Under Sail

[Transcriber's note: The source book's idiosyncratic
punctuation has been preserved as printed.]

UNDER SAIL

LINCOLN COLCORD

LONDON
EVELEIGH NASH & GRAYSON LTD.
148 STRAND
1922

Copyright in the U.S.A.
By THE MACMILLAN COMPANY

CONTENTS

[AN INSTRUMENT OF THE GODS]
[THE UNCHARTED ISLE]
[SERVANT AND MASTER]
[RESCUE AT SEA]
[UNDER SAIL]
[ANJER]

AN INSTRUMENT OF THE GODS

"The longer I live" said Nichols from the darkness of his corner "the less of difference I see between the East and the West. I've been listening closely to you fellows. We are fond of saying that we don't understand the Oriental; but, let me ask you, do we fully understand our best friends—even ourselves? Whose fault is it? Or, failing to understand the Oriental, is it logical for us to consign him to a different sphere of human nature? Of course, it's the easiest way to dodge the real answer...."

The old Omega had drifted that morning past Green Island, dropping anchor a little later among the fleet off Stonecutter's; and after dinner, moved by a common impulse, we had called our sampans and joined Nichols under her spacious after awning. There, with the broad land-locked harbour of Hong Kong under a half moon reflecting the perfect outline of the Peak, talk had wandered lazily along the range of our shipping activities, to reach at last, as it always did in such company, that world-old problem of the races of men.

"I think I know the race of Chinamen" Nichols went on, while grunts of assent from several quarters of the deck gave testimony to his reputation. "Oh, yes, I know them. They are made of flesh and blood, if you'll believe me; they eat with their mouths, and think in the recesses of their skulls, just as we do. They marry, beget children, and pass through life. They love, fight, strive for gain, sin, suffer, learn lessons, regret, make restitution, are tempted by devils, struggle and triumph, or give up in despair, and finally die with their years and their secrets on their heads. The same old conscience pursues them. Yes, they are eaten up, like us, by the savage and devastating contest with self, the flesh and the spirit striving for the mastery; and out of the contest, like fire struck from clashing swords, come the sparks of ideas, of aspirations, of creative efforts, of wonder and joy, pain and fear, of all the infinite play of this star-spangled life of ours against the soft darkness of the unknown sky.... You fellows have been discussing only superficialities. At heart, you and the Oriental are the same. The Chinese are romantic, I tell you; they are heroic, they are incorrigibly imaginative. You think not? Let me tell you a tale"

Suddenly Nichols laughed, a snort that might have been of self-derision. "You won't be convinced" he chuckled "I see it already. You'll derive from this tale, no doubt, only further confirmation of the unlikeness you imagine. So be it. I merely warn you not to be too sure. Strip my friend Lee Fu Chang naked, for instance, destroy and forget about that long silken coat of his, embroidered so wonderfully with hills and trees and dragons, dress him in a cowboy's suit and locate him in the Rocky Mountain region of fifty years ago, and the game he played with Captain Wilbur won't seem so inappropriate. It's only that you won't expect a mandarin Chinaman to play it. You'll feel that China is too old and civilized for what he did...."

"Some of you fellows must remember the notorious case of Captain Wilbur and the ship Speedwell" Nichols began "For years it was spoken of among sailors as a classic instance of nautical perfidy; and this was the port, you know, where Wilbur first brought the ship after he'd stolen her, and settled down to brazen out his crime. But few men have heard how he lost her in the end, or why he disappeared for ever from the life of the sea.

"Perhaps I'd better refresh your memories; let's go back a matter of forty years. Captain Wilbur was a well-known shipmaster of those palmy days. He had commanded the Speedwell for a decade, and possessed a reputation for sterling seamanship and unblemished integrity. His vessel was one of the finest moderate clippers ever launched on the shores of New England. But she was growing old; and Wilbur himself had suffered serious financial reverses, although this fact wasn't known till after the escapade that estranged his friends and set our little world by the ears. He seems to have been something of a gambler in investments, and by bad judgment or ill luck had brought his fortune to the verge of ruin if not of actual disgrace. This, so far as I know, stands as the sole explanation of his amazing downfall. There was nothing else the matter with him, physically or mentally, as you shall hear.

"Out of a clear sky, this was what he did: he deliberately put the Speedwell ashore in Ombay Pass, on a voyage home from Singapore to New York with a light general cargo, and abandoned her as she lay. I say he did it deliberately; this is the common surmise, and subsequent developments lend point to the accusation. It may have been, however, that she actually drifted ashore, and that he didn't try at the time to get her off. Whether he planned the disaster, or whether he succumbed to a temptation thrust in his face by the devil of chance, makes little difference. His plans were deliberate enough after the event.

"Within a month after sailing for home, he was back again in Singapore with his ship's company in three longboats and a tale of a lost vessel. There he remained for three months, cleaning up the business. No breath of scandal was raised against him; Ombay Pass on the turn of the monsoon had caught many a fine vessel before this one, and the account rendered by his officers and crew was straightforward and consistent. The Speedwell, according to the official record, had drifted ashore in a light breeze, before the unmanageable currents of that region, and had lodged on a coral reef at the top of the tide in such a position that she couldn't be got off. It was another case of total loss of ship and cargo; in those days there were no steam craft in the East to send on a mission of salvage, and the Eastern Passages were forbidden hunting ground. What they caught they were allowed to keep, with no words said and the page closed. The insurance companies stood the strain, the ship's affairs were settled without a hitch, and the name of the Speedwell passed simultaneously from the Maritime Register and from the books of her owners in America. Captain Wilbur let it be known that he was going home, and left Singapore.

"It was his remarkable destiny to be the revealer of his own perfidy; he made no bones about the job. Instead of going home, he went to Batavia, and there hired a schooner and crew with the proceeds of his personal holding in the Speedwell. This schooner and crew he took immediately to Ombay Pass. They found the ship still resting in the same position. What they did there must remain a mystery; I have the tale only in fragmentary form from the Lascar who was serang of Wilbur's native crew.

"He, it would seem, was overawed by the extent of the engineering operations in which he participated; his description partook of the colour and extravagance of a myth. Alone in distant waters they had wrestled like heroes with a monstrous task; day had followed day, while the great ship remained motionless and the elements paused to observe the stupendous effort. They had unloaded the cargo: they had sent down the top-hamper and rafted it alongside; they had patched and pumped, and Wilbur himself had dived in the lower hold and under the bows to place the stoppers in their proper position. So far as I can reckon, it took them a couple of months to get her off; but, by Jove, they floated her—a magnificent feat of sailorizing. Then they loaded the cargo again, and came away.

"When Captain Wilbur appeared one morning off Batavia roadstead with the Speedwell under top-gallantsails, towing the schooner, it was the sensation of the port; a sensation that flew like wildfire about the China Sea, as it became clear what he intended to do with her. For he proposed, incredible and unaccountable as it seems, to hold the ship and cargo as salvage; and nothing, apparently, could be done about it. She was actually the property of himself and the Lascar crew.

"The crowd alongshore, everyone interested in shipping, of course turned violently against him; for a time there was wild talk of extra-legal proceedings, and Wilbur might have fared ill had he attempted to frequent his old haunts just then. But he snapped his fingers at them all. He found plenty of men who were willing to advance him credit on the security of the ship: he bought off his crew with liberal allowances, took the Speedwell to Hong Kong and put her in drydock, and soon was ready for business with a fine vessel of his own. Well, he knew that personal repugnance wouldn't be carried to commercial lengths; that he and the ship, by cutting freights a little, could find plenty to do. As for the rest of it, the moral score, he seemed cheerfully prepared to face the music, and probably foresaw that with the passage of time he would be able to live down the record.

"The old Omega and I were down the China Sea on a trading voyage while these events were taking place. When we got back to Hong Kong, Wilbur had already sailed for Antwerp, leaving his story to swell the scandal and fire the indignation of the water-front. I heard it first from my friend, Lee Fu Chang.

"'An extraordinary incident, is it not?' exclaimed Lee Fu in conclusion 'Extraordinary! I am deeply interested. First of all, I am interested in your laws. Here is a man who has stolen a ship; and your laws, it is discovered, support him in the act. But the man himself is the most interesting. It is a crowning stroke, Captain Nichols, that he has not seen fit to change the name of the vessel. Consider this fact. All is as it was before, when the well-known and reputable Captain Wilbur commanded the fine ship Speedwell on voyages to the East'

"'Can it be possible?' said I 'Isn't there some mistake? The man must have the gall of a highway robber! Does the crowd have anything to do with him?'

"'None of his old associates speak in passing; they cross the street to avoid him. He goes about like one afflicted with a pestilence. But the wonder is that he is not disturbed by this treatment. That makes it very extraordinary. He is neither cringing nor brazen; he makes no protests, offers no excuse, and takes no notice. In the face of outrageous insult, Captain, he maintains an air of dignity and reserve, like a man conscious of inner rectitude'

"'Did you talk with him, Lee Fu?' I asked.

"'Oh, yes. In fact, I cultivated his acquaintance. The study fascinated me; it relieved, as it were, the daily monotony of virtue. In him there is no trace of humbug or humility. Do not think that he is a simple man. His heart in this matter is unfathomable ... well worth sounding'

"'By Jove, I believe you liked him!' I exclaimed.

"'No, not that' Lee Fu folded his hands within the long sleeves of his embroidered coat and rested them across his stomach in a characteristic attitude of meditation. 'No, quite the opposite. I abhorred him. He seemed to me unnatural, monstrous, beyond the range of common measure. Captain, there are crimes and crimes, and it has been my lot to know men who have committed many of them. There are murder, theft, arson, treason, infidelity, and all the rest; and these, in a manner of speaking, are natural crimes. Shall we define it thus: a natural crime is one which eventually brings its own retribution? Sooner or later, if justice is not done, the natural crime works havoc with its perpetrator; it plagues his conscience, it fastens like a fungus on his soul. Through lust or passion, natural impulses, he has committed error; but he cannot escape the final payment of the price. On the other hand, there are unnatural crimes, crimes for which there is no reason, crimes requiring no liquidation; and there are unnatural criminals, feeling no remorse. Such a criminal, I take it, is this Captain Wilbur, who goes his way in peace from the betrayal of a sacred trust'

"'Aren't you drawing it a little strong?' I laughed 'It isn't exactly a crime...'

