“Never you mind that,” replied Harman, “there’s hurry enough if you knew. There’s a cable from here to Papeete, ain’t there?”
“Yep.”
“Well never you mind the hurry till we’re clear of this place. Put your trust in your Uncle Billy, and he’ll pull you through. You’ve laughed at me before for messin’ deals, said I’d no sort of headpiece to work a traverse by myself, didn’t you? Well, wait and you’ll see, and if it’s not ‘God bless you, Billy, and give us a share of the luck’ when we get to Rarotambu, my name’s not Harman.”
“Maybe,” said Davis, “and maybe not. I’m not likely to forget that ambergris you fooled me out of with your plans, nor the dozen times you’ve let me down one way or another, but I tell you this, Billy Harman, it’s six cuts with a rope’s end over your sternpost I’ll hand you if you yank me out of this place on any wild goose chase.”
“I’ll take ’em,” chuckled Harman. “Joyful, but there ain’t no geese in this proposition, nothin’ but good German money, and when you’re down on your knees thankin’ me, you’ll remember your words.”
“Oh, get on,” said Davis, and taking the newspaper again, he began to read, Harman making over for the Continental and a gin and bitters.
The Manahangi was a schooner of two hundred tons, built in 1874 for the sandal wood trade and looking her age. Wayzegoose fitted his ship. His scarecrow figure appeared at the port rail as the boat containing Billy and Bud came alongside and he dropped the ladder himself for them.
They had scarcely touched the deck when the Kanakas clapped on to the winch, the anchor chain was hove short, the sails set and then, as the anchor came home, the Manahangi, in the gorgeous light of late afternoon, leant over to the breeze, the blue water widened to the shore and the old schooner, ageworn but tight as a cobnut, lifted to the swell of the Pacific.
Harman at the after rail gazed on the island scenery as it fell astern, heaved a sigh of relief and turned to Davis.
“Well, there ain’t no cables can catch us now,” said he. “We’re out and clear with money left in our pockets and twenty thousand dollars to pick up right in front of us like corn before chickens.”