"Keep her on course, lad." "I am, sir, but the wind's heading her." "Let her fall off a point." "She won't sail into the eye of the wind." "That's her ticket." "Now we've had every kind of weather this trip, sir, except fog." "It's queer how snow dampens sound at sea." "Not being able to hear is worse than not seeing, sir." "Not seeing?" "What do you mean, "not seeing?"" "I don't know what I'd rather be without, sir, sight or sound." "When you've finished debating the matter, perhaps you'd give your mind to the ship." "We're luffing again." " Let her fall off another point, son." " Aye, aye, sir." "Young Tammy McGregor there, he's coming on splendid for a first tripper, sir." " Change him." " Sir?" "I've a mind to catch tomorrow's tide before I freeze, or die of boredom." "Well, change him!" "All we want now, sir, is for fog." "We'll have had the lot then." "I dare say you'll whistle it up for us." "We have had everything else." "Chief, I've got to." "If I don't make the Mersey on tomorrow's tide," "Frazer will have me quartered." "Keep her as she is." "We've coal enough." "Still smelling, sir." " It's always smelling." " It's like a gas." "It's always like a gas." "Put a man down there with a good nose." "Already have, sir." "But he was overcome." "Put Holyoak down there." "His own smell should damp it." "They're reeking!" "What is it?" "Petroleum." "Now they're all right as long as they don't move, you understand?" "Just keep a weather eye open." "Listen out, in case they shift." "You don't want 'em taking charge." "And whatever you do, don't take a lamp down there." "You just keep an eye open in case they shift." " But what if they shift?" " You tun 'em in again." "It's a soldier's job for you." "Watching." "I've put Holyoak down there, sir." "It's about the only thing aboard he won't drink." "Ah, well done!" "Anything else you can think of, eh?" "Act of God, earthquake, fever, plague?" "You think of it and we'll get it." "If the fog is thick, The Helen May will be delayed." "My instructions were that she should not be." "Is it a time charter?" "It's the first consignment of a particularly valuable cargo of petroleum in a refined state." "We've a guaranteed delivery date." "And there's a possibility of a regular charter from Philadelphia." "Petroleum?" "Its carriage can be much improved to great profit." "Profit." "There's constant argument about how it should be carried, in barrels or in bulk." "When Albert was alive, it occupied him greatly." "Well, if there's fog along the river, you won't see it this week." "It's Friday now." "On the contrary, my instructions were specific." "No, I just happened to overhear it in the agent's." "Petroleum." "It's going to revolutionise heating and lighting." "And Frazer's got his nose into the carriage." "Just wait till I tell James about it." "When's he due?" "He's due on the tide, but he'll never make it in this fog." "There's not a ship moving on the Mersey." "Frazer will be delayed as well then?" "Aye." "And he can't afford many more delays." "Do you know, I can't understand our Elizabeth sending out these cards." "They only cost coppers, you know?" "You can get three for a shilling." "I mean, just imagine it." "Living up there in the Toxteth Road among the quality and the carriage trade, and sending out these." "My election manifesto cost more." " Not even a good likeness of Albert." " You never liked Albert." "Well, he never belonged, now, did he?" "I know he was Frazer's son and all that, but he never seemed to be a true northerner." "Don't know what he was, except a fop of the first water." " The housekeeper is here, ma'am." " Housekeeper?" "For James." "I'll see her here." "Oh, well, I suppose it's high time he got someone to look after him properly." "Quite." "Now, there'll be no reason why his poor little daughter, Charlotte, can't come and stop once in a while." "Packing her off to the country with some governess." "Out of sight, out of mind." ""Died in the Argentine."" "Womanising and tittle-tattle, I'll be bound." "You understand I'm making this offer of 30 shillings without speaking to Captain Onedin." "Everything will depend upon whether you can give satisfaction or not." "When the captain eats, he eats alone and he doesn't like fish." "There is a certain amount of entertaining to do, but then I don't suppose you're qualified to handle that." "I'll do me best to give satisfaction, Mrs