"Lee Fu smiled quietly, giving me a glance that was a mere flicker of the eyelids. 'Perhaps not to you' said he 'Fixed in the mind of your race is a scale of violence by which to measure the errors of men; if no blood flows, then it is not so bad. Your justice is still a barbarian. Thus you constantly underestimate the deeper crimes, allowing your master criminals to go scathless, or even, in some instances, to prosper and win repute by their machinations. But, let me tell you, Captain, murder is brave and honourable compared with this. Consider what he did. Trained to the sea and ships, after a lifetime of honourable service to his traditions, he suddenly forsakes them utterly. Because the matter rests with him alone, because there is nothing in it for him to fear, his serenity condemns his very soul. He has fallen from heaven to hell; flagrantly, remorselessly, and without attempt at concealment or evasion, he has played false with sacred honour and holy life. It is blasphemy that he has committed; when the master of the ship is not to be trusted, the gods tremble in the sky. So I abhor him—and am fascinated. He does not speak of his crime, of course, yet I find myself waiting and watching for a hint, an explanation. Believe me, Captain, when I tell you, that in all my talk with him I have received not a single flash of illumination; no, not one! There is no key to his design. He speaks of his ship and her affairs as other captains do. He is a tall, jovial, healthy man, with frank glances and open speech. For all that seems, he might have forgotten what went on at Ombay Pass. I swear to you that his heart is untroubled. As you would say, he does not care a damn.... And that is horrible'

"A little amused at my friend's moral fervour, I adopted a bantering tone. 'Perhaps the man is innocent' said I 'Perhaps there's something unexplained....'

"'You forget that he holds the vessel as his property—the same vessel that he himself ran on shore' Lee Fu reminded me 'You are still thinking, Captain, of violence and blood. No one was lost, no shots were fired ... so, never mind. It is not vital to you that a strong man within your circle has murdered the spirit; you refuse to become excited or alarmed ... Wait then till actual blood flows'

"'What do you mean by that, Lee Fu? You think...?'

"'I think Captain Wilbur will bear watching. In the meantime, take my advice, and study him when opportunity offers. Thus we learn of heaven and hell'"

III

"A few years went by, while the case of Captain Wilbur and the Speedwell passed through its initial stages of being forgotten. Nothing succeeds like success; the man owned a fine ship, and those who did business with him soon came to take the situation for granted. Wilbur made fast passages, kept the Speedwell in excellent trim, and paid his bills promptly; rumour of course had it that he was growing rich. In all probability it was true. After a while, some of his old friends were willing to let bygones be bygones; there were many more to whom the possession of a fine piece of property seemed of enough importance to cover a multitude of sins. The new fellows who came to the East and heard the tale for the first time couldn't credit it after meeting Wilbur in the flesh. Little by little one began to see him again on the quarter-deck at the evening gatherings of the fleet, or among seafaring men ashore at tiffin. When, in time, it became unwise to start the story against him, for fear of misconstruction of one's motive, it was evident that he had well-nigh won his nefarious match against society.

"I'd met him a number of times, of course, during this interval, and had come to understand Lee Fu's urgent advice. Indeed, for one curious about the habits of the human species, Wilbur compelled attention. That perfect urbanity, that air of unfailing dignity and confidence, that aura of a commanding personality, of an able ship-master among his brethren, of a man whose position in the world was secure beyond peradventure: all this could spring from one of only two spiritual conditions—either from a quiet and innocent conscience, or from a heart perfectly attuned to villainy. As he sat among us, taking up his proper word in the conversation, assuming no mask, showing no concern, it was with the utmost difficulty that one placed him as a man with a dark past, with a damnable blot on his escutcheon. So unconscious was his poise that one often doubted the evidence of memory, and found oneself going back over the record, only to fetch up point-blank against the incontestable fact that he had stolen his ship and betrayed his profession. By Jove, it seemed fantastic! Here he was, to all intents and purposes a gentleman; a likeable fellow, too, in many ways. He talked well, was positive without being arbitrary, usually had a fair and generous word for the issue under discussion, never indulged in criticism; and above all, damn him, he sustained a reputation for expert mastery over this profession to which he'd dealt such a foul blow.

"'It is a triumph of character!' Lee Fu used to repeat, as we compared notes on the case from time to time. 'I think he has not been guilty of a single minor error. His correctness is nothing short of diabolical. It presages disaster, like too much fair weather in the typhoon season. Wait and watch; mark my word, Captain, when the major error comes it will be a great tragedy'

"'Must there be a major error?' I asked, falling into the mood of Lee Fu's exaggerated concern 'He's carried it off so far with the greatest ease'

"'Yes, with the greatest ease' said Lee Fu thoughtfully 'Yet I begin to wonder whether he has been properly put to the test. See how the world protects him! Sometimes I am appalled. It is as if we wrapped the doers of evil in cotton wool, so that not even rudeness might disturb them. He has merely maintained a perfect silence, and the world has done the rest. It has seemed more anxious to forget his crime than he to have it forgotten. So he lives with impunity, as it were. But he is not invulnerable. Life will challenge him yet ... it must be ... life, which is truth, and not the world. Can a man escape the anger and justice of the gods? That is why I concern myself with him—to know his final destiny'

"'You admit, then, that he's not the incarnate criminal you once thought him' I chaffed, unable to take the matter so deeply to heart 'He may be only a stupid fool with a wooden face and naturally good manners....'

"'Not stupid' Lee Fu interrupted 'Yet, on the other hand, not exceptional, not superior to life. Such faultless power of will is in itself no mean part of ability. He is, as you might say, self-centred—most accurately self-centred. But the challenge of the gods displaces the centre of all. He will be like a top that is done spinning. A little breath may topple him at last. Wait and see.... But, for the present, it is evident that were is nothing more to be learned. The mask is inscrutable'

"Thinking the case over at sea, I often laughed to myself over Lee Fu's intensity. Voyage followed voyage; at one time when I had just come in from Bankok and was on my way from the Jetty to Lee Fu's office, I passed Captain Wilbur on the opposite side of Queen's Road. He waved a hand to me as he turned the corner: at once it flashed across my mind that I hadn't observed the Speedwell in the roadstead as I came in. When I had finished my business with Lee Fu, I asked him for an explanation of Wilbur's presence in Hong Kong without his vessel.

"'You are mistaken, Captain—it has little significance' he answered with a quizzical smile 'So, after all, you pay a little attention? The fact is, the successful Captain Wilbur has retired from active service on the sea. He is now a ship owner, nothing more, and has favoured Hong Kong above all other ports as the seat of his retirement. He resides in a fine house on Graham Terrace, and has three chairmen in white livery edged with crimson.... Captain Nichols, you should steal a ship'

"'Who has gone in the Speedwell?' I inquired

"'An old friend of ours, one Captain Turner' said Lee Fu slowly, glancing in my direction.

"'Not Will Turner?'

"'The same'

"I pursed up my mouth in a silent whistle. Will Turner in the Speedwell! Poor fellow, he must have lost another of his ill-starred vessels. Hard luck seemed to pursue him. One ship would be sold from under his command; several he had lost in deep water, by fire, storm or old age; another had sprung a leak in the Java Sea, to be condemned a little later when he had worked her into Batavia. A capable sailor and an honest man; yet life had afforded him nothing but a succession of hard blows and heavy falls. Death and sorrow, too; he had buried a wife and child, swept off by cholera, in the Bay of Bengal. A dozen years before, Turner and I had landed together in the China Sea, and were thrown much in each other's company; I knew his heart, his history, some of his secrets, and liked him tremendously for the man he was.

"Watching Lee Fu in silence, I thought again of the relationship between Will Turner and this extraordinary Chinaman. I won't go into that story now, but there were overwhelming reasons why these two should think well of each other; why Lee Fu should respect and honour Captain Turner, and why Turner should consider Lee Fu his best friend. It had come about as the result of an incident of Turner's early days in the East; an incident of a ship, a rascal and a doctored charter-party, that might have turned into an ugly business save for the conduct and perspicacity of the two chief victims. It had thrown them violently together; ever since, they had kept the bond close and hidden, as became men of reserve. Probably I was the only man in the world who knew how strong it was.

"And now Turner had taken Wilbur's ship. Strange how this new development seemed to impinge on Lee Fu's fancy, how it brought the Wilbur case nearer home. The next moment, of course, the impression had passed; and I saw that, instead of marking another stroke of ill-luck for Turner, it might spell the beginning of good fortune.

"'What happened to the old Altair?' I asked. Turner had commanded a trading packet of that name three months before.

"'She was bought by certain parties for a store-ship, and now lies moored on Kowloon-side' answered Lee Fu 'I was about to make a proposal to Captain Turner, when this plan came forward' he went on, as if excusing himself 'I did not know of it until he had actually accepted. I said everything in my power to dissuade him...'

"'What's the trouble? Didn't Wilbur do the right thing by him?' I asked.

"'Captain, you are perverse. The business arrangement is immaterial. It is unthinkable that our friend should command a ship for such a man. The jealous gods have not yet shown their hand'

"'Nonsense, Lee Fu!' I exclaimed, finding myself irritated at the out-cropping of the old conceit 'Since the thing is done, hadn't we better try to be practical in our attitude?'

"'Exactly' said Lee Fu 'Let us be practical.... Captain Nichols, is it impossible for the Caucasian to reason from cause to effect? There seems to be no logic in your design—which explains many curious facts of history. I have merely insisted, in our consideration of this case, that a man who would do one thing would do another, and that sooner or later life would inevitably present him with another thing to do'

"'But I've known too many men who escaped what you call destiny' I argued peevishly.

"'Have you?' inquired Lee Fu.

