“They all lied; and ye remember how Buckrow helped Petrak with a knife when he was in a tight jam thar at the door.  I put two and two together, and I’m here, Ezra Harris, your mate, to tell ye that they make four, and ye can’t git away from it—­and what’s more, this Trenjum is in with the parson and the other three.  Devil’s Admiral or no, it don’t look nice to me.”

“Do you think Buckrow and the other two know about this, Mr. Harris?”

“It ain’t clear to me, so far as that goes, but Trenjum and the parson do.  I looks at it this way—­they knowed ye didn’t know, and that Trego might tell ye; so they ups and lets a knife into him before he can tell, and then we’re up in the air.  If I hadn’t found it they’d keep us guessin’ until they was ready to get in some more fancy work, the Lord knows what.

“That Trenjum is a slick customer—­I don’t believe he ever writ anything for a newspaper, anyway—­he’s too tall and strong-lookin’ to make his livin’ with a pencil.  This Trenjum and the parson is in together for all of their lettin’ on they don’t like one another.  What business has a writin’ chap with his breeches full of pistols like he had in the saloon?  Ye can’t tell me writin’ chaps eats their meals with guns enough in their clothes to arm a landin’-party, no, sir!”

“A pretty pickle!  Sally Ann, but I’ve got a nice mess aboard me, and I’m hanged if I know what it’s all going to come to!  I’ve half a mind to throw the whole lot in irons and work the ship with the chinks.”

“Now ye’re talkin’ like somebody,” said Harris.  “But go slow and git ’em one at a time when it’s convenient, so they won’t suspect nothin’.  If ye go after the whole gang at once I’ll bet ye have a fight on yer hands.  Grab one and then the other so ye’ll git ’em separate:  and keep ’em separate, so they can’t talk it over, or ye’ll have a peck of trouble on yer hands.”

“It’s no small matter to put passengers in irons, Mr. Harris.  They would make trouble for me when they get into port.”

“They’ll make a cussed sight more trouble for ye aboard here, is my way of lookin’ at it.  We got Petrak, anyway, for a start.  He said Trenjum got him to do it, and Trenjum told ye Meeker had a hand in it.  Just say one accused the other, and when ye come to find this aboard ye had to put ’em in irons ‘cause it looked like they was hatchin’ mutiny in the crew.  Then we’ll slam the other two in irons on suspicion, and they bein’ crew, ye got a right to do that.

“What’s the good o’ bein’ master if ye can’t protect yerself and yer ship?  Trenjum is safe enough, as it goes for now, but I’d make him fast below when we have the others, and see what sort of a talk he puts up.  If we git ’em to tellin’ on one another, then we’ve got the whole yarn out, and ye won’t have no trouble with the port authorities.  Don’t that sound sensible to ye?”

“I don’t see any other way out of it,” said Riggs.  “I suppose the best thing to do is to go up and take the parson.  His room being next to Mr. Trenholm’s, the two of ’em will know what’s going on, but we don’t care.  Then we’ll take Buckrow and Long Jim.”