"1840." "America's lifeline is the sea." "Railroads are almost unknown." "Only the great sailing ships link the busy states of New England... with the rich Mississippi Valley." "The sea, and the sea alone, makes America one nation." "But along this lane of commerce... lie the shark-like teeth of the Florida Keys... where savage hurricanes come screaming out of the Caribbean... to drive tail ships onto the destroying shoals." "Here, storm-riding men and frail schooners... the salvage masters of Key West... stand guard beside America's lifeline." "They reap the harvest of the wild wind... fighting the hurricanes to save lives and cargo from the wrecked vessels." "But tales of great salvage profits... have drawn reckless men to this dangerous harvest... spawn of the seven seas." "So among Florida's heroic salvage masters... appear lawless captains... who plot to destroy, for their own profit... the great ships they are pledged to save." "America's very future on the sea is being fought for... beside the roaring reefs of Key West." "You men!" "Lash Capt. Stuart to the mizzen fife rail!" "Breakers off the starboard bow!" "Lay forward and rig a preventer stay!" "I'll take the wheel." "Get going!" "Go on!" "Breakers dead ahead!" "I ain't through." "I'm gonna take out another ship." "While you're still a young man." "Hark, ye!" "Who's hollering?" "I don't know." "Quiet." "It sounds to me like..." "Wreck ashore!" "Wreck ashore, men!" "Sam!" "Loose your forestay sail and your mainsail and stand by." "Better move fast, Capt. Phil, or Cutler will beat us to our share again." "I'll be there." "You single up." "Get the boss." "We'll be ready." "Where did she take the bottom?" "She won't be long in that sea!" "Claiborne men, board!" "What vessel struck?" "Don't know." "She'll soon break up." "What reef?" "Claiborne men, look alive!" "Be careful, Pa." "And bring me back a nice piece of black silk for a Sunday dress." "Ahoy, Loxi!" "Loxi Claiborne!" "You come right down from that widow's walk." "You'll blow away up there, Cousin Loxi." "Can you sight her, Loxi?" "She's on Sambo Key, driven hard!" "What ship?" "Looks like the Jubilee of the Devereaux line." "She's breaking up fast, too." "Jubilee!" "Why her cargo's dead rich." "Come on, gal!" "LOXl:" "I'm worried about the crew." "Crew?" "Consarn it!" "Ain't no money salvaging the crew!" "You're not going out to that wreck!" "Mercy!" "Stay covered." "LOXl:" "Bring along my petty skirt, Drusilla honey." "Loxi, once and for all..." "LOXl:" "I'm not going anyplace, hardly!" "Maum Maria, help me rig for wrecking." "Now, Miss Loxi, you know what way your mama thinks... about you going after them wrecks." "Trying to make a lady out of her is keeping me wore to a shadow." " Give me my sea boots." " Your mama say..." "Loxi, I forbid you." "The Cutlers won't pick the bones of this wreck, if I can help it." " How will you stop them?" " We'll be broke if I don't." "What's Drusilla going to tell the family back in Havana?" "We can't run a salvage business without salvage." "Loxi, I think you're so brave going out to that wreck." "Brave!" "Fiddle-de-dee!" "She's just pigheaded." " Lf only your father were alive!" " Throw me that southwester." "If Father were alive, I wouldn't be running the business." "Loxi!" "You found your anchor?" "Land o' Goshen!" "Crank on, will you?" "LOXl:" "I'm coming, Capt. Phil." "Loxi, I worry every time you go a-wrecking." "The hurricane's all over, Mummy." "Your mama say you ain't going!" "Maybe we better let her go." "Oh, the Nellie B's your packet and you're far away from home" "And it breaks your back to tack it" "Larboard, half a pint!" "Haui away Just the same as me" "For you're nothing but a packet rat" "Tail onto that foresheet and trim her!" "Aye, Capt. Phil." "Aboard the Nellie B" "Bread and water for your supper when you board the Nellie B" "The Moro's fallen astern, Capt. Phil." "We'll speak the wreck ahead of them all!" " Wreck ho!" " Where away?" "Dead ahead on Sambo Key!" "And your blood runs down her scuppers in the briny, shiny" "There she lies." "LOXl:" "The Falcon's lying close by." "LOXl:" "The Cutlers are there before us!" "Them forecastle rats must've known." "No man alive can foretell a wreck." "Unless he plans it himself." "We'll get no part of her rich cargo." "Cutler and his brother are boarding her now." " Come on." "Get aboard." " King, look there." "Put a shot across the bow of the Claiborne." " Yeah." "We salvage this wreck!" " Aye, aye, sir!" "Ready?" "Turn your pipe into that touchhole." "Can't even shoot straight." " Ram that pirate." "Ram her, Capt. Phil!" " And sink us both?" " Land of love, gal!" "Heave to." "Lower the dory." " Aye, sir." " That stopped them." " Get to work on that cargo, Dan." "You Falcon men, break open that hatch." "I'm in command here." "Capt. Stuart's taking a little rest." " We got hurt men aboard." " We'll move them later." " You'll move them now!" " My brother said later!" "We're going to save this cargo for you, boys... whether you like it or not." "Forward!" " Have any trouble with the skipper?" " He never knew what hit him." " I'm expecting a fat bit for this, Mr. Cutler." " You'll be taken care of, Widgeon." "Here." "Sign this." "Pull her close!" "Hang on, Loxi." "Ahoy, Cutler!" "We demand salvage shares in this vessel." "I'm taking charge of the cargo." "You take the crew." "Ain't no pay for that, you benighted blowfish!" " Take them anyway." "He'd let them drown!" " All right!" "Jump into the mizzen and rig the crow jack yard." "Aye, Dan." "Make it lively!" "Get off me, you filthy..." "Quick!" "Give me an oar." "The poor little fellow." "Grab it!" "There's a squid out there!" "Poor fellow." "Here, take him." "Set me aboard that hulk." "Now, Loxi!" "Has the water got to that cargo?" "Who pitched that little monkey into the sea?" "Get off this deck, or there'll be two of you in the sea." "You weaselling crimp!" "I'll coil your rope for you!" "Over the side, you men!" "What'll we do?" "Walk?" "The Claiborne's waiting." " Who's that?" " The skipper." "You better get him off before we start swinging cargo." "Get your men off this ship!" "Larboard to helm!" "Larboard your..." "Don't fret your head till it's in one piece again." "Widgeon!" "Where's that..." "Take it easy." "The salvage boats are standing by." "Lie still." "They're taking off the crew now." " Who are you?" "What're you doing here?" " I'll be here just as long as you need me." "I hope that'll be a long time." "Bringing the man in here, that's charity." "But bringing the ape, that's obnoxious." "Fifty percent?" "Why, that's piracy." "It's legal." "Your mate signed it." "The Jubilee was 15 months at sea." "You salvaged her cargo in a few hours and want 50%." "And get it." "If your owners break you, come to me." "I'll show you how to own your own ship in a year." "Yes, and hang him, too." "I brung your duffel." "Where would your cargos be if it weren't for me and my ships?" " Maybe still afloat." " What do you mean, you little cultch?" "I'll bust you in..." "LOXl:" "No." "The door's over there, Mr. Cutler." "And it's open." " You're not a good loser, Miss Loxi." " Not to you, Mr. Cutler." "Here, drink this." "If your owners do break you, Capt. Stuart, look me up." "Smoking in the house." "Now go on, drink it." "I sworn to man, that feller would sink his own grandmother... to salvage the gold in her teeth." "You're not saying he pushed that reef in front of my ship, are you?" "No." "I'm saying he's a bad Yankee." "I'm a good one." "Where'd you get that mate, Widgeon?" "We took him on in Havana." "I see." "If I thought that wreck was planned..." "I'd make a topsail out of Cutler's hide." "You hark to me, sonny." "The 10 years I've been at Key West... sailing master for the Claiborne family, I have seen them go broke... flatter than the shadow of a clam." "Same as all the other honest salvage masters." "Run out by thieves and cutthroats, and that shark Cutler's their boss." "No more bilge talk." "Now, you up anchor and let him rest." "What you need is some nourishment." "Smells like burning hair." "You fold that right back!" "Yes, quite a lady's man, ain't he?" "I'm afraid Bananas is only used to forecastles." "Is this your room?" "Yes." "Does it bother you being in a lady's bedroom?" "Drusilla's in the guest room." "Bother me?" "Took me a long time to be sure I wasn't in heaven." "She ain't no angel." "Here." "Come down from there." " How many sugars?" " Three." "I feel like a hulk, putting you to so much trouble." "Shucks." "You stop looking at me and eat your dinner." "I was just remembering where I saw you before." " Under a southwester?" " No." "You sort of came out of that storm like one of Mother Carey's chickens... only, you were good luck for me." "Loxi!" "Your mama's calling." "Maum