Above all, he had to be able to assert authority over the other divers; and in all these respects our serang was thoroughly proficient.
I may here explain that shortly after leaving Batavia the captain had the ship repainted a greyish-white colour all over.

I never troubled to look for her name, but one day I saw Jensen painting the word _Veielland_ on her.

There was a totally different name on the lifeboat, but I cannot remember it.

What Jensen's motive was in sailing the ship under another name I never understood; certainly it was a very suspicious circumstance.
Perhaps the ship as originally named had a bad name, and if such were the case--mind you, I don't say that it had--the Malays could never have been induced to go aboard.

Once out at sea, however, they would be absolutely at the mercy of the captain, and he could treat them just as he pleased.
The first thing they did before coming aboard was to look at the name for themselves.