"Attention all shipping." "Southwesterly gale imminent in sea areas" "Biscay, Portland, Wight and Dover." "South cones have been hoisted." "That is the end of the gale warning." "Cocoa, Mr. Sands." "Put them both down." "I'll take Mr. Duncan's through to him." "All right, sir." "It's freshening." "We should pick up the Rochebonne Light in a couple of hours." "Should be just about first quarter flood by then." "What's that?" "Port, Mike, hard aport!" "She's turning into us!" " Frank!" " Sir!" "She's going to hit us!" "Only one lifeboat left." "Smoke!" "She's on fire." "Mike, bring her about." "Get her name!" "Keep that light on her." "Where's that Lloyd's Registry?" "Fire on board." "All the boats gone except one." "They fouled trying to launch her." " They must have left in a hurry." " A hurry?" "I'm wondering why." "Here we are, "Mary Deare, 7,000 tons." "Port of registry, Hong Kong." ""Owners, Dellimare Shipping Company." "Head office, London."" "Come on." "Lay us alongside." "Now just a minute." "What for?" "She's abandoned and drifting." "She's a derelict, isn't she?" " That gives us full salvage rights." " I don't like it." "A ship with just a small fire aboard and the crew abandon her." "Sounds to me like she's got a dangerous cargo, maybe explosive." "There's probably a couple of French tugs out looking for her already." "We're here first, so let's at least try." "Yeah, okay." "If you're determined to board her, just check her cargo manifest first, that's all I ask of you." "If it's okay, I'll give you a flash on the light." "Aye." "Frank." "I'm going to board her." " Give me a hand." " Okay, Mr. Sands." "Ahoy, up there!" "Anybody on board?" "Ahoy there." "What's her cargo?" "Kapok, tea, and airplane engines!" " Is that all?" " Yes, bound for Antwerp!" "Nobody aboard!" "What about the fire?" "It's only smoldering now." "I'm going below to see if we can raise steam." "Hey, John, don't be long." "Do you hear me?" "Ahoy there." "You up there." "Ahoy." "Ahoy." "Where are you?" "Who are you?" " My name's Sands." " What are you doing here?" "When we saw your lifeboats gone, we thought you were abandoned." " Who's "we"?" "Is Higgins with you?" " Higgins?" "Look, what is this?" "My partner and I are in passage to Saint-Malo." "We're in the salvage business." "We thought this was a derelict." "Well, she's not a derelict." " Are you the captain?" " I am." "Your ship a tug?" "No." "Then you better get back to her." "The wind's getting up." " Are there tugs on the way to you?" " That's my business." "Now get going while you can." "Look, Captain Taggart." "Why did you call me that?" " Well, you said you were the captain." " So I am." "If you just happened to come on board, how did you get the name Taggart?" "I saw it in some letters in your cabin." "Captain Taggart died four days ago." "I was first officer." "I took command." "My name's Patch." "That's the Sea Witch." "They want me back on board." " Hadn't you better come with me?" " I'm not abandoning this ship." "Captain Patch, you can't know the English Channel very well." "Unless those tugs get here pretty soon, you're going to drift down onto a ship's graveyard called the Minquiers." "I'm not afraid of graveyards, mister, and I'm not abandoning this ship." "The rocks there'll rip the bottom out of her." "You'll have to abandon then." "You're not collecting salvage money on the Mary Deare." "Now, get off my ship." "There he is, sir." "He'll be smashed to pieces, Mr. Duncan." "Hold on!" "We'll try again." "It's no use." "I'm going back." "Ahoy there!" "Who are you?" "Who are you?" "Your friend is okay!" "Is help on the way to you?" "Everything is all right!" "Tell them I'll see them in Saint-Malo." "Your friend says, "Good luck."" "I thought I was finished." "I'd like to thank you." "I'll get you some dry clothes." "Mr. Rice, Third Officer." "He was about your size." " How long since the crew left?" " Around seven or eight hours." "Fire must have been pretty bad." "You sent out a distress call seven or eight hours ago, you ought to have had help by now." "Oceangoing tugs at Cherbourg." "Thanks." " Who picked up your call?" " Nobody." "What?" "Nobody picked up the call because nobody sent out any call." "There was a fire in the radio shack four days ago." "We haven't got any radio to send out with." "You seem to have pretty bad luck with this ship, Captain." "You might call it that." "The Sea Witch could have sent out a call on her radio." "Why did you tell Mike that tugs were on the way?" " I didn't." "I said everything was okay." " Okay?" "We're headed straight for the Minquiers, do you know that?" "What are you trying to do, kill yourself?" "What I'm trying to do is my business." " Now listen to me, Captain." " No, you listen." "I didn't ask you to come on board, and I'm in command here." "Now if you don't like it, you can go over the side and swim." "You'll start the bleeding again." " What hit you?" " I don't know." "I didn't see what he used." "Do you mean someone hit you purposely, member of the crew?" " Do you know who did it?" " Sure." "Same man who set the dynamite, same man who started the fires." "Captain Patch, a crack on the head like this sometimes makes people a bit confused." "I think you'd better lie down, try and get a little rest." "Get out." "You know, Captain, it's my life as well as yours now." "I'm not going to drown if I can help it." "You need rest." "So I'm taking charge of this ship." "If I can get up enough steam to gain a little way, there's a chance the tide may carry us past the Minquiers." "Anyway, I'm going to try." "Okay, mister, you do that." "Captain." "Captain Patch!" "Captain." "Captain." "Captain Patch." "Where in hell have you been?" "I've been looking all over the ship for you." "Never mind that." "Why aren't you in the boiler room?" "You're covered in coal dust." "What have you been doing?" "Why aren't you in the boiler room?" "Because the bloody boiler room is flooding, that's why." "Somebody better do something about saving this ship." "I'm going to try and get the pumps started." "What you're going to do, mister, is obey orders." " Have we steam enough for steerage way?" " Just about." "But the way we're shipping water, it won't be much use to us." "Go down and stand by the telegraph." "When I ring down for engines, open up the valves and then get back to stoking." "Get away from that wheel." "For God's sake, you were putting us straight on to the Minquiers." "That's where I mean her to go." "What are you trying to do, wreck this ship?" "You must be out..." "Captain." "Sure, I know." "We're going on to the Minquiers." "We never had a chance of doing anything else." "You'll tear her to pieces." "No, I won't." "We're in a four-fathom channel." "The tide here runs counterclockwise." "We're on the flood, and it's taking us in." "Now, get down below and keep stoking till I ring down for full astern." "Then come up quick." "Get going!" " Was that the forward bulkhead going?" " Yes." "We're lucky it didn't go sooner." "That dynamite blew a pretty big hole in her side." "Hold tight now." "I'm gonna try to get some sleep." "That lifeboat's taken a pretty bad beating, but I guess she'll float." "Mast and sail are okay." "I think we ought to try to get out of here on the next tide." "I guess you've been thinking things over, Mr. Sands." "Wanting the answers to a few questions, maybe?" "Only one." "What about salvage?" "Mr. Sands, you know we couldn't have got this ship to port." "She was too badly damaged." "Tugs wouldn't have helped, not by the time you came along." "I'm sure the owners will accept your explanation." "If she'd foundered under tow, she'd have gone down in deep water, and that would've been the last of her." " I couldn't risk that." " That's your business, Captain." "Mine's salvage." "This ship's aground." "All I want to know is, do I get the contract to re-float her?" "Look, Mr. Sands, before we go into that..." "There'll be a court of inquiry into this business, won't there?" "Of course." "Well, I want this ship examined by that court." "That's up to the Ministry of Transport." " They're the people to talk to about that." " Are they?" "Do you know where I was when the crew left the ship?" "Lying at the bottom of Number 4 Hold with a crack on the head." "I put that fire out on my own after they abandoned." "Captain, I'm not the court of inquiry." "Well, I guess we better get busy with that boat." "Maintain course." "Rescue vessels near." "You know, my partner's going to be waiting in Saint-Malo." " Yes?" " What do I tell him?" "The salvage'll have to wait." "What do you mean, "have to wait"?" "Nobody has to know where the Mary Deare is until the inquiry." "Of course they'll have to know." "Look, I've already told you," "I want that ship surveyed officially by the court of inquiry and nobody else." "There'll be questions from the insurance agents, all sorts of people." "Look, are you asking me to lie?" " Because if you are, I want to..." " No, but..." "The questions don't have to be answered right away." "Look, Mr. Sands, I have reasons." "Right now I can't tell you what they are." "I have to ask you to trust me." "Just for a few days until the inquiry." "Give me one reason why I should, Captain." "You've trusted me already." "When you were dangling on the end of a rope over the side of the Mary Deare, you trusted me." "I haven't forgotten." "Well, now I'm on the end of a rope." "You can haul me in or leave me to drown." "Do I have to beg, Mr. Sands?" "There's a boat heading this way." "He says you have to go to the hospital for a checkup." "What about the crew?" "Two boats, Captain, eighteen survivors." "They're in the hospital here." "I'm afraid a third boat was found capsized in mid-Channel." "That was yesterday." "They've not found any bodies yet." "Who were they in that boat?" "I don't know, Captain, but they say they were two officers." "What about Higgins, the Second Officer, I mean." "Why, he's here." "He was in one of the other boats." "John, what happened?" "Where'd she go down?" "Well..." "It was pretty confused." "I don't know the exact position." "Capitaine, let's finish the report." "That Captain Patch, they're saying he's got quite a bit of a reputation." "Reputation for what?" "Losing ships." "Sir, there was fire and a smoke, sir." " Sir, I was afraid, sir." " Well, of course." " What I wish to know is this..." " Excuse me, Commandant." "I don't think this fellow is too bright." "I think what he meant was that as the order to abandon ship came from the bridge, he assumed, he naturally assumed, it was Captain Patch who gave the order." "Oh, you're probably right, Monsieur..." "Higgins?" "Higgins, yes." "Yeah." "Oh, the plain fact is, sir, that most of the men were off trying to control the fire." "The rest were down in the engine room." "And there weren't any more than three or four of us about when the captain got panicky and gave the order to abandon ship." "And some of them are dead, of course." " I see." " I'm..." "I'm just trying to be accurate, sir." " Of course." "I understand." " Just trying to be accurate, Mr. Higgins?" "Captain." "I think I speak for all the crew, all that's left of us that is, when I say how glad we were when we heard you hadn't gone down with the ship." "You mean surprised, don't you?" "If you want to put it that way, Captain, yes." " And disappointed?" " Disappointed?" "Beg your pardon, sir?" "Oh, by the way, this is Commandant Javot." " Javot." " Oh, Javot." "The underwriter's agent." "The owners have wired asking him to represent them, too." "How do you do, Captain?" "I take it Mr. Higgins has been telling you how the ship came to be abandoned?" "Well, yes, he has." "He and other witnesses." "Burrows, you know I never gave any orders to abandon ship." "All I know is what was passed down from the bridge, sir." "Yules, you were at the wheel." "You heard who gave the orders and what they were?" "It was you, Captain." "You ordered