Targovi reports to Captain Ronan Jerrold who has the confidence of Admiral Magnusson. Furthermore, Targovi detects and reports mysterious activities which Jerrold knows are aspects of Magnusson's preparations for rebellion! Targovi is effectively told to stop doing his job and to await further orders.
I am having trouble with the meaning of a sentence. Double and triple negatives can be problematic. If Targovi had said:
"I doubt that this is harmless smuggling..."
- then his meaning would have been clear. He would have meant that he thought that something other than harmless smuggling was going on.
If he had said:
"I doubt that this is not harmless smuggling..."
- then he would have meant that he thought that it was harmless smuggling?
But what he in fact says is:
"'Activity has been going on yonder, sir, and I misdoubt it is not harmless smuggling. Could it be Merseian?" (p. 231)
OK. I have googled "misdoubt" and apparently it just means to doubt, to fear or to have suspicions about something. If Targovi thinks that the activity might be Merseian, then he thinks that it might not be harmless smuggling. This meaning would have been clearer without the "mis-" and the "not."
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