“Then hustle it on deck as quick as you can, and then call the carpenter, and go forward and heave up.”

Grain looked meaningly at Murray.  “Am I to take the fore deck, sir.”

“Yes, I appoint you acting mate for three days; and Mr. Murray goes to his room for that time for getting into trouble ashore.  Now put some hurry into things, Mr. Grain; I don’t want to stay here longer than’s needful.”

Grain went forward about his business, but Murray, who looked somewhat disconsolate, Kettle beckoned into the chart-house.  He pulled out the pearl bag, and emptied its contents on to the chart table.  “Now, look here, my lad,” said he, “I have to send you to your room because I said I would, and because that’s discipline; but you can pocket a thimblefull of these seed pearls just to patch up your wounded feelings, as your share of old Rad el Moussa’s fine.  They are only seed pearls, as I say, and aren’t worth much.  We were due to have more as a sheer matter of justice, but it wasn’t to be got.  So we must make the best of what there is.  You’ll bag L20 out of your lot if you sell them in the right place ashore.  I reckoned my damages at L500, and I guess I’ve got here about L200.”

“Thank you, sir,” said Murray.  “But it’s rather hard being sent to my room for a thing I could no more help than you could.”

“Discipline, my lad.  This will probably teach you to leave photographing to your inferiors in the future.  There’s no persuading me that it isn’t that photograph box that’s at the bottom of the whole mischief.  Hullo, there’s the windlass going already.  I’ll just lock up these pearls in the drawer, and then I must go on the bridge.  Er, and about going to your room, my lad:  as long as I don’t see you for three days you can do much as you like.  I don’t want to be too hard.  But as I said to old Rad el Moussa, justice is justice, and discipline’s got to be kept.”

“And what about the rifles, sir?”

Captain Kettle winked pleasantly.  “I don’t know that they are rifles.  You see the cases are down on the manifest as ‘machinery,’ and I’m going to put them ashore as such; but I don’t mind owning to you, Mr. Mate, that I hope old Rad finds out he was right in his information.  I suppose his neighbors will let him know within the next week or so whether they are rifles really, or whether they aren’t.”

CHAPTER X

DAGO DIVERS

“I’m real glad to be able to call you ‘Captain,’ my lad,” said Kettle, and Murray, in delight at his new promotion, wrung his old commander’s hand again.  “You’ve slaved hard enough as mate,” Kettle went on, “though that’s only what a man’s got to do at sea nowadays if he wants promotion, and it’ll probably amuse you to see Grain, who steps into your shoes, doing the work of four deck hands and an extra boatswain as well as his own.  Grain was inclined to stoutness—­he’ll soon be thin again.  As for you, you’ve sweated and slaved so much that your clothes hang on like you a slop-chest shirt on a stanchion just now.  But you’ll fill ’em out nicely by the time you get back to England again.  Shouldn’t wonder but what you turn out to be a regular fat man one of these days, my lad.”