Oil and Water

Press, Volume LXXIV, Issue 22335, 24 February 1938, Page 7 (Supplement)

Oil and Water

PART I Long ragged clouds were blowing across the moon, and the wind wailed like a banshee. Flannigan, at the wheel of the Ellen Lee, felt nervous. Like mpst of those on board the yacht he was an amateur, and had never done any steering in rough weather. His responsibilities lay heavily on his shoulders, and he felt cut off from the light-hearted crew in the dining-saloon below. He would not have felt so lonely had he glanced behind him, for young Wallace Tremorne was staggering rather unsteadily towards him, carrying a mug. of hot coffee. He was intent on his Job, one hand holding the tin mug, the other arm raised to keep out as much of the flying spray as possible. He was taken completely by surprise when the EllenLee jibed. He tried to save the coffee, caught a fleeting glimpse of the boom as it swung down on him, and tried to save himself. He did not succeed. The heavy timber struck the side of his head, he fell, slithered across the inclined deck, and rolled limply under the rail.

Not till 20 minutes had passed did those on the Ellen Lee discover that he was missing. Wallace knew nothing of their consternation, nor of any subsequent events, till he became conscious of a vague feeling that the Ellen Lee was not rolling in her usual manner.

A sailor is always worried when his ship acts strangely, and the nagging thought persisted at the back of his mind that he should get up and do something about the Ellen Lee’s behaviour, until, at last, he was forced to open his eyes. His cabin had never been a large one, but he was surprised to find it had shrunk to half its usual size. Nor did he remember the ballet girl who smiled at him from a picture at the foot of the bunk. It was a queer business, he decided, and fell asleep while trying to understand it.

When he woke again he felt better. The ship had stopped rolling altogether. In fact, she was far quieter than any ship ever should be. It was uncanny. Wallace slipped out of the, bunk and opend the cabin door. Certainly he had never seen that alleyway before, Wherever he was, it was plain he had said good-bye to the Ellen Lee. With a humorous quirk at the corner of his mouth he realised that even the pyjama suit he was wearing was a complete stranger to him.

The passageway was lit by electric light, and he made his way down it carefully, for he still felt weak and unsteady on his feet. He had traversed more than half its length when he staggered, his shoulder struck the wall sharply, and to his astonishment it slid back, precipitating, him into a room beyond. “I will begin to think I am dreaming if this keeps on," he muttered, as he picked himself up. In a rack on the wall opposite was a row of small bottles containing oil. The first held the. heavy black petroleum, just as it had oozed from the ground.. The others held samples in various stages of refinement, from the thick green oil used for lubricating purposes, to the translucent aviation spirit, which only showed fugitive lavender tints where the light caught it. A large table occupied the middle of the room, ana a map was fastened down on it with drawing

(By Irene O. Laing)

The map both baffled and fascinated Wallace. It had obviously been drawn by hand, and the margin was filled with copious notes and figures, but the words were so abbreviated that he could make little of them. Certain areas on the map had been outlined in red ink, and contained brief comments, such as "Green mud —deep,” or "Fine sandlimestone,” Some contained crosses, others question marks, and a few were tersely labelled, “No good. The heights of the hills and valleys were all recorded in detail, but no towns, rivers, or roads were shown. There was a haunting sense of familiarity about the outline of the country, yet, for the life of him, Wallace could not have named it. Frowning, he stooped closer, only to notice another peculiarity. A hilltop was labelled “100 f.,” and the valley below, “800 f.” Suddenly the explanation, flashed into his mind. The. blank portions which showed on three sides were not sea, but land. He was looking at a chart showing the Arabian Sea

and the Gulf of Oman, but it was no ordinary chart, giving the locations of rocks and currents. It was . a detailed map of the sea floor. A slight sound made him look up. Standing in the doorway, with a look of consternation on his face, was a young man. He was dressed in dungarees, and had a close-fitting leather cap on his head. “How on earth did you get in here?" he demanded. “My shoulder hit against the wall, and a panel slid back.” Leather-cap frowned. “You can’t say the boat rolled," he asserted. “No. I staggered. My legs are still weak.” “What is that you are looking at?” Wallace was beginning to resent the abrupt questions, but he answered quietly, “It is a chart of the Arabian Sea, but I don’t know what the circles are for, unless you are a salvage.ship hunting for a wreck.’’ “That has torn it," Leather-cap observed, as he stepped further /into the room. “I was hoping you had not had time to examine it:* Of all the beastly luck. Now, instead of landing you at Sohar tomorrow, we will have to offer you

the choice of walking the plank or joining the crew.” “Don’t lie absurd!” snapped Wallace.

