much, indeed,
in the event of a sudden squall. Thus the process of going about was a
long and laborious one, and at the best much way was lost.

Not long after he had begun to act on this idea he was somewhat concerned
to see the serang, who was in charge of the deck watch, come aft and hang
about near the wheel, as though his curiosity had been aroused. Had he
any suspicions? Desmond resolved to address the man and see what he could
infer from the manner of his reply.

"Is all well, serang?"

"All well, sahib," answered the man. He stopped, and seemed to hesitate
whether to say more; but after a moment or two he moved slowly away.

Desmond watched him. Had he discovered the trick? Would he go below and
waken Fuzl Khan? Desmond could not still a momentary tremor. But the
serang did not rejoin his mess mates, nor go below. He walked up and down
the deck alone. Apparently he suspected nothing.

Desmond felt relieved; but though he was gaining time, he could but
recognize that it seemed likely to profit him little. A criminal going to
execution may step never so slowly across the prison yard; there is the
inexorable gallows at the end, and certain doom.

Could he not force matters, Desmond wondered? It was evidently to be a
contest, whether of wits or physical strength, between himself and the
Gujarati. Without one or other the vessel could not be safely navigated;
if he could in some way overcome the ringleader, he felt pretty sure that
the crew would accept the result and all difficulty would be at an end.
But how could he gain so unmistakable an ascendancy? In physical strength
Fuzl Khan was more than his match: there was no doubt of the issue of a
struggle if it were a matter of sheer muscular power.

For a moment he thought of attempting to enlist the Marathas on his side.
They were Hindus; the Gujarati was a Muslim; and they must surely feel
that, once he was among his co-religionists in Cutch, in some pirate
stronghold, they would run a very poor chance of getting fair treatment.
But he soon dismissed the idea. The Gujarati must seem to them much more
formidable than the stripling against whom he was plotting. The Hindu,
even more than the average human being elsewhere, is inclined to attach
importance to might and bulk--even to mere fat. If he sounded the
Marathas, and, their fear of the Gujarati outweighing their inevitable
distrust of him as a Firangi, they betrayed him to curry a little favor,
there was