Maria, see he cleans his plate." "I'll be back soon as I can." "You got no call to hurry." "He ain't going nowhere." "Scat!" "I'm feeding this one." "He's mighty handsome, Cousin Loxi." "A man like that would rather lose his life than his ship." "Why do you all hate Mr. Cutler so?" "LOXl:" "Because he needs hanging a little." "Cousin Loxi?" " His brother's different, isn't he?" " Different front name, that's all." "What are you studying about Dan Cutler for?" "I'm not." "Really, I'm not." "I thought girls raised in Havana never even looked at men... till they were married to them." "Drusilla, is Loxi there?" "LOXl:" "I'm coming, Mummy." "I'll be up in a minute." "Dan!" "What do you want?" "Hello, you lovely little carrot-top." "Dan, I was so afraid." "I'm afraid every time I take you in my arms." "Why?" "Because I want to crush the life out of you." "When I'm in your arms, I don't care what they say about you." "I'll love you always, Dan." "Always." "Going to lay down this heavy load" "By and by By and by" "Going to lay down this heavy load" "By and by By and by" "Time will come when my troubles are gone" "No more toting these sacks of corn" " You left your spyglass at our house." " Loxi." "I was coming over to thank your mother for..." "Mother's making a heap of to-do about you and me." "They're planning to ship me off to visit Aunt Henrietta." "I got my orders, too." "I sail tonight on the Arcturus." "A month at sea and then Charleston." " Charleston?" " For a showdown with Steve Tolliver." "You'll be in Charleston?" "Why, that's where Aunt Henrietta..." "LOXl:" "Oh..." "LOXl:" "Who's Steve Tolliver?" "He drips lace, and leads the Charleston quadrilles." "What?" "He's sea lawyer for Devereaux and Company." "He loves me about as much as the devil loves holy water." " But he doesn't sound very dangerous." " He wouldn't be... except he holds the power of influence with old Commodore Devereaux." "But Commodore Devereaux's fair and square." "He's fair and square, but old." "If you keep doing that, I'm going to fall right into them." "Trying to frighten me?" "You know, Loxi, there's only three things I want out of life." "One is to command the Southern Cross, a steam." " Steam." " Don't turn up your pretty nose at steam." "It's the future of the seas... when calms and gales and fog won't mean a thing." "And with the Southern Cross under me, I'd get my second wish... because the man who commands in steam... will be the head of Devereaux and Company someday." "Will you have to wear a stovepipe hat, Jack?" "Steve Tolliver looks all right in one." "He means to be head of the company himself." "I was the one man in his way." "Now that I've lost the Jubilee... he'll crack down with everything he's got to break me." "Break you?" "That's a man-size job." "I promise you, he won't do it." "I've found something in these Keys worth fighting for." "Nights on watch, I'll see you like this, Loxi... with your hair catching fire in the sunset... and that look in your eyes 10 fathoms deep." "What was the third thing you wanted, Jack?" "Think I'm going to say "you," don't you?" " Aren't you?" " Yes." "You're in my blood, Loxi, same as the sea." "I'm coming back for you." "You won't have to come back." "I'll be waiting for you in Charleston." "They're not going to break you... and you're gonna have the Southern Cross." " You're starting to tell my future?" " It's our future, Jack." "Of course, Commodore Devereaux, you need a mighty experienced captain... to navigate a fine ship like the Southern Cross, steam and all that." "That ain't got no elegance." "You are in Charleston." "Ladies don't tell gentlemen." "They ask them." "It was really you I came up to see, Commodore Devereaux." "All the way from Key West." "There's Mrs. Mottram's house." "Aunt Henrietta's waiting on the porch." " Button that mitten." " Do you suppose it'll work?" "Do you suppose he'll listen about Capt. Jack?" "Of course, child." "Only just don't leave your right hand know what your left feet is doing." "'Twill bring me back one golden hour" "Through many" "Through many a weary year i may not to the world impart" "A tale of me and you apart" " Elizabeth." " Henrietta, this is mighty pleasant." "This is my little niece Loxi from Key West." " This is her cousin Drusilla." " What lovely girls." " Mrs. Mottram, I..." " Ivy is singing." "Save for the little faded flower" "But oh how fondly dear" "Which do you think is Commodore Devereaux?" "He must be here." "But I never saw a less seagoing run of shad in my whole life." "Through many" "Through many a weary year" "Lovely, Ivy." "So tender." "I want you to meet Loxi Claiborne, Drusilla Alston." " This is our own Ivy Devereaux." " Commodore Devereaux's daughter." "Charleston must seem quite different to you after the wild life of Key West." "I can see you two will be the best of friends." " This is Capt. Carruthers." " Charmed." "Miss Loxi Claiborne, Mr. Stephen Tolliver." "Come, Drusilla." "I want you to meet some of our Charleston beaus." "Charmed, Miss Loxi." "This is Romulus." "Miss Loxi Claiborne, Mr. Romulus Tolliver." "Charmed, Miss Loxi." "Speaks pointedly good English, don't you think?" "Considering his mother spoke nothing but Gaelic." "I saw it..." "I saw your lips move." "She's lovely, isn't she?" "What a wonderful pair of performing dogs." "I've heard a lot about Steve Tolliver." "LOXl:" "In Key West." "Well, we're flattered." "You're jumping to conclusions, Mr. Tolliver." "Now, who's been telling you stories about Steve?" "One of the finest men I ever met, Capt. Jack Stuart." "That's rather a sore subject with Romulus." "You see, Capt. Stuart sat on Romulus once." "And he weighs 200 pounds." "Ivy, I'd be happy if you'd introduce me to your father." "I'm sorry." "My father's not here." "Commodore is very ill." "His doctor won't allow him out of the house." "Then who runs the Devereaux Company?" "I do, lady, with a little help from Steve." "You run it?" "Loxi, dear... your aunt speaks of nothing but those charming Florida ballads you sing so well." " Won't you..." " I couldn't." "Why, I just couldn't!" "Romulus and I are very partial to sentiment." "Attention, everybody, please." "Miss Claiborne is going to sing one of those sweet ballads of Key West." "Charming." "Steve and I would love to hear one of those soft moonlight-on-the-sea songs." "Perhaps a breath of Key West would be refreshing... to all of us." "Oh, the Nellie B's your packet" "When you're far away from home" "And it breaks your back to tack it O'er the briny, shiny foam" "But heave ho, haul away Just the same as me" "For you're just another packet rat" "Aboard the Nellie B" "Bread and water for your suppers when you board the Nellie B" "And your blood runs from her scuppers in the briny shiny sea" "But heave ho, haul away Just the same as me" "For you're just another packet rat" "Aboard the Nellie B" "Oh, her mate he'll talk so civil" "But he'll rob ya in your sleep" "There's no uglier a devil in the briny, shiny deep" "But heave ho, haul away" " Is that Elizabeth's idea of a sweet ballad?" " Mighty salty." "You're just another packet rat Aboard the Nellie B" "Do you sing, too?" "LOXl:" "For that galley growilng crew" "For the bos'n is a dirty son of a" "Shiny, briny blue!" "So heave ho, haul away Just the same as me" "For you're just another packet rat" "Aboard the Nellie B" "Oh, the" "Loxi, please." "Come, Barbara." "She has a lovely voice, but..." " But, Auntie, there's still 20 more verses." " Oh, my goodness." "I'd love to hear them all." " How could you know such a song?" " I learned it from a pirate friend." " With rings in his ears?" " In his nose." "I'm afraid Loxi is a little, un peu exaltée!" "I find her exaltation most charming." "May I hear the rest of the song soon?" "I hope so." "It's just hopeless." "Making a lady out of you is just hopeless." "Drusilla, I can do it." "I can do everything I came here to do." "Cousin Loxi, you're playing with gunpowder." "I don't need Commodore Devereaux." "I don't need anybody." "Because I can wrap that Steve Tolliver around my little finger." "And I'm going to do it." "Oh, who's gonna row my honey" "Who's going to row my honey" "Yes, who's going to row my honey" "When i'm gone away" "And who's going to be your true love" "Who's going to be" "That's the third time they've been together this week." "What if..." "Yes, who's going to be your true love" "When i'm gone away" "When i'm gone away" " And then what happened?" " There she'd gone telling everyone... the bonnet had just come off the packet from France, when they..." " Pull up, Caesar!" " What are you stopping for, Ivy?" "I declare!" "They're together again." "That's the 13th time." "Go on, Caesar." "Yes, Miss Ivy." "Giddap." "They're lovely." "Like ships in the water, aren't