Onedin." "Is it living in?" "For the moment, yes." "I'll give you the keys." "Oh, I'd better warn you." "A very full inventory has been taken." "I took it." "I'd be very grateful for the start." "Yes, well, your testimonials weren't exactly glowing." "Keep a sharp look out." "Red, white and round, a Tongue buoy." "Red, white and round." "Aye, aye, sir!" "Call the mark." "By the deep, eight and a half." "Sandy and shoaly, sir." "Have you fell off aloft there?" "Nothing showing on any quarter, sir." "You're not gonna find it if you search all night." "Bring her up, all standing." "Drop the hook and get the canvas down." "Cut her down to half." "Shall I put a leadsman in the chain, sir?" "At this speed, we'd never fetch the bottom." "We got a good landfall last time." "I'll tell you when we're in the river." "If we were in sail, we'd have stopped by now, sir." "We're not windbound now, mister." "There's a lot of money on this charter." "Bring her up again, Chief." "There'll be nothing moving in this." "Never even saw the Tongue buoy." "It's miles astern now, man." "Go on, Tammy, give it Dixie." "Tea clipper lying to!" "Hard to port!" "Front boatman!" "What's he doing, lying up in the ropes?" "Hooligan boats." "He must have a full head of steam up." "Midships." "Crow Rock." "She's hit the Crow Rock." "She must've been looking for the channel, boys." "Same as us." "You'd better raise the carpenter." "Break the cover off the long boat." "All hands." "All hands!" "What good will you do?" "She's hit the Crow Rock, sir." "There may be men in the water." "Nothing can live after that." " But sir..." "Men..." " You'll be picking up cinder." "Cinders!" "With this tide, you'll be on the Crow Rock yourself." "Sir, we've got to put a boat out." "I mean, she might only have broken in half." "There'll be men injured, seamen in the water." "Bits and pieces." "Go when the fog lifts." "Not before." "My guess is she hit the Crow Rock, sir." "The whole lot went up like tinder and she nearly run us down." "Where were you anchored, Captain Baines?" "We were stood well off the road, sir." "We couldn't find the Tongue buoy." "But I am bound to say it was plain foolhardy maintaining that speed in that visibility, sir." "The master had instructions to make a fast passage." "Aye, I understand." " You didn't put a boat out yourselves?" " No, sir." "But you were within a mile?" "We'd have been foraging blind, sir, and on the rocks ourselves." "Did you hear anything after the explosion?" "No, sir, nothing." "And you didn't go in to look." "No, sir." "That doesn't sound like you, Captain Baines." "Well, she went up in seconds, sir." "I mean, there wasn't a spar we picked up that wasn't burned or charred." " My condolences, ma'am." " Thank you, Mr Baines." "I've just come ashore, you see." "I hadn't heard." "I..." "Well, I didn't know him very well, ma'am." "But a topping young fellow he was, Mr Albert." "Yes, well, thank you, Captain Baines." "Aye, aye, sir." "Why does a man like that stay with your brother?" "My brother picked him out of the fo'c'sle." "Well, he doesn't pick men out of the water." "You can't be sure there were any there." "No, and now nobody ever will know." "There's a message from Philadelphia, from our charterers." "They'll wait till after the enquiry, but it's not a very good advertisement for us as carriers." "Have they made their intention plain?" "Now you don't have to be an insurance assessor to know when people are having second thoughts." "They have a way of being otherwise engaged." "James has spoken to The Liverpool Courier." ""Rank bad seamanship." "Violation of the elementary rule."" "I mean, but what good does this do now?" "Since when have you taken on the functions of the Board of Trade?" "Petroleum, you said." "It must have been refined." "Yes, yes, but how do you know there weren't any more men left in the water?" "The bodies would have floated ashore by now, wouldn't they?" "Now who was the agent?" " McFarlin's." " Where was it shipped from?" " Philadelphia." " Aren't you going to tell him?" "Tell him?" "Oh, yes." "Yes." "Elizabeth." "She's had some news." "She's been sending out these." "Very cheap." "Don't know whatever came over her." "Albert's died of fever." "Ah, in the Argentine." "They can't even bring the body home to rest." "They're not even having a service." "Just those nasty, little cards." "I tell you, Frazer's broken