Fire Down Below Page #5

before I called you.

- How many hurt?

- They asked me to bring a doctor.

- Can you hear me, Sam?

- I'll be right down.

So during the fog, there was this

little collision during the night.

The liner was hardly damaged

and didnt turn back.

But the freighter is limping into port,

the S.S. Ulysses.

How many people are hurt?

The radiogram only mentioned one,

a sailor.

Hes jammed up in the bow,

and they can't get him out.

Oh, well, if a man signs up

to be a sailor...

...he must expect little inconveniences

like that from time to time.

Hello. Here comes the fog.

Hey, look out!

At last. Finally.

- I'll write such a report!

- Where is he?

In case youre not familiar

with maritime law...

- ...I shall clearly state in that report...

- Yes, you do that, captain.

- Where is he?

- Where is who?

The injured man.

Where would he be?

Forward, in that hold.

- Caught like a weasel in a trap.

- Show us how to get to him.

Hes down that hatch, but let me

warn you, this is dangerous.

Everythings loose, liable

to come down at any moment.

- Youll have to creep on your belly.

- Stop wasting my time.

Its at your own risk.

I take no responsibility!

Hey! Youll need this.

Welcome, boys.

This way, Sam.

Can I offer you boys a drink?

- This is the doctor. Are you hurt?

- I dont know. You tell me, doc.

You dont look so bad.

You ought to see me

when I dont need a shave.

- Does anything feel broken?

- No.

Can you move your toes?

I dont know.

I can't feel them anymore.

They wiggle.

There doesnt seem

to be anything broken.

You wont be able to go

to any dances for a little while.

I had no appointments.

- What happened?

- I was checking the cargo...

...and all of a sudden the roof fell in.

Iron started raining down

like rice at a wedding.

Something conked me in the head,

and I passed out.

Came to, here I was,

locked up for being a bad boy.

I dont need a doctor,

I need a wrecking crew.

Well be in port in two hours.

We'lll get you out in no time.

Dont make any sudden moves,

because the furniture is fragile.

Theres genuine antiques.

- Whats your name?

- Tony...

- ... Hackenhausen.

- Whats that, a German name?

Yeah, Im the scion

of an old Bavarian family.

Is there anybody

you want us to notify?

No, nobody.

- Youre sure?

- Yeah, I'mm sure.

My folks all got wiped out in the war.

The Hundred Years War.

Is there anything

we can do for you now?

Yeah, tell the boys Im hungry.

And I'd love a bottle of beer.

Maybe they could rig a light up here.

Im an only child. I'mm afraid of the dark.

Okay, Tony.

- I'll be back.

- I'lll be waiting.

You better keep the torch.

Yeah.

- Well?

- Hes all right.

Let me use your radio, captain.

I want to have some people

standing by with equipment.

Well try and get him out

as soon as we get into port.

By all means. And while youre at it...

...ask the fire department

to be there waiting for us too.

- What do you mean?

- Take a good deep breath.

- Smell anything?

- Somethings burning?

Its in the aft hold.

Come with me.

The collision started something.

Sparks. Spontaneous combustion.

- What have you got in there, captain?

- Rubber.

Raw rubber!

Id better get that radio off right now.

I'lll be back in a moment, Sam.

What a night. Six hours out

of port, and this had to happen.

Captain, this boy

whos caught up forward...

...he says his names Hackenhausen.

If he says his name is Hackenhausen,

then his name is Hackenhausen.

- He says hes German.

- The world's full of Germans.

- He speaks English like an American.

- He has a talent for languages.

- The Germans are clever people.

- Did you see his papers?

He said he had lost his papers.

Id like to see his bunk,

if I may, captain.

Its all the same to me. It's right

in there, in the far corner on top.

Thanks.

- What do you think, Franois?

- The poor devil.

WI'll they be able to get him out?

Theres an American Navy

repair ship in port.

I radioed to get hold of them.

And the fire department

is standing by.

What do you think, Franois?

WI'll they get him out?

Maybe.

If anybody can get him out,

they wI'll.

Maybe not all in one piece,

but theyll get him out.

- How are things, Franois?

- The American Navy is at work.

- What do they say?

- They dont say anything.

They just whistle through their teeth

and call for Coca-Colas.

- Are they putting out the fire?

- It is a fire of raw rubber, monsieur.

One does not put out

a fire of raw rubber.

Sometimes with luck,

with a great deal of luck...

...one puts such a fire under control.

- Infrequently.

- Whats the matter with him?

Hes an important man,

and an unpleasant decision faces him.

Therefore, he must try and make

others feel as unpleasant as he does.

- Whats the decision?

- The decision.

To keep the fire under control...

...he has to pour ton after ton

of water into the hold.

Now, if he pours in enough...

...at a certain moment,

the Ulysses wI'll capsize and sink.

When that happens,

he wI'll lose his job, and so wI'll I...

...because we permitted the ship

to sink alongside a dock.

And well deserve to lose our jobs...

...because it wI'll put the dock out of

commission for at least, oh, a year.

To say nothing of the money

it wI'll cost...

...to float it again

and get it out of the way.

To say nothing of the man in there

who wI'll sink with it.

To say nothing.

But if he does not put

enough water into the hold...

...to keep the fire under control,

the fire wI'll spread.

In the very next hold,

weve just discovered a charming fact.

There is a load of nitrates.

Eighty tons of nitrates.

If the fire were to reach the 80 tons

of nitrates, there goes the Ulysses.

And there goes, perhaps,

half the harbor facilities of this port.

To say nothing of the man

in the bow.

To say nothing.

Do you wonder that the captain

is a little snappish?

No, but the American Navy

must have said something.

Ask the American Navy yourself.

Here it comes.

Lt. Sellers, permit me to

introduce our port doctor, Sam Blake.

- How do you do, doctor?

- How does it look, lieutenant?

Great. Were putting in

some hydraulic jacks.

If they hold,

well get him out by tonight.

- And if they dont hold?

- Kindly notify next of kin.

- See you later, sir.

- Right. Hows the boy?

Sitting down there,

playing the harmonica.

He plays real nice, that boy.

Lieutenant!

- Were just about ready to try it now.

- Okay, I'lll be right down.

- You want to come along?

- Think I'll be of any use?

- I sure do.

- Thanks.

If anything goes wrong, youre gonna

have a lot of customers, doc.

Boatswain, whats up

with the forward hold?

Get those grapplings undone

on the double.

Hows it going, Mac?

- Be ready in a few minutes, lieutenant.

- Good.

Hi, lieutenant. Youre here again?

What are you doing,

bucking for admiral?

What did you bring the doctor for?

Is somebody sick?

He likes harmonica music.

- Hows the fire doing aft?

- It's just about under control.

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