Could he not force matters, Desmond wondered?  It was evidently to be a contest, whether of wits or physical strength, between himself and the Gujarati.  Without one or other the vessel could not be safely navigated; if he could in some way overcome the ringleader, he felt pretty sure that the crew would accept the result and all difficulty would be at an end.  But how could he gain so unmistakable an ascendancy?  In physical strength Fuzl Khan was more than his match:  there was no doubt of the issue of a struggle if it were a matter of sheer muscular power.

For a moment he thought of attempting to enlist the Marathas on his side.  They were Hindus; the Gujarati was a Muslim; and they must surely feel that, once he was among his co-religionists in Cutch, in some pirate stronghold, they would run a very poor chance of getting fair treatment.  But he soon dismissed the idea.  The Gujarati must seem to them much more formidable than the stripling against whom he was plotting.  The Hindu, even more than the average human being elsewhere, is inclined to attach importance to might and bulk—­even to mere fat.  If he sounded the Marathas, and, their fear of the Gujarati outweighing their inevitable distrust of him as a Firangi, they betrayed him to curry a little favor, there was no doubt that the fate both of himself and the Babu would instantly be decided.  He must trust to himself alone.

While he was still anxiously debating the matter with himself his eye caught the two muskets lashed to the wooden framework supporting the wheel.  He must leave no hostages to fortune.  Taking advantage of a lull in the wind he steadied the wheel with his body, and with some difficulty drew the charges and dropped them into the sea.  If it came to a tussle the enemy would certainly seize the muskets; it would be worth something to Desmond to know that they were not loaded.  It was, in truth, but a slight lessening of the odds against him; and as he restored the weapons to their place he felt once more how hopeless his position remained.

Thus pondering and puzzling, with no satisfaction, he spent the full period of his term of duty.  At the appointed time Fuzl Khan came to relieve him.  It was now full daylight; but, scanning the horizon with a restless eye, Desmond saw no sign of land, nor the sail of any vessel.

“No land yet, sahib?” said the Gujarati, apparently in surprise.

“No, as you see.”

“But you set the course by the stars, sahib?”

“Oh, yes; the grab must have been going slower than we imagined.”

“The wind has not shifted?”

“Very little.  I have had to tack several times.”

The man grunted, and looked at Desmond, frowning suspiciously, but Desmond met his glance boldly, and said, as he left to go below: 

“Be sure and have me called the moment you sight land.”

He went below, threw himself into his hammock, and being dead tired, was soon fast asleep.