Gore Vidal

“ The Chief watched him. He wondered what he might have done if he had been as well educated as Hodges. Probably the same things. Life was about the same for all people; only the details varied.
“I hear they expect the big wind around midnight,” said Hodges.
“That’s what Evans says. He don’t know, though. He guesses just like the rest of us do. We guess, we all guess and most of the time we’re wrong.” The Chief enjoyed discrediting Evans occasionally.
“Well, it should be some sight. I’m glad I’ll be able to see it.” One of the deckhands laughed.
“You won’t like it so much,” said Duval. ”

“ Bervick did not move, though. He watched the dark object on the water as it slipped slowly away. The ship sank into another deep trough and when they reached the crest of the next wave there was no dark object on the water.
Then he was able to move again. He walked, without thinking, to the forward deck. A wet wind chilled his face as he looked out to sea. The snow clouds were still thinning. In places dim stars shone in the sky. ”

“ Evans went out. He stood for a while watching the power barges, blunt-nosed and slab-like, move back and forth across the harbor. There were rumors that the port of Andrefski was to be closed soon and only the inland air base would be kept going. Many men had already been moved out, only a few hundred were left now. On the rocky, moonstone and agate littered beach, lumber was piled, waiting to be loaded on the Liberty ship, edged grayly against the main dock. This ship was the largest in the harbor and it made the other boats look like toys in a bathtub. ”

“ He watched Evans and Duval draw near to the Major. Both were good politicians.
“It looks as if the war will be over soon,” remarked Evans, a half-question in his voice.
“Yes,” said the Major. He always said “yes” first, even when he meant “no.”
“Yes, it should be over soon, but of course we have no effective way of gauging the enemy’s rate of attrition. The attrition rate is important. Attrition can decide wars.” Martin wondered if he would repeat this last: it sounded like a maxim. He did not. He continued. “There are only a few good strategists in the enemy’s army. ”

“ Hodges, somewhat puzzled, agreed that he pitied those people.
“Of course,” said Bervick, “there are some guys who sneak around and get other people’s girls and give them a lot of money when they get too old to give anything else.”
This stung Duval but he did not show it. “Sure, sure, then there’re the big snow artists. They talk all the time, that’s all they do is talk. That’s what Olga said someone we know used to do all the time, talk.” ”

“ Major Barkison wished he could be as absorbed in events as young Hodges. I have too much imagination, thought the Major sadly. He would have to set an example, though. His rank and training demanded it.
“What would you like us to do, Mr Evans?” he asked.
“Keep cool. That’s about all. Stay below and stay near the crew. If anything should go wrong, they’ll get you in the lifeboats. The chances of this thing getting that bad are pretty slight, but we have to be ready.”
“I see.”
“Is the Chaplain in the salon?”
“Yes. I think he’s sick. Your cook is, too.” ”

“ The Chief turned to Martin and said, “Just a little squabble.” Bervick left the salon, laughing. “Fresh bastard,” muttered the Chief.
“Oh, he’s all right,” said Martin smoothly. “Just a little hot-tempered at times.”
“Maybe that’s it.” Duval sat down on the bench beside Martin. They looked out the window at the pale gray of evening. The day was over and the wind had died down.
“Probably be a strong southwest wind tomorrow,” remarked Duval.
“Can’t tell, really.”
“Thank God we’ve only a few passengers. Every time it’s rough we have at least forty.” ”

“ Though somewhat protected by the hills, they were not yet completely out of the storm. The wind was cold and penetrating. It chilled him, even through his heavy parka. Water whipped their faces. The deck was dangerously slick and the ship still pitched badly. On hands and knees, their eyes barely open and smarting from the salt, they wormed their way forward to the bow and the anchor winches.
They reached the bow. Martin got to his feet, holding tightly onto the tarpaulin which covered the winch. ”

“ In his subconscious Wellington, for the time being, began to fade. A stage appeared in the mind of the Major, and he saw himself, the frustrated romantic, surrounded by Mandarins; dressed as General Gordon, he was receiving a large gold medal for his defeat of the [84] Wangs. Major Barkison could almost hear the offstage cheers of a crowd. He began to frame a speech of thanks in his mind. He could hear his own inner voice speaking brilliantly and at length of attrition. ”

