As Floyd looked up from his work he took in Hakluyt's appearance fully for the first time, and the idea that this man was the new partner in their concern filled him with repulsion and uneasiness.
He had been on the point of exposing the pearls triumphantly to view, but in a flash he altered his decision, and, asking them to wait for a moment, left his work and ran up to the house for the tin cash box from which he had taken them.
He placed it on the sand, and packing in the precious cotton-wool-covered parcels, closed the lid and handed it to Schumer.
"We can examine them afterward," said he. "Keep them for the present. They are not a bad lot, but they might be better."
"We'll put them in the house," replied Schumer. "I've got a safe on board; brought it from Sydney, but I can't get it ashore till to-morrow. Meanwhile they'll be all right in the house. Well, Hakluyt, what do you think of the island?"
Hakluyt looked about him as though taking stock of the place for the first time.
"It is not so bad," said he. "It is a fair bit of a lagoon, but it might be bigger."
"Oh, it will be big enough for us," replied Schumer, with a laugh. "Come up to the house with me, Floyd, till I put this stuff away. I want to have a talk with you."
They left Hakluyt, and walked up to the house.
"I say," said Floyd, "if that's our new man I don't like the look of him."