"And you think--?" said the Captain, interrogatively, and stopped short.
"No," replied Jessop. "I don't think. I _know_. None of us _think_. It's
a gospel fact. People _talk_ about queer things happening at sea; but
this isn't one of them. This is one of the _real_ things. You've all
seen queer things; perhaps more than I have. It depends. But they don't
go down in the log. These kinds of things never do. This one won't; at
least, not as it's really happened."
He nodded his head, slowly, and went on, addressing the Captain more
particularly.
"I'll bet," he said, deliberately, "that you'll enter it in the
log-book, something like this:
"'May l8th. Lat.--S. Long.--W. 2 p.m. Light winds from the South and
East. Sighted a full-rigged ship on the starboard bow. Overhauled her in
the first dog-watch. Signalled her; but received no response. During the
second dog-watch she steadily refused to communicate. About eight bells,
it was observed that she seemed to be settling by the head, and a minute
later she foundered suddenly, bows foremost, with all her crew. Put out
a boat and picked up one of the men, an A.B. by the name of Jessop. He
was quite unable to give any explanation of the catastrophe.'
"And you two," he made a gesture at the First and Second Mates, "will
probably sign your names to it, and so will I, and perhaps one of your
A.B.s. Then when we get home they'll print a report of it in the
newspapers, and people will talk about the unseaworthy ships. Maybe some
of the experts will talk rot about rivets and defective plates and so
forth."
He laughed, cynically. Then he went on.
"And you know, when you come to think of it, there's no one except our
own selves will ever know how it happened--really. The shellbacks don't
count. They're only 'beastly, drunken brutes of _common sailors_'--poor
devils! No one would think of taking anything they said, as anything
more than a damned cuffer. Besides, the beggars only tell these things
when they're half-boozed. They wouldn't then (for fear of being laughed
at), only they're not responsible--"
He broke off, and looked round at us.
The Skipper and the two Mates nodded their heads, in silent assent.