It happened that his haven of refuge was but a short
distance south of the harbor in which he knew the Ithaca
to be moored, and in the morning he decided to pay that vessel
a visit in the hope that he might learn something of advantage
about the girl from one of her lascar crew.

The wily Malay had long refrained from pillaging the
Ithaca for fear such an act might militate against
the larger villainy he purposed perpetrating against
her white owner, but when he rounded the point and came
in sight of the stranded wreck he put all such thoughts
from him and made straight for the helpless hulk
to glean whatever of salvage might yet remain within
her battered hull.

The old rascal had little thought of the priceless
treasure hidden beneath the Ithaca's clean swept deck
as he ordered his savage henchmen up her sides while he
lay back upon his sleeping mat beneath the canopy which
protected his vice-regal head from the blistering
tropic sun.

Number Thirteen watched the wild head hunters with
keenest interest as they clambered aboard the vessel.
With von Horn he saw the evident amazement which
followed the opening of the hatch, though neither
guessed its cause. He saw the haste with which a half
dozen of the warriors leaped down the companionway and
heard their savage shouts as they pursued their quarry
within the bowels of the ship.