This historic book may have numerous typos and missing text. Purchasers can download a free scanned copy of the original book (without typos) from the publisher. Not indexed. Not illustrated. 1900 Excerpt: ...good to be wise now the thing's happened, but it seemed to be better to get some men by fair words than to steal a few o' the women. We couldn't a caught more'n two or three." "Well, you put three men ashore, an' you've got nothin' to show for 'em." "Can't hev good luck always," growled Crudden. "You didn't grumble when I nabbed them fifty-eight wi' the missionary dodge." "No, mate; you're right there," the Captain replied, his good humour returning at the remembrance of the recent achievement; "I s'pose we must average things--put the good 'uns agin the bad 'uns." "That's about what you must do," sulkily responded Crudden. "Where're we goin' next?" "Oh, we'll run along Santo. I don't expect we'll git much for our trouble; but we can try." The vessel was accordingly headed due west, and before morning Espiritu Santo was sighted, and the Polly Hopkins coasted along northward. Early in the day a brig was observed close in shore, and when the schooner came nearly opposite the place where the brig lay it became evident that something unusual was happening aboard the stranger. Captain Pugsley made out the brig to be the Belle Marie, a Samoan labour trader, and curious to learn what sort of a difficulty she had got into he stood in towards the land, and, as events proved, the Polly Hopkins turned up in the very nick of time to avert a massacre. The recruiter of the Belle Marie had induced about twenty islanders to ship in the belief that they were to be taken to Queensland. When the natives got on board they were taken into the cabin to prevent them from communicating with the other labourers, who would have told them whither the brig was bound. It was intended to keep them in th...
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