man was bad enough, but you...."

"Starboard, Quartermaster. Go ahead, Captain. That's one thing about
you. Nothing matters so long as you can go on talking. Fire away if it
eases your mind. But I'm taking this ship in. See the fairway? If you
make anything out of this trip, and I dare say you'll make it all right,
don't forget you owe it to me. You had me rattled a bit when you ran
into that ship last night. I thought you knew what you were doing. And
you were just scared. Sitting over there on that life-belt, blowing up
that patent vest of yours. Thought I didn't notice it, eh? So busy
blowing it up you couldn't answer me when I called you. Master of the
ship! Yah!"

Captain Rannie was visible now, a high-shouldered figure with one hand
in his pocket and the other resting on the corner of the chart house.
During the night he had put on a thick woollen cap with a small knob,
the size of a cherry, on the point of it, and it made him look like some
fantastic creature out of an opera. It was as though he had materialized
out of the darkness, an elderly imp foiled in his mischievous designs.
He stood there, looking down at the deck, his mouth working over his
toothless gums, silently yet frantically marshalling the routed forces
of his personality.

"All right!" he exclaimed. "You take her, I hold you responsible, mind
that. I wash my hands of you. You incited my crew to mutiny. Defied my
orders."

Mr. Spokesly turned suddenly and Captain Rannie rushed to the ladder and
descended halfway, holding by the hand-rail and looking up at Mr.
Spokesly's knees.

"Don't you attack me!" he shrilled. "Don't you dare...." He paused,
breathing heavily.

Mr. Spokesly walked to the ladder.

"You'd better go down and pull yourself together," he said in a low
tone. "You're only making yourself conspicuous. I can manage without
you. And if you come up here again until I've taken her in, by heavens
I'll throw you over the side."

He walked back quickly to the bridge-rail, and stared with anxious eyes
into the stretch of fairway. He could not help feeling that something
tremendous was happening to him. To say that to the captain of the ship!
But he had to keep his attention on the course. Looking ahead, it was as
though he had made the same error of which he had accused the Captain,
of running into the land. On the port side the low shore in the
half-light ran up apparently into the immense wall of blue mountains in
the distance. A