"He said no more, and we went out to tiffin"

"That year I plunged into the Malay Archipelago for an extended cruise, was gone seven months among the islands, and wasted another month coming up the China Sea in order to dodge the tail-end of the typhoon season. But luck favoured me, of course, since I wasn't in a hurry; and so it happened that for the last three hundred miles across from Luzon I raced with a typhoon after all, beating it to an anchorage in Hong Kong by a margin of twelve hours. It was an exceptionally late storm; and the late ones, you know, are the least dependable in their actions. Typhoon signals were flying from the Peak as I came in; before the Omega's sails were furled the sky to the eastward had lowered and darkened like a shutter, and the wind had begun to whip in vicious gusts across the harbour.

"I went ashore at once, for I carried important papers from Lee Fu's chief agent in the islands. When I reached his outer office, I found it full of gathering gloom, although it was still early afternoon. Sing Toy immediately took in my name. In a moment I was ushered into the familiar room where my friend sat beside a shaded lamp, facing a teakwood desk inlaid with ivory and invariably bare, save for a priceless Ming vase and an ornament of old green bronze.

"'Back again, Lee Fu' said I, placing the island letters on the desk before him 'And just in time, it seems' A rising gust outside whined along the street.

"He paid no attention to my greeting or the letters. 'Sit down, Captain' said he 'I have bad news'

"'Yes?' I queried, somewhat alarmed at the vagueness of the announcement. So far as I was aware, no matter that we shared between us could result in 'bad news' said in such a tone.

"Folding his hands across his stomach and slightly bowing his head, he gazed at me with a level upturned glance that without betraying expression carried by its very immobility a hint of deep emotion.

"'It is as I told you' said he at last 'Now, perhaps, you will believe'

"'For Heaven's sake, what are you talking about?' I demanded 'Tell me instantly what is wrong'

"He nodded slowly. 'There is plenty of time—and I will tell. It is often said that the season that brings a late typhoon, as now, is also ushered in by an early typhoon. So it was this season. A very severe storm came down before its time, and almost without warning.... It was this storm into whose face our late friend Captain Turner took his ship, the Speedwell, sailing from Hong Kong for New York some four months ago'

"'You don't mean that Turner has lost her?'

"'I regret to inform you, yes. Also, he has lost himself. Three days after sailing, he met the typhoon outside, and was blown upon a lee shore two hundred miles along the China Coast. In this predicament, he cut away his masts and came to anchor. But his ship would not float, and accordingly sank at her anchors....'

"'Sank at her anchors!' I exclaimed 'How could that be? A tight ship never did such a thing'

"'Nevertheless, she sank there in the midst of the storm, and all on board perished. Afterwards, the news was reported from shore, and the hull of the Speedwell was discovered in ten fathoms of water. There has been talk of trying to save the ship; and Captain Wilbur himself, her owner, in a diver's suit, has inspected the wreck. Surely, he should be well-fitted to save her again, if it were possible! He says no, and it is reported that the insurance companies are in agreement with him. That is, they have decided that he cannot turn the trick a second time' Lee Fu's voice dropped to a rasping tone 'The lives, likewise, cannot be saved'

"I sat for some moments in silence, gazing at the green bronze dragon on the desk. Turner gone? A friend's death is shocking, even though it makes so little difference. And between us, too, there had been a bond.... I was thinking of the personal loss, and had missed the significance of Lee Fu's phraseology. I looked up at him blankly; found him still regarding me with up-turned eyes, his chin sunk lower on his breast.

"'That is not all' said he suddenly.

"I sat up as if under the impact of a blow. Across my mind raced thoughts of all that might happen to a man on that abandoned coast. 'What more?' I asked.

"'Listen, Captain, and pay close attention. I have investigated with great care, and am fully satisfied that no mistake has been made. You must believe me.... Some weeks after the departure and loss of the Speedwell, word came to my ears that a man had a tale worth hearing. You know how information reaches me, and that my sources run through unexpected channels among my people. This man was brought; he proved to be a common coolie, a lighter-man who had been employed in the loading of the Speedwell. Note how slight chance may lead to serious occasions. This coolie had been gambling during the dinner hour, and had lost the small sum that he should have taken home as the product of several days' labour. Like many others, he feared his wife, and particularly her mother, who was a shrew. In a moment of desperation, as the lighter was preparing to leave the vessel for the night, he escaped from the others and secreted himself in the Speedwell's lower hold, among the bales of merchandise. What he planned is hard to tell; it does not matter.

"'This happened while yet the ship's lower hold was not quite filled' Lee Fu went on after a pause 'The coolie, as I said, secreted himself in the cargo, well forward, for he had entered by the fore hatch. There he remained many hours, sleeping, and when he awoke, quietness had descended on the deck above. He was about to climb into the between-decks, the air below being heavy with the odours of the cargo, when he heard a sound on the ladder that led down from the upper deck. It was a sound of quiet steps, mingled with a faint metallic rattling. In a moment a foot descended on the floor of the between-decks, and a lantern was cautiously lighted. The coolie retreated quickly to his former hiding place, from which post he was able to see all that went on'

"Again Lee Fu paused, as if lingering in imagination over the scene. 'It seems that this late and secret comer into the hold of the Speedwell was none other than her owner, Captain Wilbur' he slowly resumed 'The coolie knew his face; a distant cousin had once been in the employment of the Wilbur household, and the man was already aware whose ship it was. Most of the inner facts of life are disseminated through the gossip of servants, and are known to a wide circle. Furthermore, as the lighter had been preparing to depart that evening, this coolie had seen the owner come on board in his own sampan. Afterwards, through my inquiries among sampan-men and others, I learned that Captain Turner had spent that night on shore. It was Captain Wilbur's custom, it seems, frequently to sleep on board his ship when she lay here in port; the starboard stateroom was kept in readiness for him. So he had done this night—and he had been alone in the cabin'

"'What was he doing in the hold with a lantern?' I asked, unable to restrain my impatience.

"'Exactly ... you shall hear. I was obliged to make certain deductions from the story of the coolie, for he was not technically acquainted with the internal construction of a vessel. Yet what he saw was perfectly obvious to the most ignorant eye.... Have you ever been in the lower hold of the Speedwell, Captain Nichols?'

"'No, I haven't'

"'But you recall the famous matter of her bow-ports, do you not?'

"'Yes, indeed. I was in Singapore when they were cut'

"The incident came back to me at once, in full detail. There had been a cargo of ironwood on the beach, destined for the repair of a temple somewhere up the Yang-tse-kiang; among it were seven magnificent sticks of timber, each over a hundred feet in length and forty inches square at the butt—these were for columns, I suppose. It had been necessary to find a large ship to take this cargo from Singapore to Shanghai; the Speedwell had finally accepted the charter. In order to load the immense column-timbers, she had been obliged to cut bow-ports of extraordinary size; fifty inches in depth they were, and nearly seven feet in width, according to my recollection—the biggest bow-ports on record.

"'It has been my privilege' Lee Fu went on 'to examine the fore-peak of the Speedwell when these ports were in and her hold was empty. I had once chartered the ship, and felt alarmed for her safety until I had seen the interior fastenings of those great windows which, when she was loaded, looked out into the deep sea. But my alarm was groundless. There was a most ingenious device for strengthening the bows where they had been weakened by the cutting of the ports. Four or five timbers had been severed; but these had been reproduced on the port itself, and the whole was fashioned like a massive door. It lifted upward on immense wrought iron hinges, a hinge to every timber; when it was lowered into its place, gigantic bars of iron, fitted into brackets on the adjoining timbers, stretched across its inner face to hold it against the impact of the waves. At the bottom there were additional fastenings. Thus the port, when tightly caulked from without, became an integral part of the hull; I was told, and could believe it, that there had never been a trace of leakage from her bows. Most remarkable of all, I was told that when it became necessary to lift these ports for use, the task could easily be accomplished by two or three men and a stout watch-tackle.... This, also, I am prepared to believe'

"There seemed to be a general drift to Lee Fu's rambling narrative, but I hadn't yet caught sight of a logical dénouement. 'To resume the story of the coolie' he continued with exasperating deliberation 'This, in plain language, is what he saw. Our friend, Captain Wilbur, descended into the lower hold, and worked his way forward to the fore-peak, where there was little cargo. There he laboured with great effort for several hours; you will recall that he is a vigorous man. He had equipped himself with a short crowbar, and carried a light tackle wrapped about his body beneath the coat. The tackle he loosened and hung to a hook above the middle of the port; I take it that he had brought this gear merely for the purpose of lowering easily the iron cross bars, so that they would make no noise. Had one fallen...'

"'Good God, Lee Fu, what are you trying to tell me?'

"'Merely occurrences. Many quite impossible things, Captain, nevertheless get themselves done in the dark, in secret places, out of sight and mind.... So, with the short crowbar he pried loose little by little the iron braces to the port, slinging them in his tackle and dropping them softly one by one into the ship's bottom. It was a heavy task; the coolie said that sweat poured from the big man like rain. Yet he was bent on accomplishment, and persevered until he had done the job. Later he removed all the additional port fastenings; last of all he covered the cross-bars with dunnage, and rolled against the bow several bulky bales of matting to conceal the crime.... Captain, when the Speedwell sailed from Hong Kong on her last voyage in command of our honoured friend one of her great bowports below the water hung on its hinges without internal fastenings, held in place only by the tightness of the caulking. The first heavy sea...'

"'Can it be possible?' said I through clenched teeth.

"'Oh, yes, so easily. It happened, and has become a part of life. As I told you, I have investigated with scrupulous care; my men dare not tell me lies'

"I was still trying to get my bearings, to grasp a clue. 'But why should he do it, Lee Fu? Had he anything against Turner?'

"'Not at all. You do not seem to understand. He was tired of the vessel, and freights were becoming very poor. He wanted the insurance. He now assures himself that he had no thought of disaster; one could hardly foresee an early typhoon. He had it in mind for the ship to sink discreetly, in pleasant weather, so that all hands might escape.... Yet he was willing to run the risk of wholesale murder. Remember how he sweated at the task, there in the fetid air of the lower hold. It was absentee murder, if you will; he did not contemplate, he was not forced to contemplate, the possible results of his act on the lives of others.... What do you think now, Captain, of a man who will betray his profession?'