they?" "Yes, lovely." "Steve, there's something I most especially want to talk to you about." " You took the words right out of my mouth." " Romulus generally does that." "I'm a little worried about Romulus." "He's been a changed dog ever since the Mottram tea." "You're just another packet rat Aboard the Nellie B" "Quit it, Steve." "Now this is important." "It's about the Southern Cross." "What I have to say is much more important than the Southern Cross." " But she's the newest ship in the line." " Yes, I know." "And she's steam and all." "But she's hardly fitted for a honeymoon." "Honeymoon?" "LOXl:" "But, Steve, you don't mean it." "Yes, I do, Loxi." "When you walked into Mrs. Mottram's tea party... it was like all the winds of the Caribbean." "I was shipwrecked at once." "But, Steve, I..." "My whole life is Key West." "This is another world to me." "There's only one world, Loxi, inhabited by two people." "I spoke to your aunt last night." "Mr. Tolliver!" "Mr. Tolliver!" "Here's trouble on horseback." "Mr. Tolliver, sir." "Pardon, ma'am." "You're wanted at the counting house at once, sir." "Commodore Devereaux is already on his way there." " Has Dr. Jepson gone insane?" " Yes, sir." "He asks you to come at once." " I thought the Commodore was gravely ill." " He is, ma'am." "But the moment he heard Capt. Jack Stuart had landed..." "Dr. Jepson said no mortal means could keep the Commodore at home." "Steve, couldn't you spare just a moment... to hear what I was going to say about the Southern Cross?" "I see the Commodore isn't the only one interested in Capt. Stuart's arrival." "I'll take your horse, Bixby." "You return in the carriage." "Yes, sir." "Romulus will escort you home, Loxi." "But I want most of your dances at Mrs. Mottram's ball tonight." "Good day, Mr. Stephen." "The Commodore was so disturbed by the wrecks at Key West..." " I've twice had to bleed him." " Stuart with him?" "He is, and I fear the Commodore will have a stroke." "Don't talk to me of barratry when you've got no proof!" "In short, sir, you were not only unconscious when your ship struck..." " but you don't know what hit you." " I've already said..." "I'm not interested in excuses!" "I'm interested in performance." "Take up the model of your command, sir." "Put her in Rotten Row." "Put her with the rest of the fine ships... that you and your kind have sent to rot on the bottom!" "And take your eyes off the Southern Cross." "We don't want her turned into kindling!" " You can cat-haul me both ways..." " Choke your luff." "Wait outside." "I'm only asking..." "I said outside!" "Commodore Devereaux." "Really you mustn't." "Here." "Drink this." "I'm all right, Doctor." "That'll do you a world of good." "Here." "Don't coddle me." "I'm no derelict." "You look strong as a bull, sir." "Why don't you come down first thing next week..." "That Jack Stuart has cost us..." "It wasn't Jack Stuart who cost us the Jubilee, sir." "It was those Florida reefs." "Am I to remove the reefs, or the captains who can't miss them?" "Perhaps you should remove the Key West pirate wreckers... who swarm those reefs like a school of killer whales." "And get rid of the man who's behind them all:" "King Cutler." "Are we to go out of business because we can't hang Cutler?" "He got 50°% of the Jubilee's cargo." "Cutler or no Cutler, I'll get my ships through!" " Lf I have to hire and fire..." " Commodore, please." "Don't coddle me." "Gentlemen, I asked Lt. Farragut to sit with us today... hoping the United States Navy may give us protection... against Cutler and his kind." "We need some sort of protection." "Better than one ship a week is piling up on those reefs." "At a cost of $5 million a year." "Yes, sir, and more." "Gentlemen, the Navy is more anxious than you are..." " to blast those vultures out of the Keys." " Good." "But you present no evidence against this man Cutler." "Give us proof of deliberate wrecking." "We'll do the rest." "Proof?" "No one dares testify against Cutler." "We sent men down there to find witnesses." " What became of them?" " I don't know, sir." "But I suggest that you send one man more." " Who, for instance?" " Me, for instance." "You?" "Why, Tolliver, you wouldn't last 15 minutes in that pirate's nest." "You're a lawyer, not a gunboat." "But the gunboats won't come until we get proof." "Gunboats or no gunboats, if we don't stop that gang mighty soon... the American flag won't be at many mastheads." " But I don't favour losing a good sea lawyer." " Thank you." "I know Cutler, Steve." "You wouldn't stand any more chance than a rat in a tar barrel." "Confound it." "If they kill him, he's not the man for the job." "That's very aptly put, sir." "Perhaps Jack Stuart could sail south with me." "The Southern Cross is refitting at Havana." "If you'll recall..." "You'd give the Southern Cross to the man who just lost us the Jubiiee?" "Gentlemen, we're in business." "Capt. Stuart has increased the earnings of every vessel he's commanded." "Twice he's weathered typhoons in the China Sea." "And he's broken the record from Rio to Martinique." "I personally don't like him, but he gets the most out of a ship." "And then throws it away on a Florida reef." "I expect to get proof that Cutler, not Stuart, wrecked the Jubiiee." "You expect." "Don't you?" "Ormsby, order Capt. Stuart to proceed to Key West immediately... as mate of the Peiican." "There he'll be set ashore without pay, to await orders." " But that's unfair." " You'll have his papers in your pocket." "If you find proof that clears him, give him the Southern Cross." " You're a great old sea lion." "I'll tell him." " You'll do nothing of the sort." "Let him sweat on the beach, and see how he takes it." "And my personal opinion of you is that you're a young fool." "Thank you, sir." "You'll never leave Key West alive." "But I have to." "You see, I expect to be married." "Well!" "What's her name?" "Gentlemen." "You'd better hurry before you start to Key West." "Who's the lucky girl, Steve?" "I'm so sorry about your nice sea captain." "Father told me." "Too bad." "Loxi, he's waiting for you by the round window in the vestibule." "Jack." "And he looks like a thundercloud." "Capt. Carruthers, would you want to do something for me?" " Command me, Miss Loxi." " Excuse me for a minute, will you, please." "I watched for your ship every single day." "That dress makes you sparkle like sun on water." "Jack, tell me." "How did it go with the Commodore?" "I think they've got me busted flatter than a haddock." "But your new command." "Aren't they going to give you the..." "The Southern Cross?" "Might as well be dry-docked on the moon." "They put me on the Pelican." "The Pelican!" "They're asking you to command that old pigboat?" "Command?" "I'm second mate." " Second mate!" "Why, of all the..." " We sail within the hour for Key West." "They're beaching me there till I dry-rot." "No, Jack." "Nobody's going to break us up that easy." "That's what he's trying to do." " He?" "Who?" " Wait here for a minute, will you, please." "Mr. Tolliver's bitten off just a little bit more than he's going to be able to chew." "Observe closely this harmless-looking little object." " Just look here what Steve's got." " What is it, a toothpick?" " No, they call them matches." " Matches." "What are they for?" "I'll show you." "Carruthers, loan me the sole of your boot." " Goodness gracious!" " Mr. Tolliver, they're terrifying!" "I'm hanged." "Do another, Steve." "I'd adore to do one, Steve." "Cousin Steve, you do get the quaintest things." "They'll never be popular, Tolliver." "Too dangerous." "This is ours, I believe." "May I claim this, Miss Thomas?" "May I have the honour?" "I'd love it." "I was just coming to beg you for this dance." "LOXl:" "I'd like to speak to you out on the balcony." " Like Romeo and Juliet?" " Not exactly." "Henrietta, do you allow your niece to wander off un-chaperoned?" "Oh, my dear." "I've been just bubbling over with excitement all day." "Mr. Tolliver's asked for Loxi's hand." "Ettie, Loxi and Mr. Tolliver." "Oh, my goodness!" "That is news." "Engaged?" "Stephen?" " To that little savage from Key West?" " She's a pretty little savage." "Moonlight and magnolias." "Just fits what I want to say to you." "What you've done is the most cowardly thing I've heard of." " Coming to the races tomorrow?" " I hope your filly wins, Col. Ogier." "Bound to." "It's vicious, and low and cruel." "You're very desirable when you're angry." "You think you're mighty clever." "Putting Jack on an old tub, beaching him in Key West..." "Easy now, what really happened..." "What really happened was that you saw I loved Jack Stuart." " No, I didn't see that." " Oh, yes, you did." "And you're right." "I love him." "I'll marry him." "You're stabbing him in the back..." "That's enough." "In