“ We have more time to think about the world. Of course, we do own nothing, and that makes life much simpler. Most people spend all their lives thinking of possessions.”
“I suppose you’re right,” said Hodges. Duval did not listen as they talked. Instead he walked restlessly about the salon.
Through the after door he watched the white wake foaming. The wind appeared confused: blowing from first one direction and then shifting to another. There was snow in the clouds overhead.
The ship was tossed about like a stick in a river current. But somehow they managed to keep on course. ”

“ For a moment Bervick considered what his chances were of reaching the wheelhouse in this wind. He dismissed the thought.
There was nothing he could do. If they hit the rocks there was little chance of any of them living. A person might last five minutes in the cold water. But the wind and waves would dash one to pieces faster than that.
He wondered what Evans was doing: probably trying to get control of the ship. When the wind was over a hundred miles an hour there was not much anyone could do but wait. That was what Evans would do. Stop the engines and wait. ”

“ Bervick and the Chief ignored him. “I don’t want you calling me a bastard,” said Bervick. He enjoyed himself, fighting with Duval like this. Somehow Duval had begun to represent everything that he hated.
“I’ll call you anything I like when you sound off like that. You think you’re pretty smart, don’t you? Hanging around Evans all the time. You and he think you’re mighty superior to everybody else.”
“We sure in hell are to you.”
Duval flushed a dirty red. “Shut up, you thick squarehead.”
“Cajun!” Bervick snarled the word, made an oath of it.
Duval started toward him. Hodges stood up. ”

“ When they docked he would draw the bow into shore with the winch.
A crowd was gathered on the dock. They were pointing at the ship and talking. Martin felt suddenly important. He always did when he was at the center of things. Every eye was on their ship. What had happened to them would become one of the many repeated stories of the islands. They were part of a legend now. The ship that had been smashed in a williwaw and had lost her Chief Engineer in a mysterious fashion.
Evans slanted the ship hard to port. They were headed for the dock. ”

“ Bervick had gone into the focs’le to get the fat cook.
Smitty had complained that he could not take care of lunch alone with the ship pitching.
Several men were in the focs’le. The fat cook was asleep in his bunk. Bervick shook him. “Come on and get up. You got to help out in the galley.”
The fat cook yawned and swore. Slowly he hoisted himself out of the bunk. Bervick played with the dog.
“Hey, Bervick,” said one of the men, “anything new going on? We’re jumping around quite a bit. I thought the Skipper said there wasn’t going to be no more storm.” ”

“ Bervick went over to the chart table and Martin went into his cabin.
The galley, Evans saw, was much more cheerful today. Smitty had cleaned the deck and straightened the unbroken china. Several deckhands sat at the galley table talking loudly. You could tell, thought Evans, how long a man had been up here by the way he talked. The longer a man was in the islands the longer his stories were. Talking was the only thing to do when there was no liquor. ”

“ Evans wondered why he had so much trouble getting along with his crews. When he had been a second mate on a cargo ship he had had no trouble, in fact he had even been popular. Somehow things just didn’t work as easily aboard this ship. He wondered if he might not be too much of a perfectionist. People didn’t like to live with that sort of thing. He spun his coffee mug between his hands. Finally he stood up. “Smitty,” he said loudly. “You can clear the table now.”
Bervick had the case off the barometer, when Evans returned to the wheelhouse. Bervick and Martin were examining the mechanism. ”

“ Bervick sat down at the table. The two sailors were young and seemed frightened by Angela. They looked relieved to see him.
Angela was a huge and heavy breasted woman. She wore a green dress of thick cloth. Her eyes were narrow puffy slits and her face was painted carelessly. There was no reason for her to take pains up here, thought Bervick. Any woman was a beauty to men who had been without women for many months and occasionally years. Her hair was a bright brass red, dark at the roots. Angela was several years older than the forty she claimed to be. ”

“ Before the others had finished, Evans motioned to Bervick and they excused themselves.
In the wheelhouse Evans took Martin’s place on watch. There had been no change in the barometer.
“I want you to cut that stuff out,” said Evans abruptly.
Bervick, who was playing with the dividers at the chart table, looked surprised. “Cut what out?”
“You know what I mean. All this arguing with the Chief. I don’t like it and you better not let it happen again. You got more sense than to fight with him in front of some rank like the Major.” ”

