Evening star., 1952-09-13
The Coine Mutiny
BY Herman Wouk

Vii w O1N
Isaid Paynter. "the Gaines the one
inboard of this. The men will
bring your gear"
4 Willie went up the jingling lad
lder. saluted the smart GOD of the
destroyer, and crossed the deck. AL
tarry plank laid between the ships
over four feet of open water led
to the Caine. He hung back.
lPaynter mounted the board, say
ling, This way" AS he crossed,
the Caine rolled and the plank
wobbled violently. Paynter jump
ed OF it to the Caine deck.
Frances Across Plank.
1t occurred to Willie that i'll
IPaynter had fallen from the plank
he would have been crushed be-
tween the two ships. With this
picture bright in his mind Willie
lset foot on the plank and pranced
across like a circus acrobat. Half
way. hanging over the open water,
The felt the plank heave upward.
He leaped for life, and landed on
the Caine in the arms of the OOD.
staggering him.
"Ho! Don't be so eager" said
the GOD. "You don't know what
you're jumping into"
1 Rabbit. this is the long-lost
Ensign Keith" said Paynter.
! so I gathered" 1t. q. e.
Rabbit shook Willie's hand. He
was OF middle size. with a narrow
face and an air of rustic good
humor. welcome aboard, Keith.
J Say, Paynter, this Ensign Hard
ing showed up too, half an hour
ago."
i "All kinds of new blood" said
Paynter. .
The focus of Willie's mind Wild
/ ened beyond the plank now and
took in the quarterback of the
: Caine. It was q place of noise,
dirt. bad smells, and thuglike
strangers. Half a dozen sailors
| were clanking at the rusty deck
!, with metal scrapers. Other sail
ors were walking past, cursing
under crates Of cabbages on their
backs.
"Okay. Keith, you're logged
aboard" said Rabbit. "Paynt,
will you take him down to the
eXec?"
| Sure. Follow me, Keith"
{. Paynter led Willie down a lad
der and through a dark sitting
, paSsageway. This is the half
deck" He opened a door. "This
is the wardroom."
. They passed through an untidy
t rectangular room as wide as the
, ship, mostly filled by a long table
set with a stained cloth, silver,
boxes Of breakfast cereal, and
) pitchers of milk. Magazines and
, books were scattered on the loung-
J ing chairs and black leather couch.
Willie noted with horror several
:. secret publications among comic
strip books. leg-art magazines, and
. frayed ESquireS. Leading forward
from the middle of the wardroom
was a paSSageway of a stateroomS.
Paynter entered the first room on
, the right. Here's Keith, SIR" he
: said, pushing aside the curtain in
} the doorway. Keith, this is the
executive officer, 1t. Gorton."
Greetings. Keith. Where the
hell you been? said 1t. Gorton in
a high voice. and swung man.
T moth thighs out of his bunk. He
shook Willie's hand.
Paynter said, Where do we put
him?"
II don't know. I'm hungry. Are
they bringing some fresh eggs off
the beach? Those eggs we got in
New Zealand will dissolve your
filings by now"
Willie Meets The Captain.
"Oh, here's the captain, maybe
, he has an idea," said Paynter.
looking off into the passageway.
"Sir, Ensign Keith has reported
|. aboard"
"Collared him, did you? Nice
, work." said a voice full or irony
[ and authority, and the captain of
|, the Caine came to the doorway.
The captain was absolutely naked.
!, In one hand he carried cake Of
Lifebuoy soap, in the other a
: lighted cigarette. He had creased
old-young face, blond hair. and a
fiabby white body. welcome
, aboard, Keith"
THANK you, sir" Willie felt an
urge to salute, to bow, in some way
to express reverence for supreme
. authority. But he remembered a
regulation about not saluting a
superior when he was uncovered.
And he had never seen a more
uncovered superior than his COM
manding officer.
Captain de VrieS grinned at
Willie's discontinue. II hope you
know something about communi-
cations, Keith"
Eyes, sir. That's what I've been
doing for CincPac while-while
waiting for the ship. sir"
Good. Paynter, you're an as
sistant engineering officer again
! as of now"
Thanks. sir" Paynter's gloomy
face was suffused with fleeting
happiness. He sighed like a horse
having a saddle taken off. Got
any idea. Captain, where we slash
the new communicator?"
!, did Maryk put bunk in the
clipping shack?"
Eyes, sir. That's where we've
|. stuck the other new one, Hard
ing"
well. tell Maryk to hang an
other bunk in there"