"I got up abruptly and began to pace the floor. The damnable affair had made me sick at heart, and a little sick at the stomach. What to think?—what to believe? It seemed incredible, fantastic; there must be some mistake.... While I was pacing, Lee Fu changed his position. He faced the desk, stretched out an arm, and put his palm flat down on the polished surface.

"'Thus the gods have struck' said he, in that changeless voice that seemed an echo of the ages 'There is blood at last, Captain—twenty-seven lives, and among them one dear to us—enough to convince even one of your race that a crime has been committed. But my analysis was seriously in error. The criminal, it seems, is destined not to suffer. He continues to go about carried by three men in white and crimson livery, his belly full of food and wine. Others have paid the price. Instead of toppling, his life spins on with renewed momentum. My query has been answered; he has escaped the gods'

"'Can't you rip the case open, jostle his security? Isn't there some way...?'

"'No way' said Lee Fu with a shake of the head 'You forget the fine principle of extraterritoriality, which you have so kindly imposed on us by force of arms. Captain Wilbur is not subject to Chinese justice; your own courts have exclusive jurisdiction over him, his kind, and all their works. No, Captain, he is amply protected. What could I accomplish in your courts with this fanciful accusation, and for witnesses a coolie and a sampan-man?'

"I continued to pace the floor, thinking dark thoughts. There was a way, of course ... between man and man; but such things aren't done any longer by civilized people. We're supposed not to go about with firearms, privately meting out justice. We are domesticated. Whatever the thoughts I might have harboured, in the first anger of the realization of wrong, I knew very well that I shouldn't act on them. Lee Fu was right, there was nothing to be done; the man had made good his escape from the hand of destiny.

"Pacing rapidly, as if pursued by a veritable phantom of crime, and oblivious of everything but the four walls of the room, I nearly floored the chief clerk, Sing Toy, as he pattered in with a message from the outer office. He ducked, slipped behind the lamp, and began whispering in Lee Fu's ear.

"'Ah!' exclaimed Lee Fu sharply.

"I started, whirled around in my tracks. His voice had lost the level, passive tone; it had taken on the timbre of action. Suddenly, with a quick rustle of silken garments, he stood up behind the desk; the abrupt motion threw his shadow across the floor and up the opposite wall. With a subtle thrill of anticipation, I felt the profound psychic change that had come over my friend. The very air of the room had quickened before that single exclamation, as if a cold breeze had blown through.... A breeze, indeed, was at that moment trying hard to find an entrance; the absolute silence of the room brought out in sharp relief the tumult outside, the hoarse voice of the rising gale. We stood as if listening. I looked at Lee Fu, caught his eye. It was charged with energy and purpose, with something like relief—like the eye of a man who has made up his mind after a long period of bewilderment, who begins to understand....

"'Send him in, alone' said he in Chinese to Sing Toy, now at the outer door.

"'Who is it?' I asked hoarsely.

"'The man we have been speaking of'

"'Wilbur? What the devil...?'

"'He merely dropped in as he was passing, to make a call' said Lee Fu, speaking rapidly 'So he thinks—but I think otherwise' Leaning forward across the desk, he fixed me with an extended arm that trembled slightly before it found its aim. 'Keep silence' he commanded 'Beware of word or glance. This chanced by predestination. We are on the threshold of the gods'

Lee Fu remained standing as Captain Wilbur entered the room. His hurried admonition still rang in my ears 'Keep silence—beware of word or glance!' But I couldn't have spoken; had I opened my mouth just then, it would have been only to emit a snarl of anger. To beware of glances was a different matter. The task might be easy enough for Lee Fu, with that perfect self-control of his that extended to the last nerve of his eyelids and the last muscle of his fingertips; but for my part I was spiritually incapable, as it were, of keeping rage and abomination out of my eyes. I stood as if rooted to the floor, gazing point-blank at Wilbur with a stare that must have made him wonder about my sanity. For, of course, he hadn't the slightest suspicion that we knew what we knew.

"'Good afternoon, Captain Wilbur' said Lee Fu blandly 'Do you seek refuge from the storm? ... I think you are acquainted with Captain Nichols, of the barque Omega. He arrived this morning from the Celebes'

"'Oh, how do you do, Nichols' said Wilbur, advancing down the room 'I've missed you around town for a good while, it seems to me. So you've been off on one of your famous exploring trips? Then you'll have a lot to tell us. I suppose you had the usual assortment of romantic and tragic adventures?'

"I drew back behind the desk, to escape shaking his hand. 'No' I answered 'nothing like the adventure that awaited me here'

"He settled himself in a chair, directly in range of the light; smiled, and lifted his eyebrows. 'So...? Well, I can believe you. This office, you know, is the heart of all adventure. The most romantic room in the East—presided over by the very genius of romance' He bowed toward Lee Fu, and touched a match to a long Manila. 'Genius, or demon, which is it, now?' he chuckled, his eyes twinkling from Lee Fu to me.

"'You honour me, Captain' interposed Lee Fu quickly, cutting me off from the necessity of speaking. 'If, indeed, you do not flatter. I merely observe and live. It is life that may be called the heart of all adventure—life, with its amazing secrets that one by one transpire into the day, and with its enormous burden of evil that weighs us down like slaves'

"Wilbur laughed. 'Yes, that's it, no doubt. But there's some good, too, Lee Fu—plenty of good. Don't be a pessimist. Yet you're right enough in a way; the evil always does manage to be more romantic'

"'Much more romantic' observed Lee Fu 'And the secrets are more romantic still. Consider, for instance, the case of a man with a dark secret that by chance has become known, though he is not aware of the fact. How infinitely romantic! He feels secure; yet inevitably it will be disclosed. When, and how? Such a case would be well worth watching ... as the great poet had in mind when he wrote "Murder will out"'

"The winged words made no impression on their mark. Wilbur met Lee Fu's glance frankly, innocently, with interest and even with a trace of amusement at the other's flight of fancy. The full light of the lamp illuminated his features, the least fleeting expression couldn't have escaped us. By Jove, he was superb; the damned rascal hadn't a nerve in his body. To be sure, he still had no suspicion, and attributed Lee Fu's shaft to a mere chance; yet this very factor of safety lent additional point to the finish of his dissimulation. He might at least have indulged himself in a start, a glance, a knitting of the eyebrows; his conscience, or his memory if he hadn't a conscience, might have received a faint surprise. But his watchfulness must have been unfailing, automatic. Or was it that a reminder of his appalling crime woke no echo at all in his breast?

"I examined him closely. Above a trimmed brown beard his cheeks showed the ruddy colour of health and energy; his eyes were steady, his mouth was strong and clean, a head of fine grey hair surmounted a high forehead; the whole aspect of his countenance was pleasing and dignified. He had good hands, broad yet closely knit, and ruddy with the same glow of health that rose in his face. He was dressed neatly in a plain blue serge suit, with square-toed russet shoes encasing small feet, a dark bow-tie at his throat, and a narrow gold watch chain strung across his vest. Sitting at ease, with an arm thrown over the chair-back and one ankle resting on the other knee, he presented a fine figure of a man, a figure that might have been that of a prosperous and benevolent merchant, a man who had passed through the world with merit and integrity, and now was enjoying his just reward.

"He gave a hearty laugh. 'For the Lord's sake, you fellows, come on out of the gloom!' he cried 'A pretty state of mind you seem to have worked yourselves into, hobnobbing here behind closed doors. I drop in for a chat, and find a couple of blue devils up to their ears in the sins of humanity. Nichols, over there, is just as bad as the other; he's scarcely opened his mouth since I came in. What's the matter? ... You have to fight these moods, you know' he quizzed 'It doesn't do to let them get the upper hand'

"'It is the mood of the approaching storm' said Lee Fu quietly 'We have been speaking of typhoons, and of the fate that they sometimes bring to men'

"A fiercer squall than the last shook the building; it passed in a moment, ceasing suddenly, as if dropping us somewhere in mid-air. Wilbur was the first to speak after the uproar.

"'Yes, it's going to be another terror, I'm afraid. A bad night to be on the water, gentlemen. I shouldn't care to be threshing around outside, now, as poor Turner was such a short time ago'

"I could have struck him across the mouth for the shocking callousness of the words. A bad night outside! He dared to speak of it; he, sitting there so comfortably, so correctly, alive and well, glad to be safe in port and sorry for those afloat—the same remorseless devil who had sent Turner to his doom.

"Lee Fu's voice fell like oil on a breaking sea. 'All signs point to another severe typhoon. But, as I was telling Captain Nichols, these late storms are often irregular—like the early ones.... It happened, Captain Wilbur, that the loss of the Speedwell was the subject we were discussing when you came in'

"'Too bad—too bad' said Wilbur soberly, as if overcome by thoughts of the disaster 'You were away, Nichols, weren't you? Of course!—then you've just heard of it. It was a bad week here, I can tell you, after the news came in. I shall never forget it.... Well, we take our chances....'

"'Some of us do, and some of us don't' I snapped.

"'That's just the way I felt about it, at the time' said he simply 'I didn't feel right, to have both feet on the ground. Seemed as if there must have been something we could have done, something we had neglected. It came home hard to me'

"My jaw fairly dropped as I listened to the man. Something he had neglected? ... Was it possible that he liked to talk about the affair? He didn't seem anxious to turn the conversation.

"'Captain Nichols and I were wondering' observed Lee Fu 'why it was that the Speedwell did not remain afloat, after she had cast her anchors. Neither of us can recall another incident of the kind. What is your opinion, Captain Wilbur; you have examined the hull, as it lies on the bottom'

"'It isn't a matter of opinion' Wilbur answered 'Haven't I told you?—I thought I'd seen you since the inspection. I put on a diver's suit, you know, Nichols, and went down.... Why, the simple explanation is, her starboard bow-port in the lower hold is stove in. It must have happened after she came to anchor. She lay there just scooping up water at every plunge—filled and sank as she lay. I've always been afraid of those big bow-ports; the moment I heard of the peculiar circumstances of the disaster, I knew in my heart what had happened'

"'Did you?' inquired Lee Fu, with a slight hardening of the voice 'Strange—but so did I'

"Wilbur gazed at him questioningly, knitting his brows. 'Oh, yes, I remember. I was wondering how you happened to think of her bow-ports. But you told me that you had examined them....'

