“It’s the time, Mr. Davoren. It might mean missing our markets. We can’t afford to take any chances.”
“I don’t profess to know much about trade——”
“You don’t, sir. You don’t know anything about it. That’s what makes it so hard to explain.”
“All the same, I don’t see how a delay of twenty-four hours or less in a month’s voyage is going to make such a vital difference as all that.”
“That’s just it, Mr. Davoren. You don’t see it. You can’t.”
“No, and therefore I demand to be landed at Guernsey. After all, I’m a partner.”
“To be sure, sir. Nobody questions your right. But we—well, the fact is we can’t call at Guernsey. It’s not only missing our market—but we should lose Jakoub.”
“Jakoub? That would be no great loss, in my opinion. But what has he got to do with it?”
“I’m afraid Jakoub hasn’t a very good record. We knew that, of course, when we took him on. I think Mr. Edmund told you?”
“He did. And my own impression is that he’s the biggest scoundrel unhung.”