by the music and thought the voice very fine. Entering the
+hotel, he found Macallister in the group about the piano, and when the
+engineer admitted that Nelson's song was good, but declared he, himself,
+could beat any Englishman, singing, riding, or swimming, the match was
+arranged.
+
+"Nelson's at the coaling sheds, I think?" Kit remarked.
+
+"That is so," agreed the other. "Don Arturo heard him sing in a church
+choir at home and gave him the coaling job."
+
+"Because he can sing?"
+
+The other laughed. "Doesn't look very logical, but Don Arturo's
+reasoning isn't always obvious. You don't know why he likes you and this
+has some advantages."
+
+Kit threw off his shirt, and when he walked to the edge of the mole in
+his thin swimming suit, the other gave him an approving glance. His head
+was well poised on his sunburned neck, his figure was tall,
+finely-lined, and muscular. He looked hard and athletic but he was
+tired, for it was not long since he had laboured with Don Erminio across
+the high rocks of Gomera to look for suppositious wild goats.
+
+"The sun's hot and I wish they'd send us off, but I don't see the launch
+to take our clothes across," he said.
+
+"That's Nelson's job and Nelson forgets. They tell you in the sheds he
+sometimes forgets how many bags of coal go to a ton, which leads to
+complications, since they don't fix the weight by scale and beam. But
+Don Juan is coming. Get ready to start."
+
+A man carrying a watch jumped on a truck, shouted a warning, and began
+to count. White figures leaped from the wall, and for a moment Kit
+turned his head. He saw Macallister advance to the edge of the mole and
+the _Campeador_'s mate seize him from behind. There was a struggle and
+the mate and Macallister fell, but next moment Kit heard his number and
+threw himself forward in a long flat plunge. He came up on top of a
+roller, and shaking the water from his eyes, saw the African boat and
+_Campeador_ cut the dazzling sky. Then a long green slope rose in front.
+
+He swung out his left arm and dropped his hand in front of his head. His
+head went under with the impetus he got, and when he came up he saw
+Santa Cruz glimmer pearly-grey. The shadow had crept across the town and
+was moving out to sea. Kit did not see the others; when one uses the
+overhand stroke one does not see much, and for the most part he was down
+in the hollow of the trough. He made the best possible speed he could,
+but after a time found the effort hard. Kit was not a mountaineer, and
+climbing across broken lava for eight or nine hours is strenuous work.
+Besides, the water was colder than he had thought, and when he swung up
+on a long undulation he stopped and looked about.
+
+The sun had gone and the sea was dark. Between him and the beach a small
+white object broke the surface and vanished; farther back, he saw a dot
+like a swimmer's head. He was too far out: the bathing house looked a
+long way off, he could not see the launch. Then he sank into the hollow
+and the view was lost.
+
+Kit changed his stroke and swam on his chest. He must economise his
+strength, because he doubted if he could reach the sandy beach, and to
+land on the reefs would be awkward. In fact, it began to look as if he
+was not altogether swimming for sport. Perhaps he ought to steer for the
+_correillo_, but she was some distance off. By and by he heard a faint
+shout and paddled easily until a man overtook him.
+
+"Hallo, Nelson!" he said. "Are you trying to get past?"
+
+"Not at all," gasped the other. "I've had enough. Saw you were going
+away and made a spurt."
+
+Kit, swimming slowly, could talk without much effort, and asked:
+"Where's Macallister?"
+
+"On the mole; wish I was! Where are you heading?"
+
+"I thought about the _correillo_."
+
+Nelson blew the water from his sinking lips. "Too far. I'm going to the
+African boat."
+
+"We have got no clothes."
+
+"It's not important. Let's get out of the water."
+
+"Clothes are important," Kit rejoined. "I expect she has a crowd of
+tourists on board and don't see myself walking about the saloon-deck in
+a bathing suit."
+
+"Get on and stop talking," Nelson spluttered.
+
+"Now I'm going easy, I can talk all right."
+
+"_Don't!_" growled Nelson. "You'll have to help me before long."
+
+Kit got level with him. "Brace up, go slow, and keep stroke with me."
+
+They went on; sometimes seeing for a few moments the slanted hull and
+white deck-houses of the African boat, sometimes nothing but sky and
+heaving water. Still the ship was getting near, and by and by her
+whistle shrieked.
+
+"Wants the water-barge," said Nelson. "She can't start yet."
+
+Kit was relieved to know this. The steamer had finished coaling, and if
+she started before they reached her, it would be awkward. After a few
+minutes he lifted his head and looked about. The liner, rolling on the
+long swell, was now close in front. He saw her wet plates shine as she
+lifted them from the sea and the groups of passengers about her rail.
+Some had glasses and he thought they were watching him and his
+companion. The vessel was obviously taking home the last of the winter
+tourists, and Kit frowned when he noted women's dresses. It did not look
+as if he could get on board quietly. All the same, he must get on board,
+because he could go no farther.
+
+He encouraged Nelson, and passing her high bow, they swam along her
+side. The ladder was aft and all the passengers on the saloon-deck came
+to the rail. Kit seized the ladder and when he had pulled Nelson on to
+the platform hesitated. No shore boats were about and he could not swim
+to the beach.
+
+"Embarrassing, but let's get up," gasped Nelson.
+
+Kit set his mouth and went up. A steward who wore neat uniform met him
+at the top.
+
+"Have you got a ticket, sir?"
+
+"I have not," said Kit; "do I look like a passenger?"
+
+"Ship's cleared, sir. All visitors sent off. We're only waiting for the
+water-boat."
+
+Kit made an effort for control. To get savage would not help and the
+fellow had no doubt been ordered to let nobody come on board. For all
+that a number of amused passengers were watching the dispute. The thing
+was ridiculous, and he was cold. He thought he knew one of the
+passengers and tried to signal, but the fellow went behind a boat.
+Although an iron ladder a few yards off led to the well-deck, the
+steward resolutely blocked the way. Then a very smart mate crossed the
+deck.
+
+"Why have you come on board? What do you want?" he asked.
+
+"Clothes, to begin with," said Kit. "Anyhow, we have got on board and
+we're going to stop until we get a boat."
+
+The whistle shrieked and drowned the other's reply. He turned, Nelson
+pushed Kit, and they ran for the ladder. Plunging down, they reached an
+alleyway and Nelson laughed.
+
+"I don't expect the fellow will come after us; a liner's mate has got to
+be dignified. If you want help when things are awkward, try the
+engineer."
+
+They went up the alleyway and met a short, thin man, wearing a stained
+blue jacket and greasy trousers. He stopped and studied them, without
+surprise.
+
+"Weel?" he said. "Are ye going to a fancy ball?"
+
+"We want to borrow some clothes; dungarees, overalls, anything you've
+got," said Kit. "We had to give up a swimming match and couldn't reach
+my ship, astern of you."
+
+"The little Spanish mailboat? Ye're with Macallister?"
+
+"Of course. He got up the match, although I think he didn't start."
+
+"It's verra possible," said the other dryly. "Mack canna swim. But if ye
+are friends o' his, I must get ye clothes."
+
+Kit thanked him, and then, looking at the man thoughtfully, added that
+he doubted if the things would fit.
+
+"I wasna meaning to lend ye my clothes," the engineer replied. "If ye're
+no fastidious, the second's aboot your size. Since he's occupied below,
+I dinna think he'll mind."
+
+He took them into the mess-room, gave them some white clothes, and went
+off, remarking: "Ye'll be ready to go ashore with the water-boat. When
+they've filled my tanks we start."
+
+"He won't start for some time," said Nelson. "You see, until we were on
+the mole, I forgot to tell Felix they wanted water. Jardine sent the
+coal, but the water's my job."
+
+"You seem to forget rather easily," Kit remarked.
+
+"Oh, well," said Nelson, "Don Arturo gave me the post because I can
+sing." He paused and added apologetically: "I really can sing, you
+know."
+
+Kit laughed. He thought he liked Nelson. "Where do you think the others
+went?"
+
+"There's a sandy spot near the _barranco_ and I expect they crawled out.
+Of course, the distance was too long, but Macallister insisted we should
+go right across."
+
+"Yet the engineer declared he can't swim."
+
+"He can't swim; I have gone in with him at the bathing beach. All the
+same, I don't think this would bother Mack. If your mate had not
+meddled, he'd have started."
+
+"But the thing's ridiculous!" Kit exclaimed. "If you can't swim and jump
+into deep water, you drown."
+
+"Unless somebody pulls you out. Anyhow, Mack is like that, and I forget
+things; Don Arturo's men are a fantastic lot. A number of us have
+talents that might be useful somewhere else, and, so far as I can see, a
+number have none, but we keep the business going and beat Spaniards,
+French and Germans at jobs they've studied. I don't know if it's good
+luck or unconscious ability. However, we'll go on deck and look for the
+water-boat."
+
+They went up the ladder and saw a tug steaming for the ship with a barge
+in tow. A few minutes afterwards the passenger Kit thought he knew
+crossed the deck.
+
+"Mr. Scot?" said Kit, looking at him hard.
+
+"I am Scot," said the other. "Met you on board the _correillo_. Come to
+the smoking-room and let's get a drink."
+
+The smoking-room was unoccupied and they sat down in a corner. Kit
+thought Scot had not wanted to meet him, and was curious. The fellow
+talked awkwardly and the side of his face was marked by a red scar.
+
+"You picked up my bullet," he said.
+
+"I did," Kit admitted. "Meant to give it you back, but I forgot. Do you
+want the thing?"
+
+"I'd like to know what you did with it."
+
+"Austin got the bullet. I gave it him one evening when we were talking
+about Africa."
+
+"You gave it Austin!" Scot exclaimed. "After all, perhaps, it doesn't
+matter. I have had enough and am not going back."
+
+"How did you get hurt?"
+
+"For one thing, I'd put on a cloth jacket--the evenings are pretty
+cold--and dark serge doesn't melt into a background of stones and sand.
+I imagined the tribe knew me."
+
+"Perhaps a stranger fired the shot."
+
+"There are no strangers about the Wady Azar. I carried an automatic
+pistol, but I reckoned the other fellows knew it wouldn't pay to shoot.
+In fact, I don't yet see why I was shot."
+
+"The bullet was not from a smooth-bore, but a rifle," said Kit.
+
+Scot gave him a keen glance and smiled. "Oh, well, I've had enough of
+Africa. Suppose we talk about something else."
+
+Nelson and Scot talked about London until the tug's whistle blew and
+they ran to the gangway. The ladder was hauled up, but Kit and Nelson
+went down a rope to the water-boat, and as she sheered off the engineer
+came to the steamer's rail.
+
+"Ye'll mind aboot the clothes when we come back," he shouted.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER IX
+
+KIT GIVES HIS CONFIDENCE
+
+
+_Campeador_, bound for Teneriffe, rolled with a languid swing across the
+shining swell. Her slanted masts and yellow funnel flashed; her boats
+and deck were dazzling white, and Kit, coming out of his dark office,
+looked about him with half-shut eyes. When he joined the _correillo_ he
+had not expected to find the Spanish crew kept her clean, but she was as
+smart as an English mail-boat, and Kit admitted that some of his British
+prejudices were not altogether justified. Now, however, she was not
+steaming at her proper speed. The throb of engines harmonised in a
+measured rhythm with the roar at the bows, but the beat was slow. Kit
+turned and saw Macallister watching him with a grin.
+
+"Ye look glum," said the engineer.
+
+"It's possible. We are late again, and I don't see how I'm to finish my
+business at Santa Cruz before we start for Orotava. Have your muleteer
+firemen got too much rum? Or did you forget to chalk the clock?"
+
+Macallister smiled. "Ye're hipped. I'm thinking Olivia wasna kind; but
+ye have not much notion o' amusing a bonny lass. They're no' all
+satisfied to be looked at. Man, when I was young---- But ye needna tell
+me ye didna go til Mrs. Austin's. I saw ye, stealing off, with your new
+silk belt and your shoes fresh chalked."
+
+"Miss Brown has nothing to do with the boat's arriving late."
+
+"I mind a trip when her sister had much to do with our arriving verra
+late indeed. Gascoyne, Mrs. Jefferson's father, was on board, going to
+stop the wedding, and Jacinta gave me a bit hint, but that's anither
+tale. The trouble is, when ye're short o' fuel ye cannot keep steam. I
+allood I kenned a' the tricks o' the coaling trade, but a lad with the
+looks and voice o' a cherub let me down two hundred-weight a ton. Weel,
+I might have kenned, after the innocent set on Juan to hold me so I
+couldna win the swimming match."
+
+"You're near the limit, Mack," Kit remarked and went off.
+
+He was disturbed, but _Campeador_'s slowness did not account for all.
+Before she sailed a letter arrived from his mother, who stated in a
+postscript that Betty did not look well. The girl felt the cold of an
+unusually bleak spring and worked too hard. Mrs. Musgrave understood the
+doctor thought she ought to go South, but Betty, of course, could not.
+
+Kit walked up and down the deck and pondered. Betty had refused him and
+he had resigned himself to let her go. In fact, he had begun to think he
+had not really loved her much. Now, however, to know she was ill, hurt.
+He wanted to help, but it was impossible.
+
+Then he remembered that Mrs. Austin and Mrs. Jefferson were on board.
+Perhaps he ought to see if they were comfortable; besides, to talk to
+them might banish his moodiness. He found them sitting to lee of the
+deck-house, and leaned against the rail opposite. Beneath him, in the
+moving shadow of the ship, the water was a wonderful blue; farther back,
+the long undulations, touched here and there by white, melted into the
+shining plain of the Atlantic. In the distance, Teneriffe's high range
+was streaked by silver mist, from which projected a glittering cone.
+
+Mrs. Austin held a book and rings sparkled on her hand. Mrs. Austin was
+fond of rings. Kit knew she was the daughter of a merchant who began his
+business career by selling sailors cheap tobacco, but he thought her
+like an old French marquise; a marquise with a salon where plots were
+made.
+
+Mrs. Jefferson was not like that. She was not fashionable and one felt
+her gentle calm. Somehow Kit knew the calm was inherited; one could not
+altogether get it by cultivation. She had quiet eyes, her sympathetic
+voice moved him. Now and then he was rather afraid of Mrs. Austin; he
+loved Mrs. Jefferson. He owned it strange he should enjoy the society of
+ladies like these.
+
+In the meantime, Mrs. Austin studied Kit. Although he was very raw when
+he arrived, he was, so to speak, toning down. She had taught him
+something. Mrs. Austin had educated a number of raw young men, but since
+it looked as if Olivia were interested in his progress, she wondered
+whether she was rash to meddle with Kit. For one thing, he was rather
+handsome; he carried himself well, and his figure was good. He was
+honest, and his frank look had some charm. Then he had begun to choose
+his clothes properly; Mrs. Austin admitted she had given him some hints.
+Now, however, he was obviously disturbed and she had grounds for
+curiosity. She knew she could persuade him to give her his confidence
+and she did so with a cleverness Kit did not note. By and by he gave her
+impulsively his mother's letter.
+
+"I'm bothered about the thing," he said.
+
+Mrs. Austin passed on the letter to Mrs. Jefferson. On the whole, she
+was conscious of some satisfaction, because she thought Mrs. Musgrave's
+use of the postscript significant.
+
+"One doesn't like to hear one's relations are ill," she remarked in a
+sympathetic voice.
+
+For a moment or two Kit hesitated. Mrs. Austin was Olivia's sister and
+he had not meant to talk about Betty. Sometimes he did talk when he
+ought to be quiet.
+
+"Betty is not a relation, but I'm bothered about her being ill," he said
+and indicated the snowy peak, silver mist and shining Atlantic. "I feel
+shabby, as if the thing's not just. You see, I've got so much and Betty,
+who needs all I've got more, is shivering in the cold. You don't know
+Liverpool when the east winds blow in spring."
+
+"I know other English, and some American, towns in winter," said Mrs.
+Jefferson. "When my husband found I could not stand the cold, he brought
+me back to the Canaries. I think I can sympathise with Betty."
+
+"Not altogether," Kit rejoined. "When you are tired, you can rest; Betty
+can't. You have not to go to an office at nine o'clock, knowing that if
+you're ill for a week or two you may lose your job. You are not forced
+to stop until nine o'clock in the evening, without extra pay, when trade
+is good."
+
+"Are office girls paid nothing extra for extra work?"
+
+"All I know are not," said Kit. "Perhaps five pounds at Christmas, if
+the house is remarkably prosperous; but I don't think Betty minded this.
+You feel the dreariness most; the poor food you eat in the middle of a
+crowd; the fight for the tram-cars when it rains, and the long walk
+through muddy streets when you can't get on board. I expect a girl hates
+to sit all day in wet clothes. Besides, it isn't good. Then Betty's
+office is dark, and she writes entries in a book until her eyes ache.
+The thing's, so to speak, hopeless. You feel you've got to go on like
+that for ever----"
+
+He paused and his look was very gentle when he resumed: "Betty bore it
+cheerfully. She has pluck, but I knew she was tired, and now she's
+ill!"
+
+"Was she going to marry you?" Mrs. Austin asked.
+
+"No," said Kit, blushing like a girl. "When I got my post I wanted her
+to promise she would marry me when I came back, but she refused."
+
+"This was just before you sailed?" Mrs. Austin remarked thoughtfully.
+
+"Of course. Until Don Arturo sent for me, I knew it might be long before
+I could support a wife. Betty knew, but she went about with me.
+Sometimes we went to small concerts and sometimes, on Saturday
+afternoons, across the river. On the Cheshire side you can get away from
+the streets. There's a wood one can reach from a station, and primroses
+and hyacinths grow in the dead leaves. Betty was happy among the
+flowers; she loves things like that. She used to watch the thin birch
+sprays swing across the white trunks. I didn't know they were birches
+until she told me, but I sometimes thought her eyes were like the
+hyacinths. However, I've talked a lot and I'm boring you."
+
+"We are not bored," said Mrs. Jefferson, and Mrs. Austin mused.
+
+Kit's voice was very gentle; it looked as if he had not known passion,
+and Mrs. Austin thought Betty had qualities. One could picture a girl
+whose life was dreary using all her charm to get a lover; but Betty
+obviously had not. She had refused Kit, although nothing he had said
+indicated that she was calculating and ambitious. Well, one sometimes
+met a girl whose thought was not for herself.
+
+"After all, a _sobrecargo_'s pay on board the _correillo_ is not large,"
+she said.
+
+"That is so," Kit agreed. "But one has so much besides; the sea, the
+sunshine, friends I could not have got at Liverpool. One feels
+confident; there are better jobs, and perhaps one is not forced to be
+poor always. Anyhow, Betty didn't bother about the pay; she can go
+without things, but when I tried to persuade her she was firm. Well, I
+think it's done with, she won't marry me. All the same, if I could bring
+her out to rest and get strong in the sun----"
+
+He stopped, with some embarrassment, and resumed: "I have bored you and
+must get the captain to sign the manifests."
+
+He went off and Mrs. Austin looked at Mrs. Jefferson.
+
+"Well?" she said.
+
+"I like him," said Mrs. Jefferson. "I think I'd like the girl. One feels
+he drew her better than he knew."
+
+"Yet he's not her lover."
+
+"He doesn't know he is her lover, but it's important that when he thinks
+about her being ill he's strongly moved. To know she might get well here
+but he can't help, hurts. I'm sorry she can't come."
+
+"I don't know that it's impossible," Mrs. Austin replied.
+
+Mrs. Jefferson gave her a thoughtful glance. Jacinta was generous and
+often helped people, but Mrs. Jefferson imagined she had an object now.
+
+"You don't know her and I expect she's independent."
+
+"For all that, I don't imagine she would refuse a good post, and a post
+where the work is light might be got. We'll talk about it again."
+
+When _Campeador_ arrived at Santa Cruz, Mrs. Austin and Mrs. Jefferson
+drove across the island to Orotava and Kit went round with the ship.
+Orotava is open to the Atlantic and landing is sometimes awkward, but
+onions were cheap and the company had engaged to load a barque for Cuba.
+Kit sent off a quantity on board the cargo launches and then went to the
+agent's office to pay for the goods. In Spanish countries, business is
+not transacted with much speed and when he started for the harbour it
+was dark. He wore deck-shoes and thin white clothes, and his pockets
+bulged with documents. At the _marina_ he met Mrs. Austin, Olivia, and
+Jefferson.
+
+"We came down after dinner to see the surf; it's rather grand to-night,"
+Olivia remarked. "I suppose you are going on board?"
+
+Kit said he was going. He carried the ship's papers, and she could not
+sail until he arrived. Then he asked Jefferson: "Have you seen my boat?"
+
+"They ran her up when the sea began to break. I reckon you'll have some
+trouble to get off."
+
+This was obvious. At Orotava the surf is not quiet long, and while Kit
+was engaged at the agent's the rollers had got high and steep. For a
+moment or two he looked up the famous horseshoe valley. Mist floated
+about the shoulders of the giant Peak, but the mist was still, and
+lights high up on the shadowy slopes did not twinkle. The illumination
+about the big hotel on the cliff was steady. One got no hint of wind;
+the night was calm and hot. For all that, the Atlantic was disturbed,
+and the crash of breakers rolled about the little town. The air throbbed
+with the measured roar.
+
+Kit looked seawards. Two short moles enclosed a break in the lava rocks,
+but their ends were lost in phosphorescent foam, and a white turmoil
+marked the gap between. Now and then most part of a wall vanished and a
+yeasty flood ran far up the beach. Kit saw a group of indistinct figures
+standing about a boat and left the party.
+
+"Can one get a boat off?" Mrs. Austin asked Jefferson.
+
+"It's risky. Musgrave means to try. The danger spot is where the rollers
+break on the shallows at the harbour mouth. Beyond that, they're
+smooth."
+
+After a few minutes Kit returned and Jefferson said, "Well?"
+
+Kit laughed. "They're not keen about going, but the promise of a bottle
+of _cana_ carries some weight and old Miguel is a useful man at the
+steering oar. Anyhow, I've got to try. Keeping up steam costs something,
+and a barque at Palma waits for the onions."
+
+"D'you reckon a _sobrecargo_'s pay covers the risk?" Jefferson asked.
+
+They stood near a lighted wine shop and Kit gave him a puzzled look.
+"Perhaps we ought to get paid for an extra awkward job, but in a sense,
+the pay has nothing to do with it. When you sign on, you engage to do
+what's required. But you ought to see----"
+
+Jefferson saw and his eyes twinkled. Kit was embarrassed, because he had
+remembered the others and thought he was talking like a prig. All the
+same, the young fellow was staunch.
+
+"Miguel will come to the steps for me," Kit resumed, and they went with
+him along the wall. A quarter of a mile off, the _correillo_'s lights
+tossed in the dark.
+
+The boat was a thirty-foot cargo launch, rowed double banked by sturdy
+fishermen, but swinging about on the white turmoil, she looked small.
+Sometime when a thundering roller broke across the mole she vanished. To
+get on board was awkward, but when she stopped opposite some steps Kit
+ran forward and stood, stiffly posed, at the top.
+
+"_Ahora, senor!_" somebody shouted.
+
+Kit jumped. The others saw his white figure plunge and vanish. A crash,
+half drowned by the roar of the sea, indicated that he had got on board,
+and the boat went out on the backwash that rolled down the harbour like
+an angry flood. There was no moon, but one could see her dark hull
+against the phosphorescent foam. The men were pulling hard; their bodies
+swung and fiery splashes marked the big oars' path. At the mouth of the
+harbour she lurched up, almost perpendicular, over a white sea, plunged,
+and melted into the dark.
+
+"They have got out," said Olivia. "It was very well done!"
+
+"Then we'll go back to the hotel," Mrs. Austin remarked, rather coolly.
+"You are wearing your dinner dress and the spray is thick!"
+
+"I'm not going yet," Olivia declared.
+
+Mrs. Austin knew her sister and waited, although she was annoyed. One
+could not blame Kit for doing what he ought, but the thing was unlucky.
+After a minute or two, Jefferson jumped on a lava block and Olivia cried
+out. Just outside the harbour a long dark object rolled about in the
+foam. The object was like a boat, but it was obviously not the proper
+side up.
+
+"She may clear the head of the mole," said Jefferson, and he and Olivia
+plunged into the spray.
+
+Mrs. Austin hesitated and was too late. A sea washed across the wall,
+the others had vanished, and she durst not go alone. Men began to run
+about and she saw the boat was coming back extraordinarily fast. She was
+upside down, but two or three white objects clung to her, and swimmers'
+heads dotted the frothing surge that carried her along. Jefferson and
+Olivia ran back and Mrs. Austin went with them to the beach. The boat
+struck the lava and was pulled up. A group of dripping men pushed
+through the crowd and Jefferson stopped the _patron_.
+
+"Have you all got back?" he asked.
+
+"All but Senor Musgrave," said the other, "We held on to the boat; he
+went on."
+
+"He went on!" Olivia broke in. "Do you mean swimming? Where did he go?"
+
+"To the ship, senorita. He shouted he must get on board."
+
+The man went off and Jefferson remarked: "I reckon Musgrave will make
+it. The surf-belt's narrow and there's nothing to bother him after he
+gets through. If he'd come back, he might have washed past the harbour
+and hit the rocks. I'll wait at the agent's office and see if the
+_correillo_ starts."
+
+"I'll stop with you," said Olivia firmly.
+
+They waited for half an hour and then _Campeador_'s whistle pierced the
+roar of the surf. Her lights began to move and Jefferson said, "She's
+steaming off. Musgrave has made it!"
+
+Olivia thrilled, but said nothing. Mrs. Austin said they had better go
+back to the hotel and pondered while they climbed the steep path to the
+cliff. Kit had tried to get on board because he thought he must; he had
+not, consciously, wanted to persuade Olivia he had pluck. All the same,
+he had done a bold thing, with an object that justified his rashness,
+and Olivia had seen the risk he ran. Mrs. Austin however was rather
+sorry she had suggested their going to the mole.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER X
+
+MRS. AUSTIN MAKES SOME PLANS
+
+
+Mrs. Austin's veranda was not as crowded as usual. For one thing, a
+steamer that touched at Las Palmas regularly had arrived from the
+Argentine and her captain was giving a ball, to which Mrs. Austin had
+resolved she would not go. Captain Farquhar's friends were numerous but
+rather mixed; his feasts were not marked by the strict observance of
+conventional rules, and at Las Palmas Jacinta Austin was something of a
+great lady. When Kit came up the steps she gave him a gracious smile.
+
+"I'm flattered because you have not, like the others, deserted me," she
+said.
+
+"You are kind to hint you would note if I came or not," Kit replied.
+"However, I must own I don't dance."
+
+"Then, if you did dance, you would have gone to Captain Farquhar's
+ball?"
+
+Kit smiled. "I think not. To begin with, I'd sooner come here, and I
+went on board _Carsegarry_ when she called on her outward run. Captain
+Farquhar's kind, but I had enough. In another sense, so had Macallister
+and Don Erminio."
+
+"You would be nicer if you knew where to stop," Mrs. Austin remarked.
+
+"If you'll let me stop now for half an hour, I'll be satisfied," said
+Kit.
+
+"Satisfied?" said Mrs. Austin. "Oh, well, I know you're frank.
+Frankness has advantages, but perhaps it's not always necessary."
+
+She noted that his glance wandered to Olivia, and she began to talk
+about something else. He was not going to join Olivia, but while she
+talked she studied Kit. He was an honest, sober young fellow, and had
+recently begun to make allowances for others, and had learned to laugh.
+In the meantime, however, she thought his laugh was forced.
+
+"If you are not amused, you needn't make an effort to be polite," she
+said. "When you arrived I knew you were moody."
+
+"Then I'm duller than I thought," Kit rejoined. "You oughtn't to have
+known. On your veranda one's bothers vanish."
+
+"Why were you bothered?"
+
+"I got another letter and Betty's worse," said Kit. "My mother states
+she has been warned she must give up her post. Her work's too hard; she
+must get the sun and fresh air. I feel I ought to help, but it's
+impossible. Thinking about this, I've begun to see my job on board the
+_correillo_ leads nowhere. Perhaps they'll let me stop when my
+engagement's up, but there's no promotion."
+
+Mrs. Austin knew the Spanish manager was satisfied and meant him to
+stop.
+
+"All the same, you like your job?" she said.
+
+"For the most part, but one gets some jars. Recently we have been buying
+onions. A ship is going to Cuba, the freight is low, and Havana
+merchants give a good price for onions, but the _peons_ who grow them in
+the mountains know nothing about this. They have got a big crop that
+nobody wants to buy and the price has fallen to a very small sum. The
+poor folks are a remarkably frugal, industrious lot."
+
+"I don't know a country with finer peasants," Mrs. Austin agreed.
+"Still, if they're willing to sell you the onions, why should you not
+buy?"
+
+"We are buying too cheap."
+
+Mrs. Austin turned to Jefferson. "Mr. Musgrave puzzles me. He grumbles
+because he's buying onions too cheap."
+
+"Let him state his case," said Jefferson.
+
+"I'll try. Our plan's like this," said Kit. "At daybreak _Campeador_
+steams up to a beach from which cargo can be shipped. Don Erminio and I
+get horses and go off to the hills, where nobody knows about the
+steamer. Don Erminio stops at a village wine shop and plays the guitar
+while I talk to the _peons_. They're an unsophisticated lot with the
+manners of fine gentlemen, and live on maize, bananas, and goat's milk
+cheese. Yet, for all their poverty, I must eat membrillo jelly and drink
+a cup of wine before we get to business. They have stacks of onions, and
+at Havana onions are short, but the _peons_ don't know and my job's to
+buy their crop very cheap. The worst is, the fellows are grateful and
+try to make us a feast. If they got half the sum their goods are worth,
+they'd be rich. It's rather like robbing a trustful child."
+
+"I am a merchant's daughter and doubt if I ought to sympathise," said
+Mrs. Austin. "To buy at the lowest price the seller will take is a sound
+business plan. Were you not a business man at Liverpool?"
+
+"At Liverpool nobody I knew made a profit of a hundred per cent," Kit
+rejoined. "The thing's not honest; besides, one feels it's not sound."
+
+Jefferson laughed. "On the whole, I reckon Musgrave's justified. You can
+fool people once or twice; you can't fool them all the time. When they
+find you out, they charge you double or sell to another."
+
+Kit looked at Olivia. She was talking to two or three young men and the
+position of their chairs would make it awkward for him to join the
+group. Moreover, he imagined Mrs. Austin had not meant him to do so. By
+and by he looked at his watch.
+
+"I must go. It's later than I thought, and I've got to stop at the
+_Carsegarry_."
+
+"You said you were not going to the ball."
+
+"I'm not going to dance. We sail at ten o'clock and I must get
+Macallister and Don Erminio on board."
+
+"Then I allow you have undertaken something of a job," Jefferson
+remarked.
+
+"That is so," Kit agreed. "The last time I went for them I got rather
+damaged and they tore my clothes. Don Erminio's excitable and
+Macallister is big. All the same, somebody must go. Don Ramon at the
+office is patient, but I've known him firm. After all, he's accountable,
+and we carry the Spanish mail."
+
+He went off and Mrs. Austin laughed. "Kit's naive, but I like him. He's
+a good sort."
+
+Olivia sent off the young men and stopped for a moment by her sister's
+chair.
+
+"Kit Musgrave is a very good sort, but his luck is to get a knock-about
+part."
+
+"One's luck turns," said Jefferson. "If Musgrave gets another part, I
+reckon he'll play up."
+
+Olivia went into the house and Mrs. Austin said to Jefferson: "If Harry
+has finished his writing, bring him to me."
+
+When Jefferson went for Austin she knitted her brows. Kit was obviously
+attracted by Olivia and Mrs. Austin did not approve, although in other
+ways she meant to be his friend. She had married a poor man, and rousing
+him to use his talent, had helped him to get rich; but she doubted if
+Kit had much talent. Moreover, she had qualities Olivia had not, and Kit
+was not like Harry.
+
+Mrs. Austin did not know about Olivia. She thought her sister saw Kit's
+drawbacks, but the tourists only stopped for a few months in the winter,
+and for the most part, the coaling and banana men were dull. In fact,
+Mrs. Austin resolved to run no risk.
+
+When Jefferson returned with Austin she said, "You work too long, Harry.
+You began this morning as soon as you got up."
+
+"I'm forced to work," Austin replied. "Since Jake and I started the
+African business I'm pretty closely occupied. For one thing, he won't
+write the English letters, and my Spanish clerks can't."
+
+"Vinoles speaks good English."
+
+"That is so," Austin said with a smile. "You speak good Castilian, but
+to write a foreign language is another thing. In fact, I remember a note
+of yours that embarrassed a sober Spanish gentleman. Anyhow, Vinoles'
+method of addressing an English merchant house is, _Senor Don Bought of
+Thomas Dash_."
+
+"What about engaging an English clerk?"
+
+Austin shook his head. "The experiment's risky. When the pay's not
+large, you must get them young and don't know your luck until they
+arrive. Some come out for adventure--I imagine these are worst--and some
+come to loaf. If Musgrave wanted another job, I might engage him."
+
+"I think not," said Mrs. Austin firmly. "Why not try an English business
+girl? She wouldn't lose her pay at the casino and borrow from you. She
+wouldn't make disturbances at cock-fights."
+
+"It might work," Austin replied. "In fact, I begin to see where I'm
+being gently led. I expect you know a candidate, but she mustn't be
+pretty. Modern business has nothing to do with romance."
+
+"The girl I thought about is a friend of Musgrave's."
+
+"Ah!" said Austin, with a twinkle, "the plot thickens!"
+
+"Now you're ridiculous!" Mrs. Austin rejoined. "Anyhow, my plan has some
+advantages."
+
+She indicated the advantages and enlarged upon Betty's business talents,
+about which Kit had not said much. When Mrs. Austin felt her cause was
+good she was not fastidious. Moreover, she knew her husband and
+Jefferson, and felt she was on firm ground when she drew a moving
+picture of Betty's struggle against failing health and poverty. It
+counted for much that Muriel Jefferson could not stand the winter in the
+North. When she stopped Jefferson glanced at Austin.
+
+"Perhaps we might risk it. Muriel would look after the girl."
+
+Austin agreed and Mrs. Austin let them go. Her plans had worked, but she
+was not altogether selfish. She liked to help people and thought Betty
+needed help. In the meantime, however, Kit must not know; she would
+write to Mrs. Musgrave, for when Kit gave her the letter she had noted
+where his mother lived. Mrs. Austin's habit was to note things like
+that. So far, the scheme went well, but she had not gone far enough.
+After all, Betty had refused Kit and the _correillo_ stopped at Las
+Palmas for three or four days every two weeks. Betty would be occupied
+by her business duties, but Olivia had none. Mrs. Austin admitted that
+her supposition about the girl's grounds for refusing Kit might not be
+accurate, and imagined a longer voyage for Kit was indicated. By and by
+Wolf entered the veranda and she saw a plan. Yet she hesitated. She had
+no logical grounds for doubting Wolf, but she did doubt him.
+
+"Mr. Scot, whom you sent home after his injury, has not come back," she
+said presently.
+
+Wolf said he did not think Scot would come back, and waited.
+
+"Are you not embarrassed without him?"
+
+"To some extent," Wolf replied. "I can't, however, go to England, and to
+engage a young man you haven't seen is risky. Then I don't know a
+coaling clerk I'd care to hire."
+
+"But you do want help?"
+
+Wolf agreed and Mrs. Austin looked thoughtful.
+
+"Perhaps it's lucky, because I'd like to get Mr. Musgrave a good post. I
+expect you know I'm a meddler and managing people's affairs is my
+habit."
+
+"I know you are kind and a number of people owe you much," Wolf replied.
+
+Mrs. Austin gave him a gracious smile. "Well, I really think Mr.
+Musgrave is the man you want. He's honest and resolute, and although I
+don't know if he's very clever, he's not a fool."
+
+Wolf thought his luck was good. He did want a resolute young man, but
+did not want him clever, and had for some time thought about Kit. Then
+he had an object for satisfying Mrs. Austin, who did not disown her
+debts.
+
+"Well," he said, "I imagine I could give Musgrave a post he'd be willing
+to take. In fact, when my schooner comes back from Africa I'll probably
+send for him----"
+
+He stopped and Mrs. Austin waited with quiet amusement. She knew Wolf
+did nothing for nothing.
+
+"Senor Ramirez arrived from Madrid a few days since," he resumed. "I
+understand Don Arturo comes from Liverpool by the next boat. I would
+like to meet them."
+
+"But this ought not to be difficult."
+
+"In a way, not at all difficult. One can go to a public function and, if
+one is lucky, talk for a few minutes to the honoured guest, who forgets
+one immediately afterwards. There is not much use in this; but to meet
+an important man at a friend's house is another thing."
+
+Mrs. Austin pondered. Ramirez was a Spanish officer of high rank and
+came to the Canaries now and then on the government's business. Don
+Arturo had invested much money in the islands and West Africa. Austin
+knew both gentlemen and Wolf wanted to meet them at her house. It looked
+as if he knew Ramirez was going to dine with Austin. On the whole, Mrs.
+Austin did not want to indulge him, and imagined Austin would not
+approve. Yet Wolf had promised to give Kit a post.
+
+"Why do you want to meet Senor Ramirez?" she asked.
+
+"I rather think it's obvious. The Spaniards are jealous about the Rio de
+Oro belt, and I am a foreigner. There are rules about trading with the
+Berbers that stand in my way. A quiet talk to Ramirez might help me
+much, and I imagine he would be interested."
+
+Jacinta saw something must be risked, and after all Ramirez knew men. He
+would not take Wolf's honesty for granted because he was her friend.
+
+"Very well," she said. "Senor Ramirez will dine with us one evening, and
+I will tell you when the time is fixed. I don't know about Don Arturo
+yet."
+
+"You are very kind," said Wolf. "I had meant to send for Musgrave, but
+now I feel I must use an extra effort to give him a good post."
+
+He went off and soon afterwards Mrs. Austin told Austin, who frowned.
+
+"I don't know if I altogether approved the fellow's coming to the
+veranda, but this didn't imply much; his coming to dinner does."
+
+"He promised he'd give Kit a post," Mrs. Austin replied.
+
+Austin looked at her rather hard.
+
+"You might have helped Musgrave at a cheaper cost. However, one doesn't
+cheat Ramirez easily and so long as you are satisfied----"
+
+"Do you imagine Wolf will try to cheat him?"
+
+"It's possible," said Austin dryly.
+
+Mrs. Austin laughed. "Anyhow, Ramirez is just and won't make you
+accountable. Besides, if he is cheated, Wolf is cleverer than I think."
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XI
+
+THE PLANS WORK
+
+
+Dinner was over, the night was hot, and Mrs. Austin had taken her party
+to the veranda. Wolf had gone; he declared he could not put off another
+engagement, but Mrs. Austin wondered. The fellow was clever and knew
+when to stop. A man like that did not go farther than was necessary and
+risk losing ground he had won. All the same, Mrs. Austin was satisfied.
+She had paid her debt, and although she had hesitated about asking Wolf,
+she now felt her doing so was justified. He had interested her famous
+guests; the dinner party had gone well.
+
+Senor Ramirez occupied a chair by a table that carried some fine glass
+_copitas_ from which one drinks the scented liquors used in Spain. His
+family was old and distinguished, and his post important. He was thin,
+dark-skinned and marked by an urbane dignity. As a rule, he looked
+languid, but sometimes his glance was keen.
+
+Don Arturo sat opposite. He was strongly built and getting fat. Although
+his hair and eyes were very black, he was essentially British. He had
+known poverty, but now controlled large commercial undertakings and
+steamship lines. Don Arturo was loved and hated. Some found him
+strangely generous, and some thought him hard and careless about the
+tools he used and broke. He made bold plans, and had opened wide belts
+in Africa to British trade.
+
+Mrs. Jefferson, Austin, and two or three others occupied the background.
+They were, so to speak, the chorus, and in the meantime not important.
+Austin knew when to let his wife play the leading part.
+
+"When I was honoured by your opening your house to me I knew my
+entertainment would be good, but I must own it was better than I
+thought," Ramirez presently remarked.
+
+"Ah," said Mrs. Austin, "I hesitated. You have public duties; I doubted
+if you could come."
+
+"Duties are always numerous and pleasures strangely few. Besides, at Las
+Palmas, you command. But if one is allowed to talk about your other
+guest----"
+
+"Senor Wolf wanted to meet you. I hope you were not bored."
+
+Ramirez smiled. "Some people want to meet me and some do not, but I was
+not bored at all. Your friend is an interesting man; he told me much
+about which I must think. You have known him long?"
