"It is a grand day," said Guy. "May I ask when we are due at Zaila?"
"At Zaila?" repeated the captain, with a look of sudden surprise. "Ah, yes. Possibly tomorrow, probably not until the following day."
It was now Guy's turn to be surprised.
"Do you mean to tell me," he said, "that it takes two or three days to cross the Gulf of Aden?"
"No," replied the captain briskly. "You are surely aware, my dear sir, that we proceed first to Berbera, and thence up the coast to Zaila."
"Then you have deceived me, sir," cried Guy hotly. "You told me this morning that this steamer went to Zaila."
"Certainly I did," replied the captain. "You didn't ask for any more information, or I should have told you that we went to Berbera first. The great annual fair has just opened at Berbera, and I have on board large stores of merchandise and trading properties. On other occasions I go to Zaila first, but during the progress of the fair I always go direct to Berbera and unload. I supposed that fact to be generally understood," and, turning on his heel, the captain walked off to give some orders to his men.
Guy was half inclined to be angry at first, but on reflection he concluded he was just as well satisfied. Besides, it would give him a chance to see that wonderful African fair, which he now remembered to have heard about on different occasions.
But one other person was visible on the deck, a short, chunky man, with a dark complexion, and crafty, forbidding features.
A Portuguese or a Spaniard Guy put him down for at once, and he instantly conceived a deep mistrust of him. The fellow, however, was inclined to be sociable.