heavy
panting for breath; then silence. The Gujarati relaxed his grip on the
man's throat; he made another attempt to cry out; but the firm fingers
tightened their pressure and the incipient cry was choked in a feeble
gurgle. Once more the hapless serang tried to rise; Fuzl Khan pressed him
down and shook him vigorously. He saw that it was useless to resist, and
lay limp and half throttled in his captor's hands.

By this time Desmond had turned the lantern full upon the scene. Coming
to the man's head, while the Gujarati still held him by the throat, he
said, in low, rapid, but determined tones:

"Obey, and your life will be spared. But if you attempt to raise an alarm
you will be lost. Answer my questions. Where is there some loose rope on
board?"

The man hesitated to reply, but a squeeze from the Gujarati decided him.

"There is a coil near the mainmast," he said.

Desmond slipped out, and in a few seconds returned with several yards of
thin coir, a strong rope made of cocoanut fiber. Soon the serang lay
bound hand and foot.

"What are the names of the men on the furthest vessel?"

"They are Rama, Sukharam, Ganu, Ganpat, Hari."

"Call Rama, gently; bid him come here. Do not raise your voice."

The man obeyed. The clicking of the dice ceased, and in a few moments a
Maratha appeared at the doorway and entered blinking. No sooner had he
set foot within the cabin than he was seized by the Gujarata and gagged,
and then, with a rapidity only possible to the practised sailor, he was
roped and laid helpless on the floor.

"Call Sukharam," said Desmond.

The second man answered the summons, only to suffer the same fate. A
third was dealt with in the same fashion; then the fourth and fifth came
together, wondering why the serang was so brutally interfering with their
game. By the time they reached the door Desmond had turned the lantern to
the wall, so that they saw only a dim shape within the cabin. Ganpat was
secured before the last man became aware of what was happening. Hari
hesitated at the threshold, hearing the sound of a slight scuffle caused
by the seizure of his companion.

"Tell him to come in," whispered Desmond in the serang's ear, emphasizing
the order by laying the cold blade of a knife against his collarbone.

Fuzl Khan had not yet finished trussing the other; as the last man
entered Desmond threw himself upon him. He could not prevent a low
startled cry; and struggling together, the two rolled