"You can bet, my boy, that we're all coloured red here, but of course if you don't wish----"

"You are needing a spell south, Wilc.o.x," interrupted another gentleman.

"You don't give the stranger half a chance. We are pearlers," he continued, turning to me. "This is the off season, and as h.e.l.l is let loose in this town when the fleet is at home, we arrange to look after any white stranger that may be cast upon these sh.o.r.es. Listen! There's the Malays' infernal racket starting now. I shouldn't wonder but they will have a fight with the aborigines before morning."

"I see I have made a mistake, then, gentlemen," I said, "in coming here, but I a.s.sure you that it was not from choice I came."

"Oh, don't let that trouble you. We are very glad to have you. But you can now understand why we reserve this hotel for our own use. We don't all necessarily make beasts of ourselves, although you see us here. Some of us, it is true, have a failing that way, and there are others over in the cable shanty now going it pretty stiff; we therefore make it a point that a dozen of us come here every night to look after any of the boys who may take more stagger-juice than they can carry; but allow me to introduce the company. This is Alf Chambers. Here is Sam Wilc.o.x--Moore--Macpherson--Edward Wilson, commonly known as Dandy d.i.c.k--Will Biddles--Gordon, of G.B. diving-dress fame, and, the finest gentleman on the Australian coast, Gentleman James----"

"What about yourself, Cap?" spoke the last-named, waving his hand deprecatingly at the compliment.

"Me? Oh, I forgot. I am Biddles. You may have heard of me down in Perth?"

"I believe I have," I answered. "You are the man whom the American skipper mistook for a pirate, and who, up in King Sound----"

"I see you have my history all right, lad; but there goes the dinner-gong, so come along and sample Broome fare."

In the company of the light-hearted pearlers the time pa.s.sed very quickly. It transpired that I had known in Queensland some of their comrades who had drifted down country from the Gulf pearling-grounds, and being well accustomed to meeting all sorts of people, I readily grasped the little peculiarities of my hosts, and soon became on the best of terms with them all.

"I think we'll go now, boys," said Wilc.o.x, some time about midnight.

"You fellows that are sober can see after the other boys, and we two will get aboard the _Thetis_."

"Why, don't you stay here?" I cried.

"Not likely. There wouldn't be an ounce of blood left in us by morning.

The mosquitoes here are A 1; but can you swim?"

"A little. Why?"

"Because I expect you will have to. You see we don't care to give the mob a chance of going aboard while we are on sh.o.r.e; so we never use our dinghys."

"Oh, how about your clothes?"

"Leave them on the jetty. I always send the cook round for them in the morning."

I did not answer; I recognised that I was again among a strange people.

We were now threading our way among the coolies' huts and shanties towards the beach. The moon was shining brightly, thus enabling us to jump over several forms which were huddled up in various positions across our path without disturbing them.

"These people would stick a knife in a man for his bootlaces," my companion remarked; "but luckily they are always too drunk to stand."

"But if you treated them fairly might there not be better results?"

"Look here, my lad, you've still got some of the old country notions about you. You can't treat the Malays as you do white men. They do not understand what grat.i.tude means. Great Southern Cross! don't you know the history of this coast? Haven't you heard of poor Woods? He was going to reform everything. Gave the beggars a share of the profits, and wages besides. First thing we knew was when his Chinese cook rushed into Roderick's one night and told some of us that Woods's crew had mutinied because of their tinned dog being off colour--as if it ever was anything else."

"And what was the result?"

"Oh, they killed Woods and threw his body into the sea, and then sailed for Java. The cook jumped overboard and swam ash.o.r.e, and that's how we knew. The Dutchmen chased them up and sent them back from Surabaya in chains, and we hung them."

"These men were Malays?"

"Yes, but the half-castes and aborigines are just as bad. Take the case of Dr. Vines, for instance; they murdered him because he couldn't give them what he hadn't got himself. And then there was Captain Skinner; but you'll not sleep if I tell you any more. Yonder is my craft. Get ready."

Wilc.o.x discarded his coat as he spoke and plunged into the inviting waters, and somewhat dubiously I followed; for although my garments were of the usual Siamese silk variety, and therefore did not greatly impede my movements, I could not help wondering what would happen if there were any sharks about. As I struggled after Wilc.o.x this thought kept recurring to me in spite of all my attempts to convince myself that there could be no such creatures there, and just when I had almost succeeded in believing that such might somehow be the case, I suddenly remembered that I had been watching these very monsters playing around the _Nemesis_ all that afternoon.