"'Yes, I examined them.... Captain Wilbur, have you collected your insurance money?' The question came with an abruptness that marked a change of tactics; to me, who knew Lee Fu so well, it obviously marked the first turning point in some as yet impenetrable plan.

"Wilbur frowned and glanced up sharply, very properly offended. The next moment he had decided to pass it off as an instance of alien manners. 'As a matter of fact, I've just cleaned up to-day' he replied brusquely 'Had my final settlement with Lloyds this morning—and did a silly thing, as a fellow will sometimes. You know, they had a package of large denomination bank notes in the office, crisp, wonderful looking fellows; I took a sudden fancy for them, and in a moment of childishness asked to have my money in that form. They chaffed me a good deal, but I stuck to it. You'd hardly believe, would you, that a fellow would be such a fool? I can prove it to you, though; I've got those bills in my pocket now. By Jove, that reminds me—what time is it getting to be? I must leave them at the bank before it closes'

"'What is the total amount of the bank notes that you have in your possession?' asked Lee Fu in a level tone that carried its own insult.

Wilbur plainly showed his astonishment now. 'The total amount? ... Well, if you want all the details, I have about forty thousand dollars in my pocket. I'm not aware, however, that it's any concern of yours....'

"Lee Fu shot at me a stare full of meaning; it might have been a look of caution, or a glance of triumph. I was expected to understand something; but for the life of me I couldn't catch the drift of the situation. Confused by the terrific struggle to keep my mouth shut, I only perceived that a crisis was impending.

"'As I was saying, I once examined the bow-ports of the Speedwell' Lee Fu calmly resumed. 'At that time, I satisfied myself as to their construction; unlike you, Captain Wilbur, I could not be afraid of them. When properly fastened, they were impregnable to any danger of the sea.... And I remember, Captain, that it occurred to me, as I examined their fastenings, how easily these ports could be loosened from within, by anyone who desired to sink the vessel. The iron cross-bars could be lifted from their brackets by a single strong man; with a small tackle they could be dropped without noise into the bottom. No one need know of it; and, lo, the ship would sail to meet her destiny riding on the waves. Has the thought ever occurred to you, Captain Wilbur?'

"Wilbur's air of mingled repugnance and perplexity was innocence itself. 'I can't say that it has' he answered shortly 'Your imagination is a little morbid, Lee Fu—I won't say worse. Who would want to sink the Speedwell, I'd like to know?'

"'Who, indeed?' observed Lee Fu, staring at Wilbur with a steady, biting gaze. As he stared, he reached out slowly with his right hand and opened the top drawer of the desk. Suddenly he stood up. The hand held a revolver, which pointed with an unwavering aim at Wilbur's breast.

"'If you move from your chair, Captain, I will shoot you dead, and your end will never be known' said he rapidly, throwing a cold determination into his voice 'It is time we came to an understanding, for the day wanes'

"Wilbur uncrossed his legs, leaned forward, and looked at Lee Fu narrowly. 'What's the joke?' he demanded.

"'A joke that will be clear as time goes on—like one you played with bow-ports on my friend.... Captain, we are about to go on a journey. Will you join us, Captain Nichols, or will you remain on shore?'

"The question was perfunctory; whatever was in the wind, Lee Fu knew that my decision rested in his hands. I stood up—for until now I'd been chained to my chair by the amazing turn of the moment.

"'Bow-ports?...' Wilbur was saying 'Put that gun down. What in hell do you mean?' He started to rise.

'Sit down!' commanded Lee Fu 'I mean that I will shoot. This is not play' Their eyes met in a sharp struggle, which Lee Fu won. Wilbur sank back, angry and confused.

"'Are you crazy, Lee Fu?' he growled 'What is it—do you want to rob me? What's the meaning of this nonsense, Nichols? Have both of you gone mad?'

"'No, Captain' interposed Lee Fu 'But we have found a man who wanted to sink the Speedwell,, and we wish to observe him under certain conditions.... Is it possible that you do not as yet comprehend that I share your secret? You were seen, Captain, that black and cruel night in the forepeak; and those details, also, are known to me. It is needless to dissemble longer'

"'That night in the forepeak? ... For God's sake, Lee Fu, what are you talking about? Nichols, this is too ridiculous! Tell me the answer, and get over with it'

"'Ah!' exclaimed Lee Fu with something like satisfaction 'You are worthy of the occasion, Captain. It will be most interesting'

"He slapped his palm sharply on the desk; Sing Toy appeared at the door as if by a mechanical arrangement. 'Bring oilskin coats and hats for three' Lee Fu commanded 'Also send in haste to my cruising sampan, with orders to prepare for an immediate journey. Have water and food prepared for a week. We come within the half-hour, and will sail without delay'

"'Master!' protested Sing Toy breathlessly—their words, in rapid Chinese, were wholly unintelligible to Wilbur. 'Master, the typhoon!' He glanced at the revolver in Lee Fu's hand, then raised his eyes to the wall that smothered the tumult of the gale.

"'I know, fool' answered Lee Fu 'I am neither deaf nor blind. But it is necessary to sail. Go, quickly, do as I say'

"He sat down, resting the revolver on the corner of the desk, and resumed his former tone of bland conversation 'I am sorry, gentlemen, that the rain has already come; but there is water also below, as Captain Wilbur should be well aware. Yes, it was destined from the first that this should be a wet journey. Yet it will be possible still to breathe; not quite so bad as solid water all around, where after a grim struggle one lies at rest, neither caring nor remembering.... Captain Wilbur, attend to what I say. We go from this office to my sampan, which lies moored at the bulkhead, not far away. During the walk, you will precede us. I shall hold my revolver in my hand—and I am an excellent shot. If you attempt to escape, or to communicate with any passerby—if you call for help, or even disclose by your manner the strangeness of the occasion—you will immediately be dead. Bear this in mind. And do not think that I should fear the consequences; we shall pass through Chinese streets, where action of mine would not be questioned'

"'Damn you!' Wilbur burst out 'What crazy nonsense are you up to? Nichols, will you permit this? Where are you taking me?'

"'Never mind' replied Lee Fu 'As for Captain Nichols, he knows, if anything, less than you do about it. He, also, is at my mercy.... Ah, here are the raincoats. Put one on, Captain Wilbur; you will need it sorely before your return. Now we must hurry. I would be clear of the harbour before darkness falls entirely'

"As we issued from the doorway, the gale caught us with a swirl that carried us round the corner and down a side street before we could get our breath. 'To the right' Lee Fu shouted. Wilbur, lurching ahead, obeyed sullenly. We came about and made for the water front through the fringe of the Chinese quarter—the most remarkable trio, perhaps, that had ever threaded those familiar thoroughfares. Few people were abroad; a Chinaman now and then scurried to cover in our path, and more infrequently we caught sight of a stray European in the distance, called out somewhere by the exigencies of business.

"Overhead, the sky had settled low on the slope of the Peak, cutting off the heights from view; it presented the aspect of a heavy leaden roof, spreading above the mainland to northward, fitting tight along the horizon, and seeming to compress the whole atmosphere. Torrents of rain fell from the frequent squalls; the running water in the streets spurted about our ankles. We floundered on, enveloped in a sort of grey gloom like that of an eclipse. When we reached the harbour, the face of the bay had undergone a sinister change; its yellow-green waters were lashed into sickly foam, and shrouded by an unnatural gleaming darkness. A distant moaning sound ran through the upper air, vague yet distinctly audible. It was evident to the practised eye that the southern margin of the typhoon wasn't far away; with the wind in this quarter, its centre was headed straight in our direction.

"As we staggered along the quay, my thoughts worked rapidly. The wind and the open had cleared my mind as to the swift events of the last half-hour; I began to perceive the plan, now, and immediately recognized the dangerous nature of the undertaking on which we'd embarked. It was to be a game of bluff, in which we should have to risk our lives if the other held his ground. I'd seen Lee Fu in action; I knew that he would hesitate at nothing, since his face was committed to the enterprise.

"I edged toward him. 'Will you go on the water?' I asked close to his ear.

"He nodded, keeping his eyes fixed on Wilbur.

"'But it can't be done' I told him 'A boat won't live....'

"'There is always a definite alternative' he replied.

"'Yes, that she sinks'

"'Exactly'

"I drew away, reviewing the details once more.... All at once, in a flash of enlightenment, the greatness of the occasion came to me. By Jove! Lee Fu had taken the matter into his own hands, he had stepped in where the gods were impotent. But not rudely, as men are apt to do in sudden passion; not with blood and vengeance, an eye for an eye, and a tooth for a tooth. No, he had observed the divine proprieties; had recognized that if he presumed to act for the gods, he must throw his own life as well into the balance. He himself must run every risk. It was for them, after all, to make the final choice. His part was to force action on the gods.

"I gazed at him in wonder—and with more than a flurry of alarm. He advanced stiffly against the storm, walking like an automaton; his expression was absolutely inscrutable. Beneath the close-pulled rim of a black sou'wester his smooth, oval countenance looked ridiculously vacant, like the face of a placid moon. He was the only calm object in earth, sea, or sky; against the lashing rain, the dancing boats, the scudding clouds, the hurried shadows of appearing and vanishing men, he stood out solidly, a different essence, the embodiment of mind and will. Only these could have been superior to the grosser temptation; only these could have met the test, and risen to the awful stratagem.

"And how was it with Wilbur, off there in the lead? He, too, walked stiffly, wrapped in thought. Once he turned round, as if to come back and speak to us; then whirled with a violent movement of decision and plunged on into the rain. He must have known, by now, what it was all about, if not what to expect. He must have known that his crime had been discovered. Yet he had made no break; in no particular had he given himself away. What had he been about to say?—what had he decided? To hold on, of course, maintain the bluff—for he could not believe that we knew all. Would he confess, when he faced death on the water? How long would he hold on?

