Stevenson described the protagonists of 'The Ebb Tide' (1894), who commandeer a schooner in pursuit of riches and adventure, as a "troop of swine." Yet in their murderous greed for pearls amidst the cruel splendor of Attwater's island, these characters lay bare the dilemmas of men morally at sea, their ideals and refinements corrupted by colonial illusions and cast adrift in unknown waters.
