Captain Mayo did not reply. He was grateful that the dangers of Hell
Gate had been revealed. The mists hung in wisps against North Brother
Island when he swung into the channel of the Gate, and he could see,
far ahead, the shaft of the lighthouse. It was a stretch where close
figuring was needed, and this freak of the mists had given him a fine
chance. He jingled for full speed and took a peep to note the bearing of
Sunken Meadow spindle.
"Nothe-east, five-eighths east!" he directed the quartermaster at the
wheel.
The man repeated the command mechanically and brought her to her course
for the Middle Ground passage.
After they had rounded North Brother, Whitestone Point tower was
revealed. It really seemed as if the fog were clearing, and even in the
channel between Execution Rocks and Sands Point his hopes were rising.
But in the wider waters off Race Rock the Montana drove her black
snout once more into the white pall, and her whistle began to bray
again.
The young captain sighed. "East, a half nothe!"
"East, a half nothe, it is, sir!"
At least, he had conquered East River, the Gate, and the narrows beyond,
and had many miles straight ahead to the whistler off Point Judith. He
was resolved to be thankful for small favors.
He hoped that with the coming of the night and on account of the
prevalence of the fog he would find that shipping of the ordinary sort
had stopped moving. However, in a few minutes he heard telltale whistles
ahead, and he signaled half speed. A lumbering old lighter with a
yawing derrick passed close aboard. An auxiliary fisherman, his exhaust
snapping like a machine-gun, and seeming to depend on that noise for
warning, was overtaken.
"Can you leave that window for a minute, Captain Mayo?" asked the
general manager.
The captain promptly joined Mr. Fogg at the rear of the spacious
pilot-house.
"See here, Cap," remonstrated his superior, "I came down through these
waters on the Triton of the Union line the other day, and she made her
time. What's the matter with us?"
"I'm obeying the law, sir. And there are new warnings just issued." He
pointed to the placard headed "Safety First" in big, red letters. "The
word has been passed that the first captain who is caught with the goods
will be made an example of."
"Is that so?" commented Fogg, studying the end of his cigar. His tone
was a bit peculiar. "But the Triton came along."