"What?"
"I'll have his life. He's a brute."
Miah shivered, he knew Kylis would be as good as his word.
Amos came back with the money in gold, and placed it on a box.
"Now give me the pearl," he said. Kylis handed it to him, and snatched up the money.
Amos Hooker looked at the pearl for some time; he was surprised at its size and purity, he had never seen one like it before, it would be difficult to dispose of.
There was one man he might get a fair price from, Silas Filey, but he hardly knew how to approach him. Silas was acquainted with some of his past life and could make things very unpleasant for him if he chose.
He left the tent with the pearl, satisfied that he had in his possession a gem worth a thousand pounds at least. If he only ventured to Fremantle with it and offered it for open sale he would get much more; this, however, he dare not do.
How to communicate with Silas, that was the difficulty. He puzzled his brains to think how it could be done. Should he send a man from Shark's Bay to see him? There was no one he dare trust on such an errand, for although he was recognised as "the boss," he was more hated than feared, and there were none who would neglect an opportunity of benefiting themselves at his expense.
Some weeks went by, and he still had the pearl safely hidden away, and even Kylis had not been able to discover where it was concealed. Schooners from Fremantle often put into Shark's Bay, and one evening the "Swan" sailed in and anchored.