the boats swung out and the crew to abandon ship." " How much are you getting?" " Getting, sir?" "From Mr. Higgins here." "How much is he paying you?" "Oh, please, Capitaine." "This is not polite." "This is not correct." "Dirty little liar." "I wouldn't try that stuff with me if I was you, Captain." "Allons, allons." "Voyons, voyons, messieurs, we must be calm." "You understand I have to make a full report." "You can't really blame the Captain, sir." "I suppose, if I had a record like his, I'd try and bluff my way out, too, I suppose." "I'll say what I have to say at the court of inquiry and not before." "And you can tell that to the underwriters with my compliments." "Just a minute." "You said there were some things you couldn't tell me." "Was this one of them?" "I'm not saying anything." "And I'm asking you not to say anything, just until the inquiry." "After what those men said, I think you'd better go back in there and clear this whole thing up right now." "Don't you see, the underwriters will assume you're lying!" "I don't care what they assume!" "I'm asking you to do something for me as one man to another." "Are you out of your mind?" "Well, he's got nowhere to go." "I don't imagine he's got much money, either." " Oh, John." " Look, I told him he could stay on the ship and come back to Southampton with us, that's all." "We can't afford to get mixed up with that sort of man." "I don't know what you mean by "that sort of man."" "All he's interested in is keeping his master's ticket." "Did you know he's already had it suspended once?" "No, I didn't." " Well, if he loses it this time, he's finished." " How do you know?" "Why, it's all over the town." "You can't stop a shipwreck crew from talking." "Yeah, especially a crew that's abandoned a ship unlawfully." "That cock-and-bull story." "The man panicked and told them to abandon." "Look, I don't know why you even bother to defend him, let alone invite him aboard the boat as a guest." "Doesn't it strike you as pretty funny that a man who's supposed to have panicked stays behind and puts the fire out on his own?" "How do you know he did?" "Maybe it went out by itself, like you said." "But he was there." "He didn't leave." "Why not?" "Maybe he was drunk at the time." "Maybe he was sleeping it off, and we woke him up." "I don't know." "Well, I do happen to know, and you're dead wrong." "I tell you if it hadn't been for Patch, that ship'd be on the bottom of the sea by now." "You talk about him as if he were a criminal." "I thought you prided yourself in your sense of fair play." "Well, don't you?" "I thought the Mary Deare was at the bottom of the sea." "Isn't she?" "No." "She's stranded." "Where is she?" "I see." "Somewhere on the Minquiers, huh?" "Look, John, we've got a business to consider." "Why are you trusting the man?" "I don't understand." "I don't expect you to understand." "You weren't there." "I'm not sure I understand myself." "Hello, there." "Hello, Captain." "Well, it's not so easy getting around this town if you don't know French." "About the only word I know is "cognac."" "You'll find a glass there on the rack." "Have you had anything to eat?" "If not, Frank will take care you." " No, thanks, I got something in town." " Fine." "Excuse me." "We'll be shoving off right away." "Tell me, is it true you once had your master's ticket suspended?" "Yes, it is." "Let go forward." "Let go aft." "There's a phone in the office." "You can use that if you like." "I'll be in the office, Mike!" "Not mine." " Mr. Sands?" " Yes." "My name is Petrie." "I'm Mr. Gunderson's personal representative." "Mister who?" "Mr. Gunderson is the owner of the Mary Deare." "I thought that was the Dellimare Shipping Company." "Mr. Gunderson owns that, too." " I've been waiting nearly an hour." " I'm sorry." "This is Captain Patch." "I imagine he's the man you want to talk to." "Petrie." "We've had the Second Officer's report on the loss of the ship and cargo." "I don't think I need detain Mr. Patch." "I think I'll stay if it's okay with you." "Go ahead, Mr. Petrie." "I understand you were on board the vessel during the time she was lost." "I want to hear from you exactly what happened." "Oh, there's not much I can tell you." "If it hadn't been for the gale, we'd probably have made port." "As it was, the forward bulkhead went, and that finished her." "What I want from you, Mr. Sands, is the exact position at which the ship went down." "She was about five miles east of Roches Douvres when I boarded her." "I'd put her final position about 25 miles east of that." "Mr. Higgins is a very experienced seaman." "His calculations, based on wind strength, probable drift and tides, put the Mary Deare's final position somewhere on the Minquiers plateau." "Have you any comment to make on that?" "None at all." "You're not being helpful, Mr. Sands." "You think that's wise for a salvage man in your position?" "Wise?" "Mr. Gunderson has a great many friends in the shipping business." "Lucky man." "I think Mr. Petrie's a bit upset." "The Mary Deare was insured for over three quarters of a million dollars." " How much?" " £300,000." "The airplane engines accounting for most of it, I suppose." " Exactly." " They were bought in Japan." "Surplus U.S. Government stores from Korea." "But they were all fairly modern jets." "This Mr. Gunderson is losing a chance for a nice profit." "Thanks mainly to your incompetence, yes." "Now, Mr. Sands, this place where the Mary Deare sank, how deep would you think the water to be?" "I can't say." "Very well." "One more thing, if you have not been straightforward with me, or if you have any idea of searching for the wreck of the Mary Deare yourself," "I warn you, don't." "Is that a threat, Mr. Petrie?" "I'm merely reminding you of your position under the law." "We've already made representations to the authorities asking that the court of inquiry be held at once." "Possibly next week." "In the meantime, just remember what I've said." "Good