over it." "He's not half the man he was." "Well, aren't you going to say anything?" "I mean, I think you ought to call." "It is family." "And there's Robert's position to think of as well." "He is their Member of Parliament." "You're like a couple of nanny goats." "Bleat much more and you'll give milk." "Captain Baines called on Frazer." "Aye and he's only your employee." "The Oberon's to be turned round for Philadelphia." "You'll say that you're well practised in the stowage of dangerous cargos." "And, if necessary, we will convert our ships exclusively for that use." "Yes, sir." "Well, Captain Crawford, your first command." "Thank you, sir." "You deserve it." "Right, off you go." "Well, Captain Baines." "What are you looking so worried about?" "His first command and you ask him to carry a dangerous cargo like petroleum." "Nonsense." "He'll have a soldier's wind down the coast." "And when he gets there, prizes, I hope." "You'll have no soldier's wind." "Now, if I was going..." "Well, you're not!" "You'll stay here till you've made up your mind whose side you're on." " Oh, but, sir..." " I've told you before," "I don't want you creeping round there." "Frazer's my competitor and if I'm in the gutter, it'd be the culmination of everything that he's ever worked for." "And if I'm on top it's what I've worked for." "Now that is the business." "He's shot his bolts on steam ships." "That's where I profit." "And I mean to." "But not with you running round there with your cap in your hand." "I took him the life belt, sir." "Short of life belts, are they?" "Fetching a price, hmm?" "The Helen May life belt, sir." "The Helen May went down with all hands through negligent seamanship." "And it's just as well it was all hands, sir." "What do you mean by that?" "I've never heard of a boat go down with all hands that close in shore and in a flat calm, sir." "Your prognostications are very interesting." "But not in my time and not in my competitor's office." "I still think we should have put a boat out, sir, and I'll say as much at the inquiry." " Oh, you will, will you?" " If I'm asked." "And if you're not asked?" "Captain Onedin, sir." "I don't see no profit in this." "The Helen May went down with all hands." "The matter is closed." "Well, have you got that?" "Was the soup not to your liking, Mr Onedin?" " I've no appetite." " I have a fowl prepared." "I made enquiries." "You're said to like it spiced." "Well, you can take it away again." "Are you sure you wouldn't like something else?" " Quiet sure." " Some sweet?" "How many times do you have to be told?" "I was a bit sharp." "I'm not myself." " I know you, don't I?" " I didn't think you'd remember." "I was in and out of your father's shop as a child." "Moffatt, Moffatt." "Oh, I was Ada Felton." "Nehemiah Felton's daughter." " We have the farriers." " I don't remember." "You were away at sea so much." " Here." "Wasn't your husband Sam Moffatt?" " Yeah." "Aye, at the Moffatt Steam Navigation Company." "Yes." "He died and we lost everything." " He was a young man." " His health went." "He was one of many who found out too late." "Found out what?" "That the way they live is not worth the candle." "How do they live?" "He was impatient, rude even." "No thought for others, or me included." "Nothing mattered to him except his pocket." "What happened to his pocket?" "Frazer's squeezed him out." "Maybe I'll have that fowl cold tomorrow." "I hope to give satisfaction." "Well, I wouldn't try too hard." "None have succeeded so far." "How did Frazer squeeze out your husband?" "He was in building ships and small craft mostly." "And he had to have access to the river." "He bought the land around him." "Yeah." "And the saw mills that supplied him." "I can imagine." "'Ere, when your husband knew he was done for..." "You don't mind me asking you?" "No, Mr Onedin." "When he knew he was on his uppers, didn't he pay more attention to you then?" "No." "He was that ashamed." "I can understand that." "Pride." "How one regrets and fears." "Everything he'd hoped for just crumbled about his ears." "Access?" " He should have known." " No." "His health went first." "Here, if that's Captain Baines, I'm not at home!" "Nor my brother Robert, nor his wife!" " It's Mrs Frazer." " Oh, my sister." "What an honour!" "Well, you'd better show her in." "Elizabeth." "So, you're down to Ada Felton then." "Down to her?" "Down to her?" "What do