the first place, you're not in love with him." "And in the second, I intend to marry you myself." " Well, upon my word." " No." "Upon my word." "Do you think after knowing one real man like Jack Stuart, just one... that a girl would even look at a namby-pamby popinjay like you?" "For the past month or more... you haven't seemed to have found my ways distasteful." "Well, if I played up to you, it was so you wouldn't break Jack, that's all." "So you'd give him command of the Southern Cross, and no other reason." "I see." "What are you taking your gloves off for?" "I take it you prefer the rough ways of your Key West pirates." "I'll be leaving now." "I'm sorry to delay you, but there's something you need very badly." "LOXl:" "Don't you put your hands on me!" "Steve, stop it!" "How dare you!" "Stop it, I say!" "LOXl:" "Let me go!" "Let me up!" "Why you!" "Oh." "You sorry, insufferable nincompoop." "If I only had a horsewhip." "Excuse me, please." "Loxi, dear child, we've just heard." "I'm so happy for you." " Congratulations, Miss Loxi." " That's nice of you." " We just heard, Loxi." " When's the wedding?" " You're a very lucky girl." " Charleston will be green with envy." "I shall be a good loser, Miss Loxi, and offer Steve my congratulations." "Mighty clever of you, Tolliver." "Thank you very much, George." " You're shot with luck." " You're certainly full of surprises." "Yes, I'm a little surprised myself." " Steve, it's so romantic." " Yes, isn't it?" "Steve's such a fine catch." "Steve?" "Why..." "Please, everyone, listen." "LOXl:" "I haven't any idea how all this started, but it isn't true what you've heard." "You've all been very kind to me here in Charleston." "But there's a rumour going around this room that must be stopped right now." "I can't." "I won't have my name linked with a..." "You've been very gracious to me... congratulating me on my engagement to be married... and wishing me so much happiness." "I thank you all for it." "What's come over the child?" "Why, I never in all my born days." "Yes, I am going to be married." "But I'm gonna marry a real man." "A man that can ride out a southwester and clew up a topsail." "Not a lace-ruffled bullying jaybird like..." "LOXl:" "Jack!" "Loxi, how could..." "Somebody get some water." "The skipper will marry us before we sail." "Steve's well rid of her." "Look at Steve Tolliver's face." "A hard pill for Steve to swallow." "He won't swallow it." "Not Steve." "Lively with those winches!" "Put your weight into it, you bilge rats!" " Skipper, Miss Claiborne." " How do you do?" " Maum Maria isn't here with my things yet." " I'm sorry, we haven't..." "Not the topsail halyards!" "The gaff sail lift!" "You lumps of hardtack weevil!" "Join hands!" "Excuse me, ma'am." "Join hands." "Blood of the devil!" "What're you doing up there?" "You mangy hunks!" "Grab that halyard!" "Come on, you!" "Heave!" " Let's get on with it, Skipper." " But we're on the wrong side." ""Dearly beloved, we are gathered together here... "" "It's foul at the block!" "Did you never walk a footrope before?" ""I require..." ""I require and charge you both... "" " Skip that part." " All right." "Jack, do you take this woman for your lawful wedded wife?" " I do." " And..." "What's her name?" "Loxi." "Loxi, do you take this man for your lawful wedded husband?" "And do you solemnly..." "Suffering shadrack, what's that?" "Looks like a runaway!" "Reckon he's boarding us?" "That's what he's doing." "Let go your fore-back spring!" "Say, ain't that Mister..." "Get back to work!" " Somebody's coming aboard!" " Stop yawing and finish off." "Loxi, do you take this man to be your lawful wedded husband?" "No!" "She does not." "We've got no need of a lawyer." "I be striving to get underway." "I'll take you home now, Loxi." "Get off this ship." "Look at that!" "Jake, somebody's fighting." " I've taken all I'm gonna take from you." " Not quite." "Ain't she a hellcat?" "What's he doing?" "You can't go around bullyragging!" "Put me down!" "Jack!" "Are you crazy, Stuart?" "He's the owner!" "Jack!" "Watch out, mate, he'll hogtie you!" "Spit in his eye, mate!" "Look at that one." "Jack!" "There you are." " Shall I set her back, Mr. Tolliver?" " No, keep underway." "Aye, sir." "I'll come on another ship." " Don't touch me." " Put your hand on my shoulder and relax." "Heave ho the forestay sail." "Heave ho!" " You coward!" "You irresponsible ruffian." " The water's warm, isn't it?" "What right do you think you've got to keep me from sailing with my husband?" "He's not your husband." "You didn't say "I do. "" "What?" "I will right now." "Jack!" "L..." " Jack!" " Oh, come now." "Charleston packet sure got quality folks aboard this trip." "Let her drop." "Load it on." "Give her more slack." "Steady now." "Stand by the stern line." "That's him." "There, with the lapdog." "Oh, my goodness, where's Drusilla?" "I'll go find her." "I ain't got nothing to do." "There she is, with two red pennants and her top rigging." " Loxi dear!" " Mummy!" "Hello, Mummy." "We'll come ashore as soon as we find Drusilla." "Dan." "Oh, Dan!" "Dan, be careful." "Wear this for me tonight." "I reckon I didn't see what I just seen." "Come along, child." "Capt. Phil, I brought you the most..." "Where's Jack Stuart, Capt. Phil?" "He's out on a diving job." "He'll be back tonight if his hat don't leak." "Drusilla!" "Wherever have you been?" "What a lovely shawl." "That's the only thing I ain't been asked to carry." " Have you enjoyed your trip, Mr. Tolliver?" " Yes, very pleasant indeed." "LOXl:" "Capt. Phil!" "Sir, I want to know." "Here, here." "It's an epidemic." "Those double topsails get at least two knots more out of her." "Hurry with the cargo, boys." "Easy." "Easy there." "She handles much easier, too." "I can see Charleston in the cut of your jib." "Hold it." "Steve, look out!" "Jump!" "Don't faint, child." "I'm as white as a sheet myself." "Romulus, we have arrived." "Clear the gangplank." "Keep calm." "That molasses came near being flavoured with Tolliver." "LOXl:" "Steve, are you hurt?" "We've made an impression at last." " I was only worried about the dog." " We're both very grateful." " I hope you found your mother well." " Look after the dog, will you, Capt. Phil." "That was a close call, my friend." "Let me congratulate you." "Mr. Tolliver, this here's Mr. King Cutler." "You two men maybe heard about one another." "Oh, Tolliver." "Well." "As one lawyer to another, let me welcome you to Key West." " Thank you, that was quite a welcome." " I saw it." "Unpardonable." "Terrible waste of molasses." "I didn't know you practiced law, Mr. Cutler... although I've heard of your other practices." "It is gratifying to know that our services to ships in distress have not gone unnoticed." "Unnoticed?" "I'm sure every ship owner in the world... would like to repay you for your efforts." " Can I take you to the inn?" " Why..." "You might go in, but you'll never come out." "You have many talents, Mr. Tolliver." "I hope I can make your visit to the Keys interesting." "I'm sure you'll do you best, Mr. Cutler." "Good day." "Good day." " Take good care of him, Philpott." " Yeah." "Take it away." "Give me a little more line." "You happen to know some nice quiet nook where I can sleep without any molasses?" "Nook?" "I guess we can find a cranny somewhere for you." "Better leave word who to notify in case there's any suddenness." "Come on." "It's port." "That's larboard to me." "When I say it's port, it's port." " You the mate of the whaler Tyfib?" " That's right." " Still need men?" " Yeah." "They're scarcer than feathers on a frog." " How long you going for?" " That's up to the whales." " About three years." " Shut up." " I'll sell you a couple of men." " What's the matter with them?" "One's an able seaman." "The other will do any legal work you might have." "Legal work?" "You mean, like boiling blubber?" " When do I get them?" " Tonight." "Widgeon will tell you where." " How much?" " $12 a head." "We'll pay when we pick them up." "Hope they both got arms." "Legal work!" "Shut up!" "Widgeon, you and The Lamb find out where Tolliver puts up." "Take four horn-fisted galley growlers and pay him a little visit." "That Charleston lawyer's the most dangerous man... they've ever sent down here." "But The Lamb will know how to tame him." "I wish your mama would have sent for you before I got all your clothes unpacked." "Maum Maria, what are the voodoo drums beating for tonight?" "Long about dusk, I'd seen something." " Couldn't be in this world, nor the next." " Fiddlesticks." "It weren't no fiddlesticks." "It was shaped like Miss Drusilla... and it was traipsing along the edge of the jungle with a demon." "Only the demon make himself look like Dan Cutler." "But that's ridiculous." "Course, Miss Drusilla." "The