CHAPTER TWO

Calloway’s Masquerade

THE downtown section of Honolulu dripped in the dampness. The square white buildings were so many pale shadows behind the street lights. Streetcar rails were two small rivers running away through the mist.

Brent Calloway stepped into the protection of a doorway, glancing behind him. He struck a match to a pipe, and in the flare his lean, controlled face seemed longer. His tapering fingers sent the dead match spinning to the gutter.

Holding the pipe clenched between white teeth, Brent reached into his pocket and brought forth the packet he had taken from Spike O’Brien. Carefully noting that it contained a master mariner’s ticket and letters addressed to O’Brien from Ring and Talbot, shipowners, he replaced the sheaf and reached into another pocket.

Bringing forth two sheets of paper, he opened one, slanting it out toward the street light. It was written on Lloyd’s Underwriters’ stationery and was addressed to himself atShanghai. It read:

CALLOWAY:

Of course you can have a few months’ sabbatical or whatever. But we would rather you made this affair company business. After all, as long as we are unable to put our fingers on Ring and Talbot, we stand to lose respect in the Pacific, to say nothing of hundreds of thousands in hull and cargo insurance. This underhanded business ofscuppering ships for their insurance must stop.

But you realize, we are certain, the danger to which you expose yourself. We need not tell you that you are bitterly hated in Hawaii, that half a hundred men would enjoy shooting you down. It is therefore rather incomprehensible that you thrust yourself into this without apparent reason. But we have known you long enough to come to respect theYankee logic behind your activities, even though we cannot quite understand at times.

Let us remind you, Calloway, that should you fail to get theBarclay intact to San Diego, your shrift will be short. That crowd would hardly hesitate to kill you. And we do not believe that you can possibly get that ship to San Diego.

You stated, further, that you also intend to locate the recently scupperedBolivia. We remind you that the task of piloting theBarclay safely across the sea is enough for one try.

CHEERIO,
Ltd.

Calloway dragged at the pipe