"Juanita, let me introduce my friend, Mr.——" (here I turned towards him a look of appeal).
"Macklin," he said.
"My friend, Mr. Macklin."
She bowed gravely; he followed suit like a court chamberlain. Then they began to pace the deck together, while I returned to the duties of my watch.
Being anxious to reach Batavia as soon as possible, I cracked on everything the schooner could carry, and before many days were over we had passed and left Thursday Island behind us, and were entering the Arafura Sea. Fair weather accompanied us all the way, and I found the schooner's sailing capabilities improve as I became better acquainted with her.
One thing was plainly evident. Since the arrival of the Albino on board I was thrown quite into the shade. Juanita seemed to prefer his company to that of any one else. He was never absent from her side; they sat together at meals, paraded the deck together, and in fact were inseparable companions. So conspicuous did her partiality at length become, that I felt compelled to remonstrate with her about it. Her look of pained surprise went to my heart.
"Jack, how can you be so unkind to me?" she said, with tears in her eyes. "Though it is all over between us, you know, or you ought to know, how much I love you. Do you think that poor little creature could make me forget you? I am sorry for him—very sorry—that is all."
Of course I forgave her immediately, and equally of course she promised amendment in the future. But though her liking for his company was not so openly shown as before, I could not see that it had undergone any radical change.
But I had other and more important things than Juanita's behaviour towards myself to think about. I discovered that trouble had cropped up amongst the crew forward, and that on two occasions knives had been drawn. What it had originated in I could not find out, but that a big Kanaka boy, called Rhotoma Jimmy, was at the bottom of it all I had good reason to be certain. He had come aboard in Thursday as a stowaway, and was, I found out, a vindictive, ill-tempered fellow, who never lost a chance of making himself objectionable. When I saw that my rowings proved useless, I ironed him for a couple of days. This seemed to sober him; he became deeply penitent, and thinking I had punished him enough, I let him go back to his duties.
The night following his release, he was at the wheel during my watch. I was not satisfied with his steering, and had occasion to reprimand him twice. A short while afterwards I noticed the same irregularity, and went over to the binnacle, determining this time to give him a good rating. As soon as he saw me coming, he left the wheel, and made for the belaying-pins. Seizing one he rushed at me, and endeavoured to hit me over the head with it. But before he could effect his purpose, I had closed with him, and wrenched it from his grasp, striking him as I did so a blow upon the head. He fell like a log, and as he struck the deck I heard footsteps on the ladder, and the Albino stood beside me.