The labelled trunk

An original fiction passage set in the nineteenth century.

The trunk stood beside the ship’s saloon door with a label in a language most passengers could not read. Mr Grant said he disliked baggage that did not announce its contents plainly. When the owner left to speak to a steward, he pointed to a small hole near the lock and suggested that secret papers might be hidden inside.

A young woman asked whether he had seen any papers. He said secrecy was itself suspicious. The trunk’s owner returned carrying a child’s wooden boat. He explained that he had opened the trunk to fetch it, but the toy’s mast had caught in the lining. Mr Grant watched him put the boat on a table and said that any man could offer an innocent story.

The steward arrived with a baggage list. The label matched the owner’s name and cabin, written by the shipping agent abroad. The hole was an old repair, recorded on the same list because the lock had been replaced. Mr Grant said lists could be wrong. Around them, several passengers had stopped speaking to the owner.

The young woman asked the owner about the little boat. He showed her how its sail folded. Conversation began again, unevenly. Mr Grant moved to another table. Nothing had proved the owner incapable of wrongdoing, but neither had anything justified the particular story told about his trunk. The child took the boat to the window, where its small white sail caught the light.

“The passage shows suspicion becoming unfair when it cannot be challenged by evidence.”

Evaluate how successfully the writer presents this idea. Support your judgement with detailed references to the passage.