“The two of us’ll play it fair without him,” said Buckrow.  “Come on and stow this gold, and have done with the job.”

“That’s an end of it,” said Thirkle.  “No use to talk of it more.  Do for me now; I ain’t got much longer to live, anyhow.  But I’ll tell you chaps what I’ll do, so ye won’t have to ask no favours at the end.”

“What now, Thirkle?” asked Buckrow.

“They tried to make a preacher of me in my young days, and it was no go; and they put me in the navy, and I made a mess of that.  But I’m good as a navy chaplain at saying a prayer; and if ye’ll bring me the little Bible ye’ll find in my jacket-pocket I’ll say the burial service of the Church of England over ye two, fine as a bishop would and good enough for anybody, with all the frills.  How’s that for Thirkle?”

“Let him go, Bucky,” whined Petrak, with quivering knees and terror in his face.

CHAPTER XVIII

BIG STAKES IN A BIG GAME

“I’d look a fine fish letting of him go now, after what’s passed between us!” laughed Buckrow.  “Ye mind what he’d do the minute he got his paws free.  Reddy, if ye don’t shut yer trap I’ll drill ye, that’s what.”

“No arms for me,” suggested Thirkle.  “I bear no arms; and both of ye have the bilge on me with all the knives and pistols in yer own hands.”

“That’s all very fine for ye to say now, Thirkle; but what of when ye get in reach of a gun or a knife?  What then?”

“I’ll bear ye no grudge,” said Thirkle.  “Never a word will I say, Bucky.  That’s done and gone, and we all have our little quarrels.  Never a hand will I turn against ye, Bucky, and Petrak here to witness what I say.”

“No grudge ag’in’ me for what I done?” demanded Buckrow doubtfully.  “Ye mean ye’ll let this go and never a word ag’in’ me, Thirkle?”

“Never a word.  We’ll slip all that and turn to at getting this gold away.  What’s a little mistake against all this here?  Going to let a bit of a row stand between us and good times?  I say no.  Give me a chance to get ye all off here with the gold and I won’t likely forget it if ye let me go, Bucky.  I’m not the man to hold a small mistake of judgment against a mate like you, what’s fought and worked with me so long, and ye was always ready, Bucky, when there was a hard job ahead.

“Nearly two years we’ve been together, mate, and it would be a pity if we smashed things now, when we’ve got a ship-load of gold.  It’s time we quit and took our comfort, and no more chances of getting a rope at the end of it.  We’ve about played the game out, and we’d better not play a good thing too far or we’ll find ourselves catching a crab one of these fine days.  I said we’d stop if we made it safe with the Kut Sang, and we have and now that we’ve got plenty ahead, with eating and drinking and a good bed the rest of our days, let’s square away for home.