Sea of Poppies

Baboo Nob Kissin comes to visit the two convicts in their cell under the pretense of giving a tour of inspection; in reality, though, his aim is to visit Taramony’s adopted son to provide him with food. Neel asks why he is being so generous and is surprised to hear it’s because of Ma Taramony, whom he is aware passed away. Baboo Nob Kissin begins to explain, but instead chooses to signal by pointing toward himself. Neel understands to some extent, but when the guards rush Nob Kissin out, their conversation is forced to be postponed until later. After they leave, Neel automatically begins dividing the food to give Ah Fatt half. Ah Fatt tries to apologize, but Neel cuts him off; instead, Ah Fatt promises to kill Crowle.

The migrants spend all day preparing for the wedding of Ecka and Heeru, an affair that quickly grows loud and celebratory, so much so that initially they don’t hear the cries from above. They realize that Munia is missing, and surmise that Jodu and Munia met each other in secret. They were caught talking to one another, and the guards are now beating him. Crowle sees what’s happening and steps in to join in the beating of “Reid’s little scumsucker” (456); once they’ve finished beating him, they throw him in the cell and turn to Munia.

When the migrants hear Munia being dragged away, they decide to make as much noise as possible until someone will listen to them. One of the guards eventually agrees to listen to them, and Deeti argues for them to let the migrants handle Munia. Instead, they come back with the terms that only Deeti can come to speak with Munia; Deeti forces them to allow Kalua above deck with her, and they accede to her request. However, when they reach the guards’ quarters, they allow only Deeti below.

Munia is excited her see her, but as soon as she enters, she discovers that it was a trap: Bhyro Singh is aware of who she and Kalua are and has been waiting for an opportunity. He has already set Kalua to go to a plantation where he is sure to be killed; he restrains Deeti and threatens to rape her.

Kalua hears Munia’s cries for help. Kalua hatches a plan; knowing he wouldn’t be able to storm the guards’ quarters, he instead moves for the deckhouse bell to sound an alarm. The guards try to stop him, but he breaks free from them and manages to ring the bell. In the milieu, when the ship rolls, one of the guards falls overboard.

Deeti and Munia are released and returned to the migrants’ quarters thanks to the bell. The guards claim that Kalua murdered the guard who fell overboard. The guards have Kalua tied to the mast, and Chillingworth meets with Crowle and Zachary to discuss the matter. Chillingworth decides that it is not his place to determine whether or not to execute Kalua; however, he allows Bhyro Singh his own punishment of sixty lashes for Kalua’s acts back in Ghazipur. Zachary is stunned; Chillingworth, unaware of Zachary’s origins, tries to explain it by asking what any of the crew might do with a black man who had been with a female relative of theirs. He tells Zachary that part of the unspoken pact between the English and the Indians is that the Indians be allowed to handle matters of marriage and procreation in their own way.

Back in the hold, Paulette tries to scold Jodu; however, Jodu reminds her that he, too, tried to warn her not to do something, and she chose to do it anyway. Jodu tells her that he’d rather drown than remain aboard the Ibis after his humiliation at the hands of the guards, and warns her of a secret plan being hatched to escape the ship.

When it comes time for Kalua’s flogging, the overseers gather all the able-bodied men in the hold and bring them up top to witness it. Everything unfolds “at a slow, ceremonial pace, to allow the migrants time to absorb every element of it: it was as though they were being primed, not merely to watch the flogging, but actually to share in the experience of the pain” (472). The enormity of Kalua, however, requires them to improvise in restraining him, tying his hands to the deck rather than the structure they’d built for the purpose.

Kalua bides his time as Bhyro Singh flogs him and begins using his reaction to the strokes to bite through his restraints. When there are only a few threads left, he pulls his hands free at just the right moment and snaps Bhyro Singh’s neck.