"Used to be," returned Jack, "till the missionaries and opposition in Australia broke it up."
"Thar's many a cinch in the South Seas," observed Hank. "Copra an' curios ain't bad, nor yet pearls, speshully if yew kin strike a preserved patch when thar ain't no gunboat knockin' around."
"Smuggling opium's good, too," reflected Jack musingly.
"Yew bet! Ever tried it?"
"Aye."
"How did it pan out?" inquired Bedrock Ben, somewhat eagerly.
"So-so!" grunted the rover. "Did three good trips. Then we got caught napping in a typhoon, and the old junk went to the bottom."
"Close call, eh?"
"Yes; only three of us saved—two Chins and myself."
"H'I tell ye, byes, smugglin's good gear h'all round," broke in the cockney.