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 "I'd run the three of you over to Christmas Island myself," he said one day, "only I don't want to lose you."

"You 've never been as far as there, have you?" Tempest asked.

"Not quite, but pretty nearly."

"You must know these waters well, then."

"I ought to," said Flagg. "I 've been pottering around in 'em for years."

Tempest was thoughtful for a few moments. He caught Dave's eye. The same idea had occurred to both of them at that instant.

"There was a bark called the Hatteras went ashore somewhere around here years ago," Tempest said at last. "Did you ever hear anything of it?" Joe Flagg rubbed his chin with a pudgy forefinger. "The name is kind of familiar," he said, "but I don't place it for the minute. There's a good