They were far too
noticeable themselves to risk being seen at the bank, or in the
public-house--they were obliged to trust everything to their
deputy. Very good. Their deputy hears a certain number named in the
public-house, as the number of the room which the sailor is to have for
the night--that being also the room (unless our notion is all
wrong) which the Diamond is to have for the night, too. Under those
circumstances, the Indians, you may rely on it, would insist on having a
description of the room--of its position in the house, of its capability
of being approached from the outside, and so on. What was the man to do,
with such orders as these? Just what he did! He ran up-stairs to get
a look at the room, before the sailor was taken into it. He was found
there, making his observations--and he shammed drunk, as the easiest way
of getting out of the difficulty. That's how I read the riddle. After he
was turned out of the public-house, he probably went with his report to
the place where his employers were waiting for him. And his employers,
no doubt, sent him back to make sure that the sailor was really settled
at the public-house till the next morning.
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