“We never should have taken him after he had a medical discharge and with the bad head,” Ara said.
“I know. But we did. How many damn mistakes have we made?”
“Not too many,” Ara said. “Now may I go down and finish the work?”
“Yes,” Thomas Hudson said. “Thank you very much.”
“
“I wish to hell they were better orders,” Thomas Hudson said.
Antonio and George were coming out with the dinghy and Antonio came up on the bridge immediately and let George and Henry hoist the motor and the dinghy aboard.
“Well?” Thomas Hudson said.
“They must have gone by in the night on the last of the breeze,” Antonio said. “They would have seen them at the light if they came into the cut. The old man who has the skiff and the fish traps hadn’t seen any turtle boat. He talks about everything and he would have mentioned it, the lightkeeper said. Do you think we ought to go back and check with him?”
“No. I think they’re down at Puerto Coco or else at Guillermo.”
“That’s about where they would have reached with what wind they had.”
“You’re sure they couldn’t have gone through the cut at night?”
“Not with the best pilot that ever lived.”
“Then we have to find them in the lee of Coco or down by Guillermo. Let’s get the anchor up and go.”
It was a very dirty coast and he kept outside of everything and ran the edge of the hundred-fathom curve. Inshore there was a low rocky coast and reefs and big patches of banks that came out dry with the low tide. There was a four-man watch and Gil was on Thomas Hudson’s left. Thomas Hudson looked toward the shore and saw the beginning of the green of the mangroves and thought, what a hell of a place to be now in this calm. The clouds were piled high already and he thought the squalls would come out earlier. There are about three places past Puerto Coco that I must search, he thought. I had better hook her up a little more and get in there.
“Henry,” he said. “Steer 285 will you? I want to go below and see Willie. Sing out if you sight anything. You don’t need to watch inshore, Gil. Take the starboard watch forward. That’s all too shallow inshore for them to be in there.”
“I’d like to watch inshore,” Gil said. “If you don’t mind, Tom. There’s that crazy channel that makes in almost against the beach and the guide could have taken them there and put them in the mangroves.”
“Good,” said Thomas Hudson. “I’ll send up Antonio.”
“I could see her mast in the mangroves with these big glasses.”
“I doubt it like hell. But you might.”
“Please, Tom. If you don’t mind.”
“I agreed already.”
“I’m sorry, Tom. But I thought a guide might take her in there. We went in there once.”
“And we had to come out the same way we went in.”
“I know. But if the wind failed them and they had to hide in a hurry. We don’t want to overrun them.”
“Right. But we are a long way out for you to see a mast. Besides they would probably cut mangroves to hide the mast from the air.”
“I know,” Gil said with Spanish stubbornness. “But I have very good eyes and these are twelve-power glasses and it is calm so I see well and—”
“I said it was OK before.”
“I know. But I had to explain.”
“You’ve explained,” Thomas Hudson said. “And if you find a mast you can stick it up my ass with peanuts on it.”
Gil felt a little hurt at this but he thought it was funny, especially about the peanuts, and he searched the mangroves until the big glasses almost pulled the eyes out of his head.
Below, Thomas Hudson was talking with Willie and watching the sea and the land. It was always strange how much less you saw when you were down from the bridge, and, as long as things went well below, he felt a fool to be anywhere but at his post. He tried always to keep the necessary contact and avoid the idiocy of the uninspecting inspection. But he had delegated more and more authority to Antonio, who was a much better sailor than he was, and to Ara who was a much better man. They are both better men than I am, he thought, and yet I still should be in command, using their knowledge and talent and their characters.
“Willie,” he said. “How are you really?”
“I’m sorry about acting like a fool. But I’m sort of bad, Tom.”
“You know the rules about drinking,” Thomas Hudson said. “There aren’t any. I don’t want to use chickenshit words like the honor system.”
“I know,” Willie said. “You know I’m not a rummy.”
“We don’t ship rummies.”
“Except Peters.”
“We didn’t ship him. They gave him to us. He has his problems, too.”
“Old Angus is his problem,” Willie said. “And his goddam problems get to be our problems too damn fast.”
“We’ll skip him,” Thomas Hudson said. “You have anything else eating you?”
“Just in general.”
“How?”
“Well I’m half crazy and you’re half crazy and then we’ve got this crew of half saints and desperate men.”
“It isn’t bad to be half saint and half desperate man.”
“I know it. It’s wonderful. But I was used to things being more regular.”
“Willie, there’s nothing eating you really. The sun bothers your head and I’m sure drinking isn’t good for it.”