Morning Departure Page #9

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Yes, watch your breast wires

as the tide rises.

Harry!

Take the boat to LC-1 1.

Craft is steady now, sir.

- Right. Ease off your forrard mooring.

- Aye, aye, sir.

- Is she off the bottom?

- Yes, we've got her weight now.

Stand by to swap your forrard moorings,

and bring your after moorings

to the capstan.

Aye, aye, sir.

Yes, she's off.

Let's hope the weather holds.

Four days now.

Only another two,

according to the last report.

Then you'll be a hero, and everybody

will be standing you drinks, Higgins.

I suppose we'll be all over the front page

by now, sir, won't we?

Your photo will look lovely

on the front of The Mirror, Higgy.

Names and everything, eh?

Cor, it makes you smile, doesn't it?

Here we are, all alone and cut off from

everyone, and they're all reading about us.

I hope that somebody saves a copy for me.

I expect they'll have one framed

and hung up in the Red Lion.

What do you know about the Red Lion, sir?

- I often go in there for a pint. Why?

- Well, I never!

We ain't safe anywhere, are we, Snipey?

If I'd seen you in there, sir,

I'd have bought you a drink.

Thanks very much, Higgins.

But the first one after we get ashore

is gonna be on me.

Cor, we're gonna all have a party,

what with you, and me and Snipey

and Lieutenant Manson,

when he's well enough,

and that barmaid,

and your missus, I mean...

She'd love it, Higgins.

And that paper up on the wall,

like you said, sir.

My old Dad always prophesied

I'd get me name in print.

8:
00 in the morning outside

Pentonville, he used to say.

(MUMBLING)

What is it, sir, your head?

- My head...

- Half a minute, sir.

I'll get you something for it.

Proper doctor, old Snipey's turned out

to be, hasn't he, sir?

You'd think they was brothers

or something, the way he looks after him.

They are, in a sense.

How do you mean, sir?

Well, to understand suffering you...

You need to have suffered yourself.

Something like that, anyway.

Is that why you've let Snipey look after

Lieutenant Manson all this time, sir?

Could be.

You don't miss much, do you, sir?

Thanks, chum.

(MANSON MUTTERING)

It's all right, sir.

It's all right, sir, don't worry.

We're going up again, sir,

we're going up again.

H.

R.

S.

Hope complete lift. Ten hours.

Ten hours. I can't hardly believe it.

Let's go and tell the others.

- Number One is still asleep?

- Yes, sir.

We got some good news, Snipe.

They hope to complete the job in 10 hours.

That's good, sir.

What do you think of that, Snipey?

Run ashore tomorrow?

Yeah.

Yeah, that's fine.

- Want to go on with the game?

- All right.

You worried about him?

Yeah, he's not too good.

He'll be in a proper hospital tomorrow.

Now, let's see. How much do you owe me?

#1874.26.

Right, you deal.

See, you don't believe it, either, do you?

Don't believe what?

You know I could never

pay you that much.

- Not even if I ever had the chance.

- Yes, you could.

Take you about 10 years.

Of course, you'd have to become

a Stoker PO, but you could do it.

Yes, sir, I suppose I could.

On the other hand, it might be a damn

sight cheaper to try and win it back now.

Not that I approve of gambling

in the wardroom, though.

No, sir. I'll have a go, anyway.

You know, sir, I...

I think I will have a try and go

through for Stoker PO, sir, I...

Mr. McFee says I've got

quite a good chance.

I'm sure you have.

I'm not worried about going through

for PO or anything else.

All I want is a pint of wallop

and a lot of fresh air.

Ten hours, eh?

Smell anything?

Probably them pilchards

we had for dinner, sir.

It's chlorine gas. Coming from

the battery below this deck.

Higgins, take the control room.

You in here, Snipe.

- Right, sir.

- Step on it.

If we can't seal off the leak, we've had it.

(COUGHING)

- I've got it, sir, it's this vent here!

- Higgins, bring a spanner.

Spanner, sir.

ARMSTRONG:

Shift Number One further away.

SNIPE:
Right.

ARMSTRONG:
Give me a hand, it's buckled.

Right, sir.

(SIGHS)

Near thing.

You'd better lie down

and rest for a bit, Snipe.

I'm all right, sir.

Don't do that, Snipey boy.

He didn't feel nothing.

I wasn't with him.

He was alone.

All decisions made.

All passions spent.

(RUMBLING)

There's nothing more

you can do for him, now.

We'll be out of this in a few hours.

Take it easy.

Sir.

- Gale warning, sir.

- Thank you.

- Mr. Moore.

- Sir?

Double up your wires.

It's blowing up a gale.

Aye, aye, sir. Evans, Jackson!

Get on the aft moorings.

- Don't like the look of this, sir.

- No, I've just heard the weather report.

It's blowing up force eight.

I'm afraid you'll have to unpin.

Aye, aye, sir.

All hands on deck and unpin!

- Mr. Florrie!

- Yes?

- The weather's going to get worse. Unpin!

- What's that?

- Unpin!

- Okay!

- Why have you stopped the lift?

- Can't carry on in this weather.

Wires wouldn't stand the strain.

- But we'll miss this tide!

- Can't help it.

We'll pin down again as soon

as the weather improves.

This isn't one of your ordinary

salvage jobs, like getting up a wreck.

There are men down there!

It's no good, Gates, I know what I'm doing.

They've been down there now for almost

a week. They can't hang on much longer.

- Even with the air pipe.

- Do you think I don't know that?

These wires will only

stand a certain strain.

We've got to slacken off.

(DRILL SOUNDING)

Have you noticed anything, sir?

What do you mean?

The quiet. They've stopped lifting us.

- Yes, that's right.

- Why's that, sir?

Spot of bad weather, I expect.

They'll start again soon.

It won't make any difference, sir, will it?

- In the end, I mean.

- No, of course not.

(CLANGING)

Sea's getting up a bit.

Well, we're bound to feel the motion

a bit more now, you know,

we're nearer the surface.

Old Snipey's taking it badly, isn't he, sir?

Yes. He'll be all right soon.

Best to leave him alone for a bit.

He turned out to be

a real good one, hasn't he?

Certainly has.

Funny, isn't it?

If all this hadn't have happened,

we'd never have known

what Snipe was really like.

We'd never really have

got to know each other.

What'll happen to us when we get up, sir?

They'll give us a large hot drink

and a hot bath, I hope.

No, I meant after that, sir,

when we go to new jobs.

Why?

Well, I was just thinking, sir,

you and me and Snipey.

It would be a bit of all right if we was all

to go to a new boat together, eh, Snipey?

Yeah, I'd like us all to stay together.

There's nothing I'd like more,

Higgins, but...

- Well, I may not stay in the Navy.

- You, sir?

Not stay in the Navy?

You'll never leave the sea.

No, perhaps you're right.

I saw your wife once, sir,

when she came onboard at Portland.

She's beautiful.

I should think you'd want to be

with her all the time.

I feel a bit the same myself, sometimes.

My wife's lovely, too, you know.

I remember the day we got married,

up in London, where she lived.

I couldn't take me eyes off her

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