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CHAPTER IV. PIRACY

BY DUSK the trim little brigantine was scudding away toward the west before a

wind that could not have suited her better had it been made to order at the

special behest of the devil himself to speed his minions upon their devil's work.

All hands were in the best of humor. The crew had forgotten their recent rancor

at not having been permitted shore leave at Honolulu in the expectancy of

adventure in the near future, for there was that in the atmosphere of the

Halfmoon which proclaimed louder than words the proximity of excitement, and

the goal toward which they had been sailing since they left San Francisco.

Skipper Simms and Divine were elated at the luck which had brought them to

Honolulu in the nick of time, and at the success of Theriere's mission at that

port. They had figured upon a week at least there before the second officer of the

Halfmoon could ingratiate himself sufficiently into the goodwill of the Hardings to

learn their plans, and now they were congratulating themselves upon their

acumen in selecting so fit an agent as the Frenchman for the work he had

handled so expeditiously and so well.

Ward was pleased that he had not been forced to prolong the galling masquerade

of valet to his inferior officer. He was hopeful, too, that coming events would bring

to the fore an opportunity to satisfy the vengeance he had inwardly sworn against

the sailor who had so roughly manhandled him a few weeks past--Theriere had

not been in error in his estimate of his fellow-officer.

Billy Byrne, the arduous labor of making sail over for the time, was devoting his

energies to the task of piecing out from what Theriere had told him and what he

had overheard outside the skipper's cabin some sort of explanation of the work

ahead.

As he pondered Theriere's proposition he saw the wisdom of it. It would give those

interested a larger amount of the booty for their share. Another feature of it was

that it was underhanded and that appealed strongly to the mucker. Now, if he

could but devise some scheme for double-crossing Theriere the pleasure and

profit of the adventure would be tripled.

It was this proposition that was occupying his attention when he caught sight of

"Bony" Sawyer and "Red" Sanders emerging from the forecastle. Billy Byrne hailed

them.

The Mucker