"Observing his broad back, his commanding figure, that looked thoroughly at home in its oilskin coat and leaning against the storm, it came to me that he would put up a desperate defence before he succumbed. He, too, was a strong man, and no part of a coward; he, too, in a different way, was a superior being, the embodiment of mind and will. I didn't under-estimate him. Indeed, he was worthy of the occasion and of his adversary. It was to be a battle of the giants, with typhoon for background and accompaniment.

"Then, for an instant, my own spirit went slump with the realization of what might lie ahead, and a great weakness overcame me. I edged again toward Lee Fu.

"'My God, suppose the man is really innocent?' I cried 'He hasn't turned a hair....'

"Lee Fu gave me a flash of the moon-face beneath the sou'wester.

"'Have no fear, my friend' said he 'I am completely satisfied, in regions where the soul dwells. It has begun very well'

VII

"When we reached the sampan, lying under a weather shore beneath the bulkhead, we found a scene of consternation. Lee Fu's orders had arrived and been executed; yet the men couldn't believe that he actually meant to sail. Gathered in a panic-stricken group on the fore deck of the sampan, they chattered like a flock of magpies; their gleaming wet bodies writhed in wild gestures under the half-light. As they caught sight of us, they swarmed across the bulkhead and fell at Lee Fu's feet, begging for mercy.

"'Up dogs!' he cried 'There is no danger. I shall steer; and it is necessary that we go. If any would remain, let them depart now, with no tale to tell. Let those who stay prepare at once for sea'

"Not a man made a move to go; the presence and voice of the master had reassured them. Without another word, they rose and filed on board.

"I found Wilbur beside me. 'What is this madness, Nichols?' he demanded for the last time 'Are you fool enough to go on the water in that craft? What has that lunatic been saying to the men?—I don't understand their damned lingo'

"'He told his crew to prepare for sea' I answered shortly 'If he goes, we all go. He says there is no danger'

"'Huh! You're a bigger fool than I took you for'

"A moment later we stood together on the quarter-deck of the cruising sampan. Lee Fu took his station at the great tiller, that archaic steering arrangement worked by blocks and tackles which the Chinese cherish like the precepts of Confucius in the face of mechanical invention. The wind lulled for a moment, as the trough of a squall passed over. Lee Fu gave a few sharp orders. Moorings were cast off, a pinch of sail was lifted forward. The big craft found her freedom with a lurch and a stagger; then pulled herself together and left the land with a steady rush, skimming dead before the wind across the smooth weather reach of the harbour, and quickly losing herself in the murk and spray that hung off Gowloon Point. If we were sighted from the fleet, which is extremely doubtful, we were put down as a junk that had broken adrift. Somehow Lee Fu managed to avoid the ships at anchor off Wanchi. Straight down the length of the bay he struck; in an incredibly short time we had left the harbour behind, and were whirling through the narrow gut of Lymoon Pass before a terrific squall, bound for the open sea.

"I watched Captain Wilbur. He stood in a careless attitude at the rail in our race down the harbour, scanning the boat and the water with an air of confidence and unconcern. A slight sneer curled his lip; he had made up his mind to see the nonsense through. The sailor in him had quickly recognized that the craft would stand the weather, so long as she remained in quiet water. Probably he expected every minute that Lee Fu would change his tactics and put into some sheltered cove.... But when we shot through Lymoon Pass, I saw him turn and scrutinize the Chinaman closely. Darkness was falling behind the murk, the real night now; ahead of us lay a widening reach among the islands, that opened abruptly on the main body of the China Sea. We were rapidly leaving the protection of Victoria Island. Soon we should be unable to see our way. Ten miles outside a high sea was running. And with every blast of wind that held in the same quarter, the centre of the typhoon was bearing down on us with unerring aim.

"These facts were as patent to Wilbur as to any of us. It was his knowledge, of course, that finally was his undoing; had he been less of a sailor, or had he been entirely ignorant of the sea, he could have resigned himself to the situation, on the assumption that those who were sailing the craft wouldn't put themselves in actual danger. Perhaps Lee Fu had realized this when he'd chosen the sea as the medium of justice; perhaps he had glimpsed the profound and subtle truth that Wilbur couldn't properly be broken save in his native environment. He knew the sea, he had trifled with it; then let him face the sea.

"The time came, just before we lost the loom of the land, when Wilbur could stand it no longer; as a sailor, used to responsibility and authority, he had to speak his mind. He knew that the situation was growing very dangerous.... For my part, I had become convinced by now that it was irretrievable; it began to look as if we'd burned our last bridge behind us. I didn't pretend to understand; Lee Fu seemed reckless beyond measure, he had apparently given away his cards without trying to play them. One thing was certain—if some way couldn't be found to hold up this mad race immediately, we should be forced in the next five minutes to run the gauntlet of the typhoon in open water.

"Wilbur dropped aft beside Lee Fu, and made a funnel of his hands.

"'You're running to your death!' he shouted. 'Do you realize what you're doing? You've already lost Pootoy. If you can't haul up and make the lee of the Lema Islands...'

"'I intend to pass nowhere near them—and I know exactly what I am doing' answered Lee Fu, keeping his eyes on the yawing bow of the sampan.

"'There's nothing to the eastward ... no more shelter..."

"'Of that I am aware'

"'Do you know the meaning of that?' Wilbur pointed wildly above the stern rail, into the face of the onrushing storm.

"'I think we shall get the centre of the typhoon, Captain, by noon of tomorrow'

"Wilbur made a move as if to grasp the tiller. 'Haul up, you fool!...'

"A stray gleam in the gathering darkness caught the barrel of the revolver, as Lee Fu steered for a moment with one hand.

"'Beware, Captain! You are the fool; would you broach us to, and end it now? One thing alone will send me to seek the last shelter; and for that thing I think you are not ready'

"'What?'

"'To say that you sank the Speedwell, as I have indicated'

"Wilbur gathered his strength as if to strike; his face was distorted with passion.

"'You lie, you yellow hound!'

"'Exactly.... Captain, be careful—come no nearer! Also, leave me now, and go away, for I have work to do. If you value your life, you will keep silence, and stay a little forward. Go, quickly! Here I could shoot you with even greater impunity'"

VIII

Nichols paused. "It may be that some of you fellows have never seen Lee Fu's cruising sampan" he remarked "In reality she is more of a junk than a sampan; a sizeable craft of over a hundred tons, the best product of the Chinese shipyard. Lee Fu built her for trips along the coast, where conditions of wind and weather are likely to be severe; many of his own ideas, born of an expert knowledge of ships of every rig and nationality, entered into her construction. The result is a distinctly Chinese creation, a craft that in some unaccountable way seems to reflect his own personality, that responds to his touch and works mysteriously for him. She's higher in the bows than an ordinary junk, and a trifle lower in the stern; a broad, shallow hull, requiring a centreboard on the wind. She is completely decked over for heavy weather. In charge of any one of us, perhaps, she would be fairly unmanageable; but in Lee Fu's hands, I can assure you, she's a sea-boat of remarkable attainments and a yacht of no insignificant speed.

"I had seen him handle her under difficult conditions, but never in such a pass as this. How he accomplished it was inconceivable to me. The last I saw of him that evening, he had called two men to help him at the tiller; so far, he had managed to keep the craft before the wind.... He continued to keep her before it throughout the night, running eastward in open water along the China coast. That is to say, he must have kept her before it—because we came through the night, alive and still afloat. But how, I cannot tell.

"For hours I was alone with the elements, surrounded by pitchy blackness and the storm. I clung to a stanchion, hardly changing my position during the night, drenched by rain and spray, seeing nothing, hearing no word of my companions. The gale roared above us with the peculiar tearing sound that accompanies the body of a typhoon—a sound suggestive of unearthly anger and violence, as if elemental forces were ripping up the envelope of the universe—a sound that carries its own message of latent power, of savage impulse, of unloosed destruction. The wind gained steadily in volume; it picked up the sea in steep ridges of solid water that flung us like a chip from crest to crest, or caught us, burst above us, and swallowed us whole, as if we had suddenly sunk down a deep well. From these plunges the sampan would emerge after a long interval, like a fish coming up to blow. It seemed impossible that she could be kept running; to come into the wind, however, would have been certain disaster. Every moment I expected would be our last. Yet, as time wore on, I felt, through the boat's frantic floundering, a touch of mastery. Lee Fu steered—she still was under his control.

"So we came through, and saw the dawn. A pale, watery light crept little by little across the east, disclosing a scene of terror beyond description. The face of the sea was livid with flying yellow foam; the torn sky hung closely over it like the fringe of a mighty waterfall. In the midst of this churning cauldron our little craft seemed momentarily on the point of disappearing, about to be engulfed by the sheer wrath of the elements. It was a scene to compel the eye, while the heart whined in fear for the return of darkness or the swift downfall of oblivion.

"In a lull of the storm my glance encountered Wilbur; for a long while I'd forgotten him entirely. He hung to the rail a little farther forward, gazing across the maelstrom with a fixed exhausted expression. His face was haggard; the strain of the night had marked him with a ruthless hand. As I watched him, his eyes turned slowly in my direction; he gave me an anxious look, then crawled along the rail to a place by my side.

"'Nichols, we're lost!' I heard him cry in my ear. The voice was uneven, plaintive; it made me angry, and revived a few sparks of my own courage.

"'What of it?' I cried harshly 'Turner was lost, too'

"'You believe that?...'

"I looked at him point-blank; his eyes suddenly shifted, he couldn't face me now.

"'Why don't you own up, before it's too late?' I shouted at him.

"Without answering he moved away hastily, like innocence offended. But the strong man was gone, the air of perfect confidence had disappeared; he was shattered and spent, but not yet broken. Pride is a more tenacious quality than courage; men with hearts of water, with their knees knocking together, will continue to function through self-esteem. Besides, what would have been the use now, as he saw it, to make confession? Nothing, apparently, could save us; there was no shelter, no hope in sight....

