Gradually he became used to them. There was the inevitable core of hearty players and hearty talkers. Mannering met more and more men and women whose names were on the games boards, heard snippets of conversation, saw some elderly people obviously preoccupied, quite as many bored. A few sat about reading, mostly thrillers, a few westerns, a few heavy-looking tomes. The sea was as calm as the Mediterranean could be, but a breeze kept the heat down. Mannering studied his marked passenger list, and put first this, then that man off the suspects. Gradually, the picture took shape. Except for known people or obviously innocent ones going to Africa for the first time there were five men and three women on board who might be involved. One of them was Katman. Another was Geoffrey Nares, a man in his thirties, nearly as tall as Mannering, well-groomed, active. They met for the first time at deck quoits, passed the usual pleasantries, and then began to play in earnest.