morning." "Well, that's quite a spot you've put me in." "No wonder they're suspicious." "They're not suspicious." "They're worried." "Well, wouldn't you be worried if you owned a ship that was lost that way?" "Look at it." ""Mystery fires on board unlucky ship." "Serious allegations."" "Suppose Lloyd's holds up payment on the claim." "If you ask me those people have got plenty to worry about." "Unlucky ship." "Yeah, what's more, they've got my sympathy." "She looks all right." "What'll it cost me?" " How many in your party?" " Party?" "Oh, I see." "No, I just want a boat for myself." "Well, she costs a pound an hour at off-season rates." " How long do you want her for?" " Two days." "Oh, in that case, I might make a slight reduction." "How about £30 for the lot?" " What's her range on full tanks?" " Oh, 150 miles, maybe." "She's a nice little craft." "Cruise at eight knots for as long as you like." "Make it £25 and it's a deal." "Cash in advance." "Well, all right." "When do you want her?" "She's ready to go now, if you like." "No, I've got some gear to get ready." "I'll pick her up tonight." "Just as you say." "Let's see, the name is..." " Smith." " Yes, Mr. Smith." "Well, if you'll just step into the office, I'll get you a receipt, and you can sign the insurance papers." "Where are you staying?" "With a friend over in the yacht basin." "What, did they run out of boats for hire over there?" "The 10:30 to Bournemouth, Swanage and Weymouth will leave from Platform 10, calling at Southampton Central, Bournemouth Central, Bournemouth West." "The 10:30 to Bournemouth, Swanage and Weymouth..." " Miss Taggart?" " Yes." "My name is Patch." "I was your father's first officer on the Mary Deare." "Oh." "Oh, please come in." "I tried to call you yesterday from Southampton." "There was no answer." "No, I was in Rome." "I'm an air stewardess." "I know." "Your photograph was on your father's desk." "He kept your letters in a box beside it." "That's how I knew your address." " Please sit down." " Thanks." "I had to come up to London." "I thought I'd take a chance." "I'm glad you did." "I only know what they told me at the company office." " Would you like some tea?" " No, thanks." "It must have been a shock." "You see, I couldn't radio." "Captain, I hadn't seen my father for nearly seven years." "And then it was only for a short while." "I only really knew him through his letters." "How did he look?" "It's so difficult to tell from a photograph." "He said he was going gray." " Yes." " He must've looked very distinguished." "Wish I could have seen him again, just once." "You know, after my mother died, he never really liked England, and when I left school, he..." "Are you sure I can't get you some tea?" "I have time." "I don't have to be on duty till this evening." "No, thanks." "Miss Taggart, I have to ask you to do something for me." " Yes, if I can." " Your father's letters." "Did he write often?" "Always, when he could." " This last trip, did he write from Rangoon?" " Yes, he did." "Miss Taggart, do you think you might let me read that letter?" "Well, I..." "You see, some question cropped up about the cargo." "The underwriters may ask questions about it." "I didn't join the ship until Aden, and I thought that..." "He never wrote about business." "According to the ship's log, he was delayed four days in Rangoon." "Some agents there made some mistake or other." "He might've made just some casual reference to it." "I don't think so." "He didn't say they were delayed." ""We're staying four days in this godforsaken hole." ""Still, it could be worse." ""We're moored in the river alongside the Torre Annunziata" ""and her skipper's an old pal of mine." ""So when our crews are off painting the town, we can have a quiet get-together." ""He's in and out of Red China these days," ""and some of the yarns he tells would make your toes curl." ""All the same..."" "Well, the rest is personal." " Is that what you wanted?" " Yes, ma'am." "That's it." "Do you mind if I make a copy of that part of the letter?" " Is it very important?" " It could be, yes." "Well, if you promise to let me have it back, I could let you have just this page." "If I could..." "Tell me one thing, Captain." "Did you like my father?" "He was a good seaman." "Yes." "But did you like him?" "I didn't know him that well." "Thank you." "This what you're looking for?" "Charlie Bell phoned me this afternoon trying to find out if I knew you, where you were staying." "He described you quite accurately." "Wanted to know if you were fixed up with bait for your fishing trip." "I told him you wouldn't be needing any bait." "All right, Mr. Smith, what's this all about?" "And don't tell me to mind my own business." "This is my business now." "The Receiver of Wreck's office was on the phone earlier." "The inquiry's been set for next Tuesday." " That's fine." " Is it?" "You said you wanted an independent survey of that wreck." "Didn't want anyone else to get at her first." "Well, what are you trying to get back there for?" "You wouldn't by any chance want to get into that coal bunker again, would you?" "What do you mean by that?" "I don't know." "You seemed very fond of the place." "What were you digging for?" "Dynamite?" "Incendiary bombs?" "All right." "I agreed to keep quiet until the inquiry." "But you'd better get this straight." "If you hire so much as a rowing boat before that inquiry," "I'm going to Lloyd's and Mr. Petrie and the Receiver of Wreck's and the coast guard and the police as well, if necessary, to stop you." "Is that clear?" "Good." "My car's up on the road." "No point in wasting this stuff." "We'd better take it with us." "You coming?" "Now, this court meets here today to investigate the loss of the steamship Mary Deare." "It will be my duty and that of the assessors appointed with me to examine not only the circumstances leading to that loss, but also the behavior and conduct of those concerned with the running of the vessel." "Mr. Nyland, you