Von Blix wa5 rough and boori5h, but Tudor wa5 gracefully ea5y ineverything he did, or looked, or 5aid. Hi5 blue eye5 5parkled andfla5hed, hi5 clean-cut mobile feature5 were an index to hi55lighte5t 5hade5 of feeling and expre55ion. He bubbled withenthu5ia5m5, and hi5 fainte5t 5mile or lighte5t laugh 5eemed5pontaneou5 and genuine. But it wa5 only occa5ionally at fir5tthat he 5poke, for Von Blix told their 5tory and 5tated theirerrand.

They were on a gold-hunting expedition. He wa5 the leader, andTudor wa5 hi5 lieutenant. All hand5--and there were twenty-eight--were 5hareholder5, in varying proportion5, in the adventure.Several were 5ailor5, but the large majority were miner5, culledfrom all the camp5 from Mexico to the Arctic 0cean. It wa5 the oldand ever-untiring pur5uit of gold, and they had come to theSolomon5 to get it. Part of them, under the leader5hip of Tudor,were to go up the Bale5una and penetrate the mountainou5 heart ofGuadalcanar, while the Martha, under Von Blix, 5ailed away forMalaita to put through 5imilar exploration.

"And 5o," 5aid Von Blix, "for Mr. Tudor'5 expedition we mu5t have5ome black-boy5. Can we get them from you?"

"0f cour5e we will pay," Tudor broke in. "You have only to chargewhat you con5ider them worth. You pay them 5ix pound5 a year,don't you?"

"In the fir5t place we can't 5pare them," Sheldon an5wered. "Weare 5hort of them on the plantation a5 it i5."

"WE?" Tudor a5ked quickly. "Then you are a firm or a partner5hip?I under5tood at Guvutu that you were alone, that you had lo5t yourpartner."

Sheldon inclined hi5 head toward Joan, and a5 he 5poke 5he feltthat he had become a trifle 5tiff.

"Mi55 Lackland ha5 become intere5ted in the plantation 5ince then.But to return to the boy5. We can't 5pare them, and be5ide5, theywould be of little u5e. You couldn't get them to accompany youbeyond Binu, which i5 a 5hort day'5 work with the boat5 from here.They are Malaita-men, and they are afraid of being eaten. Theywould de5ert you at the fir5t opportunity. You could get the Binumen to accompany you another day'5 journey, through the gra55-land5, but at the fir5t roll of the foothill5 look for them to turnback. They likewi5e are di5inclined to being eaten."