“But I had better begin at the beginning.  We must go back to the first time the old dollars had been called in by our Government in exchange for a new issue.  Just about the time when I left these parts to go home for a long stay.  Every trader in the islands was thinking of getting his old dollars sent up here in time, and the demand for empty French wine cases—­you know the dozen of vermouth or claret size—­was something unprecedented.  The custom was to pack the dollars in little bags of a hundred each.  I don’t know how many bags each case would hold.  A good lot.  Pretty tidy sums must have been moving afloat just then.  But let us get away from here.  Won’t do to stay in the sun.  Where could we—?  I know! let us go to those tiffin-rooms over there.”

We moved over accordingly.  Our appearance in the long empty room at that early hour caused visible consternation amongst the China boys.  But Hollis led the way to one of the tables between the windows screened by rattan blinds.  A brilliant half-light trembled on the ceiling, on the whitewashed walls, bathed the multitude of vacant chairs and tables in a peculiar, stealthy glow.

“All right.  We will get something to eat when it’s ready,” he said, waving the anxious Chinaman waiter aside.  He took his temples touched with grey between his hands, leaning over the table to bring his face, his dark, keen eyes, closer to mine.

“Davidson then was commanding the steamer Sissie—­the little one which we used to chaff him about.  He ran her alone, with only the Malay serang for a deck officer.  The nearest approach to another white man on board of her was the engineer, a Portuguese half-caste, as thin as a lath and quite a youngster at that.  For all practical purposes Davidson was managing that command of his single-handed; and of course this was known in the port.  I am telling you of it because the fact had its influence on the developments you shall hear of presently.

“His steamer, being so small, could go up tiny creeks and into shallow bays and through reefs and over sand-banks, collecting produce, where no other vessel but a native craft would think of venturing.  It is a paying game, often.  Davidson was known to visit in her places that no one else could find and that hardly anybody had ever heard of.

“The old dollars being called in, Davidson’s Chinaman thought that the Sissie would be just the thing to collect them from small traders in the less frequented parts of the Archipelago.  It’s a good business.  Such cases of dollars are dumped aft in the ship’s lazarette, and you get good freight for very little trouble and space.

“Davidson, too, thought it was a good idea; and together they made up a list of his calls on his next trip.  Then Davidson (he had naturally the chart of his voyages in his head) remarked that on his way back he might look in at a certain settlement up a mere creek, where a poor sort of white man lived in a native village.  Davidson pointed out to his Chinaman that the fellow was certain to have some rattans to ship.