+
+"Not long," said Mrs. Austin. She wanted to hint that she did not
+altogether make herself accountable for her guest, and resumed: "Still,
+at Las Palmas, we are foreigners, and since he is English----"
+
+"Then you imagine Senor Wolf is English?"
+
+"I have imagined so," said Mrs. Austin with some surprise. "However, his
+skin is rather dark."
+
+"Darker than mine, for example?" Ramirez rejoined with a twinkle. "Well,
+the colour of one's skin is not important. In Spain there are
+descendants of the Visi-Goths whose colors is white and pink. One must
+rather study mental characteristics."
+
+"Then you think Wolf's mentality is foreign?" said Don Arturo.
+
+"It is not English. One notes a touch of subtlety, an understanding of
+one's thoughts, a keen intelligence----"
+
+Don Arturo laughed and Mrs. Austin waved her fan.
+
+"But, senor, I am patriotic. Are we very dull?"
+
+"My lady, your grounds for patriotic pride are good. Your people have
+qualities. Let me state an example. In these islands our _peons_ are
+frugal, sober, and industrious; a fine race. Our merchants are
+intellectual and cultivated. In mathematics, philosophy, and argument I
+think no brains are better than ours. It is possible we got much from
+the Moors----"
+
+"My coaling and banana clerks are not philosophical, and I doubt if many
+are cultivated," Don Arturo remarked.
+
+Ramirez spread out his hands. "You use my argument! I admit you have
+qualities. These raw English lads do things we cannot. They load in a
+night bananas we cannot load in two days, they get the best fruit, they
+use our fishermen and labourers to coal your ships. The profit and all
+that is good in Grand Canary goes to you. At the hill villages where the
+_peons_ went to bed at dark, your mule carts arrive with cheap candles
+and oil. The shops are full of English clothes and tools. When the
+_peon_ finds he needs your goods he grows things to sell. Sometimes we
+are jealous, but we trust you."
+
+"It looks as if you trusted Wolf, although you imagine he is not
+English," Don Arturo said dryly.
+
+"He is the senora's guest," said Ramirez, bowing to Mrs. Austin.
+
+"Ah," said Mrs. Austin, "this does not carry much weight! I am not a
+clever politician, and perhaps my judgment is not very sound."
+
+"All the same, I did trust Senor Wolf. He wanted some concessions; a
+little slackening of our rules about trading on the African coast."
+
+"Your rules are rather numerous," Don Arturo remarked.
+
+"It is so, my friend. Our possessions in Africa are small and the Moors
+of Rio de Oro are fierce and troublesome, but I think that belt of
+Atlantic coast will some time be worth much. Valuable goods cross the
+Sahara from the West Soudan, and when we have made harbours, caravans
+that now go to Morocco and Algiers will arrive. Well, perhaps we are
+cautious. We have greedy neighbours, and when one has not got much, one
+keeps what one has."
+
+Don Arturo looked thoughtful. "West Africa's my field, and I don't know
+the North, but now France has got all the hinterland, I sometimes think
+the dispute about the Atlantic coast may be reopened. I imagine the
+Spanish Government is not a friend of Islam."
+
+"When we are not anarchists we are staunch Catholics," Ramirez agreed.
+"Well, in North Africa the sun and the tribesmen's blood are hot. A
+strange, wild country, where the agreements diplomatists make do not go.
+But this is not important. I think the senora's talented friend
+interested you."
+
+"I promised to charter him a steamer," said Don Arturo dryly.
+
+"A Spanish steamer?"
+
+"She is now an English cargo-boat of two thousand tons. I do not know if
+Wolf will hoist the Spanish flag. Perhaps this might be allowed."
+
+Ramirez's eyes twinkled. "It is possible. We are poor and cannot pay our
+officers much. But two thousand tons? To carry a few sheep!"
+
+"I understand Wolf will send her to Mojador and Saffi for maize and
+beans."
+
+"Oh, well," said Ramirez, "we will talk about something else." He turned
+to Mrs. Austin. "My lady, you have seen our politeness is not as deep as
+people think, but you will make allowances. When one meets a famous
+English merchant, and a man of talent who knows the Rio de Oro, like
+Senor Wolf----"
+
+"Although he is not English," Mrs. Austin remarked, but Ramirez smiled
+and turned to the others, who played up.
+
+After a time the guests went off and Mrs. Austin said to her husband.
+"Somehow I feel I've meddled with a bigger thing than I knew. In fact, I
+rather wish I had not."
+
+"Your object's good," said Austin. "You have got Kit a job. I suppose
+this was all you wanted?"
+
+Mrs. Austin smiled. "I didn't want to help Wolf, and if I have helped,
+it's because one gets nothing unless one pays. However, we'll let it
+go."
+
+When Kit returned to Las Palmas he found a note from Wolf, and in the
+evening went to a house in an old quarter of the town. The street was
+narrow, quiet and dark, but the moon touched one side with misty light.
+Kit heard the throbbing rumble of the surf, and coming from the noisy
+steam tram and the lights of the main street, he got a hint of mystery
+in the quietness and gloom. The houses had flat tops and looked like
+forts. Their straight fronts were pierced by a few narrow slits and a
+low arch. The slits were high up and barred. Kit thought that part of
+the city looked as if it had not been built by Europeans; it rather
+belonged to Egypt or Algiers. There was something romantic but sinister
+about it.
+
+He knocked at a door and an old man took him across a _patio_ where a
+ray of moonlight fell. The man showed him into a room furnished like an
+office, and Kit waited and looked about. There was no window, but an
+arch opened on to a passage with dark wooden pillars supporting a
+balcony. A few maps occupied the wall, and Kit began to study one of the
+Rio de Oro belt. Maps drew him; they called one to countries one had not
+seen, and this map pictured a wild land white men did not know much
+about. For all that, Kit thought it good. Green rings marked the oases,
+blue threads the wadys where water sometimes runs, and the red lines
+were the tracks by which loaded camels came from the Soudan. The marks,
+however, were not numerous, and Kit mused about the blank spaces.
+
+Then he turned with a start and saw Wolf. He had not heard the fellow
+come in, and noted that he wore slippers of soft red leather. His shirt
+and trousers were white, but he wore a red silk sash and a Fez cap.
+
+"My map interests you?" he said. "Well, I doubt if the Spanish
+government owns one as good. I expect to have noted that for the most
+part it is not printed?"
+
+Kit had noted that the caravan roads and wadys were drawn by a pen.
+
+"I was studying the unmarked spaces," he replied.
+
+Wolf smiled and indicated a chair. "The explorer's instinct; there's
+something about the unknown that pulls. All the same, more is known
+about the country than some people think, and in one sense, it is not a
+desert. Then the people are not savages, although their rules are the
+rules the Arabs brought a thousand years since. They spring from famous
+stocks; Carthaginian, Roman; Saracen adventurers who pushed across the
+Atlas range and vanished. The country's intriguing, but to know it one
+must be resolute."
+
+"I suppose the tribes are Mohammedans?" Kit remarked.
+
+Wolf gave him some scented wine and a cigarette with a curious taste,
+and while he smoked Kit heard the measured beat of the surf. Somebody on
+a neighbouring roof played a guitar and the music was strange and
+melancholy.
+
+"Some of the tribes are fanatics," Wolf replied. "Islam was born in the
+desert and its driving force comes from the wilds. When the prophets
+were made caliphs they lost their real power. The Turk has got slack and
+meddles with forbidden things, but the faith lives and has spread far
+recently. Its missionaries, however, do not come from Constantinople.
+Lean John Baptists appear in the desert and found fierce, reforming
+sects. One has grounds for imagining their job is something like this."
+
+"Ah," said Kit. "Do they expect a new Mohammed?"
+
+"I think they expect a new prophet," Wolf said quietly. "Not a political
+caliph, but a man from the wilds who will re-enforce the ancient Arab
+laws. They have waited for him long and have sometimes been cheated.
+Their habit is to wait. It is possible they will be cheated again."
+
+Kit was young, and romance and mystery appealed. "Well," he said, "I'd
+like to see something of North-west Africa."
+
+"Then the chance is yours. I am sending a steamer to the Morocco coast
+and want a man I can trust to meet the Jew merchants and put on board
+the maize and beans I've bought. Then she'll steam south to pick up
+goods at Rio de Oro, and my agent must go inland with an interpreter to
+meet the tribesmen. If you like, you can go."
+
+Kit's eyes sparkled. "I'll take the post," he said, and then stopped and
+frowned. "I forgot," he resumed. "My engagement with the _correos_ runs
+for some time."
+
+"This is not much of an obstacle. I am chartering the steamer from the
+company and expect Don Ramon will let you off."
+
+"If Don Ramon is willing, there is no obstacle," Kit declared, and when
+Wolf told him about his pay and duties his resolve was keener. He would
+use a power and responsibility he had not yet known and be richer than
+he had thought.
+
+"Very well," said Wolf. "When you come back from Palma you had better
+see Don Ramon. In the meantime, I'll get things in trim."
+
+Kit went down the street with a light step. The old Spanish house, the
+map, and Wolf's talk had fired his imagination. Adventure called. In a
+week or two he was going to see the desert and try his powers.
+
+
+
+
+PART II
+
+RESPONSIBILITY
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER I
+
+OLIVIA'S EXPERIMENT
+
+
+When the _correillo_ returned from Palma and Kit went to the company's
+office he was bothered by doubts. Don Ramon, the Spanish manager, had
+been kind, and Kit felt shabby. He had engaged to serve the company for
+twelve months and doubted if his asking the other to release him was
+justified. For all that he wanted to go to Africa.
+
+He was shown into the private office, and Don Ramon, after indicating a
+chair, occupied himself for a few minutes with the papers on his desk.
+Kit's embarrassment was obvious, and the manager was amused.
+
+"I have studied your notes about business at the ports _Compeador_
+touched on her new round," he said presently. "Some of your suggestions
+are useful. I expect you wanted to talk to me about this?"
+
+"Not altogether," Kit replied.
+
+"Then, perhaps, you meant to talk about painting the passengers' rooms?"
+
+"No," said Kit. "The rooms need painting, but I really meant to ask you
+to let me off my engagement. I have heard about another post."
+
+Don Ramon studied him quietly for a few moments. Kit's glance was
+direct, but the blood had come to his skin. The Spaniard was very subtle
+and knew something about young Englishmen; he rather approved Kit.
+
+"A better post?" he said.
+
+"It is better, but I'm not altogether influenced by this," Kit replied
+awkwardly. "I haven't much scope on board _Campeador_. One likes to feel
+one is responsible and doing something worth while."
+
+"Ah," said Don Ramon, "a number of your countrymen arrive at this office
+with the resolve to do as little as possible. However, I imagined you
+were satisfied on board."
+
+"In a way I am satisfied. The captain and engineer are my friends, I
+like the company's agents, and your clerks make things easy. In fact, if
+you think I ought to stop, I will stop."
+
+"You imply that you are willing to give up the better post unless we
+agree to your leaving us?"
+
+"Of course!" said Kit. "I won't urge you to agree."
+
+Don Ramon smiled. "After all, your joining Mr. Wolf has some advantages,
+particularly since the steamer he has chartered is ours, and I don't
+know that it is necessary for you to break your engagement with us. If
+it is not broken, you could go back to _Campeador_ after the other
+boat's return, and, in the meantime, will get your pay. I expect Mr.
+Wolf did not state how long he wanted you."
+
+"He did not," said Kit and pondered.
+
+Perhaps it was strange, but he had not stipulated that he must be
+employed for a fixed time. He ought to have stipulated. Then he was
+surprised because Don Ramon knew his object for wanting to go. Don Ramon
+was clever and his remarks hardly indicated much confidence in Wolf.
+
+"You are generous," Kit resumed. "However, I doubt if I can honestly
+work for you and Wolf. You see, the office now and then buys corn at the
+Moorish ports."
+
+"I think I see," Don Ramon replied with a twinkle. "You imply that so
+long as you take Wolf's pay you are his man, and we must not expect you
+to study his business for our benefit? Well, we do not expect this, and
+you will find Wolf's business is, for the most part, transacted at a
+neighbourhood we leave alone. All the same, the chartered steamer is
+valuable, and although we have asked for some guarantees, we would like
+a company's servant on board. Don Erminio and Macallister will join the
+ship."
+
+Kit's hesitation vanished. His luck was strangely good, and he thanked
+Don Ramon, who presently sent him off. While his double engagement
+lasted he would be rich, and when he returned to the _correillo_ he
+wrote to his mother, asking her to make some plan for helping Betty. For
+example, Betty might take a holiday and, if Mrs. Musgrave used proper
+tact, need not know Kit had borne the cost. He wanted Betty to get a
+holiday that would brace her up. Yet it was obvious he was not in love.
+
+His reflections were disturbed. A fowl, cackling in wild alarm, came
+down the ventilator shaft that pierced the ceiling of his small room. It
+struck the rack above the folding washstand, and Kit's hairbrush and a
+box of brass buttons fell. The buttons rolled about the floor and under
+his berth. Then the fowl swept his desk with fluttering wings and the
+inkpot overturned. Kit frowned and put his letter in the envelope. His
+friends on board liked a rude joke, and a fowl had come down the shaft
+before. Kit had thought he had spoiled the joke by painting the inside
+of the bowl-head on deck, but the paint did not long keep wet. He tried
+to catch the fowl, with the object of putting it in Macallister's bed,
+and finding he could not, opened the door, and drove it out. Soon
+afterward Macallister came in and indicated the stained desk.
+
+"She's no' rolling, but it looks as if ye couldna' keep your inkpot
+right-side-up," he said. "Weel, I've kenned Garcia's sherry account for
+stranger things than yon."
+
+"I've known it account for your losing your boots," Kit rejoined.
+
+Macallister grinned. "The night was balmy. I was tired and my feet were
+sair. Ye'll mind I scalded them, saving the ship when the boiler tubes
+burst----"
+
+"I was not on board," said Kit. "Anyhow, Don Erminio states Felix, your
+stoker, stopped the tubes. But you certainly lost your boots."
+
+"How was I to ken the Spaniards would rob me while I slumbered? And I
+have my doubts. Mills o' the _Estremedura_ was tacking along the mole,
+and they're no' a' gentlemen aboard yon boat. But we'll let it go. Ye
+dinna ken what auld Peter has done for ye?"
+
+"My notion is, you have done enough," Kit remarked. "It's some time
+since the mate and you sold my clothes when I was ashore, but you
+haven't paid me yet."
+
+"If my luck is good, ye will be paid, and ye have not heard my news. The
+company is chartering the old _Mossamedes_ and ye're to gang to Africa
+on board. I got ye the job."
+
+"Go on," said Kit dryly. "I expect it's a romantic tale."
+
+Macallister lighted his pipe and put his coaly boots on the locker
+cushions.
+
+"It was like this. Don Ramon called me to the office. 'We have chartered
+_Mossamedes_ for a run to the Morocco coast,' says he. 'Captain Erminio
+is no' much o' a navigator and the mate's eyes are no' very good, but if
+ye're in the engine-room, I'll ken all's weel. Then we need a
+_sobrecargo_. Whom would ye like?'
+
+"'Maybe Mr. Musgrave would suit,' says I. 'He's slow and dour, but for a
+crabbit Englishman, he has some parts. Besides, when he gangs ashore the
+lassies will not bother him. He's no' the sort to charm a fastidious
+e'e. If ye send Mr. Musgrave, ye'll not go far wrang.'"
+
+"Did you argue in Scots or Castilian?" Kit inquired.
+
+"In Edinburgh Scots; better English than ye use. What for would I use
+Castilian?"
+
+"I see one important obstacle," said Kit. "When a man who has long been
+chief-engineer on board a Spanish ship is forced to paint the pressure
+gauge and chalk the clock, in order to let his firemen know what steam
+must be raised----"
+
+"There's no' a shabby hotel tout who canna speak six languages,"
+Macallister rejoined. "Don Arturo and I use English. Since I dinna
+convairse with foreigners, what for would I learn their language? If
+they want to talk to me, they must use mine."
+
+He went off and Kit laughed. He owned that his conventional notion of
+the grim, parsimonious Scot was strangely inaccurate. The Scots he knew
+in the Canaries were marked by freakish humour and rash generosity. They
+were kind with the kindness of a benevolent Puck. In fact, all the
+_correilleros_ were to some extent like that, a reckless, irresponsible
+lot, but Kit had known men with virtues shabbier than the sailors'
+faults.
+
+A week afterwards, he got up one evening from his revolving chair in the
+_Mossamedes'_ saloon. She was going to sea at daybreak, and Don Erminio
+had brought his friends on board. All the chairs were occupied, and
+cigarette smoke drifted about the green trailers of a sweet-potato that
+grew across the beams. The empty bottles were numerous, and at the end
+of the table Don Erminio made a speech. Kit heard something about
+animals and anarchists, and noted that the wine dripped from the glass
+in the captain's hand. At the other end of the table Macallister sang.
+
+Kit had had enough. He thought he had done all politeness required, and
+the noisy revels jarred. It was a relief to go on deck and breathe the
+cool night breeze. _Mossamedes_ was a larger boat than the _correillo_.
+Riding near the harbour mouth, her masts and funnel swung languidly, and
+her lights threw trembling reflections on the black water. A long
+deckhouse ran aft from the captain's room and pilot house at the bridge,
+and a row of stanchions carried its top level with the rail. Luminous
+smoke rolled from the funnel; one heard the clank of shovels and hiss of
+steam. In the background were glimmering surf, lights that twinkled in
+clusters against dark rocks, and then a gap where the Atlantic rolled
+back to Africa.
+
+When he ordered his boat Kit's heart beat. His last duty before the
+vessel sailed was to get some documents from the _commandancia_, and
+then he was going to Mrs. Austin's. Mrs. Austin was not at home, but
+Olivia received him on the veranda.
+
+"Harry and Jacinta will not be very long," she said.
+
+"I'm sorry," said Kit. "I can't stop, but I wanted to say good-bye, and
+thank your sister."
+
+"Then you waited for some time. Didn't you know Jacinta was going to the
+Metropole?"
+
+"Not altogether," Kit replied with some awkwardness. "I think I knew she
+might go, but the captain was giving a party and I couldn't get off."
+
+Olivia smiled. She knew her charm, and Kit was rather obvious.
+
+"When his guests started I was at the mole and I expect the port-guards
+will get some amusement when they come back," she said. "But why do you
+want to thank Jacinta?"
+
+"I imagine she had something to do with my getting the new post."
+
+Olivia gave him a keen glance and was quiet for a few moments. Then she
+said, "It's possible! You feel you ought to thank her?"
+
+"Of course," said Kit and pondered. It looked as if Olivia were angry,
+and this was puzzling.
+
+"The post is good," he resumed. "I could get no farther on board the
+_correillo_ and my work was not important. On the bigger boat I'll have
+some responsibility. Wolf is not going with her and gives me control.
+You see----"
+
+"I think I do see," Olivia interrupted with a touch of scornful
+impatience. "You imagine you are going to force people to own your
+talents? This, of course, is enough for you, and you see nothing else.
+You imagine Jacinta knew your ambition and wanted to help?"
+
+"I'm satisfied she did want to help, and she has helped. Mrs. Austin's
+kind."
+
+Olivia laughed. Kit was very dull, but Jacinta's firm rule was sometimes
+galling. Olivia saw her object and wanted to baffle her. Besides, she
+doubted Wolf and knew Austin did not like him.
+
+"Kit," she said, "suppose I asked you to do something for me?"
+
+"Try!" he said, rather tensely, and waited.
+
+"Then don't go to Africa. Stop at Las Palmas."
+
+Kit's heart beat. Olivia had come nearer him; if he moved his hand he
+would touch her. Her voice had a strange, soft note, and she fixed her
+eyes on his. For a moment he hesitated and then braced himself to
+resist. It was not for nothing he sprang from Puritan stock.
+
+"But this is not for you, and I am forced to go. _Mossamedes_ sails in
+the morning, and Wolf cannot get another man. Besides, the company
+ordered me on board, and I have the ship's papers. I can't break my
+engagement when the boat is ready to start."
+
+Olivia gave him a glance that fired his blood, and then turned her head.
+At the beginning she had meant to baffle Jacinta, but she had another
+object now. Kit's stubbornness was a challenge, and if she could not
+move him, she must own her charm was weak. Vanity accounted for
+something, but not for all. His resistance moved her to passion.
+
+"Is it a drawback that the thing I ask is rather for your sake than
+mine?" she said, looking up. "Would you sooner I didn't care if you ran
+a risk or not?"
+
+Kit used stern control. Olivia was very alluring, and he noted the
+tremble in her voice. He was strongly tempted, but although he thrilled
+he was not a fool. She did not belong to his circle; he was poor and her
+sister, with careless kindness, had tried to help him. By and by
+perhaps, if he got a good post---- He pulled himself up. If he meant to
+be honest and justify Mrs. Austin's kindness, he must stick to his job.
+Besides, if there was a way at all, this was the way that led to Olivia.
+
+"I think you know I'd like you to care," he said and paused. To talk
+like this was dangerous. "But why do you want me to stop?" he resumed
+with an effort for calm.
+
+"Are you very dull, Kit?" Olivia asked quietly.
+
+Kit coloured and got up. After all, he was human and knew he could not
+hold out long. He thrilled and his hands shook as he turned his soft
+hat. Mrs. Austin trusted him, and since he could not see another plan,
+he must run away.
+
+"If my luck is good and I get promotion, I won't refuse another time.
+Now, because your sister got me the post, I must stick to it and go on
+board."
+
+Olivia gave him a cool, level glance. "Oh, well! I know your obstinacy;
+you baffled me before." Then her look got softer and she added: "But be
+cautious Kit! I don't like Wolf."
+
+She let him go and when he went down the steps he frowned. He had tried
+to take the proper line, but he was young and wondered whether his
+scruples were extravagant.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER II
+
+THE FIRST VOYAGE
+
+
+To some extent, Kit's first voyage on board _Mossamedes_ was
+disappointing, and he felt as if he had been cheated. Nothing romantic
+marked the run; the boat was large, her roll was slow and regular, and
+while her big engines pushed her north against the Trade-breeze, one
+could without much balancing walk the deck. On board _Campeador_ one
+could not. Her sharp plunges sent one staggering about, and one must
+dodge the spray that swept her like a hailstorm when the white surges
+burst against her forecastle. The spray and violent motion had some
+drawbacks, but Kit got a sense of man's struggle with the sea.
+
+On the whole, he thought the Morocco coast dreary. The towns were like
+the Spanish towns, dazzlingly white on the water-front, but meaner and
+dirtier. In fact, to walk about the narrow streets in the dark was rash,
+and Kit was satisfied by his first experiment. The hot, foul-smelling
+cafes by the harbour had no charm for him, and he lost himself in a
+network of alleys between straight walls. The alleys were very dark;
+sometimes an indistinct figure stole past, and sometimes he saw a yellow
+gleam in a high and narrow window. This was all, and it was a relief to
+get back to the beach and feel the fresh Trade-breeze.
+
+As a rule, they moored _Mossamedes_ some distance from the beach, and
+she rode uneasily, rolling on the long swell while her cable jarred
+against the stem. Boats came off with her cargo of beans, barley and
+maize, and Kit, watching the dust-clouds roll along the parched coast,
+wondered where the produce grew. When he asked Yusuf, Wolf's agent, the
+Jew vaguely indicated the hinterland. He was, he said, a merchant, and
+the merchants stopped in the towns. The Moors of the back country were
+strange people, and one left them alone. Notwithstanding this, Yusuf was
+obviously a good business man, for the quantity of grain he sent on
+board was large and when _Mossamedes_ weighed anchor, Kit thought Wolf
+would find her first voyage profitable.
+
+Getting off was not easy. She had swung, and her cable, sweeping the
+bottom, had fouled the anchor. They hove all on board in a horrible
+tangle, and for hours the barefooted crew were occupied in dragging the
+ponderous links about. In the meantime _Mossamedes_ steamed slowly
+south, with a yellow smear on her port hand that stood for the coast.
+The shallows run far to sea, and the charts are not remarkably good.
+Yusuf had sent her to load sheep at the mouth of a wady, but stated that
+she might wait some days before the animals arrived.
+
+Miguel, the old quartermaster, steered her in. He had long sailed on
+board a fishing schooner and knew the shoals, for where the African
+coast-shelf drops to the deep Atlantic, fish are numerous. Fish, lightly
+salted and dried in the sun, make the Spanish _baccalao_, and the
+_peons_, whose main food it is, are sometimes touched by leprosy. Miguel
+never wore boots and stockings, although when he went home on feast days
+he carried raw-hide sandals. Kit rather doubted if he put the sandals
+on. His clothes were strangely patched, and he could not read, but his
+manners were the manners of a Spanish grandee. He was something of a
+mystic and believed in miracles. He told Kit the Moors were cruel and
+treacherous, but his saint was king of angels, and he was not afraid.
+The mate was a Catalan Freethinker, and believed in nothing he could
+not touch and see. Since he wore spectacles, his vision was limited.
+
+When they reached the spot agreed upon, Miguel went to the bridge, and
+they rigged the deep-sea lead and stopped the ship. Miguel, posed like a
+Greek statue, stood on top of the pilot-house; his thin clothes
+wind-pressed against his body, and his white hair blown about his red
+cap. There were no shore marks, and Don Erminio's reckoning was not
+always accurate. Across a belt of blue sea one saw a brown and yellow
+streak. Its outline was vague and broken; only the colour was distinct.
+
+"The _Punta_!" said Miguel. "The _barranco_ is a league south. A bad
+place, captain, and the people are without shame."
+
+Kit knew _barranco_ in Castilian and _wady_ in Arabic mean a stony
+hollow where water sometimes flows. He looked for an anchorage, but saw
+none. In places, the belt of blue was broken by patches of pale green,
+and farther on, by glistening white lines. These marked ridges on the
+coast-shelf and shallow spots where the long rollers broke. The wind was
+fresh but blew obliquely off the coast.
+
+"How much water?" Don Erminio asked, and when Miguel answered, signed to
+a man on the forecastle.
+
+"_Veremos._ We will see," he said.
+
+The lead plunged, the line ran aft, and stopping swung upright at the
+poop. Two men began to haul and one shouted the depth.
+
+"Half a _brazo_ too much. It is very good," the captain remarked.
+
+Then the screw began to throb and _Mossamedes_, going half-speed, forged
+ahead. Sometimes she crossed green belts and sometimes went round
+patches where the water was yellow and the swell curled as if the
+Atlantic waves ran up an inclined bottom. Kit thought Miguel did not
+hesitate; his lined face was imperturbable, and he directed the helmsman
+with a firm movement of his hand. Yet it was obvious they crept round
+banks where a ship like _Mossamedes_ would not float. When Miguel nodded
+and the captain rang his telegraph, all felt some relief.
+
+"_Fondo!_" the captain shouted and the anchor leaped from the
+forecastle.
+
+The splash was drowned by the roar of running cable that presently
+stopped with a jar. She brought up, swung to the wind, and there was a
+strange quietness on board.
+
+"We are arrived," said Don Erminio. "If Miguel's saint does not guard
+him until the sheep come, I do not think we will get to sea again. In
+the meantime, we will catch fish and make _baccalao_ for my senora."
+
+In the morning they launched a boat and rowed to the coast. The point
+was low and stony, and farther along the hammered beach a shallow hollow
+ran down to the sand. In the background one saw a sandy waste dotted by
+thick-stalked euphorbia. One could land by jumping overboard into the
+surf while the others held off the boat, and Don Erminio shot a
+partridge and got some bait. Then they went back to the steamer, and for
+three days Kit and the captain fished.
+
+Shoals surrounded the basin where _Mossamedes_ rode two miles from land.
+From her deck it looked as if she were at sea, for the banks that
+sheltered her were only marked by lines of foam. Although she rolled,
+the motion was not violent, and Kit got a sense of space and freedom. He
+liked the lonely anchorage better than a noisy port. In the morning they
+hoisted the boat's lugsail, and following the edge of the sands, stopped
+where fish were numerous. A disturbed swell crossed the shoals, and
+spray blew about. Sometimes when the boat sank in the trough they could
+not see the ship, but the fresh breeze tempered the heat and drove along
+a thin haze that softened the light. Kit caught strange, deep-bodied
+fish with square heads, and was content.
+
+One day, however, the breeze backed North and the boat could not leave
+the ship. It blew hard, and big, hollow-fronted seas rolled along the
+coast. In the distance, their ragged crests cut the sky, and the horizon
+was indented like the edge of a saw. In the foreground they crashed upon
+the shoals, and all about _Mossamedes_ one saw spouting foam. Brown
+dust-clouds tossed behind the yellow streak that marked the coast, and
+the sky was darkened as if by smoke. Macallister was ready to start his
+engines, but the lead-line that crossed the steamer's rail ran straight
+down. Although she plunged, her anchor held.
+
+Kit, sitting behind the deckhouse, smoked and mused. He saw that since
+he arrived at Las Palmas he had taken greedily all his new life offered;
+sports he could not enjoy before, the society of cultivated people,
+fresh excitements and emotional thrills. Now, however, a reaction had
+begun; he must pause and try to see where he was going.
+
+To begin with, he thought he had not neglected his duties. It looked as
+if Don Ramon at the office approved him, and if they got the sheep on
+board, Wolf ought to be satisfied. _Mossamedes_ carried a paying cargo,
+and Kit had kept the cost of shipment low. He was making good, and now
+he had been given some responsibility, found he could, without much
+effort, carry his load. In a sense, however, this was not important; he
+really meant to think about Olivia. Olivia had carried him away and
+after a half-hearted struggle he had let himself go. She had beauty,
+pluck, and a cultivation higher than his. Sometimes she was gracious,
+and when they jarred he thought she found the jars amusing. She laughed
+at him afterwards and he did not mind. He would sooner she laughed than
+let him alone. He could not think about her without a disturbing thrill.
+
+Yet the thing was ridiculous! Olivia was rich and extravagant, but he
+was poor; and not like Austin, who had married her sister. But suppose
+he somehow made his mark? If Don Arturo, for example, gave him a good
+post? Kit lighted a fresh cigarette and frowned, for he began to see his
+doubts would not be banished then. After all, he was not Olivia's sort.
+He understood half-consciously that for him her charm was mainly
+physical, and he had tried to resist. He had an inherited distrust for
+all that appealed to his senses. With Olivia he would get excitement,
+shocks and thrills. He would live at high tension, and she would take
+him far; but his vein was sober, and perhaps he would not want to go.
+Yet he was flesh and blood, and her beauty called.
+
+The others left him alone, and when a cloud of spray, sweeping over the
+deck-house, drove him aft, he looked for another quiet spot. The sea was
+getting worse, and spindrift blew across the turmoil like a fog.
+_Mossamedes_ rolled until her scuppers dipped, and when she swung to the
+savage gusts the jar of her cable pierced the rumble of the sea. The
+water in her bilges splashed, and a ragged plume of smoke, blown flat
+from her funnel, indicated that Macallister kept keen watch. For all
+that, the anchor held, and Kit, sheltering behind the after wheel-house,
+thought about Betty.
+
+Betty was his sort. She understood him, although he did not always
+understand her. She did not ask much and would not urge one far; Betty's
+plan was to brighten the spot she occupied. Kit had doubted its wisdom,
+but he began to see it had some advantages. Yet if Betty did not urge,
+now he thought about it, he had felt her gently lead and had known her
+way was better than his. He did not see all she saw, but sometimes he
+was dull. Betty was calm and kind and did not think about herself. She
+had, however, refused him, and he had let her go. All the same, he was
+glad he could help her, and if his mother had used some tact----
+
+The swinging stern lifted, and the iron deck throbbed. The foam was torn
+in a frothy patch; Kit saw the screw spin, and the throbbing stopped.
+Macallister had turned his engines to satisfy himself they were ready to
+start. On the surface he was careless and irresponsible, but when the
+strain came one could trust old Mack.
+
+On the whole, the break in his disturbing thoughts was a relief to Kit.
+His philosophy was rude, and he did not understand that he was moved by
+two antagonistic forces. One was altogether of the flesh; the other was
+not. He did, however, see that his business on board _Mossamedes_ was
+with her cargo, and he began to speculate about the sheep. If the
+animals did not arrive soon, they ought not to stop. The anchorage was
+dangerous, and _Mossamedes_ was the company's boat. He got up and went
+off to talk to Don Erminio.
+
+In the night the wind veered to the north-east and got lighter, and soon
+after daybreak a streak of smoke blew along the beach. Juan, the mate,
+hove out a thirty-foot cargo launch, and Kit went down the rope with
+Miguel, the interpreter, and some sailors. A flock of sheep occupied the
+wady and five or six men, mounted on tall camels, moved the animals to
+the beach. The shepherds were big men, but their bodies and for the
+most part their dark faces, were covered by blue and white cloth. Kit's
+job, however, was to count the flock and see all were got on board. He
+let the interpreter talk and helped Miguel.
+
+They dropped an anchor and the boat rode in the shallow surf a few yards
+from the beach. When a large roller ran in they hauled her off and
+waited; and then, letting her drift back, jumped over and picked up as
+many sheep as possible before another roller broke. The work was
+exhausting and sometimes men and sheep washed about in the surf. When
+they pulled off, the boat held much water and now and then the sea-tops
+splashed on board. Alongside _Mossamedes_, the sheep were thrown into a
+tub, swung out by a derrick when for a few moments she stopped rolling.
+The tub went up and came down empty, but after the most part of the
+flock was on board one plunged out through the gangway and the others
+followed. Don Erminio stormed, and Miguel with stolid patience steered
+the heavy launch in chase of the animals.
+
+She went back and brought off a number of loads, but when the last was
+on board Kit's muscles were sore, and his burned skin smarted with salt.
+He had, however, got all the flock, and when he went below to bathe in
+fresh water the screw began to throb. Miguel climbed to the top of the
+pilot-house and _Mossamedes_ steamed out slowly between the shoals.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER III
+
+KIT'S SURPRISE
+
+
+Soon after his arrival at Las Palmas, Kit started for Jefferson's
+office. He had passed an hour with Wolf, who declared himself altogether
+satisfied about the voyage and gave Kit some compliments. Kit's mood was
+cheerful; his employer's frank praise was encouraging, and he felt he
+was making good. Besides, Wolf would not want him again until next day
+and, if he were lucky, he might find Olivia at home. It was about four
+o'clock in the afternoon, and as a rule Mrs. Austin's visitors did not
+arrive before the evening. On the voyage he had begun to see his
+haunting Mrs. Austin's veranda was rash, but as he got nearer Las Palmas
+his good resolutions melted.
+
+Nevertheless he must first see Jefferson. When they steamed along the
+Morocco coast they met the _Cayman_. She hove to and signalled, the
+steamer's engines stopped, and a message was shouted through a
+megaphone. Since Kit was keen to get to Mrs. Austin's to carry the
+message was rather a bore, but he admitted that Jefferson ought to know
+what his captain wanted.
+
+In Spanish towns a merchant's office generally occupies the ground floor
+of his house, and Kit liked Jefferson's. The narrow street was very hot,
+and the reflections from the white walls hurt his eyes. To enter the
+tunnel, guarded by a fine iron gate, and cross the shady _patio_ was a
+relief. In the middle, a little fountain splashed, the walls were
+lemon-yellow and a splendid purple bougainvillea trailed about the
+pillars that carried a balcony. The dark spaces behind the posts looked
+like cloisters. In front big heliotrope bushes occupied green tubs.
+
+As he crossed the _patio_ Kit met Jefferson going to the gate.
+
+"Hallo!" said Jefferson. "Got back all right? Sorry I can't stop. I've
+fixed it to meet a customer at the Metropole."
+
+Kit told him about their meeting the _Cayman_ and pulled out a folded
+paper. "I made a note----"
+
+"Thanks! I must order the truck the captain wants," said Jefferson, who
+did not take the paper. "The port doctor allowed you had loaded up the
+boat and brought a good flock of sheep. What did you trade for them?"
+
+"We landed no goods; I imagined the sheep would be paid for afterwards.
+Looks as if Wolf had an agreement with somebody in the interior."
+
+"It's not usual. Nobody trusts us like that," Jefferson remarked in a
+thoughtful voice. "You carried an interpreter. Did you talk to the
+Berbers?"
+
+"Not at all," said Kit. "You see----"
+
+He stopped. Jefferson was his friend, but after all he was to some
+extent his employer's antagonist. The other noted his pause.
+
+"Oh, well, I reckon Wolf knows his job, but I'd watch out for those
+fellows. They're a pretty hard crowd. Anyhow, I must get along. Do you
+mind giving my English clerk the note?"
+
+He smiled as if something amused him, and went off, and Kit crossed the
+flags. At the arch that opened on Jefferson's office, he stopped
+abruptly and wondered whether his imagination had cheated him.
+
+A few yards off Betty sat in front of a writing-table. Her head was
+bent; Kit saw her face in profile against the coloured wall and noted
+the clean, flowing line. After a moment or two she looked up and Kit's
+heart beat. His advance was impetuous, and when she gave him her hand he
+pulled himself up with an effort. When he last saw Betty in the shabby
+street at Liverpool, he had kissed her. It was strange and disturbing,
+but he had come near to kissing her again. Betty, however, was very calm
+and her hand was cool and steady.
+
+"Why Kit! You looked startled!" she said.
+
+"I'm very much surprised," he admitted. "You see, I thought you were at
+Liverpool."
+
+"At Liverpool? Then you didn't think I'd gone for a holiday to the South
+Coast?"
+
+Kit was embarrassed. It looked as if his mother had not used much tact,
+but Betty's smile was gentle.
+
+"Sometimes you're rather nice, Kit, but all the same you ought to see I
+couldn't go."
+
+"We won't talk about it," Kit replied. "When I came in you didn't look
+at all--surprised."
+
+Betty gave him a calm glance, but he thought she had noted his
+hesitation. Surprised was not altogether what he had meant.
+
+"I was not," she said. "I knew you were on board a ship that had just
+arrived. Then I heard you talking to Mr. Jefferson."
+
+He pulled up a chair and studied her while she neatly folded some
+documents. Betty was thin, but if she had been ill, she was obviously
+getting better. A faint colour had come to her skin, and her eyes were
+bright. At Liverpool she had worn very plain, dark clothes, because they
+were economical; now her dress was white and she had pretty grey shoes.
+In fact, Betty was prettier than he had thought. Perhaps her escape from
+monotonous labour and the dark Liverpool office accounted for much, but
+she was not the tired girl he had known.
+
+Kit looked about the room. There was not much furniture, and all was
+made of Canary pine that polishes a soft brown. The wall was yellow, and
+blue curtains hung across the arch; Kit knew they were needed to keep
+out the morning sun. A rug was on the floor, and it was like the
+curtains, the dull blue one saw in Morocco. Betty had fastened a spray
+of heliotrope in her white dress.
+
+"Do you like my room?" she asked.
+
+"It's just right. The strange thing is, I hadn't noticed this before; I
+don't think--Jefferson bothered about his office. Anyhow the room was
+his."
+
+"Now it's mine. Mrs. Jefferson gave me the rug. I think it came from
+Africa. She said you were a friend of hers. Isn't she nice?"
+
+"She is a very good sort," Kit agreed. "I'm glad you have got an office
+like this; the dark stuffy hole at Liverpool wasn't fit for you. I
+haven't asked if you're getting better, because I can see. Somehow you
+are another girl."
+
+Betty said nothing, but rather thought Kit another man. He looked
+stronger and his skin was brown. Then something about his voice and
+carriage indicated quiet confidence. At Liverpool when Kit was resolute
+he was, so to speak, aggressive, as if he wanted others to remark his
+firmness. Now his glance was calm, his nervous jerkiness had gone. All
+the same, she thought he had not got fresh qualities but developed those
+he had. Betty knew Kit.
+
+"But where do you live?" he resumed. "In a Spanish town it's
+awkward----"
+
+"I live with Mrs. Jefferson. Before I came we agreed on this. She's very
+nice and takes me about; sometimes for a drive to the mountains and
+sometimes in the sailing boat. When I remember my other post, I feel as
+if I'd got out of prison."
+
+Kit was satisfied. To know Betty was happy was much; she deserved the
+best. Then she gave him a thoughtful glance.
+
+"It's strange you didn't know I was coming. Mr. Jefferson wrote to me a
+month since."
+
+"Jefferson wrote?"
+
+"Of course. He stated he wanted somebody to answer his English letters
+and undertake general office work, and he understood from you I might
+take the post."
+
+"I certainly did not tell Jefferson anything like this," said Kit. "I
+gave Mrs. Austin my mother's letter, in which she said you were ill and
+must leave the office. But Mrs. Jefferson was with Mrs. Austin, and
+perhaps they talked about it afterwards."
