ans destroyed. This is the end of all hope and of all things."
His heart sank within him. He felt a kind of deadly sickness.

"Very good. Capital!" exclaimed both officers. Almayer came out of his
despondency with another burst of talk.

"Eh! what about the dinner? You have got a cook with you. That's all
right. There is a cooking shed in the other courtyard. I can give you a
goose. Look at my geese--the only geese on the east coast--perhaps on
the whole island. Is that your cook? Very good. Here, Ali, show this
Chinaman the cooking place and tell Mem Almayer to let him have room
there. My wife, gentlemen, does not come out; my daughter may. Meantime
have some more drink. It is a hot day."

The lieutenant took the cigar out of his mouth, looked at the ash
critically, shook it off and turned towards Almayer.

"We have a rather unpleasant business with you," he said.

"I am sorry," returned Almayer. "It can be nothing very serious,
surely."

"If you think an attempt to blow up forty men at least, not a serious
matter you will not find many people of your opinion," retorted the
officer sharply.

"Blow up! What? I know nothing about it," exclaimed Almayer. "Who did
that, or tried to do it?"

"A man with whom you had some dealings," answered the lieutenant. "He
passed here under the name of Dain Maroola. You sold him the gunpowder
he had in that brig we captured."

"How did you hear about the brig?" asked Almayer. "I know nothing about
the powder he may have had."

"An Arab trader of this place has sent the information about your goings
on here to Batavia, a couple of months ago," said the officer. "We were
waiting for the brig outside, but he slipped past us at the mouth of the
river, and we had to chase the fellow to the southward. When he sighted
us he ran inside the reefs and put the brig ashore. The crew escaped in
boats before we could take possession. As our boats neared the craft it
blew up with a tremendous explosion; one of the boats being too near got
swamped. Two men drowned--that is the result of your speculation, Mr.
Almayer. Now we want this Dain. We have good grounds to suppose he is
hiding in Sambir. Do you know where he is? You had better put yourself
right with the authorities as much as possible by being perfectly frank
with me. Where is this Dain?"

Almayer got up and walked towards the balustrade of the verandah. He
seemed not to be thinking of the officer's