"Now, what's to worry about, Morgan?" "It's Dave Sawyer." "He's scheduled to appear before the grand jury next week." "Mr. C. wants him dead." "He's your longshoreman, Delaney." "Come on." "Well?" "Good morning, Mr. Phelps." "This man, Frank Delaney, controls the waterfront for the syndicate." "Despite the fact that the docks are public property owned by the city, no ship can drop anchor." "Nothing can be unloaded without payment to the underworld." "All efforts to dislodge Delaney and the syndicate by conventional law-enforcement means have failed." "All potential witnesses against them have been killed." "The current grand jury will end its session in 72 hours." "Your mission, Jim, if you decide to accept it, is to get the evidence needed to break the underworld's stranglehold on the waterfront." "This tape will self-destruct in five seconds." "Good luck, Jim." "This is Tom Murphy." "Ten years ago, both he and Delaney were dock foremen, the best of friends, till Delaney made his deal with the syndicate and murdered Murphy to keep him quiet." "There's no chance of proving anything against Delaney, lieutenant?" "Delaney and Murphy were alone on the S.S. Orion that night." "Delaney swore that Murphy was lost overboard." "The body was never recovered." "There was nothing we could do." "Jim said you grew up with them." "Same block, same school, everything." "We were close, all three of us, until the syndicate moved in on Delaney." "What's their take, lieutenant?" "Millions every month." "Either you pay their blood money, or your cargo never gets through." "This is Leonard Morgan, the syndicate's contact with the waterfront." "Delaney has never trusted him." "We're gonna make that work for us." "The Delaneys saw Martha Murphy the last time when she was 12 years old." "Our physical resemblance is close enough." "How about Mrs. Delaney?" "Oh, she was delighted at the idea of having Martha Murphy visit." "Good." "Now, we've squared any losses in the warehouses with the various insurance companies involved." "Barney?" "The Orion's been refurbished, Jim, as the David Salman." "Registered to the Swedish Gulf Line out of Gothenberg, Sweden." "It's a legitimate shipping company." "Now, Delaney is tough, Jim." "The ghost thing worries me." "A lot of dock workers are superstitious but not Delaney." "He doesn't have to be superstitious, Bill, as long as he believes in the end that he's become the target for what the syndicate calls a mercy killing." "Beer and one for Mike here." "I'm Ed Corby." "So?" "Some of the boys uptown want you to keep an eye on Frank Delaney." "What?" "That's right." "They think maybe he's not quite as sharp as he used to be." "They?" "Who's they?" "Nothing wrong with Delaney." "Just keep your eyes open." "I'll check back with you later." "If you've got any brains, you'll keep this conversation between us." "Haven't seen you before." "Where you from?" " Back East." " I didn't ask you for directions." "I heard you needed stevedores so I came over here" "Don't give me any lip." "I'm sorry, Mr. Delaney." "I'm from Norfolk." "And I need a job real bad." "See Mike Saunders." "Tell him I said put you on day-to-day till I check you out." "Thanks, Mr. Delaney." "Your monthly commission." "Tell Mr. C. I said thank you." "No sweat." "You deliver, he delivers." "You take care of Mr. C.'s legal problems," "I'll take care of the waterfront." "You're too sensitive, Delaney." "Yeah, like you put your fingers in my business, they could get chopped off." "Frank, I've got a surprise for you." "Little Martha Murphy." "Remember her?" "Martha Murphy." "Tom Murphy's daughter?" "Hi, Uncle Frank." "You haven't changed at all." "You're just exactly like I remember you." "She's grown up beautifully, hasn't she, Frank?" "She came all the way from Galveston just to be with us." "Well, that really is very nice." "Why don't we have a drink on that, young lady?" "Oh, no, not me." "I still remember Dad lecturing Mom about ladies not drinking and all that." "It's kind of sudden, your popping up after all these