+
+"Then, giving me the post was _Mrs. Austin's_ plan?" Betty remarked and
+Kit thought her voice was rather hard.
+
+"I expect it was," he agreed. "Mrs. Austin does things like that. I
+imagine she persuaded Wolf to send me on board _Mossamedes_."
+
+Betty studied him. She did not think he saw the light he had given her.
+Sometimes Kit was dull.
+
+"Don't you like Mrs. Austin?" he asked.
+
+"I like Mrs. Jefferson better," Betty replied. She stopped and noting
+that Kit was puzzled, resumed: "She is kind. So is Mr. Jefferson. When
+he comes into his office he throws away his cigar. He asks me--Won't I
+write a note for him and count up the bills. He doesn't think because
+I'm paid it doesn't matter how he talks. But why did you give Mrs.
+Austin your mother's letter?"
+
+"Now I think about it, I don't altogether know. She's sympathetic and I
+was bothered because you were ill. I imagine she saw I was bothered."
+
+"Were you bothered very much?"
+
+"Of course," said Kit. "You were breaking down, and must stop at
+Liverpool in the rain and cold; I had the sea and sun. Sometimes I was
+savage because I couldn't help."
+
+"Then you didn't think Mrs. Austin might persuade her husband to give me
+a post at Las Palmas?"
+
+"I did not. I gave her the letter, that's all. Mrs. Austin likes helping
+people, and Austin and Jefferson wanted an English clerk. I expect this
+accounts for their engaging you."
+
+Betty doubted. For one thing, she had met Olivia and two or three young
+men from the coaling wharfs, who had tried to amuse her by humorous
+gossip about the English people at Las Palmas. Then Mrs. Austin had sent
+Kit on board Wolf's steamer, which made longer voyages than the
+_correillo_, and had persuaded Jefferson to engage her for his clerk.
+Betty thought Mrs. Austin's object was plain, but wondered much what Kit
+had said to her. Since she could not find out, she began to talk about
+Liverpool, and Kit presently narrated his adventures on the African
+coast.
+
+Nobody disturbed them and the shady room was cool. The smell of
+heliotrope floated in; one heard the fountain splash and the languid
+rumble of the surf. Betty leaned back in her revolving chair and Kit
+lighted a cigarette.
+
+Jefferson was occupied for some time at the Metropole, but when he
+crossed the _patio_ he slackened speed in front of the arch. He was a
+sober merchant, but it was not very long since he was a romantic sailor,
+and the picture that met his glance had some charm. His pretty clerk
+rested her cheek in her hollowed hand; her pose was unconsciously
+graceful, and she studied Kit with thoughtful eyes. Kit talked and his
+face wore a strangely satisfied smile; Jefferson imagined he did not
+know his cigarette had gone out. His thin figure was athletic, he looked
+keen and virile. Jefferson approved them both. They had not his wife's
+and Austin's cultivation, but they were honest, red-blooded people. In
+fact, they were good stuff.
+
+For all that he was puzzled; he had not thought Musgrave a philanderer.
+Besides his office was not a drawing-room and he advanced rather
+noisily. Kit pulled out his watch and got up with a start, but Betty did
+not plunge into her proper occupation. Betty was generally marked by an
+attractive calm; then she knew her employer.
+
+"I expect you gave Miss Jordan the note about the stores for _Cayman_?"
+Jefferson said to Kit.
+
+Kit took out the paper. "Sorry, but I did not. I must get on board.
+Perhaps I ought to have gone before."
+
+"You can go now. Come back for supper, if you like," Jefferson replied
+with a twinkle and put down some documents. "If you can give me a few
+minutes, Miss Jordan----"
+
+When Betty got to work at her typewriter he went to Mrs. Jefferson's
+drawing-room.
+
+"I have asked young Musgrave to supper and reckon he'll come," he said.
+
+"Don't you know if he is coming?" Mrs. Jefferson rejoined.
+
+"He didn't state his plans. I imagine he was rattled when I fired him
+out. It had probably dawned on him he'd been loafing about my office
+most part of the afternoon."
+
+"You knew he was a friend of Miss Jordan's," Mrs. Jefferson remarked.
+
+"I knew Jacinta Austin was pretty smart, but it begins to look as if she
+was smarter than I thought."
+
+Mrs. Jefferson smiled. "Oh, well, you have got a good clerk and Kit has
+got a post he likes."
+
+"But what about Olivia?"
+
+"I don't think you need be disturbed about Olivia," said Mrs. Jefferson,
+dryly. "Anyhow, you mustn't meddle. Your touch is not light."
+
+"That is so," Jefferson agreed. "Jacinta's touch is surely light; she
+can pull three or four wires at once, without your knowing how she's
+occupied. For all that, I've a notion she'll some time snarl the wires
+in a nasty tangle. Can't you give her a hint she's got to leave my clerk
+and Kit alone?"
+
+"I doubt. The thing is puzzling. You see, Betty refused Kit," Mrs.
+Jefferson remarked in a thoughtful voice. "However, I think two of the
+leading actors in the comedy know what they want. The others do not."
+
+"It rather looks as if three didn't know."
+
+"I think my calculation's accurate. However, I see no useful part for
+us. Ours is to look on and smile when the play's amusing."
+
+"If Jacinta hurts Miss Jordan, I won't smile," Jefferson rejoined. "I'm
+fond of the girl, because in a way she's like you."
+
+"Sometimes you're very nice," said Mrs. Jefferson, and went off to talk
+to the Spanish cook in the kitchen that had, when Jefferson got the
+house, adjoined the stable.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER IV
+
+WOLF GIVES A FEAST
+
+
+Kit returned for _comida_, which in Spanish countries is the second
+proper meal. At Jefferson's it was served about five o'clock, and when
+Kit arrived Mrs. Jefferson indicated a chair opposite Betty's at the
+table in a big cool room.
+
+"Now we can begin," she said and Jefferson clapped his hands for the
+major-domo. In old Spanish houses there are no bells, and one uses
+customs the Moors brought long since from the East.
+
+"If I'm late, I'm sorry," Kit replied. "I had to call at the
+_Commandancia_ and they kept me longer than I thought."
+
+"I expect the _ayutante_ was getting his _comida_," Jefferson remarked.
+"Anyhow, you didn't hold up our meal. Miss Jordan hadn't finished some
+letters I wanted sent off by the Castle boat."
+
+"That's some relief," Kit said to Mrs. Jefferson. "Although I hurried, I
+was afraid----"
+
+"To wait for one's dinner is not much relief," Jefferson rejoined.
+"Then, since you know the Spanish rules, my notion is you ought to have
+got on a hustle earlier."
+
+Mrs. Jefferson gave him a quiet glance and he began to move some plates.
+Betty did not look up, but Kit thought she was not at all embarrassed.
+
+"I forgot about the _ayutante_'s _comida_. In fact----" he said, and
+stopped. It was strange, but he had forgotten he had meant to go to Mrs.
+Austin's.
+
+"Give me the hot plates," said Mrs. Jefferson, and when Jefferson did so
+one slipped and rattled.
+
+"Perhaps it's lucky my touch is not light," he remarked. "If it had been
+lighter, I'd have broken some crockery."
+
+Kit imagined there was a joke, but since the joke was not obvious he
+studied Betty. She now wore a thin black dress, made in the Spanish
+fashion with black lace at the short sleeves and neck. Her skin was very
+white and smooth and Kit thought she looked as if she had always worn a
+dinner dress.
+
+The room was spacious. Mrs. Jefferson's china and silver were good. A
+bowl of splendid roses occupied the middle of the table, and although
+they had no smell, the little _tierra_ roses, half hidden by the others,
+were seductively sweet. Decanters of red and yellow wine shone among
+coloured fruit, and in front of Betty a cluster of white Muscatel grapes
+glimmered against dark vine leaves.
+
+One got a hint of taste and cultivation, and Kit remembered that for a
+time after his arrival he had felt raw and awkward at houses like his
+host's. At Liverpool Betty had worn rather shabby clothes, and often
+when he met her going home from the office her boots were wet and muddy.
+Now she looked as if she belonged to Mrs. Jefferson's circle. Kit did
+not know if this was strange or not; he began to think he had not really
+known Betty.
+
+All the same, he was conscious of keen satisfaction. Betty had fronted
+poverty and smiled, but her smile was no longer forced. She had escaped,
+like Cinderella, from dreary servitude, and Kit was very glad, although
+he doubted if his analogy were good. Cinderella was splendidly
+conspicuous when she went to the ball, but Betty was not. Her charm was
+her gracious quietness; she did not stand out from her background, she
+harmonised with it. Kit thought her like the Muscatels that glimmered
+with pearly tints among the leaves.
+
+"I guess you are thinking about Wolf's cargo," Jefferson remarked.
+
+"Not at all," said Kit. "I was thinking about Liverpool. And Muscatel
+grapes."
+
+He imagined Betty's glance rested on him for a moment and was gone, but
+Jefferson looked amused.
+
+"Don't you get things mixed? When we towed out on board the old
+_Orinoco_ in the sooty fog, Liverpool wasn't much like a vineyard.
+However, I allow the Muscatel's a pretty good fruit. Doesn't catch your
+eye like the red grapes, but when you put the _colorado_ in the press
+the wine has a bite and some is mighty sour. The white wine's sweet and
+fragrant. All the same, you don't get the proper bouquet until the
+grapes are in the press. What d'you think about my philosophy, Miss
+Jordan?"
+
+"Sometimes the press hurts," Betty remarked quietly.
+
+"It hurts all the time," said Jefferson and his thin face got grave.
+"You know this when you have felt the screws. Well, I guess it's done
+with, but when I hear them sing their Latin psalm _In exitu_, I
+understand. Some of us have been in Egypt----"
+
+"Now you are mixing things! You were not in Egypt," Mrs. Jefferson
+rejoined, and Kit thought she meant to banish her husband's sombre mood.
+
+"Anyhow, Egypt's in Africa and considerably cooler than the swamp where
+the _Cumbria_ lay. Then I reckon Harry Austin and I made some bricks
+without much straw."
+
+"Jacinta helped. She has helped a number of people."
+
+"Mrs. Austin has helped me," Kit agreed and looked at Betty. It was
+strange, but he imagined she did not own her debt to Mrs. Austin.
+
+Soon afterwards it got dark and they went to the flat roof. There was no
+moon, but the stars were bright and the sky was clear. The soft
+land-breeze had begun to blow and stirred the mist that rolled down the
+dark rocks behind the town. Lights twinkled along the sweep of bay and
+two that swung across a lower group marked _Mossamedes_ rolling at the
+harbour mouth. Footsteps and broken talk echoed along the narrow street;
+one heard guitars and somebody began to sing the _Africana_.
+
+Kit was strangely content. Betty was getting strong again, and he
+thought her happy; he, himself, had a post he liked, and all went well.
+His ambitions were not important; he was not moved, as he was moved at
+Mrs. Austin's, to efforts that would force people to own his talents. In
+fact, he recovered something of the tranquillity that had marked the
+afternoons when Betty and he gathered primroses in the woods.
+
+Jefferson talked about the strain and suffering on board the sailing
+ships. He pictured a battered wooden vessel, stripped to her topsails
+and staysails and kept afloat by the windmill pump, beating round Cape
+Horn while her exhausted crew got mutinous, and food got short. The
+story harmonised with the languid rumble of the surf, for Jefferson's
+voice was quiet, as if he talked about things that were done with. Man
+had come out of bondage and steam was his deliverer.
+
+Kit did not want to talk; he was satisfied to be near Betty and Mrs.
+Jefferson. It was plain that they were friends, and he thought them
+alike. Neither urged her rules on one, but one felt the rules were good.
+One could do nothing shabby when one had been with them.
+
+In the morning, Kit went to Wolf's office with some documents. Perhaps
+it was the contrast between his employer and his recent hosts, but
+somehow Wolf jarred. Kit began to feel vague doubts about the fellow.
+Nevertheless, he admitted that Wolf's approval was flattering, and they
+planned a dinner to be given on board _Mossamedes_.
+
+The dinner was not like the captain's feast. It was served with much
+ceremony, and the guests were important people, for the most part
+Spanish merchants and government officers. All the chairs at the long
+tables in the saloon were occupied, and Don Erminio, sitting at the end
+of one, did not look comfortable. The captain liked old English clothes,
+but now wore his tight, blue _correo_ uniform. Moreover, since Don
+Ramon, the company's manager, was not far off, and his neighbors were
+_Commandancia_ officials, he could not talk about animals and
+anarchists.
+
+Kit's chair was next to Jefferson's and opposite Austin's, and he was
+satisfied to look on. He was rather interested by the captain of a
+French gunboat that had recently anchored behind the mole. Captain
+Revillon did not talk, but he looked about thoughtfully, and Kit
+imagined he knew Castilian.
+
+The giver of the loyal toast was a high official, who said the Spanish
+crown stood for justice and steady progress. One lost much by rash
+experiments, and to modify cautiously old traditions was a better plan.
+A country's prosperity was built upon the efforts of all its citizens,
+and men must know the reward of their labour was theirs. Just laws were
+needed and the loyal _Canarios_ knew the Spanish laws were good. But
+this was not all. Effort must be made for cultivation and commerce.
+Although the islanders were industrious, much of the soil was barren and
+sometimes food was short. Spain owned a belt of Africa with fertile
+oases where corn was grown and flocks were fed. The country was richer
+than people thought; it must be developed and extended until it made up
+for the territories Spain had lost. This was why he wished the new
+venture, launched under the Spanish flag, good luck.
+
+There was a shout and a rattle of glasses, but Kit thought the little
+French captain pondered.
+
+"Since France claims the back country, I expect Revillon wonders how
+they're going to extend the Rio de Oro," Jefferson remarked.
+
+Don Ramon, urbane and smiling, got up. The islanders must live by trade,
+he said. They were a virile race of sailors and small farmers, but since
+modern ships and machines cost much, they could not refuse foreign help.
+With English help they had made much progress and might go farther. They
+had built up Cuba and now Cuba was gone they must build up their African
+colony. The _Mossamedes_, flying the Spanish flag, was opening a new,
+rich field. Don Ramon was proud he had some part in sending her out.
+
+"He has struck the same note," Austin observed. "In a way it's the note
+one would strike, but somehow I imagine Wolf has used the tuning fork.
+When you make a speech to order, you rather like a hint about the line
+you ought to take. However, the fellow is going to talk."
+
+Kit afterwards thought Wolf's speech clever. To begin with, he indicated
+the richness of the Rio de Oro belt and its hinterland. His venture was
+small, but when he had opened the way, Spanish effort would make the
+African oases another Cuba. He paused and turned to the high official,
+who smiled as if he agreed. Then Wolf hinted at a community of interest
+and talked as if his gains would be his guests'. Kit felt that a
+stranger might imagine the merchants were shareholders and the others
+had given the undertaking official patronage.
+
+"Looks as if we were all in it," Jefferson commented. "On the whole, I'm
+satisfied our house is not. I'd rather like to know what Revillon
+thinks."
+
+"Revillon's thoughts are not very obvious. Since he has stopped at Las
+Palmas before, I expect he knows our friends are patriotic
+sentimentalists," Austin replied.
+
+Soon afterwards Kit went on deck. Wolf did not want him and the saloon
+was hot. Leaning against the rails, he looked across the harbour, and
+his glance rested on the French gunboat. She was a small, two-masted
+vessel, of a type that was getting out of date but was used by French
+and British for police duty on the African coast. Sometimes she touched
+at Las Palmas for coal, and Kit understood she cruised from Morocco to
+Senegal. She was not fast, and he thought her rather deep for use in
+shallow water. When he was on board the _correillo_ he had seen her
+hauled up on the beach after grounding. Hearing a step he turned and saw
+Wolf.
+
+"I came up for a few minutes to get away from Revillon; the fellow's
+rather curious about your voyage," said Wolf. "Besides, I want to talk
+to you. Let's go into the captain's room."
+
+The captain's room was on the boat-deck below the bridge. One reached it
+by a ladder, and nobody was about. Wolf turned on the electric light and
+gave Kit a cigarette.
+
+"I haven't told you much about your cargo for this run, but I had some
+grounds for not doing so."
+
+"The cargo's ready to put on board," said Kit.
+
+"Not all," Wolf replied meaningly. "Yusuf, my agent in Morocco, will
+supply or tell you where to get the rest. You will carry out his orders,
+unless, of course, you resolve to turn down the job."
+
+"Then, we are to carry goods the Spaniards would not allow us to land?"
+
+Wolf smiled. "Now you, perhaps, see why I gave the feast. My guests, so
+to speak, have given my venture the government's sanction. In Spain it
+pays to have official friends, and a tactful present carries weight. The
+officers are not as fastidious as yours----"
+
+He stopped and Kit wondered whether he had said _yours_ unconsciously.
+Kit had thought Wolf claimed to be English, but there was a hint of a
+sneer in his voice.
+
+"What are we to carry?" he asked.
+
+"Cartridges! If you don't like the job, I think I can get another man."
+
+Kit imagined all traffic with native Africans in breach-loading guns and
+ammunition was forbidden. Moreover, it was obvious the Spanish
+government would not approve Wolf's supplying the Berber tribes with
+cartridges. This, however, was the government's business, and Kit was
+young. Romantic smuggling had some charm; but he hesitated.
+
+"Why do the Berbers want the cartridges?" he asked.
+
+Wolf shrugged. "I don't know their plans. They're a turbulent,
+independent lot, and sometimes quarrel with their neighbours who are
+supposed to belong to France. I expect they have a dispute with another
+tribe in the back country about an oasis, or perhaps the control of a
+caravan road. Anyhow, I'm sending a small quantity of ammunition,
+because I want to keep a good customer. Well, I won't persuade you. Are
+you going?"
+
+"I'll risk it," said Kit, rather doubtfully. "Does the captain know?"
+
+"Of course," said Wolf, smiling. "Don Erminio's not scrupulous and sees
+a chance of earning something besides his pay. All the same, he
+understands that while he is navigator you are my representative. But I
+mustn't leave the others long."
+
+He went off and Kit smoked a fresh cigarette. The adventure had some
+charm, but he was not altogether satisfied. He had, however, agreed to
+go, and presently he banished his doubts.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER V
+
+WOLF'S OFFER
+
+
+Jefferson sat in the shade of the bougainvillea and pondered some
+letters. Austin lounged in a basket-chair opposite and read the
+_Diario_. They had combined their business as far as possible, but
+Pancho Brown would not agree to a formal amalgamation. All was quiet.
+One heard the fountain splash and Betty's typewriter rattle. Sometimes a
+voice came from the room where Jefferson's Spanish clerks were occupied,
+but this was all.
+
+Presently Austin put down the newspaper.
+
+"The tomato crop was light and the vines are doing badly. It's ominous
+that the Palma import houses are cutting down their orders."
+
+"Martinez allowed he wanted to get out of the deal in chemical
+fertilisers. Trade is looking sick," Jefferson agreed.
+
+"When I joined Pancho Brown I used to study the accounts and
+congratulate myself when I saw our credits going up," Austin remarked
+with a smile. "To feel I could write a cheque for a good sum was
+something very new. Now I'm bothered because we have money at the bank.
+I don't see how it's going to be usefully employed."
+
+"You want to keep money moving. Well, I met Wolf a day or two since, and
+he hinted he knew about a deal. I wasn't keen, but he said he might come
+around and see us. I rather expect him."
+
+"You don't trust the fellow?"
+
+"Sure thing! Reckon it's instinctive. I like straightforward folks.
+Wolf's a mystery man."
+
+Austin looked up and laughed. "He's coming."
+
+Wolf crossed the flags, and when he stopped by the bougainvillea his
+face was red. He was fat and his thin, black alpaca jacket looked very
+tight.
+
+"Sun's fierce. Will you take a drink?" said Jefferson, and clapping his
+hands for a servant, ordered _Cerveza_.
+
+As a rule, in hot countries, cautious white men do not drink much beer,
+but Wolf drained his glass of pale yellow liquor with obvious
+satisfaction.
+
+"The Glasgow stuff is good," he said. "In fact, for British lager, it's
+very nearly right."
+
+"Where d'you reckon to get it exactly right? Chicago or Munich?"
+Jefferson inquired.
+
+Wolf laughed. "It's good at both cities. At Munich there's a _garten_.
+But I'm not going to bore you by talking about lager."
+
+Betty's typewriter stopped. The light in the _patio_ was strong and to
+sit in her dark office and study the group outside was like watching a
+play on an illuminated stage. The curtains at the arch narrowed her
+view, and the figures of the actors, sharply distinct, occupied the
+opening. Betty's sense of the dramatic was keen, and she had remarked
+that Wolf sat down where a beam shone over his shoulder. Then when
+Jefferson talked about Chicago and Munich she thought he tried to study
+Wolf's face, but could not. Wolf had hesitated for a moment before he
+admitted that he knew the cities. Betty rested her face in her hand and
+resolved to watch. For one thing, Wolf was Kit's employer.
+
+"Trade is slack," Wolf resumed. "The Spanish merchants see they can't
+ship much produce and are cutting their orders. I don't know if you feel
+the slump, but my African speculation promises well. The trouble is, I
+can't finance it properly, and if you would like to come in----"
+
+"Pancho Brown is old-fashioned and not keen about new undertakings,"
+Austin replied cautiously. "Do you expect to get larger lots of sheep?"
+
+"It's possible, but I thought about buying camels. I reckon I can get
+them for a low price, paid in trade goods, and I expect you know what
+they are worth just now."
+
+Austin pondered. The single-humped camel is used in the Canaries,
+particularly in the dry Eastern islands, and the animals cost much. All
+the same, Austin knew his partner doubted.
+
+"Where do your customers get the camels?" Jefferson asked.
+
+"I frankly don't know. The Berbers are not the people to give you their
+confidence. It's possible they steal the camels. Anyhow, they state they
+can get them."
+
+"Well, if you are short of money, we might perhaps supply the goods you
+want and take the camels at a price agreed."
+
+"I can get credit for the trade-goods and sell the camels to Spanish
+buyers as soon as they arrive. In fact, I see no particular advantage in
+your plan."
+
+"Then, what is your proposition?"
+
+"Something like this: I want you to join me in the speculation and take
+your share of the profit and the risk. There is some risk. The business
+is going to be bigger than I thought, and my capital is not large. I
+want partners who will help me seize all the chances that come along and
+will back me if I get up against an obstacle."
+
+Austin lighted a cigarette and Betty imagined he weighed the plan, but
+Jefferson did not. Wolf drank some beer and when he put down his glass
+Betty thought the glance he gave the others was keen. He looked cunning,
+and she thought if she were Austin she would let his offer go. After a
+few moments Jefferson looked up.
+
+"Harry and I will talk about it and send you a note. Will you take
+another drink?"
+
+Wolf drained his glass and went off. When he had gone Jefferson turned
+to Austin and smiled.
+
+"I reckon nothing's doing!"
+
+"Then why did you promise to talk about it?"
+
+"I am talking about it," Jefferson rejoined. "I didn't want Wolf to
+imagine I'd resolved to turn down his proposition."
+
+"After all, I don't think he meant to cheat us."
+
+"Not in a sense. He knows you're not a fool and Don Pancho's very keen."
+
+"Then what does he want?" Austin asked.
+
+"I don't know; I'm curious. Anyhow, he doesn't want me, although if you
+and Don Pancho joined, he reckoned I'd come in. I'm not a British
+merchant; I'm an American."
+
+"But what has this to do with it?"
+
+"I allow I don't altogether see. Anyhow, Wolf's a German." Austin looked
+puzzled and Jefferson smiled. "You don't get me yet? The fellow has
+cultivated out his accent and claims he's English. That's important,
+because he got his English in the United States and doesn't claim he's
+American. When I talked about Chicago and Munich I made an experiment."
+
+"He admitted he knew the cities."
+
+"That is so. He saw I was on his track and he mustn't bluff. If I'd met
+Wolf in the United States, I mightn't have been prejudiced, but I met
+him at Grand Canary, starting a trade with Spanish Africa. I reckon the
+Spaniards are sore about Morocco. At the grab-game, France and Britain
+scooped the pool; Germany and Spain got stung. Anyhow, I've no use for
+taking a part in world politics, and when Musgrave has gone a voyage or
+two in _Mossamedes_ I'll try to get him off the ship."
+
+"I wonder whether you know Jacinta sent him on board?"
+
+Jefferson smiled. "Does Jacinta trust Wolf? Talk to her about the deal,
+and if she approves I'll come in."
+
+"Very well," said Austin, and they started for the town.
+
+When Jefferson returned to his office a clerk brought in a note. "From
+Don Enrique, sir."
+
+Jefferson opened the envelope and laughed, for the note ran: "Nothing
+doing in camels. Jacinta does not approve."
+
+"Sometimes a woman's judgment is sound, Miss Jordan," he remarked. "Mrs.
+Austin doesn't know all I know, but she gets where I get, and I think
+she got there first."
+
+"It is strange," Betty said quietly.
+
+"One doesn't know when you're amused and when you're not," Jefferson
+rejoined. "However, I want you to send Wolf a note."
+
+"_Dear Mr. Wolf?_" Betty suggested.
+
+"I reckon _dear sir_ will meet the bill," said Jefferson dryly. "Then
+let's see, 'In reference to our conversation this morning, after careful
+consideration, we regret we cannot see our way to entertain your
+proposition.' Pretty good office English?"
+
+"There are three _'tions_," Betty observed.
+
+"Proposition's all right," said Jefferson thoughtfully. "Fix the others
+as you like. You know the sort of thing."
+
+He went up the outside stair and found Mrs. Jefferson on the balcony.
+
+"If Musgrave's not a philanderer, he's mighty dull," he said. "I'd like
+you to have seen Miss Jordan just now. A model clerk, very cool and
+business-like, manner exactly right. All the same, before I got started
+she saw where I was going and I guess she smiled."
+
+"It's very possible," Mrs. Jefferson agreed. "Well, perhaps it's lucky
+I'm not jealous!"
+
+"You're not jealous, but if I've got an eye for fine and pretty things,
+you're accountable. Once on a time I reckoned a big sailing ship,
+close-hauled on the wind with all she'd carry set, was beautiful; I
+hadn't seen you talking to our guests across the fruit and flowers. Now
+I'm thankful for all beauty; things men made like sailing ships, and
+pretty girls. Betty in white by the bougainvillea, Olivia on the veranda
+in her black and gold. This old world is charming since you opened my
+eyes."
+
+"For a business man, you're sometimes extravagant," Mrs. Jefferson
+replied. "All the same, you are a dear."
+
+Jefferson turned and looked over the balcony. A young man who wore
+spotless white flannel and a red silk belt crossed the flags. He stopped
+abruptly when Jefferson shouted: "Hello!"
+
+"We thought if you were going to haul up _Cayman_ for scraping, you'd
+like to know our tug is off the slip," the other remarked.
+
+"Thanks!" said Jefferson dryly. "You needn't bother Miss Jordan about
+it. _Cayman_'s gone to Palma."
+
+The young man recrossed the flags and Jefferson laughed. "His last brain
+wave was to see if _Cayman_ would take coal across for ballast and he
+could keep us some hefty lumps. Yesterday two banana men blew in with a
+fool proposition about my sending fruit to Africa, and before they were
+through, Walters from the cold store arrived. Looks as if I'd got to put
+up barbed wire."
+
+"Oh, well," said Mrs. Jefferson, "I don't suppose a sailing ship is
+their standard of beauty. Besides, the big sailing ships are gone."
+
+Betty, studying some figures in the office, heard Jefferson stop the
+coaling clerk and smiled. Young men from the coal wharfs and fruit
+stores arrived rather often when they thought her employer was not
+about, and if she was not occupied she sometimes let them talk. For the
+most part they were a careless, good-humoured lot and she liked their
+cheerfulness, but this was all. When she refused Kit at Liverpool she
+was resolved he must get his chance; now it looked as if she had got
+hers she was not moved.
+
+She contrasted him with the others. They frankly amused her, and
+sometimes Kit was dull. Yet she sensed in his soberness something fine
+that did not mark the rest. They joked and did not bother; Kit bothered
+much. Betty liked his tight-mouthed, thoughtful look. His habit was to
+weigh things, but when he was satisfied he went stubbornly ahead. Betty
+wondered whether he was satisfied about Olivia. Then, with something of
+an effort, she resumed her calculations.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER VI
+
+BETTY CARRIES A MESSAGE
+
+
+The morning was hot and Betty had pulled the curtains across the arch.
+She typed an English letter and thought about Kit. Although she knew he
+had gone to Mrs. Austin's, it was some days since she had seen him and
+his steamer would soon sail. Betty had expected him to say good-bye to
+her and was hurt because he had not. Presently she heard Jefferson's
+step in the _patio_. He stopped and somebody crossed the flags.
+
+"Come inside, the sun is pretty fierce," he said, and Olivia went
+through the arch.
+
+"I think you know Miss Jordan," Jefferson resumed.
+
+Betty stopped her typewriter. She was in the shadow and studied Olivia,
+who stood where the strong light shone into the room. Betty thought her
+clothes were made in London or Paris; they were in the latest
+exaggerated fashion, but she admitted that Miss Brown's beauty justified
+her wearing clothes like that. Betty, herself, wore plain white, and a
+cheap, Spanish sewing woman had helped her to make the dress.
+
+"It looks as if you had got up before Harry, although you kept him for
+some time last night," Olivia said to Jefferson, and took out a small
+packet. "He had not begun his breakfast when the mail arrived with some
+samples you want for Morocco. Harry thought Mr. Musgrave might leave
+them for your agent at Saffi, but our man was not about and I was going
+to the shops."
+
+Jefferson pulled out his watch. "Thanks, I'll send the thing on board.
+I'm going up town. Will you come along?"
+
+"I'll stop in your cool office for a few minutes," Olivia replied, and
+Jefferson turned to Betty.
+
+"Felix will be around soon. Send him off with the packet. I expect
+Musgrave will be at the _Commandancia_. You have about half an hour."
+
+He went off and Olivia lighted a cigarette. She threw the match on the
+floor, and although people smoke in Spanish offices Betty was annoyed.
+She wondered whether Miss Brown's carelessness was studied, but after a
+few moments Olivia gave her a thoughtful look.
+
+"I understand Kit Musgrave is an old friend of yours."
+
+"He is my friend," said Betty.
+
+"Then I expect you know he's satisfied with his post. All the same, he
+ought to give it up."
+
+Betty said nothing. She thought she saw why Miss Brown had brought the
+packet, but did not see where she led. Besides, she was conscious of a
+subtle antagonism. The girl was not the type whose friendship was good
+for Kit. In the meantime, Olivia occupied herself with her cigarette.
+She had meant to make an experiment and satisfy her curiosity, for Kit
+had not come to the veranda much since his return and she had missed him
+when he was away.
+
+"He ought to go back to the _correillo_," she resumed. "However, I
+expect you know he's obstinate."
+
+"Sometimes he's firm," said Betty, quietly, although quietness was hard.
+
+She did know Kit was obstinate, but to allow Miss Brown to talk about it
+was another thing. Besides, she was bothered about the other's object
+for stating Kit ought to go back.
+
+"Oh, well, it's really not important," Olivia replied as if she were
+bored. "I thought perhaps you might persuade Kit to rejoin the
+_Campeador_." She paused and smiled carelessly. "I can't, I admit I
+tried."
+
+"Why do you want Mr. Musgrave to leave his ship? I understand your
+sister got him the post."
+
+Olivia was embarrassed, although her embarrassment was not obvious. She
+had begun by wanting to baffle Mrs. Austin, whose object for sending Kit
+on board _Mossamedes_ was plain. This, however, was some time since, and
+now she did not know what she did want. She would not acknowledge Kit
+her lover, but she liked to know he was about. All the same, her efforts
+to separate him from Wolf were to some extent unselfish.
+
+"I don't want Kit to leave the _Mossamedes_; I think it better for him
+to do so," she rejoined. "It's possible my sister did get him the post.
+Jacinta does things like that, but sometimes her plans do not work as
+she hoped."
+
+"Then, when Mrs. Austin sent Kit to Africa she had a plan?"
+
+Olivia looked up sharply and threw her cigarette on the floor. She had
+not found out much and did not mean to argue with Jefferson's clerk.
+
+"We don't get forward, and I can't stop," she said. "I'll tell you all I
+know. I think my sister doubts Wolf; Jefferson frankly distrusts him. He
+was talking to Harry on the veranda and I was in the room behind. It was
+plain they were puzzled about Wolf. Jefferson said the fellow was
+playing a crooked game, and Kit ought to quit. Anyhow, he ought to know
+his boss's African scheme was a cover for something else, and he was
+going to use the French captain. Wolf meant to give Revillon a part in
+the plot."
+
+Olivia got up. "That's all, but I rather agree with Jefferson."
+
+"If you think Mr. Musgrave ought to be warned, why didn't you warn him?"
+
+"For one thing, I imagined you were his friend," Olivia rejoined with a
+careless smile. "To write a note is sometimes awkward, the steamer sails
+very soon, and it's obvious I can't go on board and ask for the
+_sobrecargo_. Well, you are Jefferson's clerk and have the packet of
+samples. You can go--if you like!"
+
+The curtain swung back, and for a minute or two Betty pondered. Her
+curiosity was excited, and she wondered much how far Olivia's interest
+in Kit went; that it went some distance was plain. Betty felt a keen
+antagonism for the fashionable and rather scornful girl. Yet to some
+extent the other's object was good; Betty thought Kit ought to be warned
+about his employer. All the same, Miss Brown's statement that Betty
+could warn him was hardly accurate. Spanish conventions were strict and
+Betty knew the gossip that marked the English circle. If she went on
+board the steamer, people would talk and Mrs. Jefferson would be
+annoyed. But Felix, Jefferson's boatman, did not arrive, and Betty
+looked at her watch. Something must be risked and perhaps she might meet
+Kit outside the _Commandancia_ office. Picking up the packet, she got
+her hat.
+
+A _tartana_ waited for passengers at the end of the street, and she got
+down at the Catalina mole. _Mossamedes'_ windlass rattled, and her cable
+was coming in, but a boat with the African house-flag painted on the bow
+lay against the wall, and Betty knew Kit had not gone on board. For all
+that, she did not see him, and the steamer's anchor would soon be up. If
+he did not come in a minute or two, she would have no time for talk.
+Then he ran out of the office, pushing some papers into his pocket, and
+stopped.
+
+"Hallo!" he said. "You are kind to see me off."
+
+"I didn't come to see you off. At least, that wasn't all," Betty
+replied.
+
+"Oh, well," Kit said, laughing, "you're generally frank. I'd rather have
+liked to think you did want to see me off. Anyhow, I'm glad you have
+arrived."
+
+Betty gave him the packet and he noted the address.
+
+"All right, I'll land it at Saffi. I wish you had come sooner. They've
+broken the anchor out."
+
+She went across the mole with him and stopped at the top of the steps.
+He looked keen, alert and handsome. His white clothes were well made,
+his thin figure was athletic, and Betty liked his smile. She felt
+rewarded; Kit was glad she had come. The trouble was, she could not send
+him off like that.
+
+"There's another thing," she said. "Jefferson thinks you ought not to
+stop on board _Mossamedes_. He declares Wolf is not to be trusted."
+
+"Ah!" said Kit, rather sharply. "But how do you know?"
+
+Betty braced herself. She must be honest, although it was plain honesty
+might cost her something.
+
+"Miss Brown came to the office half an hour since and brought the
+packet. She heard Jefferson talk to Austin about Wolf, and thought you
+ought to be warned."
+
+"She came to the office!" Kit exclaimed, and Betty saw his satisfaction.
+"Well, she's very kind. But she sent a message?"
+
+"Wolf is plotting something in Africa. His business isn't what it looks.
+Captain Revillon has some part in it."
+
+Kit laughed. "Miss Brown meant well, you mean well, but you don't
+understand. Wolf is cheating the French captain. He'd an object for
+asking him to the feast. In fact, I see his plan."
+
+"I don't think Miss Brown was cheated," Betty urged.
+
+_Mossamedes'_ whistle shrieked, foam splashed about her stern and she
+began to forge ahead. Kit shouted to the men in the boat and Betty gave
+him her hand.
+
+"Don't bother about the thing," he said. "Perhaps Wolf is rather tricky,
+but I know him and I won't get hurt. Anyhow, Miss Brown was kind to let
+me know, and you're a good sort to carry the message."
+
+"Still, you'll use some caution, Kit," said Betty, but he waved his hand
+and ran down the steps.
+
+_Mossamedes_ circled slowly and forged by the end of the mole, her white
+deck-houses shining in the sun. Kit's boat vanished round her stern,
+smoke rolled from her funnel, and with a white wave breaking at her bows
+she steamed out of the harbour. For a time Betty watched the ship and
+her thoughts were moody.
+
+She had refused Kit at Liverpool because both were poor. Tired, as she
+was, of badly-rewarded labour, she might have been satisfied to occupy
+her self with frugal housekeeping, had she not seen that for Kit to
+marry meant bondage for him. A married clerk with Kit's pay durst run no
+risks, he must stick to his job, indulge his employers and wait for them
+to offer him better wages. She might have promised to marry Kit and let
+him go to try his luck; but she knew girls whose lovers had gone away.
+One had come back another man, and Betty imagined he saw the girl he
+dutifully married was not the girl he had thought. The others had not
+come back at all.
+
+It was not that Betty doubted Kit. He was staunch and did all he engaged
+to do, but he was young. Betty imagined his was a boy's romance and she
+did not want him to return for her because he thought he ought. Besides,
+he had some talent and might make his mark abroad. If he did so, she was
+not going to embarrass him. In fact, she, so to speak, resolved that
+Kit must have his chance.
+
+Now he was obviously attracted by Miss Brown, and Betty knew Olivia was
+not the girl for him. Moreover, she was persuaded Olivia saw his
+drawbacks. Kit was poor, his infatuation was ridiculous, and to find it
+out would hurt, but Kit would find out. Betty frowned because she could
+not help.
+
+By and by she noted that _Mossamedes'_ masts and funnel were getting
+indistinct. The ship's hull had melted to a dark streak, seen for a
+moment when she plunged across a roller's crest, and Betty got up. She
+had stopped longer than she ought and must hurry back to the office. As
+she went along the mole she remembered that she had been willing to risk
+something in order to warn Kit, and he had laughed. Sometimes one's fine
+resolutions were rewarded like that. Perhaps the thing was amusing, but
+her smile was dreary.
+
+At the office she found Jefferson reading a newspaper.
+
+"I see you haven't begun the English letters," he remarked. "Did Olivia
+stop long?"
+
+Betty said the boatman had not arrived, and she had taken the packet to
+the mole.
+
+"Well, I wanted the thing to go across. I reckon you gave it to
+Musgrave?"
+
+"I did so," said Betty and noted Jefferson's twinkle. All the same, she
+thought his taking out his watch was unconscious.
+
+"Perhaps you had better go ahead with the letters," he said.
+
+Betty started her typewriter, but her thoughts were not fixed on what
+she wrote. She pondered about Wolf and was vaguely disturbed. Kit had
+laughed at Olivia's warning, but sometimes Kit was confident and rash.
+After all, it was possible Miss Brown was justified. Then Betty glanced
+at a letter she took from the machine and tore the sheet across.
+Jefferson was not fastidious, but he liked his customers to know what he
+meant. She could think about Wolf and Kit again, and in the meantime
+must concentrate on her proper duty. Olivia Brown could indulge her
+romantic imagination when she liked, but Betty was a merchant's clerk.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER VII
+
+SHIPPING CAMELS
+
+
+_Mossamedes_ dropped anchor as near as was safe to the flat-roofed
+Moorish town. The roadstead was open and the harbour was only deep
+enough for boats, but so long as the wind did not back to the North one
+could ship cargo, and the agent sent off a quantity of maize and beans.
+In the Canaries corn is scarce, and the _peons_ roast and grind such
+grain as they can get for their coarse _gofio_ meal. Kit was rather
+disturbed about the cartridges, although Wolf's Jewish agent had so far
+refused to state when they would go on board. Kit was the steamship
+company's servant, the ship was British, and he thought he ought to have
+warned the manager how she might be used. The trouble was, he was Wolf's
+servant, too. Besides, it was possible Don Ramon was informed.
+
+When the grain was on board Kit went one evening to the agent's house.
+Yusuf was old and yellow-skinned. His beard was thin and his long hair
+greasy with scented oil, but he had a touch of dignity. Kit went through
+a little dark shop to his office and sat on a low, flat-topped couch. An
+iron chest stood against the opposite wall, and an open lamp hung by
+chains from the roof. A door with a horseshoe arch and a leather curtain
+led to the house; the door to the shop was strong and iron-bound. One
+very narrow window pierced the wall. The Jews have long traded in
+Morocco, but they know the risk, and Kit generally found it a relief to
+finish his business and get back to the harbour. Yusuf transacted
+Wolf's business in the evening, and when Kit arrived the copper lamp was
+lighted.