"Looking above his head, where the sky and the sea met in a blanket of flying spume, I caught sight for an instant of something that resembled the vague form of a headland. Watching closely, I saw it again—unmistakeably the shadow of land, broad on the port bow.... Land! That meant that the wind had shifted to southward, that we were being blown against the shore. And that, in turn, meant that the centre of the typhoon had passed inland, behind Hong Kong, and would issue into the China Sea somewhere down the coast.

"I worked my way cautiously aft, where Lee Fu stood like a man of iron at the tiller, lashed to a heavy cross-rail that must have been constructed for such occasions. He saw me coming, leaned slightly toward me.

"'Land!' I shouted, pointing on the port bow.

"He nodded vigorously, disclosing that he'd already seen it. '... Recognize...' The rest of his answer was blown away by the storm.

"By pantomime, I called his attention to the shift of wind. Again he nodded—then ducked his head in Wilbur's direction, shouting something that I couldn't quite follow. '... Change our tactics ...' was what I understood him to say.

"What did he mean by that? My mind refused to function, save in channels of fantastic conjecture. I'd gained the impression that he was disappointed at the present turn of affairs. Had he depended on the centre of the typhoon for his climax? Good God, had he wanted it to catch us? As matters stood, it was only by the extreme grace of providence that we remained alive. Now, it seems, something had miscarried, we must change our tactics ... find some new horror to take the place of the one that had passed us by.

"He beckoned me to come closer; grasping the cross-rail, I swung down beside him.

"'I know our position' he cried in my ear 'Have no alarm, my friend. There are two large islands, and a third behind them, small like a button. Watch closely the button, while I steer. When it touches the high headland of the second larger island, give me the news instantly'

"He had hauled the junk a trifle to port as he spoke, and now with every opportunity began edging toward the land. Perilous business, in that tremendous seaway; but he executed the manoeuvre with infinite patience and caution, with consummate skill. Wilbur had now seen the land, had straightened his figure and leaned forward, watching it intently. Distances were veiled and distorted in that murky atmosphere; we were nearer to the headland than I had at first supposed. For perhaps twenty minutes we ran on, a tense new excitement tugging at our hearts. Then, as we raced before the gale, I felt the sea begin to grow calmer; glancing to windward, I saw on the horizon a fringe of spouting reefs, and realized that we'd entered the zone of their protection. The tall headland, which now revealed itself as the point of the second island, grew plainer with every moment; soon I made out the island like a button, and saw it closing rapidly on the land behind.

"'Now!' I shouted to Lee Fu, holding up both my arms, when the two points of land had touched.

"He swung the sampan a couple of points to starboard, discovering close beneath our bows the tip of another reef that stretched toward the land diagonally across the path of the wind. In a moment we were abreast this point of reef; a hundred yards away its spray lashed our decks, as the low-lying black rocks caught the broken wash of the storm. Another swing of the great tiller, and we had hauled up in the lee of the reef—in quiet water at last, but with the gale still screaming overhead like a defeated demon. We reached along this weather shore in a smother of spray, until we came abruptly to the little island. This we passed with a rush, and shot forward into a relatively smooth basin that lay under the protection of the high headland on the larger island.

"It was like nothing but a return from hell. The wind held us in a solid blast; but to feel the deck grow quiet, to be able to think, to speak, to hear ... to see the land close aboard.... By Jove, we were saved!—it seemed more incredible than the adventure itself. Heads began to bob up forward, faces drawn with terror, frantic with relief—the faces of men who had lost and found a world.

"A voice spoke gruffly beside us. 'By God, I hope you're satisfied!' We turned to see Wilbur standing at the head of the cross-rail. A twitching face belied the nonchalance that he'd attempted to throw into the words. It was a new phase of the man; his former perfect poise was stripped off like a mask, revealing an inner nature without force or quality, a common empty soul. The very assumption of coolness, a reflex of his over-powering relief, disclosed weakness instead of strength, impotence instead of authority.

"'I don't know how we managed to come through!' he snarled 'In the name of God, what made you try it? Nothing but luck—and now the typhoon's leaving us. We can haul up here until the wind goes down'

"'Is that all, Captain, that you have to say?' inquired Lee Fu, his attention still riveted on the course of the sampan.

"Wilbur clutched the rail as if he would tear it from its fastenings. 'A damned sight more, you blackguards, but I'll save that for the authorities!'

"'You feel no thanks for your escape—and there is nothing on your mind?'

"'We shouldn't have needed to escape, if you hadn't gone crazy. Come, let's wind up this farce and get to anchor somewhere. I'm fagged out'

"'No, we are going on' said Lee Fu calmly, making no move to bring the sampan into the wind 'No time for rest, Captain; the voyage is not over'

"'Going on?...' Wilbur's glance swept the sea ahead. Until that moment, I suppose, he thought he had won the battle; he hadn't dreamed that Lee Fu, after such a miraculous escape, would again put us all in jeopardy. He saw that, on the course we were holding, in a very brief interval we should leave the protection of the headland. What lay beyond, it was impossible to discover through the murk. He turned back fiercely; for a moment he and Lee Fu gazed deep into each other's eyes, in a grapple that gave no quarter.

"'Yes, Captain!' said Lee Fu sharply 'We have not yet reached the spot where the Speedwell met her doom. I cannot waste further time in talk. Return to your station, before I am forced to threaten you again.... This is merely an interlude'

"Since that experience, I've many times examined the charts of the region where we were" Nichols went on "But they don't begin to show the whole story. Beyond the middle island, under whose headland we'd found transitory shelter, stretched a larger island, distant some five miles from the other; between them lay the most intricate, extraordinary and terrible nest of reefs ever devised by the mind of the Maker and the hand of geologic change. No wonder the surveys haven't been completed in that region; I defy any man, in the calmest and clearest of weather, to take a craft among those reefs and come out with a whole bottom. Any man, that is, but Lee Fu Chang, who isn't in the service of the Admiralty.

"The outlying fringe of reefs that had broken our first approach ended at the middle island; beyond that, to windward, lay clear water, and the nest of reefs that I've mentioned received the full force of the wind and sea. Five miles of water stretched in mad confusion, a solid whiteness of spouting foam that seemed to generate a hideous illumination, that reflected a dingy glow into the abandoned sky. All the cataracts of the world rolled into one couldn't have matched the awful spectacle. We were still flying through quiet water; but just beyond the point of the middle island the long wind-swept rollers burst in tall columns of spray that shut off the farther view like a curtain, where the reef of rocks stood in an apparently unbroken wall.

"It was directly against the face of this wall that Lee Fu was driving the sampan. The first lift of the outside swell had begun to catch us. I held my breath, as moment by moment we cut down the margin of safety. No use to interfere; perhaps he knew what he was doing, perhaps he had really gone mad under the terrific strain of the night. As he steered, he seemed to be watching intently for landmarks; his eyes were everywhere, but more often, I noticed, on the shore to windward that rapidly changed its contour as we left it on the port quarter. Was it possible that, in this abandoned spot, he knew his bearings ... that there was a way through?...

"Wilbur, at Lee Fu's command, had left us without a word. He now stood at the rail, supporting himself by main strength, facing the frightful line of the approaching reef; on his back was written the desperate struggle that went on in his soul. It bent and twisted, sagging in sudden irresolution, writhing with stubborn obduracy, straightening and shaking itself at times as a wave of firmness and confidence passed over him, only to quail once more before the sight that met his eyes ... He couldn't believe that Lee Fu would hold that suicidal course. Only another moment!—he kept crying to himself. Hold on a little longer! Yet the power of his will had been sapped by the long hours of night and the terrors of the dawn; and courage, which with him rested only on the sands of ostentation, had crumbled long ago.

"For my part, I was cruelly afraid. Without clear comprehension, I felt the tremendous significance of the moment, perceived that the crisis had come in the battle of the wills. One or the other of them must break now; but if it didn't happen shortly, there would be no time left in which to record the triumph. My eyes met Lee Fu's for an instant, as he swept the retreating shore. He threw some message into the glance—but I had passed beyond the range of understanding. It seemed to me that he was excited, even elated, and as calm as ever—as if he'd found those marks he had been looking for, as if he knew his ground.

"The deafening roar of the breakers filled our ears smothering the voice of the storm like an outburst of heavy artillery. I turned away, overcome by a sickening sensation. I couldn't bear to look any longer. Instead, I found myself watching Lee Fu. He waited tensely, peering ahead and to windward with lightning glances. A wave caught us, flung us forward. Suddenly I heard him cry out at my side in exultation, as he bore down on the tiller. The cry was echoed from forward by a loud scream that shot like an arrow through the thunder, where Wilbur had sunk beside the rail. The sampan fell off, still carried high on the crest of the wave....

"Then, in a moment like the coming of death, we plunged into the reef. I have no knowledge of what took place; there are no words to tell the story. Solid water swamped us; the thunder of the surf crushed the mind.... But we didn't strike, there was a way through, we had crossed the outer margin of the reef. The sampan emerged from the breakers, remained afloat, slowly became manageable. The wind caught us again. Ahead stretched the suggestion of a channel. Ten minutes passed, ten minutes that seemed like as many ages, while we ran the terrible gauntlet of the reef, surrounded by towering breakers, lost in the appalling steady roar of the elements. Suddenly, without warning, we were flung between a pair of jagged ledges and launched forward bodily on the surface of an open lagoon.

"A low rocky island lay in the centre of the nest of reefs, a stretch of open water to leeward of it, all completely hidden from view until that moment. The open water ran for perhaps a couple of miles; beyond that, again, the surf began in another unbroken line. It would take us ten minutes to cross this lagoon ... another interlude.

"'Bring Captain Wilbur' said Lee Fu in my ear.

"I crept forward, where Wilbur lay beside the rail, his arm around a stanchion. He was moaning to himself like an injured man. I kicked him roughly; he lifted an ashen face.

"'Come aft—you're wanted' I cried.

"He followed like a whipped cur. Lee Fu, at the tiller, beckoned us to stand beside him. I pulled Wilbur up by the slack of the coat, and pinned him against the cross-rail.

"'This is the end' said Lee Fu, speaking in loud jerks, as he steered across the lagoon 'From this haven there is no way out, except by the way we came. That way, of course, is closed by the gale. To windward is shelter, ahead is destruction. I will seek the shelter if you will speak. If not, I shall go on. By this time, Captain, you know me to be a man of my word'

"'You yellow devil!...'

