The Moghul Page 15

  "I expected this difficulty, Captain Hawksworth. But your

  path is of your own making. You yourself chose to unlade at thatdistance from the port." They were in Mirza Nuruddin's chamber, and theShahbandar faced Hawksworth and Elkington with his rheumy, fogboundeyes. The chamber had been emptied, as Hawksworth had demanded. "Ipropose you consider the following. Unlade the woolens from yoursmaller frigate immediately, and let me oversee their transport here."He drew nonchalantly on the hookah. "My fee would be a small commissionabove the cost of hiring the carts. One percent if they are deliveredhere within two weeks. Two percent if they are delivered within oneweek. Do you accept?"

  Hawksworth decided not to translate the terms for Elkington.

  "We accept." It seems fair, he told himself. This is no time tobargain.

  "You show yourself reasonable. Now, the lead and ironwork you havecargoed is another matter. Bullock carts are totally unsuitable forthose weights in this sandy coastal delta. The weights involved requirethey be transported by river bark. And that means unlading at the rivermouth."

  Hawksworth shook his head. "We'll dump the cargo first. We can't takethe risk now."

  "Captain, there is risk and there is risk. What is life itself if notrisk? Without risk what man can call himself alive?" Mirza Nuruddinthought of his own risk at this moment, how his offer of help to theEnglish would immediately be misconstrued by the entire port. Until theplan had played through to its ending. Then the thought of the endingbuoyed him and he continued, his voice full of solicitude. "I cansuggest a strategy for unlading your ironwork at the river mouth inreasonable safety, after your frigates have been lightened of theirwool. With an experienced pilot, you can sail along the shoreline,south to the bar, and anchor under cover of dark. Barks can be waitingto unlade you. If the lead and ironwork are ready for unlading, perhapsit can be completed in one night. You can unlade the smaller frigatefirst, return it to the cove you call Swalley, and then unlade theother vessel. That way only one frigate is exposed at a time."

  As Hawksworth and Elkington listened, Mirza Nuruddin outlined thedetails of his offer. He would hire whatever men were needed. Henormally did this for foreign traders, and took a percentage from them--as well as from the meager salary of the men he hired. And he alreadyhad a pilot in mind, a man who knew every shoal and sandbar on thecoastline.

  As Hawksworth listened his senses suddenly told him to beware. Hadn'tShirin told him to trust his intuition? And this scheme was too pat.This time his guts told him to dump the lead in the bay and write offthe loss. But Elkington would never agree. He would want to believethey could unlade and sell the lead. His responsibility was profit onthe cargo, not the risk of a vessel.

  So he would take this final risk. Perhaps Mirza Nuruddin was right.Risk exhilarated.

  He smiled inwardly and thought again of Shirin. And of what she hadsaid about trusting his instincts.

  Then, ignoring them, he agreed to Mirza Nuruddin's plan.

  And the Shahbandar produced a document already prepared for theirsignature.