 Position, 8 degrees, 4 minutes south, 112 degrees, 20 minutes east. Wind fresh, sky fair. Remarks, cleared Surabaya Java after losing valuable cargo. Reason for loss, the peg-legged skipper in the Iberian blade. Some dirty weather into the harbor of Surabaya. But as soon as we tied up to the Semarang Trading Company's docks, the skies cleared. Then the port's business renewed. Harborcraft skittered to and fro. Prophet in Dutch Florence passed from hand to hand under the heat from the Java sun. And the visitor rushed aboard the Scarlet Queen. You are Captain Carl Neyar. That's right. I am Carl the Bishop from the Semarang Company. Oh, you got cargo for us? Yeah, yeah. Cargo for you to take to Darwin, Australia. We will load at once, yeah? With the papers on order in the office and you come up there to sign. You first get ready to take it aboard. What's the rush? Yeah, yeah, yeah. Yeah, rush. Silicon for the steel mills in Australia. I pay you bonus if you rush, yeah? Yeah. Okay. Gallagher! The hatches! We got cargo! Per the bills of lading, the boxes that were dropping into the holes were marked silicon. The Semarang Trading Company, Darwin. Just about then we had our siege bloated. They looked at me through pig eyes that were forced almost to talk about. This cargo will be loaded before dark and I'll be casting off at dawn. For Uncharted Adventure, every week a complete entry in the log. And every week a league further. In the voyage... The text will be re-signed and the cargo will be transferred to my ship. Huh? Well, we'll see about that. A white man with hunched shoulders and balding head stood in the middle of the room. Why don't you think I'll stand by anything you see to? I've got the authority now that the bishop is dead and I'll use it. Look, Locke, and I got a contract with the Semarang Company. They're going to release me. Well, take care of that. Not with me, you won't. Get in touch with the Darwin... Why is Locke so hot to get at aboard his ship? I don't know... I don't know nothing about Captain Locke's interest in this... Stop sniveling. Captain Tom Locke, who's got a peg leg or crew someplace and strong feelings about putting this stuff aboard his ship. I don't want a dozen or so armed men catching us off guard. I want you to move the Queen. Where you going? I'll be in town at the Simpang Hotel. Get her out of sight, anchor in the stream someplace and break open a few of those boxes and see what the cargo really is. Let me know sometime tonight, will you? Sure. The company's office in Darwin explaining things and requesting an answer addressed to me at the Simpang Hotel. Then I checked the local law to see if the Bishop's murder had been reported. It hadn't been, so I gave them as much of the story as I knew. Then I went to the hotel to wait. I waited about an hour and a half. Captain Tony, I must talk to you. The figure on the other side of the door was very trim, appealing, and very feminine. She pushed away into the room and closed the door. I am Marcia Calero. How do you do? I was for a long time a very close friend to Carl. Carl? Carl de Bishop. We met in Argentina and I followed him here. Uh-huh. Uh, sit down, Miss Calero. Thank you. It is so sad about Carl. Where'd you come to me? I had no place else to turn. It was such a shock to be told by the police like that. So sudden, they told me about you, and I needed someone to talk with. In the States, we'd say your act is from hunger, Gordon. I beg your pardon. You got my address because you or Beggs or Larkin found out about my cable to Darwin. That's the only place I mentioned this hotel. Suppose we dry up and start again, huh? It's always. Captain Carney, where is your ship? That's better. My ship is in a safe anchorage and it'll stay there until I hear from the Darwin office or turn it over to customs or both. Oh, that is good. I was afraid that Captain Larkin had gained control of it. Why? It was Carl's cargo and mine. Now that Carl is gone, it is all mine. We made the original investment and now I deserve to make the profit. Is that not right? You aren't wasting many tears over your late, very close friend, but it sounds business-like, you know? I am not so hard as I sound. I am very frightened. Captain Larkin wants to steal the cargo. That is why he killed Carl. What is the cargo? What is silicon? You must have known that, Captain Carney. That's what I was led to believe, yeah. I want you to help me. I want you to protect my cargo and have the police arrest Captain Larkin for killing poor Carl. I would pay you a big bonus. You would do this for me? Everybody's got a bonus. Look, why don't you just tell the police about Larkin? I'm afraid to. If you're telling the truth, why should you be? I am telling the truth, but sometimes the truth is very hard to tell. About the cargo, you mean? About everything. You see, I am not Carl's legal widow or the remaining legal business partner. Who is that? Hey, Skipper. All right, just a second. Well, I should say... This is Miss