They fell upon Rad el Moussa placidly resting among the cushions of the divan, with the stem of the water-pipe between his teeth, and his mind probably figuring out plans of campaign in which the captured rifles would do astonishing work.

Kettle had no revolver in open view, but Rad had already learned how handily that instrument could be produced on occasion, and had the wit to make no show of resistance.  The sailor went up to him, delicately extracted the poignard from his sash, and broke the blade beneath his feet.  Then he said to him, “Stand there,” pointing to the middle of the floor, and seated himself on the divan in the attitude of a judge.

“Now, Mr. Rad el Moussa, I advise you to understand what’s going to be said to you now, so that it’ll be a lesson to you in the future.

“I came to you, not very long ago, asking for your card to the Kady.  I told you my business was about the mate here, and you said you were Kady yourself.  Whether you are or not I don’t know, and I don’t vastly care, but anyway, I paid for justice in hard money, and you said you’d give up the mate.  You didn’t do that.  You played a trick on me, which I’ll own up I was a fool to get caught by; and I make no doubt that you’ve been laughing at me behind my back with that nasty nigger partner of yours.

“Well, prisoner at the bar, let alone I’m a blooming Englishman—­and Englishmen aren’t sent into this world to be laughed at by any foreigners—­I’m myself as well, and let me tell you I don’t stand either being swindled out of justice when I’ve paid for it, or being played tricks on afterward.  So you are hereby sentenced to the fine of one bag of pearls, to be paid on the spot, and furthermore to be incarcerated in one of those smoke boxes down the alleyway yonder till you can find your own way out.  Now, prisoner, don’t move during the next operation, or I’ll shoot you.  Mr. Mate, you’ll find a small bag inside the top part of his nightgown, on the left-hand side.  Got ’em?”

“Here they are, sir,” said Murray.

“Thanks,” said Kettle, and put the bag in his pocket.  “And now, if you please, Mr. Mate, we’ll just put His Whiskers into that cellar with the nigger, and leave him there to get smoked into a better and, we’ll hope, a more penitent frame of mind.”

They completed this pious act to their entire satisfaction, and left the house without further interruption.  The townspeople were just beginning to move about again after the violence of the midday heat, but except for curious stares, they passed through the narrow streets between the whitewashed houses quite without interruption.  And in due time they came to the beach, and hired a shore boat, which took them off to the steamer.

But here Kettle was not inclined to linger unnecessarily.  He saw Grain, the second mate, and asked Mm how much more cargo there was to come off.

“The last lighter load is alongside this minute, sir.”