The Ghost Ship

For luck.

Thank you, sir.

Being a sailor, you'll need luck.

A young sailor too.

I don't need eyes to tell me that.

Young seamen all want luck

when they're outward bound.

Only the old ones know

that there's nothing...

...but bad luck and bad blows at sea.

An officer too.

How'd you know?

I heard your suitcase go down.

A seaman would be having a soft bag.

Thank you, sir. Thank you, sir.

If it's the Altair you're boarding, sir...

...she's a bad ship.

You've got a blind man's tricks

for telling what men are like, but ships...

...you can't tell about ships.

I'm the third officer.

Where can I find the captain?

This is another man

I can never know...

...because I cannot talk with him.

For I am a mute and cannot speak.

I am cut off from other men...

...but in my own silence...

...I can hear things they cannot hear...

...know things they can never know.

Okay, fellas, pull that cover over here.

- Mr. Merriam?

- Yes, sir.

I'm Captain Stone.

How do you do, sir?

I chose you, Merriam,

and I don't regret my choice.

- Thank you, sir.

- I looked up the records...

...of the training ship graduates.

You seemed the most likely man for me.

- You know why?

- No, sir.

Your history could have been

my own at your age.

An orphan.

Serious.

Hardworking.

Anxious to get somewhere.

- We'll get on, you and I.

- Thank you.

I like a good ship, a clean ship,

an obedient ship.

As third officer,

you'll have certain authority.

Use it well, and Altair

will be that kind of ship.

- I'll do everything I can.

- Fine.

Go to your quarters

and get ready for work.

All right, sir.

Don't.

You've no right to kill that moth.

Its safety doesn't depend on you.

I'm sorry. I don't understand.

Never mind. I'll explain sometime.

We've a long voyage ahead of us.

You know, that's one of the nice things

about long voyages, time for talk...

...time for friendship.

- You'll find your cabin on the main deck.

- All right, sir.

- Oh, steward?

- Yes, sir.

My name is Merriam. I'm the new third.

Your quarters are right over here,

Mr. Merriam.

Thank you.

The berth isn't made up.

Sorry, sir. I haven't had a chance

since Mr. Lingard died.

He was the last third officer.

- He died in this berth?

- That's right, sir.

He had such convulsions,

he would have died on the floor...

...if he hadn't have been held

in the berth.

Somehow, it seemed more proper for him

to die there than on the floor, sir.

- What was the matter with him?

- I don't know, sir.

He didn't want to die.

He was always telling funny stories.

Well, make it up. Can you change

the blankets and the sheets?

- Yes, sir.

- Open the porthole there.

Soon as we're under way,

we'll get air here.

We'll be shoving off in an hour, sir.

On deck, you guys.

The captain wants a look at you.

Rise and shine for the Dunham Line

I don't mean one, I don't mean two

I mean the whole sweet bellboy crew

The skipper wants to look you over.

Get in there, tall one.

Hey, you, Scotty, can the music.

On deck. Come on, Scotty.

I ain't Scotch, Boats. I'm Greek.

It's only Greeks can play

these things good.

In home country,

we play it to the sheep.

You'll get all the sheep you want.

We're going south for a full cargo.

Sheep hides, mutton, tallow.

Why, we even bring back

the smell of the sheep.

We have a new crew, Mr. Merriam.

You and Mr. Bowns better

look them over.

Come on, Merriam.

Go ahead, Boats.

- Ausman, Jack.

- Here.

- Benson, William.

- Here.

- Carter, Claude.

- Present.

Claude.

Pipe down, you guys.

- Corbin, John.

- Here.

I've shipped with this man before.

He's a good seaman, sir.

- Thank you, mister.

- Okay.

- Farnham, Ed.

- Here.

- Mikross, Peter.

- Here.

Lindstrom, Paulo.

Paulo Lindstrom.

The guy's a dummy.

Finn.

Keep your eye on that man, Boats.

I don't want any trouble on this ship.

- McCall, Tom.

- Yeah.

- O'Connor, Jack.

- Present.

- Parker, Louis.

- Here, teacher.

Radd, William.

I'm Billy Radd from La Trinidad

Pipe down, you guys.

Jensen, George. George Jensen.

Jensen.

- Vaughn, Jim.

- Here.

- Waite, Leonard.

- Here.

Everybody here, sir, except Jensen.

Maybe in the fo'c's'le.

George was right behind me

when we came out of the fo'c's'le, sir.

Jensen.

George Jensen.

Jensen.

There he is.

Captain, I don't get any pulse.

I'm afraid the man's dead.

Most likely heart failure, Mr. Bowns.

He was an old man.

The man is dead.

With his death, the waters of the sea

are open to us...

...but there will be other deaths.

And the agony of dying...

...before we come to land again.

Log at zero, sir.

The log is set at zero, sir, 8:23.

Fine.

Seems good to get going.

I heard one of the men

putting it another way.

I heard him say,

"The ship comes to life at sea."

I suppose that's the way

all sailors feel.

It's good for a sailor to go to sea.

It's even better for an officer.

It's a good feeling.

In San Pedro, I was just another captain.

At sea, I am the captain.

It's got to be coiled with the sun.

It's a law of the sea.

That ain't a law.

If you break a law, you get arrested.

If you milk a cow

the wrong way, she kicks.

If you coil a rope the wrong way,

it can't kick.

I believe in logic.

Aboard ship, you'd better believe

in the captain and forget logic.

You coil a line the wrong way once,

and you'll find out.

The captain's got more law at sea

than any man on land has got...

...even the king of Siam...

...or the president

of the United States.

Why, a captain can marry you.

Not me. I had a wife.

No, sir. I don't feel any different.

When I was on the training ship,

I was a cadet. Now I'm an officer.

- Somehow, I don't feel different.

- You should.

It's all the difference between

being a man and being a boy.

It's more than that.

It's the difference between

being a man and being an officer.

I know, but somehow,

I can't believe yet that I'm an officer.

I passed my examinations,

I'm qualified...

...but still I haven't that feeling

that you speak about.

- That feeling of authority.

- You'll learn it.

You'll even learn to take great joy in it.

- You seasick?

- I have never been seasick.

Papa rocked me in his arms

when I was baptized.

That's the way you keep a good Greek kid

from getting sick at sea.

- What's the matter with your belly, then?

- It hurts.

She's a beautiful ship, captain.

A beautiful ship for a first berth.

She's a beautiful ship to command.

Hiya, Tertius.

I'm Sparks.

- What did you call me?

- Tertius.

What's that mean?

You share Bill Shakespeare's lack

of knowledge. No Latin and less Greek.

Tertius, my ignorant friend, means "third,"

and you're the third officer.

I suppose it would be a big help

to give deck orders in Latin.

It's not much use on the radio either.

- Come on in.

- All right.

It's a relief to find

someone onboard I can talk to.

All I've been doing is saying,

"yes, sir," all morning.

- The captain?

- No, thanks.

Me, I take the captain

cum grano salis.

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