Knowing the superstitious irrationality of sailors--of foreign sailors especially--I had taken care to spread a report on board the brig, before the coffin was shipped, that the packing-case contained a valuable marble statue which Mr.Monkton prized highly, and was unwilling to trust out of his own sight.

How could this Maltese boy have discovered that the pretended statue was a human corpse?
As I pondered over the question, my suspicions fixed themselves on Monkton's servant, who spoke Italian fluently, and whom I knew to be an incorrigible gossip.

The man denied it when I charged him with betraying us, but I have never believed his denial to this day.
"The little imp won't say where he picked up this notion of his about the dead body," continued the captain.

"It's not my place to pry into secrets; but I advise you to call the crew aft, and contradict the boy, whether he speaks the truth or not.

The men are a parcel of fools who believe in ghosts, and all the rest of it.