+
+Yusuf gave him a little cup of black coffee and a cigarette with a
+strange, bitter taste. Then he talked about the grain, and presently
+took a long roll of paper and some documents from the chest.
+
+"This voyage we will give you camels," he said in good Castilian. "You
+will get them where you got the sheep. Since you will not come back, I
+will give you the bills of lading for the captain to sign."
+
+"The rule is to sign the bills of lading when the goods are shipped,"
+Kit remarked.
+
+"In this country English rules do not go. A trader must run some risks
+and you will need proper documents for the Spanish officers."
+
+Kit agreed. Wolf had told him he must trust Yusuf, but he did not,
+although he was willing to carry out his orders. There was something
+secretive about the old fellow; one felt strange plans were made in his
+small dark shop. In fact, Kit would have trusted nobody in the town. The
+people were a strange, silent lot; the Moors stamped by an inscrutable
+reserve. The Jews and half-breed Christians looked furtive and afraid.
+To hear the negroes' noisy talk was a relief, but all was quiet after
+dark.
+
+"I understand you have some other cargo for us," he remarked.
+
+"That is so. When you go back to your boat you will find the boxes are
+on board."
+
+Kit thought it strange. His boat lay alongside the little mole, where
+people could see goods carried down, and since Yusuf had got the
+cartridges Kit wondered why he had not smuggled them off overland. To
+use a steamer like _Mossamedes_ to carry a few boxes along the coast
+was a strange plan; but then the business was all strange.
+
+"Where must we land the goods?" he asked.
+
+"I will show you," said Yusuf, and when he unrolled the long paper Kit
+saw with some surprise it was a good chart of the African coast.
+
+"You will anchor here and signal," he said, marking a spot. "When you
+see smoke among the sandhills send off your boat. Afterwards you will
+steam back to the anchorage you know and wait for the camels."
+
+"But we may wait for some time," Kit objected, noting the distance
+between the spots.
+
+"I think not. A messenger will be sent and a good camel travels fast,"
+Yusuf replied, and Kit, picking up the chart, started for the harbour.
+
+The night was not dark and when he jumped on board his boat he noted a
+row of small boxes stowed in the bottom.
+
+"But this stuff is heavy!" said old Miguel, striking a cardboard match.
+
+Kit told him to put out the match, but was relieved to see the boxes
+were not numerous. Then they had, so to speak, been put on board openly,
+and Kit felt that after all he need not bother Don Ramon about the
+thing.
+
+"We will go. Push off," he said.
+
+The men pulled down the harbour. A smooth swell rolled in and two or
+three anchor lights tossed and swung. By and by engines throbbed in the
+dark, and Kit saw moving beams of red and green. The French gunboat had
+arrived the day before, and her launch was coming off from the mole. For
+a minute or two Kit was disturbed, but the launch steamed by and
+vanished in the dark. Kit steered for _Mossamedes'_ lights and when he
+got on board went to the captain's room. Don Erminio, wearing his old
+English clothes, fronted Macallister in greasy dungarees, and between
+them some bottles and glasses balanced the swing-table. Kit put down the
+bills of lading and remarked that he had agreed the captain would sign
+the documents.
+
+"But of course," said Don Erminio, "when I sign for Senor Wolf, I will
+sign all you ask. When I sign for me, it is another thing. Then, if I am
+not cautious, somebody gets my dollars."
+
+"Where are we going?" Macallister asked.
+
+Kit spread out the chart and indicated the spot Yusuf had marked on the
+curve of a bay. It looked as if landing would not be hard, but although
+the chart did not give the political frontiers, he imagined the bay was
+outside the Spanish belt.
+
+"I expect the coast is French. It's awkward; particularly since we carry
+cartridges."
+
+"Senegal's French," said Macallister. "The rest is nobody's; the
+strongest tribe uses the ground it wants. Man, they're amusing fellows
+at the foreign offices. Do they think they can parcel out Africa wi' a
+gold fountain pen?"
+
+"Sometimes the French foreign office uses the foreign legion."
+
+"Must I teach ye geography? The legion leeves in Algeria, and that's
+t'ither side the country o' Kaid Maclean."
+
+"It is not important," Don Erminio remarked. "All politicians are
+animals, and if the Moors shoot somebody with the cartridges, it is not
+my affair. I will catch fish for _baccalao_ and then my senora will not
+want much money."
+
+Kit put away the chart and went on deck. He rather envied Don Erminio's
+philosophical carelessness. The captain did not bother; if he could
+catch fish and shoot rabbits, he was satisfied. Kit was not like that.
+His job was to keep things going smoothly, but things did not go
+smoothly when one left them alone. He was accountable to Wolf and the
+owners of the ship, and began to see his duties might clash. Walking up
+and down the boat-deck, he frowned when he heard the clink of glasses
+and Don Erminio's laugh. Then Macallister began to sing, and Kit went
+off impatiently to his room.
+
+At daybreak they hove anchor and steamed South along the coast, until
+one morning a dark line on the port bow indicated land. Then they turned
+a quarter circle, the line got faint, as if it ran back to the East, and
+after they took soundings _Mossamedes_ steamed into a wide, shallow bay.
+Some time after she brought up a plume of smoke blew across the
+sandhills, a boat was swung out and Kit and the interpreter went ashore.
+Nothing romantic marked the landing of the cartridges. A few big,
+dark-skinned men came down the beach, took the boxes from the sailors
+and vanished in the sand. The boat pulled off and Kit began to think
+smuggling in Africa was strangely flat.
+
+Then _Mossamedes_, stopping now and then to use the lead, steamed North
+dead-slow. They saw no ships, although at times a trail of smoke stained
+the blue horizon. Liners bound for Cape Town kept deep water, and the
+captains of the Guinea boats hauled off until they made Cape Verde. The
+stream of traffic flowed along, but did not touch the forbidding coast.
+
+At length Don Erminio headed cautiously for the beach and _Mossamedes_
+dropped anchor in the pool among the sands. For two or three days the
+captain and Kit went fishing and then, when the smoke signal wavered
+about the mouth of the wady, Kit went ashore with Miguel in the big
+cargo launch. In a sense, perhaps, the job was not his, but he felt his
+responsibility. The camels were his employer's, and he must see them got
+on board.
+
+The morning was hot, the sea luminous green, streaked by dazzling lines
+of foam. Sandhills and stony hummocks floated like a mirage in
+quivering, reflected light. Farther off, dust storms tossed in spirals
+and dissolved. Now and then the wind got light for a few minutes and Kit
+felt he could not breathe, but there was no break in the steady beat of
+the white surge on the beach.
+
+When the rollers began to curl Miguel threw out an anchor, and the boat
+drove in stern-foremost until the rope brought her up. This was possible
+because the headland broke the sea, but Kit thought the launch would
+soon be swamped if the wind backed farther North. The interpreter jumped
+overboard, and by and by men in fluttering blue and white clothes drove
+the camels from the wady. When the animals reached the beach all the
+crew but Miguel went overboard, and the hardest work Kit had known
+began. The camels knelt while the head-ropes were fixed, but some
+stretched their long necks and tried to seize his arm with their yellow
+teeth. They grunted and made savage noises, and when they were driven to
+the water obstinately stopped.
+
+The single-humped camel can swim, but will not, unless it is forced, and
+to break the big animal's firm resolve is not easy. Moreover, the launch
+leaped and plunged and must be hauled off when a large roller came in
+like a glittering wall. Spray blew about; sometimes the men were
+knee-deep, and sometimes buried to the shoulders, in angry foam. Now and
+then Kit was knocked down and washed up the beach among the legs of a
+floundering camel. In the background, the group of Moors sat on the
+beach and watched; their dark skins and harshly-coloured clothes
+distinct in the strong light.
+
+When Miguel was satisfied he could take no more, they hauled off the
+boat and tied the camels by the short head-ropes along her gunwale. Then
+the anchor was got up and they began to row, but although they pulled
+the long oars double-banked, did not make much progress. It looked as if
+the camels, supported by their halters, were satisfied to be towed. The
+animals floated awkwardly and their bodies were a heavy drag.
+
+To drive the boat ahead was exhausting labour in the burning sun, and by
+and by Kit relieved a man whose efforts got slack. His clothes had dried
+stiff, his hair was full of sand, and the salt had crystallised on his
+burned skin. At length they stopped abreast of the steamer's gangway and
+somebody threw a rope. _Mossamedes_ rolled, lifting a long belt of rusty
+side out of the foam. Sometimes she was high above the boat, and
+sometimes she sank until the water splashed about the open iron doors. A
+man, seizing a boathook, stood ready to fend-off the launch; the others
+got canvas bands under the camels. Then a long derrick swung out and a
+band was hooked to a wire rope.
+
+"_Ahora! Llevadlo!_" shouted Miguel and a winch began to rattle.
+
+The rope tightened with a jerk, a camel rose from the water, and for a
+few moments swung wildly to and fro. The animal looked ridiculous, with
+its outstretched neck and paddling legs. Then _Mossamedes_ steadied and
+one heard running wire; the camel sank and vanished and the rope came
+down again. When all were on board, Miguel started for the beach with a
+fresh crew, and Kit went to see the animals fastened up and fed. The
+mate was accountable for their stowing, but camels were worth much at
+Grand Canary, and Kit imagined his employer's interest was his.
+Sometimes when he thought about his efforts afterwards, he smiled.
+
+He was occupied until the launch returned and he went ashore again. The
+tide had risen and the surf was worse, but they got another load. The
+launch came back half-swamped with the men exhausted and a broken oar,
+and on her next voyage the crew kept her off the beach until the tide
+fell. While she rolled and plunged at anchor Kit lay in her bottom and
+watched the angry combers crash upon the beach.
+
+They brought off the last few animals in the dark and Kit washed away
+the sand and salt. Three or four dark bruises marked his skin, his hands
+were blistered and he limped because a camel had stepped upon his foot.
+All the same, when he put on soft clean clothes he was satisfied.
+_Mossamedes_ would go to sea at daybreak and it was something to know
+the job was done.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER VIII
+
+AN IDLE AFTERNOON
+
+
+The veranda was shady, and Kit sat on the top step in the cool breeze
+that blew between the posts. Olivia occupied a basket-chair farther
+back; her pose was languidly graceful and sometimes she smiled. It was
+not for nothing she had put on clothes she liked the best of all she
+had, but she thought she knew why Kit for the most part looked at the
+town and not at her. Sometimes his puritanical conscience bothered him.
+Mrs. Austin's rule was to receive all her friends who liked to come
+after six o'clock, but Kit had arrived two hours sooner, because Olivia
+had hinted that he might. She knew Jacinta would not be about, and now
+thought Kit imagined he ought to go.
+
+The landscape he contemplated had some charm. The sun was behind the
+mountains, and the dark rocks were a good background for the white town
+and the cathedral towers. The white was not dead; the shadow had touched
+it with elusive grey and blue, and the rows of houses glimmered, somehow
+like pearls. In front the sea was a wonderful ultramarine.
+
+In the meantime, Olivia studied Kit's figure and his face in profile.
+She thought his profile good, there was something ascetic about its
+cleanness of line. He was thin, but his white clothes rather emphasised
+the firm modelling of his neck and shoulders and the curve to his waist.
+All the same, Olivia thought his quietness tiresome.
+
+"The view from the veranda _is_ rather fine," she said.
+
+Kit looked up with an apologetic smile. "You imply I'm dull? Perhaps I
+am dull. You see, I was pretty strenuously occupied not long since."
+
+"Catching fish for the captain's senora?"
+
+"We did catch some fish, but we shipped some camels through the surf,
+and ran into bad weather coming home. To keep the animals alive was an
+awkward job. The sea came on board, the fodder washed about, and the
+scuppers were choked. The ship got a list, and two or three feet of
+water splashed in the angle between her deck and side. Camels can't
+stand getting wet, you know."
+
+"I don't know," Olivia rejoined. "Besides, I don't see how the bad
+weather accounts for your absorption in the view."
+
+"Oh, well! After a job like ours you want a rest, and there's something
+about Grand Canary that makes you satisfied to loaf. The Island of the
+Golden Apples, the old explorers talked about! Then I think the nicest
+spot in Grand Canary is Mrs. Austin's veranda. Anyhow, if I had talked,
+you might have got bored. You are bored sometimes."
+
+Olivia laughed. "You are modest, but if you know when I am bored you are
+cleverer than I thought. However, when you first arrived you would have
+been hurt."
+
+"One gets philosophical and no doubt I was very raw. I hadn't known you
+and Mrs. Austin."
+
+"To know Jacinta is something of an education," Olivia agreed. "But you
+talked about the old explorers. Have you ever seen the island of San
+Borondon?"
+
+"I have not," said Kit. "I'm a practical fellow and don't see things
+like that. All the same, our quartermaster declares he has seen San
+Borondon, and it's possible. Old Miguel's a mystic and the finest sailor
+we have on board. The sort of fellow they'd have made a saint in
+Columbus's days----"
+
+He mused for a few moments and resumed: "Well, the story's curious. If
+you leave out a few desert rocks, there are six Canary Islands; the
+first explorers saw seven. The seventh was San Borondon, where it is
+always calm. When the galleons came back to conquer it, the island was
+gone, but now and then somebody sees the mountains against the sunset,
+in the same spot as you steam West to Hierro. A mirage, no doubt, but
+one can understand the sailors' weaving legends about San Borondon."
+
+"I expect the monks wove the legends," Olivia remarked. "Their business
+was to point a moral, and the Grail story's old. It looks as if they
+could not find a knight-adventurer like Galahad. Yet you imagine your
+quartermaster----"
+
+"Old Miguel is something like Galahad," Kit said quietly, although a
+touch of colour came to his skin. "Believes in his saints and keeps his
+rules. As trustful as a child, polite as a Spanish hidalgo, and brave as
+a lion! One does meet some fine gentlemen. Jefferson's another."
+
+Olivia said nothing, but on the whole she agreed. Although Jefferson had
+some drawbacks and Kit's were numerous, their puritanical sincerity had
+charm. As a rule she had not found the type polite, but Kit was getting
+sophisticated. His touch of colour indicated this.
+
+"I expect you are going back on board _Mossamedes_?" she said by and by.
+
+"For another run. After that I don't know," Kit replied.
+
+He did not know and was rather disturbed. When he was going to Mrs.
+Austin's he met Don Ramon, who stopped him.
+
+"Has Wolf talked about his future plans?" the manager asked.
+
+Kit said Wolf had not, and Don Ramon resumed:
+
+"You see, the charter does not run long, and _Mossamedes_ is an
+expensive boat for the Morocco trade."
+
+Kit had thought this and was bothered about something else. He wondered
+whether Don Ramon knew about the cartridges. In a way, perhaps, the
+thing was not important, since the quantity was small, but Kit thought
+Don Ramon ought to know. Yet so long as he took Wolf's pay he was Wolf's
+man.
+
+"Before you sailed on your last voyage I sent you a message," Olivia
+resumed.
+
+"I got the message. You were very kind."
+
+"But this was all. You thought I exaggerated?"
+
+"No," said Kit. "You stated Wolf meant to use Captain Revillon. Well, I
+thought I saw his object."
+
+"You mean, Wolf meant to cheat him?"
+
+"In a way perhaps----" Kit agreed and stopped.
+
+Olivia laughed. "You are very staunch. In fact, you have a number of
+qualities one does not at first expect. All the same, I don't think you
+ought to go to Africa often."
+
+She was sincere, because she instinctively distrusted Wolf, but she
+wanted to keep Kit about Las Palmas; to some extent because Jacinta had
+planned to send him away. She did not know if she wanted him to stop for
+good. His firmness intrigued her, she liked his honesty and his physical
+attraction was strong. Sometimes she hesitated and sometimes resisted.
+Olivia was calculating rather than romantic, and frankly did not see
+herself marrying a steamship _sobrecargo_.
+
+"I must go for another voyage," Kit replied. "I have engaged to go, and
+for another thing, Mrs. Austin got me the post. I want her to think I'm
+making good. It's obvious I owe her much."
+
+Olivia knew he owed her sister less than he thought. Sometimes Kit was
+very dull, but he had given her an opportunity to experiment.
+
+"Jacinta likes helping people and as a rule it doesn't cost her much.
+For example, when you told her about Miss Jordan, Harry and Jefferson
+wanted an English clerk. I think Miss Jordan's satisfied, but I doubt if
+she's as grateful as you."
+
+"She's altogether satisfied----" Kit declared and stopped. Betty's
+gratitude to Mrs. Austin was not very marked.
+
+"Oh, well!" Olivia resumed, "Jefferson's a good sort and I think he's
+lucky. Miss Jordan is a good clerk and an attractive girl. People like
+her, and Jefferson's _patio_ is getting a fashionable spot in the
+afternoon. You can study the latest styles in men's light clothes."
+
+"Do you mean the coaling and banana men pretend they have some business
+and hang about?"
+
+"I don't know if they pretend, but they do hang about. Jefferson
+declares if he wanted coal he could get an extra bag to the ton, and
+Ritchie told him an ingenious plan by which he could cut down _Cayman_'s
+fresh water bill."
+
+"Ritchie's the theatrical fellow with the _sombrero_ and brigand's
+sash?"
+
+"He is theatrical," Olivia agreed and smiled. "Since he has neglected
+me, his theatricalness is plainer. No doubt Miss Jordan finds him
+amusing, but when _Cayman_ is in port he goes to the office. Looking for
+orders, I believe."
+
+"All the coal _Cayman_ burns goes on the galley fire," Kit remarked with
+a frown. "A ton a voyage would see her out."
+
+Olivia noted his frown. She admitted that her methods were crude, but
+cleverness, so to speak, would be wasted on Kit. In some respects, he
+was like a child.
+
+"After all, I don't see why Miss Jordan should not marry a coaling
+clerk," she said. "One or two are rather nice."
+
+Kit set his mouth. He had not thought about Betty's marrying and owned
+that it ought not disturb him, but it did so. His look was sternly
+thoughtful, and Olivia touched his arm. She had made her experiment and
+although she did not know if she wanted Kit for herself or not, she
+resolved he was not for Betty.
+
+"You have no grounds for meddling, and Miss Jordan is not a fool; I
+think she's fastidious," she said. "When you come back we must try to
+get you a post at Las Palmas. If you get a proper start, you might go
+far, and perhaps the post can be got."
+
+Kit's heart beat. Olivia wanted him to go far, and this implied much. He
+forgot Betty, and then looking up, saw Mrs. Austin and her husband on
+the steps.
+
+"Hallo!" said Austin. "I imagined you were occupied on board. As a rule,
+you stick to your job tighter than I stuck to mine. Anyhow, since you
+have come ashore, you'll dine with us?"
+
+Kit was somewhat embarrassed. He had seen Mrs. Austin give Olivia a keen
+glance; moreover she had left her husband to ask him to stop. Signing to
+Olivia, she went into the house.
+
+"Why did you put on that dress?" she asked.
+
+"It's light and cool," Olivia replied and added with a smile: "Sometimes
+you're romantic and let your imagination go."
+
+"I'd like to think I was romantic, but I doubt. Anyhow, Kit is flesh and
+blood. Why can't you leave him alone?"
+
+"My dear! You really ought to keep the conventions. The proper line is
+to argue I oughtn't to let the young man bother me. However, it's
+obvious you don't mean to be nice."
+
+Mrs. Austin frowned and went off. She had controlled her husband and
+others, but Olivia baffled her. If the girl resisted from obstinacy,
+there was perhaps no need for disturbance; the trouble was, Mrs. Austin
+did not know. Besides, Kit was trustful. She had meant to be his friend
+and was angry because her plans had not worked.
+
+Kit did not enjoy his dinner. Mrs. Austin was polite, but he felt she
+was annoyed, and when he tried to talk to Olivia she firmly started
+another subject. Olivia looked amused and her amusement jarred. Kit was
+young and if he were being punished, thought Olivia ought to sympathise.
+Soon after dinner he declared he must go on board and Olivia got up.
+
+"Where are you going?" Mrs. Austin asked.
+
+"I'm going to the gate with Kit," Olivia replied carelessly, and Mrs.
+Austin knew her smile meant she could not meddle when the others were
+about.
+
+Olivia went down the path with Kit and stopped at the gate. It was
+getting dark and some tamarisk grew between them and the house.
+
+"You don't look very cheerful," she remarked.
+
+"I'm not cheerful," Kit admitted. "I'm afraid I have annoyed Mrs.
+Austin."
+
+"Jacinta has her moods," Olivia agreed. "However, if she wasn't very
+nice to you, she wasn't nice at all to me. Besides, you really ought not
+to have stopped when she was not at home. Jacinta is conventional,
+although she pretends she is not. We all are conventional, you know."
+
+Kit looked hard at her and was hurt. Olivia, herself, had fixed the time
+for him to come, and had kept him when he would have gone. For all that
+he said nothing and she resumed in a gentle voice: "Well, you are going
+back with the steamer and I will not see you before you sail. You'll use
+caution, Kit?"
+
+He thrilled, but said quietly: "I don't think much caution's indicated.
+We have gone twice and nothing has bothered us."
+
+"Oh well," said Olivia: "you are obstinate and I suppose you must go.
+Perhaps I'm superstitious, but sometimes the third venture is unlucky."
+She touched his arm. "I don't want you to run a risk!"
+
+Kit tried to seize her hand but she was gone. He saw her figure melt
+into the gloom among the tamarisk, and then, looking round, noted Wolf
+coming up the path.
+
+"Hallo, Musgrave!" said Wolf. "Have you gone to the _Commandancia_ for
+your papers?"
+
+"I went in the afternoon and got the documents," Kit replied, and
+started for the road.
+
+Wolf went to the veranda and talked to Mrs. Austin until some others
+arrived; then he crossed the floor. A chair by Olivia was unoccupied,
+and noting Wolf's advance, she gave a young man an inviting smile. The
+young man did not remark this and Wolf got the chair.
+
+"Malin deserves to pay for his dullness," he said.
+
+"Then you saw me signal?" Olivia rejoined. "All the same, you came!"
+
+"One sometimes gets a humorous satisfaction from baffling people.
+Besides, I wanted to persuade you I'm not revengeful. It's obvious you
+don't like me."
+
+"Oh well," said Olivia, "I don't claim my prejudices are always logical.
+Sometimes one likes people, and sometimes one does not."
+
+"We'll let it go and I'll try to be resigned. However, I don't think you
+ought to prejudice my _sobrecargo_."
+
+Olivia's eyes sparkled. It looked as if Wolf had seen her touch Kit; he
+was very keen.
+
+"Do you know I have prejudiced Mr. Musgrave?" she asked.
+
+"He has not hinted this; the young fellow is staunch, for all that, I
+don't imagine you approve his sailing on board my ship. Do you approve?"
+
+Olivia said nothing, and Wolf resumed: "If it will give you much
+satisfaction, I'll discharge him after the next voyage."
+
+For a few moments Olivia thought hard. She wanted Kit to leave
+_Mossamedes_, but she did not know yet if she wanted him to stop about
+Las Palmas altogether. Then she felt that Wolf was not the man to whom
+she would like to owe a debt. The fellow was cunning.
+
+"Oh no!" she said smiling, "it's really not important, and I wouldn't
+like to feel accountable if he didn't get another post."
+
+"Very well. If he wants to go, I'll use no arguments. If he wants to
+stop, you won't try to persuade him he ought not?"
+
+"I agree," said Olivia, and getting up, waited until Wolf went off.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER IX
+
+THE THIRD VOYAGE
+
+
+_Mossamedes_ was hauling out from the mole, and Kit, on his way to his
+room, stopped to look about. The deck was strewn with cargo, for a small
+steamer that had tied up alongside had just moved astern. Winches
+rattled and a gang of men lowered some heavy wooden cases into the hold.
+Another gang got in the slack of a big rope made fast on the wall. There
+was much shouting; the pilot in front of the wheel-house roared orders,
+Don Erminio ran up and down the bridge and the mate was vociferous on
+the forecastle.
+
+Macallister looked out with ironical amusement from the door of the
+engine-room. As a rule the Scot is not theatrical, and when others were
+noisy Macallister's dour calm was marked.
+
+"They're pretty clothes," he said, indicating Kit's white uniform. "For
+a' that, if I had your figure, I'd wear something thick. I alloo Miss
+Brown thought ye like a tablecloth on a pump. But why are ye no' helping
+the ithers at the comic opera?"
+
+"I have another job," Kit rejoined, putting a bundle of documents in his
+pocket. "It doesn't look as if you bothered about yours!"
+
+The engines had begun to throb, and the telegraph rang violently.
+Macallister signed to somebody below and grinned.
+
+"Yon's Don Erminio taking the floor. He means naething and I dinna mind
+him. When the action kin' o' drags he shouts and gives the telegraph
+handle a bit pull. When ye think aboot it, temperament's a curious
+thing. Maybe ye have seen a big boat haul out on the Clyde? Noo an' then
+an officer lifts his hand, ye hear a whistle, and a winch starts. All's
+calm and quiate. She's away, ten thousand tons o' her, before ye ken
+what's gaun on!"
+
+"You're a grim, efficient lot," Kit remarked. "Just now it looks as if
+the pilot meant to hit the coaling tug. I don't know if you can stop
+him; that's your business and his. I'll get to mine before she starts to
+roll."
+
+He went to his room, pulled up his folding stool, and threw the
+documents on his desk, for he was rather puzzled about some cases of
+agricultural machinery and tools. Perhaps these were the boxes
+transhipped from the other boat, but, so far as Kit knew, agricultural
+machinery was not much used in Morocco. In fact, he thought the Moors'
+methods were the methods of Abraham. In the meantime, the shouts got
+louder, and Kit imagined Juan on the forecastle, disputed with the pilot
+on the bridge.
+
+"_Pero, Senor!_" the mate's expostulating cry pierced the turmoil, and
+then Kit's inkpot jumped from the desk.
+
+He saw a dark smear on his new clothes, _Mossamedes_ trembled, and he
+felt a heavy shock. His stool tilted, and he went over backwards and
+struck his head against the locker.
+
+Getting up rather shakily, he remarked that the ship had listed, for the
+floor of his room was sharply inclined. When she lurched upright with a
+jerk he seized the doorpost and then, since it was obvious she was not
+capsizing, put the cork in the inkpot and began to pick up his papers.
+He had something of the sobriety that marks the puritan temperament, and
+it was characteristic that he occupied himself with his proper job. The
+papers for which he was accountable must not get stained by ink. When he
+had put all straight he went on deck.
+
+Not far off, the coaling tug circled back for the wharf. Her bulwarks
+were broken, some plates were bent, and she had let go the string of
+barges she towed. On board _Mossamedes_ Don Erminio leaned against the
+bridge-screens and his face was very white. The pilot stated loudly the
+course the tug's _patron_ ought to have steered, and the mate and a
+number of sailors ran about the deck. Kit did not think they were
+usefully employed.
+
+Going to the forecastle, he found Macallister leaning over the rails. A
+plate was bulged and the stem was bent, but it looked as if all the
+damage were above the water. Lines of foam ran by and melted ahead, for
+_Mossamedes_ was steaming stern-foremost out of port.
+
+"She's no' much the worse; I dinna ken aboot the tug," Macallister
+remarked, and took Kit to a spot beneath the bridge. "Tell the captain
+to brace up and get away to sea," he resumed. "If he's no' quick, the
+_Commandancia_ launch will come off and stop us to make reports. They'll
+forget a' aboot it before we're back."
+
+Kit translated and Don Erminio, pulling himself together, advanced upon
+the pilot. A savage dispute began, but presently the captain stopped and
+spread out his hands.
+
+"The animal is not satisfied. He will not go."
+
+"Aweel, I'll come up and pit him off," Macallister remarked and climbed
+the ladder.
+
+The pilot hesitated. His duty was to take the ship outside the mole, but
+the engineer's look was resolute, and he retreated to the ladder at the
+opposite end of the bridge. When Macallister reached the top the pilot
+had reached the bottom, and a few moments afterwards, went down a rope
+to his boat.
+
+"Noo, if ye'll put the helm across, I'll give her a bit shove ahead and
+we'll get away," Macallister said to the captain and rejoined Kit.
+
+"Nane o' it was my job and maybe on board a British ship I'd no' ha'
+done as much," he observed and vanished below.
+
+_Mossamedes_ circled, the engines throbbed harder, the mole dropped
+back, and Kit began to laugh. He agreed that Macallister would not have
+done as much on board a British ship. For all that, his rude but cool
+efficiency was rather fine.
+
+Half an hour afterwards Kit took some documents to the captain's room.
+Don Erminio was stretched on a locker, and a bottle of vermouth and some
+Palma cigars balanced the swing-table. When he saw the documents he
+frowned.
+
+"Another day. Just now I am ill," he said. "When one has an assassin for
+a pilot, to command a ship is not amusing. I bear much, but some time I
+take Enrique Maria Contallan y Clavijo by the neck and throw him in the
+sea. In the meantime, I have saved the ship and we will take a drink."
+
+Kit refused politely and did not smile. He liked Don Erminio and the
+captain was not a fool. Kit had known him calm and steady when things
+were awkward, and sometimes his pluck was rash. All the same, he was
+unstable; one could not foresee the line he would take. The Spanish
+character frankly puzzled Kit. It was marked by sharp contrasts, and one
+could use no rules. Macallister and Jefferson were not like that. Their
+qualities, so to speak, were constant. When the strain was heavy one
+knew they would be cool.
+
+_Mossamedes_ steered for the eastern islands, and in the morning the
+parched rocks of Lanzarote melted in the glitter on the horizon. Then
+she headed for Africa and at sunset Don Erminio stopped the ship and
+used the lead. He got soundings on the coast-shelf, and Kit, passing the
+chart-room, imagined the mate and captain argued about the ship's
+position, but when _Mossamedes_ went on again the compass indicated that
+Don Erminio had hauled out to avoid shoals. When the moon rose one saw
+nothing but sparkling water, the swell was long and measured, and the
+leadsman, making another cast, got no bottom. It looked as if they had
+left the hummocks on the coast-shelf astern, and _Mossamedes_ went
+full-speed.
+
+About midnight Kit lounged and smoked on a locker in the engine-room. He
+was not sleepy, and since _Mossamedes_ sailed, had thought much about
+Olivia. On the whole, his thoughts were disturbing. When he was with
+Olivia he forgot his poverty; all he saw was her charm. She was
+beautiful, she was clever and now and then he got a hint of tenderness
+that gave him a strange thrill. The thrill moved and braced him; while
+it lasted all looked possible. Somehow he would mend his fortune and
+make his mark. Austin, who had held Kit's post, had done so and married
+Olivia's sister.
+
+Afterwards, when Olivia was not about, Kit knew himself to be a fool. To
+begin with, he had not Austin's talents and must be satisfied to keep
+his proper level. Then supposing he did get rich? After all, he was not
+Olivia's sort. Kit was staunch and stopped there; he would not admit
+that sometimes he vaguely doubted if Olivia were the girl for him.
+Instincts he had inherited from sober and frugal ancestors were strong.
+Yet for the most part he resisted unconsciously. When one is young and
+carried away by an attractive girl one is not logical.
+
+Lighting a fresh cigarette, he looked about. _Mossamedes_ rolled and
+light and shadow played about the machinery. In front, the bright cranks
+flashed and faded in a shallow pit, the crossheads slammed between their
+guides and the connecting-rods, shining like silver, swung out of the
+gloom. Above, the big cylinders throbbed and shook with the impulse that
+drove the ship ahead. Men like shadows moved about with oilcans and
+tallow-swabs, but now and then a moving beam touched a face beaded by
+sweat. Macallister occupied the top of a tool box and smoked a black
+pipe.
+
+Kit liked the engine-room. The steady beat of the machine was soothing.
+One got a sense of order, measured effort and strength that matched the
+strain. Force was not wasted but sternly controlled. In the engine-room
+Macallister was another man, quiet, keen, concentrated, and Kit
+understood the Scots' satisfaction when all ran well. They sprang from a
+stock that counted rule and effort to be worth more than beauty.
+
+There was a crash, and Kit jumped from the locker. _Mossamedes_ stopped
+and the shock threw him against a column. He seized the iron and held
+on, conscious that he trembled. The jar was terrifying because it was
+not expected. A sea broke about the vessel, she shook and water rolled
+across the deck. A greaser shouted and Kit saw Macallister on the grated
+platform above. He had not seen him go, but his hand was on the
+throttle-wheel. He did not look disturbed, and signed a man to the
+control of the reversing-gear. If the link were pulled across, the
+engines would go astern. The telegraph, however, was silent and
+Macallister did not turn the wheel.
+
+The ship lifted, lurched forward, as if a sea had borne her up, and went
+on. Macallister waited for a few moments and then went up to the door
+with Kit. The door on the starboard side looked out towards Africa, but
+nothing broke the furrowed plain of glittering sea.
+
+"I'm thinking she bumped a bit hummock," Macallister remarked. "She got
+a jolt, but the old boat was built by men who dinna scamp their job.
+Where ye see yon house's name, ye ken the work is good."
+
+"All the same, you have started the bilge pump," said Kit, for a sharp
+throbbing pierced the beat of machinery.
+
+"Pepe will let her rin a few minutes. Although I dinna expect she'll
+draw much water, ye keep the rules," Macallister replied and turned to
+Miguel, who came along the alleyway. "What do you think about it,
+friend? The third voyage has not begun well."
+
+Macallister's Castilian was uncouth, but Miguel understood. "It is not
+good, Don Pedro! A bad coast and a treacherous people, but one is not
+disturbed. Some of the saints were fishermen, and mine is king of all.
+But I go to try the after well."
+
+He went off, but Kit had noted that the line he carried was neatly
+coiled and the sounding-rod was wet. He thought it typical that the old
+quartermaster had tried the forward well a few moments after the ship
+struck. Moreover his talk about his saint somehow was not extravagant.
+One felt that Miguel knew and trusted his great patron.
+
+"A most queer fellow," Macallister remarked. "A believer in wax images
+and pented boards."
+
+"Pented boards?" said Kit.
+
+"Just that," Macallister rejoined. "Ye'll no ken the Scottish classics.
+When the great reformer was a galley slave they gave him the image to
+worship. 'A pented brod, mair fit for swimming than praying til,' says
+he and threw't overboard. Weel, for Miguel, the images are not pented
+things, and I've met weel-grounded Scots I wouldna trust like him. He
+kens his job and his word goes. I alloo it's much."
+
+Kit went on deck. The sea sparkled in the moon and long regular combers
+rolled up from the north. One could not see land and nothing indicated
+shoals ahead. _Mossamedes_ dipped her bows to the knight-heads and
+showers of spray leaped about the rail. Then her stern went down and the
+rising forecastle cut the sky. For a time Kit forgot Olivia and mused
+about the engineer and Miguel.
+
+Macallister's mood was sometimes freakish and his humour rude, but
+behind this was a stern, honest efficiency. The quartermaster was a
+mystic, but when the big white combers chased the cargo launch one could
+trust him with the steering oar. After all to know one's job was much.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER X
+
+SMOKE ON THE HORIZON
+
+
+An angry swell rolled along the coast, dust blew across the flat-roofed
+town, and _Mossamedes_, with two anchors out, rode uneasily. She had
+unloaded some cargo and Kit, going ashore in the evening, speculated
+about the rest. He did not think he was superstitious, but the voyage
+had not begun well, and he wanted to get it over. There was something
+strange about the business in which he was engaged, and he resolved he
+would talk to Wolf when he returned.
+
+Moreover, he did not like the dirty Moorish town. When it got dark the
+narrow streets were forbidding, but Yusuf declared he could not transact
+the ship's business until he closed his shop. In the Canaries and
+Morocco, rich merchants keep a shop. One could buy a shipload of their
+goods or a few pesetas' worth.
+
+Yusuf's little room was very hot. The dust had blown in, and the floor
+was gritty. Flies hovered about the copper lamp which burned an aromatic
+oil. The agent gave Kit coffee and a cigarette. The tobacco was bitter
+but soothing and Kit imagined it was mixed with an Eastern drug. At
+Yusuf's he generally felt dull; perhaps it was the smell of the lamp,
+leather and spices. They began to talk, and presently Kit remarked: "If
+you send your boats to-morrow, we will hoist out the last of the cargo.
+Have you got much stuff for us?"
+
+"I have got nothing," said Yusuf, smiling. "Your cargo is on board."
+
+"All the goods we carry are consigned to the Greek merchant here and
+you."
+
+"That is so, but I will endorse the bill of lading, and file a statement
+for the Customs officers that the cases of machinery will be landed at
+another port."
+
+"Ah!" said Kit who began to see a light. "Then we are to carry the cases
+along the coast? I was puzzled about this lot of cargo; but we got it
+from a Spanish ship at Las Palmas. The cases were put on board in
+daylight when two of the port captain's men were on deck.
+
+"The plan was good," Yusuf remarked. "When one does things openly nobody
+is curious."
+
+"All the same, the Moorish officers know machinery is not used in the
+Sahara."
+
+"It is not the officers' business. They are friends of mine, and in this
+country a present carries some weight."
+
+Kit knew Wolf and his agent were clever, but began to think they were
+cleverer than he liked. He felt he was being used, and, so to speak,
+kept in the dark. He did not know the others' plans, in which he was
+involved, but if the plans did not work, he thought he ran some risk.
+Yusuf was subtle, and Kit's instinctive antagonism hardened. For all
+that, he was Wolf's servant and must carry out his agent's orders.
+
+"I will endorse the bill of lading," the other resumed. "You will land
+the boxes at the spot you got the camels, and the owner will take his
+goods. Perhaps he will keep the document for a talisman. Some of these
+people have a strange respect for all that is written on paper."
+
+"Very well," said Kit, who got up.
+
+Yusuf went with him to the door, and Kit starting along the street,
+heard the heavy bolts shoot back. To know the business was over was
+something of a relief. Although Yusuf was inscrutable at his house one
+got a sense of fear and secrecy. In Morocco a Jew trader was perhaps
+forced to use caution, but Kit thought he would sooner deal with the
+wild Berbers who ruled the open desert. Yet he owned he had no firm
+grounds for doubting Wolf's agent. When he got on board _Mossamedes_ he
+went to the chart-room and found Don Erminio playing cards with the
+mate. The captain had won two pesetas and was jubilant.
+
+"Juan is clever and cautious. I am not clever, but I am bold," he said.
+
+Kit noted the bottle on the table. When Don Erminio drank a few glasses
+of _cana_ he philosophised. Kit narrated his interview with Yusuf, and
+the captain looked thoughtful.
+
+"It is plain the boxes hold guns," he said. "The Moors do not carry guns
+to shoot the rabbit, and if we land the boxes somebody will get killed.
+However, it is not important. The Moors are numerous and all are bad."
+
+"I was not thinking about the Moors," Kit rejoined. "The business is
+strange. The guns were on board a Spanish ship and if the Moors use them
+to steal camels, the camels will no doubt be stolen on soil that is
+claimed by France. There may be trouble afterwards. Our employer knows
+this."
+
+Don Erminio picked up the cards. Spanish cards are not marked like
+English cards, but Kit thought the one the captain indicated stood for
+the ace of clubs.
+
+"_Bastones!_" Don Erminio remarked and shuffled the pack. "I put it at
+the bottom. You see it is there? Now take three away and you will find
+it at the top. A trick, but clever. Senor Wolf plays a game like this."
+
+Kit carried out his instructions and laughed. "Wolf is, no doubt,
+clever, but this is _not_ the card."
+
+Don Erminio frowned and swept the pack on to the floor. The swing-table
+tilted, but Juan stretched out his hand and seized the bottle.
+
+"Senor!" he expostulated. "The _cana_ cost two pesetas!"
+
+"I have forgotten something. All the same, you see the moral," Don
+Erminio resumed. "Merchants are cheats and use cunning tricks. One
+thinks one knows their plan, but one does not. One puts one's money on
+the wrong card and it is gone. Sailors are honest and do not get rich.
+Well, we will carry out our orders. That is enough for me. I have drunk
+some _cana_ and in the morning my throat is bad."
+
+Two days afterwards _Mossamedes_ hove her anchors and steamed south. As
+a rule, the Trade-breeze blows steadily, but now and then its strength
+varies. Sometimes a little rain falls and the day is nearly calm;
+sometimes the wind backs north and blows hard. _Mossamedes'_ holds were
+almost empty and her rolling was wild. When she plunged across the long
+swell, half her screw came out of the water and one heard the top blades
+thrash. Don Erminio followed the coast, steering as near land as he
+durst. He wanted to avoid the traffic, and _Mossamedes_, going light,
+did not draw much water. She was built to cross the sands at African
+river mouths.
+
+One morning Kit went to the bridge. The sun was not high and the air was
+fresh. The wind had dropped, and the faint haze that generally softens
+the light and glitter when the Trade-breeze blows had vanished. The sky
+was a harsh, vivid blue, and the tops of the long rollers cut the
+horizon with sharp distinctness. They did not break, but rose and
+subsided, leaving here and there soft streaks of foam. For all that, the
+swell ran high, _Mossamedes_ lurched about, and Kit thought wind was
+coming. He was bothered about it. If the wind were fresh, they could
+not land their dangerous cargo. The mate leaned against a stanchion and
+searched the sky-line with his glasses. After a time he gave the glasses
+to Kit.
+
+"Look!" he said.
+
+Kit saw a faint brown smear drawn across the sky. It was rather like a
+thin cloud, but he thought it smoke. When the wind is light, a steamer's
+smoke spreads far and floats for some time. The strange thing was, the
+steamer was there, inside the proper track. He glanced at _Mossamedes'_
+funnel but the last coal they had got was good and diaphanous vapour
+rolled astern. Kit put down the glasses and went to the captain's room.
+Don Erminio came out, studied the smoke, and frowned. He wore pyjamas
+and a shooting jacket, torn at the back.
+
+"The animals cannot see us, but a steamer ought not to be so near the
+coast," he said. "Then we will soon reach the spot where we land the
+guns."
+
+"Perhaps the captain takes a drink," Juan remarked.
+
+"It is possible. When I drink much _cana_, my calculations are not
+good," Don Erminio agreed. "All the same, to run a risk is foolish. We
+will stop and use the lead."
+
+After he got a sounding he changed his course three or four points east
+and steered obliquely for the land. In the meantime the smoke vanished
+and Kit went down and told Macallister to keep his fires clean. To see
+smoke where smoke ought not to be was disturbing, and if the others had
+seen _Mossamedes_, they would speculate about her captain's object for
+navigating shallow water.
+
+When Kit went on deck again the swell had begun to break and ran
+ominously high. The wind was not yet strong, but it strengthened and the
+sky in the north was black. At noon, a sailor in the rigging thought he
+saw smoke again. Don Erminio went up with his glasses, but saw nothing
+and gave the glasses to Kit.
+
+"The Norther begins," he said.
+
+In the distance, a brown fog obscured the horizon and Kit knew it was a
+dust-storm blowing off the coast. Spray leaped about _Mossamedes'_
+forecastle, her plunges were violent and to hold on to the rigging while
+the mast swung was hard. They went down and soon afterwards the look-out
+hailed. Kit was on deck and joined Don Erminio on the bridge. When
+_Mossamedes_ lifted, two masts and the top of a funnel cut the horizon.
+Kit thought it ominous that he saw no smoke.
+
+The sea had got up and long, white-topped combers rolled after the ship.
+When her stern swung out of the water the engines ran away and their
+savage throbbing shook the deck. With her rudder lifted, she did not
+steer, and while the helmsman sweated at the wheel she yawed about until
+her quarters sank and the screw got hold. One could not drive her fast,
+but much of her side was above water and the savage wind helped. For a
+time the other vessel's smoke vanished in the thickening spray. Then
+they saw her again, sharp and distinct. The ominous thing was, they did
+not, as they might have expected, see her on the quarter but abeam. It
+was plain that when _Mossamedes_ changed her course, or soon afterwards,
+the stranger had changed hers.
+
+"The French gunboat!" Don Erminio said and clenched his fist. "Somebody
+has sold us."
+
+Going to the compass, he got the other's bearing, and Kit marked his
+coolness. When the strain was steady the captain did not tear his hair.
+He took Kit and the mate to the chart-room, and a few moments afterwards
+Macallister came up. The rules of the British liners were not used on
+board _Mossamedes_, and Don Erminio spread a chart on the table. Then he
+lighted a cigarette and indicated the steamer's course along, but
+converging on, the coast.
+
+"The wady is not far ahead," he remarked and put a pin in the spot. "To
+cross the shoals might be dangerous and I doubt if our anchor would
+hold. However, if we do not cross, the animal will soon be nearer."
+
+It was obvious when the captain sketched a triangle, of which the
+gunboat occupied the apex and _Mossamedes'_ course was the base. In
+order to clear the shoals she must shorten the base and, steaming out,
+lessen the distance between them; if she turned and steamed the other
+way the gunboat would come down obliquely and cut her line. The long
+chase is the stern chase, but _Mossamedes_ could not make off like this
+because she was jambed against the coast. Two things were plain: the
+Frenchman commanded the faster vessel and had well chosen her position.
+
+"The Jew has sold us, but just now it is not important," Don Erminio
+resumed. "We cannot long run away from the French animal, but I have a
+plan. We will throw the guns overboard and wait for him."
+
+He looked at Kit, who hesitated for a few moments. The captain's plan
+had marked advantages and some drawbacks. For one thing, the guns were
+valuable and if they were sacrificed Wolf must front a heavy loss.
+Moreover, if they were not delivered, the tribes with whom he traded
+would refuse to trust him again. This counted for much, but Kit was not
+altogether thinking about Wolf. His rule was to do what he undertook,
+and to do so now might baffle the man who had cheated him.
+
+"I think not," he said. "Our business is to deliver our cargo. If Yusuf
+has plotted with the Frenchman, we must spoil the plot, and I don't know
+a better plan than to carry out his orders. He sent us south to land
+the guns and we will land them. It will soon be dark, and if we get
+across the shoals there is some shelter behind the sands. Revillon durst
+not cross."
+
+"_Buen' muchacho!_" said the captain and looked at Macallister. "It will
+be dark at six o'clock. Can we keep in front?"
+
+Macallister knitted his brows. "I'll no' say it's easy. When the screw's
+jumping oot o' water ye cannot get much grip to shove her along. For a'
+that, yon stump-tail gunboat will jump worse, and the old engine's good.
+If she does not shake off her screw, I'll keep ye ahead."
+
+Kit began to translate, but the captain smiled. "Me, I know the English.
+Don Pedro good ol' sport. _Bueno; muy bueno!_ I jump much _en caballo_;
+now I jump the sandbank. If the other thinks he catch us, we drown the
+animal."
+
+Kit thought it possible. _Mossamedes_ was built with heavy bottom frames
+to bump across African river bars, and was going light. He imagined the
+gunboat's draught was some feet more than hers. All the same, the thing
+was risky. If _Mossamedes_ touched the sand she might not come off.
+
+"It is good! I go for Miguel Saenz," Juan, the mate, agreed.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XI
+
+MIGUEL TAKES CONTROL
+
+
+A black cloud rolled from _Mossamedes'_ funnel and blew across her bows.
+The beat of engines quickened and when the stern swung up their furious
+racing shook the ship. Kit pictured Macallister, sternly calm, at the
+throttle wheel. Much depended on his skill, for if he were slow when the
+spinning screw came down and the runaway machinery resumed its load,
+something must break. Kit, however, did not go to the engine-room. He
+stood at the door of the pilot-house, inside which Miguel Saenz gripped
+the slanted gratings with his bare feet. His face was wet by sweat and
+his brown hand was clenched on the steam-steering wheel.
+
+Although the muscular effort was not great, steering was hard.
+_Mossamedes_ rode high above water and the gale pressed upon her side;
+the combers lifted her, and screw and rudder could not get proper hold.
+Sometimes she came up to windward and rolled until the white seas swept
+her rail; sometimes she yawed to lee. Kit saw the bows circle and
+pictured the compass spinning in its bowl.
+
+So far, Miguel steered by compass. Don Erminio had changed his course
+and headed obliquely for the shoals. It was not the course the gunboat's
+captain would expect him to steer. Revillon, no doubt, imagined the line
+along which _Mossamedes_ travelled inclined at a small angle out to sea,
+in order to clear the hammered sands, and he could steam down from his
+commanding position and cut her off. The line, however, really slanted
+the other way. Dark clouds obscured the sky, the light was bad, and the
+driving spray made accurate observation hard. Kit thought Don Erminio's
+plan was good, but longed for dark.
+
+Sometimes he saw the gunboat's masts, and sometimes, when a comber
+lifted _Mossamedes_, he saw her hull. She was getting indistinct and
+dusk was not far off. Kit imagined she flew some signals, but one need
+not bother about the flags. Revillon could not launch a boat, and there
+was not much use in shooting from a rolling platform at a mark that for
+the most part could not be seen. Besides, Kit thought Revillon would not
+use his guns. Commanding the faster vessel, his plan was to pin
+_Mossamedes_ to the coast and when the gale blew out come on board and
+search her. Then, if the cargo was not jettisoned, she might perhaps be
+seized. Kit did not know much about international rules, but if he threw
+the guns overboard, Revillon would after all win the game. Guns lying at
+the bottom of the sea could not be landed in Africa.
+
+Kit felt his youth and responsibility. Standing for his employer, he had
+urged the captain to hold on to the cargo. Yusuf's treachery had made
+him savage; he felt he had been cheated like a child, but this was not
+all. Kit did not mean to let the cunning brute rob his master. He was
+Wolf's man and his business was to guard his interests. Moreover, he was
+moved unconsciously by inherited stubbornness. He had engaged to land
+the guns and was going to do so.
+
+In the meantime he thought his luck strange. Not long since he was a
+humble shipping clerk, occupied by tame, conventional duties; now he was
+a smuggler, breaking rules ambassadors and men like that had drawn. All
+the same, in a way, the adventure was not romantic. There was no
+shooting, and for the most part one could not see the pursuing ship.
+Before long, Kit hoped, one could not see her at all. The risk was
+rather from the sea than the gunboat. For all that, Kit knew two men
+bore a heavy strain; Macallister on his reeling platform, guarding his
+engines from sudden shock; and Miguel at the wheel. When Kit looked into
+the pilot-house the quartermaster's pose was rigid, his mouth was hard,
+and his eyes were fixed on the revolving compass. Steam pulled across
+the rudder, but one must use nerve and sound judgment to hold
+_Mossamedes_ straight.
+
+By and by another man climbed the ladder and went into the pilot-house.
+Miguel came out and joined the captain. He looked slack, as if he felt
+the reaction now the strain was gone, and held on by the rails while he
+looked about. Kit saw his cotton clothes were stained by sweat; the wind
+blew the thin material against his skin. He wore a tight red knitted
+cap, and the spray beat upon his face. The captain talked, and
+gesticulated when the turmoil of the sea drowned his voice.
+
+The light was going fast and the gunboat had melted into the gloom, but
+her smoke rolled in a thick black trail across the water. It looked as
+if she were steaming hard and Revillon did not try to hide his advance.
+Kit wondered whether he imagined he had pinned _Mossamedes_ against the
+shoals and meant to shorten the distance in order not to lose her in the
+dark. _Mossamedes_ made no smoke; Macallister kept his fires thin and
+clean and it was important that the gunboat's smoke was now on her
+quarter. This indicated that Revillon did not know she had swung off a
+few points and steered for the land.
+
+Kit waited until the ship went up on a comber's back, and then looked
+ahead. The sea was angrier. Some distance in front were broad white
+belts where the rollers broke in savage turmoil. Between the belts Kit
+thought he saw a gap, in which the seas were regular. In the distance a
+brown haze indicated a dust storm raging about the point. One might find
+some shelter behind the point, but not much.
+
+High-water was near, and although on the open Atlantic coast the rise of
+tide is not marked, the moon was new and one might perhaps expect an
+extra fathom's depth. Then, if _Mossamedes_ could get across to the
+pool, when the ebb began to run the sands would lie like a breakwater
+between her and the sea. Kit rather doubted if she could get across. One
+could see no marks, the captain durst not stop for proper soundings and
+the hand-lead, used from a platform that constantly changed its level,
+was not much guide.
+
+All the same, it looked as if old Miguel meant to try. For a few moments
+he stood with his eyes fixed ahead and his lean, upright figure at an
+angle with the slanted bridge; then he turned and went into the
+wheel-house. His slackness was gone, his movements were somehow
+resolute. The other man came out of the house, and Kit saw Macallister
+at the top of the ladder. Holding on by rails, the engineer looked
+about.
+
+"If Miguel's saint is watching now we'll no' be independent and refuse
+his help." he said. "For a' that, there's a line in the _Vaya_ that
+betther meets our bill----"
+
+He misquoted from the sailing permit of the Spanish _correo_, but Kit
+knew the line and, with the raging shoals ahead, owned its force. When
+one fronted the fury of the sea, words like that meant much.
+
+"The mill's good and running weel, but if Miguel's no' sure and steady,
+there's no much use in my keeping steam," Macallister resumed. "The bit
+spark o' human intelligence ootweighs a' the power that's bottled in my
+furnaces. I dinna see what's to guide him, but maybe the old fella
+thinks like a _baccalao_."
+
+"_Baccalao_ is salt fish," said Kit.
+
+"It was swimming before it was sautit," Macallister rejoined. "Then ye
+dinna get fish in deep water; they seek their meat in the channels and
+the tides that run across the sands. Weel, Miguel has his job. I'll away
+to mine."
+
+He went down the ladder, but Kit clung to the rails. He had not a job;
+his part was played when he urged Don Erminio to steer for the land, and
+now as he watched the white seas curl and break he knew his rashness.
+The steamer's course was a zig-zag; with the savage wind on her quarter,
+her bows swerved about. All Miguel could do was to let one divergence
+balance the other. In front was an ominous white crescent, running back
+into the dark, but broken by a gap in the middle. A man, strapped
+outside the bridge, hove the lead, but this was an obvious formality,
+because if he got shallow water _Mossamedes_ could not steam out. If
+Miguel tried to bring her round, she would drive, broadside on, against
+the hammered sands.
+
+There was no smoke astern. Revillon, no doubt, had seen the surf and
+hauled off, but _Mossamedes_ went inshore fast. The horns of the
+crescent enclosed her and Kit no longer saw a gap. The sea was all a
+white turmoil and furious combers rolled up astern. One felt them run
+forward, as if they travelled up an inclined plane, and the ship rode
+dizzily on their spouting crests. Then for a time Kit saw nothing. Foam
+enveloped _Mossamedes_, her deck vanished, and he was beaten and
+blinded. He could hold on, but this was all; the spray came over the
+wheel-house like a cataract. Kit knew _Mossamedes_ was swinging round
+because the wind now blew across the house.
+
+The plunges got less violent and the spray was thinner. One saw the
+iron bulwarks, and the winches in the forward well, about which an angry
+flood washed. At the end of the bridge, Don Erminio's figure, looking
+strangely slanted, cut the sky. _Mossamedes_ had run through the gap and
+was in deeper water behind the sands. Yet the water was not all deep.
+Another shoal occupied part of the basin and Kit tried to recapture its
+bearings as he had noted them when he went fishing in the boat. He found
+he could not. When the light was strong and the swell slow, one could
+judge distance and know the depth by the changing colour and the
+measured line of foam. Now there was nothing but foam that tossed in the
+dark.
+
+_Mossamedes_ forged ahead, and Kit wondered whether Don Erminio knew
+where he went. On the whole, he thought the captain did not know;
+sometimes one must blindly trust one's luck. She came round again,
+lurched by the turmoil on a sand, and steamed head to wind. Then Miguel
+came to the door of the wheel-house.
+
+"We are arrived, senor!"
+
+Don Erminio signed to the leadsman, who swung the plummet round his head
+and let go.
+
+"Good! We have water enough," said the captain, and rang the telegraph.
+
+The reversed engines shook the ship and the anchor plunged. She stopped,
+and but for the roar of the breakers all was quiet. Somehow Miguel had
+brought her across the sands. When she dragged out her cable the guns
+were hoisted up and put near the gangway, where, if needful, one could
+heave the boxes overboard. Miguel cleared the cargo launch ready for
+launching and they stripped the covers from a lifeboat.
+
+Since they had brought their dangerous cargo to the spot agreed, Kit was
+resolved it must be landed. To carry out Yusuf's orders was perhaps the
+best plan to defeat his treachery, and Kit thought his doing so had a
+touch of humour. He felt he would like to see Yusuf again, but he need
+not bother much about Revillon. The Frenchman had chased _Mossamedes_
+and lost her; if he returned at daybreak, he would not venture across
+the sands. Anyhow, they could get rid of the evidence against them soon
+after they saw the gunboat's smoke. All the same, Kit meant to land the
+guns.
+
+When all was ready he went to the engineers' mess-room and smoked. He
+was highly strung and could not sleep, but to wait for daybreak was
+hard. The gunboat might arrive and he doubted if the cargo launch could
+cross the surf. One must run some risk, but he was not going to drown
+his men. He heard the wind, although its roar was dulled by other
+noises. Then _Mossamedes_ rolled, the water in her bilges splashed
+about, chains clanged on deck, and one heard hammers and shovels in the
+stokehold. Strange echoes rolled about the empty iron hull.
+
+Now and then Don Erminio came down and talked about shooting rabbits;
+sometimes Macallister pulled back the curtain, lighted his pipe, and
+philosophised, but did not stop long. Barefooted firemen and sailors
+flitted along the alleyway; it looked as if nobody could rest. At
+length, when Kit's mouth was parched from smoking, he got up, shivered,
+and turned off the light. A pale glimmer pierced the glass, and putting
+on a thick jacket, he went on deck.
+
+Day was breaking and it was cold. The wind was dropping, but the swell
+ran high, and the sand blew from the point like a brown fog. Under the
+fog were white lines of surf. By and by Don Erminio climbed the rigging
+and Kit joined him where the steel shrouds got narrow. The mast swung,
+carrying them with it in a reeling sweep, until they could have dropped
+into the sea. In the meantime the light had got stronger and presently
+Don Erminio gave the glasses to Kit. So far as one could see, nothing
+broke the horizon.
+
+"It is good," said Don Erminio. "The animal is gone. We will get to
+work."
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XII
+
+THE RETREAT TO THE BOAT
+
+
+At the bottom of the wady it was very hot, and Kit lay on the sand
+behind a rock. His smarting skin was crusted by salt, his clothes had
+dried stiff, and his muscles were sore. He had landed the guns, and it
+had not been easy to run the launch through the surf and hold her off
+the roaring beach while the boxes were brought ashore. The boat was half
+swamped, and the sailors laboured up to their waists in water.
+
+After the cargo was landed, a few dark-skinned men arrived, and when
+they loaded the boxes on their camels a dispute began. Kit understood
+the Berbers declared the rifles were not the pattern they expected to
+get, and Wolf had not sent the number agreed. The leader, a very big,
+truculent fellow, had opened a box, and argued angrily with the
+interpreter. Simon was a Syrian, and since he owned that the Morocco he
+knew was the Mediterranean coast, Kit imagined he did not altogether
+understand the other's dialect. The Berber's dissatisfaction was
+obvious, and Kit agreed to go up the wady and meet the chief.
+
+When he had gone two or three miles, the Berbers, stating that they
+would bring the chief, left two of their party and vanished with the
+loaded camels among the stones. Kit rather thought the two who stopped
+were meant for guards. They carried long guns and refused to talk to the
+interpreter. After waiting for some time, Kit began to get disturbed.
+Since he had left some men on board the launch, his party was not large
+and carried no weapons but their long Spanish knives. Moreover the
+yellow haze round the sun and the pillars of sand that span about the
+wady indicated a dust storm not far off. If the wind freshened much, the
+launch could not ride in the surf. Kit resolved he would not stop long,
+and lighting a cigarette began to ponder.
+
+They had not seen the gunboat. It looked as if Revillon imagined
+_Mossamedes_ had got away in the dark and was searching the coast for
+her. He would, no doubt, come back, but since the incriminating cargo
+was landed this was not important. Perhaps Revillon had come back. The
+sea was hidden by the hot, stony banks, and Kit was tired and languid;
+to climb to the parched table land was too much effort. He began to
+think about the rifles. So far, the tribesmen had brought the sheep and
+camels they had agreed to deliver; now it looked as if they thought they
+had been cheated. This was strange, but Kit remembered that none of his
+friends trusted Wolf. He must see the chief and if possible satisfy the
+fellow. All the same, he would not wait much longer. Don Erminio would
+get disturbed, and the wind was rising. If nobody arrived when his
+cigarette was smoked, he would start.
+
+"They are sulky fellows," he said, indicating the Berbers.
+
+"The Moors are very bad people," Miguel agreed. "When a _baccalao_
+schooner is wrecked on the coast one does not see the crew again. It is
+possible all are not drowned, but they vanish."
+
+Kit looked at the Berbers and thought their quietness sinister. Their
+dark faces were inscrutable, and they did not move. One could hardly
+distinguish them from the stones.
+
+"This time they bring no sheep or camels," Miguel resumed meaningly.
+
+"It is strange," said Kit. "We have brought them rifles, but perhaps
+they have already paid for the lot."
+
+"Some day they will get the rifles without payment," remarked Juan, the
+mate. "So long as they expect another lot, they are honest, but when
+they get all they want they will cut your throat. They will not cut
+mine; I have had enough. Senor Wolf is clever, but the game is
+dangerous. If he cheats, you will pay."
+
+Kit looked at Simon, who knitted his brows. "I do not altogether
+understand, but they are angry. Something is not as they had thought."
+
+The haze about the sun was thicker. Puffs of fiery wind blew down the
+wady, a whirling pillar of dust broke and fell near the group, and the
+distant rumble of the surf got loud. It was very hot and the men were
+languid, but a sailor pulled a knife with an ornamented handle from his
+sleeve and began to sharpen it on his belt. Kit's cigarette had burned
+to a stump, and he looked at his watch. Juan got up.
+
+"_Vamos!_ We start now," he said. "Senor Wolf knows much; he stops at
+Las Palmas and if his customers carry us off, it is our affair."
+
+One of the Berbers began to talk in an angry voice but they set off, and
+to start was some relief to Kit. Standing for his employer, he felt
+himself accountable for his party, and he had waited long enough. In
+fact, he wondered whether he had not waited too long, since the rising
+surf might force the launch to return to the ship. Now he was going, he
+wanted to go fast, but for a time did not. He was tired, the heat was
+enervating, and the path was rough. Big stones lay about the dry river
+bed, and the gaps were filled by soft sand, in which one's feet sank.
+Besides, it was prudent to use control. The others were obviously
+disturbed, and he must make an effort for calm.
+
+For all that, when the sand began to blow down the wady his speed got
+faster. The dust stuck to his hot skin and gathered on his eyelashes. He
+could not see properly and his breath was laboured, but when a sailor
+in front began to run he kept up. He frankly did not want to be left
+behind. Perhaps it was imagination, but he began to feel as if somebody
+followed him.
+
+Turning his head, he looked about. He saw big stones and clumps of
+tamarisk, but this was all. The dust might hide the Berbers' camels, and
+a camel travels faster than a tired man. The strange thing was, although
+he had gone up the wady to meet the Berbers, he now wanted to reach the
+launch before they arrived. Kit admitted he was not logical, but to know
+the launch might have gone bothered him.
+
+At length the wady got wider, and peering through the dust-cloud, he saw
+the sea. The launch had not gone and the lifeboat was coming from the
+steamer. Kit thought this strange, since the launch would carry all, but
+perhaps Don Erminio had sent to find out why they had not returned. The
+surf was high and a man on board the launch stood up and waved his arms,
+as if he signalled the party to be quick. Then the dust got very thick
+and boats and surf vanished. Juan shouted, but Kit did not hear what he
+said. They were all running as fast as possible, slipping and stumbling
+across the stones.
+
+They reached the open beach and the dust rolled by. For a few moments
+the view was clearer and Kit saw the man on the launch was not waving to
+him; he signalled to the lifeboat. Looking back, Kit understood. Camels
+were coming down the wady. Then the dust rolled up again and he saw
+nothing.
+
+Breathing hard, he laboured across the beach. The sailors had paid out
+cable and the launch, with her bows to the breakers, tossed about in the
+surf. In a few moments he would reach her, but somebody behind seized
+him. He staggered and tried to turn; and then a sailor swerved and
+jumped. Kit saw the Spanish knife shine and next moment he was free. He
+plunged into the water and the launch's stern struck the sand close by.
+A broken sea rolled in and men jumped overboard. They carried oars and
+knives, for the _baccalao_ fishers' quarrel with the Moors is old. Kit
+seized the launch's tiller, a thick bar of African oak.
+
+Men with darker skins than the Spaniards were in the water, but so far
+as Kit could see, they did not shoot. It looked as if they meant to
+capture the party. Kit, however, could not see much. Dust and sand
+rolled across the beach and the spray was thick. The launch was half
+swamped and he thought the Berbers would hold her until the surf beat in
+her bilge. Long oars and stretchers swung, Miguel used an iron
+anchor-stock, and the mate, crouched like a cat on the stern, thrust
+with his knife. Perhaps the struggle had gone on for a minute when the
+white lifeboat rode in on a comber's top. She swung to her anchor and
+Don Erminio jumped overboard. To come ashore was not the captain's
+business, but Don Erminio was a sportsman.
+
+For the next few moments the struggle was savage, but Kit did not know
+much about it. He was knocked down and washed against the lifeboat. His
+head hurt, he could not get on his feet, and the surf rolled him up and
+down the beach. Then, when he was going out with the backwash, somebody
+dragged him on board, and while he lay in the water under the thwarts he
+was dully conscious that the boat was off the beach. He knew this
+because she lurched violently, but did not strike the sand. Spray blew
+about and the tops of the seas splashed across the gunwale. She made
+slow progress and Kit thought all the oars were not manned.
+
+Crawling aft under the rowers' feet, he seized a thwart and pulled
+himself up. Don Erminio lay on the sternsheets and groaned. His face
+was very white and his leg was not its proper shape. The launch laboured
+across the combers some distance off. Kit pushed a man from the tiller
+and told him to row. His head ached, but he could steer.
+
+They were long pulling off to _Mossamedes_, and then were forced to wait
+for some minutes. She rolled, lifting her bilge-keels out of the water,
+and one must watch for a chance to hook on the tackles. At length a
+broken sea, smaller than the others, lifted the boat and Kit seized the
+swinging hook. The bowman was quick and got the other hook, a winch
+rattled, and the big boat went up. She struck the steamer's plates, but
+did not stop, and in a few moments the swivelling davits dropped her on
+the skids. Macallister and a steward lifted out the captain, and Kit
+went aft to see the launch hove up. Then he went to his room and for a
+time knew nothing more.
+
+He was roused by Macallister's bathing his face, and gave him a dull
+look.
+
+"I'm thinking ye'll no be very bonny for a week or two," the engineer
+remarked. "For a' that, ye're luckier than the captain."
+
+"Is Don Erminio hurt?" Kit asked.
+
+"His legs and some ribs are broken; maybe he was washed aneath the
+launch. But yon's no a'. When the boats came off Juan and Miguel were
+not on board."
+
+Kit lifted himself awkwardly and leaned against the back of his bunk.
+His head ached horribly and his brain was dull, but he felt the throb of
+engines and heard water flow along the plates. _Mossamedes_ was steaming
+hard and he must get up. He got his leg across the ledge, and then
+Macallister pushed him firmly back.
+
+"Ye'll bide! Felix and I have work enough wi' the captain and two or
+three mair."
+
+"But you must stop her. I'm going back for Miguel."
+
+"Ye cannot go back. I dinna ken how we won out."
+
+"Ah!" said Kit, who felt the steamer's regular rise and fall. "She has
+crossed the shoals?"
+
+"It looks like that. When I stopped to use the big lead, we got good
+water."
+
+"But who took her out? Miguel's not on board."
+
+"Sometimes ye must trust your luck," Macallister replied. "Before the
+lifeboat went away Don Erminio hove the cable short, and when ye brought
+him off, unconscious, I broke the anchor out. There's no' a sound plank
+in the launch, the lifeboat's sternpost's smashed, and the sea was
+getting up. If Juan and Miguel are living, the Moors have carried them
+off. Weel, since the second mate is damaged, I reckoned my job was to
+get back to Grand Canary. I sent Salvador to the wheel, started the
+mill, and let her gang."
+
+"You went across blind?" Kit exclaimed with dull surprise.
+
+"Just that! She hit the bottom, but came off and we got no extra water
+in the wells."
+
+The thing looked impossible; Kit had thought nobody but Miguel could
+steer _Mossamedes_ across the shoals. For all that, her even movements
+indicated that she had reached open sea, and Kit tried to brace himself.
+
+"But if the captain and second mate are knocked out, we haven't a
+navigator, and Grand Canary's small."
+
+"Ye have a good engineer and a crew o' _baccalao_ fishermen,"
+Macallister rejoined. "I alloo Grand Canary's small, but it's high, and
+ye can see the Peak o' Teneriffe over a hundred miles. Weel, I ken where
+we started and put over the patent log. When ye steer for an
+archipelago ye needna bother about a few degrees."
+
+Kit nodded. Six high volcanic islands rise from deep water, and
+_Mossamedes'_ crew had manned the fishing schooners. On a short voyage
+one could navigate by dead-reckoning.
+
+"I'll away and look at the captain," Macallister resumed. "If ye'll no
+promise to lie quiate until I let ye up, I'll lock ye in."
+
+Kit promised, because he doubted if he could get out of his bunk, and
+when Macallister had gone he turned awkwardly and looked at the glass on
+the wall. A purple mark crossed his swollen forehead, and his jaw was
+cut. Somebody had knocked him down with a gun, or perhaps he had got
+under the plunging boat. All his body felt battered. For a few minutes
+he leaned against the side of his bunk, and then slipped back and went
+to sleep.
+
+
+
+
+PART III
+
+KIT FINDS HIS LEVEL
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER I
+
+ILLUMINATION
+
+
+_Mossamedes_ steamed into Las Palmas harbour one evening, and as soon as
+she was moored Kit landed Don Erminio and filed the necessary documents
+at the _Commandancia_ offices. He, however, said nothing about the
+struggle on the beach, and accounted for the captain's injuries by
+stating that he was washed under the boat. The sailors' hurts were not
+serious, and Kit had not allowed the port doctor to see the men. His
+visit was an embarrassment, but on the whole Kit and Macallister thought
+they had not excited his curiosity.
+
+While he lay in his bunk Kit had pondered and made his plans. He meant
+to return and look for the mate and Miguel, but if the Spanish officers
+knew, he was persuaded they would not let him go. They would, no doubt,
+make exhaustive inquiries and reports, and then send a properly
+organised search party. Speed, however, was important, and anything
+undertaken by the Spanish Government was not done soon.
+
+Although it cost him some effort, he went from the _Commandancia_ to the
+mate's house and told his story to a startled woman with a powdered
+face. When Senora Diaz was calm she asked Kit what he was going to do
+about it, and he said: "In the morning I sail for Africa. I do not think
+Juan is hurt; the Moors wanted prisoners to hold until they get
+satisfaction. You must not be afraid. Somehow we will find him."
+
+Senora Diaz was comforted. Kit was young, but he looked very resolute
+and capable. Something in his quiet voice gave her confidence.
+
+"_Vaya con Dios!_" she said and let him go.
+
+Kit felt the senora had not used conventionally the polite good-bye;
+anyhow he had not given her an empty promise. He was going to find her
+husband, and Wolf was going to help. If it were necessary, Kit meant to
+force him, for he had noted that _Cayman_ was in the harbour ready for
+sea. Wolf must charter her in the next hour or two, and she must sail
+before the Commandante knew about the fight on the beach. Responsibility
+had developed Kit and brought into action qualities he had not
+altogether known were his. He could front a crisis and saw he must front
+one now. _Cayman_ was in port, and with the fresh Trade-breeze abeam,
+would soon reach the wady. A few resolute men might find and make some
+bargain with the Moors, but if a gunboat landed a strong party the tribe
+would vanish in the desert.
+
+After the lonely anchorage and desolate surf-beaten coast, the noise and
+traffic in the streets were strange. Bright lights burned in the shops,
+people crowded the pavements, enjoying the cool of the evening, and Kit
+heard the band in the _alameda_. He felt he had nothing to do with the
+careless loungers, and their cheerful voices jarred. His load was heavy
+and he was highly strung.
+
+To reach the quiet street where Wolf lived was some relief, but Kit went
+slowly, trying to think. He had taken Yusuf's selling them to Revillon
+for granted, but he doubted if this were all. Kit was satisfied Wolf had
+not carried out his engagements with the Moors, and since the fellow had
+cheated his customers he would not hesitate to betray his servants. He
+had used them unscrupulously, and now two might be forced to pay for his
+dishonesty, he must send them help.
+
+For a few minutes Kit mused about something else. Mrs. Austin had got
+him the post, and it looked as if she knew Wolf was a cheat. Anyhow,
+Olivia knew, and she was not as clever as her sister. After he had seen
+Wolf, he was going to see Mrs. Austin. If there was any difficulty about
+Wolf's chartering _Cayman_, she must persuade her husband. Austin was
+Jefferson's partner and owned some shares in the boat.
+
+Kit stopped at the arch that led to Wolf's _patio_. All was dark inside
+and the iron gate was fast. He rang a bell and a man crossed the flags
+and pulled back the heavy bolt. His face was near the bars, and Kit
+noted with some surprise that it was not Wolf's servant.
+
+"What does your honor want?" he asked.
+
+Kit said he wanted Wolf and would go to the office, but the other did
+not open the gate.
+
+"Senor Wolf is not here."
+
+"Not here! Then, where is he?" said Kit, with an effort for calm.
+
+The other spread out his hands. "_Quien sabe?_ Many are curious, but
+nobody knows. The senor went some days since. I am the landlord's
+servant and take care of the house."
+
+"Ah!" said Kit sharply. "Did he leave a letter for his _sobrecargo_?"
+
+"He left nothing, senor. The boxes in the office were empty. There was a
+heap of ashes, as if somebody had burned papers, but this was all."
+
+Kit thanked the man and went off. He knew enough. Wolf was gone and one
+saw what his going meant. Numerous steamers touched at Las Palmas and
+the fellow had, no doubt, quietly got on board. Since he could buy his
+ticket from the purser, there was no use in inquiring at the steamship
+offices. Well, Kit must see Mrs. Austin.
+
+The shortest way to the house was across the _alameda_. The band was
+playing, lamps burned among the dusty trees, and as Kit approached a
+group of people he stopped. Olivia talked to a Spanish lady, the lady's
+husband, two or three young Spanish girls, and some coaling clerks stood
+about, but when Olivia saw Kit she left the others. Going with him to a
+bench at a quiet spot not far off, she sat down. Kit leaned against a
+tree and a beam from a lamp touched his face. Olivia noted the dark
+bruise and the hardness of his mouth. He looked very tired and his eyes
+were dull.
+
+"Why, Kit! What is the matter?" she said.
+
+"I expect you know Wolf is gone?"
+
+"Yes, I do know. But what does it mean?"
+
+"For one thing, it means Wolf's a thief and I'm a trustful fool. In the
+meantime, perhaps, that's enough----"
+
+"I wouldn't bother about it," said Olivia soothingly. "You look ill and
+you have hurt your head."
+
+"I must bother," Kit rejoined. "I was Wolf's servant and have lost two
+of his men. Since I stood for their employer, in a sense the men were
+mine. The Moors have got them. Wolf cheated the fellows, they followed
+us to the boats, and there was a fight. I got on board, but all the men
+who'd gone with me did not. I was their leader; I ought to have gone off
+last."
+
+Olivia was moved by his distress and put her hand gently on his arm.
+
+"Oh, Kit, I'm sorry! But you're not accountable. If it had been possible
+to save the men you would have brought them off."
+
+Her sympathy thrilled him. He was highly strung, and although he tried
+for control he was carried away.
+
+"The voyage was disastrous; all went wrong from the start," he said.
+"You warned me and talked about bad luck, but I went. Perhaps I'm
+obstinate, but I think you knew why I did go."
+
+Olivia turned her head and thought. She had known why he went, but it
+was plain the reserve he had used was gone. His control was broken and
+he would be frank. She liked him, but now he forced her to choose her
+line, she admitted this was all.
+
+"I think you were rather ridiculous," she said, quietly looking up.
+
+He tried to pull himself together, but could not. He had got a nasty
+knock.
+
+"It looks like that!" he said in a hoarse voice. "All the same, you knew
+my ambition and didn't hint I was ridiculous!"
+
+The blood came to Olivia's skin and her eyes sparkled.
+
+To some extent she felt Kit's retort was justified, but she was modern
+and had pluck.
+
+"I thought you lonely and we were pals," she said. "Did you expect me to
+warn you I didn't want a lover?"
+
+"If you had warned me it would not have cost you much. Perhaps I am
+dull, but sometimes I do understand. I thought I might, like Austin,
+mend my fortune; he held my post and married your sister. You knew, and
+I expect you were amused. The thing was a joke! Well, sometimes I saw I
+was a fool, but I wasn't logical long. When you're about one isn't
+logical. I _meant_ to mend my fortune."
+
+"Are you logical now?"
+
+Kit laughed harshly. "Oh, yes; my rashness is plain enough! You had long
+since resolved to refuse me all I hadn't the pluck to ask. Well, my luck
+is certainly not good. I have been refused before and in the
+meantime----"
+
+She stopped him by a proud gesture. "You are breaking rules, Kit, and
+mustn't talk like this again. When you are cool you will know you ought
+not. What have your love affairs to do with me?"
+
+He gave her a steady look and his face got rather white. The dark bruise
+was plainer and the blood left his lips.
+
+"My rules are the rules of the humble folk to whom I belong. All the
+same, I might have tried to use yours had I been my proper self. Well,
+perhaps I deserve some punishment. I'm poor and have no talent to help
+me along; I let Wolf use and cheat me like a schoolboy. Then, when I met
+you a few minutes since, I forgot about the men I'd lost. However, I'm
+going back to look for them and if I find them and some time get a
+proper job, we'll talk about my rashness again. I'll go to Don Pancho
+and state I mean to ask you to marry me. You'll no doubt refuse, but my
+proposal will be regular, and to refuse an offer I've some right to make
+won't humiliate you."
+
+Olivia thought fatigue and strain accounted for much. He had got a bad
+knock, and she had hurt him worse. She was half sorry and half angry,
+but her anger was keenest against Mrs. Austin, who had sent him on board
+the ship.
+
+"You are ridiculous, Kit," she said gently. "But if you are in trouble
+about Wolf and the men in Morocco, go to Jacinta. I think she ought to
+help. That's all. You mustn't keep me. The others are curious."
+
+She rejoined the party at the band and Kit went on to Mrs. Austin's. He
+agreed with Olivia, but did not stop where she stopped. Mrs. Austin _was
+going_ to help. When he reached the veranda she was talking to Mrs.
+Jefferson, and nobody else was about. Kit remembered this was an evening
+on which she did not receive guests. She glanced at him with some
+surprise, noting his bruised face and disturbed look, and then indicated
+a chair.
+
+"I don't know that you'll urge me to stop when you have heard my tale,"
+he said. "However, is Mr. Austin or Mr. Jefferson at home?"
+
+"Harry is at Teneriffe, and Jefferson has gone to Madeira."
+
+"Then my luck is bad again," said Kit. "All the same, I've come to ask
+for something and meant to state that I expected your support. I meant
+to see you anyhow."
+
+Mrs. Austin was surprised, but said nothing. Kit had not talked to her
+like this before. He was cool and very stern. Somehow he looked older
+and she wondered about the bruise.
+
+"Very well," he resumed. "I met Miss Brown at the _alameda_ and
+understand you know Wolf is gone. I did not know until I arrived, but
+begin to see light. It's possible his going did not surprise you. You
+knew he was a rogue!"
+
+"You are taking much for granted," Mrs. Austin remarked quietly.
+
+"Not at all," said Kit. "Your sister knew and warned me. People declare
+you're the cleverest woman at Las Palmas."
+
+Mrs. Austin pondered. If Olivia had warned Kit, it was possible the girl
+herself did not know as much as her elder sister had thought. About
+Betty, for example.
+
+"Well?" she said.
+
+"I'll tell you my story," Kit replied, and narrated his adventures after
+landing the guns.
+
+"I begin to see," Mrs. Austin remarked. Then, for her line of argument
+was sometimes not very obvious, she resumed: "You met Olivia not long
+since by the band?"
+
+"That is so," Kit replied with some dryness. "All the same, you have no
+grounds to be disturbed; Miss Brown knows my drawbacks. In fact, when
+you persuaded Wolf to give me the post your meddling wasn't necessary.
+But you did get me the post, although you doubted Wolf. This is
+important!"
