He alone could sail the Cowrie, therefore
the others could not leave Jungle Island without him; but what was
there to prevent Gust, with just sufficient men to man the schooner,
slipping away from Kai Shang, Momulla the Maori, and some half of
the crew when opportunity presented?
It was for this opportunity that Gust waited. Some day there
would come a moment when Kai Shang, Momulla, and three or four of
the others would be absent from camp, exploring or hunting. The
Swede racked his brain for some plan whereby he might successfully
lure from the sight of the anchored ship those whom he had determined
to abandon.
To this end he organized hunting party after hunting party, but always
the devil of perversity seemed to enter the soul of Kai Shang, so
that wily celestial would never hunt except in the company of Gust
himself.
One day Kai Shang spoke secretly with Momulla the Maori, pouring into
the brown ear of his companion the suspicions which he harboured
concerning the Swede. Momulla was for going immediately and running
a long knife through the heart of the traitor.
It is true that Kai Shang had no other evidence than the natural
cunning of his own knavish soul--but he imagined in the intentions
of Gust what he himself would have been glad to accomplish had the
means lain at hand.
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