Not
that Desmond held the man in such scorn as the men of his own color.
Surendra Nath was certainly timid and slack, physically weak,
temperamentally a coward: yet he had shown gleams of spirit during the
escape, and it seemed to Desmond that he was a man who, having once been
induced to enter upon a course, might prove both constant and loyal. The
difficulty now was that, prostrated by his illness during the storm, he
was not at his best; certainly in no condition to face a difficulty
either mental or physical.
So Desmond resolved not to tell him of the danger impending. He feared
the effect upon his shaken nerves. He would not intentionally do anything
against Desmond's interest, but he could scarcely fail to betray his
anxiety to the conspirators. Feeling that there was nobody to confide in,
Desmond decided that his only course was to feign ignorance of what was
going on, and await events with what composure he might. Not that he
would relax his watchfulness; on the contrary he was alert and keen,
ready to seize with manful grip the skirts of chance.
Perhaps, he thought, the grab might fall in with a British ship. But what
would that avail? The grab with her extraordinary sailing powers could
show a clean pair of heels to any Indiaman, however fast, even if he
could find an opportunity of signaling for help. Fuzl Khan, without
doubt, would take care that he never had such a chance.
Turning things over in his mind, and seeing no way out of his difficulty,
he was at length summoned to relieve the Gujarati at the wheel.
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