+
+At Las Palmas Mrs. Austin was a great lady, and Kit had gratefully owned
+his debt to her. Now he took another line; a line that nobody she knew
+durst use. For all that she was sorry for Kit. He looked ill and worn;
+she saw that losing the men weighed hard on him.
+
+"Suppose I admit I sent you to Wolf?" she said. "You feel you are
+entitled to blame me because your adventure was not fortunate?"
+
+"Not at all; my object's not to blame you," said Kit. "When I took the
+post I thought you kind. To find out that all you wanted was to get me
+away from Las Palmas hurt. However, we won't bother about this----"
+
+He paused. Mrs. Austin's calm was beginning to embarrass him. In fact,
+there was something very dignified about her quietness, although she
+admitted that her plotting had cost him much. Kit, however, braced
+himself.
+
+"I meant to see you before I saw Mr. Austin," he resumed. "I'm going
+back for the men and must get a boat at once. If the Commandante knew I
+was going he wouldn't let me sail, and he will know soon. _Cayman_'s
+ready for sea and you must lend me her."
+
+Mrs. Austin smiled. "I don't think your argument is altogether sound.
+_Cayman_ belongs to my husband and Jefferson and they are away."
+
+"All that's Mr. Austin's is yours, and Mrs. Jefferson is here."
+
+"I imagine I can promise for my husband," Mrs. Jefferson remarked.
+
+"Very well," said Mrs. Austin. "You may have the boat. I will give you a
+letter for the captain."
+
+She went off, and Mrs. Jefferson turned to Kit. "Have you seen Betty?"
+
+Kit started. He had forgotten Betty; he was again a fool. She would
+understand his troubles and would sympathise. He was persuaded she would
+agree he ought to go.
+
+"I'd like to see her, but I cannot," he said. "We must sail at daybreak,
+and I have much to do. All I can think about is getting back to Africa.
+But, if you will tell her why I didn't go to the office----"
+
+Mrs. Jefferson smiled. Betty had qualities, but Mrs. Jefferson doubted
+if she would approve Kit's sending another to tell his tale. She said
+nothing, and Mrs. Austin presently returned and gave Kit an envelope.
+
+"This is an order for the captain. Your adventure's rash, and I really
+ought not to agree," she said. "For all that, I wish you luck!"
+
+Kit thanked her and when he went down the steps Mrs. Austin looked at
+Mrs. Jefferson.
+
+"If he wrecks _Cayman_ or the crew get hurt I shall have some trouble
+with Harry. Sometimes he is firmer than people think."
+
+Mrs. Jefferson smiled. "On the whole I imagine Jake will approve.
+Perhaps Kit was rude, but in a way he was rather fine. He won't wreck
+the boat, and I expect he will get the men. Kit is good stuff. However,
+I suppose you're satisfied you were entitled to meddle?"
+
+"About Olivia? Yes, so far as that goes, my plan was good. My father was
+a steamship steward and began business at Las Palmas by selling tobacco
+on board the ships. All the same, Kit Musgrave is not Olivia's sort. If
+she doesn't know this now, he and she would soon find it out. Well, I'm
+going to be firm."
+
+"I doubt if firmness is indicated," Mrs. Jefferson rejoined with a
+twinkle. "Sometimes the best plan is to leave things alone."
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER II
+
+"CAYMAN'S" START
+
+
+Soon after he left Mrs. Austin's, Kit rowed off to _Mossamedes_, got
+some clothes and talked to the interpreter, who hesitated for a time
+before he agreed to go with him. Then he picked out three men from the
+crew, but ordered them to stop on board until he was ready. It was
+obvious that his adventure must not be talked about before he left the
+port.
+
+Afterwards he was rowed to _Cayman_ and gave Mrs. Austin's letter to the
+captain. _Cayman_ was a fast and strong ketch-rigged vessel of about
+sixty tons. Four hands could sail her and relieve the watch, but she
+carried six. When goods are not all landed at the ports, trading on the
+Morocco coast has some drawbacks, and Jefferson ran no risks. The
+captain was an old _baccalao_ fisherman and when he read the order he
+asked: "Where do you want to go?"
+
+Kit told him, and he looked thoughtful. "I know the spot. The sands are
+dangerous and the Moors are bad."
+
+"For all that you must anchor the ketch behind the banks and wait until
+I come back from the desert," said Kit, and stated why he meant to
+undertake the journey.
+
+"Ah," said the captain, "that is another thing! My men will not grumble;
+they know the Moors. Well, we are not allowed to carry guns, but I can
+throw a knife, and Maccario can kill a jumping goat with his sling. Then
+Andres, the wrestler, knows a trick. The Moor he seizes will drop with a
+broken back."
+
+"Your men will stop on board. They are Senor Jefferson's servants, and
+the job is mine. When I land three or four from the steamer will go with
+me."
+
+"We will talk about this again. But you had anchored behind the sands
+and had lost Miguel. How did you get to sea?"
+
+"I don't know," said Kit. "I was in my bunk and Don Erminio was in his,
+but we did get to sea. I understand Don Pedro took control."
+
+The captain laughed. "_El maquinista? Ave Maria!_ Senor, for a good
+sailor who is not a fisherman the thing was impossible! But I know Don
+Pedro. I have seen him dance, strange dances of the North, at the
+wineshop by the mole. Some say he is mad. All the same, the steamer is
+not wrecked. _Ma!_"
+
+Kit stopped him. It looked as if Macallister's friends were numerous,
+but there was much to be done and he rowed the captain to the port
+office and left him to file his papers. One could not, without complying
+with some formalities, sail before daybreak, and Kit thought to send to
+the ayutante's house was risky.
+
+Engaging a _tartana_, he went to see Don Erminio. The captain's small
+house smelt of salt fish, garlic, and burned olive oil, and Senora
+Martinez received Kit in the court. She was fat and her brown skin was
+thickly powdered.
+
+"You will not excite my husband," she said. "When he is ill he is
+sometimes difficult, and he has had a dispute with the doctor."
+
+She took Kit up the outside stairs and along a balcony to a small, hot
+room. Don Erminio occupied the old-fashioned bed, and when Kit came in
+looked up with a savage frown, but the frown vanished.
+
+"I thought it was the animal of a doctor coming back," he remarked. "Me,
+I am a sailor, and he will not let me drink! The _anisado_ was on the
+table, he put the bottle in his pocket, and I could not get up. Then he
+looked in the cupboard. The animal is cunning, but another time I put
+the bottle under the bed. However, the Moors have got Juan and Miguel.
+We must do something!"
+
+Kit stated his plans and the captain signed approval. He was tightly
+bandaged and could hardly move his head.
+
+"It is very good. But you will take Don Pedro?"
+
+"I think not. In fact, he does not know I am going."
+
+The captain urged, but Kit was firm. Caution and tact were indicated,
+and although Macallister was generally cool, his coolness often masked a
+freakish rashness.
+
+"Very well," Don Erminio agreed at length. "Sometimes Don Pedro is
+humorous, but the Moors are not people with whom one jokes. I will lend
+you my gun."
+
+He signed to Senora Martinez, who brought the old pinfire gun and gave
+it to Kit.
+
+"The gun is good. If you are careful she will not go off before you
+want, but you must not shake her," he resumed, and frowned when he saw
+the mark on the box of cartridges. "What is this?" he asked his wife.
+"Bring the number B. Senor Musgrave does not shoot the rabbit."
+
+Senora Martinez got another box and Don Erminio nodded. "It is good! If
+Pepe has used the proper measure, she will kill a Moor at twenty yards.
+But you must not shake her. The hammer-spring is loose."
+
+Kit thanked him and soon afterwards went off. He had taken the gun in
+order to indulge the captain, since it was obvious that when he met the
+Moors he could not use force. For all that, he had not a pistol and to
+some extent the old gun might give him moral support.
+
+When he was rowed across the harbour he heard a guitar badly played, and
+jumping down from _Cayman_'s bulwarks saw Macallister sitting under the
+anchor light. The engineer held the guitar awkwardly, and the sailors
+sat round and laughed.
+
+"Hallo!" Kit said, frowning. "Why have you come on board?"
+
+"Ye're a dour, crabbit Englishman and no' as clever as ye think,"
+Macallister rejoined. "Ye had not been gone ten minutes when I kenned
+what ye were after and reckoned I had got to see ye oot. Ye didna ken I
+talk Aver-r-rack?"
+
+"I doubt it now," said Kit and Macallister beckoned the interpreter, who
+had come on board with him.
+
+"Ye shall judge, Adjia Simonidas."
+
+"Is this Arabic? It sounds like Greek," said Kit.
+
+"Simon's from Aleppo," Macallister rejoined. "When ye trade in the
+Levant, ye use Arabic, Turkish, Italian and Greek, and whiles ye mix the
+lot. There's no' a sailor's cafe between Suez and Smyrna I dinna ken.
+But ye're a doubting creature. Weel, Simon----"
+
+He began to talk and the interpreter leaned against the mast and
+laughed.
+
+"He is truly droll," Simon remarked in French. "But I think he is safe
+with the Moors. Good Moslems believe that Allah guards such as him."
+
+Kit lighted a cigarette. He had undertaken an awkward job and was
+sternly serious. Mack was, of course, a good sort, but when he was not
+engaged in the engine-room his talents were for something like comic
+opera. Kit would frankly sooner he had stopped on board _Mossamedes_.
+For all that, he had known Mack's reckless humour useful when sober
+thought was not, and he must be resigned. Mack was on board and would
+not go back.
+
+When Kit had smoked his cigarette he got two of the men to wash
+_Cayman_'s boat and rowed across the harbour to a coaling wharf. The
+clerks had gone, but Kit knew how the hose key worked and brought back
+the boat loaded with fresh water as deep as she would float. Then he
+looked at his watch and going to the _patron_'s small cabin tried to
+sleep.
+
+The rattle of chain woke him and he went on deck. Day was breaking and a
+cold wind blew off the land. Mist rolled about the mountains and in the
+background Las Palmas glimmered against dark volcanic rocks. Its outline
+was blurred and the white houses were indistinct; the town looked
+ghostly and unsubstantial. In the harbour, steamers with gently-swaying
+masts floated on the smooth swell. Nobody moved about their decks and
+all was very quiet but for the surf that beat against the mole.
+
+Some of the crew began to hoist the mainsail. They moved slackly, as if
+they were half-asleep, their bare feet made no noise, and Kit liked to
+hear the thud of the canvas they threw off the boom. Then blocks began
+to rattle, and when the gaff was up the sail flapped in the wind. They
+left the peak hanging and went forward to hoist the jib. The noise of
+running wire and chain halyard was cheerful, and Kit tried to rouse
+himself.
+
+There is something that moves the imagination about a large steamer
+leaving port. One gets a sense of organised effort, of force in man's
+control and the triumph of his inventions. Kit had vaguely felt that the
+_correillo_'s sailing with the mails on board was, so to speak, a social
+function of some importance to all. To mark a mail-boat's departure by a
+gun or detonating rocket was proper. But _Cayman_'s start was flat and
+dreary. She must steal out of harbour lest she be stopped; and Kit,
+shivering in the cold wind, was daunted.
+
+He had left his ship without leave and Macallister had frankly run away.
+They had broken useful rules and would, no doubt, lose their posts, but
+this did not much bother Kit. He had undertaken a job that, so far as he
+could see, he could not carry out. In fact, the thing was ridiculous.
+The Moors were fierce and cunning desert thieves, and he was going to
+force them to agree with him. He knew no arguments they would admit, and
+his only protection was Don Erminio's old pinfire gun.
+
+Kit felt his youth, but his inheritance counted for much. His code was
+the Puritans', and its rude simplicity had advantages. One must do this
+because it was proper; the other was not. There was no use in arguing
+when one knew what was right. Kit saw his duty and, if it cost him
+something, he must pay. All the same, he shrank. To do what he ought
+might cost much.
+
+_Cayman_ rode to a buoy and when the jib was sheeted they brought the
+mooring aft and let her swing. The _patron_ went to the long tiller and
+wore her round, and the slack mainsail lurched across. Then all went to
+the peak halyard and Kit's spirits rose. The rattle of blocks was
+cheerful; he liked to see the straining figures rise and fall. The men's
+laboured breath and rhythmic movements gave him a bracing sense of
+effort.
+
+_Cayman_ stole between a big cargo boat and a passenger liner, and by
+contrast with their lofty hulls looked absurdly small. When she began to
+list the water was nearly level with her covering board. The list got
+sharper, she forged past the end of the mole and her bowsprit splashed
+in the high, green swell. The _patron_ studied the mist that rolled
+about the mountains and turned to Kit.
+
+"The wind blows up there and we will get it when we get the sun. Well,
+we must drive her off the coast before the Commandante knows why we have
+gone. I think we will not steer the usual course."
+
+They ran up the staysail and set the mizzen. _Cayman_ leaped forward and
+the spray blew from her plunging bows. Her white wake trailed across the
+tops of the seas astern, and the water that bubbled through the scuppers
+crept up her lee deck. For all that, the captain was not satisfied and
+he looked to windward, knitting his brows.
+
+"One can see far with the telescope from the Isleta signal station," he
+remarked. "The mist is clearing. We will risk the topsail."
+
+The big sail was hoisted and _Cayman_'s list got very sharp. One could
+not see how far the water crept up her inclined deck, because a
+sparkling cascade splashed across her weather bow and swelled the flood.
+They had hauled her on the wind and her channels dragged in the foam.
+One heard the wire shrouds hum and the masts groan, and now and then a
+sea rolled aft and broke against the boat on deck. For all that, the
+captain held on, and when the sun rose Grand Canary had melted into the
+silver mist.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER III
+
+THE WADY
+
+
+The sun was nearly overhead, and Kit sat in the hot dust that lay about
+the wady. A low bank rose behind him and shaded his head. His eyes hurt,
+he was tired, and his burned skin was sore, for the dust stung as if it
+were mixed with alkali. In the open one could hardly front the sun, but
+the nights were keen, and at daybreak he had got up shivering from his
+hard bed behind a stone.
+
+Macallister, Simon, and three sailors from _Mossamedes_ occupied the
+narrow belt of shade. Their poses were cramped and awkward, for all
+tried to get some shelter from the sun. They had lunched frugally on
+_gofio_, goat's-milk cheese, and a little sour wine. _Gofio_ is roasted
+grain, ground and mixed with water. The gritty paste stuck to Kit's
+parched mouth, for he tried to control his thirst. The skin in which
+they had brought water from the ketch did not hold much.
+
+The map in Wolf's office indicated an oasis not very far from the coast,
+and Kit imagined that where water was he would find the Berbers. Since
+the wady ran nearly straight inland, he resolved to use it for a guide,
+and for three days the party had laboured across the dust and stones. As
+a rule, the hollow was not deep or sharply marked. For the most part,
+easy slopes led to a bare tableland where the soil, swept and
+consolidated by the wind, looked like rock. In places, however, the
+hollow pierced rolling ground and sank to a stony ravine.
+
+The country was strangely desolate, but was not the level, sandy desert
+Kit had thought. In fact, there was not much sand, and in spots it
+looked as if the soil was sometimes cultivated. The bank behind Kit's
+camp was sharply cut as if by an angry torrent, but since he had left
+the beach he had not seen water. There was not a rabbit or a partridge,
+although in the dry Canaries rabbits haunt the stony ravines and
+red-legged partridges run in the prickly pear. Nothing but a pair of
+buzzards, floating very high up, had crossed the sky.
+
+Half closing his eyelids, Kit looked about. Strange reflections quivered
+across the stones and distant objects were magnified. In the foreground,
+the light was dazzling, and the hollow melted into a luminous belt of
+brown and yellow. A euphorbia bush with stiff, thick stalks, however,
+was harshly green and looked like a house, although it was but four or
+five feet high. The euphorbia puzzled Kit; in a country where one found
+no water, its stalks were tender with milky sap. He glanced at his
+companions. Their cotton clothes had gone yellow, their skin was brown,
+and he thought one could not distinguish them a short distance off. An
+hour since he imagined somebody had looked out from behind a stone.
+Although he wanted to meet the Berbers, he did not want to think they
+cautiously followed his track.
+
+He mused about the barrenness of the country. At Lanzarote, sixty miles
+from the African coast, it sometimes did not rain for six or eight
+months, and then, when the concrete cisterns were nearly dry, it rained
+in floods. Perhaps it was like that in Morocco; sheep and camels could
+not live if it did not rain at all. Kit began to think about the good
+bishop who used all his fortune to send the people of Lanzarote water.
+
+A sailor shouted, and Kit jumped up. A cloud of dust rolled down the
+wady, and in the dust, about sixty yards off, men on camels rode for the
+camp. Kit watched their advance with dull surprise. A few moments since
+he had seen nobody and a camel is a large object to hide. It looked as
+if the Berbers had sprung from the sand. Then he heard the humming
+flight of a stone and a camel swerved. A sailor laughed hoarsely and
+stooped to get another stone for his sling, but Kit stopped the man. He
+had come to meet the Berbers and they carried long guns. Had they meant
+to hurt him, they could have hidden behind the stones and shot the
+party.
+
+For all that, when they pulled up a few yards off, his heart beat and
+coolness was hard. They were big, muscular fellows and the nearest
+looked scornfully fierce; Kit could not see the others' faces because
+they wore loose hoods. One or two of the Spaniards had drawn their
+knives, but nobody moved. The little party stood against the bank and
+looked at the Berbers. Then Kit braced himself and signed to the
+interpreter.
+
+For a few moments Simon and one of the others talked, but the Berber's
+remarks were short. His pose was easy, but very still, and the long gun
+he balanced somehow emphasised his height. He was like a bronze and blue
+statue, and Kit thought his quietness forbidding. The camel moved its
+long neck and grunted.
+
+"He says we must go with him," Simon remarked. "His chief is waiting.
+That is all."
+
+Kit looked at Macallister, who calmly cleaned his pipe. "Aweel," he
+said, "ye wanted to find the Moors and ye ought to be satisfied. Yon
+fellow's no' for arguing. We'll just gang."
+
+The Berber touched his camel and lifted his hand. His gesture was
+commanding, and when the others moved forward Kit told the Spaniards to
+put up their knives. The Berbers did not threaten; they pushed their
+camels against the bank, and the men must move or be trampled.
+
+"_Arrai!_" said the leader, his camel grunted, and Kit's men set off,
+one behind the other between two rows of the clumsy animals.
+
+The camels went fast, their necks moving backwards and forwards like
+engine piston-rods. At the bottom of the wady the heat was intolerable,
+and thick dust rolled up. Moreover, the ground was rough, but Kit pushed
+on as fast as possible. He did not think the Berbers would argue about
+the pace; it looked as if they thought his business was to keep up. He
+heard Macallister breathe hard and sometimes Simon coughed. The sailors
+went silently in their open rawhide shoes, the Berbers said nothing, and
+one could not hear the camels' feet. In fact, all was strangely quiet,
+and somehow flat.
+
+Kit had started with high resolves, but owned he had not played a
+romantic part. Things had not gone as he had vaguely planned; the
+situation, so to speak, was not in his control. His party was driven
+along rather like a flock of sheep. Although he had meant to negotiate
+with the chief, it looked as if he was the fellow's prisoner.
+
+The wady pierced a stony hill, and in the defile the heat got worse.
+Kit's skin was scorched; the dust got into his nose and throat.
+Sometimes he could hardly see; his eyes hurt and his head ached.
+Nevertheless, it was obvious that he must keep up and he laboured on.
+
+By and by the Berbers turned and climbed the side of the defile. To
+climb was hard, for parched soil and loose stones rolled down the slope.
+The camels, however, went up, and Kit saw he must keep in front of the
+animals behind him. The track was narrow, and it did not look as if the
+Berbers would stop. He could not see Macallister. Gasping men and
+lurching camels moved in a yellow fog.
+
+At the top they crossed a dazzling tableland where the soil was firm,
+and to feel the wind was some relief. When they went down again, a few
+miles farther on, Kit saw prickly pear, thorny aloes, and in one spot
+short, white stubble, but there were no tents. The hollow was wide and
+ran on straight in front, until stones and dust melted into the
+quivering reflections. Nothing indicated that a camp was near.
+
+The sun sank, and the camels threw grotesque shadows across the parched
+soil. Kit began to lose the sense of feverish heat, and although he was
+worn out, walking was easier. When the sky was luminous red and green
+the wind got cool and the camels' pace was fast. Somehow he kept up, and
+at length the Berbers stopped.
+
+Dark tents dotted the wady and sheep occupied a belt of dry stubble. In
+places an aloe lifted a tall shaft, tamarisk and prickly pear grew on
+the banks, but Kit saw no palms. A few ruined stone huts, hardly
+distinguishable from the background, occupied a bend of the hollow, and
+a broken heap that might have been a watch tower on the ridge cut the
+sky. Kit understood the Berbers were nomads, but it looked as if
+somebody had long since built a village.
+
+No excitement marked the party's arrival. The leader shouted "_Foocha!_"
+and the camels knelt; the men got down and pushed Kit and the sailors
+forward. Indistinct figures appeared at the tent doors, and he smelt
+acrid smoke. In front of the middle tent the leader stopped and a man
+came out.
+
+It was getting dark, but Kit remarked that the man was not as big as the
+camel drivers and his skin was lighter. His mouth and jaw were covered
+and his blue clothes were clean. For a moment or two he studied the
+group and his calm glance rather annoyed Kit. All the Berbers he had met
+were marked by an imperturbable calm. Then the fellow said something to
+a camel driver, who signed the party to go with him and took them to a
+hut. The front was broken and the roof had fallen, but the building gave
+some shelter from the keen wind. By and by another man brought them a
+bowl of stuff like porridge, some dried meat Kit thought was goat's
+flesh, and dates.
+
+"What did the sheik say to the camel driver?" he asked Simon.
+
+"He will talk to us in the morning; this was all. If he had meant to
+hurt us, he would not have sent the food. When you go, call him
+_Wazeer_. It is not his title, but he will like it."
+
+Kit doubted if the Berber would be moved by flattery, but he said: "The
+food is good. This porridge stuff is better than the Canary _gofio_.
+What do they call it?"
+
+"_Cous-cous_," said Simon. "From Morocco to Nigeria, all food that looks
+like this is _cous-cous_. It may be made with sour milk, palm oil, or
+water, and roasted grain, and some is very bad. In Africa they do not
+use many names."
+
+"I'm thinking to talk much would hurt them," Macallister remarked. "A
+very reserved people, and yon sheik's the dourest o' the lot. For a'
+that, when I try him wi' Avar-r-rack----"
+
+Kit turned impatiently to the interpreter. "We have got to negotiate
+with the man. Since we can't buy his friendship, I don't see my line."
+
+"To be poor is not always a drawback," Simon replied. "Perhaps it is
+better he does not think us rich. In Africa, one gives a present and we
+have some wine left. It is not good, but when one has none----"
+
+"But a Mohammedan is not allowed to drink wine."
+
+Simon smiled. "I will use some caution. If the headman breaks the rules,
+his people must not know. Those who got no wine would be horrified. In
+this country one uses caution always. Frankness is dangerous."
+
+"Do you know much about the country?"
+
+"I know something," Simon replied. "A Levantine and a Jew may go where
+an Englishman cannot and a Spaniard would be killed. In Egypt I was an
+hotel servant, in Algiers a pedlar. I have sold wine to the Legion at
+the outposts, and in Senegal I was major-domo for a French commandant. A
+small, fat man, with a theatrical dignity, but the black soldiers loved
+him. When they drilled well, he gave them sugar. He did not send an
+orderly; the commandant went along the line with the sugar in his cap.
+Some French are like that. Your officers are just, but one doubts if the
+Africans love you much. Well, in Algiers one has adventures, but in
+Morocco, south of Casablanca, one is lucky if one keeps one's life. If
+you are not bored----"
+
+Kit said he was not bored. To listen was some relief from his gloomy
+thoughts, and Simon told a romantic tale. The fellow was obviously a
+bold and unscrupulous vagabond, but Kit did not know when his narrative
+stopped. He was very tired and presently his head dropped forward and
+his shoulders slipped down the broken wall.
+
+When he awoke the stars were shining and it was very cold. Two sailors
+lay beside him and all was quiet. Kit put his head on another stone and
+went to sleep again.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER IV
+
+KIT NEGOTIATES
+
+
+In the morning before the sun was high, a Berber took Kit and his party
+to the headman's tent and signed them to sit in the sand. Their clothes
+were smeared by dust to which the dew had stuck, and Kit's boots were
+broken. His fatigue had not worn off much, he felt horribly dirty and
+dull, but he knew he must brace up. The headman and two or three others
+occupied the open front of the tent. In the background a row of camels,
+making strange noises, knelt beside a broken wall, and behind the
+uncouth animals stones and clumps of tamarisk melted into the widening
+bottom of the wady. The wind had dropped, it was not yet hot, and thin
+smoke with a pungent smell floated about the camp.
+
+Kit studied the headman with some curiosity, since he did not know if
+the fellow was his host or captor, but got no hint from his inscrutable
+face. He understood the people were Berbers, but at Las Palmas he had
+borrowed a book that stated the Berbers were short and light-skinned.
+The tribesmen Kit had met were big and dark, but the chief was lighter
+in build and colours than the rest. He was obviously not a savage;
+somehow Kit thought him well-bred.
+
+"Why have you come to my camp?" he asked.
+
+Simon translated and afterwards carried on the talk. As a rule, it
+dragged, and Kit imagined the interpreter was sometimes puzzled and used
+the _lingua franca_ of the Moorish ports.
+
+"Tell him I have come for the men his people carried off from the
+boats," said Kit.
+
+"You thought to take them from us?"
+
+"No," said Kit. "We knew this was impossible."
+
+"Yet you brought a gun!"
+
+Kit had missed the gun, but when the headman signed one of the others
+brought Don Erminio's old double-barrel. The Berber studied it and Kit
+thought him amused.
+
+"Then you mean to buy the men?" he resumed.
+
+Kit said he did not; he had no money, but if the men were not released,
+it was possible the Spanish government would send soldiers to look for
+them. The headman let this go and asked what his and Macallister's
+occupation was. Simon replied, and the other was quiet for a few
+moments. Then he said: "I have a better gun than yours, but sometimes it
+does not shoot. If this man knows machines, let him mend it."
+
+He clapped his hands and a Berber brought Macallister a big automatic
+pistol.
+
+"I doubt my luck's no' very good," Macallister remarked. "A watch I ken.
+When ye can grip her in a vice and have tools to pick oot the works, she
+need not puzzle ye lang, but a pistol ye must hold on your knee is
+anither job. I'm thinking there might be trouble if I spoil her. For a'
+that, if ye have a peseta, I'll try t'."
+
+Kit, with some hesitation gave him the coin. He had known Macallister
+spoil a useful watch, and return another bearing the marks of the
+vice-jaws. Experimenting with watches had a strange charm for him, but
+sometimes he made a good job, and if he mended the pistol it might help.
+Macallister got to work with the coin and his big pocket knife, and the
+headman turned to Kit.
+
+"I seized the men because your master cheated me. If I let them go, I
+will not get the goods he owes."
+
+"You will not get the goods," Kit agreed. "My master is gone."
+
+The headman and one of the others talked, and Simon said to Kit: "They
+think it is so. They have found out that Yusuf is gone. I expected
+something like this."
+
+"Not long since I would have sold the men; I might have sold you all,"
+the Berber resumed. "Now, however, this is perhaps not safe. We are not
+afraid of the soldiers, but we have enemies, and sometimes our
+neighbours take the white men's bribes."
+
+"He is frank, but it is like that," Simon remarked. "In Africa, the
+white man's power is not his native soldiers. One tribe hates the next
+and foreign money rules the desert." He paused and shrugged. "It is
+possible the fellow would have sold us. _Baccalao_ fishermen have
+vanished. At the wineshops the Spaniards tell stories---- But he wants
+to know why you bother about the sailors. They are not your servants."
+
+Kit hesitated. He did not know the Berber's code and if he claimed his
+object was unselfish the fellow might think he had another. Yet he was
+not going to make up a plausible tale. Kit's anger was quick and hot.
+The brute had pondered selling white men like camels.
+
+"Tell him I saw somebody must look for them. When his people tried to
+carry me off, I think one put me on board the boat. That's all," he
+said.
+
+"Then, they have no rich friends who would pay you if you brought them
+back?" the chief asked.
+
+"You have seen them!" Kit rejoined and indicated his companions. "They
+are men like these. Rich men don't labour in a steamer's boats."
+
+The Berber gave him a thoughtful glance. Kit was angry and his naive
+honesty was obvious. The Berber was subtle, but it did not look as if he
+doubted. Kit thought he weighed something; and then he looked up with a
+start.
+
+He had heard a sharp report, and a thin streak of smoke curled about the
+automatic pistol. Sheep ran across the stubble, a camel got up, and Kit
+saw a small hole in the tent.
+
+"Noo I ken what's wrang with his gun," Macallister remarked.
+
+Holding the pistol in front he advanced towards the Berbers. None moved
+and the headman's look was imperturbable. Kit wondered whether the
+magazine held another cartridge and hoped nobody would move. He knew
+Macallister. The engineer stopped opposite the headman, and for a moment
+their glances met. Then he held out the pistol, with the butt to the
+other.
+
+"For a camel thief, ye're a trustful person," he said dryly.
+
+Kit had not seen a Berber laugh, but when Simon translated it looked as
+if the headman smiled. He signalled and across the wady a man with a
+modern rifle got up from behind a stone and another crawled out of the
+sand. Kit thought they were picked shots and had marked the range. All
+the same, he doubted if the headman knew there was a cartridge in the
+magazine. Macallister, stopping by the other, opened the pistol.
+
+"Noo," he said, "ye see----"
+
+His _lingua franca_ was uncouth, but when he took some pieces from the
+pistol with his pocket knife it looked as if the headman saw. He was
+obviously interested, something of his reserve vanished, and presently
+he signed one of the others back and Macallister sat down on the piece
+of carpet by his side. The engineer gave Kit a smile he understood. It
+was as if he had said, "Ye dinna ken old Peter yet!"
+
+Kit mused. He had borne some strain and was languid, and the headman was
+occupied. It was strange, but Macallister, by luck or talent, generally
+took the middle of the stage. Kit was not like that, but now chance had
+given him a leading part, the part must be played, and he weighed the
+arguments he had used. He had stated that he was poor and Wolf had
+vanished. If the chief were satisfied about this, there was obviously no
+use in his holding the party for ransom or to force payment of Wolf's
+debt. Then he had hinted that the Spanish government might send soldiers
+to search the country, and the Berber admitted that he had enemies who
+intrigued with the white men. Kit did not know another argument; perhaps
+he had said enough, and he waited.
+
+By and by the headman talked to the interpreter, who said: "He wants to
+know why you landed the guns when you had not brought all."
+
+"We thought we had brought all," Kit replied. "We didn't know until the
+French gunboat came that Yusuf had cheated us. But he hasn't heard about
+the gunboat yet. You must try to make him understand."
+
+He narrated their escape from the gunboat. The story was long, for the
+Berbers were not sailors and translation was difficult. Sometimes Simon
+hesitated, but the headman did not look impatient. His face was
+inscrutable and one got no hint about his thoughts. The sun got hot and
+the wind began to blow the dust about the wady.
+
+At length Kit stopped and for a few moments the headman pondered.
+
+"You might have thrown the guns into the sea, but you did not," he
+remarked.
+
+"The guns were yours," said Kit. "When we knew the Jew had sold us, we
+resolved to deliver them. You see, we had got the camels."
+
+The headman gave him a searching look. "If I let you have the men we
+took, you will be satisfied?"
+
+"Yes," said Kit. "That is all we want."
+
+"Very well," said the other. "Your master robbed me, but he is gone and
+my debt will not be paid. I will let your men go; to keep them might be
+dangerous." He paused, and although he did not smile, Kit imagined he
+was amused. "All the camels with which I paid for the guns were not
+mine," he went on. "Some belonged to people who are friends of the
+French. I will send for your men. They are not here and you must wait
+for two or three days."
+
+He sent off a man to the camels and then touched Macallister.
+
+"If you will stop with me, you shall take care of my guns and you may
+get rich," he said, and turned to Kit. "If you can bring me the goods I
+want, I will trade with you." Then he indicated the interpreter. "If
+this fellow comes back, we will shoot him."
+
+He got up, signed that the audience was over, and went into his tent.
+Simon's eyes twinkled.
+
+"Perhaps he thinks I know too much, and I know something. All the same,
+I will not come back. In Morocco one runs risks and I have not got paid.
+At Cairo the tourists are curious about the East and some are generous.
+They know Simon at the big hotel. I will return."
+
+Kit went off to the shade of the ruined hut. Perhaps it was strange, but
+he trusted the haughty Berber and he had not altogether trusted Simon.
+On the whole, he thought the fellow's plan was good. If the tourists at
+Cairo were like some at Las Palmas, Simon would be a useful guide about
+the town at night. Kit, himself, would sooner be a robber like the
+dark-skinned chief. Then Macallister sat down opposite and began to
+clean his pipe.
+
+"If I kent where to steal a handy bit steamboat, yon headman and me
+would make a bonnie pair o' pirates, but I've no' much use for camels,"
+he remarked. "Weel. I alloo ye took a very proper line wi' him."
+
+"I didn't see the line I ought to take. I was frank."
+
+Macallister's eyes twinkled. "Just that! I'm no saying ye were
+plausible, but the headman's no' a fool; he saw ye were a simple
+weel-meaning body. Onyway, it's done with. We'll get off when Miguel
+comes."
+
+Three days afterwards Miguel and Juan arrived, riding in a frame hung
+across a camel. The quartermaster got down awkwardly and stretched his
+arms and legs.
+
+"But I am sore! It is like beating to windward in a plunging boat," he
+said and went up to Kit. "We were anxious, senor, the Moors are bad. But
+I did not bother very much. I knew you would come back for us, and my
+saint would guard you."
+
+The blood came to Kit's skin. He said nothing, but gave Miguel his
+hand.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER V
+
+THE RETURN TO THE BEACH
+
+
+It was getting cooler, and long shadows marked the curves of the wady.
+On the other side, oblique sunbeams touched the bank. The wind had
+dropped, and as the dew began to fall the hot soil smelt like a
+brick-kiln. In the distance the surf throbbed, and Kit thought its
+measured beat soothing. He had had enough of the parched wilderness.
+
+He was languid, for he had borne some strain, and when Miguel and the
+mate arrived a reaction had begun. The Berbers gave the party a little
+food and water before they broke camp and vanished in the desert, and
+Kit started for the coast. Travelling as fast as possible, he had used
+his short supplies with stern economy, and now, when he thought the
+shore was three or four miles off, he was hungry and tired.
+
+To some extent, dejection accounted for his fatigue. He had got the men
+for whom he went, but the thrill he felt at first was gone. Wolf had run
+away, his wages were not paid, and since he had left his ship without
+leave, he expected Don Ramon would dismiss him when he got back.
+Moreover, he had perhaps involved the company in trouble with Captain
+Revillon and the Spanish officers. In fact, it looked as if he were
+ruined and disgraced.
+
+He was not going to think about Olivia. She had refused him, but he had
+really known she would refuse. It was done with; he would be sent back
+to Liverpool and would not see her again. There was one comfort; Betty
+would stop. She was getting well and making progress; Jefferson trusted
+her, and her pay was good. At Liverpool he would not see Betty, but,
+like Olivia, she did not want him. In fact, nobody had much use for him.
+He had been easily cheated and had muddled all he undertook. Still, he
+had got Betty a good post and this was much.
+
+After a time he imagined he ought to see the bay from the top of the
+bank, and telling Macallister where he was going, he went up the slope.
+The climb was laborious, and at the top he stopped for breath and shaded
+his eyes from the level rays. The sun was near the Atlantic and in its
+track the water was red; the broken ground about him shone like copper.
+Outside the crimson reflections, the sea was wrinkled and marked by thin
+white lines where the long rollers broke. The strong light hurt his
+dazzled eyes, and with a vague sense of disturbance he turned his head.
+When he looked again he could see the end of the point and the
+anchorage, but _Cayman_ was gone.
+
+Kit felt slack and sat down in the sand. He could not see all the bay,
+but a vessel could only anchor at one spot and _Cayman_ was not there.
+Kit had got a very bad jolt. The food and water would hardly last for
+another day, the coast was an arid desert, and he did not think he could
+reach the camp the Berbers had left. He did not know if he hoped
+_Cayman_ had been blown ashore, but if she were wrecked, the crew might
+have saved some stores. A mile or two farther on one ought to see the
+beach from the top of ground that now broke his view, and he was anxious
+to get there, but went down slowly. He must be cool and not alarm the
+others yet.
+
+At the bottom he joined Macallister, who had waited and gave him a keen
+glance.
+
+"Weel?" said the engineer.
+
+"_Cayman_'s not riding in the pool," Kit replied.
+
+Macallister was quiet for a moment or two. Then he said. "We have half a
+gallon o' smelling water, and there are eight o' us! As a rule, I ha'
+no' much use for water, but I mind when we broke the condensing plant on
+a coolie pilgrim boat. Ye could not fill your tanks at every coaling
+station then. I got some water from the hot well; tasting o' copper and
+grease. We fed the boilers from the sea and drove her, with funnel
+flaming and tubes caked wi' salt. Iron burns, ye ken, unless it's clean,
+and I thought the softening furnaces would blow down. She was crowded
+fore an' aft wi' sweating, gasping coolies, and we let her gang. When we
+made port I swallowed maist a gallon o' lemonade, claret and ice. Man, I
+hear the ice tinkling against the pail!"
+
+"To talk about it makes one thirsty and we mustn't be thirsty yet," Kit
+remarked, frowning. "Say nothing to the others. We'll push on for the
+ridge."
+
+To push on was some relief from suspense. The rest of the party had not
+stopped and there was nobody but Macallister to note Kit's keen
+impatience. He wanted to reach the high ground that commanded the beach,
+because it was possible _Cayman_ had broken her cable and driven ashore.
+Kit felt he must know, and the shadows got longer fast. Perhaps it would
+be dark before he got to the ridge. His burned skin was wet by sweat,
+and his breath was short, but he stubbornly laboured on.
+
+At length he climbed a sloping bank, and from a high spot searched the
+bay. The sun had gone, and the red on the sky and water was fading, but
+behind the point _Cayman_'s mast cut the glow. Kit's heart beat. The
+ketch was not at her anchorage, but she was not on the beach. He shaded
+his eyes and looked again.
+
+The mast was slightly inclined; in the glimmering reflections he could
+hardly distinguish the boat's hull. The tide was ebbing and he thought
+her keel touched bottom, but there was some water under her bilge.
+Although the risk of hunger and thirst was gone, Kit was disturbed. When
+he studied the water-line on the beach, it looked as if _Cayman_ would
+presently fall over on her side. On a flat, open coast, the tides do not
+rise much, but there was a difference of some feet in the level, and at
+low ebb the boat would be nearly dry.
+
+Kit wondered whether she was damaged, because one of two things had
+happened. When it blew fresh _Cayman_ had broken her cable and driven
+ashore; or the captain had slipped the anchor and tried to get to sea.
+That he had not done so was plain, but since she had not broken up, Kit
+imagined she lay in a hollow, sheltered to some extent by higher sands
+outside. To get to sea she must wait for the big tides at the new moon,
+and then perhaps one must land all heavy gear and ballast and put the
+stuff on board again when she reached the anchorage. The job would be
+awkward and long.
+
+Pulling himself together, Kit went down to the wady and told the others
+the ketch had grounded. The tired men saw all this implied and while the
+light faded made the best speed they could. When they reached the beach
+it was dark, but the captain had kept good watch and soon after they
+arrived a boat came shorewards on a smooth-topped roller. Running into
+the water, they pushed her off and Kit presently climbed on board the
+ketch. _Cayman_'s deck was sharply slanted; sometimes she lifted her
+lower side and one felt her bilge work in the sand. Some distance out to
+sea the rollers crashed upon the shoals, but the waves that broke about
+the ketch were small. Kit dined on salt fish, potatoes and sour red
+wine. In the morning he would talk to the captain; now he was very tired
+and must sleep.
+
+He got up soon after daybreak and joined the captain on a plank hung
+over the side. A man with a mallet caulked an open seam and indicated
+three or four butt joints that were freshly tarred. When Kit had looked
+about, the captain sat down on the plank and made a cigarette.
+
+"It blew, senor, but it blew!" he said. "When the anchor dragged we
+hoisted jib and mizzen, but she would not beat out. Then while we
+hoisted the reefed mainsail she struck. A comber threw her up the sand;
+we lowered all sail and let her drive, until we knew by the smoother
+water she had crossed the shoal. Then two anchors brought her up."
+
+Kit nodded. "What are you going to do about it?"
