sure I don't know what you are talking about."

"My dear Mr. Trenholm! Really, your attitude offends me. I cannot see
what you expect to gain by pretending you knew nothing about the
gold in the _Kut Sang_. That is absurd. You brought the order for it from
Saigon, and helped get the thing fixed, and yet you pretend that it is
all a mystery to you. When I am willing to be so frank I cannot see why
you should assume this manner."

"Then, I knew all about the gold from the first, did I?"

"Certainly. What do you think Mr. Petrak and I kept so close at your
heels for in Manila?"

"Well, it did rather puzzle me for a while. Everywhere I turned you or
the little red-headed rascal seemed to be near."

"And never seemed to remember having seen us in Saigon?"

"In Saigon? Were you in Saigon when I was there?"

"Left before you did, when we knew you had the order for the gold from
Commander Kousmitch."

"Never met the gentleman."

"Of course not. He got the cable-operator to have you deliver the order
in Manila for him. But I heard him and the cable-operator talk it over,
and that was all I wanted, and left. So you didn't see us in Saigon? I
told Petrak you didn't, but he thought you did. That's one reason we got
so bold in Manila."

"But the cable-operator told me the message didn't amount to much, and
that he would send duplicates by mail, anyway."

"Of course he did. It didn't amount to much, except to give a code order
about shipping this gold. And you dropped it in the bus, and I picked
it up, and you were rather rude to me, which proved that you either had
no suspicions about me, or knew it all and wanted to throw me off my
guard. I believe you were actually laughing at me the last few hours in
Manila. I couldn't understand, unless you had things rigged to trip me
the minute we sailed.

"I was looking for it at dinner the minute we cast off; and what a
scrimmage there would have been at that table if you had drawn one of
those pistols! Why, Petrak and Buckrow and Long Jim were in the passage
with pistols ready to come in, and I would have shot you first, and then
Trego, for I knew Captain Riggs had no arms on his person. If I made away
with you and Trego the next would have been Rajah, for the lad could have
given a nasty cut with that kris. And I had to keep a close eye on Mr.
Trego's malacca cane."

"Oh, you did! I never suspected for a minute that you regarded Mr. Trego
as a dangerous character."

"He