"Now we come to the second day of the voyage, January the third. You state that you and Mr Brodie had the first dog watch and, of course, the middle watch the same night—"
Half-way down the table, a fat, frock-coated man leaned forward irritably: "Mr Chairman, sir, some of us here are mere bankers and merchants. Could we not have the times of day in the Queen's English?"
Again McTaggart was flustered: "Ay, ay, just so, gentlemen, just so. The first dog-watch is from four to six in the afternoon, and the middle watch is midnight to four o'clock. Now then, Robbins, did you or did you not know that the ship was in — eh — um — navigational difficulties?"
"Yes, sir, I did. Mr Brodie and Mr White thought the Captain—"
"Silence, sir!" McTaggart was livid with alarm and fury. "Answer my questions with a civil tongue, and keep your dirty lies about better men to yourself! So then, you knew there were navigational problems; and yet you still said nothing. Why?"
"I had forgotten about it, sir."
There was a dead silence. Jim's face was as white as paper, and rigidly set. He stared at the reflections of the windows in the high polish of the table. McTaggart licked his lips; his victim was down at last, and only required kicking: "You had forgotten. Forgotten. A fine admission for an officer of my line to make. In all my years I've not heard the like. And when did this very defective memory of yours begin to function again?"
"When we struck the sand, sir. I heard Mr White and Mr Brodie talking about an error in the ship's run."
"I see. And you still said nothing?"
"No, sir. What was the good then?"
There was a tremendous crash as McTaggart brought a fist down on the table. "Will you hold your insolent tongue there?" he screamed. Jim raised his eyes to the end of the table. The Chairman's heavy, red face was contorted with fury, yet somehow it was the ice-blue steady stare of Duncan's eyes that he found more unnerving. And he fancied that he could read in the thin freckled features a look of distaste. For whom — McTaggart or himself? It was hard to say.
The Chairman was pointing a trembling stubby finger at him: "Now I'm warning you, Robbins, for the last time, to keep a civil tongue in your head and just answer the questions. You don't seem to see that we hold you in the hollow of our hands. We can crush you like that!" He clenched his fist suddenly together. "We come now,' he said in a sneering, but more controlled voice, "to the very interesting question of your reason for coming forward so honestly and manfully now. Will you kindly tell the Board and Mr Duncan why you came back now — this week — after nearly nine months? Take care, now."
Jim felt uneasy; there was something behind this question which he did not understand. They all seemed to know something which he did not know. All the faces were turned towards him. "It's difficult for me to say, sir," he said.
McTaggart gave a triumphant, mirthless laugh: "Ay, I'm sure of that, Robbins, I'm sure of that. Well? We're still waiting for you."
"Well, you can see from my statement that until lately certain people have been preventing me."
"Ay, we read that; I've not seen such a parcel of lying balderdash in all my life."
"It's only lately that I've been able to think things out for myself. And I've had the advice of an older man I can trust. He suggested it."
Again McTaggart's blunt fist jarred down on the table; again, livid fury distorted his features: "How dare you, sir! How dare you try to pass off your greasy, dirty lies on this Board!" There was a scattered chorus of "hear hear", which encouraged the Chairman still further: "Do you take us for a gaggle of bairns or halfwits? We've seen more of this world than you, my lad, and we know a lying coward when we see one. Do you think we don't know the real reason why you came crawling back?"
Jim was bewildered to distraction; he felt just as he had that night in the cabin of the Maud, before Dukey produced the looted gold and jewels. He felt that all those around him were speaking another language, that there was some dark, vague barrier between him and them.
Then a new voice began, calm and steady in pitch, but with a kind of power, a cutting edge to it. It was Duncan of the Leith Marine: "Come, come, now, gentlemen. We're getting nowhere. Mr Chairman, may I question this officer?"
"Ay, ay," said McTaggart heavily. "I've used all the patience I had on him."
"Thank you, sir. Mr Robbins, did you or did you not know that Smith, Captain of the Whitstable smack Maud, and his crew are now in custody, charged with stealing valuables from the Sardis?"
Jim's jaw dropped in astonishment. So that was it!
They thought he had come back, knowing that the game was up, and hoping to dodge punishment by betraying the smacksmen still further? No wonder there had been such a hullabaloo! "No, sir," he said firmly, "I did not."
A savage babbling uproar at once broke out down the long table. Duncan tried vainly to make himself heard; McTaggart was theatrically shaking his fist at Jim. Suddenly, Jim was on his feet, grasping the edge of the table; he trembled violently, but with rage, not fear. He had had enough. He had come back to them, very much too late, but at least voluntarily, and this was to be his reward — to be the helpless butt of all their hate and fear. Well, he wasn't helpless any more, and he would show them. Gradually a hush fell as they saw him standing.
"Gentlemen," he said, in an unsteady voice, "I came here of my own free will to tell the truth and take my punishment from you and from the law. I've been utterly unworthy of my trust, and I haven't attempted to defend myself. But I am not a liar. I now tell you once more that I had no idea that anyone had been arrested. If you don't believe me I shall leave the room and you must do whatever you think fit." He sat down in silence, and he fancied that, as he did so, Duncan narrowed his eyes and gave him a tiny nod of approval.
At once, McTaggart began again, bitter contempt still in his voice: "If you've finished your speech, Robbins, perhaps we could get back to some facts. These wreckers were arrested at midday on Monday. Today is Wednesday, is it not ? I take it you must have left this place — eh — Whitstable, on Tuesday — yesterday?"
"'Yes, sir."
"I see. I've not been there; is it a large port, Mr Robbins ? The size of Liverpool, mebbe ?"
"No, sir; it's very small."
"I see." McTaggart was full of glee at his approaching triumph. "And yet, during twenty-four hours in this very small port you'd not heard of the arrest of a whole ship's company — your own shipmates until a wee while ago? Think very carefully now, Mr Robbins."
"No, sir," said Jim firmly. "I can explain—" but his words were drowned in another ugly clamour, which did not die until Duncan rose to his feet, his mouth twitching with controlled anger: "Gentlemen, is this any sort of way to conduct a meeting? As this young man says, what the devil is the good of questioning him if you keep jumping down his throat? I'd like to remind you that the claim for the Sardis has been met in full. It's my Company that's out of pocket now. Mr Robbins, let me explain: after the Customs had taken possession of the hulk of the Sardis, certain very suspicious features came to light. We sent a claims investigator to the Essex and Kent coasts from which the so-called salvage smacks operate. He found nothing conclusive until last week, when the Chatham police discovered the stolen jewellery in the course of a raid on a disreputable pawnshop there. The pawnbroker gave a description of the seamen who had sold it to him; the rest was fairly simple. Do I make myself clear?"
"Perfectly, sir."
"Very good. Now then, as these gentlemen have suggested, it seems very strange that you did not know of these arrests?"