you mean, down to her?" "Never mind." "It's your life." "Look, she's my housekeeper." "She was engaged during my absence." "She's doing her very best to give satisfaction." "Poor woman." "Look, to what do I owe this pleasure?" "You're not here as a morality officer." "I called because you showed no sign of calling on me." "But then if you've been otherwise engaged here..." "I've been at sea." " Fog bound?" " Ah, and a lot else." "You really should get her to open a window, James." " I feel the cold." " It's musty." "It smells like a ship." " Well, she's been closed up." " It's not been cleaned either." "Well, if I'd known I had to receive you quite so soon," "I'd have taken the cuckoo out of the clock and given it a shine." " You didn't get my card?" " No." "Brother Robert told me." " He called?" " Oh, aye." "Well, father-in-law has been expecting you." "Aye, I dare say." "He's getting on, James." "He sets store by these courtesies." " Yes, so I've heard." " But you didn't see fit to call." "Elizabeth." "If you're getting a little parched with all this accusation, there's a little handbell there." "I dare say the Moffatt can be procured to find you some mint tea." "I called because it seemed to be in your interest to come to some arrangement with father-in-law." "You don't help matters by rudeness to him or me." "Oh, Elizabeth." "Without Albert, things would have been very different, no matter how successful you are now." "Oh, thank you for that." "Well, you can but take heed of Frazer and Frazer's yards." "Your neighbours along the dock as well as competitors." "Hey, I know the next rhyme." "By coincidence I've just heard it." "Access, eh?" " He can make things difficult for you." " Aye." "No more than that though." "Look, you were the only one in the family who didn't call." "Even Captain Baines called." "Look, Elizabeth." "Now, if I had called, what would I have said to him?" "Well, I will tell you." " Nothing." "What have you come here for?" " I came to see you." " Oh, aye." "On whose behalf?" " There are things..." " I thought!" " That concern Frazer and yourself." "But I have no mind to go into them." "Yeah, because he's tied to his bootlaces for ready cash." "Nothing of the sort." "But it would help if you were on terms." " Why would it?" " Because you might need each other." " Not I." " You need no one then?" "Elizabeth, I am glad you called." "No, I am." "I'd forgotten what you were like." "I'd forgotten what you expected of me." "First, I'm to bleed for your loss." "Poor old Albert." "Picture to the wall, cloth over the canary." "Then I'm to bleed for Frazer." "Who else should I bleed for?" "Oh, yes." "Poor old Fogerty halfway across the world, shearing sheep." "What hypocrisy!" "Just like it used to be with Callon breathing down my neck and the rest of the family expected to curtsey." " You forget yourself." " No, I do not." "Look, Frazer's cracking up." "He'd better get out before he goes through because now that Albert's gone there will be nobody to run that firm after him." " There will." " No, there will not!" "You'll see." "After him, nobody." "So he'd better sell while he still got some assets." "And now, as for me, you'd do better not quarrel with me." "You'll finish up in a little milliners." "I dare say you'llleech onto me like the rest of them." "I thought to bring some light refreshment." "Mr Onedin?" "He's had plasters and stirulants." "All he does is sleep." "Apothecary said to keep him warm, nowt else." "Has he spoken?" "He mumbles." "A great explosion." " And men in the water?" " He makes no sense." "The moment he speaks, inform me." "He's better off undisturbed." "The apothecary, no more." "The man makes no sense as yet, but he's a young man." "He'll live." " What will he say?" " Ah!" "Well, whatever it is, it can't to James's credit." "There was another man to see you from the agents." "Is there still hope of a charter?" "Oh!" "There's great argument about the carriage of these petroleum substances." "Between steam and sail?" "More besides." "There are those who say that iron casks are preferable to wood." "Some say it should be a deck cargo only." "Myself, I..." "What?" "Well, it was Albert's belief that these petroleum substances should always be carried in bulk." "Bulk?" "But casks are bulk." "He had in mind a ship that was one great cask." "He made drawings." "If it could be carried in bulk, it could also