years, Martha." "Well, to tell the truth, I haven't been feeling well." "Nerves." "Well, the doctor said that I needed a change." "I remembered what Daddy said:" ""Anytime you need anything, you go straight to your Uncle Frank."" "Where are you staying?" "Why, right here." "Jenny said it was all right and, well, I was hoping you would too." "Sure it's all right, only, wouldn't you be better off at a nice hotel someplace?" "On me, of course." "Uncle Frank, I didn't come just for shelter." "I came because I needed somebody." "He didn't mean anything, dear." "He was just thinking of you." "Oh, Jenny, please let me stay." "Of course you can." "Of course you can." "Stop it." "Please, stop it." "I can't stand it." "I can't take any more, please." "Please, stop." "Plea" "Uncle Frank." "Oh, thank goodness." "Please come in." "Martha, it's very late." "But, Uncle Frank, can't you hear it?" "Hear it?" "Hear what?" "My father, he's not dead." "Listen." "Oh, please come in." "There." "There it is again, listen." " What?" " The darts." "The darts." "You know the way my daddy loved to play darts." "And the sound they'd make." "That little thump when they'd hit the cork." "Listen." "Listen." "Can't you hear it?" "Martha, doctors, you know, sometimes when they say nerves, they mean something else." "Uncle Frank, I'm not crazy." "All these things, they're real." "I know they are." "My daddy's not dead." "One day he's coming back." "Just like a ship out of the night." "Coming home." "I don't care what that says." "It's the Orion." "Frank, the Orion's in a graveyard up north." "Well, how did she get here?" "She developed engine trouble in the channel." "Harbour master had her towed in." " You the captain?" " Who wants to know?" "My name's Delaney, Frank Delaney." "I run this waterfront." "Yeah, says who?" "Just ask around, captain." "Who owns this tub?" "The devil, I think." "I want straight answers, captain." " Swedish Gulf Line." " Where did you pick her up?" "She sails out of Gothenberg." "Why did they change her name?" "You don't know about that?" "They changed her name, Mr. Delaney, because she's bad luck." "A man was murdered aboard her, and ever since then" "You get her out of here today." "That would be quite a trick." "The engine is shot." "Cams, rods, everything." "Expedite that." "And what does that mean?" "That means you get what you need, fast." "Not too fast for me." "I'm getting off this ship in the next port." "At night, you can hear that murdered man wailing." " Stow that talk." " No, it's true." "She's haunted." "There is a ghost aboard this ship." "Captain, you spread that kind of talk around this dock, there's gonna be two ghosts aboard." "A whole shipment of paint." "One hundred cases of fine Irish lace." "Mr. C. said to remind you, the organisation makes a lot of money to make sure things like this don't happen." "It was an accident, and accidents do happen." "Mr. C. doesn't like accidents." "What are you doing in here?" "Uncle Frank." "Well, there was no soap in my bathroom, and I didn't wanna disturb you and Aunt Jenny, so" "Pack your things, and get the first plane to Galveston." "Frank, I don't understand." "Don't give me any of that "Uncle Frank" stuff." "Get out." " Aunt Jenny" " Please, Frank." " Can't we talk--?" " Shut up." "Come on, out." "Move." "Oh, Frank." "Tom was your best friend." "Little sneak." "Nothing's been right since she showed up." "Or maybe nothing's been right because she showed up." "Good shot, good shot, baby." "That's the way to go." "Break it down, boy." "I've been setting it down for you." "How's it going?" " How are you doing?" " Hi." "Give me a beer, will you, please, George?" "Freshen up the captain's drink for him." "Thank you." "Say, captain, what's this about the Swedish ship being the old Orion?" "Yes, it is true." "Is it also true that she's haunted?" "You did not hear that from me, my friend." "No, but I sure heard some of it from your crew." "My crew should learn to keep their mouths shut." "Oh, why?" "You mean, them ghosties might hurt them?" "You laugh out of