appear on behalf of the Ministry?" "Yes, Mr. Learned Commissioner." "Very well." "Mr. Learned Commissioner, eight men went to their deaths as the result of the abandonment of a ship which was, in fact, in no immediate danger of sinking." "These depositions contain a number of statements which directly contradict one another." "I think it is well to remind the witnesses concerned, before they give evidence, that perjury is a serious offense." "I call Gideon Patch." "Would you take the book in your right hand and read the oath, please?" ""I swear by almighty God that the evidence I shall give" ""shall be the truth, the whole truth" " "and nothing but the truth."" " Thank you." "Your name is Gideon Steven Patch, and you are an American citizen?" " Yes." " Just a moment, Mr. Nyland." "Is Captain Patch represented by counsel?" "No, Your Honor." "Mr. Learned Commissioner, I represent the Marine Officers Association." "We did offer Captain Patch legal aid, but he didn't choose to accept it." "Very well." "Mr. Nyland." "You joined the American Merchant Marine as a cadet in 1930." "You were granted your mate's certificate in 1937, your master's certificate in 1940." "You joined the Mary Deare as first officer at Aden on April the 10th of this year." "On April the 26th, the master, Captain Taggart, was lost at sea" " and you took command." "Is that right?" " That's correct." "Captain Patch, did you consider the Mary Deare seaworthy?" "Yes." " Was her firefighting equipment in order?" " It was, sir." "Did you regard the crew as efficient?" "They were average." "I've sailed with worse." "Were the officers competent?" "Some were good and some weren't." "And the Captain?" "Before you took command, I mean." "Captain Taggart was a sick man, sir." "What was the nature of his illness?" "I'm sorry, sir, I don't think I should answer that." "Mr. Nyland, I think the captain is right." "He's not a qualified medical man." "I was merely endeavoring to present a complete picture to the court." "I don't think the nature of any illness that Captain Taggart may have had is relevant to this particular inquiry, Mr. Nyland." "Very well." "We come now to April the 25th." "You were then off the coast of Portugal?" "We were entering the Bay of Biscay." "Please tell the court what happened that day." "There was a fire in the radio shack." "At what time of day did that occur?" "Just before the watch changed at eight bells." "Look, Your Honor, this was just one of a series of incidents that occurred before the ship was abandoned." "And in my opinion, they were all a part of a plan to sink her." "I have here a statement I would like to read into the testimony." " You see..." " Now, now, just a minute, Captain." "I realize that, as an American, you may not be familiar with the procedure here." "And as you don't have counsel to advise you," "I should explain that you will have an opportunity later of making any statement you wish." "But for the moment all you need to do is to answer Mr. Nyland's questions." "I was just trying to explain about the ship, Your Honor." "It'd save an awful lot of time." "Captain Patch, you will have your chance to speak later." "Yes, Your Honor." "Thank you." "You say there was a series of incidents, Captain." "That's right." ""The fire in the radio office, the explosion in forward compartment," ""the fire in Number 3 Hold." I'm quoting from your deposition." "That's correct." "You also say that in your opinion these incidents were part of an attempt to sink the ship." "Is that correct?" "It is." "What reason had you for thinking that?" "No reason at the time." "It wasn't until..." "I see." "In the light of subsequent events, you formed an opinion." "That's right." "You see, I figured..." "I submit that what Captain Patch may have figured is not evidence, sir." "Captain Patch, you must confine your answers to what you can swear to as matters of fact." "Your Honor, all I'm saying is we had two fires and one explosion on the ship within four days." "And that those things didn't happen by accident." "The radio shack went first so that no call could be sent out for assistance." "The explosion was meant to sink the ship in a way that would give the crew time to get clear." "When it didn't work, there had to be the fire in Number 3." "Mr. Learned Commissioner..." "Captain Patch, it is for the court to decide what interpretation is to be placed upon the facts." "You are here to answer questions." "I swore to tell the whole truth, Your Honor." "Okay, I'm telling it." "There was a conspiracy by the owners and some members of the crew to sink the Mary Deare and collect insurance on a cargo she wasn't even carrying." "A cargo that was offloaded at Rangoon." "Captain Patch, I'm being very patient with you." "But you are doing yourself no good by this behavior." "Why couldn't he bring up all this before?" "He should have gone straight to the authorities." "Mr. Learned Commissioner, I submit that all these irrelevancies are not evidence and should be omitted from the official transcript." "You need have no fear, Sir Wilfred." "Mr. Nyland." "Captain Patch, you state in your deposition that at the time of the abandonment of the ship, you were lying unconscious in Number 4 Hold, having been struck on the head by some member of the crew." "That's right." "Both Mr. Higgins and Quartermaster Yules state that you were on the bridge at the time that you gave the order to abandon ship." "They're lying." "I gave no such order at any time." "Mr. Higgins also states that, at one point in the voyage," "Captain Taggart was locked in his cabin by you." "Is that true?" "Yes." "Why?" "He was delirious." "Mr. Learned Commissioner," "I suggest that this witness' view of the nature of Captain Taggart's illness does have relevancy here." "Very well, Mr. Nyland." "What did you think was the matter with Captain Taggart?" "What was his illness?" "Answer the question, please, Captain." "Well, Captain." "He drank, sir." " You mean, he drank