I was,
indeed, so swallowed up in these considerations that
the wreck, the lagoon, the islets, and the strident
sea-fowl, the strong sun then beating on my head, and
even the gloomy countenance of the captain at my elbow,
all vanished from the field of consciousness. My mind
was a blackboard on which I scrawled and blotted out
hypotheses, comparing each with the pictorial records
in my memory--ciphering with pictures. In the course
of this tense mental exercise I recalled and studied
the faces of one memorial masterpiece, the scene of the
saloon; and here I found myself, on a sudden, looking
in the eyes of the Kanaka.
"There's one thing I can put beyond doubt, at all
events," I cried, relinquishing my dinner and getting
briskly afoot. "There was that Kanaka I saw in the bar
with Captain Trent, the fellow the newspapers and
ship's articles made out to be a Chinaman. I mean to
rout his quarters out and settle that."
"All right," said Nares. "I'll lazy off a bit longer,
Mr. Dodd; I feel pretty rocky and mean."
We had thoroughly cleared out the three after-
compartments of the ship; all the stuff from the main
cabin and the mate's and captain's quarters lay piled
about the wheel; but in the forward state-room with the
two bunks, where Nares had said the mate and cook most
likely berthed, we had as yet done nothing.
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