The Sea Chase Page #3

Down there. Come on, break it up.

You might have asked me to the muster.

Is there a reason I should be in the dark?

- There is.

- What?

I'll tell you forward.

Find something to keep you busy

on the well deck.

You will keep off the main decks,

night and day...

...and off the bridge

unless specifically ordered there.

You can take your exercise

on the after part of the boat deck...

...and keep out of the inboard passage

to the officers' quarters.

Just where are we going?

I would also suggest you wear something

a little more suitable for the ship.

Why?

The officers and men aboard this ship

haven't had shore leave since Singapore.

Are you speaking entirely

for the officers and men, captain?

Not entirely.

We're all human.

But, unfortunately, at sea there's

no chance to enjoy our humanity.

Your meals will be served in your cabin.

I think that does it.

If there's anything else you need,

let me know.

Thanks.

By estimate, the Ergenstrasse

was carrying less than 600 tons of coal.

He has to go north, reaching for Truk

or other of the Japanese mandates.

With the Cressy in his path and ourselves

and Eden closing in, that's it.

Yes, that should be it.

Let's not be so pessimistic, Napier.

- Bosun.

- Yes, sir?

- Make sure the deadlights are closed.

- Right, sir.

So we play fox and hounds, captain?

Successfully so far, chief.

But from now on

it's an engineer's operation.

Let's take a look at the books.

See how much coal we have,

how much we're gonna need.

It's bad.

- You can burn wood, can't you?

- Sure, but...

Well, I'm getting you wood.

Figure out how many cords

you'll need for the 2600 miles...

...between Pom Pom Galli

and Valparaiso.

Pom Pom Galli?

Now to Auckland,

then to Pom Pom Galli?

On what coal we have and a prayer.

- Mr. Kruger.

- Yes, sir.

- Keep that headset glued to your ears.

- Aye.

To Valparaiso, one-third

the way around the world.

- That's right.

- You need saws and axes...

...to cut your wood.

- I'll make them for you.

- Good man.

We'll need double-bitted axes

and two-man saws.

But the next time home, I retire.

No more.

The years have run

their journey over me.

From now on, it's my little farm

and my grandchildren.

You know, it's funny

about grandchildren:

They seem closer to you...

You don't have any children.

No, I have no family.

But you get me to Valparaiso,

and I'll promise you yours.

The dreams, eh, captain?

The old days?

A man has weakness or strength,

Schmitt.

Weakness, you can hide,

like red lead over a sprung rivet...

...but it'll give under strain.

Strength, you cannot defeat. Ever.

Don't worry about me, captain.

I'll shovel you to Valparaiso.

I'll shovel you all the way home.

Tomorrow came, and the next day,

and the next...

... the Ergenstrasse still unreported.

We'd been hoping she'd break

wireless silence, but she never did.

Ehrlich was like a fox, choosing his

secret places and listening to us.

All we needed was one clue.

Then, with our speed...

... the search would end with

a flash of pursuit and a burst of guns.

With Ehrlich 's fuel range, we could rule

out the vast Pacific toward the west.

Eastward, he could reach the Indian

Ocean, but he'd be even worse off there.

And south? That didn 't seem probable...

... because nothing was there

except the Antarctic.

Careful, I'm afraid you're showing

a light here.

It seems to be stuck.

You'll have to keep it closed.

You know our captain's orders.

I think I'm going slightly mad,

day in and day out.

I've read until I'm blind.

I've walked my 10 feet

of private deck until I'm numb.

This is going to be an unpleasant trip

for a woman.

For anyone with no work to do.

Think the captain has a chance

of getting anywhere?

I don't know.

He has irritatingly good judgment.

At sea, he knows all the answers.

But if and when we ever get home...

What?

My uncle is very high in the party,

you know.

Then why are you on this ship?

Why not a more important job?

Don't judge by appearances.

As an agent, you should know better.

I'm Intelligence.

Navy reserve. Harbor survey.

And it seems that

I stayed at it too long.

I stayed in Australia too long.

What about my gramophone?

Would that help the mood?

I've got some wonderful recordings

of Wagner.

How cheerful.

Well, l... I've got some

popular things too.

Quite an excellent collection.

- Will you wait?

- Oh, I'll be at home all evening.

Memories...

Pleasant memories?

Exciting ones.

How long ago?

A thousand years.

Let's you and I go into partnership.

What kind of partnership?

We're in the same game,

let's play together.

You tell me your troubles,

I'll tell you mine.

And if we get a chance,

we'll haul out together.

That's fair enough.

What are your troubles?

Mr. Kirchner.

May I remind you

that you're not on a cruise ship...

...and this is technically still my cabin.

Yes, sir.

- I asked him to come in.

- I daresay you did.

I asked him to leave.

My officers' quarters

are off-limits to you...

...and this cabin is off-limits

to my officers.

Do I make myself clear?

Quite.

They're short of ships

in the North Atlantic.

That's probably where we'll be sent.

I wish they'd get on with it.

This fellow's short of stores and fuel.

He can't cause much trouble.

He has a genius for it.

Land ho!

Land ho!

- Where away?

- A point off the starboard bow.

- That'll be Auckland Island.

- I think it will be, Mr. Stemme.

- Log it.

- Yes, sir.

- Mr. Kirchner.

- Sir?

- Prepare to launch your boat.

- Aye, aye, sir.

- Mr. Kirchner.

- Sir?

I am forced to commandeer food

from the shipwreck station...

...but make sure that you leave

enough rations for any emergency...

...until the next relief ship arrives.

Aye, aye, sir.

Looks like we have company.

- Are there any more of you?

- No.

We're the only survivors

of the trawler Bermagui.

You can put that gun down,

whoever ye are. We are fishermen.

What ship are you?

The freighter Joanna,

Dutch East India line.

But we can't take you aboard.

Smallpox.

We can't touch any ports.

We have to tap your provisions.

Bosun, start loading those provisions

into the boat.

Do you think you're doing right?

Robbing a shipwreck station?

I'll leave enough till

another ship calls for you.

That's all well and good,

if we get the wireless working.

Don't worry.

We'll send out your SOS.

Mr. Kirchner, have you seen

the charts on the Chatham Islands?

Second officer corrected them, sir.

Took them to your day cabin.

Thank you.

- Yes?

- I have to look at a couple of charts.

Sorry to have bothered you.

I hope I haven't

bothered you too much.

You've got enough of that stuff

to keep you busy the whole trip.

Fortunately. What else is there to do?

- Have a drink, perhaps. Would that help?

- It never hurts.

Suppose you do get all the way home.

There's no place there for you,

under the present government.

What else could I do?

Certainly not default to the enemy.

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