be stored in bulk and easier to offload." "Where are these drawings now?" "Where is anything of Albert's now?" "They'll be in the chandlery with his other drawings." "Then James has his fingers on them." "Not he." "He wouldn't understand them." "He sticks obstinately to sail." "Robert would know though." "Robert never throws anything away." "I keep seeing that man in the water and others besides." "And all that fog and waste." "McFarlin, the agents." "They should see these drawings." "Hey, you haven't seen Captain Baines?" "Tammy McGregor." "Haven't you found a berth yet?" "No, sir, I'm still looking." "I thought you'd be Philadelphia bound on The Oberon." "Ah, well, I've made that run many times." " Well, I'm sorry, sir." " Sorry?" "There's no need for that." "In this game, Tammy, you've got to be prepared for every wind that blows." "No good lying idle, feeling sorry for yourself." "There's always something to learn." "I mean." "Take this reneller here." "Now you see the lay of her." "Captain Baines, that ship that nearly run us down." "Well, there's a man been picked up off it." "They've kept him tally in De Quincey Street." "Not told no one." " A man?" " Off The Helen May, sir." " No, lad." " Yes, sir." "Mr Frazer has been in and out the house there." "My sister's cook." "She knew I was on The Oberon." "They don't want no one to know until he's said what he's got to say." " What he's got to say?" " Yes, sir." "My sister says that if they prove she was charging about like a washer." " And she was." " Well, if they prove that, no more petroleum cargo will go Frazer's way." "Well?" "But if they prove there were survivors in the water, then Captain One din's for it." " Is that true, sir?" " Has this man spoken?" "I don't know." "They took him off as soon as he was better." "All that I can tell you is that he's not here." " But he must be here." " He's not." "He's not been to the yard in days." "He's not took the ship and not gone away, so he must be here." "You tell him Captain Baines, a matter most urgent." "I'll not leave till I find him." "Well, I can't tell him if he's not here." "My name is Baines." " I know your name and he's not here." " Where is he?" "He's left." " Left?" " And no address given." "Goodnight, sir." "The man's to be produced at the inquiry." "Frazer's kept him tally." " But why?" " For what he'll say." "There were men in the water then." " After all James said..." " Aye and he's not to be found." " I know he's not to be found." " That woman, Ada Moffatt." " I advised against employing her." " No, you did not." "Well, I would have if you'd asked me." " She's there, but she says he's left." " Where is he now?" "Not a word has he said to us about anything." "The one thing I'm certain." "The inquiry can't affect James." " With men left to drown in the water?" " You don't know that." " Well, I'm sure of it." " Look, Captain Baines," "I don't know quite how to say this." "But..." "Well, they have a way at these marine courts of inquiry." "Phrases of their own." "Well, at the material time, James was not in command of The Oberon." "What do you mean?" "He was there." "He told me to take the cloud off her." "I'd ordered the cover broken off the long boat and he said when the fog lifts and not before." "Aye, but as owner!" " Owner?" " Aye, owner can only advise." "What are you saying to me, sir?" "Look, I'm not saying this for myself or for my wife here." "I understand." "I know James." "But at the material time, Captain Baines, you were, in all respects, master of The Oberon." "And even with the presence of the owner onboard, the law has it that the master is, at all times, in sole command." "The responsibility was yours, Captain Baines, I'm afraid." "And yours alone!" "You'll not find me ungrateful, Mr Harvey." "I understand, sir." "Anything you can say." " Yes, sir." " Well, I must leave it to you then." "Oh!" "This is Mr Harvey." "Fully recovered." "How do you do, Mr Harvey?" "I didn't think to see such a young man." "If you'd seen him when I did, you'd have given him a wide berth." "Not too wide, I hope, ma'am." "Well, Mr Harvey." "I hope to be grateful to you." "You may be able to fob off Captain Baines, but you can't fool me." "You know who I am, do you?" " Robert Onedin." " Yes." "And I'm also your Member of Parliament." "And I'm inquiring after my brother, your employer." "Well, I don't know where he is." "He took a