King of Kilba is a 1926 children's adventure novel by Percy F. Westerman. It follows Kenneth Kilsyth, a young clerk in London, and his friend Gerald Hayes, as they embark on a series of adventures at sea, and on the island of Kilba. Plot summary Kenneth Kilsyth, a young clerk in a London counting house, and a most reluctant employee, wins £1000 in a football pool (nearly £200,000 at present-day prices calculated as average earnings, or over £43,000 calculated as retail price index). Inviting his sole friend and fellow clerk, Gerald Hayes, to join him, he embarks on a journey of adventure. Some time later, they find themselves the sole passengers on a merchant ship, the S.S. Mumtaz, steaming from Vancouver to Honolulu, but all the officers and most of the sailors are quickly wiped out by a mysterious disease, leaving the two passengers the only people alive. Bridges, the quartermaster of the crew, survives long enough to help dispose of the bodies overboard and shows the lads how to rig a sail on to the wallowing freighter. Under the influence of the North-East trade winds and the North Equatorial current, the Mumtaz eventually drifts over a coral reef and lodges on the leeward side. The boys are near an island, and arming themselves with guns from the captain’s cabin, they land on the island. At dawn, atop a small hill, they are confronted by an army of 'savages'. But the natives attack on stilts (the ground is taboo to them) and the boys are able to defend themselves. The attack is suddenly called off by an elderly white man who speaks broken English. He reveals that he was shipwrecked many years before and has become 'King' of the island, called Kilba. This is in accordance with a local prophecy that a white man will always rule the people. From him, they learn that tribal warfare between the two islands of Kilba and Neka has existed for many generations. They take part in some battles, and eventually the old king dies. Kilsyth is forced to accept the title, with 'Haya', as Hayes in now known, as his 'brother'. They conduct the continuing war against the neighboring island. They attempt to introduce the islanders to football and cricket. Cricket proves so attractive that the natives relax their vigilance. The Nekas invade and carry off Hayes as a captive. He is lowered