“But what information, exactly, do you want?”

“Everything. The whole story.”

“You know it.”

Mathias spoke with a dash of exasperation:

“Do you realise, Thornton, that without considerable help from them we may even fail to get a conviction?”

“What is the difficulty?” asked Thornton in a peculiar, restrained tone.

“We could get a conviction for piracy, of course. But since ’37, piracy has ceased to be a hanging offence unless it is accompanied by murder.”

“And is the killing of one small boy insufficient to count as murder?” asked Thornton in the same cold voice.

Mathias looked at him curiously.