106 SPORT, TRAVEL, AND ADVENTURE 



treated kindly, and for his part he thought were not 

 man-eaters at all ; he saw nothing of it. The captain 

 was a quadroon, I suspect from the West Indian Islands, 

 and although a good seaman enough, not a man one 

 would care to have at his back in a row these half- 

 breeds never are, in my experience. The two white 

 sailors forward were green hands also, and followed 

 the lead of the mates. The only folks on board who 

 grasped the situation were the Oba lads, and their 

 boy -chief came up and warned me the new men meant 

 mischief. 



As I walked aft, thoroughly flabbergasted, up comes 

 the captain, rubbing his hands. 



' We are getting along famously, G , are we 

 not? And you look as grim as a Viking, just ready 

 for a row with that Winchester across your shoulders, 

 and that revolver on hip. One would think you were 

 going tiger -shooting.' 



' And that is just what I am preparing for, captain ! ' 

 I burst out. ' These forty Suluhow men are nothing 

 else than human tigers ; we are to get twenty more 

 to-morrow, and they mean mischief.' 



' Oh, you are too suspicious,' returned the skipper ; 

 ' they are all right enough.' 



4 Are they now? That is all you know about it, 

 captain. You have just said it they are human tigers, 

 and no mistake, and they want fresh man -meat. Why, 

 they speared Sura Sura Jones (" mighty Jones ") a few 

 years ago, over there at Quai, and took, to my know- 

 ledge, two vessels before that, and ate their crews 

 and they mean to try it on with us, that's my belief ; 

 I'll arm all the Oba boys to-night, anyhow, and go 

 under righting, if to go I have. You new chums are 