drums do that." "Drusilla, look me in the eyes." "Loxi, I wish I didn't have to go back to Havana tomorrow." "Are you meeting Dan Cutler on the sly?" "Are you?" "Drusilla, honey, he's..." "You love Jack, and you ran away to marry him." "I love Dan." "And I'm gonna marry him, even if I have to run away, too." "Drusilla, darling..." "I'm a pretty poor one to be giving advice." "But you go on back to Havana and ask your mother about it first." "Land of mercy!" "I wish you'd inherited a talking dog instead of this scratching ape." "Mr. Tolliver's not likely to make me his heir." "Hear them drums?" "Maybe he gonna be needing an heir by morning." " What have you heard?" " All I know is what the darkies say." "I suppose Steve Tolliver is in more trouble." "Yes, ma'am." "But this here's his last trouble." "What about Steve?" "What is it you know?" "The Lamb is getting him off of Capt. Phil's old sponge boat..." " and selling him to a whaler." " A whaler?" "Maybe they get Capt. Phil, too, if they catch him alive." "But that's terrible." "We've got to warn them." "Who you mean, "we"?" "I ain't going out into no voodoo night." "Nor none of the other darkies neither." "LOXl:" "You scared cats, I'll go myself." "No." "Get me a lantern." "Your mama would sell me if she knew." "Cousin Loxi, you can't." "LOXl:" "Lend me a shawl, Drusilla." " Not that one." " Why?" "Here." "I thought you didn't like Steve." "LOXl:" "It's Capt. Phil I'm thinking about." " Jack." " There she is, Parson." "She is pretty." "Full rigged and with a masthead light." "What's your course?" "You always turn up when I need you most." "I've been on a diving job." "I brought along the parson to finish..." "I'm sorry, but Jack's gotta go right down to Capt. Phil's boat." " Steve's in trouble." " Steve?" "Steve Tolliver?" "Now, don't get your mule streak up." "Cutler's selling Steve to a whaler." " What do you care what happens to him?" " You ninny." "This is no time to be jealous." "But I brought along..." "But there's no time for parsons now." "Will you go or not?" "Sure, I'll go." "No, Jack, I don't trust you." "I'm going with you." "I don't care what he did." "He doesn't deserve what Cutler will do to him." "Sorry, Parson." "I want a church wedding, anyway." "Someone's moving out to it now." "Feller come now." "Muffle the rest of them tholes." "Yes, sir, this here old soup ladle here belongs to me." "I hired it out to a feller to fish for sponges." "What in tarnation can a man do with a sponge?" " You can't eat it." " No, they haven't much flavour." " What happened to the man?" " Went broke, of course." " What's that?" " Maybe sea gulls." "If they're sea gulls, they're wearing boots." "Take that side." "Chinkapin, cover the light." "Here, take this." "LOXl:" "Capt. Phil." "Steve." "That's Loxi." "Capt. Phil, I've been having conniptions about you." "Loxi, you shouldn't have come down here." "No?" "Of course, it's no concern of mine... but Cutler's got you booked for a three years' cruise aboard a whaler." "My, this old tub sure needs a brush of paint, Capt. Phil." " You mean a shanghai?" " So she says." "Got so a man ain't safe in his own grave." "What sort of a fool are you bringing her down here?" "I'm under my own orders." "Nobody but an iron-headed sap would make her witness to a shanghai attempt." "I'll have just about time to jam that down your throat." " There's no time for fighting now." " Look at that dog." "I don't want no killing." "Can't get a dime for no dead men." "Get Loxi out through the galley skylight." "LOXl:" "I can fight." "Don't argue!" "I'm getting out of here!" "Got a gun?" "No." "Get in there." "You come gentle, or we got to bust your bones." "Widgeon." "Why, you double-crossing carrion shark." " That's your mate of the Jubilee?" " Yes." "And working with Cutler." "You!" "Don't let him get away!" "Let go of me!" " Get down after them!" " Put up your hooks there, my friends." "You boys just cool your heels there for a minute." "Ain't nothing down below." "Few sponges." "You don't want that knife!" "Get off of me!" "Don't go away." "Don't back up." "You stinking swab!" "Let's keep it short." "Devil fire!" "You crawling crab!" "Thanks." "I'm saving you for myself." "Let me go!" "Get him!" "Watch that fellow with the club." " Why don't you shoot?" " I can't." "I'm scared of hitting one of our men." " Quit shoving." " Quit missing." "Don't get up or I'll empty this pepperbox in you." "Blistering blazes." " Capt. Phil, are you all right?" " Yes, I'm all right." "Only I want my legs two inches longer." "LOXl:" "No, you don't." "Drop that, and get your hands up." "How can I get my hands up, you walleyed..." "Come out of there, consarn you!" "Get your hands up!" "Over against the mast." "Come on, you crabs!" "Make them fast." "You're going, too, bright eyes." "You've seen too much." "I hope this cures you of traipsing around." "You've been pulling strings all your life, Mr. Lawyer." "Why don't you pull one now?" "I might net myself a lot of trouble." "Shut your clam traps." "You boys will like whaling... if you can stand the stink." "Look out!" "Hold the net down!" "Jack, behind you, look!" "Steve, look!" "Steve, do something!" " Thanks." " You're welcome." "Roll out of there now." "Keep your noses to the deck." "Pass a line around this octopus, will you?" "You don't like Lamb, do you?" "Neither do I." " Does it hurt?" " Yes." "You make a lovely good Samaritan." "Didn't you scare yourself fighting like that?" "Your sailor boy brought you to a right lively party." " Yeah?" "Well..." " Now." "Wildcats could sure take fighting lessons from you, Jack." " Sorry Widgeon got away." " So am I." "Widgeon being here with Cutler's men... should prove to your Charleston stiff necks that Jack didn't wreck the Jubilee." "I'm one stiff neck it satisfies." "Ahoy, Widgeon!" "Who's there?" "Whaler Tyfib coming for the men you promised." " You can take your..." " Shut up." "All clear!" " Why you cuttle-head..." " Leave it to me, will you?" " You and Loxi get below." " Come on, Jack." "Come alongside." "Hoist oars." "Where's Widgeon?" "He's drunk." "Boat oars." "Cutler promised some able seamen." "We got five." "Five?" " Great day in the morning!" "Where are they?" " Right there." "Fellow will be glad to know them sponges finally come in handy." "They'll probably have quite a flavour before you boys get where you're going." "Pretty, ain't they?" "Go get them." "Wait a minute." "How much?" "How much?" "Cutler said $12 a head." " $15." " Hold on." "He said $12." "Take them or leave them." "At such prices, they're scarcely worth the picking." "You're a pirate and a thief, but it's a deal." "Bear a hand there." "You've got to give the devil his due." "He's clever." "Clever enough to want you." " It's only $55." " I know it." "Heave them over." "Head and scale." "Don't break them oars!" "This walrus weighs as much as a tonne." "I sworn to man, his feet's the biggest things I ever seen without lungs." "Glad I ain't paying for that one by the pound." "If he gets rough, tap him with this." "He's singing to you, Lumpy." "Singing like a seal." "Heave him over." " Jack, that paper has your name on it." " What?" " What is it?" " I don't know." "Maybe it's a love letter." "You're talking through your crow's nest." "He's chewing on that sponge something awful." "He'll be chewing salt pork tomorrow." "Heave him over." "Jack, it's your appointment." "The Southern Cross." " Jack, you're captain." " That's what it is, all right, but..." "Stow him in the bow, Lumpy." "No, wait!" " Here's $10 for yourself to remember us by." " You ain't no pinch gut." "Shove off." "Lay into it." "Don't unloosen them till you're out to sea." "They're a little mite tough." "They'll be tender 'fore they get back." "There, but for the grace of Loxi, go I." "She's a great girl, Philpott." "Steve Tolliver, I think you're the most contemptible man I ever met." "What's the matter?" "Did I sell them too cheap?" "Who's gonna command the Southern Cross, Mr. Tolliver?" "Oh." " How long have you been carrying this?" " Since I left Charleston." " Well!" "When were you gonna give it to him?" " When I got ready." "Commodore Devereaux gave you that appointment to give to Jack." " Why didn't you give it to him?" " I had my reasons." "And I know what they were, too." "You'd stoop to anything." " Yes?" " Yes." "Land of love!" "Come on, Loxi." "I'll row you home before I call on Mr. Cutler." "Yes, sir, these sponges is wonderful." "Pleasant dreams, my friend." "You've had a busy day." "I'll just take these." "They might blow away." "Oh, Loxi." "I don't know what happened." "I had to swim most a mile." "You cuttle-headed fool." "Why didn't you drown?" "Them two swabs is horn-fisted, Mr. Cutler." " Jack Stuart just hove in." " Stuart?" "Out of