"I am an honest man, Sahib! I was walking along the deck and—"
"Whose servant are you?"
"No man's. My name is Guru Singh. I go to Rangoon to—"
"If you're not a servant, then you had no business out of the steerage. I'm going to have you put in irons, and when we reach port you'll be taken up by the police—"
"No, no, Sahib! By Allah, I am an honest man!"
Trent reflected a moment before he spoke again. "You insist, then, that you didn't drop—something—into my cabin?"
"Yes, Sahib!"
The captain arrived at that juncture, a subordinate at his heels. Trent explained to him what had happened, adding—a shade too darkly, he thought—certain words that impressed upon that worthy officer his authority to conclude with: "And I want him locked up."
The captain gave an order to his subordinate, who hastened away, and Trent addressed Guru Singh in Hindustani, which he felt certain the master of the vessel did not understand.
"You would rather be put in irons than tell who your master is?"