An answer came from a man on deck inviting the caller to come on board.  With a few strokes of the oars the petala was run alongside, and Hossain joined his brother.

“Is it well, brother?” he said.

“It is well,” replied Hubbo.

Desmond at the helm of the petala looked eagerly ahead at the last sloop of the line.  He could see the subahdar on deck, a somewhat portly figure in resplendent costume.  A small dinghy was passing between his vessel and the shore.  It contained a number of servants, who had brought him his breakfast from the fort.  The crews of the other vessels had prepared their food on board.

After a time a dinghy was let down from Hubbo’s sloop.  Hubbo himself stepped into it with one of his crew, and was rowed to the subahdar’s vessel.  Desmond, watching him narrowly, saw him salaam deeply as he went on board.

“Salaam, huzur!” said Hubbo.  “Your Excellency will pardon me, but bismillah!  I have just discovered a matter of importance.  Our task, huzur, has lain much on my mind; we have never done anything of the sort before, and seeing on yonder petala a man I know well, who has spent many years on the kala pani, I ventured to ask if he knew what time would be needed to sink a ship with several holes drilled in the hull.”

“That depends on the size of the holes, fool!” said the subahdar with a snort.

“True, huzur; that is what the serang said.  But he went on to tell me of a case like your Excellency’s.  His ship was once captured by the pirates of the Sandarbands.  They drilled several holes in the hull, and rowed away, leaving my friend and several of the crew to sink with the vessel.  But the holes were not big enough.  When the pirate had disappeared, the men on the ship, using all their strength, managed to run her ashore, filled up the holes at low tide, and floated her off when the tide came in again.”

A look of concern crept over the subahdar’s face as he listened.  He was a man without experience of ships, and became uneasy at the suggestion that anything might mar the execution of his task.  Manik Chand would not lightly overlook a failure.

“Hearing this, huzur,” Hubbo continued, “I venture to mention the matter to your Excellency, especially as it seemed to me, from what the serang said, that the holes drilled by the pirates were even larger than those made by the mistris {head workmen} sent from the fort.”

The subahdar looked still more concerned.

“Hai!” he exclaimed, “it is very disturbing.  And there is no time to do anything; the Firangi’s ships are reported to be on their way up the river; the dogs of Kafirs {unbelievers} may be here soon.”

He bit his fingers, frowned, looked anxiously down the river, then across to the brick fort at Tanna, then to the new mud fort at Aligarh on the other bank, as if wondering whether he should send or signal a message to one or the other.  Hubbo was silent for a moment, then he said: