Caine Mutiny, The - Herman Wouk [201]
Queeg’s protests gave Willie a growing sense of gladness and power. In this shadowy careening wet wheelhouse, in this twilit darkness of midmorning, with a murderous wind shrieking at the windows, he seemed to be living the happiest moment of his life. All fear had left him.
Maryk said, “Willie, think you can grab a look at the barometer without being blown over the side?”
“Sure, Steve.” He went out on the port wing, clinging carefully to the bridge structure. As he crept up to the charthouse door it came open, and Harding, Keefer, and Jorgensen emerged, clasping each other’s hands. “What’s the dope, Willie? What goes on?” yelled Keefer.
“Steve relieved the captain!”
“What?”
“Steve relieved the captain! He’s got the conn! He’s put the captain on the sick list!” The officers looked at each other and lunged for the wheelhouse. Willie edged to the rear bulkhead and peered around at the blurry barometer. He dropped to his hands and knees and crawled back to the pilothouse. “Steve, it’s up,” he cried, jumping to his feet as he came to the doorway. “It’s up! Twenty-eight ninety-nine, almost 29.00!”
“Good, maybe we’ll be through the worst of it in a while.” Maryk stood beside the wheel, facing aft. All the officers except Paynter were grouped, dripping, against the bulkhead. Queeg was hanging to the telegraph again, glaring at the exec. “Well, that’s the story, gentlemen,” Maryk said, his voice pitched high over the roar of the wind and the rattle of spray on the windows. “The responsibility is entirely mine. Captain Queeg will continue to be treated with the utmost courtesy, but I will give all command orders-”
“Don’t kid yourself that the responsibility is all yours,” Queeg interposed sulkily. “Young Mr. Keith here supported you in your mutinous conduct from the start and he’ll pay just as you will. And you officers”-he turned, shaking his finger at them-“if you know what’s good for you, will advise Maryk and Keith to put themselves under arrest and restore command to me while the restoring is good. I may be induced to overlook what’s happened in view of the circumstances, but-”
“It’s out of the question, Captain,” said Maryk.. “You’re sick, sir-”
“I’m no sicker than you are,” exclaimed Queeg with all his old irritation. “You’ll all hang for collusion in mutiny, I kid you not about that-”
“Nobody will hang but me,” said Maryk to the officers. “This is my act, taken without anybody’s advice, under Article 184, and if I’ve misapplied Article 184, I’ll get hung for it. Meantime all of you take my orders. There’s nothing else you can do. I’ve taken command, I’ve ballasted on my own responsibility, the ship is on the course I ordered-”
“Mr. Maryk!” Stilwell shouted. “Something up ahead, a ship or something, close aboard, sir!”
Maryk whirled, squinted out through the windows, and grabbed at the telegraph handles, hurling Queeg roughly aside. The captain staggered and grasped a window handle. “Hard right rudder!” the exec shouted, ringing up full astern on both engines.
Visibility had improved so that the sea was in sight through the driving spray some fifty yards beyond the bows. A vast dim red shape bobbed on the black swells, slightly to port.
The Caine veered quickly, shoved sideways by the wind as soon as it turned a little. The thing drifted closer. It was immense, long and narrow, longer than the Caine itself, bright red. Waves were breaking over it in showers of foam.
“Holy Mother of God,” said Keefer. “It’s the bottom of a ship.”
Everybody stared in awe at the horror. It slipped slowly down the port side, endlessly long and red, rolling gently under the breaking waves. “Destroyer,” Harding said in a choked voice.
The Caine was moving well clear of it. Part of the wreck was already gone in the gloom. “We’ll circle,” said Maryk. “All engines ahead full, Willie.”
“Aye aye, sir.” The OOD rang up the order. There was, a hideous sickness at the pit of his stomach.
Maryk went to the p.a. box and