| Show ba 11 davi log book of the skipper who sailed miles M s MARIJ PACIFIC OCEAN JAPAN BOUND UT of san sail francisco headed beaded 0 OUT for the orient weather of the best I 1 proceed in conformity with my invariable custom to wan wangle le a human interest chapter from the ca captain P tain of this ship not so easy 1 penetrating to tile the forward cabin was simple enough but tapping the well springs of liis ills memory was something else again what did I 1 wish to know lie ile touched a button tea for two opposite me sat a chunk of a man smiling inscrutably bly waiting to ile be placed upon the spot tile the gray in his closely cropped hair was a guarantee of his experience one stirring story froni from your life before the mast or on the bridge will satisfy I 1 said lifting my eg eggshell egg shell slie teacup in salute ills smile collapsed not nothing hns has occurred lie said nothing tt that la is worth retelling you shall see at twenty I 1 became a cadet on the government ship calsel maru ran the gauntlet of official promotion notion became captain of the lla Ala maru nippon calsha line april 28 1918 and have billed sa under the N Y K ever since with one year of world war service the torpedo adventure commander S oya glanced into the depths of his bis teacup pushed a box of 0 cigars toward me and lapsed into silence no adventures at sea no wrecks no mutinies no typhoons no romance nothing out fit your recollect recollections lons to offer me I 1 asked nothing so far but there Is yet time the future may have something to olter offer who can say possibly there Is a detail or two that you have forgotten ills eyeballs seemed suddenly to invert themselves as though striving to look backward the expression of lu in deepened no there la Is nothing yes there was in an incident incident that now comes back to me just a moment I 1 will look at the log of my life and give you the date tile the seadog reached into a drawer of ills his desk and brought forth a small leather covered book thought I 1 this be beins begins ins to look more like thereal thin thing 11 here it ls Is ll 11 he continued june 15 1007 p m olt off plymouth during the war heavy seas running from tile the maln main deck astern scanning the water I 1 saw a dark outline slipping toward the starboard quarter perhaps a hundred yards distant seventy five yards fifty yards twenty five yards moving like a sh shadow a ow I 1 leaned on over r the rail certain that the time had come the ship p lifted in the tide fell away rose again from the trough while the torpedo and such it was hesitated fora brief instant and then lunged onward the way of a alp at sea Is indeed a mystery gathering herself like some living thin tiling she plowed ahead just its as the torpedo fired from an all invisible submarine at close quarters slipped by ten feet astern and disappeared just that we berthed in safe water before midnight commanded 27 ships there must be something else in the crisp criar leaves of this volume I 1 said wondering why it contained column after column of arable arabic fi figures agures gures later interspersed with notations in japanese recording Ko cording the number of miles sailed names dames of the ships under my command and a few statistical notes he volunteered ilow how many miles and how bow many ships commander up to january 1 1030 the grand total reached nautical miles on twenty seven vessels none of which was lost while under my command the first million miles were completed 1110 p m march 2 1931 1031 oft on island on a voyage to suez via colombo approximately officers and me nen served on ships that I 1 have had the honor to captain during all of that period of time not a single malt mai had to be put in irons tile the furthest point north reached during my travels Is Il hamburg amburg germany anti and the fur friest anest south Is adelaide australia the maximum mileage for any one year was have you thirol throughout your voyaging ever observed a phenomenon at sea that could not be scientifically accounted for are any insoluble mysteries hinted at in the log book have you developed any superstitions in your life ilfe as a sailor bailor none there Is a reason for everything that may arise in human affairs it if there ore are sea serpents in the deep it has not been my privilege to behold them superstitions 9 with an expansive gesture he tossed the whole theory into spice space married ot of course again this realist tills this methodical man who has logged his sea life with such meticulous care turned the pages of the record presently hla his almond eyes sparkling the mask of inscrutability swept from hia big face to make way tor for actual mirth lie placed an index finger on a single line yes married kobe japan slay may 28 1014 one child a daughter also maried 1935 1035 no grandchildren as rt copyright ser serpico vico lc |
