There were many white hairs in his valuable black beard by then.
He may have simply longed for some kind of companionship in his queer, degraded existence.

Whatever their motives, they vanished from Saigon together.

And of course nobody cared what had become of them.
"Six months later Davidson came into the Mirrah Settlement.

It was the very first time he had been up that creek, where no European vessel had ever been seen before.

A Javanese passenger he had on board offered him fifty dollars to call in there--it must have been some very particular business--and Davidson consented to try.