+
+"When we have caulked some seams she will not leak much, and if it does
+not blow again, she will lie here until the tides get high. In the
+meantime, we will heave out the ballast and land it on the beach. Then
+perhaps at the new moon we can kedge her across to the pool."
+
+"The job will be long," said Kit. "My men must rest to-day. In the
+morning we will get to work."
+
+They began at sunrise next day, but the work was hard. _Cayman_ had been
+built for speed and when sail was set would not stand up without a large
+quantity of ballast. The ballast was iron kentledge, moulded to fit her
+frames, and when the floors were up the men, crouching in the dark,
+pulled the heavy blocks out of the bilge-water. Except for an hour or
+two at low tide _Cayman_ did not lie quiet; when the water lifted her
+she rolled. The blocks were sent up in a sling and lowered into the
+boat, which did not carry much and must be rowed for half a mile across
+angry waves. Near the beach an anchor was dropped, and when she swung
+head to sea her crew jumped over and carried the iron through the surf.
+Sometimes they were forced to wait, and sometimes to haul off the boat.
+
+All hands were needed, and after a day or two Kit's muscles ached and
+his bruised hands bled. When his limbs were cramped by crawling among
+the timbers in the hold, he went off in the boat, and clasping a
+fifty-six-pound lump of iron laboured up the hammered beach. Sometimes a
+roller, frothing round his waist, urged him on, and sometimes he stopped
+and braced himself against the backwash. The bottom was not firm; gravel
+and sand rolled up and down and buried his sinking feet. Moreover, he
+knew the iron he laboriously carried up must all be carried back.
+
+When the ballast was out the captain hesitated. On the Moorish coast
+sheltered ports are not numerous, and for the most part _Cayman_ landed
+and shipped cargo from anchorages behind the sands and reefs. In
+consequence, her main anchor and cable were very large and heavy, but
+the captain thought the vessel must be further lightened in order to
+float across the shoals. Now the iron was landed, she rolled violently,
+and one hot afternoon, Kit, holding on by a runner, leaned against the
+bulwarks. Macallister and Miguel occupied the hatch coaming, the captain
+the grating by the tiller.
+
+"If we do not land the anchor, she may strike when we kedge her across
+the sand," he said. "If she gets across and it blows hard we will need
+the big anchor and all the chain to hold her. We must run one of two
+risks."
+
+"If she strikes on the high sand she will stop for good," Miguel
+remarked. "In two or three tides the surf would break her up."
+
+"I think that is so," the captain agreed. "In the pool she might ride to
+the small anchor and the kedge. It depends on the wind. I do not know
+if we will get much wind or not."
+
+Miguel shrugged and used the Castilian rejoinder, "_Quien sabe?_" which
+implies that nobody knows.
+
+The captain lighted a cigarette. He was obviously irresolute, and Kit
+sympathised. One could not weigh the risks and the choice was hard.
+
+"When you cannot see your way you trust your luck and drive ahead,"
+Macallister remarked in uncouth Castilian. "If you do not get to the
+spot you want, you get somewhere and the hardest road is often shortest.
+Land your anchor and let us start."
+
+"_Bueno!_" said the captain, who got up and went to the windlass.
+
+At high tide, when _Cayman_ floated, they carried out the kedge, and
+hove the main anchor and put it in the boat. Kit went with the landing
+party and doubted if they could have got out the anchor had not Miguel
+been on board. They had no mechanical help; while the boat plunged in
+the foaming surf the ponderous lump of iron must be lifted by muscular
+effort and when one struggles against an angry backwash one cannot lift
+much. Kit was exhausted, his hands bled, and Miguel's arm was torn, but
+they got the anchor over and returning to the ketch were fronted by
+another obstacle.
+
+In broken water the boat would not carry all the chain; they must take
+it by fifteen-fathom lengths, and the connecting shackles had rusted
+fast. Kit thought nobody but Macallister could have knocked out the
+pins, but at length the cable was divided and they resumed their labour
+in the surf.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER VI
+
+BETTY DEMANDS HELP
+
+
+On the evening of Austin's return to Las Palmas he and Jefferson smoked
+and talked on the veranda steps. Mrs. Austin and Mrs. Jefferson were
+occupied with some sewing at a table near the lamp, but Olivia was not
+about. She had gone to a concert at the Metropole with a young English
+tourist whom Mrs. Austin approved. For all that, Mrs. Austin did not
+know how far Olivia approved and she was bothered about Kit. He had been
+longer than she had expected, and to some extent perhaps she was
+accountable for him. Mrs. Austin generally meant well and as a rule her
+plans to help people worked, but Kit was headstrong and had not left
+much to her.
+
+She wondered what Austin thought about her sending off the _Cayman_.
+Harry did not say much and he had been occupied since his return.
+Jefferson had, no doubt, talked to Muriel, but Muriel was sometimes
+reserved. Now Jefferson and Harry were together, Mrs. Austin thought she
+might, if she were cautious, get a useful hint.
+
+"I would rather like to get up an excursion to the mountains for Mrs.
+Gardner's party. She was Muriel's friend in England, and we have not
+done much to amuse her," she said. "However, I expect you could not join
+us?"
+
+"You mustn't count on Jake and me," Austin replied. "We have let things
+go long enough."
+
+"Yet the business kept going. In fact, I imagine it went pretty well."
+
+"That is so," Austin agreed with a smile. "We know where you got your
+talents, and things do go well when Don Pancho resumes control. All the
+same, he's had enough and I am needed."
+
+Mrs. Austin was baffled. She had not learned much from Harry, and she
+tried Jefferson.
+
+"You have not a useful father-in-law. Did you find a bad tangle when you
+got back?"
+
+"I have known a worse tangle when I was about," Jefferson replied.
+"Anyhow, I've a pretty good Spanish clerk and Miss Jordan's a wonder."
+He paused and gave Mrs. Austin a thoughtful glance. "She's a girl to
+reckon on, but she was glad to slacken up and let me get to work. Struck
+me she was quiet. Something's bothering her, I guess."
+
+Mrs. Austin let it go. If they would not talk about _Cayman_, she would
+not talk about Betty, but she listened. After all, she had given them a
+lead.
+
+Jefferson lighted a cigarette and turned to Austin. "You met Don Ramon.
+Were his remarks illuminating?"
+
+"Don Ramon is sometimes discreet; I didn't get much from him. The
+_Commandancia_ people are his friends and so far I reckon they have not
+made trouble about the men Musgrave left in Africa. However, he stated
+that Don Arturo would shortly arrive from Liverpool to see if he could
+settle the coaling dispute, and I imagine Don Ramon would sooner leave
+the thing to his chief."
+
+"Do you think Revillon lodged a formal complaint?"
+
+"On the whole, I think not. Revillon's a cautious fellow and didn't get
+on board _Mossamedes_. In fact, he hasn't very much to go upon, and it's
+possible the French foreign office don't want a dispute about the
+Moorish Atlantic coast. But I don't know, and the situation's
+interesting. My notion is, it will be handled pretty cautiously when
+Musgrave comes back. Don Arturo's not a fool, and when a light touch is
+indicated you can trust Don Ramon."
+
+Jefferson smiled. "In a sense Musgrave's not important. His part's to
+put across an awkward job the Spanish officers would sooner leave alone,
+and when the log-rolling begins he drops out. If it pays, the others may
+use his exploit, but we must try to see he does not get hurt. Anyhow, I
+hope he has not piled up the boat. We'll want her soon."
+
+"That is so," Austin agreed. "I've been closely engaged and haven't yet
+bothered about the ketch. But are you going?"
+
+Mrs. Jefferson said they had promised to meet some people at the
+Catalina, and Austin went with them for a short distance. The night was
+dark, but soon after they left the gate they met a girl going towards
+the house with a quick, resolute step. It was not Olivia, and when she
+vanished in the gloom Jefferson smiled.
+
+"Miss Jordan, I think!" he said, and his voice was rather dry.
+
+A few minutes afterwards, Mrs. Austin, looking up with some surprise,
+saw Betty on the steps.
+
+"If Mr. Jefferson is wanted you have missed him," Mrs. Austin said.
+
+"I did not want Mr. Jefferson. I met him and the others in the road and
+knew you were alone."
+
+"Then you wished to see me?" said Mrs. Austin, in a careless voice,
+although she would sooner Austin had turned back. She indicated a chair
+and resumed: "Very well! Tell me what it is about."
+
+Betty sat down. Her clothes were plain but very neat. She looked
+business-like and resolute. Mrs. Austin thought her calm cost her
+something, but her mouth was very firm.
+
+"Kit has not come back," she said after a moment or two. "I waited
+until a fishing schooner returned from the African coast. The _Lucia_
+arrived this afternoon, but her crew had not seen the _Cayman_. The next
+boat is not expected for some time, and I saw I must come to you."
+
+Mrs. Austin noted that Betty had informed herself about the sailing of
+the fishing fleet. She would sooner have sent the girl off, but since
+she saw no way of doing so politely, resolved to give her a lead.
+
+"I wonder why you came to me."
+
+"Don't you _know_?" said Betty, who gave her a searching look. "For one
+thing, when you persuaded Mr. Jefferson to engage me, you had an object.
+You often have an object when people think you kind!"
+
+"Then you imagine I am accountable for your getting the post?"
+
+"Of course!" said Betty, with a touch of impatience. "Kit told me about
+his giving you his mother's letter. I rather forced him to tell me; Kit
+is trustful and he trusted you. Well, I expect you knew that when he
+left Liverpool he wanted me to marry him. It's plain you thought I might
+take him from your sister."
+
+"Perhaps I did so," Mrs. Austin admitted. "Kit's an attractive fellow,
+and when I was young I fought for my lover; in fact, I fought pretty
+hard. Was it strange that I imagined you might take my line? We are all
+human; but perhaps you were proud and felt that Kit must fight for you?"
+
+Betty agreed that Mrs. Austin's humanity was obvious. In a way she was a
+great lady, an acknowledged leader of fashionable people, but she, so to
+speak, put off her dignity. Betty was a clerk, but the other talked to
+her as if it were important that both were flesh and blood.
+
+"You don't altogether understand," Betty rejoined. "At the beginning I
+did not want to keep Kit away from your sister."
+
+"At the beginning! You imply you would have liked to keep him away
+afterwards?"
+
+"Something like that," said Betty quietly. "I saw Miss Brown was not the
+girl for Kit."
+
+Mrs. Austin used some control, for Betty's frankness was embarrassing.
+
+"Yet you refused Kit Musgrave at Liverpool!"
+
+"That is so," said Betty and the blood came to her skin. "I'm a clerk
+and not beautiful like Miss Brown. I have no advantages and knew nothing
+but my business until Mrs. Jefferson began to teach me. Kit's pay was
+small; I thought it might be long before he got more and our poverty
+would keep him down. A young man who marries on very small pay is badly
+handicapped. Kit has some talent; I thought if he was free and lucky, he
+might go far. Well, I saw I mustn't stop him, and I let him go."
+
+Mrs. Austin was moved. Betty, like Kit, was naively sincere, and her
+unselfishness was plain. It looked as if she loved Kit, but her love was
+marked by something motherly and protective. In spite of this, however,
+she was now sternly resolute.
+
+"Since you do not approve Olivia, you ought to have been satisfied when
+I helped Kit to get a post on board a ship that was not often at Las
+Palmas like the _correillo_," Mrs. Austin remarked.
+
+"I was not satisfied. All your thought was for your sister. You did not
+trust Wolf, but you saw Kit trusted you, and you let him run a risk. So
+long as he was not at Las Palmas, the risk did not matter. Wolf was the
+cheat you thought. When he'd done with Kit he sold him and the others to
+the French captain."
+
+Mrs. Austin was surprised that Betty knew so much. Moreover, she was
+beginning to get angry, because the girl's accusation was just.
+
+"What do you know about Wolf's selling them? You did not see Kit before
+he went off," she rejoined.
+
+"I did not," said Betty and coloured. "He saw Miss Brown and did not
+bother about me, but Mrs. Jefferson told me why he wanted the boat, and
+I went to Don Erminio's."
+
+She was quiet for a few moments and Mrs. Austin saw her shot had reached
+its mark. Her mood changed and she was sorry for the girl; Betty had
+pluck and was very frank.
+
+"But you did not know where to stop," Betty resumed and her eyes
+sparkled. "When Kit wanted to go back you lent him the _Cayman_. You
+knew he was rash, but this did not count. You thought the Moors might
+carry him off and you would get rid of him for good. Kit took the boat
+and thanked you. Perhaps it's strange, but he had not found you out!"
+
+Mrs. Austin's face got red and to keep her self-control cost her
+something. She was, however, calm.
+
+"Perhaps I can't persuade you I am not as selfish as you think, but you
+are not altogether just," she said. "At the beginning I did send Kit to
+Wolf, although I doubted the fellow. But I did not know the risk he ran.
+Afterwards, when Kit wanted the _Cayman_, he had found me out."
+
+She stopped for a moment, and smiled when she resumed: "In fact, Kit was
+very angry, and his statements were like yours; he declared I had
+planned to get rid of him. If it is much comfort, he will not trust me
+again. Well, I did not want him at Las Palmas, but I did want to help. I
+liked Kit, I liked his honesty; the young fellow is good stuff. We will
+let this go. I did not willingly let him take the _Cayman_. He was
+resolved to get the boat, and Kit is obstinate. He talked about my
+plotting against him, because he meant to force me to agree, and when I
+saw his losing his men weighed on him I did agree. That was all. I had
+no object then but to see him out."
+
+Betty was persuaded. It looked as if she had exaggerated Mrs. Austin's
+unscrupulousness, but this was not important. She had come to fight for
+Kit and the battle was not won.
+
+"Anyhow, you are accountable," she urged. "You let Kit go and he has not
+come back. Perhaps he's wrecked and hiding on the coast; perhaps the
+Moors have carried him off. We must find out, you must send another
+boat----"
+
+She stopped, for Austin came up the steps and leaned against a post.
+Looking about with a smile, he noted that Mrs. Austin's colour was
+rather high. Betty was white and highly strung. She was obviously
+embarrassed by his arrival, but looked resolute.
+
+"You want us to send another boat to Africa, Miss Jordan?" he remarked.
+"Well, on the whole, I think we must try to indulge you. If you will
+wait a few minutes, I will go back with you and see Jefferson about it."
+
+He went into the house and Mrs. Austin went after him. When he sat down
+at a writing table, she stood opposite.
+
+"Were you long in the garden?" she asked.
+
+"Not long, but perhaps long enough," he replied. "I wanted to go round
+by the back, but to pass through the kitchen might have excited the
+servants' curiosity. To feel I must steal into my house was rather
+ridiculous."
+
+Mrs. Austin gave him a searching look. "Then you know the situation!
+It's awkward, and I'll own my trust in my cleverness has received a
+nasty knock. You see what I have done? I liked Kit, and he thinks I
+cheated him. I like Betty and she hates me!"
+
+"Perhaps Miss Jordan has some grounds for annoyance, but I wouldn't
+exaggerate."
+
+"I did want to keep Kit from Olivia," Mrs. Austin resumed. "Now he's
+gone back, she'll think him a hero; his going _was_ rather fine. To
+leave things alone would have been very much better."
+
+"Meddling is sometimes risky," Austin agreed. "On the other hand, Olivia
+is really not romantic, and I imagine she is weighing young Lockwood's
+advantages."
+
+"After all, Olivia's not very important, and perhaps Betty's argument
+was justified. I am accountable for Kit's sailing on board _Cayman_, and
+it's possible the Moors have carried him off. I'm not as hard as people
+think. He must not get hurt."
+
+Austin smiled soothingly. "Exactly! Somebody must go to look for him and
+I'll try to engage a fishing schooner. The _Lucia_'s fast. Well, I'll
+talk to Jefferson."
+
+Mrs. Austin put her hand on his arm. "You're a very good sort, Harry.
+I've done some foolish things, but you haven't yet let me down."
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER VII
+
+THE "LUCIA" ARRIVES
+
+
+Jefferson, sitting under a lamp in his office, smoked a cigarette and
+studied Austin with quiet amusement. He knew his partner rather well and
+thought him embarrassed; in fact, he thought Harry had some grounds for
+embarrassment. Jacinta Austin was clever and Jefferson admitted he owed
+her much; for one thing, he might not have married Muriel had not
+Jacinta helped. Unfortunately, however, meddling was her habit, and
+sometimes her clever plans made trouble. Jefferson thought she was sorry
+she had not left Kit Musgrave alone.
+
+"I guess we had better send the _Lucia_ across," he said, when Austin
+stopped. "_Cayman_ cost a pretty good sum, and since she has not
+returned it's possible she has driven ashore. I'd expect the Moors to
+get busy about a stranded vessel, and on the South coast they're not
+friends of ours."
+
+"Your argument's plausible, Jake," Austin remarked. "For all that, I
+imagine you really don't want to let me down."
+
+Jefferson smiled. "Sometimes your imagination's pretty fierce. We're
+merchants, and when you're up against a possible loss, to spend a small
+sum in order to get your money back is a useful plan. There's another
+thing. The _patron_ of the _Lucia_ knows all about catching _baccalao_,
+but he stops there. You wouldn't leave him to handle an awkward job, and
+the Moors are a treacherous lot. Then Revillon may blow in. You see
+where I lead?"
+
+"It's obvious. One of us ought to go, and the job is mine."
+
+"I think not. You know the sea, but you're a steamboat man. I'm a
+sailor."
+
+Austin had from the beginning seen that Jefferson knew the part Jacinta
+had played and knew he himself was accountable for his wife and meant to
+pay her debts. Jake, however, would not admit this and had taken another
+line. He was a very good sort, in fact, he was the best. Anyhow, he was
+a sailor, and somebody must stop at Las Palmas.
+
+"Very well," said Austin. "Don Erminio's house is shut, and I understand
+his friends don't know where he's gone. Don Ramon has, no doubt, sent
+him off. Sometimes the captain talks and I expect the _Commandancia_
+folks are getting busy. Don Ramon doesn't want any complications before
+his chief arrives. Well, suppose you bring Musgrave back?"
+
+"I reckon you can leave it to Don Arturo," Jefferson replied. "If
+Musgrave has got the men, the Spaniards will be glad he's put across an
+awkward job. Political jealousies are pretty keen, and they have no use
+for sending Spanish soldiers outside Spanish soil. However, if Kit has
+put it across, Don Arturo will soon fix up things with the Commandante.
+I'd back Don Arturo and his manager to bluff Revillon."
+
+Austin agreed, and to agree was some relief. _Cayman_ was his and
+Jefferson's boat, and he had thought Kit's using her might involve them
+in some trouble with the government officers. Nevertheless, he must
+support Jacinta, and Jake would support him.
+
+A few moments afterwards the door opened and Betty came in. Jefferson
+got up as if he meant to fetch a chair, but Betty did not advance. She
+stood by the door, looking very slender, straight and white. Her face
+was quiet and her mouth was firm, but her hands moved nervously.
+Jefferson stood by his desk and waited. His manner was the manner he
+would have used had a great lady come in, and Austin thought that after
+all Betty owed Jacinta much.
+
+"Are you going to send off a schooner in the morning?" she asked.
+
+"It's possible. We were talking about it," Jefferson replied.
+
+"You _must_ send a boat," said Betty firmly.
+
+Jefferson said nothing, but looked at Austin, who knew he must be quiet.
+
+"I don't know if I'm much use and perhaps I'm not," Betty resumed.
+"However, if a boat does not sail, I'm going back to Liverpool." She
+paused and added with a hint of strain: "I don't want to go."
+
+"Thank you," said Jefferson. "Well, I allow we want you to stop. There's
+another thing. I understand my partner kind of promised a boat would go.
+Sometimes he's rash, but I feel I've got to see him out."
+
+For a moment Betty turned her head, but when she looked up again she was
+calm and businesslike.
+
+"I am sorry I disturbed you," she said. "If you think I took a line your
+clerk ought not to take, I will give up my post. However, you are
+occupied with Mr. Austin, and we can talk about this again----"
+
+She hesitated and the blood came to her skin. "I ought to have known you
+would not refuse; I really did know, but speed's important," she added,
+and went off.
+
+"I reckon I ought not to have kept her in suspense," Jefferson remarked.
+"Miss Jordan's modest, but she has grit, and grit like hers is fine.
+Muriel is fond of her, and I think she is happy with us. At Liverpool
+her luck was pretty bad, but if she couldn't bluff me, she was going
+back. Well, if Kit Musgrave----"
+
+He stopped and Austin, understanding his embarrassment, smiled. Olivia
+was his relation, but he agreed that if Kit, for her sake, let Betty go,
+he was a fool. Austin thought he saw what Betty's staunchness cost. The
+girl was proud, but when she imagined Kit was in danger she conquered
+her pride. She knew Jefferson knew something about Kit's infatuation,
+and that her demand for help indicated that she loved him; but she did
+not count this important. Austin thought that after all Betty's sense of
+values was just.
+
+For a few minutes he and Jefferson resumed their talk, and then started
+for the port. They found the _Lucia_'s captain on board, and before long
+all was ready for her departure in the morning.
+
+In the meantime, Kit and _Cayman_'s crew were strenuously occupied.
+After they had landed the ballast, cable and all heavy stores, they took
+careful soundings in the boat and marked the best line to the pool by
+bearings from the shore. Then, when the moon was new and high water at
+about twelve o'clock one hot morning they launched the boat. For about
+two hours there would be water enough to float _Cayman_ across the
+highest sands, but if she did not reach the pool before the tide ebbed
+much she would strike and stop for good. Since the ballast was landed,
+sail could not be used and she must, if possible, be towed by the boat.
+Kit, however, doubted. There was some wind and towing would be hard. He
+thought they would soon be forced to kedge; to carry out a small anchor
+and heave the vessel forward by the rope. Perhaps the worst was the sun
+was nearly overhead.
+
+The windlass clanked until the cable ran nearly straight up and down,
+and Kit jumped into the boat. It was not his business, but flesh and
+blood could not long bear the strain and all must work by turns. For a
+minute or two they waited, and he looked about. The light on the sea
+was dazzling, and one saw nothing but glittering lines of foam that
+marked the turmoil on the sands. To tow _Cayman_ across the belt of
+broken water looked impossible, but they must try, since kedging is slow
+and time was short. Moreover, the shoals beyond the pool to some extent
+broke the sea.
+
+The _patron_ signalled, they got out the oars, and the boat went ahead.
+She did not go far. The tightening rope jerked her back, under
+_Cayman_'s bowsprit, and, when they pulled ahead again, fouled the oars.
+Then the boat sheered off at an angle and they struggled savagely to get
+her in line. _Cayman_ floated high above water, exposing her side to the
+wind, and the steep swell rolled her about. Her progress was not even;
+she advanced by awkward leaps, running up on the boat and a few moments
+afterwards dragging her back. When her bows swung up Kit saw her copper
+sparkle with reflections of green and gold, but one did not see it long.
+The bows went down, the boat ran back, and the plunging bowsprit was
+over his head. He heard the others' laboured breath and set his mouth
+and rowed.
+
+_Cayman_ was moving, but her progress was horribly slow. The men's
+bodies were tense with effort and the muscles on their arms swelled in
+knots. Their legs were braced like iron, and the sweat glistened on
+their brown skin. Kit could not see properly, and was conscious of a
+salt taste in his mouth. In the desert his lips had cracked and he
+thought they bled. Perhaps he had torn them when he clenched his teeth.
+The others rowed stubbornly, but he knew they could not keep it up.
+
+They did not keep it up. The tightening rope fouled the steering oar,
+the boat was drawn back, and when she struck _Cayman_'s bow a man fell
+off his thwart.
+
+His oar went in the water and when it was recovered the _patron_ signed
+them to come on board. Miguel and two or three more jumped down and Kit
+leaned slackly against the bulwarks. There was no shade, the hold and
+cabin were unthinkably hot, but he saw the short, thin shadow the
+mainmast threw across the deck had moved. This meant the sun had passed
+its highest point and the tide was ebbing. He could not judge the
+progress they had made. Astern, all was dazzling white and yellow. Foam
+and sand melted in a blaze of colour. The _patron_ stood on the steering
+gratings and his brows were knit. He said nothing, but Kit thought he
+knew they could not tow her across.
+
+After a time the _patron_ signalled, a small anchor plunged, the boat
+came alongside, and Kit helped a fresh crew to put the kedge anchor on
+board. To carry it ahead was easier than towing, but when they got back
+they must break out the other anchor and then heave _Cayman_ up to the
+kedge. To heave by hand was fastest, and for a few minutes the row of
+men, singing hoarsely, strained and swung. Then the singing stopped,
+their bodies got upright and went no farther back. The veins stood out
+on their brown foreheads, but the rope would not come in. They hung on,
+tense and rigid, unwilling to own that they were beaten.
+
+Perhaps the wind had freshed, for _Cayman_'s plunges were sharper.
+Without her ballast, she rolled and jumped ridiculously like a cork, and
+now and then her heavy masts lengthened the swing, until it looked as if
+she were rolling over. There was not much sea, but on the sands its
+movement was horizontal; it rolled across the bottom, and for the ketch
+to advance she must overcome its backward impulse.
+
+The men took the rope to the windlass and laboriously hove the levers up
+and down. Sometimes the drum would not turn; and then the sharp clink of
+the pawls indicated that the rope came in. When she was over the kedge
+all were exhausted, but the anchor must be dropped to hold the ground
+they had won while the boat took the kedge another cable's length ahead.
+
+When the mast was for a moment upright Kit looked at the shadow and saw
+it had moved across another plank. He doubted if they could get across
+the sand, although the men were doing all men could do. The strange
+thing was, they held out in the scorching heat. But if they did get
+across, their labour would not be finished, and Kit owned he shrank from
+reloading the ballast. When they landed the iron, the sea carried the
+boat ashore; when they brought it off she must be driven against the
+rollers. Moreover, the work must be done with speed, because the
+anchorage was unsafe. _Cayman_ had driven ashore and, if it blew hard,
+might drive ashore again. She could not, without her ballast, beat for
+open sea.
+
+Somebody shouted and Kit saw an object on the horizon. It was like a
+sail, but he was dull and his satisfaction was not keen. The other boat
+would not arrive for some time, and if they did not reach the pool
+before her, the ebbing tide would strand them on the bank. Although help
+was perhaps coming, it might come too late. They must concentrate on
+getting across, and trying to brace himself, he jumped into the boat.
+
+The wind freshened and progress was slower, but the heat did not get
+less. Kit's head swam, his arms were cramped, and the backward swing
+with the oar badly hurt his side. To heave at the windlass levers was
+worse, and he did not bother about the sail. Time was going and he
+thought he felt _Cayman_'s keel touch bottom. Perhaps the sand was
+uneven and she had crossed a hummock. He laboured mechanically, seeing
+nothing but the lever he pulled up and down. All the same, he knew the
+kedge warp came in, because the pawls clinked; if they stopped, the men
+were beaten, and _Cayman_ would soon strike. Kit did not know the depth
+of water the _patron_ got, but the sea was smoother, and this indicated
+that the tide had sunk behind the shoals. In fact, Kit thought he saw
+shining sand in the foam. All must brace up for a last effort.
+
+The rope came in faster, as if the resistance slackened, and when the
+kedge was carried out the men left the windlass and walked aft along the
+deck with the rope. Somebody said there was good water under the keel,
+the long pole the captain used for sounding hardly touched bottom, and
+then did not touch.
+
+"_Basta!_" he shouted; they made the rope fast, and Kit sat down on
+deck.
+
+A two-masted vessel came up the channel. The sweep of her slanted green
+hull, outlined by curling foam, and her high, shining canvas were
+beautiful, but Kit hardly glanced at her. He was exhausted, and leaning
+against the bulwarks, he shut his eyes.
+
+Soon afterwards, Jefferson jumped on board and stopped by Kit. Kit's
+skin was burned, and crusted by salt and sand where the spray had dried.
+His lips were cracked, and his torn hands bled. Getting an anchor out of
+a plunging boat is awkward work.
+
+"Hallo!" said Jefferson. "You look as if you had got up against it
+hard."
+
+Kit opened his eyes and smiled. "I think we have had enough."
+
+Jefferson nodded. "We'll put you on board _Lucia_; they have rigged an
+awning under the mainboom. We've got some ice and Pepe knows how to mix
+a long, cool drink." He turned to the _patron_. "If there is much sea
+next high water, you cannot ride to the kedge. I see you have landed the
+best anchor."
+
+The _patron_ said he had done so and Jefferson ordered his boat to the
+bow.
+
+"Let your men rest; the _Lucia_'s are fresh. But what about Miguel and
+Juan, the mate?"
+
+"They are in the forecastle, getting up another warp."
+
+Jefferson gave Kit a smile. "You brought them back! We'll talk about it
+again. I must get the anchor while there's water across the sand, and
+will put you on board _Lucia_ before I start."
+
+Kit went on board and got into a hammock under the awning. He thought
+Jefferson's getting to work typical; Jefferson's habit was to work and
+talk afterwards. Now he had arrived Kit was not going to bother. His job
+was finished, and things went smoothly when Jefferson took control. Pepe
+brought him a cool drink, and soon after he drained the glass he went to
+sleep.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER VIII
+
+"CAYMAN'S" RETURN
+
+
+Don Arturo and his party occupied a corner of the glass-roofed _patio_
+at the Metropole. For the most part, the tourists had gone when Las
+Palmas got hot, and the big hotel was nearly empty, but the cook and
+manager had given the party's ten o'clock breakfast careful thought. The
+company's cold stores were searched and the finest fruit in the island
+was ordered. Don Arturo's hospitality was famous at Las Palmas, London
+and Liverpool, and people talk about the feasts he gave. Pioneers of
+colonial industry, imperialist politicians, and leaders of commerce met
+at the table.
+
+His guests at the Metropole were a high civil officer, Don Ramon, Austin
+and the _Commandante de Marina_. The coffee, and cigars carefully sealed
+in glass, were brought from the Caribbean coast in the company's
+steamers, and grown for the presidents of South American republics; the
+wine was made for the rulers of central Europe. As a rule Don Arturo's
+hospitality was extravagant. Perhaps he found it paid, for he himself
+was a plain business man and had known poverty. Yet, although a
+merchant, he was something of a prince; when famous shipbuilders and
+financiers crowded his waiting-room, he would stop to weigh a ship's
+cook's complaint. His humblest servant might appeal direct to him. He
+gave all audience, and his knowledge and justice were rather like Haroun
+a Raschid's.
+
+Now he looked thoughtful and gave Austin a quiet glance. "To some
+extent, Wolf was your antagonist, but I don't see why you took a part in
+my purser's African adventure."
+
+"At the beginning I don't know that I did take a part," Austin said with
+a smile. "Mr. Musgrave demanded my boat, and since I was not at home, my
+wife indulged him. When I sent off the other vessel, my object was
+mainly to get my money back."
+
+"You imagine Musgrave's resolve to go was, so to speak, spontaneous?"
+
+"I don't think he was _prompted_. Losing his men--in a sense, they were
+your men--weighed on him. All the same, if he brings them back, I
+imagine his going was lucky."
+
+"It is lucky," the civil officer agreed. "The men are Spaniards and we
+cannot leave them in the hands of the Moors, but to rescue them might be
+difficult. Expeditions to Africa are not popular just now, and to send a
+gunboat would embarrass the government."
+
+The Commandante nodded. "One must reckon on the opposition newspapers,
+and the Catalan radicals are very keen. Fresh trouble about Morocco
+would start an outcry. If one could send a small party to negotiate, it
+would be easier, but this might be dangerous; the Moors are disturbed
+and threatening. To land an armed force would mean fighting and the
+force must be strong. Besides, the Moors are cunning. It is possible
+they have retired across our border."
+
+"I understand the French captain has not lodged a formal complaint," Don
+Arturo remarked.
+
+"Captain Revillon is discreet," said the civil officer. "Had he seized
+your ship with the guns on board, it would have been another thing."
+
+"Well, I suppose you are satisfied that I was cheated? You take it for
+granted that when my ship was chartered I did not know she would be
+used for smuggling?"
+
+"We know you and we know your manager," the officer replied with a
+polite bow. "We doubted the man who chartered the ship, but until she
+came back and he vanished we did not see his plan."
+
+"On the surface, his plan was obvious," Don Arturo remarked rather
+dryly. "For a time he carried on a risky business and then, when he saw
+the risks were greater than he thought, resolved to get a quantity of
+goods without proper payment. When he had got the goods and knew he must
+soon be found out, he intrigued with the French and tried to get some
+money from them. The ship was not his, and I imagine the last lot of
+guns were worthless. It looks plausible."
+
+"Yet you think this was not all?" the Commandante suggested.
+
+"I am a merchant, not a politician," Don Arturo rejoined. "I have got
+back my ship and am satisfied."
+
+"You have some grounds for satisfaction. The ship carried guns for
+rebels and Senor Musgrave was your servant as well as Wolf's. I think
+this was a mistake, but Don Ramon has used much discretion, and we do
+not doubt your honesty."
+
+"In the meantime, my purser and the Spanish sailors have not returned.
+What are you going to do about it?"
+
+The Commandante lighted a cigar. "You must use patience. I think you see
+the situation is awkward, and Wolf is not a common cheat. Your manager
+knows much about our politics."
+
+"I imagine Wolf's object was not altogether to earn money by smuggling
+and robbing the Moors," Don Ramon agreed meaningly.
+
+The officer shrugged. "It is possible. One cannot be altogether frank,
+but there is some jealousy about the African coast, and a country we
+know feels she is shut out. Well, we will imagine a ship flying the
+Spanish flag is seized by a foreign gunboat, and French subjects are
+killed by the guns she landed. Perhaps Spanish subjects are killed; it
+is not important which. Then the ship is really British. Picture for
+yourself the complications! When a dispute begins, who knows where it
+will end?"
+
+"In Spain, we are old-fashioned, and our justice is not British
+justice," said the Commandante, whose face got very stern. "One is given
+some discretion. If I could find Senor Wolf----"
+
+"For a few days we must wait," the civil officer resumed. "Perhaps the
+English _sobrecargo_ and our sailors will return. If they do not, we
+must think---- But we will talk about something else."
+
+They talked for some time and then a messenger arrived and gave Don
+Ramon a note.
+
+"It is from the office," he remarked. "The signals on the Isleta are
+going. A schooner and a ketch come from the East."
+
+"Ah," said Austin with a smile, "I reckoned on something like this. I
+think the situation has arranged itself."
+
+"You mean, the ketch is yours?" said Don Arturo.
+
+"I expect she is the _Cayman_ and the other is the _Lucia_. It looks as
+if Musgrave had got the men. Shall we cross the harbour and see the
+boats arrive?"
+
+The others agreed, for all were keen to get the news, and soon
+afterwards they landed on the long mole, which, built of ponderous
+concrete blocks, runs for some distance out to sea. The morning was
+bright, the Trade-breeze fresh, and outside the shelter of the Isleta
+head big foam-tipped combers rolled south. Shining spray blew about the
+mole, and one felt the surges beat the massive blocks. The echoes of
+the measured shocks rolled among the coal wharfs across the harbour.
+
+Some distance off two sails broke the dazzling sweep of blue. They
+slanted, plunged and almost vanished, but they got larger, and at times
+when they crossed a comber's top Austin saw a dark line of hull. He knew
+_Cayman_; no other boat about the islands carried a mizzen like hers.
+Moreover, he thought he knew Kit Musgrave, and since Kit was coming
+back, was persuaded he had brought the men. He admitted that Jacinta had
+used Kit rather shabbily, and he meant, if possible, to make some
+amends.
+
+"What are you going to do about Musgrave?" he asked Don Arturo.
+
+"If he is willing, he can stop with us. Are you interested in the young
+fellow?"
+
+"Musgrave is rather a friend of ours and has some useful qualities,"
+Austin replied. "For example, he undertook a very awkward job because he
+felt he ought. Then it's important that he has carried out the job. One
+trusts a man like that and my business is growing----"
+
+Austin knew when to stop. Since he had indicated that he knew Kit's
+value and was willing to engage him, he had perhaps gone far enough. Don
+Arturo smiled.
+
+"If Musgrave has straightened out the tangle that bothers our Spanish
+friends, he deserves a reward. However, I must think about it and study
+the fellow. Sometimes to push on a young man fast is not an advantage."
+
+Austin agreed, and when they reached the end of the mole noted that
+Betty occupied the last large block. The spray tossed about her, and her
+dress streamed in the wind. She did not see Austin; her eyes were fixed
+upon the boats. Austin was not surprised that she was there. When
+vessels approached the port, the look-out on the Isleta signalled to the
+town, and clerks at the shipping office knew the flags. Advancing
+carefully, he touched Betty's arm.
+
+"The smaller boat is _Cayman_. I expect Kit's on board."
+
+She turned and Austin saw her look was strained. "You don't know yet!
+Unless the men are with him, Kit is not on board."
+
+"I know Jefferson," said Austin, smiling. "He went to look for Kit, and
+the larger boat's the _Lucia_. You see what this implies? I'm using your
+argument."
+
+In the meantime, a crowd had begun to gather. Men from the fishing
+vessels and women with black clothes and black shawls pushed towards the
+end of the mole. Some talked and gesticulated; some were quiet, and
+their dark faces were inscrutable like the Moors. All kept back a little
+from Don Arturo's party, and the Commandante studied them with languid
+interest.
+
+"If their friends do not arrive, I think we shall have a
+_demonstration_," he remarked to the civil officer. "We know Don Ramon
+is discreet, and I gave the _Diario_ a useful hint, but it looks as if
+the people knew the story we meant to keep dark."
+
+"At Las Palmas nothing is long kept dark," Don Ramon replied. "I have
+used some caution, but one cannot stop Don Erminio talking. It is
+frankly impossible!"
+
+The officer shrugged. He was a _Peninsular_ from Madrid. "In a few
+minutes, perhaps, your islanders will curse the government and throw
+stones at us. But a demonstration is not important, and at Barcelona
+they use bombs and knives----"
+
+He stopped, for the vessels were not far from the mole. _Lucia_ led. Her
+high white canvas was sharply inclined and her hull listed until the
+foam leaped about her rail. One saw her keen bows swing and cleave the
+frothy seas. She was beautiful and strangely swift, for there are no
+finer schooners than the Canary coasting fleet. Three or four small
+figures began to run about her deck, the big gaff-topsail tilted,
+fluttered and came down; a jib was lowered and the ketch behind her
+forged ahead. Austin smiled and left the others, for he was now
+altogether satisfied Jefferson was on board. Jake was a chivalrous
+fellow.
+
+"All has gone well," he said to Betty.
+
+"But you cannot see the people yet. It's too far."
+
+"We saw _Lucia_'s topsail hauled down," Austin rejoined.
+
+Betty's eyes sparkled. "You mean, they want to let Kit make the harbour
+first? Well, that's like Mr. Jefferson!"
+
+"Jefferson's a good sort," Austin agreed. "Anyhow, I rather think Kit
+deserves his triumph."
+
+_Cayman_ did not shorten sail. Her topmast bent to leeward, her outer
+jib was wet, and when she plunged, her straining bowsprit sank into the
+sea ahead. Her deck was sharply slanted; one saw her copper glimmer
+green, and now and then a fathom of the metal swung out of the foam. A
+tattered red and yellow flag, hard like a board, blew from her mizzen
+gaff; she leaped across the white seas as if her _patron_ felt he
+carried important news.
+
+The news was important. On the mole, people who did not know Kit and
+Jefferson waited with keen suspense. They could not yet see the faces of
+the crew and tried to count the figures, but the men moved about. Some
+got the anchor ready and some threw down coils of rope. Then, listing to
+a gust that buried her lee rail, _Cayman_ drove past the end of the mole
+and the crowd began to shout.
+
+"_Ambos! Los veo!_ They have brought them both!"
+
+Betty thrilled. Her heart beat and her eyes were wet. She was moved by
+keen emotion, and for a moment she had seen Kit. Then _Cayman_ went
+about and he was hidden by the swinging canvas. She came up to the wind
+again. Jibs and topsail ran down, she stopped, and the anchor splashed.
+People shouted and pushed towards the landing steps.
+
+_Cayman_'s boat was lowered. Betty saw Kit, Macallister and some others
+jump on board. The boat pulled for the steps and the crowd surged along
+the edge of the mole. When the boat stopped, hats were thrown up, and
+Betty knew in Spain one throws one's hat to the _maestro_ after a great
+exploit in the bull-ring. Hoarse shouts pierced the rumble of the sea.