carriage in the middle of night." " The middle of the night?" " He left without saying." "Well, he had an altercation with your...your sister." "He went to bed soon after." "Then he got up again and he left." "He didn't take any night clothes with him or anything." "I'm as worried as you are." "Quite obviously, it's some act of malice." "Some unexplained deed." "A blow struck in some alley." "Some lout bent on revenge." "He's offended many." "The ships gone out of here undermanned and underfed." "Oh!" "There's plenty bears grudges, both high and low." "You mean he's passed on?" "Sarah." "I have always been one to examine every possibility and never to flinch from the worst." "Father." "My father used to have a favourite quotation." ""If you can look into the seeds of time" ""and say which grain will grow and which will not, then speak to me."" "He always used to look at me when he said it, as if he knew I'd last." "But the authorities would have found him if he had died." "Look, he's been gone a week." "I just came to get some of Albert's drawings." "And how you can pester me with them engineering drawings at a time like this, I don't know." " You really think James is dead?" " It has to be considered." "Oh, Robert." "Give her the drawings." "They were Albert's." "It's James I'm thinking on." " I'm sorry." " It's all right." "He doesn't mean it." "Sentimental value." "It's like a floater moving inside the eye." "Imagine weed trailing in a goldfish bowl." "Well, the eye is like a bowl, entirely self-contained." "I would have expected it to be clear by now, but it's not." "Doctor, I don't understand." "When I look in the mirror, I don't see anything." "I keep telling you, it's inside the eye." "Blood can get into the vitreous." "What can I do?" "Nothing." "Can't do nothing." "I've been here a week." "You say you've been on a long voyage." "Lack of variety in diet." "And all you can do is improve your general condition." "Lay quiet." "It'll go away?" "Can't say." "Doctor, look, is there a chance that I might go blind?" " Can't say." " Can't say." "Some have, some haven't." "ALL I can tell you is you're not to read anything nor to lift things, nor to bend, not even to put on your boots." "And see to it that your bowels are kept open." "Now then, where will I send your bill?" " Office, I think?" " Doctor." "Always better to deal with offices." "Right, then." "You can go home now." " All you have to do is lay quiet." " I can't lay quiet." "Well, you'll have to suffer." "I delivered the message." " Anybody see you?" " No." "And no one knows." " What does the doctor say?" " Says I have to suffer." "Perhaps it's come as a warning then." "Are you very frightened?" "Well, you'd best get out of bed then." " I can't bend." " Then don't." " Nor lift anything heavy." " Oh, there couldn't be a worse..." " Worse what?" " Invalid." "And then it goes on to list all the disasters:" ""Explosion off Boston." ""Schooner owned by E. W. Pratt, carrying coal oil."" "Another."The Bark Eduardo," ""carrying petroleum spirit, everyone blown skywards."" "And then, today, in The Lloyd's List." "Now where is it now, where?" "Where's he put it?" "Here, Tuesday, here, the 15th, "Naphtha explosion." ""All aboard blown in the air."" "And in not one instance has the cause been properly ascertained." "Good Lord," "I didn't see that." "Hey, listen, Philadelphia..." "Listen." "" Oberon delayed from sailing, unable to muster a crew."" "Your brother was here again." "I managed to put him off." "He left the paper and The Lloyd's List." " I can't read that." " I told him." "He mumbled something about The Oberon." "Something about the survivor appearing today." " All right." "Mmm-hmm." " At the Court of Inquiry." " You knew?" " Here, careful of them." "They cost." "Can you imagine?" "Sat here like a baby." "To do nothing." "Can you imagine?" "I don't imagine." "I know." " I'm grateful to you, Mrs Moffatt." " Well, there's a start then." "Mr Harvey, as I understand it, you were a passenger aboard The Helen May, although you have a Chief Officer's Certificate" " and are trained in both sail and steam?" " Yes, sir." "Now you've heard the President express his congratulations on your fortuitous recovery." "I wonder if you can help us further." "I'll do the best I can, sir." "Were you aware of the nature of The Helen May's cargo?" " No, sir." " You were not?" "No, sir." "I took passage