Donald’s encounter had been with no less a personage than ‘Bully’ Broom
himself, whose spies in the town had informed him that a party of
Americans had arrived on a yacht and had been making inquiries about a
missing man named Jukes. Broom at once knew that the half-suspected had
happened, and that a strong party in search of the missing man had, by
some inexplicable (to him) chance, arrived in Bomobori.
He perceived at once that Donald’s presence at the hotel, where he had
abandoned him to his fate, might result disastrously for him and he
congratulated himself that the boy did not know more of the fate of
Jerushah Jukes than he had already told our friends. But even that
meager information, Broom foresaw, might be used to great advantage, so
he posted himself in a resort frequented by men of his type of whom
there are many in the South Seas, and despatched some of his crew to
look for the boy he had cast off.
It was not long before Donald who, to do him justice, came unwillingly
at first, was presented to Broom by two villainous-looking half-caste
Malay sailors, for Broom had few white men in his crew.
“They talk too much,” he was wont to say.
As soon as Donald appeared, the ‘Bully’ reversed his usual tactics and
tried to make himself as pleasant as possible. He was a huge-framed
ruffian with a tangled black beard, and burned brown enough by sun and
wind to be taken for a negro. Donald soon saw that he had nothing to
fear from Broom now, and being a sharp boy he proceeded to take the
initiative after some verbal sparring.
“You’ve got an awful nerve sending for me after the treatment you gave
me,” he observed. “What do you want, anyhow?”
“Now see here, boy,” bellowed Broom, in his gruff voice which he tried
to render amiable without much success, so used was he to ruling his
band with an iron hand, “I’ll admit that I may have used you a bit
roughly, but that was the way of the sea. A fine young fellow like you,
though, oughtn’t to mind that. A little knocking about is good for you.”
“Yes, and it was good for me to be left stranded in this hole, too, I
suppose,” said Donald.
“I didn’t leave you stranded. I was merely out of funds and was coming
back to pay you up and get you out of trouble,” protested Broom, with an
earnestness that appeared genuine. “See here.”
He plunged his hand into his pocket and drew out a handful of gold and
then let it fall trickling on the table.
“That doesn’t look as if I wasn’t able to do it, either, does it?” he
demanded. “Now, see here,” he went on, “I’ve got a proposition to make
to you. You’re a smart lad, a clever lad, and one that’s bound to get on
the world. I’m going to help you, too.”
“Well, what do you want?” demanded Donald, who was very susceptible to
flattery, and who had a weak nature, easily played upon by any one
skillful enough to touch the right chord.
“That gang that arrived on the yacht? What about them?” came from Broom.
“They are going to cook your hash if you don’t look out,” said Donald.
“That’s Jukes’ brother, and they’re going to find him wherever you’ve
put him and then nab you.”
“So that’s the program, eh?” muttered the ‘Bully.’ “Now see here,
Donald, I want you on my side and I’m not afraid to pay for it. A smart
and clever boy like you could do me a deal of harm if you were sided
with the enemy. You’ll be no loser by it. You haven’t told them anything
about our little deal with the _Centurion_ yet, have you?”
Donald did some quick thinking. He was sharp enough to see that Broom
was afraid of what he might have said, for even in Bomobori there was
law and if it were known to Mr. Jukes that Broom was in the vicinity it
would be immediately invoked. He balanced his two opportunities against
each other. Cupidity, greed for money, had always been his main fault,
and now he thought he saw a way to make more out of Broom than he could
out of Mr. Jukes. Besides, although he had appeared so humbled before
the boys, and ashamed of his past conduct, his hatred still rankled, for
the reason that he blamed all his troubles on them and had often brooded
over plans of revenge.
“No, I haven’t told them anything about the _Centurion_,” he said at
length, fearing that if he told Broom how much the Jukes party knew the
freebooter might withdraw from any deal he was about to make. “I simply
gave them a cock-and-bull story about myself when they were astonished
to find me here.”
“Ah! So you know them, then? They are friends of yours?” exclaimed
Broom.
“Hardly friends,” muttered Donald. “I knew them in America.”
“You’ve no particular affection for them, though?”
“How do you know?”
“Your tone told me that, my young friend.”
“Well, I might as well admit it. I don’t like them. They wronged me in
America and that’s why I am here now. I’ve treated them in a friendly
way because I’m out of money.”
Broom’s deep set eyes flashed.
“You’ve got a good head boy, very good,” he said, approvingly. “Now to
get down to business. I’ll give you a handsome sum to stay on my side.”
“Spot cash?”
“The money on the nail. I want you to do a little job for me in return.
Keep your mouth absolutely shut, but find out all you can about their
plans. You will always find me here when you want to report. Here’s
something to start with,” and he pushed over the gold which lay on the
table.
Donald’s eyes sparkled greedily as he counted it.
“All right, I’ll do what you say,” he remarked, as he pocketed it, “but
tell me one thing: Where is Jerushah Jukes?”
“Ah, that is for me to know and for them to find out,” was Broom’s
reply, “but I’ll tell you all about it in proper time.”
“It’s a wonder you are not afraid to be seen in the town,” said Donald.
“Any one might tell them about your being here.”
“Nobody knows about me but my friends, and there is no danger of their
talking.”
“But your schooner, which is as well known in this part of the ocean as
a mail steamer?”
Broom smiled.
“You don’t think I’d be fool enough to bring my schooner in here after I
heard about the arrival of Jukes’ yacht?” he asked. “The _South Sea
Lass_ is safely hidden up the coast. I came here on a native canoe.”
“Well, you ought to be good at covering up your tracks, you’ve had
enough experience,” said Donald, with a sort of grudging admiration for
the ruffian.
“One thing more,” said Broom, acknowledging what he chose to take as a
compliment with a grin. “Jukes is very rich. Has he much money with him
this trip?”
“I guess not. Jukes is pretty foxy with his money. If he has much it
would be in some form that is not negotiable. He is not the sort of man
to take chances.”
Broom nodded his massive head ponderously. He was evidently revolving
some plan in his mind. Presently he brought down his heavy fist with a
crash on the table.
“Jukes has poked his nose into this business,” he exclaimed, “and it
will cost him something to get out of it before he gets through.”
“What do you mean?” asked Donald.
“If he was made a prisoner for instance, he would pay handsomely to be
released.”
“I should say so. He’s worth about $20,000,000.”
Broom smacked his lips.
“Some of that’s as good as ours if you do what I tell you,” he
exclaimed.
“Ours?” A greedy look crept into the boy’s face.
“Yes, when he pays up you’ll get your share and get even with the people
you dislike at the same time.”
When Donald left the place with one of his ragged pockets bulging with
unaccustomed wealth, a compact had been formed that was to cause our
friends a great deal of trouble in the near future.