sight, Widgeon." "Where's Widgeon?" "Who?" "That gooseneck who was your mate on the Jubilee." "That water didn't rain in here." "State your business, Capt. Stuart." "I was aboard that sponge boat tonight... when Widgeon brought your men on that crimping job." "My men?" "That's all the proof the government needs on who sunk the Jubilee." "Well?" "No more 50°% salvage, Mr. Cutler... but a room in a penitentiary where you and your hatchet men... can be cosy as fiddler crabs on a marsh bank." "You haven't got enough sand in your craw to stand in front of me alone." "Clear the room." "You ain't gonna fight him alone, are you, King?" "I said, get out." "They'll find you on a marsh bank someday." "I didn't think you had it in you." "I've been looking a long time for a man who's exactly your size of fool." "You'll need some more fools." "Five of your bullyboys have shipped aboard a whaler for three years in Tolliver's place." "He sold them?" "Well, what do you know." "He's got brains, that fellow." "Some of them are loose in his head right now." "What's the matter?" "Don't you like your new boss?" "Boss?" "Tolliver won't boss the Devereaux line." "I've got command of the Southern Cross right here in my pocket." "Yes?" "I've got something here that says different." "A sloop's just put in with dispatches from Charleston." " I pulled this one off the bulletin board." " I'm not here to chew blubber." "So long as Commodore Devereaux's house flag is on the sea, I'll answer to him." "Then you'll answer to the grave." "Commodore Devereaux is dead." "Pour yourself a drink." " You're lying." " Read it yourself." "Steve Tolliver's the new head of Devereaux and Company." "Tolliver's the man you're sailing for, if you ever sail again." "But you won't." "You stood on your last quarterdeck." "But you know that better than I." "Tolliver won't let even a lobster crate take you aboard." "I tried to get rid of him for you." "I'd have had him three years on a hell ship, lost and forgotten." "But you made a fine picture of yourself tonight." "Fought like 10 men, didn't you?" "Smashed up the toughest men I could send, didn't you?" "Saved your fancy friend so he could be your boss." "And what for?" "So you could pound your brains out on a rum keg on the beach." "What did you come here for?" "To smash up the only friend you've got." "And that Claiborne girl." "She'll stick with you on the beach." "You'll sleep on the beach and scratch for food... but she'll sew your filthy rags together, if you ask her to." "Only, you won't ask her to." "You're slow in the head, but you're more of a man than that." "Steve Tolliver will marry her after a while." "She'll be raising his kids while you're..." "Shut up about her!" "Or I'll tear that jaw out of your face." "You don't have to lie down, you know." "They need 10,000 blacks in the Mississippi basin." "Biack men bring a dollar a pound." "I'll put you back on the quarterdeck of a ship." "You take her to the Gold Coast, load her with black ivory." "In two years, you'll own your own ship." "In 10, you'll own a fleet." "Your own house flag on seven seas." " Too slow." " Slow, with the job I'm offering you?" "The devil with that job." "I've got a job for you." "Do you know what cargo the Southern Cross carries?" "Teak, ivory, spices, silks, indigo." " Why?" " I'll show you how to get rich in one night." "Get your wreckers out to meet me at Satan Shoal." "I'm gonna pile up the Southern Cross." "Now you've caught the wind. $500,000." "But listen to me." "Tolliver won't leave you in command of the Southern Cross for 10 minutes... when he hears of this." "My schooner will take you to Havana tonight." "And I've got just the mate you need." "Widgeon, come out here." "Yes, Mr. Cutler." "Hiya, Capt. Stuart." "But I'll be back." "I'll be back on the very first ship." " I'll go with you and make sure." " No, Dan, you mustn't." "I can manage Mother much better alone." "If they try to keep you in Havana, I'll bust that town..." "I'm coming back to you, Dan." "Cross my heart, I will." "I don't care what Loxi says, and I don't care what anybody thinks." "I'm coming back." "On the very first ship." "Two hundred ceroons of Bengal indigo at $1.25, down 10." "Twelve-hundred-and-fifty pieces Nanking silk... at $3.98 the pound..." "Look at that board now." "Raw silk has gone to blue blazes." "...at $4.40, down seven." " And there goes ivory, down another seven." "Looks like the first call for panic." "Teak, silk, ivory, indigo." "A wreck always sends prices down of whatever cargo she's carrying." "Right." "Except there's been no wreck." "That's the cargo of the Southern Cross." "Southern Cross can't have wrecked." "She's safe in Havana." "Then somebody knows she will wreck." " And she sails before dawn." " Yes." "Capt. Stuart in command." " What's the fastest vessel in port?" " Claiborne." " Then get your crew aboard." " You're forgetting who owns her." " Loxi won't charter to you." " Then commandeer." "I've got to stop the Southern Cross in Havana." "Come morning, we'll have such a fog as a man can't cut with a crosscut saw." "We'll need a new door on the lazaret." " How far have we come?" " We left Sand Key about 4 miles astern." "We come about 15 miles." "Let her out." "Let her out, he says." "Let her out, Jake!" "And run for your life!" "LOXl:" "Get out of my way!" " How dare you let him steal my schooner!" " Now, Loxi..." "Stand by to come about!" "Hard alee!" "Bring her up." " Hard alee it is." " Get forward." "I'll take over." "Aye, sir." "This is piracy, kidnapping." "Stand away from that wheel." "Loxi, when we found you aboard, I begged you to go ashore." "I wouldn't go ashore because I knew what he was about." "You've done everything you could to down Jack Stuart." " I'm acting under federal authority." " Racing to Havana to break him?" "You believe in Jack above all things on Earth, don't you?" " I'll always believe in him." " Come here, Loxi." " I'll never forgive you for helping." " Honey, you got to know the truth." "Jack made a deal with Cutler." "He's gonna wreck the Southern Cross." " Capt. Phil, have you been drinking?" " We'll put that to one side." "I'd rather be drowned dead than hurt you." " Did Jack tell you that himself?" " No, he didn't." "I wouldn't believe it even if he had." " Steve, won't you put back?" " No." "I'm sorry I'm the one to do this to you, but it doesn't matter what you believe." "Jack Stuart will not sail in command of the Southern Cross." "But that's ruin." "Don't smash his life just because your pride is hurt." "How will he get another command?" "He'll never command even a mud scow in this world or the next, once I reach Havana." "Then you'll never reach Havana." "LOXl:" "Come about or I'll part the halyards." "No, Loxi, you'll wreck her!" "You crazy little wildcat!" "LOXl:" "Will you put back?" "Not while she floats." "The gaff jaws are smashed." "Get a lashing on this sail!" "I reckon you won't stop the Southern Cross from my ship, Mr. Tolliver." "Get a line on this gaff." "No, Loxi, you'll jibe her!" "Don't part that line." "What's the damage?" "We'll drift for six or seven hours while we jury-rig and re-bend." "Six or seven hours?" "Down with your jibs and staysail." "If the Southern Cross goes down..." "The Southern Cross isn't going down, Capt. Stuart's in command." "Sam, lay on those downhauls." "Case 52, Nanking silk." "Claim that starboard side." "Widgeon, stow the rest of that oil in the orlop." "Aye, sir." "I told you, Drusilla, we carry no passengers." "Please, Jack, you've just got to take me." "It's like life and death to me." "I can't take you." "Believe me." "Now, you go on back to your mother and stop begging." "When you get that stuff stowed, batten down." "Jack, listen to me, please." "Jack, you ought to understand and help me... because you love Loxi... and she wants to be with you, just like I want to be with Dan." "Please, Jack, I..." "I'm running away from home to marry him." "Will you go ashore or do I put you off?" "All ashore." "Get going." "Batten down here." "Aye, sir." "She's all singled up, sir." "Stand by, forward." "Aye, aye, sir." "Planks off." "Heim amidships." "Hold fast, aft!" "Let go of your forward line!" "Slow astern." " No bottom, sir." " We missed it by a split hair." "I wasn't gonna say nothing, but we might nigh have drifted on Satan Shoal." "That's the worst pack of reefs around here anywhere." " Should have anchored hours ago." " Yes, in 400 fathom." "That horn's driving me crazy." "Nearer all the time, but never gets here!" "LOXl:" "Hour after hour!" "One hour." "I never heard a horn like that." "Sounds like something out of the bottom of the sea." "Probably a hand-pumped horn worked by a crank." "Yes." "Pumping his own wind, too, likely." "I know it's steam!" "Well, suppose it is the Southern