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 make a few inquiries as to to-day's market price of platinum to, see how much you 're worth."

"You 're laughing now," Dave said, "but you won't laugh once you see me sitting on the deck of the good ship Hatteras counting up a fortune."

"She has n't any deck left. It's all been washed away."

"How do you know? You have n't seen it. Jim, are you coming with us to Christmas Island?"

The Kanaka shrugged his shoulders. He thought it was some silly joke.

"I expect we 'll have to bribe him," Tempest said. "Jim, what would you like best of all in the world?" The Kanaka was squatting with crossed legs on the sand, screwing his eyes into the sun to watch the graceful flight of a gull. He was wearing all that remained of just two garments—a shirt, the sleeves of which he had removed by main