to excess?" " Yes." "How much did he drink?" "One or two bottles of liquor a day." "On this day when you locked Captain Taggart in his cabin, how did he differ from other days?" "He was delirious, raving." "I thought he had DTs." "I was afraid he'd jump overboard or do himself some injury." "I see." "And if you don't believe me, you can ask the crew." "I don't think even they would need to lie about that." "Why should they need to lie about anything?" "Because they're saying what they've been told to say." "Told?" "By whom?" "Indirectly by the owners." "Directly by Mr. Higgins." "In other words, Captain, everyone is lying except you." "That's what it amounts to." "Yes." "Mr. Learned Commissioner, I have no more questions for Captain Patch." "Fortunately, we have an independent witness, Mr. Sands, who can tell us what happened to the Mary Deare after the crew left her." "Sir Wilfred, I presume you wish to cross-examine?" "Oh, indeed, yes." "Then I think we can adjourn at this point for an hour." "If we sit late, I hope we can hear the bulk of the witnesses this afternoon." "Just what do you think you're playing at?" "Why don't you simply tell them the ship's beached?" "I'm going to, but it'll stop the hearing." "There are some facts I want read into the testimony first." "What facts?" "This is a letter from Captain Taggart to his daughter from Rangoon." "The Mary Deare was alongside a ship called the Torre Annunziata for four days." "What about it?" "Do you know who owns the Torre..." "Do you know who owns the Torre Annunziata?" "Of course, I don't." "Well, she's owned by Gunderson, and she was on her way to Red China." "Now do you understand?" "Excuse me, Captain." "Can I have a word with you?" "Well, that doesn't prove anything." "No, but I see what he's getting at." "It's not the Mary Deare he wants examined, it's her cargo." "If he can prove those engines were really taken out of her, then he's in the clear, his master's ticket's safe." "Well, why couldn't he have gone straight to Lloyd's with the story?" " They'd have listened." " I know." "Wait a minute." "I think you're going the wrong way about this." "Making charges of that sort can only put you in an unfavorable light." " If you would just..." " I'm gonna do it my way." " Look, where were those engine crates?" " In Number 3, right at the bottom." "Couldn't you check what was in them?" "I tried to, but the hold was flooded by then." "Sir Wilfred." "Now, Captain." "I think the last time you lost a ship was eight years ago." "She was the Silver Isle, I believe." "Yes." "She..." "Please correct me if I'm wrong, she came into collision with a Japanese vessel, the Tahiti Maru." "You at the time were steaming at full speed through a fog bank." "The Silver Isle was so badly damaged that she became a total loss, and so did the Tahiti Maru." "Is that right?" "Yes." "On the Japanese vessel, six men were killed." "At the inquiry held in Manila, it was established that at the moment when the collision occurred, you, the Captain, were not on the bridge." "According to your story, the officer of the watch was drunk, failed to notify you in time of the change in weather conditions, and also failed to slow the ship down to a safe speed." "Yes." "There had been during the voyage, you say, a previous incident when this officer had been drunk on watch." "Yet you had failed to suspend him from duty, or even to record the incident in the ship's log." "Yes." "It was because you did not wish to wreck his career?" "Yes." "Instead of which two ships were wrecked, six men died and the officer in question lost his certificate for good." "Your master's certificate was suspended for three months on the grounds of your negligence." "Yes." "You got off lightly." "Now, Captain, let me ask you this." "After the loss of the Silver Isle, you found yourself, as the saying goes," ""on the beach" for some considerable time, did you not?" "Yes." "You were glad to be taken on as third officer." "Yes." "That must've been a bitter experience for you." "The sort of experience that tends to put a chip on a man's shoulder?" "Wouldn't you agree?" " That depends on the man." " Quite so." "I suppose an easygoing man would tend to accept such a situation philosophically." "Would you describe yourself as an easygoing man?" "I don't think of myself in those terms, one way or the other." "I see." "On January the 6th of last year, were you in Bombay?" "Yes." "Did you there, on the ship in which you were then serving, did you attack and seriously injure a brother officer?" "And did a Bombay court sentence you to 10 days imprisonment for the offense?" "Yes." "What was the reason you gave for attacking this man?" "Let me refresh your memory." "Was it because he called you "Wrecker Patch?"" "Answer, please." "Yes." "On August the 7th last, in Mombasa, were you arraigned before a magistrate's court for inflicting grievous bodily harm on a man named Freeman?" "That charge was dismissed." "After the loss of the Mary Deare, did you, in the French hospital to which you were taken, did you attack Mr. Higgins, the second officer, and knock him down?" "He called me a liar." "I never did." "Never." "I put it to you, Captain, that, far from being an easygoing man, you were and are now a very desperate one." "In fact, Captain, you would say anything, would you not?" "Blame anybody, make any wild accusation, tell any lie and do anything to absolve yourself from the responsibility of having lost another ship?" "I'm not lying." "I'm just trying to get at the truth." "Excellent." "Then we can help each other." "A few days ago you called on Miss Taggart and asked to see her father's letters." "The reason you gave was that the underwriters had some questions about the cargo of the Mary Deare." " Is that right?" " That's right." " Was it true, the reason you gave?" " No." "You lied, in fact." "Not exactly." "The question about the cargo was real enough." "But only in your mind, I take it." "There had