"MacDonnell, J E - 125 - Blind Into Doom UC" - читать интересную книгу автора (MacDonnell J E)

- J.E. Macdonnell: Blind Into Doom Page 7 -



like Bismarck and Admiral Scheer-then he looked at the sky.
This was coloured a washy sort of pale blue, nothing like the
cobalt tropics, yet Duncan found the sky most pleasant, for like the
sea it was empty. Ahead lay a bank of cloud, low above the horizon
and rising, but in his job the premature crossing of bridges was a
practice definitely to be frowned upon. Seize today, Horace advised,
and put as little trust as you can in the morrow. To which maxim of
the Roman poet Duncan might have added: And don't worry your
damn head off about cloud that probably holds nothing but moisture.
Satisfied, he brought his eyes down and let them patrol over the
ship. Many things, small yet each in its own way significant, caught
his attention.
The ship's grey upper-works were crusted with salt that returned
a million winks to the sun's smile: since leaving Halifax the weather
had not always been so benign. But quite easily it could change again,
and there was no point in washing-down paintwork.
Almost directly below him on the foretop hung one of the
seaboats, a 32-ft. cutter. Near its bow he saw a group of three or four
seamen, enjoying the ten-minute break and the weather with their
overall tops rolled down. They were pale-skinned, but this wasn't
the Mediterranean and Duncan took no notice of colouring. What he
did notice was that one man leaned back against the top guardrail
with his arms crossed.
This attitude placed most of his weight, and his whole life, upon
that wire. If he fell from that position on the deck he would surface
just in time to be sucked down again by both port screws, and there
chopped to pieces.
It was against Captain's Standing Orders, as well as the dictates
of commonsense, to lean or stand on a guardrail. Duncan waited a
moment. The seaman, a heavy fellow, shifted his weight from one
foot to the other but otherwise retained his leaning posture. Yet under
the peculiar alchemy of discipline it was undesirable for the captain
personally to correct a misdemeanour which did not urgently and
obviously affect the safety of the ship.
Duncan started his turn towards the officer of the watch.
Movement caught his eye. He turned back and looked down. Coming
along the foretop deck was a bow-legged leading-seaman. Though
- J.E. Macdonnell: Blind Into Doom Page 8 -



fully in Duncan's view, the chatting group had not noticed him.
Duncan waited.
He was somewhat disappointed and irritated, for he himself had
rated Lusby leading-seaman, and Lusby was striding past the group.
Now he also would have to be dealt with.