Gajah, the serang, spat again, and his soft eyes glowed luminously.
"All the men, here and above. The wireless man, the two quartermasters, Tuan Barnes, and the cap'n must be killed. Tuan Vanderhoof will navigate the ship. He is a great coward, and after his feet are burned he will be glad to serve us. This chief engineer must be killed, too. Six altogether. You will attend to this chief."
The two Eurasians looked at each other, then at the supinely snoring figure of the chief. They grinned and nodded. The chief would be drunk again after tiffin.
"You are sure of the men?" asked the third.
"Of course," said Gajah. "Lim Tock shipped them carefully at Canton, and my own men are picked for the purpose."
"Why has the course been changed?" demanded the second engineer.
"Because I whispered into the ear of the cap'n," said Gajah, with a meditative smile. "I told him that I knew a chief at one of the islands in the mouth of the Sesajap River, who had a great deal of gold dust, many birds' nests, and some fine pearls and shell. The tuan cap'n is very greedy. He changed the course immediately."
"Is there such a man?" asked the third. Gajah grinned in derision.
"Why not? Once I knew such a man at Sibuko, which is not far away. He was the second cousin of my elder brother's third wife, and he was very rich. I went to visit him, and induced his youngest wife to run away with me. But she forgot to bring the pearls with her, being in love with me, and so I slew her. That happened in Manila, and they put me into prison because of it. The white tuans did not understand."
"Well, when is this to take place?" asked the second engineer nervously.