to be some explanation for the fires and the explosion." "So you chose the most fantastic one that occurred to you." "Insurance frauds are common enough." "The only question was how and where they switched the cargo." "I believe those airplane engines were transferred from the Mary Deare to the Torre Annunziata at Rangoon." " You believe, but you don't know?" " I don't know for certain yet." "Tell me this, Captain, there would be really only one way of knowing for certain that those engines are in fact in the place where they ought to be, wouldn't there?" "Sure." "You'd have to examine Number 3 Hold in the Mary Deare." "Exactly." "And it would be more than helpful to this court of inquiry" " if it were possible to do that, wouldn't it?" " It certainly would." "In fact, sir..." "I'm glad we agree about something, Captain." "Mr. Learned Commissioner, I am going to ask the court's indulgence for what may appear to have been on my part a minor deception." "But, in view of Captain Patch's extraordinary allegations," "I wanted first to be sure that we all understood his position." "I think the moment has come to inform you that this morning I received a piece of news which is that, as a result of an air survey initiated by the owners, a French salvage company has located the wreck of the Mary Deare." " Are you sure of this, Sir Wilfred?" " There is no doubt of it." "The salvage company is la CGS of Le Havre, a highly reputable firm." "Apparently, the ship had drifted on to one of the reefs of the Minquiers." "Work has already started on sealing the upper part of the hull." "The salvage company is confident that within 48 hours with compressed air, they would have refloated the Mary Deare." "Your Honor, this morning I asked if I could read a statement." " That's what I wanted to say." " That the wreck was aground?" "She was beached, Your Honor." "I can tell you her exact position." "I put her there myself." "Well, I don't see any reference to that fact in your deposition, Captain." "You stated she was abandoned in a sinking condition." "Your Honor, I wanted that cargo examined by an independent assessor appointed by this court, and I didn't want the owners getting at it first." "And I still don't." "Mr. Learned Commissioner, I must protest against this witness being allowed to go on making these frivolous accusations." "Your Honor, the owners don't want the ship salvaged." "They want it refloated, yes, but only so they can tow it off into deep water and sink it." " I must protest." " Yes, yes, Sir Wilfred." "Captain Patch, whether, as you now say, you beached the ship or whether she drifted to her present position is immaterial at the moment." "But it seems to me that the owners have demonstrated their good faith far more effectively than you have." "Kindly sit down." " But, Your Honor, this..." " Sit down, sir!" "Sir Wilfred." "I assume that the owners have entered into a proper contract" " with this salvage company." " Oh, they have indeed." "It's Lloyd's Standard Form of Salvage Agreement, the 1953 revision." "Do you know of this French company, Mr. Wirrell?" "Why, yes, I do." "As Sir Wilfred has said, they are a reputable and competent firm." "Very well." "Pending the result of the salvage operations, this inquiry is adjourned for one week." "Look, Mr. Sands, you've got to listen to me." "Not anymore, Captain." "Captain Patch, I'm from The Gazette." "I'd like to get the complete story if I..." "Get out of my way, please." "Don't you see?" "Once they get her off the Minquiers..." "You're a salvage man." "A wreck full of compressed air and under tow is the easiest thing in the world to sink." "One man can do it just by opening a scuttle." "Look, I know these salvage people." "They're not going to sink her, believe me." "They won't, maybe, but somebody else will." "You don't believe those airplane engines are in that hold, do you?" " Mr. Sands, I can prove they aren't." " How?" "Take me out to the wreck in your boat, and I'll show you." " Take you out?" " Yes." "Come on, Mike." "You better drive." "I'll be trying to apologize all the way." "Ah, Captain Patch, would you care to make a statement?" " Many thanks again, Sir Wilfred." " Oh, it's all in the day's work." "Goodbye." "Goodbye." " Mr. Gunderson, I'd like to speak to you." " Certainly, Miss Taggart." "I hope you are as pleased with the outcome as we are." "You were very helpful." " About my father's things..." " Things?" "His personal belongings." "As you're salvaging the ship, I'd like to have them." "But of course, my dear." "You shall." "Captain Higgins will take care of that personally." "Won't you, Higgins?" "Oh, yes." "I'll be there when she's towed off, Miss Taggart." "So if I was you, I wouldn't worry my little head about a thing." "Captain Patch said that my father drank." "Did he?" " Did he..." "I'm..." " He drank." " Oh, well, now I..." " I could ask someone else, you know." "Miss Taggart, there's no need to distress yourself unnecessarily." "Many men drink, but they're not drunkards." "Your father was a fine man, a fine captain." "Perhaps he was also sometimes a very lonely man." "We mustn't condemn him for that." "I wasn't condemning him, Mr. Petrie." "I asked a question, and I think you've answered it." "Captain Patch." "Miss Taggart, believe me, I didn't want..." " Could I have my father's letter, please?" " Oh, yes, of course." "Thank you." "It would have been kinder to have told me the truth the other day, wouldn't it?" "I'm sorry you had to be here, Miss Taggart." "I overheard what you said just now to Mr. Sands." "Is it true?" "One man could sink the Mary Deare under tow?" "Yes." "It's true enough, ma'am." " Mr. Higgins is going to be on board." " What?" "I thought you might like to know." "Oh, thank..." "Excuse me." "No wonder we couldn't see her lights." "The blasted boat's gone." " That crazy fool's taken it." " Well, let's call the harbor police." "Wait a minute." "He's trying to get to the Minquiers." "He'll need