it was arranged that jacob rank should have charge of the divers and superintend their work, as he knew more about it than any of the others. accordingly the men were mustered on the "heron" and he inspected them. when he came to kylis and miah, the two blacks from shark's bay, he looked keenly at them, but they bore the scrutiny well, although they knew jacob, and had seen him at the bay.
"what do you think of them?" asked jack. "will they do?"
"we shall have to make the best of them," said jacob. "i prefer malays, but i have no doubt we can get along with these fellows. where did you pick the two big men up, they seem in a different class to the others?"
"when we put into shark's bay, there seemed some likelihood of trouble arising with the fishermen there, and phil danks tried to square matters with amos hooker."
"amos hooker!" exclaimed rank, "he is a bad lot."
"that is probable, anyway he pacified the men and we tried the bay, but phil said it was no good our stopping there, as it was about worked out."
"so it is, he's quite right."
"we asked hooker if he could get us any good divers, and he said it was possible, and he would do his best. as we decided to leave earlier than was expected, he said he could only provide us with two, and they are the men you alluded to," said jack.
"amos hooker supplied them," said jacob. "i thought i had seen them before, it must have been at shark's bay. i wonder why he sent them on board. for some purpose of his own, no doubt, probably to spy out the land. i'll keep a strict watch on them, and if they show any signs of insubordination, they'll get left like i was."
"manage them in your own way, i leave it entirely in your hands," replied jack.
early next morning four dinghies, with five divers in each, in charge of jacob, the two skippers, and jack redland were rowed to a spot indicated by rank, about half way across the bay.
jack was eager to see how the divers accomplished their work. rank had the two men from shark's bay, and three others in his dinghy, and his lot were the first to go down. the divers stood on the gunwale of the boats, dropped into the water feet foremost, then turned and swam to the bottom.
jack's dinghy was some distance away, and the five divers in his boat waited for his orders. he pointed to the other dinghies, and by signs indicated they should go down at once. one by one they disappeared overboard, and he watched them swim down until they were out of sight. he wondered how long they would remain down, and when they would come up. he rowed the dinghy about, and waited. they seemed an incredibly long time under water, and he became uneasy, he did not know the length of time some of these divers remained below.
at last a head bobbed up close to the boat, and a hand grasped the gunwale. four more heads appeared almost immediately, and jack rowed the boat to them. each man had shells which he dropped into the dinghy, and then drew himself out of the water.
after resting for a few minutes, they went down again, and this diving was repeated throughout the day until the dinghies contained a large quantity of shells.
at a given signal from jacob rank, they rowed back to the ship, and jack was rather surprised the divers seemed none the worse for their exertion.
the shells were handed on board and piled up ready for opening, and then harry marton, who had remained on the "heron," reported supper was ready. there was a general rush, as they were all very hungry after the day's fast, for it was useless to take any food in the dinghies, as it would have been spoilt with the constant wet from the divers bodies, and also the shells.
jacob rank was quite satisfied with the day's work as he looked at the pile of shells on board the "heron." they had only twenty divers and it was evident they had seldom come up empty handed, or the heaps would not have been so large.
"we'll start at opening them first thing in the morning," said jacob. "you must all take a hand in it, we never allow the divers to open the shells."
"i fear i shall make a mess of it," said jack.
"you will soon get into it," replied jacob. "it's just like opening a large oyster."
"and how do you find the pearls?" asked jack.
"you'll soon find a pearl if there is one in the shell," replied jacob. "sometimes they are loose, not often, again you may find them in big blisters, but, as a rule, you can see them embedded in the shell, where they look like pimples on the surface. you must keep an exact account of all we find, so that a proper division can be made."
"my friend, harry marton, will attend to that," said jack, "it is more in his line."
"it matters very little who does it as long as it is done," replied jacob.
they were all tired out with the day's work, and slept soundly until aroused by jacob rank. each man was provided with a large knife, and jack admired the dexterity with which jacob severed the muscle of the mollusc when the shell opened, and with the rapidity of a london oyster opener, he sliced the fish out of the shell. this being done, the next thing was to look for pearls.
jack redland was clumsy at first, but quickly got into the way of opening and cleaning the shells, and he felt a strange thrill of excitement as he looked for his first pearl.
it was an old worm eaten encrusted shell he held in his hand, and in it he saw a blister about the size of a penny piece. he was about to smash it when jacob called out—
"don't do that; if there is a pearl inside you'll damage it, perhaps crush it to bits. leave the shell on one side and try another. i will show you how to tap a blister later on."
jack placed it on one side and forced open another shell, it took him some considerable time, and when his knife slipped, the gaping shell closed sharply and nearly caught his fingers. he forced it again and cut out the fish, as he did so a pearl, the size of a pea, dropped out and he picked it up, at the same time expressing his feelings in a joyful exclamation. the others looked up, and he held it out to jacob, who examined it carefully.