ignorance, my friend." "I have heard sounds in the night." "Laughter, the sound of a thumping like a man's heart beating." "Or perhaps like a dart going into the cork." "Now, captain, that is real scary." "You would not laugh so hard if you had heard what I heard and seen what I have seen." "She's an unlucky ship." "A ship of the dead." "She will have bad fortune wherever she goes." "Say, George, you've been around here a long time." "Twenty years." "Who died on the Orion?" "Fellow named Tom Murphy." "Oh, yeah?" "What's so special about him?" "He was a friend of Frank Delaney's." "Also that dartboard you're playing on..." "Nothing Tom liked better than darts." "Spent the better part of his life standing right where you are, playing." "Old Tom Murphy loved to play darts." "Captain, you were warned about ghost stories." "Now, why didn't you listen?" "I didn't mean any harm." "They asked me and I told them." "Don't you know how talk like that travels?" "Mike's heard some of the boys saying that trouble at the warehouse was caused by the Orion coming back." "Mr. Delaney, as soon as my engines are fixed, I will be very" " They're fixed now." " What?" "While you were in there telling stories, I had a crew in your engine room." "You're gonna sail on the morning tide, captain, you understand that?" "That would be my pleasure, Mr. Delaney." "Get out." "Why didn't you sail?" "No crew." "When I got back last night, they were all gone." " Vanished." " Why?" "You spend one night aboard this ship, Mr. Delaney, and then ask me that question." "Don't worry." "I called the Seaman's Union." " They're going to fix me up." " See that they do." "Take it easy." "Uncle Frank." "I'm sorry." "Please don't be angry with me." "I couldn't leave." "I just couldn't." "My father's coming home." "He is." "I understand you loved your dad." "We all did." "Uncle Frank, there is nothing wrong with me." "My daddy was lost, and now he's coming home." "All right, Martha, if that's the way you feel." "No one's to say you're wrong." "Like you to meet a young friend of mine, Mike Saunders." "Mike, this is Martha Murphy." "I think we already met." " I hope I didn't hurt you." " Oh, no, not at all." "Good." "Excuse me, Uncle Frank." "I have some things to do." " It was very nice to meet you." " Nice meeting you." "That's a beautiful woman." "See if you can get a date with her." "She's up to something." "I don't know what, but maybe we can find out." " Hi, you ready?" " Hi." "Just a minute, Mike." "Mike, why did you ask me out?" "Was it Uncle Frank's idea?" "What makes you say that?" "Oh, I don't know." "Why would you want to?" "You're looking in the mirror and you have to ask me that?" "You're very sweet." "How long have you worked for Uncle Frank?" "About two years." "What's the difference?" "Just curious." " Let's go?" " Alrighty." "That's some kind of put-on, isn't it?" "I mean, about you not drinking?" "I do drink, but only sometimes." "Only with someone very special." "You're trying to tell me something?" "Just that, well, I'd like to get to know you better." "Okay." "Listen, honey, you don't really think that your dad's coming back, do you?" "They never found his body, Mike." "Yeah, but after all these years..." "Mike, it makes sense." "I mean, they were having a lot of trouble down here, right?" "Now, I believe that my father swam away from the Orion and came back here to work in secret, to keep the waterfront honest, and then something happened to him, like, well, like amnesia, maybe." "Oh, Mike, that's not so crazy, is it?" ""To whom it may concern:" "I am convinced that Frank Delaney killed my father." "I'm working to prove it." "I have a plan." "I am playing on Delaney's conscience." "I am trying to force him or one of the men he works with into a damaging admission." "I will not rest until I have avenged my father's murder." "If I am found dead, Frank Delaney is responsible." "Martha Murphy."" "Mike." "Does Uncle Frank ever talk about my father?" "Sure." "They were buddies." "Well, who are his buddies