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308 The Egotist By James Rossan. "Hell!" said Captain McTodd, as he contemptuously threw the letter on his desk. "Does he think this boat is too big for me? I have been successful in every command I have had, and he knows it." McTodd had sailed many of the smaller ships of a certain lake fleet, and now he suddenly found himself promoted to the newest and largest ship of the fleet. For some time a relentless Nemesis had pursued this boat, one mishap .had followed an- other, and now the manager had at- tempted to break the spell by placing his most successful captain in com- mand. Wise in His Generation The letter was from the manager, who was a man wise in his generation and fatherly in his ways. It was fraught with good advice about care- ful navigation, personal safety and harmonious team work aboard the boat. It even went so far as to advo- cate that the captain hold consulta- tions with the officers of the ship at stated periods, and also with members of the crew if he deemed it advisable. And that they discuss matters pertain- ing to the safety and efficiency of the ship. This clause earned the captain's contempt for that letter, as he gritted his teeth and said: "T guess. it's up to me," Now let it be recorded right here that McTodd was an efficient skipper. He was a graduate of the hard school 'of experience. He had worked boats, both at sea and dock, for years, and always successfully. And the intricacies of lake navigation were an open book to him. Neither was he lazy. Active and alert, his eagle eye watched ev- erything, self-reliant his mind held a domineering sway over all things on the Monarch. Promptly the ship was inspected by its new captain, and then things swung along to his orders as_ she shuttled forward and back over the world's busiest highway, delivering cargo after cargo safely and promptly. Then came a trip when Mr. Nemesis took a new and firmer grip. At the unloading dock a hurried shift became necessary. A seaman placed a cable over a dock pile, hesitated a moment, the winch was suddenly reversed, and the seaman lost two fingers. The second mate was called to ac- count for this, and informed the mas- ter that for some time he had been worried about the woeful condition of the ship's cables because they were not provided with bales for hand- holds, which would prevent just such THE MARINE REVIEW accidents. However, as the captain looked after those matters, took all responsibility, and brooked no inter- ference, he had considered it safe. There is an old saying, that acci- dents never come singly. While sweep- ing the tops of the side tanks, a care- less seaman made a misstep, fell to the cargohold and was killed. This man was working under the first mate, and what the captain said to that mate cannot here be recorded. e "Sir, the inate responded, . ag it ee impossible for me to hang onto. 'each one of them when they are working there. But I have repeatedly attempt- ed to call your attention to a matter I have read about, and which is now being adopted on many of the boats, namely, that of stretching a temporary cable above the inner edge of the tank tops. And you will probably remember that my answer has invari- ably been to the effect that the master of this ship was perfectly conversant, not only with the matter of sailing a ship, but also with the matter of properly equipping one.' This set McTodd a-thinking hard. Could he really be incompetent? When Lake Superior was reached on the up-bound voyage, the fog set in. The engines were checked, and every safeguard known to navigation was worked with a vigor which was almost tyrannical. The captain.would not be found incompetent when _ it came to the matter of safe navigation. In time the rotor of the log struck a piece of driftwood and < was: lost. No spare was at hand. But the cap- tain, being a prudent: navigator, had from previous trips a perfect record of the engine revolutions from point to point, and could depend on that. The Refractory. Pump The engineer and oiler were below, giving a refractory pump the "once: over', when the master proceeded to the engine room to read the revolu- tion counter; he would trust this im- portant matter to no one but himself. He read, went forward, made _ his subtraction, allowed for slow speed, and found that he had still two hours to run with plenty of sea room. The deep sea lead showed no bottom, and he sat down perfectly contented. Instantly there was a scraping, grat- ing noise forward, a heavy lurch to port, and the Monarch was planted on a rocky ledge near the shore, with six compartments full of water. Later, when the captain spoke to the engineer of the error in the rev- olution counter, that individual swered: Piet Viet teine became discon- nected. As we were busy with other things, it was hours before we dis- ali= August, 1914 covered it and connected it up again. We were not aware that you read it, nor that you were depending on it, as you never spoke about it." In due time the wieckers got the Monarch, and then the ship yard. The bill was $60,000 and the loss of time three weeks. So it was a very contrite skipper who started back with her to ae Sayer complete his trip. With an appearance as abject and a step. as desultory as a man walking 'to the gallows, the captain entered the home office, where the manager, in his blunt way, greeted him with the following: : "Well, .captain, what have' you to One serious injury, one fatal accident, and a stranding. Some trip!" ' Made Only One Mistake The captain hung his head dejected- ly and answered: "Yes, and the worst of it is that I am entirely to blame. I have al- ways counted myself an efficient mas- ter, and now I suddenly find myself incompetent." "Sit down, captain,' the manager continued, "and tell us all about it." Amd the captain told the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth. Now it has been recorded before that this manager was a wise man, and he spoke again: "Had you heeded my warning and studied the literature I sent you, this would not have happened. Had you consulted with and heeded the warn- ings of your mates,-no seaman would have been injured or killed. Had you consulted with the engineer, your ship would not have stranded." "I know it," the skipper replied. "I made three bad mistakes, for each one of which I merit discharge." "My-God,.: man!" "the. mafiager snapped at him. "Do you not see it yet? You made only one mistake, and that consisted of not enlisting the aid of your officers and crew in the safe operation of your ship. The man who can alone take proper care of a modern steamer with its many Intricate parts is not yet born. One star and eight incompetents will never win a baseball pennant. Neither can a great general win battles with an army of blind and lame men. Just so is it aboard ship; it is harmonious team work and the general efficiency of the whole which count. This must be carried from the captain to the head of each department, and from them even to each individual. We then build up a machine which is won- derful in its precision and irresistible in its power." Gradually it was dawning on the captain's mind why this man _ was manager of large fleets, and why MER ee NT De a ci egal ia lta!