going into port and the message seems to be to a customer, I’d guess that the customer has a weak little outfit—probably a home-made affair run by dry cells. But what all this stuff about fish and sharks means, I can’t guess.”
“Do you suppose we ought to bother the captain with it?”
“It won’t do any harm. If this message was from the Orient, it has some hidden meaning, and of course the captain ought to know about it.”
“Suppose you take it to him, Henry.”
Henry grabbed up the sheet of paper and went to the captain. “Bless my stars!” ejaculated the captain, when he had read the two messages. “This is as good as a Sunday newspaper puzzle. And it’s about as easy to guess. Fish would mean opium, of course; and if sharks are the things that held back the opium, I reckon either we or the custom men are the sharks. Maybe they meant Sparks, eh?” And the captain laughed merrily at Henry.
“Maybe Sparks will stop them, after all,” grinned Henry.
“Let’s turn it into plain English,” continued the captain. “‘We cannot deliver any opium to you to-day because the custom officials have grabbed us. Everything is safe aloft.’ Now why should he tell his customer that his rigging