Marcia Calero. How are you? Mr. Gallagher. How do you do? It is my pleasure. If I may interrupt. Oh, yeah, Skipper. I split open some of those boxes. It's silicone inside, all right. In bars, about a foot and a half long and about six by six inches the other way. Captain, you did not believe me? I do now, gorgeous. I do now. Skipper, here's something I picked up at the desk for you. It's a cable, I guess. Yeah, thanks. Hold it. Listen. Get out of sight, gorgeous, in there. Get out of sight of the door, Red. Yeah, I'll open it. You call her. You're OK. What is this anyway? Look around you. The sight may change your mind. I looked at the strange room for the first time. Gallagher was on the floor out. A little bald, clerked begs slumped forward against the line that lashed him to a chair. He was bare to the waste and his torso was striped by welts from the beating. Lashed into another chair, set Marcia Calero. Her eyes filled with terror. Understand now, car name. There'll be no stopping until we learn what we want to know. Where is your ship? What happens to my mate and me if I tell you? No, no, don't tell you. I said what happens if I tell you? I'll have that cargo. And what'll we have? My mate and I. You will not go together to show me where your ship is. All right, my mate stays here. I'll take you. Then what do we get? No, no, you can't. Once the cargo's aboard the sea-sprite and we're well out of the harbor, you'll be put over the side and I'll be through with you. I'm supposed to believe that, huh? All I want. Mate can go hang-off. Anything else to do? I went with Larkin. I marked the spot we left a residence somewhere near the local river, the Calemas. Then we headed toward the waterfront. I let him down onto the mud shore. I was hoping for a small boat, any small boat that would look like it had come from an American ship in these waters. I kept moving forward as though I knew where I was going. Then a few hundred yards down. Uh, here's the boat. Captain Carney. I'm the man who's holding the gun. Well off shore. I wasn't sure what I was going to do, but I knew what had to do with it. I figured I'd roll over the side and get onto the boat and capsize it. And then... ...the boat reached up to the port gunnel and pulled down. But I stopped! I threw him off balance and before he could regain it, I had the starboard gunnel and pulled down. Carney's back to the other side. But I'd made a mistake. I underestimated him. I approached him head-on and started to circle. I was barely able to see him in the dark. When I circled the close-in, he moved toward me. He flipped over on his back and lunged out at me with his big leg. Me and the solar plexus knocked the wind out of me, doubled me over. He climbed onto my shoulders and pushed me under. Then the peg kept jabbing down at me. I felt a serial on my faces. It took a gouge of skin and flesh from my cheek. And with almost my last bit of consciousness, I grabbed out for it. I held onto it. I fought my way to the surface. I kept my grip on it. Using it as a lever, I held his head underwater. His right boot crashed into my face. My chest and my belly. But I held on until the kicks got weaker. And stopped. And I had to fight with myself to keep from passing out. The gun was still held tightly in his hand. I took it away from him. We rested for a while. He was able to talk by the time I got him into the bishop's office in the summering warehouse. Now, like you say, Larkin, we'll have a word, huh? Sit down. You'll pay for this. I hope so. What makes that cargo worth all this? I don't know. Maybe I can beat you with a knowing. No, you can't. Because I'm not lying. I don't know. It's with a fortune. But I don't know why. How do you know it is? Beggs told me he heard the bishop talking to the woman about it. Didn't you lash the rest of it out of Beggs? No. And you didn't get it out of the bishop before that knife blade went home? Nothing about that, Beggs. He was here. I think I might do that. Right after I settle you in that chair so you'll wait for the police. Comfortable, but he was secure by the time I finished lashing him into place. Then I took Larkin's revolver, dried it, reassembled it, and shoved it into my pocket. As I did, I felt the crumpled water-soaked cable from Darwin that Reddit brought me. The first chance I'd have to read it. Stopped once before I got back to the residents on the Kalimah River to pick up the lying by the side of the road. I walked down the hall to the room where I'd left Red and the others I used to see. I sounded enough like Larkin to fool myself. I hope my voice would sound enough like him to fool his crewman. You're over in the door, man. I'm alone. Glad you like it, gorgeous. Oh, I do. You will free me now. In a minute, Marcia, since I get my maid on his feet. Hey, Red, what the devil are you doing? You all right? No, but I learned enough to play Plossom after they clubbed me the last few times I came to. Give me a lift up, will ya? What happened to your face? I got