"straw coloured," he said, "there are plenty of them, but this is well shaped, it is not a bad pearl at all, i daresay it would bring a tenner."
"a little thing like that!" said jack.
"yes, and if it was perfect and a better colour it would be worth a lot more. try again," said jacob, as he handed the pearl back to him.
there were pearls of different sizes in nearly every shell, and phil danks knew jacob rank was not far out when he proclaimed this bay the richest pearl fishery in australia. danks had opened hundreds of shells in his time, but he had never seen such beautiful mother of pearl, or so many seeds in the same number of shells.
they continued opening until the last lot was finished, and as jacob looked at the shell and the pearls, he said, "that's a good day's work for a start, but we shall find a few gems before we have done. did you ever see richer shell, or a larger number of pearls out of such a take, phil?"
"no," replied danks. "i call it marvellous."
jack redland was astonished. on the deck lay a pile of glittering shell, dazzling almost to blinding in the sunlight, it recalled to mind a glimpse of a fairy grotto he had once seen in a pantomime. jacob threw a bucket of water over the heap and the shells reflected a myriad of sparkling lights which danced and flickered in a bewildering manner. from this sight, jack turned to the small bowl of pearls, and commenced to speculate how many they would get before they cleared out of the bay.
the shells and the pearls were carefully stored, and work commenced again for the day. harry marton remained in charge of the schooners, which were anchored alongside, and had with him the cooks and the cabin boys, all the others being left in the dinghies.
they returned at night with a better take than before, and many of the shells were of a considerable age, as could be seen by the encrustations upon the outer surface.
jacob rank had so far no cause to complain of kylis and miah. they were the best divers out of the lot and always came back with shells. they worked hard, and yet there was something about them he could not quite understand. he noticed they were always together, and kept apart from the other divers, as though considering themselves superior. he kept his thoughts to himself, but he fancied he saw some trouble brewing, although he could not define in what direction.
the day had been very hot, and the white men who had sat in the boats under the blazing sun, were tired out.
kylis and miah, however, were wide awake, and seated in earnest conversation at the stern of the schooner.
"this is the richest pearl fishing i ever saw," said kylis, speaking in his native tongue.
"the whole bay is covered with shell," replied miah. "it does not seem fair these white men should have it all."
"they will not have it all," said kylis, with an ugly gleam in his eyes. "you know where they keep the pearls."
miah shook his head and said they would not be easy to get at.
"there is nothing of great value yet," replied kylis. "wait until there is a big pearl, then we must have it."
"how? it will be dangerous."
"leave it to me," said kylis.
miah looked at him, half afraid, he recollected something had been left to kylis before, and when that something had been accomplished there was one white man less in the world. miah was a thief, and no coward, but he hated the sight of blood; he was afraid of kylis because he knew he would stick at nothing to gain his ends.
kylis was a half civilised black, which made him doubly dangerous, and he was maturing a plan by which he hoped to get possession of any pearls of value before they put into shark's bay on the return voyage. he knew jacob rank mistrusted him, and also miah, and hated him accordingly. he meant to be wary and bide his time, but he was determined to carry out the orders of amos hooker in some way or other. his keen eyes noted every movement in the schooner, and he had seen harry marton hide the first lot of pearls in the cabin of the "heron." he had no business in that part of the schooner at all, and had he been seen the punishment would have been swift and sure. he crawled along the deck like a snake, and no one saw him as he watched harry marton secrete the pearls. he had not told miah he knew where they were kept. more valuable pearls might be stored in another place, but as he had discovered one he could, he fancied, easily discover another. he had no intention of making any move until the schooners were on their way back, and if the pearls were on the "heron" and he was put on the "wild cat," he meant to devise some means of changing into the other boat. meanwhile he meant to work hard to divert any suspicion that might lurk in jacob rank's mind, and he ordered miah to do the same.
the second lot of shells turned out even more profitable than the first, and everyone was delighted at their good fortune. jack redland was anxious to secure a pearl that would be worth sending to winifred. he wished for something out of the common, and he hoped to find it himself so that he might tell her so. he was sure barry tuxford and the others would agree to let him have such a pearl if he gave equal value for it.
they toiled hard every day, and the shells and pearls accumulated fast. even now they had a rich cargo to take back, but they were not satisfied. jacob rank had no intention of returning until he had struck the richest patch. he knew that in such a place there must be pearls of immense value, because the whole bed of the bay was covered with shells, which had never been disturbed before, and for years they had been hidden, unknown, unsought, until at last he had chanced to hit upon them.