in a hurry from Philadelphia" " and spent most of the time in my cabin." " Why was that?" "I was preparing for my master's ticket and studying, sir." "But surely you knew the nature of the cargo?" "No, sir." "I'd neglected my studies and it was alll could do to memorise the viva voce guide that I had with me." "So you had no knowledge of the cargo whatsoever?" " No, sir." " Hmm." "Mr Harvey, I wonder if you can help us in another matter." "It has been suggested that some blame be laid upon the master of The Oberon, which was anchored off." "Now, after the explosion occurred were there any other survivors in the water besides yourself?" "I'm afraid I can't help you there either, sir." "You told us that you'd gone on deck" " and were blown off the fo'castle head." " Yes, sir." "Well, then, once you were in the water, were there cries?" "No, sir." "I have no memory, except for sight of the rocks appearing through the fog." " I heard nothing at all." " Nothing at all?" "No, sir." "I was deafened by the explosion." "Mr Harvey, you told us that you were on the fo'castle." "Then can you tell us whether or not there was a leadsman" " taking soundings in the chains?" " No, sir, there was not." "At the speed she was doing, a lead wouldn't fetch the bottom." " Ah!" "At what speed was that?" " Between six to eight knots, sir." "Are you telling us that this vessel was proceeding at full speed in that visibility?" "To the best of my recollections, yes, sir." "The court can but conclude that, in the loss of The Helen May, there was a grave dereliction of duty on the part of the master." "And that in the visibility then existing, the prudent course was to reduce speed and come to anchor." " You were right, sir." " I know I was right." "But I've still to rest and build myself up." "Still the eye is on the mend, eh." "But my general condition is still a matter of public concern." "Excuse me, gentlemen." "I tell you what I think of that report." "It's all in my eye and Betty Martin." " Not my part of it." " Get away, man." "Frazer tried to nobble you." "He tried." "He was wasting his time." "I spoke the truth." "There was no leadsman, I remember that." "And I remember the speed." "Nothing else untill saw the rocks." "Well, I still think we should have put a boat out." "I would have thanked you for it." " Well, then, that's the truth." " No, not quite." "Frazer offered me favours." "A berth." "Promises." "Nobbled." "I said." "No, Mr Onedin tried the nobbling." " Mr Onedin?" " Money." "Money?" "A purse of guineas to save your ticket if there were men in the water, but there were none, so you needn't reproach yourself." "Well, gentlemen, my condition doesn't preclude a little light refreshment." " You, Mr Harvey?" " Thank you, sir." "And you, Captain Baines?" "No, sir." "I'll just be glad to get to sea again." "Oh, come on, man." "No, sir." "That's alll understand and it's alll want to understand." " You told him?" " He asked." "Oh, well, conscience lies hard on the convalescence." "There, on the steps." "Do you mean James spoke to him as well as yourself?" "He must have done." "Ah!" "Good morning, Elizabeth." "Well, I expected you to call during my convalescence." " Not when you're suborning witnesses." " Suborning?" "I'm suborning nothing." "Mr Harvey here was telling the truth." "As it happens he was in passage on The Helen May to take up a mate's berth in my employ and he'd have told you that if you'd have asked him." "Suborning?" "My, you have come out of mourning, haven't you, eh?" "What next then?" "Eh?" "I might have called myself." "Oh!" "You, Frazer?" "And for what purpose?" "To offer my condolences." "I heard The Oberon was stranded in Philadelphia without a crew." "Ah!" "Well, that is to be expected." "There's been three explosions in a month." "That's a normal hazard of the sea." "But petroleum is a dangerous cargo to carry." "Yes, I am aware of that, Frazer." "Then I'm sure you'll be pleased to hear that my son's drawings have most impressed McFarlin." "What drawings?" "He devoted a great deal of his time to the stowage of dangerous cargos." "We took his drawings to McFarlin and they're in passage to Philadelphia now." "We?" "Where did you get hold of these drawings?" "The offer is still open, Mr Harvey." "A regular run to Philadelphia." "My sister." " Madam Petroleum." " Your sister?" "Aye, they're all neatly packaged in a little miller matter."