full tanks, and he knows it." "They were half empty." "He knows that, too." "Steady, John." "You asked me to trust you." "I've no excuses for this, Mr. Sands, but I haven't lied to you." "Then why didn't you go to Lloyd's the moment we landed?" "Why didn't you want anyone to know where the wreck was?" "No, you had to wait until the inquiry." "The inquiry." "Sir Wilfred had your number." "You were desperate, all right." "Do you realize that man practically accused you of killing Captain Taggart?" "You didn't even try to defend yourself against that." "I couldn't." "You see, I did kill Captain Taggart." "It was the day of the explosion." "I knew it was no accident." "I told Taggart so." "We were in Number 3 Hold." "I wanted to make a complete inspection of the ship." "He told me to lay off." "When I refused, he pulled a gun." "He was drunk enough to use it, so I got in first and hit him." "He fell down the inspection hatch." "When I got to him, he was dead." "And the crew thought he went overboard." "There wasn't one of the officers I could trust to back me up." "So I buried his body in the coal bunker." "I planned to take the ship to the nearest port and go to the authorities." "I thought that..." "Then, after the fire and the crew ditching me, I made up my mind to get rid of him." " Overboard?" " Yes." "I was trying to dig him out when you turned up." "So you decided to go back later and do it." "All I could think about was my ticket." "If I let her sink in deep water, I could forget about Taggart, but I'd lose my chance of proving she was sabotaged and my ticket as well." "If I beached her and they found him before I'd got evidence to back my story," "I'd be up on a murder charge." "If you'd just gone openly to Lloyd's or the police..." "With my record?" "You heard that lawyer today." "Besides I didn't know for certain those engine crates had been switched." "You still don't." "I know now how they could've been switched and where." "What were you going to do out there now?" "Try to get rid of the body again?" "How could I?" "I was going to warn that salvage captain to watch out for Higgins and his men." "Higgins?" "He's gonna be aboard when they tow her off." "Miss Taggart told me." "Strikes me, we'd better look after our own skins." "You'll be called when that court of inquiry resumes." "If those people do sink the ship, you'll not get away with having kept quiet about the wreck, and we'll be out of business." "I think maybe, we ought to find out for ourselves about those engine crates, and quick." " I'll get Frank up." " Hey, just a minute, John." "That statement that you wanted to read out in court today, did it contain the facts of Captain Taggart's death?" "Everything." "You see I figured if I never got another ship," "I might as well go to jail anyway." "I'll take that if you don't mind, Captain." "Just in case those engines are there." "Sea Witch clearing for Channel Islands." "Sea Witch clearing for Channel Islands." "Over." "Red group flashing three." "That'll be the south Minquiers light buoy." "Better shut off our lights." "Gunderson must have the salvage men working around the clock." "Yeah, that's something we didn't count on." "If we can get closer without being spotted, we could use the diving gear and go in underwater." "Let's try it." "Mike." " Ready?" " Okay." "What time does your watch say?" "Quarter past." "Burrows!" "Burrows!" "Go and ask the Frenchie, has he got any divers out working." "He says no divers out." "Let's go." " What's up?" " Come on." "Switch your light off." "Two of them." "And one of them knows his way into Number 3." "Patch." "Here, here." "What you gonna do?" "Now you don't think we're going to allow them to get back out of there, do you?" "Now take this light and shine both of them down here." "Could it have shut on its own?" "Higgins aboard." "Must have spotted us." "No use." "Is there another way out?" "Inspection hatch aft." "Might be open." "You'd better use that." "Nobody said nothing to me about killing." "You'd prefer to do a 10-year stretch instead, huh?" "Would you?" "Would you?" " Suppose they didn't come alone." " What of it?" "They had an accident." "Their air ran out." "Something fell on them." "I don't know." "What does it matter?" "But one thing I do know, either way, when this ship goes down for good, they're gonna be in that hold." "Now, go and keep your eyes out for the Frenchies." "Go on." "I've nicked one of them." "Did you see?" "Look, why don't we turn them over to the Frenchies, eh?" "After they've been at those engine crates?" "Next time it's going to be a bull's eye." "How bad is it?" "I don't know." "Going numb." "We'd better stay here." "Mike knows our air's running out." "By the time he starts to get that salvage captain to look for us, you'll bleed to death." "No choice." "We've got enough air for one more try." "Can you swim with one arm?" "I guess so." "All right." "This is what we'll do." "Give me your lamp." "Can't have much air left by now." "Aye, they must be in trouble." "Come on, let's go and see what those salvage people have got to say." "Right, sir." "Here they come again." "I told you I nicked one of them." "The other one's towing him." "A bull's eye." "I told you I'd get a bull's eye." "They're in a dead end." "Now we got them." "Yules!" "Get him out of here." "Captain, if you could get the coastguard to notify the Lloyd's office in Southampton at the same time." "And the British police." "I think, Captain, there'll be serious charges against the owners in London." "They may try to get away." "And the main thing is that they don't get away before you open up" "Number 3 Hatch again and look at some of those engine crates." "Of course, of course." "You'll get another ship, all right." "Mike says you'll get a fat reward, too." "He's not usually wrong, not about those things." "If there's any reward, you get it." "You and he." "Steady, Captain." "A ship, that's all I want." "I guess that's all I ever wanted."