"'Waste no time in recriminations. Beyond these reefs, Captain, lies the wreck of your ship, the Speedwell. I have brought you to see the scene. There my friend met death at your hands. You have had full time to consider. Will you join him beneath the waves, or will you return to Hong Kong? A word will save you. Remember, the moments pass very swiftly'

"'What about yourself and Nichols?' blustered Wilbur.

"'We go too ... or stay ... it makes little difference. This is a matter that you cannot understand. We do not care'

"At this juncture, I was fated to under-estimate Wilbur after all. I thought him broken; but a last flicker of obstinate pride remained, to prop his extraordinary ego. He pulled himself together again, and whirled on us.

"'I didn't do it!' he snarled. 'It's a damned, scoundrelly lie!'

"'Very well, Captain. Go forward once more, and reserve your final explanation for the gods'

"The flicker of pride persisted; Wilbur staggered off, holding by the rail. I waited beside Lee Fu. Thus we stood, like wooden images, watching the approach of the lagoon's leeward margin. Had Lee Fu spoken truthfully—was there no way out, in that direction? I couldn't be certain. All I knew was that the wall of spouting surf was at our bows, that the jaws of death were opening again.

"Suddenly Wilbur's head snapped back; he flung up his arms in a gesture of finality, shaking clenched fists into the sky. With a thrill that tingled to my finger-tips, I realized that he was at the point of surrender. The torture had reached his vitals. He turned and floundered aft, holding his hands before his face like a man struck blind.

"'What is it I must say?' he cried hoarsely, in a voice that by its very abasement had taken on a certain dignity.

"'You know. The truth, or nothing!'

"His face was shocking in its self-revelation; a strong man breaking isn't a pleasant object. I saw how awful had been this struggle of the wills. He came to his final decision as we watched, lost his last grip....

"'I did it—as you said—you must know all about it. I suppose I sank her—I had no intention ... You madman! For God's sake, haul up, before you're in the breakers!'

"'Show me your insurance money' said Lee Fu inexorably.

"Wilbur dug frantically in an inside pocket, produced a packet of bank notes, and held them out in a hand that trembled violently as the gale fluttered the crisp leaves.

"'Throw them overboard'

"For the fraction of a second he hesitated; then all resolution went out in his eyes like a dying flame. He extended his arm rigidly, and loosed the notes. They were gone down the wind almost before our eyes could follow them.

"In the same instant, Lee Fu flung down the great tiller. The sampan came into the wind with a shock that threw us all to the deck. Close under our lee quarter lay the breakers, less than a couple of hundred yards away. Lee Fu made frantic signals forward, where the crew were watching us in a state of utter terror. I felt the centreboard drop; a patch of sail rose slowly on the mainmast. The boat answered, gathered headway, drove forward....

"It was just in time. We had run past the low island, and couldn't hope to regain its shelter in such a gale; but a pile of tumbled rocks lay off its leeward end, carving out a small sub-zone of protection. This spot we might be able to fetch, if we managed to escape the clutch of the breakers. Escape them we did, after a hair-raising five minutes, and threw out our anchors in the most precarious berth ever afforded, with our stern brushing the very fringe of the breakers. But the anchors held; and there we rode until the storm was over.

"Wilbur lay as he had fallen after the sampan's frantic plunge. He made no movement; and we, on our part, left him where he was"

"Two nights later, under a clear starry sky, we slipped through Lymoon Pass on the tail of the land breeze. Before we reached Wanchi, it fell flat calm. We shipped the long sweeps and began to row; the chattering crew, who'd never expected to see Hong Kong again, fell to work willingly. The lights of the city twinkled against the Peak, the sleeping fleet swung at anchor in the landlocked harbour; all was silence and tranquillity ... as we see it now. But that night, let me tell you, the familiar scene was invested with a poignant charm. At length we reached the bulkhead, from which we'd taken our maniac departure three days before, and settled in our berth as comfortably as if we'd just returned from a pleasure trip down the bay.

"No words were said as we came in. I sat against the bulwarks, almost afraid to move, like a man awakening to consciousness after a long siege of fever. A little forward of my position, Wilbur rose to his feet. He hadn't spoken or touched food since that tragic hour under the reefs two nights before; had spent most of his time below decks, locked in a tiny stateroom, and had come out only in the last few minutes, as if in response to the nearing sounds of the land. He stood at the rail, a figure wrapped in silence and immobility, watching them berth the sampan. Then, without a glance in our direction, he walked to the gangway and stepped ashore. On the bulkhead he paused for a moment irresolute, turning and gazing across the harbour. His form stood out plainly against a bright light up the street. It had lost those lines of vigour and alertness; it was the figure of a different and older man. A broken figure, that could never again be the same....

"A moment later he had lurched away, vanishing suddenly in the darkness of a side street. Three days afterwards, we heard that he had taken the boat for Singapore. He hasn't been seen or heard of in this part of the world since that day.

"When he had gone, that night at the bulkhead Lee Fu approached me; we crossed the deck of the sampan, and stood for a long while silent at the harbour rail.

"'Thank you, Captain' said he at last 'As I foresaw, it has been supremely interesting. For your part, I hope you feel repaid?'

"'It's quite enough to be alive, just now' I confessed without shame 'I want to see a chart of that locality, Lee Fu. I want to find out what you did'

"'Oh, that? It was not much. The gods were always with us, as you must have observed. As for the rest of it, I know that region pretty well'

"'Evidently.... Did the Speedwell fetch up among those same reefs, or to leeward of them?'

"'The Speedwell? Captain, you did not believe my little pleasantry? We were nowhere near the wreck of the Speedwell, at any time—as Captain Wilbur should have known, had he retained his mental perspective'

"I smiled feebly. 'Well, I didn't know it. Tell me another thing, Lee Fu. Were you bluffing, there at the last, or was there really no passage through the reef?'

"'So far as I am aware, Captain, there was no passage. I believe we were heading for solid rock when we came into the wind'

"The answer surprised me. 'Would you have piled us up' I asked 'if Wilbur hadn't given in?'

"'That is a hypothetical question. I knew perfectly well that I should not be forced to do it. I was only afraid lest, in the final anguish, Captain Wilbur might lose his seaman's judgment, and so might wait too long. That, I confess, would have been unfortunate. Otherwise, there was no especial doubt or danger'

"'I'm glad to hear it!' I exclaimed, with a shudder of recollection 'It wasn't apparent at the time'

"'No, perhaps not. Time was very swift, just then. I will tell you now, Captain Nichols, that I myself had begun to grow alarmed. He waited very long. He was more wilful than I had fully anticipated; a strong, determined man, and an arch-criminal. But, as it chanced, this made it the more interesting'

"I didn't care to argue such a subtle point. 'What did you have in mind, Lee Fu' I asked 'before the typhoon shifted? Did you expect the centre of it to catch us?'

"The question seemed to amuse him. 'Captain, I had no plan' he explained in a puzzled tone 'It is dangerous to make plans, or to live according to a fixed design. There was a task to be begun; the determination of its direction and result lay with the gods. It was plain to me that I had been called upon to act; beyond that I neither saw nor cared to see. Action once begun, I seized events as they came my way.... How characteristic that you ask me for my plan! Would you have the temerity to inquire into the divine control of events? Or do you think that a man really may make a plan?'

"I could believe his statement only because I'd witnessed his incredible calmness.

"He waved a hand toward the city. 'Come, my friend, let us sleep' said he 'We have earned our rest—and that is something not always won from life. But beware of over-confidence, and never plan. It is by straining to see the future that men exhaust themselves for present usefulness. It is by daring to make plans that men bring down on their heads the wrath of heaven. We are the instruments of the gods; through us, they put their own plans in operation. The only failure in life is not to hear when the gods command. In this case, however, there could have been no question; the design was too apparent. From the first, I was sure and happy. There were constantly too many propitious signs'"

THE UNCHARTED ISLE

"They say the man is mad" I whispered, nodding across the room "Pendleton pointed him out to me in Wellington Street this morning"

Nichols gave his twisted smile. "Yes, mad, or inspired, or something very wonderful. Who is competent to judge? But I haven't seen him up this way for a long while. Another expedition must be on foot in search of the Uncharted Isle"

"What's that? You know him, then?"

"Perhaps I am the only man in the East who does know him, in the proper sense of the word. Every one else listens, laughs, and passes on. But I believe. Yes, in spite of ridicule and life's disaster, I continue to believe ... well, not so much in the fact itself, as in the man. By Jove, he's faithful—and that, you must admit, is marvel enough. And his madness isn't entirely impossible; it can be explained. Yet it strikes the world as being funny—and that's his crowning misfortune. A man in search of a lost and apparently non-existent island can't help being a little ridiculous, I suppose, until he becomes a thundering bore. For no one else, of course, is looking for such a thing, or wants to find one. We keep safely within the charted area.... But let me tell you the story, and you can form your own opinion. Don't attract his attention; he won't notice us here in the shadow"

There used to be a certain tea-house in Hong Kong, the name of which was jealously guarded from touring vandals. It opened on the face of an enchanted terrace high above the harbour and the town; from the parapet the eye travelled inland over the low peninsula of Kowloon, as far as the foothills of China, the fringe of a mighty land veiled in mystery. Romance came to that terrace, filtering through lacy bamboo leaves, borne on the night breeze along with the fragrance of flowers and the music of hidden voices. The place wasn't a temple of the conventional. It isn't running now; the songs are still, the little cups no longer tinkle in the half-darkness, and no sweet, startled faces, peep out at visitors from behind the dragon-screens.

Nichols and I had been sitting there some time that evening, when the man came in. Of course Nichols knew him; who with any pretentious to a history wasn't catalogued in his omnivorous files? While I waited, I listened to a rapid conversation in Chinese somewhere in the back of the establishment. Dusk had swallowed the white houses and green slopes below us; the riding lights on the harbour had begun to prick out the berths of ships; with the coming of night, voices seemed hushed among the yellow lanterns.