When the maistries came to remove the gratings there was a near riot: dozens of men scrambled up the ladder in a desperate effort to force their way out on deck. But the hatch was only wide enough for a single man to pass through at any time and every head that was thrust out of it presented an easy target to the maistries. Their lathis came crashing down on the girmitiyas’ skulls and shoulders, knocking them back inside one after another. Within minutes both the gratings and the hatch were slammed shut again.