though it was dark
and I could not see him. I knew exactly the expression of his
face--wrinkled thus, and with the lower lip thrust out, so!

"Any more questions?" asked Ranjoor Singh, and by that time Gooja
Singh had thought again. This time he seemed to think he had an
unanswerable one, for his voice was full of insolence.

"Then how comes it," said he, "that you turned those Turks loose in
their small boats when we might have kept them with us for hostages?
Now they will row to the land and set their masters on our tracks!
Within an hour or two we shall all be prisoners again! Tell us why!"

"For one thing," said Ranjoor Singh, without any resentment in his
voice that I could detect (although THAT was no sign!), "I had to
make some sort of bargain with them, and having made it I must keep
it. The money with which I bribed the captain and his mate would
have been of little use to them unless I allowed them life and
liberty as well."

"But they will give the alarm and cause us to be followed!" shouted
Gooja Singh, his voice rising louder with each word.

"Nay, I think not!" said Ranjoor Singh, as calmly as ever. "In the
first place, I have a written receipt from captain and mate for our
money, stating the reason for which it was paid; if we were made
prisoners again, that paper would be found in my possession and it
might go ill with those Turks. In the second place, they will wish
to save their faces. In the third place, they must explain the loss
of their steamer. So they will say the steamer was sunk by a
submarine, and that they got away in the boats and watched us drown.
The crew will bear out what the captain and the mate say, partly
from fear, partly because that is the custom of the country, but
chiefly because they will receive a small share of the bribe. Let us
hope they get back safely--for their story will prevent pursuit!"

For about two minutes again there was silence, and then Gooja Singh
called out: "Why did you not make them take us to Gallipoli?"

"There was not enough coal!" said I, but Ranjoor Singh made a
gesture to me of impatience.

"The Germans wished us to go to Gallipoli," said he, "and I have
noticed that whatever they may desire is expressly intended for
their advantage and not ours. In Gallipoli they would have kept us
out of range at the rear, and presently they would have caused a
picture of us to be taken serving among the Turkish army. That they
would have published broadcast.