Cross." "Jack knows what he's doing." "He can pick a channel." "LOXl:" "But it isn't." "It's the Saturn, or some other paddle coaster." "I suppose you know whose conch that is?" "That's Cutler's Falcon." "Yes." "You don't need to smell the bait to know somebody's going fishing." "The steamer's safe." "She's got power!" "Wind or no wind, she's not drifting around helpless like a cracker box, like us." "No bottom, sir." "Go on, say it." "We'd be in Havana except for what I did." "I'm glad I did it and I'd do it again!" " Because with all my heart I believe in him." " Yeah." "Hark, ye." "Hark, ye!" " Can you see her?" " You'll be seeing her soon enough." "Sound your sea horn, Sam!" "Any minute now." "More steam." "Aye, sir." "Drive her." "That'll be the Falcon's signal." " Sounded to me like..." " Heave the lead!" "Heave it is, sir." "More steam you want?" "She's shaking her caulks out now." " You, Salt Meat." " Yeah?" "Check the forward well, she must be making water." "Jughead, get over there!" "There she rises." "Laying straight for the reef." "The Southern Cross." "LOXl:" "No." "It can't be." "Oh, Steve." "Give me that horn, Sam." "It's going astride." "Jack!" "Hard astern, Jack!" "The reef!" "You're going to strike!" "Pretty work." "She's plastered on the reef like a herring on a biscuit." "Man the lifeboats!" "Aye, aye, sir." "She's down by the head." " She's a killed ship." " Yeah." "There ain't nothing left but to get her people off." "There's one thing left." "Arrest the man who murdered his own command." "Stand by your boat tackle!" "Aye, aye, Capt. Phil." "Look after her." "Lower away!" "Aye, aye, sir." "Capt. Phil, why didn't he kill me instead?" "And the night before you took command of the Southern Cross... did you or did you not talk to King Cutler... this same man who is now conducting your defence?" "Objection, Your Honour." "Mr. Cutler is defending Capt. Stuart, not himself." "Your Honour, before this case is finished..." "I propose to throw the shadow of the gallows... over many in this room." "The witness may answer." "Sure, I talked to King Cutler." "So have you." "Capt. Stuart, there are other able skippers with ships in Rotten Row... but you were the first to stand in defence of the pirate wreckers that haunt these Keys." "I don't ask what unendurabie circumstance drove you... to join these men whom you must despise." "But i will ask the court for leniency in your behalf... if you will join with me in the destruction of these rats." "Tell us who was behind the wrecking of the Southern Cross." "I'm not hiding behind anybody, Tolliver." "If you're trying to hang Cutler, hang him for some other wreck." "Nobody gave any orders on the Southern Cross but me." "You admit giving the order that drove that ship at top speed... through thick fog to sure destruction?" "I was her skipper." "And who was your first mate?" "Matthias Widgeon." "The same man who was first mate of the wrecked Jubiiee?" "Yes." "Your witness, Mr. Cutler." "No questions." "That's all." "Call Capt. Phillip Philpott." "Capt. Philpott, please." "Adinarin, how did you finally get home last night?" "You go back to the house and look after Mother." "Tell her I'm all right." "Just when they're a-getting heated up." "You were an eyewitness to the wreck of the Southern Cross?" "How would you judge her speed?" "Why, she come thrashing through the fog there, fit to bust her ballast." " How long have you known Capt. Stuart?" " Ever since Cutler wrecked the Jubilee." "I object to this scandalous attack!" "Strike out the answer." "In your opinion, could that wreck have been anything but deliberate?" "Object!" "Sustain." " It was a typical King Cutler job." " I said sustain!" "I heard you, Will." "Jehoshaphat." "I'm only answering the man's questions." "Silence!" "Your witness." "No questions." "No questions?" "Man gets up here for nothing." "I ask you to remember that a man is on trial here... for the gravest offence known to the sea." "Except that no loss of life is shown... this man, if guilty, might well hang." "Proceed." "I thank Your Honour." "We admit the defendant's error... but you cannot convict a captain for bad seamanship." "Your Honour... we will show that behind the bad seamanship lay a criminal conspiracy." "And will you also show why you were waiting beside the reef... when the Southern Cross went down?" "Your Honour, if this man is to go on as prosecutor... the strange part which he himself has played in this disaster cannot be ignored." "Why were you waiting beside the reef that sank the Southern Cross?" "It's in the testimony that Mr. Tolliver's vessel fell becalmed." "Becalmed when the wind held till dawn?" "He tells us he sailed all night, yet he was only 15 miles on his course." "Why?" "He dares not answer." "Because the only living man who could have foretold that wreck... is the man who planned it!" "Capt. Phil." "Gentlemen." "There are a thousand ways by which conniving men may profit... by the wrecking of their own ships." "And there stands a Charleston sea lawyer who knows them all." "He swindled his underwriters!" "He swindled you... as he lay at Satan Shoal to gut the cargo of a ship... he himself had wrecked!" " That cargo ain't been touched." " Only because no diver will go down." "That ship hangs on the reef by a hair." "Your Honour, I demand an answer." "Why was Stephen Tolliver at that reef?" "Mr. Tolliver, will you answer?" "I will not." "Of course he won't answer." "He can't." "If you please, Judge Marvin." "I can tell you why Mr. Tolliver won't answer that question." "Miss Claiborne cannot testify unless she is called." "Mr. Tolliver, do you wish Miss Claiborne sworn as your witness?" "I do not." "But he's charging Steve with something he didn't do." "Your Honour, there is nothing to be gained by calling her." "I call Miss Claiborne as a witness for the court." "The reason the Claiborne didn't reach Havana was that I disabled her." "You disabled her?" "I parted the main beak halyards with a wrecking axe." "Why?" "Because I had faith in Jack Stuart." "Didn't Mr. Tolliver tell you that he believed Stuart would wreck the Southern Cross?" "Yes, sir, he did." "Miss Claiborne had every reason not to believe me." "This is incredible." "Have you any questions, Mr. Tolliver?" "None." "I certainly have." "So, Miss Claiborne, you disabled this vessel?" "Virtually knocked her apart with your own little hands... while a full crew of able seamen stood around sucking their teeth." "No, gentlemen." "What you have heard is a girl caught hopelessly between two men... who have fought over her as dogs fight over a bone." "I object to this..." "Sustained." "Didn't you play these men one against the other... encouraging each in turn?" "Isn't that why they're both hopelessly entangled in this disaster?" "I won't answer that." "Isn't that why you're now trying to undo what you've done... by taking some part of Stephen Tolliver's guilt to yourself?" "Judge Marvin, we're not here to crucify this woman who's not even on trial." "No, we're here to learn the facts, and they're deadly plain." "Now we can understand this vicious persecution of a man... whose only crime is that he stands between Tolliver and that girl." "Your Honour, when this case is over... the court may bring me to trial on Mr. Cutler's charges if it so desires." "But the government's case against Jack Stuart is not over." "For years we've tried to find one witness who would turn against this pirate ring." "That witness has been found." "I ask the court's leave to call a man who, to save his own neck from the halter... has made full confession." "Matthias Widgeon." "Granted." "Step down, Miss Claiborne." " Did Widgeon talk?" " Yes." "He talked." "Call Matthias Widgeon, mate of the Southern Cross." "Call Matthias Widgeon." "Widgeon!" "Come on..." "Sheriff!" "Widgeon is dead!" "Sheriff, Widgeon is dead!" "Doctor, in your opinion..." " how long has Widgeon been dead?" " Less than half an hour, Your Honour." "Maybe good riddance." "Your Honour, this case must be recessed for full investigation." "I can hardly recess in lieu of a witness who can never appear." " But if federal council wishes to withdraw..." " Withdraw?" "But, Your Honour, America's very life depends upon the sea." "This case goes far beyond the fate of one man... who betrayed his own command." "We must know whether any group of men can endanger the safety of our seas... by preying upon American commerce." "The government's witness has been murdered... but we elect to proceed." "Just a minute." "I agree that he was murdered, silenced for what he knew." "I charge that Widgeon drove that ship on the reef in direct conspiracy with you." " You're off your course, Cutler." " I told you he was a bad Yankee." "You can sustain that, too, Will, if you've a