+
+"_Viva el Yngles! Buen' muchacho! Viva el Senor Jefferson._"
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER IX
+
+KIT'S REWARD
+
+
+On the morning after their arrival, Kit and Macallister went to the
+Metropole. Macallister wore a neat blue uniform, a cap with the
+company's badge, and spotless white deck-shoes. His talk was careless
+and now and then his eyes twinkled. Kit's look was moody, and he wore
+plain duck clothes. He did not know if he was the company's servant and
+rather thought he was not; Don Arturo had sent for him, and he was
+probably going to be dismissed.
+
+When they went up the drive to the big square hotel Macallister looked
+about.
+
+"Don Arturo's a great man, but he has no' much eye for beauty," he
+remarked. "When his architect built the Metropole his model was a block.
+Maybe the cube style's economical. We get the maist room inside wi' the
+least span o' wall, but if I was a Spaniard, I'd make a bomb and blow up
+the ugly thing."
+
+He stopped and putting his head on one side studied the hotel. "Bulk has
+value, if it's properly relieved. The old Greeks kenned; they used the
+square but they broke the line wi' pillars and cornices. Maybe, if ye
+worked in two, three mouldings and ran a _loggia_ along the front----"
+
+"I didn't know you were an architect," Kit said impatiently.
+
+"Ye dinna ken a' old Peter's talents," Macallister rejoined with a grin.
+"Architecture's useful and man has done fine work in stone, but for a
+pattern o' lightness, strength and beauty ye'll need to take a modern
+steel steamship. She must bear strains and stresses ye dinna bother
+aboot on land. A town hall, for example, is no designed for plunging
+through a steep head sea. Man! wi' a rule and a scriber, I'd design ye a
+better building than yon hotel."
+
+Kit frowned and pulled out his watch. "Don Arturo is waiting for us."
+
+"Just that! He stated eleeven o'clock. There was no inquiry aboot my
+convenience. Maybe the head o' a big steamship line likes to command,
+and deck officers touch their hats and run, but when ye send for an
+engineer ye use some manners."
+
+Kit said nothing and started for the hotel. He was not an engineer, and
+at the Liverpool shipping office had been drilled to prompt obedience.
+The clerk, however, told him to wait and sent a page with Macallister to
+a room above.
+
+"You are some minutes late," said Don Arturo, indicating a chair.
+
+Macallister noted that the open window commanded the front of the hotel.
+In fact, when he stopped to criticise its architecture he imagined his
+stopping might be remarked.
+
+"Three minutes, sir," he admitted, pulling out a black-metal watch. "On
+board a Spanish ship breakfast's no' very punctual."
+
+Don Arturo knew something about Macallister; moreover he knew his type.
+Sometimes one may bully a merchant captain, but not a Scots engineer.
+
+"You left your ship without leave," he said. "Are you willing to state
+your grounds for breaking the company's and the British Board of Trade's
+rules?"
+
+"To begin with, the ship was Spanish for the time," Macallister
+rejoined. "Had there been work for me on board I might have stopped, but
+the captain was sick and the office had no use for the boat. Then I
+reckoned Mr. Musgrave might need me in Africa. In a sense, his business
+was the company's."
+
+Don Arturo pondered. It looked as if Musgrave had staunch friends, but
+this was not important. He saw the engineer was not at all embarrassed.
+
+"Mr. Musgrave has pairs," Macallister resumed. "For a' that, he's young
+and had undertaken a verra awkward job. I thought he needed a man o'
+sound judgment, in fact, a man like me."
+
+"So you stole away and went with him? If this is an example, I don't
+know that your judgment is very good, but I'm curious about your
+adventures."
+
+Macallister instinctively felt for his pipe. Don Arturo glanced at the
+pipe and pushed across a cigar box. The cigars were packed in glass, but
+Don Arturo was a great merchant and sometimes indulged his humour. It
+was plain the other rather thought himself his guest than a servant who
+deserved a reprimand.
+
+"Thank you," said Macallister coolly. "Weel, if ye'll no' be bored----"
+
+He narrated his journey up the wady and the encounter with the Moors,
+but gave Kit the leading part. Macallister had some talent for
+story-telling and used no reserve. When he talked about their interview
+with the chief Don Arturo stopped him.
+
+"Your carelessness with the pistol might have cost your party much," he
+said.
+
+Macallister smiled. "It might have cost the headman mair!"
+
+"That's obvious," said Don Arturo, with a touch of impatience. "But
+suppose the bullet had struck him? You don't imagine his people would
+have let you go?"
+
+"It's no' altogether obvious, until ye understand. When she exploded I
+put my finger on the magazine. There was another cartridge. Had the
+headman moved when I went up til him---- He didna move; he was wooden.
+I'm thinking he kenned the magazine wasna empty."
+
+"But you gave him the pistol?"
+
+"Just that!" said Macallister. "Maybe the experiment was rash, but I was
+justified. Yon Moor was proud and his nerve was good."
+
+Don Arturo thought the engineer's was better and, allowing for the
+strain, his judgment was strangely quick and accurate. He did not doubt
+the tale; he knew much about his servants, and when some boiler tubes
+had burst----
+
+"For all that, I don't see how you persuaded him to release the men," he
+said.
+
+"Mr. Musgrave persuaded him. His argument was good, though it wasna
+altogether his argument, but himself. The lad's honesty was plain. The
+Moor couldna doubt him, although he might ha' doubted you or me."
+
+"Sometimes frankness pays," Don Arturo remarked with a twinkle. "What
+argument did Musgrave use?"
+
+"His master had gone, naebody would ransom us and the ithers, and we had
+naething worth the stealing. It carried weight, but no' a' the weight.
+The Moor was a robber, but in the desert he was a kin' of prince, and a
+prince cannot be shabby. Mr. Musgrave, wi' two, three ragged sailors and
+a very old gun, had come seeking him. The thing was a joke, but I reckon
+the Moor saw the joke was fine. He was a proud man and he let the
+sailors go."
+
+Don Arturo mused. He was not romantic, but, like the Moor, he was
+sometimes generous. He pictured the little drama in the sands; the
+English lad's naive honesty, and the dark Moor's reserve. The tale was
+moving, and he was forced to approve the part his servants had played.
+But other business waited.
+
+"Well," he said, "you have talked about Musgrave, but I don't know that
+you have yet justified your leaving your ship."
+
+"I dinna ken I tried," Macallister rejoined. "When I'm wanting it, I can
+get anither post, but I doubt if ye could get an engineer like me."
+
+"It's possible I could not," Don Arturo admitted with some dryness.
+"Well, if you can satisfy Don Ramon, you may go back on board, and now
+you might send up Mr. Musgrave."
+
+Macallister went off, smiling, but when Kit entered he was highly
+strung, since he expected to be told he must give up his post. He looked
+worn, for fatigue and strain had left their mark. Don Arturo looked very
+business-like, and his watch was on the table.
+
+"Mr. Macallister has given me some particulars about your exploits and I
+have not much to ask," he said. "To begin with, when the French gunboat
+chased you, why did you resolve to land the guns?"
+
+"I don't altogether know, sir," Kit replied. "It was plain Wolf's agent
+had sold us and it looked as if he had cheated the Moors. They had paid
+for goods they would not get, and although Yusuf made the bargain, in a
+sense, they dealt with me."
+
+"You felt your business was to deliver the goods?"
+
+"Something like that, sir," Kit said awkwardly. "Then, since Wolf had
+engaged to land the guns, I thought we could best baffle him by carrying
+out his engagement."
+
+Don Arturo saw the ironical justice that marked Kit's counterplot, but
+he said dryly, "I expect you knew you risked my ship?"
+
+"I knew this afterwards; when the gunboat steamed up I couldn't weigh
+the risk. I didn't know how much Captain Revillon knew, and if he could
+seize the ship had we thrown the guns overboard. It was obvious he
+could not seize her if we crossed the shoals. The water was not deep
+enough for him."
+
+"We'll let it go. Why did you return for the men?"
+
+"I thought the job was mine, sir. I was the company's servant, and the
+captain was injured. If I'd told my story at the office and the
+_Commandancia_---- But you can see the obstacles!"
+
+Don Arturo nodded. "I imagine I do see. You thought you could handle the
+thing better than Don Ramon and the Spanish officers? Rather a bold
+claim, was it not?"
+
+"They'd have been embarrassed by difficulties that did not bother me,"
+Kit replied with some hesitation. "I thought speed and quietness
+important; the plan was to steal off and get to work."
+
+He had stood in front of the table, but Don Arturo now indicated a
+chair.
+
+"On the whole, I think your plan was good. All the same, if you stop
+with us, you must run no more risks like that. Your business is to carry
+out the company's orders."
+
+Kit's heart beat, for his relief was keen. "Then I may go back, sir?"
+
+"You will not go back on board the _correillo_, but Don Ramon is sending
+_Mossamedes_ to Cuba and has a post for you. At sea, your duties will be
+a purser's; at the Cuban ports you will be the company's agent. All the
+cargo is not sold and you will negotiate with the merchants. The post
+carries better pay, but Don Ramon will give you particulars. I believe
+Mr. Macallister will join the ship, and the _correillo_'s captain takes
+command."
+
+Kit had not thought Don Arturo meant to promote him, and the blood came
+to his skin.
+
+"Thank you, sir," he said. "I'll try----"
+
+Don Arturo smiled and looked at his watch.
+
+"If you carry out your new duties with the resolution and honesty that
+marked your dealings with the Moors, I expect we shall be satisfied. In
+the meantime, they want you at the office."
+
+Kit started for the office. He was promoted, and although his promotion
+was perhaps not marked, he thought the head of the line had studied him
+and meant to help his progress. Moreover, his supposition was accurate.
+
+Soon after Kit had gone a page brought up Austin, and Don Arturo
+remarked: "I have just given Musgrave rather a better post."
+
+"Then I expect he will make good. If he had joined me, I'd have given
+him the best post I'd got."
+
+"Musgrave's friends believe in him," Don Arturo replied. "But we must
+remember that caution is sometimes useful and the lad is young. I would
+sooner his promotion was gradual. But we have something else to talk
+about."
+
+In the meantime, Kit went to the office and afterwards to a bench in the
+_alameda_. His post was better than he had thought, and he felt he had,
+so to speak, made a start. If he satisfied the company, he might go
+ahead fast, and this was important because it was bound up with
+something else. Since he saw Olivia he had pondered, and now he reviewed
+his efforts and ambitions. It was getting plain that when he fell in
+love with Olivia and tried to force himself above his proper level he
+was rash. She had refused him and, from her point of view, she was
+justified, but in a sense, his proposal was not regular, and he had
+declared if his fortunes mended, he would renew it in proper form. He
+owed Olivia this; the strange thing was he was rather conscious of his
+duty than keen.
+
+To begin with, he must see Mrs. Austin, since he now meant to keep the
+rules. She was at home and when she received him he said: "You know we
+got the men, and I must thank you for lending me _Cayman_ and sending
+the schooner. If she had not arrived, I doubt if we could have brought
+_Cayman_ home."
+
+"Oh, well!" said Mrs. Austin, "to find you have forgiven me is some
+relief, but after all I don't deserve your thanks. You see, Miss Jordan
+sent the other boat!"
+
+"Betty sent the _Lucia_?" Kit exclaimed.
+
+"She bullied me and declared I had not used you well. While we talked
+about it my husband arrived and rather agreed with Betty's argument.
+Nevertheless, I imagine she doubted us, because soon afterwards she
+bullied Jefferson. She stated that if he did not go to your rescue, she
+would give up her post."
+
+Kit coloured, and Mrs. Austin was amused by his embarrassment.
+
+"Perhaps I did not use you well," she resumed.
+
+"From the beginning you were very kind," Kit broke out. "When I last saw
+you, I talked like a hot-tempered fool. I didn't see all I owed you, I
+meant to force you to lend me the boat. The strange thing is, I hadn't
+thought about Betty; but it was really she who helped. Betty is like
+that----"
+
+He was quiet for a moment or two, but Mrs. Austin waited and he went on:
+"Well, I have done what I undertook, and Don Arturo has given me a
+better post. Perhaps the post is not very good, but I am going to ask
+Olivia if, when I have made some progress, she will marry me."
+
+"Do you expect me to approve? Or do you feel I ought to know your
+plans?" Mrs. Austin asked.
+
+"I think I want to be honest," Kit replied, rather dryly.
+
+Mrs. Austin smiled. "Your honesty is obvious. Well, I don't know that I
+would approve, but if you can persuade Olivia, I'll try to be resigned."
+
+"You don't expect I can persuade her?"
+
+"Perhaps I don't. Do you?"
+
+"I do not," said Kit. "For all that, I'm going to use some effort."
+
+"You are an obstinate fellow," Mrs. Austin rejoined. "However, you will
+understand my not wishing you good luck. In fact, I rather think you
+don't know your luck!"
+
+Kit went off. He was puzzled. Sometimes Mrs. Austin's remarks did puzzle
+him, but he began to see a light. But the light was dim. Full
+illumination had not yet come.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER X
+
+OLIVIA'S REFUSAL
+
+
+After the five o'clock _comida_ Kit went to Jefferson's office. There
+was no use in returning to Mrs. Austin's, because it was an evening she
+received her friends, and Olivia would be surrounded by the guests.
+Besides, he wanted to see Betty. He had not seen her yet, for when he
+went to the office she was occupied with Jefferson, and he did not know
+she had watched his arrival from the mole.
+
+The room behind the arch was shady. A little cool breeze shook the
+curtain and one smelt heliotrope. Kit noted the smooth polished floor,
+the even rows of black boxes, and the neatly-sorted documents on the big
+writing table. Tidiness is not the rule in Spain, but all was neat where
+Betty was about. Betty herself wore a plain white dress, and Kit thought
+she looked cool and businesslike. Turning her revolving chair, she gave
+him her hand with a friendly smile.
+
+"I was very glad to know you had got back," she said.
+
+"If you had not sent Jefferson we might not have got back yet."
+
+"I expect you have seen Mrs. Austin, but you mustn't exaggerate," Betty
+said calmly. "When you forced her to lend you _Cayman_, she knew she was
+doing what she ought."
+
+"I imagined I forced her; now I doubt. She is kind and it looks as if
+I'm not as clever as I thought. Anyhow, I didn't force her to send the
+other boat; if force was needed, you did that. When the _Lucia_ arrived
+we were worn out, but all the ballast must be brought off through the
+surf. It had been calm unusually long, we knew the wind would soon come,
+and if it blew fresh before we got the big anchor on board, _Cayman_
+would be wrecked. I hardly durst think about the job."
+
+"You had a bad time, Kit?"
+
+"Perhaps I got as good a time as I deserved. When I arrived from
+Liverpool I was very raw, but didn't know my rawness. People indulged
+me, and I went ahead, satisfied I could pull off all I undertook. I
+didn't know I was used and cheated; no doubt Wolf and Yusuf laughed!
+They'd got a dull, self-confident simpleton to play their crooked game.
+Well, in a way, perhaps, it was lucky I lost the men. I began to see my
+level."
+
+Betty mused. She rather liked Kit's humiliation. Perhaps it was
+extravagant, for his rash return to Africa was very fine. Although his
+venture looked hopeless, he had gone. The strange thing was, when at
+length he saw Wolf had cheated him, he did not see another had done so.
+Betty wanted to warn him, but knew she must not.
+
+"You were sincere and nothing you did was shabby," she said. "Perhaps
+your luck was bad, but this is not important. You didn't think about
+yourself; you were not daunted----"
+
+"I was daunted," Kit declared. "When I landed from _Cayman_ and started
+for the desert with three or four sailors, I wanted to run back to the
+boats. You see, the thing was ridiculous. All my fine romantic plans had
+led to this. However, we'll let it go. You're staunch and you helped me
+out. Now, when I'm hipped and moody you let me talk. I doubt if you know
+what a very good sort you are."
+
+Betty gave him a level glance. She was moved and calm was rather hard,
+but calm was plainly indicated.
+
+"Come in again when I'm not engaged, because I must send you off," she
+said. "Jefferson goes to Orotava with Mrs. Jefferson in the morning and
+some accounts must be made up before he starts." She paused and added:
+"I think Mrs. Austin and Miss Brown mean to join Mrs. Jefferson."
+
+Kit went off. It was strange, but Betty's news was something of a
+relief. After all, if he did not see Olivia in the morning, he need not,
+for some time, resign himself to her refusal. She would, no doubt,
+refuse him, and he wondered whether his shrinking from the jolt
+accounted for his moodiness. Perhaps the moodiness was not logical, but
+he was moody. It would have been much better had Betty not refused him
+at Liverpool. Betty was his sort and had she loved him he would not have
+been carried away by Olivia. Of course, Betty was justified; she knew
+his drawbacks, but from Olivia's point of view, he had others. But in
+spite of this, after his rash talk in the _alameda_, he must ask her to
+marry him. Mrs. Austin knew he was going to do so, and she had smiled.
+
+In the morning he was forced to go to the office, and when Don Ramon
+sent him off he saw the _correillo_ start for Teneriffe. A clerk told
+him Mrs. Austin and Miss Brown were on board, but a few days afterwards
+Kit thought his luck was good. _Mossamedes'_ cargo arrived slowly and
+Don Ramon resolved to send a schooner to Orotava for a load. Kit got
+leave to go, and one evening landed on the lava mole.
+
+The evening was calm and light mist floated about the shoulders of the
+Peak. The long swell broke in sheets of foam, but its beat was slow and
+languid echoes rolled about the valley. One smelt oleanders and orange
+flowers. When Kit went up the path to the hotel his look was thoughtful.
+He wondered whether Mrs. Austin had an object for leaving Las Palmas;
+but he was going to see Olivia. To know he was refused was better than
+suspense. Anyhow, he must ask her in proper form, and she must decide.
+If she would not frankly acknowledge him her lover, she must let him go.
+
+His luck held good, for he found her on a bench behind a tall geranium
+hedge. Olivia wore a black evening dress with yellow bands, and in the
+background the red geraniums shone. Kit knew she liked colour, but
+somehow he was jarred. Olivia was strangely beautiful; one could not see
+her a poor man's wife.
+
+She looked up and a touch of red came to her skin. Kit thought her
+surprised and perhaps a little startled, but this was all. He himself
+was very sober and looked rather grim.
+
+"Kit!" she said. "When did you arrive?"
+
+"I landed not long since from a schooner. The company sent me to buy
+onions."
+
+Olivia laughed. "You are dreadfully unromantic, but perhaps you thought
+you had better state your object! Have you bought the onions?"
+
+"Not yet. I wanted to see you first. Sometimes I am romantic. It might
+be better if I were not."
+
+"Well, perhaps romance cheats one now and then," Olivia rejoined,
+smiling. "But we won't philosophise. If you had arrived two or three
+minutes since, you would have seen Jacinta."
+
+"I saw Mrs. Austin the afternoon before you sailed," said Kit. "I told
+her I was going to ask if you would marry me."
+
+Olivia turned, rather quickly, and gave him a level glance. "Oh, well! I
+knew your pluck. But what did Jacinta remark?"
+
+"She laughed," Kit replied with some dryness. "Nevertheless, she
+declared if you were willing----"
+
+"Jacinta is not often rash. I expect you doubted my willingness, but
+after your extravagant talk in the _alameda_, you felt you ought to
+ask."
+
+Kit coloured, but his mouth was rather hard and his look was steady. "I
+did feel something like that. In the _alameda_ you were amused and your
+amusement hurt. I was carried away, but I wanted you. Well, I said if I
+brought back the men and got another post---- I did bring back the men
+and have got a better post."
+
+Olivia stopped him, but her look was gentler. "Your venture was very
+fine, Kit. I was proud of you, and if anything could have moved me----
+But I'm not your sort."
+
+"You are the most beautiful girl I have known," Kit declared.
+
+"Yet you're a Puritan and ought to know beauty isn't all; I think you
+really do know. Well, I won't marry you, Kit. We would risk too much.
+People think me romantic, but I'm not. In fact, I'm cold and very
+practical. It looks as if we had changed parts and you were the
+sentimentalist."
+
+"I loved you," Kit said quietly.
+
+"I know," Olivia admitted. "It counted for much. Perhaps I liked you to
+love me; I own I'm selfish. But your poverty wasn't altogether the
+drawback. You're sober and quiet; I'm theatrical. I like the middle of
+the stage; I want colour, movement, and the leading part. It's plain
+that we would jar."
+
+Kit frowned. He saw Olivia was firm, and saw, rather vaguely, that her
+firmness was wise. In a sense, she was theatrical. Red geraniums,
+oleanders and scented orange flowers were her proper background. Olivia
+belonged to the South. Perhaps it was strange, but he pictured Betty in
+her neat, cool office. Betty wore white clothes, sometimes with a touch
+of the soft virgin blue. She stood for the reserve and staunchness of
+the bracing North. But he had asked Olivia to marry him.
+
+"If you were persuaded we would jar----" he said and stopped.
+
+Olivia smiled, but her smile was kind. "You are trying to be nice, but
+you want to know why I let you go on? Well, you were a new type. You
+were fresh and sincere, and sometimes very obstinate. The others
+indulged me; you did not. You had qualities I liked; perhaps because
+they were not mine. Then romance called and sometimes I began to think I
+might take the plunge, but I hesitated. I valued all I must give up and
+I have not your pluck----"
+
+She paused and gave Kit a quiet glance. "Well, I'm sorry, but you ought
+to be grateful I was not rash. Although you're a very good sort, you are
+not my sort. I could not use your rules, and you would not use mine. You
+must let me go and marry somebody brave and honest----"
+
+She got up and Kit heard steps on the path.
+
+"Some of the people from the hotel," she said. "Will you come and see
+Jacinta?"
+
+"I think not," Kit replied and forced a smile. "My business is to buy
+onions and I must get to work."
+
+Olivia gave him her hand. "Perhaps I was shabby. In all you do, I wish
+you good luck!"
+
+She went to meet the others, and Kit went down the path. He was hurt,
+but he had braced himself beforehand, and the hurt was less than he had
+thought. Moreover, he knew Olivia's arguments were good. He loaded the
+schooner and soon after he returned to Las Palmas Jefferson came to look
+for him on board _Mossamedes_.
+
+"If you're not altogether satisfied with the post Don Arturo gave you,
+another could be got," he said. "A Spanish company is going to run two
+or three small, fast boats to the islands and wants an agent. I've been
+asked to find out if you would undertake the duties?"
+
+"I'm not a Spaniard," Kit replied. "Why do they offer me the job?"
+
+"I rather think it is a reward. In Spain, government approval pays, and
+perhaps the new company got a hint. It's possible the Las Palmas
+officials feel they owe you something, but can't openly acknowledge your
+services. However, I'd better state the duties and pay."
+
+When Kit knew the pay he lighted a cigarette and pondered. Then he said,
+"The offer's good, but I can't take the post. For one thing, I've
+engaged to go to Cuba for Don Arturo."
+
+"The office would release you."
+
+"I think that is so," Kit agreed. "All the same, I undertook the job;
+and there's another thing. I'm young and begin to see I'm rawer than I
+thought. In fact, I've begun to know my proper level and where I really
+belong. Not long since I got a nasty knock and for a time I'm going
+slow. Perhaps I may go higher, but when my chance comes I mean to be fit
+for the better job."
+
+Jefferson nodded. "On the whole, I reckon your plan is good, and we'll
+let the agency offer go." He paused and resumed: "You were across at
+Teneriffe. Did you make Orotava?"
+
+"I did," said Kit, with a smile. "I saw Miss Brown and asked her to
+marry me. She would not, but now I can think about it calmly, I see she
+took a very proper line."
+
+Jefferson said nothing, and soon afterwards went to his boat. For all
+that, he approved Kit's philosophy. Musgrave could take a knock and was
+good stuff. Jefferson thought the head of the line knew his value, and
+Kit would presently find his sticking to the post he took would pay.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XI
+
+DAYBREAK
+
+
+_Mossamedes_ sailed from Cuba for Buenos Ayres, and on the ocean voyage
+Kit enjoyed more leisure than he had known for long. When the sea was
+calm and the ship steamed steadily across the shining swell, he lounged
+under the awnings and gave himself to thought. Perhaps it was strange,
+but he began to see that at Las Palmas he had hardly thought at all.
+Events, so to speak, had followed each other fast; he had let himself go
+and was carried along.
+
+Now he could ponder quietly, he sometimes frowned. He had not done much
+that he had meant to do and had no grounds for satisfaction, but when he
+thought about Olivia he was calm. Olivia did not belong to his circle,
+and he now admitted that he could not enter hers. Even if he became
+rich, the thing was impossible. She liked, and in fact demanded,
+excitement, power, and a leading part; he liked to go soberly and do
+something useful. When she refused him she took the proper line, and he
+owed her and Mrs. Austin much. They had given him a wider view and
+helped him to conquer his aggressive priggishness. Then perhaps he had
+captured something of their cultivation; anyhow they had taught him to
+tolerate people who jarred.
+
+For the most part, however, his thoughts dwelt on Betty; Betty in the
+primrose wood and in the shady office with the blue curtains. Betty was
+sober and quiet; when one was with her, one's mean ambitions vanished.
+Yet she was hopeful and never daunted. She looked ahead with steady eyes
+and held fast to all she knew was good. Like Olivia, she had refused
+him, but while he was resigned to Olivia's refusal, he knew he was a
+fool to let Betty go. Sometimes he wondered----; and then got up
+impatiently and went off to study his manifests. There was no use in
+brooding, and he durst not look forward yet. In the meantime, his job
+was to see all was ready for unloading cargo when _Mossamedes_ reached
+port.
+
+At Buenos Ayres, he and Don Erminio stopped one hot afternoon in front
+of an Italian cafe in a quiet square. Small tables occupied the pavement
+in the shade, and Don Erminio ordering wine and ice and aerated waters,
+mixed them in a bowl.
+
+"It is not like _tinto granadilla_ and snow from the Peak when one has
+eaten much salt fish," he said. "However, to a seaman, all wine is good,
+and if Don Pedro were with us we would dance. But let us be happy, and
+if I go to sleep you will carry me on board."
+
+Kit was satisfied Macallister had not joined them. He was strenuously
+occupied scaling the boilers, and when Kit left _Mossamedes_ strange
+bi-lingual threats and exclamations echoed about her stokehold. By and
+by Don Erminio began to glance about.
+
+"_Vaya!_" he said. "Look at him! Now perhaps we can amuse ourselves. I
+will talk to the animal."
+
+He got up, and carrying the bowl of wine, crossed the pavement. A man in
+white clothes occupied a chair at another table, and when he looked up
+Kit saw it was Captain Revillon. Kit had noted a small French cruiser at
+anchor in the roads.
+
+"_Ola, senor!_ All sailors are friends," said Don Erminio. "Besides,
+this bowl is large and my companion is sober and very dull. The wine is
+not Spanish, but it will go, and when I drink your wormwood, in the
+morning my throat is bad."
+
+Revillon bowed and let him fill his glass, and Don Erminio resumed in
+uncouth French: "We took you, my friend, that time on the Morocco
+coast!"
+
+"It looks like that," Revillon replied, with a touch of dryness. "Still
+I do not see why you risked crossing the shoals. You had, no doubt,
+thrown the guns overboard."
+
+Don Erminio indicated Kit, who had joined him. "He is a boy, but very
+obstinate. The English are obstinate and the Scots are worse. Me, I
+know. Well, his bargain was to land the guns, and they were landed."
+
+"Then, I think you did take me," Revillon remarked with a quick,
+surprised glance. "Had I known----"
+
+Kit was intrigued. He had sometimes wondered why Revillon had not looked
+for _Mossamedes_ in the morning. The coast was dangerous and the gale
+was fresh, but he had thought this did not account for all.
+
+"The animal who loaded the ship sold us," said Don Erminio. "If you paid
+him, you did not get much for your money."
+
+Revillon drained his glass and smiled. "Your betrayer did not demand a
+large reward; perhaps he expected to be paid in another way. However,
+now it is done with, I may tell you something. To begin with I did not
+trust Senor Wolf, although I knew the guns were on board and must not be
+landed. To force you to throw them overboard would satisfy me."
+
+"Was it not your duty to stop and search our ship?" Kit asked.
+
+"In a sense, it was so. In fact, I think the man who sold you expected
+me to seize her," Revillon agreed with some dryness. "Well, I followed
+you and steered a course that would pin you against the shoals. I had
+studied the chart and pilot book, and nothing indicated that a vessel
+could get across." He paused and shrugged. "Well, what would you have? I
+imagined the guns were overboard and you had run aground. My duty was
+not to wreck my ship. I hauled off the coast."
+
+"They have given you a larger vessel!" Don Erminio remarked meaningly.
+"I wish you luck. All sailors are honest, but not many are discreet. The
+politicians are animals, and I would drown the lot. Well, it is not
+important now, and the wine is gone."
+
+Kit began to understand. Revillon had not been cheated; he was not very
+keen about seizing _Mossamedes_. It looked as if Wolf had engaged in
+dark political intrigue, and meant to use the French officer in his
+plot. Revillon, however, had seen his object. But the thing was done
+with, and Kit went off to the office of a merchant who was loading
+_Mossamedes_ with grain.
+
+When her cargo was on board she sailed for Teneriffe, and anchored at
+Santa Cruz to land a few barge-loads. Kit, going to the agent's in the
+evening, met Jefferson in the plaza.
+
+"Mrs. Jefferson and Miss Jordan are at the Golden Pine," he said. "They
+went to Laguna for a holiday and I came over to bring them back. Will
+you walk up to the hotel with me?"
+
+Kit wanted to go, but said he could not: _Mossamedes_ would start for
+Las Palmas when they had landed another load of maize. Santa Cruz,
+sheltered by the volcanic range that cuts off the Trade-breeze, was very
+hot, and he asked why Mrs. Jefferson had left Laguna, which occupies a
+cool tableland behind the town.
+
+"We meant to go back on board _Campeador_ this morning," Jefferson
+replied. "The company, however, have altered the sailing bill, and Don
+Maccario doesn't expect the boat to arrive for some days."
+
+"If Mrs. Jefferson can get ready soon, we'll take you across," said Kit.
+"We ought to make Las Palmas about daybreak and can give you good rooms
+on deck."
+
+Jefferson agreed and an hour afterwards his party arrived. Kit's boat
+was waiting at the mole, and when they got on board, _Mossamedes_ went
+to sea. For some time Kit was occupied with his dispatch box, but as
+soon as he had sorted his manifests he went on deck.
+
+There was no moon, the sea was phosphorescent, and the wind was light.
+_Mossamedes_ rolled languidly and the foam that ran back from her bows
+sparkled green and gold. Mrs. Jefferson, Jefferson and Don Erminio
+occupied canvas chairs on the upper deck, but at first Kit could not
+find Betty. Then he saw a white dress in the gloom by a boat and heard
+Macallister's voice. Kit turned back and Betty laughed. He thought her
+laugh had a note of protest and wondered what Macallister had said.
+
+"You must really stop!" Betty exclaimed.
+
+Macallister's reply was not distinct, but Kit heard part: "Weel, it's
+for your ain good. Maybe ye might get better, but ye might get waur----"
+
+"I'm going," said Betty firmly, and light steps indicated that she left
+the boat.
+
+Kit, meeting her across the deck, thought her embarrassed and when they
+joined the others she did not talk much. He, however, was satisfied to
+sit on the deck and smoke, knowing Betty was about. After a time
+Macallister returned and leaned against the rails. He chuckled and Kit
+noted that Betty did not look up.
+
+"We're a humorous lot, though a' o' us dinna see the joke," he said.
+"Noo I'm getting old I look on and laugh. When ye meddle ye get no
+thanks. For a' that, philosophy is sometimes hard. Ye meet folks who
+dinna ken their luck."
+
+"It's possible, but I don't see where your remarks lead," Mrs. Jefferson
+rejoined and turned to the captain. "Do you see?"
+
+"I am a sailor," said Don Erminio. "Sailors are not philosophers. They
+are honest people and some are fools. If they were not fools, they
+would not go to sea. But perhaps it is better to be a fool than an
+animal like the men who own the ships."
+
+Mrs. Jefferson laughed, and they talked about something else until she
+got up and glanced at Betty, who went with her to her room by the
+bridge. When the others went off Kit stopped and smoked. Betty had kept
+close to Mrs. Jefferson; it looked as if she did not mean to be left
+alone with him.
+
+At daybreak he went on deck. There was not much wind, and _Mossamedes_
+went steadily through the dim blue water. Her mastheads swung, but one
+felt no motion; the engines throbbed with an even rhythm. To starboard,
+dark rocks pierced a bank of mist; ahead a thicker bank indicated the
+Isleta hill and Kit looked at his watch. It was six o'clock. In half an
+hour _Mossamedes_ would steam into the harbour, and his chance of
+talking to Betty would be gone.
+
+Kit wanted to talk to Betty, but was daunted. On the ocean voyage, he
+had seen a light. Perhaps it was strange, but he knew now the light had
+begun to burn one April day in the primrose wood; and then, for a time,
+he had lost it, because Olivia had dazzled him. Betty knew. He thought
+she knew all his follies, but she was kind.
+
+Coming down from the bridge, he saw her by the rail. Her look was
+thoughtful; her brows were knit and putting her hand on a stanchion, she
+fixed her eyes ahead.
+
+The mist was thinner and the sky above it began to gleam like an opal.
+Soon the haze would roll back and the sun leap up. Kit advanced quietly,
+but Betty turned as if she knew his step. Somehow Kit knew she had been
+thinking about him. A touch of colour came to his skin and his heart
+beat, but he was calm. When one talked to Betty, one was not moved by
+strange, disturbing thrills; she did not dazzle one. Her light was
+clear and steady, and Kit knew it had after all been his guide.
+
+"Betty," he said, "why did you refuse me at Liverpool?"
+
+She gave him a quick glance, and for a moment turned her head. When she
+looked up her colour was rather high.
+
+"We were very young, Kit."
+
+"You mean, I was very young and rashly confident. You don't think about
+yourself. It was for my sake you let me go."
+
+"Aren't you taking something for granted?"
+
+"I think not," said Kit. "I'm dull, but sometimes I do understand, and I
+now see all I lost. You wanted me to have my chance; you thought to be
+tied to you might keep me back? Yet I believe you loved me. Let's be
+frank!"
+
+"Suppose I did love you?" said Betty, with a blush, although her voice
+was quiet.
+
+"To begin with, you know how I used my freedom; you know my ridiculous
+ambitions."
+
+"You mean you were ridiculous when you fell in love with Olivia Brown?"
+
+"Yes," said Kit. "Anyhow, it was ridiculous for me to imagine I could
+marry her."
+
+Betty gave him a keen glance, for she was human. She liked Kit's
+staunchness, but nevertheless sometimes it jarred.
+
+"Nevertheless you did not feel you were ridiculous, when you thought you
+could marry me!"
+
+"I was a fool. My wanting you was all the sense I had. The strange thing
+was, from the beginning you were my guide, and I tried to use your
+rules. When I lost the men in Africa, I went back to look for them
+because I felt you would have me go. I was accountable, the job was
+mine, but I would not have known this had I not known you. It was like
+that before and afterwards----"
+
+Betty was moved, but she thought Kit was not altogether just to himself.
+His honesty was instinctive, and he paid his debts.
+
+"But that's not all," he resumed. "At Liverpool you sometimes puzzled
+me. You saw and followed a light I did not. Once when I talked about
+climbing above the crowd, you said perhaps one need not climb. One ought
+to stop at one's proper level, and try to make things better. Well, when
+the Spaniards offered me a good post, I remembered. I'd had enough of
+shabby ambitions and knew my level. In fact, so to speak, the light was
+breaking."
+
+He was quiet for a few moments and looked about, knitting his brows. The
+surf was louder, the sky was red, and the mists glimmered, as if a glow
+shone through. Betty waited and said nothing. She had waited long, but
+Kit had returned to her.
+
+"I was a fool," he broke out. "But you know all, dear, and are very
+kind. Somehow I think you will take me back."
+
+Betty gave him a gentle smile. "It looks as if I had never quite let you
+go."
+
+Kit took her in his arms and when he looked up a warm beam touched them
+and moved across the deck. The mists were rolling back, day had broken
+and all ahead was bright.
+
+
+
+
+      *      *      *      *      *      *
+
+
+
+
+Transcriber's note:
+
+The following typographical errors present in the original
+edition have been corrected.
+
+In Part I, Chapter I, a quotation mark was added after "I might get up a
+few rounds."
+
+In Part I, Chapter IV, a period was added after "he started for Las
+Palmas".
+
+In Part I, Chapter V, "the sale fish I sent home" was changed to "the
+salt fish I sent home".
+
+In Part I, Chapter X, a missing quotation mark was added after "I knew
+you were moody.", "to note thinks like that" was changed to "to note
+things like that", and a period was changed to a comma after "He
+promised he'd give Kit a post".
+
+In Part I, Chapter XI, "the caravan roads and wodys were drawn by a pen"
+was changed to "the caravan roads and wadys were drawn by a pen".
+
+In Part II, Chapter I, a missing quotation mark was added after "if you
+think I ought to stop, I will stop.", a missing period was added after
+"'Maybe Mr. Musgrave would suit,' says I", "Since I dinno convairse" was
+changed to "Since I dinna convairse", and a period was changed to a
+comma after "Then she said".
+
+In Part II, Chapter II, "foul-smelling cafes by the horbour" was changed
+to "foul-smelling cafes by the harbour", "sailed on beard a fishing
+schooner" was changed to "sailed on board a fishing schooner", a comma
+was added after "sports he could not enjoy before", a period was added
+after "a cultivation higher than his", "they halued her off and waited"
+was changed to "they hauled her off and waited", and "brought off a
+number of loans" was changed to "brought off a number of loads".
+
+In Part II, Chapter III, "'I'm very much surprised,' he admitte.d" was
+changed to "'I'm very much surprised,' he admitted.", "Its not usual.
+Nobody trusts us like that" was changed to "It's not usual. Nobody
+trusts us like that", "his imaginatino had cheated him" was changed to
+"his imagination had cheated him", and a quotation mark was added after
+"he'd been loafing about my office most part of the afternoon."
+
+In Part II, Chapter IV, "althought he doubted if his analogy were good"
+was changed to "although he doubted if his analogy were good", "a
+dispute with another tribe in the back country about an oases" was
+changed to "a dispute with another tribe in the back country about an
+oasis", and "When he was on board the _coreillo_" was changed to "When
+he was on board the _correillo_".
+
+In Part II, Chapter VI, "I think it better or him to do so" was changed
+to "I think it better for him to do so", and a quotation mark was added
+before "That's all, but I rather agree with Jefferson."
+
+In Part II, Chapter VIII, "The view from the veranda" was changed to
+"The view from the venranda".
+
+In Part II, Chapter X, "Don Erminio spread a chart on the tabble" was
+changed to "Don Erminio spread a chart on the table".
+
+In Part II, Chapter XI, "It was swimming befoe" was changed to "It was
+swimming before".
+
+In Part II, Chapter XII, "She struck the steamers plates" was changed to
+"She struck the steamer's plates", and "the lifeboat's sterpost's
+smashed" was changed to "the lifeboat's sternpost's smashed".
+
+In Part III, Chapter IV, "smoke curled about the automatic pistal" was
+changed to "smoke curled about the automatic pistol", "I knew you would
+came back for us" was changed to "I knew you would came back for us",
+and periods were changed to commas after "Very well", after "he said"
+and before "and turned to Kit", and after "I knew you would came back
+for us".
+
+In Part III, Chapter V, a period was changed to a comma after "he had
+used his short supplies with stern economy", and a quotation mark was
+removed before "We'll push on for the ridge".
+
+In Part III, Chapter VI, a quotation mark was added before "You're a
+very good sort, Harry."
+
+In Part III, Chapter VII, "grit like her's is fine" was changed to "grit
+like hers is fine", and a period was changed to a comma after "over the
+kedge all were exhausted".
+
+In Part III, Chapter VIII, a period was added after "Austin was not
+surprised that she was there", and a quotation mark was added after "I
+rather think Kit deserves his triumph."
+
+In Part III, Chapter IX, "Somethink like that, sir" was changed to
+"Something like that, sir".
+
+In Part III, Chapter X, period were removed after "brought back the men
+and got another post----" and "if anything could have moved me----",
+"The others iindulged me" was changed to "The others indulged me", and a
+period was changed to a comma after "Then he said" and before "The
+offer's good".
+
+In Part III, Chapter XI, "Ola, seuor!" was changed to "Ola, senor!", and
+"a' o' us dinna see he joke" was changed to "a' o' us dinna see the
+joke".
+
+In addition, the heading for KIT MUSGRAVE'S LUCK which originally
+followed the heading for PART I: THE WIDE HORIZON has been moved to
+precede it.
+
+
+
+***END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK KIT MUSGRAVE'S LUCK***
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