“It is not my fault,” said Leathercap cheerfully. “Johnny vowed he had locked your door, but, of course, he must have forgotten. He has a memory like a sieve. Once the engineer was so angry with him he refused .to speak to him all day, but it did no good, because Johnny forgot what had annoyed him.” “All that does not concern me," Wallace persisted. “I want to get back to the Ellen Lee, and I am certainly not going to stay here, wherever I am.” “Aren’t you? If you ask me, you ought to be grateful. You were a derelict when you came drifting down on us last night. We went to a lot of trouble to make you comfortable, too. Everything would have been all right if it had not been for Johnny’s absent mindedness. Now you know too much, and it is simply impossible for us to let you go.” “I would like to see the captain, said Wallace, and tried to walk to the door in a dignified manner, but stumbled just as he reached it. Leather-cap steadied him. “You did that so artistically, I believe It was the real thing,” he remarked.

“You had better go laack to your cabin and lie down again. The captain will be too busy to see you at oresent, in any case.” Wallace wondered what he was doing, but his guide did not encourage questions, and as soon as he had watched him subside on to the edge of his bunk, he left, locking the door beind him. Soon there came the low hum of engines. Evidently the ship was getting under way, yet still she neither rolled nor pitched. “It must be a wonderfully calm night,” thought Wallace, “or else — but what else could it be?”

He slept, and woke to And the engines were silent again, and the ship was rolling gently to the swell. He had become used to her steady progress, so that this surprised him almost as much as her former stillness had done. A tray of food had been set down near him, and he ate hungrily. He was feeling better, and began planning his escape. He noticed with satisfaction that, his clothes had been dried, and lay across the end of his bunk. An examination of the cabin, however, was not encouraging. There was no porthole, and the

door was a solid affair. He doubted if he could break it "down, even supposing that no one heard the noise and came to investigate. The ship continued to lie idle, and he dressed hurriedly, wondering if she were in port. It would be useless to attempt to escape if she were still at sea. Leather-cap, he remembered, had mentioned Sohar. The Ellen Lee had been on her way there when he was knocked overboard. What luck if boat* were lying near each other. Without thinking, Wallace' stepped forward and tried to open ■ the door, then smiled at his own'; foolishness, a smile that turned to a look of astonishment as the door • yielded, “Johnny again. I’ll bet!” he muttered. and after a quick glance to see that the way was clear, no waved an ironical farewell to the pictured ballet girl, and steppea out into the passage. . Silently he crept down it, clunbeo an iron ladder, and cautiously lilted the trapdoor at the top. Sunlight streamed in upon him. Looking out, he saw, not an ordinary deck, but a rounded iron back, sloping steeply ‘down into tn* C The boat lay in the lee of a blade ridge of rock, and on the beaca beyond he could see a gE oo ?..®* Arabs working under the direclMO of three men, , who, by their dress, were Europeans. . “I will never have a be««s chance to escape,” he thought, ana crawling over the combing himself out on. the iron hull a®*, slid down it into the water. . , He entered it with a splaskbg , those on shore were too busy observe it, and the breaking waves drowned the sound. AlmouSj* hampered by his clothes, Wauaca swam parallel with the coast some distance before landmg,ju**3 scrambled out in the didter . some rocks, which enectiyeijr screened him from the view 01 the working party. _ There were no signs-of a town or village anywhere near, anfl» decided the Arabs must have from some settlement in ™ E terior, so that by keeping al«J« 4*! beach in a westerly direction would avoid being seen by tpo* scouts, and should also rcae h, either that night or the day briskly sand near the sea, hoping that rising tide would wash *w»y _ footprints before his absence discovered. „ . “It will be a sell *<» finding me gone.” he thought he was conscious of a feeuns regret that in leaving the craft he had lost all ch a solving the mystery that swrounded her. , -raring He had no means of K-now that within 48 hours he back on board her, hack Uk Jg, little cabin, vn th the J|£ ballet girl-smiling at him from end of the bunk. (To be continued.) A STRANGE PLANT Cape Town scientists who a recent holiday among the g . cedars of the Cedarberg. h* Clan william district, discover*®, curious plant, called an urhctw*g* which it is thought has nCTCT'S fore been described. eats insects. It has a « | mechanism for entangling | when they alight on its fjjjir I They struggle to get free. I agitated movements EtiHlUMw | plant to fold up the flower V I and enclose them. B