not," he said to me in Singapore, "draw up an agreement here, but
will do so at Batavia," and forthwith we set sail for that place.
Before leaving Singapore, however, Jensen bought some nautical
instruments he could not get at Batavia--including compasses,
quadrant, chronometer, &c. Strange to say, he did not tell me that
his ship was named the Veielland until we had arrived at Batavia.
Here the contract was duly drawn up, and the vessel fitted out for
the voyage. I fancy this was the first time Jensen had embarked on
a pearling expedition on a craft of the size of the Veielland, his
previous trips having been undertaken on much smaller vessels, say
of about ten tons. Although the fitting out of the ship was left
entirely in his hands, I insisted upon having a supply of certain
stores for myself put aboard--things he would never have thought
about. These included such luxuries as tinned and compressed
vegetables, condensed milk, &c. Jensen did not even think of
ship's biscuits until I called his attention to the oversight. He
demurred at first about buying them, but I told him I would not go
until we had the biscuits aboard. Jensen was a very bluff,
enigmatic sort of fellow, as I afterwards found out. He was of a
sullen, morose nature, and I could never get much out of him about
his past. He would not speak about himself under any
circumstances, and at no time of our acquaintance was he any sort
of a sociable companion. He was very hard upon the sailors under
him, and was much addicted to the use of strong language. I admit
that I was an absolute "muff" in those days, and Jensen was quick
to grasp the fact. He was very fond of schnapps, whilst I hated
the smell of the stuff. Moreover, he was a great smoker, and here
again our tastes differed.

Our preparations in Batavia complete, we next went over to the