"There's one thing bothering me," said Catlin. "Who did the steward see up here the first time?"
Murphy shrugged. "It might have been somebody up here skylarking. A little too much oxygen and you start cutting all kinds of capers. Or it might have been someone who decided he had enough crusading.
"There's a sjambak in a cage, right in the middle of Singhalût. Prince Ali walks past; they look at each other eye to eye. Ali smiles a little and walks on. Suppose this sjambak tried to escape to the ship. He's taken aboard, turned over to the Sultan and the Sultan makes an example of him...."
"What'll the Sultan do to Ali?"
Murphy shook his head. "If I were Ali I'd disappear."
A loudspeaker turned on. "Attention all passengers. We have just passed through quarantine. Passengers may now disembark. Important: no weapons or explosives allowed on Singhalût!"
"This is where I came in," said Murphy.
THE END
Transcriber's Note: