Sarréo, page 9 by Louis Becke
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g open in the deck-house, he slipped in when no one was about and put the money among the clothes at the bottom.'
"Sarréo sighed, pleased-like, and then his brown face lit up.
"The big supercargo came a bit nearer to him, and then held out his hand.
"'Look here, Sarréo! The day before yesterday I was wrong, but you got my blood up; and I am sorry, very sorry, for the wrong I did you on board the Manola; but so help me God, Sarréo, I did not fire at you.'
"Sarréo's eyes seemed to look right through the white man; then they turned towards the skipper and me.
"'Ibelieve you, Mr. Warby,' said the skipper, coming up and shaking hands with the supercargo.
"And I believed him too, for he looked terribly distressed and cut up, so I shook hands with him too.
"Then Sarréo put out his big brown tattooed hand.
"'And me too, Mr. Warby.'
"The supercargo pressed it gently, so as not to hurt Sarréo's shoulder, then he almost ran past us on deck.
"Well, from that time out, that man Warby changed, and he looked after Sarréo all the time he was laid up, as if he had been his own brother instead of a Kanaka chap before the mast.
"After leaving Marau Sound we stood to the northward, being bound to Bougainville Island. It took us more than a month to get there, and by that time Sarréo was as well and strong as ever he was, and me and the skipper had got quite chummy with the supercargo, for we found out that he had a lot of good points about him. You see, mister, ten or twelve years ago the Solomon Group was the place to show what a man was made of--as far as that goes it's not much altered since. If you don't die of fever you're pretty sure to get knocked on the head and go down the nigger's gullets--and this chap Warby had rare pluck. He never ran a boat's crew into danger, but would take any risks