V
In which Micky overhears a midnight conversation and prevents the commission of a crime.
THE night was a glorious calm, so clear that it almost gave the illusion of day. A huge yellow moon rode full astern, and in its weltering swath of light the wake of the ship whirled and writhed, lashing itself to foam against the rollers, then dropping out of sight momentarily in the hollows, until, still revolving in grotesque circles, it twisted itself into an endless white rope that trailed over the sea and lost itself on the edge of the horizon.
On such nights as this Micky rarely turned in at all, preferring to sit atop the deck-house, watching the great ship surge through the rollers that lifted her stern high up until the rail touched the rim of the moon and, after holding her for a moment, plunged her down with a dizzying rush until the water roared in66
