I suppose the only course for me now is to make inquiries down at the port.

I shall hear something there, I don't doubt." "Make inquiries of the devil!" replied Schomberg in a hoarse mutter.
Davidson's purpose in addressing the hotel-keeper had been mainly to make Mrs.Schomberg safe from suspicion; but he would fain have heard something more of Heyst's exploit from another point of view.

It was a shrewd try.

It was successful in a rather startling way, because the hotel-keeper's point of view was horribly abusive.

All of a sudden, in the same hoarse sinister tone, he proceeded to call Heyst many names, of which "pig-dog" was not the worst, with such vehemence that he actually choked himself.