"What about sharks?" I gasped, as the stern light of the _Thetis_ shone out ahead.

"They're too well fed here to trouble about white men," came the reply, and I had to satisfy myself with the hope that the sharks would be able to distinguish without personal investigation that I was of the fortunate colour. We reached the schooner without mishap, however, and scrambled over its stern by means of a friendly rope, and soon after I was asleep in what might have been a comfortable berth but for the presence of some hundreds of other occupants of divers kinds.

Next morning I found my baggage and the clothes I had thrown off in the cabin beside me, and on going out on deck had my first view of Broome by daylight. It was not much to look at. There were some tents, two or three dozen "humpies" and "wind-breaks," and about twelve galvanised-iron structures, of which the jail, the cable station, Gummows' and Roderick's Hotels, were the most conspicuous. The _Nemesis_ had sailed away south again during the night, and there was no sign of life anywhere. During the day--by way of a treat--Wilc.o.x and some others took me to inspect "their prison," in which they had evidently great pride; but I could not work up any enthusiasm over the sight of a score of miserable wretches chained together by the ankles.

"These are the murderers of old Smith," remarked one of my companions.

"They turned on him because he plugged one of them with a '44,' one day when he was drunk, up in King Sound."

"We're keeping them here until we can get an executioner," added the jailer, "but it's spoiling the trade of the town; every one is afraid of getting drunk, as they might then be induced to take the job on."

I was glad when we left the place, and, eager to obtain information of a more pleasant kind, I asked to be shown the opening sheds.

"Well, you are a strange fellow!" was Wilc.o.x's only comment as he led the way thither, and as we neared the sh.e.l.l-strewn benches I began to understand the meaning of his words, and signified that, after all, I thought I would rather not go farther.

"They do smell a bit strong," laughed my friend; "but we're not near enough yet, and the wind is not off the proper quarter to give a Broome appetiser. But there's Biddles semaphoring for us to dine with him in the club; let's get along."

Several days pa.s.sed agreeably enough to me among these free-hearted Britons; but in time I began to calculate when the next steamer would be due. "I fear there's no steamer coming into Broome for two months, my boy," said Captain Biddles, when I asked him, and a visit to the cable station confirmed his fears; for, when the obliging officials there wired to Fremantle, they received the reply that the SS. _Australind_ would miss Broome and call instead at Derby, on the head of King Sound.

"Then I will have to cross country to Derby," I said. "I suppose that is easy enough; the telegraph line runs all the way?"

"Oh, it's about as easy as going to heaven!" answered Biddles. "The aborigines are very considerate between here and Derby--they always kill you before they make a dinner out of you. But are you sure you can't stay here?"

"It is four years since I was north of the equator," I said, "and I have a strong desire to cross it as soon as possible."

"In that case, I suppose you will have to go. Wish I could myself."

"Why can't you? You are rich enough now, surely?"

"Ha, ha! Imagine old Biddles going back to civilisation! Why, man, they would---- Well, well; never mind. Here's the boys coming. We'll see what can be done."

That evening I was informed that the _Bessie Fraser_ was to sail north to King Sound in the morning with stores for George Hobart's schooners.

I could go with it, and Hobart would find some means of landing me at Derby. This arrangement, the pearlers a.s.sured me, was not made in my behalf, as the _Bessie Fraser_ would have to sail in any case. Thus it came about that next morning I parted with my kindly friends, and in company with Harry Quin, the skipper, six Malays for a crew, a Chinese cook, and a Manilaman diver, rounded the long, sandy point and headed northwards.

After lunch, the captain announced his intention of having a sleep if I didn't mind, and, thinking that he would require to be on the watch during the night, which would certainly be stormy, I said that I could easily pa.s.s the time looking round, and, in an endeavour to do so, soon after entered into conversation with the cook.

"Is it going to be rough to-night, John?" I said, by way of introduction, watching him as he went through some mysterious performances necessary for the preparation of our next meal.

"Velly. Me no need make breakfast. Captain sick. No want any."

"What! The captain sick? What do you mean?"

"Huh! Him no sail man. Him only gole' glabber; no know nothing 'bout sea. D----" John disappeared as he gave vent to his last exclamation, and, turning round, I saw that Aguinili, the diver and sarang, was approaching.

"Good day, sir," he said, in excellent English.