It was not until he turned in at night that Jack1 Redland discovered the pearl was gone. He unstrapped the belt and placed it on his bunk2, taking out the case in order to look at the treasure he thought it contained. He saw at once it had been tampered3 with, and pulling the spring found it was broken; a glance inside showed him it was empty, the pearl was gone.
For some moments he was stupefied, overwhelmed with dismay, and unable to act. It was difficult to believe the pearl was missing, yet there was no doubt about it. Who had taken it? Where was it now? These were questions he could not answer. He rushed on deck, half dressed, and encountered Jacob Rank.
"What's up now?" asked the astounded4 Jacob, recognising something serious must have occurred.
"The pearl's gone," gasped5 Jack.
"The pearl! Which pearl?" asked Jacob.
"The black pearl. It is not in the case."
"Then it must have fallen out. Have you looked about your cabin?"
"The lock has been forced; someone has stolen it," said Jack.
"How could anyone steal it when you had the belt round you?"
"I do not know, but it has gone. What are we to do?"
"Find it," said Jacob. "It will be in your cabin somewhere. We will go and search for it."
"Where's Phil Danks?" asked Jack.
"Having a rest. We can tell him what a fright you had when we have found it."
They went to Jack's cabin and turned everything out, but no black pearl could they find.
Jacob sat on a chest and looked at his companion.
"Hand over the case," he said.
Jack gave it him, and he examined it carefully.
"It has been forced with a knife, here are the scratches on it. How did the thief get hold of it? Have you ever left it off when you turned in?"
"No," replied Jack. "I always took the precaution to sleep with it on."
"Could anyone take the case out of your belt and replace it while you were asleep?" asked Jacob.
"Impossible. I am a light sleeper6, and the slightest touch would rouse me."
"We'll go and see what Phil has to say about it," said Jacob.
The skipper of the "Heron" was dozing7 on his bunk when they roused him.
"What do you want?" he growled8. "Cannot you let a fellow have a decent night's rest?"
"You'll not rest much when you hear what has happened," said Jacob.
"Then keep the news till morning," replied Phil.
"It is not the sort of news to keep. We must act at once. Sit up and listen. The black pearl has been stolen."
Phil Danks was wide awake now, and sprang out of his bunk.
"What's that you say?"
"The black pearl has been stolen," said Jacob.
"It is quite true," said Jack, showing the empty case, and proceeded to explain how he discovered his loss.
"I can't make it out," said Phil. "If you had the belt on at night, how the case was got at. When did you see it last?"
"When I went into my cabin the night before we entered Shark's Bay."
"Then it must have been stolen during the night. I have it," he said, excitedly. "I'll bet a trifle one of those black fellows has it. They are as cunning as dingoes."
"You're right," said Jacob. "I ought to have thought of that before, and I know which of 'em it is—Kylis. Why did he come sneaking9 round to see us playing cards? He was hanging about half the night, watching his chance."
"But how could he take the case out of my belt, without waking me, open it, and replace it?" asked Jack.
"There's no telling what a black thief like him can do. They're clever all of 'em, and Kylis is about the smartest of the lot. It's my belief he's in with Amos Hooker over this job. I had my doubts when you told me who got you the men. Now I am certain Amos had a hand in it. Why did he not come back to the schooner10 again after taking them ashore11? I thought it strange at the time, but I see his reason now. He thought if the loss of the pearl was discovered he might be asked nasty questions, difficult to answer."
"Had we better put back and try and recover it?" asked Jack.
"There's not much chance of that," said Phil. "You see, we have no proof they have it, and even if we had we should not be able to recover it without paying a big reward. The best thing we can do is to get to Fremantle as quickly as possible, lay the whole circumstances before Barry Tuxford, tell him our suspicions, and hear what he has to say."
Jack felt relieved. He had great faith in Barry, and thought he might probably devise some means to recover the pearl.
"He'll be very angry about it, I expect," said Jack.
"Oh, no, he won't. You do not know Barry as well as I do," said Jacob. "He seldom gets ruffled12. We have a rich cargo13 on board, that will pay us all well without the black pearl, and he'll be satisfied. I'll tell you what he will do. He'll set himself to get that pearl from Amos Hooker, if he has it, and he knows the way to put the screw on."
"Then you think there is some probability of getting it back?" said Jack.
Jacob shook his head as he replied—
"I doubt it; but if any man can recover it, that man is Barry Tuxford."
Jack Redland was exceedingly mortified14 at the loss of the black pearl. He had set his heart upon buying all the shares in it, and sending it to Winifred. It puzzled him when he thought how it had been taken, for it must have been accomplished15 while he was asleep. He was determined16 to recover the pearl in some way. How, he had as yet formed no idea.
The "Heron" arrived at Fremantle in advance of the "Wild Cat," and the news that she was in the bay quickly reached Perth.
Barry Tuxford lost no time in going to meet her, and there was considerable excitement amongst the pearl buyers over her arrival, for they were aware she had been on a sort of secret voyage to an unknown pearling ground. This was quite sufficient to arouse curiosity as to the result of the trip, and when Barry appeared on the scene he was met by a chorus of inquiries17.
"Wait until I have been on board, then I shall be able to tell you how we have got on. Up to now I know no more than yourselves."
"Give me a chance if you want to sell any good ones," said Silas Filey, a well known buyer of pearls, and a curious character in his way. He was an old convict, sent out for some political offence many years ago, and had amassed
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CHAPTER FIFTEENTH A CLEVER THIEF
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CHAPTER SEVENTEENTH THE PEARL DEALER
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