now?" "Duke's." "Mike?" "Mike, telephone." "Okay, George." "Be back in a second, honey." "Hello?" "Well, that's very interesting." "Crazy." "Yeah, like a fox." "She's been asking a lot of questions about you and Murphy." "Get rid of her." "Get aboard the Orion." "Stay out of sight." "I wanna make sure that Norsky captain plans on sailing." "Mike?" " How's everything?" " Okay." "Can I buy you a beer?" "I'm busy." "She'll keep." "My friends uptown wanna know about that warehouse accident." "Delaney's already talked to your friends." "We'd like to hear it from somebody besides Delaney." "Some other time." "Why don't we get out of here and go for a ride?" "Oh, I'm just getting comfortable." "Well, you said you wanted to talk." "I need privacy." "Sure." "Why are we stopping here?" "Because this is where it all ends for you." " Are you all right?" " Yes." "It's sabotage." "I tell you, someone is after me, and it's up to the organisation to protect me." "You're a little confused, Delaney." "It's up to you to protect the organisation's clients." "Look, if they're after me, they're after you." "Just who are they?" "I don't have all the pieces yet." "You want me to tell Mr. C. that?" "Morgan, figure this, will you?" "Tom Murphy's daughter comes out of nowhere to get me." "At the same time, the Orion is suddenly re-commissioned and shows up on my dock with a weirdo captain who keeps talking about ghosts." "Meanwhile, we get hit with the first sabotage in ten years." "Now, I say these are not coincidences." "Then you deal with them." "You're enjoying this, aren't you?" "You're tired of being Mr. C.'s messenger boy and you wanna move in here." "I'm gonna ignore that, Delaney." "But I will remind you, the organisation takes millions of dollars off of this waterfront." "And either you handle things nice and smooth or Mr. C. will find someone who will." " Hello?" " Mr. Delaney, this is Captain Johanson." "I just wanted you to know so that you won't blame me," "I can't get a crew." "No, no, there is nothing I can do." "It's the Orion." "They are afraid of her." "I'll get you a crew." "I'll bring them onboard myself." "I wish you luck, Mr. Delaney." "Hello, Seaman's Union." "Put Ed on." "Swanson's office." "Let me speak to him." "This is Delaney." "Ed's out of town, Mr. Delaney." "Can I help you?" "I need a crew for the David Salman." "I'll pay them double out of my own pocket." "No sweat." "I'll have them on the pier at exactly 5 a.m." "Everything okay, Frank?" "Just fine, Bill." "My men tell me different." "The organisation hates a loser." "Organisation?" "I've been waiting ten years to get you for killing Tom Murphy." "It's almost time." "I gotta get some sleep, Bill." "They're gonna come after you, Frank, and you'll come to me and you'll talk." "Because it'll be the only way you can save your life." "Say hello to Jenny." "We have to hang on to him till this is over." "Right, Jim." "Johanson." "Captain Johanson?" "Johanson." "If this gets out, I'll never get a crew for this tub." "A crew?" "What are you gonna do with a crew?" "The Orion's not going any place until we finish our investigation." "All right, then." "At least help me keep it quiet." "Are you kidding?" "It'll be all over the docks by shape-up." "Bill, you're killing me." "I feel bad, Frank." "I'm real sorry." "Hi, Mr. Delaney." "Looks like I'm the only one around here who ain't scared of ghosts." "Have you seen Mike Saunders?" "No, not since yesterday." "How about Ben Haggerty?" "I don't even know him." "No, I ain't seen nobody." "You know, I've been thinking, Mr. Delaney" "I think I'm just going on back to Norfolk." "You sure run a crummy operation, Mr. Delaney." "Sure, it was sloppy." "No, sir." "I don't know why he did it." "Except the girl may have been bugging him about her father." "I heard she was some kind of a weirdo." "Yes, Mr. C. Of course I'm aware of what you said." "We must keep things cool down there until the grand jury's out." "Yes, Mr. C. I already told him." "Yes, sir." "I'll tell him again." "Wake up." "Hey, old buddy." "You." "I know you from the docks." " What