“What do you intend to do?”
“Do? Nothing now. Wait until she gets into the harbor and then nab the man that her cargo is assigned to.”
“But supposing he manages to land the cargo before the boat reaches the harbor, then what?”
“Take a mighty smart man to skin me, old fellow. Fill up your mug, I see it’s empty.”
“Here’s to the Fanny; may she make port safely.”
The captain looked at Roberts in mild surprise but he drank the toast and added, “May she make port safely and give her cargo up to the government.”
Roberts left the room and found Ah Pung waiting for him.
“You come my house eat,” he said.
The invitation was accepted and Roberts was soon at Ah Pung’s home. It was a pretentious dwelling, for Ah Pung had money. He had married a Hawaiian woman who possessed a large quantity of land. A part of this her husband had sold to enable him to buy opium, and after the second trip, he was counted a rich man.
Ah Pung had a daughter. Though dark-skinned, Kealoha was fair to behold. She had inherited her mother’s Hawaiian beauty, and her only Chinese characteristic shown from her eyes.