“ Fumes from the oil, as well as the motion of the ship, had made him sick.
The two assistants, however, had been in this engine room in all sorts of weather for several years. They sat now under the bright electric lights and read much-handled magazines about Hollywood.
The Chief went aft to his stateroom in the stern. Carefully he wrapped a piece of gauze about his finger and then he tied the ends of the gauze into a neat bow. When he had finished he sat down on his bunk. He had always hated the sight of blood. He closed his eyes and took a deep and shaky breath. ”

“ Evans irritated Bervick sometimes. Evans always wanted to be asked things, as if he were an authority.
“The girl he had back in Seldovia, an Indian girl, she left him and gets married. She writes him about it and he locks himself up in the head and drinks this stuff. They found him around midnight. He looked pretty awful they said. I guess he took the girl too seriously.” Bervick knew the last remark was intended for him and he did not like it. He would not kill himself for a woman, not himself, that was certain.
“That’s life,” said Martin helpfully. ”

“ Chaplain O’Mahoney shuddered as his duffel bag fell wetly into a puddle on the dock. Undisturbed, the man began to load the other passengers’ baggage on top of his duffel bag.
The Chaplain buttoned his parka tightly at the throat. It was not particularly cold but he did not like the thought of being chilled. ”

“ Angela?”
“Angela!” exclaimed Olga. She came back from the kitchen in time to hear the name “Angela.” “Why she’s just a big fat you-know-what. So you been seeing her.” She turned on Bervick, glad at last of an excuse to be rid of him. “Well, you got your nerve to want to do anything with me after you been with her. Why I bet she’s got everything wrong with her.” A customer wanted to pay for his meal. She went to the cash register.
“Too bad,” said Duval. “You aren’t much of a lover, are you? You go see Angela. She’s just your speed.”
Unsteadily Bervick got to his feet. He buttoned his parka. ”

“ Hodges, pleased that he had stopped what could have been serious trouble, tried to think of something else to say. He asked, “Do you get into the Big Harbor often, Mr Duval?” This was the first thing that came into his head and it was the wrong thing to say.
“Yeah, we go there once, twice a week,” said Duval.
“A lot of nice people there,” said Bervick, looking at Duval.
“All you got to have is money,” said the Chief softly, [174] “money and technique, that’s all you’ve got to have. Some people ain’t got either.”
“You’re right there,” said Bervick. “Some people got just one and not the other. ”

“ Duval was gloomy.
“What,” asked the Chaplain, “is a williwaw?”
“Big northern storm. Kind of hurricane with a lot of snow. Just plain undiluted hell. They come and go real quick, but they do a lot of damage.”
“I hope you’re wrong,” the Major said fervently.
“So do I.” Duval hurried off toward his engine room. Chaplain O’Mahoney sat quietly on the bench. Hodges watched the big waves through the porthole.
Major Barkison said, “I think I’ll go to my cabin. If anybody wants me, tell them I’m there. I’m going to try to sleep a little.” ”

“ From the wheelhouse the sound of Negro music thudded painfully in his ears.
“Turn that damn thing off!” he shouted.
“O.K., Skipper,” his second mate’s voice answered. The music faded away and he began to dress. The second mate came into the cabin. “Quite a party, wasn’t it, Mr Evans?”
[12] Evans grunted. “Some party. What time is it?”
The mate looked at his watch. “Six-twenty.”
Evans closed his eyes and began to count to himself: one, two—he had had four hours and thirty minutes of sleep. That was too little sleep. The mate was watching him. “You don’t look so good,” he said finally. ”

“ Bervick was hungry. He ate even the cold-storage eggs, which Smitty invariably served them and which they seldom ate.
Martin looked up. “Say, Evans,” he said, “what’s this story I hear about John Jones? You know, the Indian guy from Seldovia.”
“He killed himself.” Evans pushed himself back from the table and teetered his chair on the deck.
[70] “What went wrong?” Bervick was interested. He had been on a power barge with Jones.
“He drank a bottle of methyl alcohol last night.” Evans made himself appear bored. He always did when anyone they knew died. ”

“ Smitty said nothing.
Duval chuckled. He was not frightened by bad weather. He had seen so many storms and he did have confidence in Evans. Duval was not worried.
The men talked of the Big Harbor and of all the things they had done.
“Say, Chief,” said one, “did you see Olga?”
“Sure I saw her. I always see her. Anybody with money can see her.”
The man laughed. “I guess Bervick isn’t feeling so good today.”
“He takes life too seriously,” said the Chief and that was all he would say.
Hodges came into the galley from the salon. ”