Page:Cruise of the Dry Dock.djvu/254

 “These swindlers insure a cargo, bring it to this place, reship it, sink the vessel, or repaint and rebuild it, then collect the insurance money—do you remember the log of the Minnie B?”

“No, I didn't read it.”

“It stated her cargo had been reshipped—reshipped from the Sargasso. The entry may have been for the benefit of Davy Jones. Anyway, they are methodical scoundrels.”

The lads fell silent as the hugeness of this nefarious business gradually dawned on them. For insurance swindlers and smugglers to work on such a large scale, very probably the organization branched over the whole civilized world. This vast shapeless vessel was a spider at the center of a great network of criminality.

“Say, the Camorras are mere infants in crime compared to these men,” shuddered Leonard. “I suppose they murder the crews—drown 'em.”

“They would have to get 'em out of the way somehow.”

“Then Malone and all the tug's crew are…”

There was an expressive silence.