"Gentlemen, I have news of him. Who? why, that Swede. He is still
on Samburan. He's never been away from it. The company is gone,
the engineers are gone, the clerks are gone, the coolies are gone,
everything's gone; but there he sticks. Captain Davidson, coming by from
the westward, saw him with his own eyes. Something white on the wharf,
so he steamed in and went ashore in a small boat. Heyst, right enough.
Put a book into his pocket, always very polite. Been strolling on
the wharf and reading. 'I remain in possession here,' he told Captain
Davidson. What I want to know is what he gets to eat there. A piece of
dried fish now and then--what? That's coming down pretty low for a man
who turned up his nose at my table d'hote!"

He winked with immense malice. A bell started ringing, and he led the
way to the dining-room as if into a temple, very grave, with the air
of a benefactor of mankind. His ambition was to feed it at a profitable
price, and his delight was to talk of it behind its back. It was very
characteristic of him to gloat over the idea of Heyst having nothing
decent to eat.




CHAPTER FOUR


A few of us who were sufficiently interested went to Davidson for
details. These were not many. He told us that he passed to the north of
Samburan on purpose to see what was going on. At first, it looked as if
that side of the island had been altogether abandoned. This was what he
expected. Presently, above the dense mass of vegetation that Samburan