"No slaves... no slaves on the ship?" Fenton's surprise was almost grotesque.
"You have made a mistake." Ben Saif regarded him contemptuously. "You sought to play your own game. You meant to find safety for yourself, while I paid the price for both of us. Ya bissahi, you thought to cast Ben Saif like a worn sandal to the dunghill."
"What do you mean?" Fenton made desperate efforts to control his rage.
"I mean that I sent a spy after you today. You went to the French to tell them I had put slaves on board the Pearl without your knowledge or consent. You asked them to send a cutter tonight, knowing that I should be here, and hoping to witness my capture. All this my spy heard as he lay outside the room where your treacherous, lying tongue betrayed me. Do you not recall the old beggar who
