“What about him?” The Chief was not interested and they said nothing for a few moments. Then he said, “I hear the Chaplain’ll be with us.”

“So I’ve heard. I guess the Captain will tell me about it later.”

“Probably. I got to get to work.” The Chief slid off the table and walked toward the engine room. Evans could hear the sound of his voice as he talked with his assistants. Evans knew he was telling them that they were going west to Arunga as he had said they would. Evans walked into the galley. The cook, John Smith, was scrubbing pans. He was alone in the galley.

“How’s it going, Smitty? Where’s your helper?”

Smitty put down the kettle he was scrubbing. “Gone,” he said with suppressed drama. “I seen everything now.[26] What does this guy do? Does this guy help in here? No. He go down and lay on his fat butt. I’m going to get off this boat. I seen everything. He won’t work, won’t do nothing....”

[26]

“I’ll talk to him, Smitty.” That was always a good promise to make. Smitty would be mad at something else the next day anyway. “By the way,” he added, “have you got enough rations to get us to Arunga? We’re going to have three passengers.”

Smitty gasped. His lean ugly brown face was contorted with grief. “I seen everything now.” He spoke softly as if he were praying. “I got no bread. I got no meat. I got no nothing now. How,” his voice rose to a wail, “how am I going to feed the crew? I make no bread on the water. They eat out of cans, that’s all.”

“Well, you work it out and get what you need. We’ll leave tomorrow at eight.”

Smitty muttered to himself. Evans went up to the wheelhouse.

Bervick was standing over the chart table: a chart of all the islands in the Aleutian Chain before him. He was squinting thoughtfully and carefully measuring out a course.

“Think you can get us there?” asked Evans.

“What? Oh sure, I was just checking the old course. Last time we ran too close to shore off Kulak.”

“I remember. We’ll work out a course over at the Big Harbor.” The salt spray from the hoses splattered the wheelhouse windows. “That reminds me, you better get some water. We’re pretty low.”

[27]“O.K.” Bervick put the 

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