tangled up with that peg leg of Larkin. You will free me now. Don't get anxious, Marcia. Begs is in worse shape than you are. Here, hold the gun on your friends, Red. I'll cut them loose. Begs, come on, Begs. We'll have you back on your... What's the matter with him? He wasn't built for a flogging like that. Oh, is that... See, I'll cut you loose. Oh, gracias. I can go with you, Capitan. You will stay near me. I'm not so sure you'll want to go with me. But I do. You have to take me. Okay, remember that you asked me. We're going to my ship to get a few bars of your silicon and then to the customs office. Red, take care of your friends, will ya? I'll be back. Get you some silicon. We'd like to have you look over it. It's from a cargo that belongs to Miss Calero here. This is also unnecessary, Capitan. What is it you want, the silicon? I want you to take these bars someplace where you can melt them down. Oh, Capitan, why you do this? You are so foolish. Maybe gorgeous, but if silicon wasn't the cause of this mess tonight, something else was. What is mess? Two murders to date. I ask you. I do not know what this is all about. No, I think I can come pretty close. A shipment of silicon to Australia is natural enough. It's used to harden iron and making steel. I don't know what its melting point is, but it's pretty high, over a thousand degrees centigrade. So it would be a lot of trouble to melt down the bars to see if anything had been mixed with the silicon. Yeah, yeah, yeah. You talk too quick. I don't follow so fast. You don't have to understand. All you have to do is have it melted to prove whether I'm right or wrong. I do not know anything you're talking about. I will be at my home if the customs officer wants to talk anymore to me. Hey, look, yeah, get this stuff someplace where you can melt it. I got another stop to make with her. Yeah, if you think it is nothing. It is cheap. I got it on good authority. Hey, Marcia, wait a minute! Now wait, I'll walk you home. I do not think I would like to... Oh, come on. Maybe on the way we can figure out how to pin the bishop's murder on bags. Come on. You are a difficult man to understand, Kevin Carney. Why did you say that? Because you killed the bishop. So Captain Larkin wouldn't force him to transfer the cargo to his ship. Why do you say that? Because Captain Larkin saw you do it. Ah, he is lying. You know he is. No, I wish I did. I hate to see you go up for it. You aren't the type for Dutch prisons. Oh, Captain, wait. Why did you say that? Because you're so beautiful. Uh-huh. You think so? I'm human. I'm not blind. Ah, I do not know. Look at me. Who do you want? For what? To go away or to stay with me? You know what it is about the cargo, no? Sure. Diamonds. They don't have to find them. Why don't you stay with me? We will have money and together a good life. With eyes like yours, gorgeous, you make it tough. Good. You're a good man. You're a good man. You're as gorgeous as you make it tough. Gary, though, please. But I saw that Spanish knife handle sticking out of the bishop's chest. Oh, don't. Please. I'm afraid I wouldn't have one easy moment with you. But you would, mi amor. Because I couldn't forget how you handled very close friends when you threw with them. I hate you. I'll kill you. Get away from me. All right. Calm down, gorgeous. Let me go. I'll kill you. I'll kill you. I'll kill you. Let's see her into the hands of the local homicide boys. And our departure from Surabaya were busy ones. Customs took the rest of the silicon off the ship and melted it down. The diamonds hidden in it were worth enough to buy and sell the queen three or four times. We took on a legitimate cargo the next morning, and by noon we'd cast off and nosed out into the wind sweeping down across the island of Madura. Fall the men into their positions. The chiefs under the pull of the storm. The ship went out. And the mizons. The deck beneath me catted the port. And the scarlet queen took the bone in her teeth and settled on to her course. I guess we'll get there with this rig, Skipper. It'll do, Red. At least it's dropping Surabaya on our stern fast enough. Yeah. You know, you... Thanks, Red. How do you mean? The way you figured out that there were diamonds in that silicon. Well, I was simple, Red. I might be just a little psychic. Oh, you haven't got X-ray eyes. I know you well enough to assume that, I think. I hope your opinion of me won't drop when I tell you, Red. That cable from Darwin gave me a... a hint. A hint? Yeah, it was from Customs. They said they'd arrested all the Semerang company personnel in Darwin and would appreciate any information on those in Surabaya. They were suspected of smuggling diamonds. Oh. A hint. Why did all the rest, Red? Up to and including putting another beautiful woman behind bars. Yeah, well, we'd all be better off if you'd stay away from diamonds, stick to the one you got. Here, Skipper. The queen? She's got a few tricks herself. Yeah. To the scarlet queen. After you, mate. After you!