Evening star., 1936-07-05

he had picture of what the momentum of
fifty thousand tons, moving at quarter speed,
would do to the Cdlant0,d if she hit that reef
dead ahead He thought of the two thousand
lives in his charge - net even old John nor
his uncles and father had faced such
disaster as threatened him.
He gripped the bridge rail. What should
he order: stop? Go astern? Hard a-star-
board?" If the reef were dead ahead, either
of the first If the reef were where he judged
it to be, the latter. The latter was a liner
captains order, for it would keep him NOV
ing to time table; yet there was risk in it.
The slightest miscalculation might pile them
up on the shoals on the shore to starboard.
-. Yet, with broken water dead ahead he
must do something. What?
He knew that Nagle and all on the bridge
we're watching him, watching him as men GER
tain of his and their doom. Yet he could
only stare ahead, unsure, hesitant for the
first time in his career.
And as he stared he saw the ship dead
ahead -.
1t was no more than black bulking in the
grotesque, but ship nevertheless, crossing
his bows from port to starboard. How far
ahead she was he could not calculate because
of the fog. But his seanan's judgment told
him that he must ram her in the next few
minutes, just as his instinct assured him
that by swinging hard a-port he might just
shave by her stern, or, by turning sharp to
starboard and ringing for speed, might turn
trifle quicker than the other and in her own
line and so just scrape clear of collision
Both manoeuvres were dangerous. Turning
to starboard, and at speed was almost bound
to put him aground on the shoals there.
Going to port would be worse. The reef was
there, too close for clearance. He would
pile the Calantara up on it as Farnes had
piled up those other ships.
Farnes! Suddenly he realized that this
was the Fate of the Farnes. He alone seemed
to have seen the ship. No man had shouted,
none had seen the danger ahead - only a
Farne could see it.
Abruptly too, the vessel ahead seemed to
define itself - antique clipper bows, sail spars
to her masts, an absurd, tall smokestack -
vague, smudgy, but the Western Dawn as he
knew her from the picture on the wall of his
fathers home, the ship old John had wrecked
in the Maiden Passage!
This then was how old John had taken his
revenge on the Others. By planting the old
Western Dawn across the fairway, he had left
them no choice but an abrupt panic swing
onto the reef to avoid collision.
1t was against reason, incredible, but
John III knew now this was how those other
Farnes had died, how he must die unless he
outmatched old John. As he could, because
he was old John born again. 1t was the old
John in him that set his face in grim and
reckless lines, made him snap his order:
Keep her as she is. 80"
Keep her going straight ahead. Old Johns
Western Dawn blocked his course but that
meant she was in deep water, anyhow; and if
she really was the old Western Dawn, shewa
ghost - and you don't need even collision
mats when ramming ghosts. And if she wasn't
ghost, why, there was more chance in ram
ming solid ship than ramming reef.
The whole thing happened in matter of
seconds only. Nagle had no more than hung
up the telephone after taking the report
from the bows when he heard John Farne's
order. He came along the bridge nervously.
"If it's the reef dead ahead, sir" he
began - then he let out cry. He saw the
Western Dayu. He gripped John Farne'S arm,