mind to." "Certainly this poor, honest seaman had no knowledge of it." "Why did he order his stokers driven under the whip?" " That has not been shown." " I'll show it now." "Call Salt Meat." "Your name is Salt Meat?" "Aye, aye, sir." "And you're a Barbados freeman who served as stoker..." " aboard the Southern Cross?" " Aye, aye, sir." "You know Capt. Stuart's voice, don't you?" "I reckon I do." " Didn't you hear him order full speed?" " Why..." "Objection." "Sustained." "You were in the stokehold at the time of the wreck, were you not?" "No, sir." "I was in the orlop." "You were in the orlop?" "Yes, sir." "That's where I was... when the steamer, she smashed against that reef... and I heard that dying scream." "You heard what?" "When the reef tore out the heart of that ship... she screamed like a woman." "You mean you heard tearing timbers, escaping steam." "Twenty years I know the sea... like I knows day from dark." "But I never heard no sound like that, except when a woman die." "Was there a woman aboard?" "No, sir." "I think she go ashore before we sail." " Who?" " The lady what talked to the Captain." "A lady?" "You know who she was?" "No, sir." "What did she look like?" "I don't rightly recomember how she was dressed... but she was wrapped in a mighty pretty shawl." " What kind of a shawl?" " What colour?" "What kind of a shawl?" "I don't know, but it was mighty pretty." "Kind of red and yellow." "Your Honour, I request permission to interrupt this testimony..." " and recall Jack Stuart to the stand." " Granted." " That's all, Salt Meat." " Yes, sir." "Thank you, sir." "Your Honour, this ghost story has no bearing on the case." "No woman was rescued from that ship." "If one was aboard, murder must be added to the charge of wrecking." " Did the Southern Cross carry passengers?" " No." "But a woman came aboard just before you cast off." " What of it?" "She didn't sail." " You sure of that?" "Who saw her leave?" "Did you?" "I ordered her ashore." " She might've stowed away." " She wouldn't have stowed away." "Then you knew her!" "Yes." "I knew her." "Jack." "Was it Drusilla?" "Yes." "It was Drusilla." "Drusilla Alston?" "Yes." "Who screamed?" " Who screamed?" " Keep your head, Dan." "Dan, keep out of this!" "If that scream was Drusilla, I'll tear the throat out of you." " She wasn't onboard." " You're lying." "You didn't see her leave." "Dan, shut up!" "Order in this court!" "I call Dan Cutler to the stand." "I object to the questioning of a man who's out of his mind with grief and fear." "Overruled." "Dan Cutler, take the stand." " You loved Drusilla Alston, didn't you?" " Yes." " She loved you?" " Yes." "And you were going to be married?" "Yes." "She promised to come back to you soon from Havana." "Didn't she?" " Yes." " On what ship?" "The first one she could get." "And that happened to be the Southern Cross." "I knew Drusilla, Dan." "A sweet and lovely young girl." "She begged you 100 times to give up the rotten business... you and your brother are in." "Objection." "Sustained." "We heard the Falcon's call through the fog." "Your boat, Dan... waiting like a bird of prey for the Southern Cross... which you knew would strike." "Didn't you?" "Don't answer that." "But you did not know that your sweetheart was aboard that doomed ship." "Did you?" "Don't answer." "The Lord moves in a mysterious way, Dan." "You didn't hear that scream, but it'll ring in your brain through all eternity." " I don't believe she's down there." " We don't know, Dan." "But some woman is down there... under 10 fathoms of green water... all alone in a dead ship... where the shark and the giant squid swim through the dark shadows." "It wasn't the ship that screamed, Dan." "It was a woman." "Maybe Drusilla." " And you know the men who..." " Don't answer." "Your Honour, this..." "They'd like to silence you the way they silenced Widgeon." "It isn't me they're afraid of, Dan." "It's you... because you know who is guilty." "If Drusilla's under that sea..." "I'll send the men who put her there straight to hell." "Even your own brother?" "Even my own brother." "All day we've heard the prosecution present a mass of lying insinuations... based on evidence which cannot be shown." "Now i challenge Mr. Tolliver to produce this evidence." "I challenge Mr. Tolliver himself to dive to that sunken hull... to bring up the proof he claims is there." "Mr. Cutler, such a dive is impossible." "If murder has been done, this court must know it." "I will undertake to find an experienced diver... to show Mr. Tolliver the way." "I cannot order men to almost certain death." "You don't have to." "That dive is not impossible." "I'll make it." "Mr. Tolliver would be a madman to accept." "Perhaps, Your Honour, but I have no choice." "I move that this court be adjourned to the wreck of the Southern Cross." " Consarn it!" "You lost your reason?" " Judge Marvin, you can't let them." "This court stands adjourned to the wreck of the Southern Cross." "Stars alive." "You men calculating to take all day with that rig?" "I don't know, I can't get no air through the hose." " Try taking your foot off it." "Might help some." " Maybe so." " How soon you reckon that squall will hit?" " Too soon." "Capt. Stuart, the court warns you that what you may find down there... may well cost you your life." "Thanks." "If that girl is down there... come back alone." "That far down, light won't be much." "If she's there, you'll see that red and yellow shawl." "That fool brother of mine will hang us all." "Does that tell you what to do down there?" "Lubbock knows his business." "If the girl is there, signal with your lifeline." "Two, one, two, one." "Tolliver's air hose will break at the pump." "Ready to lower away." "Jack, I'm afraid." "Here, take my southwester." "When the squall strikes, it'll take the curl out of your hair." "Whatever's down there, Jack... don't add another crime to what we've done already." "I'll bring you a rainbow fish for breakfast." "Come on with that helmet." " Better keep one eye on that pump, man." " Yes, and the other one on Cutler." "I see." "I thought so." "Good luck, Steve." "Try and forgive me." "Forgive you?" "Loxi, I..." "If I should happen to be late for supper, just see that Romulus doesn't overeat." "There's a squall coming up." "It won't give you many minutes." "Yes, and Romulus doesn't like fish much, either." "Steve." "Bolt the faceplate home." "The wreck moved!" "It dropped another fathom!" " Are they coming up?" " No." "He's signalling for more line." "He's starting to signal." "Hold him down, Sam!" "He never finished the signal." "Tie him up!" "Help!" "Both lifelines are fouled!" "Yield slack!" "Look!" "Pay out!" "There's ink coming up from the hatches!" " That there's from a giant squid." " Squid?" "Where?" "Hold fast, men!" " Get them up!" " It's a marejada!" "A marejada!" "LOXl:" "Get the men up!" "Get them up!" "Cast off that hawser!" "Cut that hawser!" "All hands to the lifeline!" "Keep them pumps working!" "A lifeline has carried away." " One of them is lost with the wreck!" " One's coming up." "Who is it?" "Which one?" "Can't tell yet." "Steady on them air pumps there." "Keep them going." "I can see a body." "Heave ho!" "Easy now." "Don't smash him up against the hull." "I can see the steel helmet." "That's Tolliver." "Keep that hose clear!" "LOXl:" "Steve." "They got Tolliver." "Keep his head upright!" "All hands, haul him in!" "Lift him over now." "Control his feet." "Careful, now." "Set him down." "Faceplate ain't broke, is it?" "No." "Steady does it, now." "Rub the back of his neck, Dave." "Take off that belt, Sam." "Is he badly hurt?" "Looks like that squid tore him up a bit." " Where's..." " Now you just take it easy, son." "We're all right glad to see you." "Just wait till you get your wind before you tell us what happened." " Where's Jack Stuart?" "Did you get him up?" " No, his lifeline parted." "He could've got away." "He stayed down to save my life." "It cost him his own." "He went down with his ship." "Steve, did you find..." "Was Drusilla..." "That's the answer, all right." "Look at it, King." " You did this." " Shut up, you fool." "That wreck was yours." "You planned it." "You put her on the rocks the same as you did 100 others!" "Shut your mouth or I'll shut it for you." "I'll shut up when I see you hung, and not before." "You won't see it." "He shot him!" "Look out, King!" "Look out!" "He's shooting again!" "He's done for." "Yeah." "Serves him right." "I sworn, that's the first time I ever known that thing could shoot." "This is all my doing." "Tell Drusilla..." "I have a pretty shawl for her." "Drusilla loved him so." "What's the matter, dog?" "Is you busted?" "No, ma'am." "I'm just shy." "They seem to be having a little trouble getting acquainted." "So did we." "Yes."