is this?" " Oh, I wouldn't worry about that." "I just want you to make a telephone call for me to Frank Delaney." "What makes you think I'd do anything you want?" "Oh, because I'm a witness." "I can put you in the gas chamber." "I don't remember." "I blacked out." "Well, you might have blacked out but you sure seemed to know what you were doing." "I watched you pick that body up and weigh it down and toss it right off the pier." " You're lying." " The DA won't think so." "Now, why don't you call Delaney." "No way." "Maybe this scares you more than the DA does." "It should." "You get on that telephone and you call Frank Delaney and you tell him you got it all figured out." "And you want him to meet you on the aft deck of the Orion in ten minutes." "All right." "Hello?" "Mike, where have you been?" "I'll explain later." "Listen, I've got it all figured out." "Meet me on the aft deck of the Orion in ten minutes." "Okay, Mike, I'll be there." "You're a nice fellow, Mike." "Thank you." "Okay, up." "In there." "Go on." "Yes, Mr. Morgan." "It's all set." "Frank Delaney will be there in ten minutes." "I'll string him up on the aft deck just like I did Captain Johanson." "Well, thank you very much, Mr. Morgan." "You're very generous." " Hello?" " Mr. Morgan?" " Who is this?" " Never mind who this is." "I thought you'd like to know," "Frank Delaney just hung himself on the Orion." "Hello?" "Mr. C., this is Frank Delaney." "Don't talk." "Just listen." "Everything's about to blow sky-high." "You gotta meet me on the Orion right away." "It's that new black guy you hired, Frank." "He made me call you." "He killed Johanson." "He was gonna string you up too." "Make it look like suicide." "Why?" "I don't get it." "He was working for Morgan." "I heard him on the phone." "Morgan?" "Frank." "Wha--?" "He's dead." "Who are you?" "His name's Ed Corby." "He works for Mr. C." "He's been down here asking a lot of questions about you." " Why did you kill him?" " He was setting me up." "They were gonna make it look like suicide." "The rope is right back here on the afterdeck." "It's just like he says, Ed." "You show me." "Okay." "Mr. C., what are you doing here?" "You called me, Frank." "No, Mr. C., I didn't call you." "I had to do it." "Take his gun." "He was out to get me." "All those accidents, Morgan set them up." "He brought in Murphy's daughter to bug me." "Started stories on the dock here so I couldn't get anyone to work for me." "He killed the captain of this scow and made it look like suicide, so I couldn't even get a crew." "Now he's gonna do the same thing to me." "Those are pretty wild charges, Frank." "I've got proof." "The noose is still hanging there." "You wanna see it?" "Come on." "Mike?" "Mike?" "I don't understand it." "It was here." "Mike was gonna show it to your man." " My man?" " Yes." "The one you had down here checking up on me, Ed Corby." "I never had anyone checking up on you, Frank." "I don't know any Corby." "He was just here." "I just talked to him." "Now, look, you've got to believe me." "Morgan set me up." "He brought in Tom Murphy's daughter." "He killed the captain." "It was Morgan." "Mr. Delaney, what are you doing here so early?" "I didn't expect you until later when the crew arrives." "You're dead." "I saw you hanging from that derrick." "Hanging?" "I don't know what you're talking about." "I'll be ready to sail this afternoon." "I don't know what's going on here." "I know, Frank." "You've been working hard." "You've been brooding." "Tom Murphy's daughter coming to town unstrung you." "So you put it together your way." " Only it wasn't that way at all." " No." "We can't afford to have sick men on our payroll, can we, Frank?" "You never know what a sick man is going to say." "If I ever got sick, I'd want someone to put me away so I couldn't do any harm to my friends." "You can't do this to me." "I'm not crazy." "All those things happened." "I know they happened." "I haven't lost my mind." "You gotta believe me, Mr. C., please." "Goodbye, Frank." "Let's go, Frank." "You want a ride, Frank?"