"That you should happen to be a passenger—such an insistent passenger—and as if you knew nothing about what was going in the ship. Really, you and Trego did well."
"I think Trego made rather a mess of it," I said. "If I had been in his boots I would have told the captain what it was all about."
"Why didn't you tell him? You could have told him about the gold as well as Mr. Trego."
"Indeed! Then, you believe I knew about the Kut Sang's cargo."
"I don't believe it, my dear Mr. Trenholm. I never accept a theory as a fact. There was a time when I thought your connection with the affair ended when you brought the orders from Saigon, but your persistence in pretending to buy a ticket in the Kut Sang rather puzzled me for a time, and then I was afraid that you suspected me, and that I had gone too far in trying to keep you out of the vessel."
"You are talking enigmas now."
"But what surprised me most," he resumed, disregarding my remark, "was that I purchased a ticket in the Kut Sang at all. I looked for a trap there, and if the game hadn't been so big I might have quit at the last minute."
"I am 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?"