THE PLUME PIRATES 347 



Shan made no answer. 



*'Now," said the disgraced game warden, **here 

 is where yo ' and I get even ! Yo ' uncle chased me 

 off 'n his place. I got even with him, I reckon, an' 

 now's my chance to get even with yo'." 



He changed his voice abruptly. 



**What are yo' doin' here, anyway?" 



A moment's thought sufficed for Shan to realize 

 that if he had been unconscious a couple of hours, 

 everything that he possessed in the little tent 

 must have been ransacked. There was nothing 

 to gain by a refusal to answer. 



* ' I 'm photographing birds, ' ' he said. * ^ You 've 

 probably found my camera and films." 



**I found 'em," the man answered. ''I can use 

 a camera myself, whiles, an' I reckon I'll keep that. 

 Yo' can go hunt for yo' films in the sea." 



Shan ground his teeth, but thought of the large 

 camera and plates well hidden in the little cave. 



*'Now," his enemy continued, *'how did you- 

 all get here?" 



Shan puzzled for a moment, then told the truth, 

 or at least in part. 



''I came here with a university expedition," he 

 said curtly, ''and when they found what you and 

 your yellow butchers had done on Laysan, they 



