 Log entry, the catch scarlet queen. Position, 3 degrees, 7 minutes north, 104 degrees, 2 minutes east. Wind brisk, sky fair. Remarks, departed Singapore after altercation with deputy public prosecutor. Reason for incident, sure leave and the unhappy wife. It was 10 days out of high fang that we rounded Point Lima, left the China sea astern glowing like gold in the strong afternoon sun, and passed through Singapore straight to find mooring at the peninsular company docks just south of Raffles Quay. My chief mate Gallagher and I left the ship as soon as she was secure and hailed a cab. Hotel metropole, Charlie! I'd been hit periodically with a feeling akin to sickness for three or four days before our Singapore arrival. And it gnawed at me more severely than ever now that I was separated from the hotel only by minutes. Part relief, part apprehension, part disbelief that I was actually here and almost face-to-face with Kuji Kang. The man who'd drawn me all the way from San Francisco was ready to send me farther into, I didn't know what, on the voyage of the Scarlet Queen. As we walked through the lobby of the metropole, I had the feeling that I and I alone had ever been in a situation just like this. I wondered if I looked as conspicuous as I felt and whether the little British desk clerk caught the shake in my voice as I told him to phone Kang's room. I wondered if he was smiling at the strain even I could feel in the way I'd looked at him as he came back from the switchboard. The honorable Kuji Kang is in and he will see. After everything, after sweating and bleeding for over 13,000 miles, and after fighting and killing, after giving up and starting it all over again, that's how I was notified of my final success. As if I'd dropped in from the next hotel. The honorable Kuji Kang is in and he will see you. That's what the man said. And so mutual continues the voyage of the Scarlet Queen written by Gildowd and Bob Tallman and starring Elliot Lewis. The Scarlet Queen, proudest ship to plow the seas, bound for uncharted adventure. Every week a complete entry in the log and every week a league further in the strange voyage of the Scarlet Queen. My son. How are you, Kang? Now, I am all right, Phillip. You are here. Oh, Red, I'd like to have you meet Kuji Kang. This is Mr. Gallagher, my chief mate. How do you do? It is my honor, Mr. Gallagher. Thanks, Mr. Kang. Thanks very much. It's been a long time, Kang. Now that we're here and we've found you and everything. It's a way of a letdown, sir. It's a little hard to believe. Of course. I am filled with the same feelings. So I have collected on the table here as American an assortment of liquor as I was able to find in Singapore. This bottle, for example, they tell me it is called corn squeezing in certain sections of your country. Kang, you're wonderful. White mule. Please, help yourselves. You'll have a drink with us, Kang. Sir, I believe it is better that I die in ignorance of the effects of corn in this particular form. I have here my wine and my spirit will be the same. An important drink. It is indeed. Therefore, one before which we should hesitate not one instant. Phillip. Red, skipper. And now, Phillip, I would like to speak to you in privacy for a few minutes. You would not mind, Mr. Gallagher? Oh, it's all right with me, sir. With a spread like this, it ought to be. We will rejoin you shortly. In the meantime, I'm expecting two other guests, Mr. and Mrs. Harry Marlowe. Should they arrive, please introduce yourself and give them my welcome? Yes, sir. In here, Phillip? Yes, sure. Phillip, my son. The pride I feel for you fills my heart, and it must overflow. Thank you, Kang. Although you must have felt from time to time that my hand gave you little but negligence, please know that from the beginning of the voyage of the Scarlet Queen in San Francisco, I have been aware of your constant courage, the difficulties that faced you, your progress. My daughter herself at least partially described to you the value of the treasure after which you have been sailing, and which has been the basis for all the attacks upon you. That's right, sir. Constantino has not yet, and I fear will not until the last moment, halt his efforts to gain the treasure for himself. His goal is personal profit. Mine, I say simply, is to recover the treasure for my country to which it is of untold value, because in it are relics from each of the dynasties from centuries BC to the most recent. As you have been told, there are two ivory tablets from the first, or yin and... As he talked, I felt myself filling with the same sense of urgency that had taken me when I originally signed with him in Shanghai almost three years before. Maybe it was a type of hypnotism. Maybe it was that through his great personality the magic of China's past actually reached through and held me. Whatever it was I knew again as I'd known before that it was something more than my signature on a Chinese contract that kept me sailing under his charter. Maybe Jason felt the same kind of pull in his search for the Golden Fleece. Maybe Sir Gallahad after the Holy Grail. I would have believed anything, myth or fairy tale. But when my mind dropped back into reality it dropped suddenly and it stayed there. So you see, Philip, my son, in the face of such value we must maintain utmost caution. To do so, I must ask you to discharge your first officer, Mr. Gallagher. King, discharge Gallagher? Remember, my son, he was in the employ of Constantino when he signed on with you in San Francisco. He was under a cloud of suspicion in Honolulu and Kobe. I know it can, but things have changed. I'd trust that guy with my life. I've done it. Could it not be my son that he would do his utmost to save your life until the treasure was placed aboard your Scarlet Queen? We'll talk about it no longer at this time. I have sent for a man in whom I have the greatest faith, Harry Morrow. He is an unmatched navigator. He knows the celibacy as he knows his own body. I, uh, I had hoped to see him beside you on the decks of the Scarlet Queen. I don't know, Kang, this is awful tough. But she's still your ship. We will talk no longer about it. You will meet him now at any rate. I, uh, have but a word of fatherly warning. His wife, Jean. Huh? Poor Marlowe's excellence is based upon the niceties of celestial navigation, I fear, and not upon the niceties of the so-called celestial bliss demanded by a woman like Jean. She is, in short, a huntress. Shall we go? I know what he meant when we saw them. Harry Marlowe was the porky type. He forced his clothes at the points of constriction oozing out over his belt and his collar. The wife, Jean, was a true night-blooming type, her hair blonde, verging on platinum. Her clothes were filled correctly. I saw how easily she herded her husband and the others to one corner of the room, me and to another. I've heard so much about you from Kang. I feel as though I know you very well. He warned me against you. Warned you? Yes. He said you're the type that wives leave husbands for. And now I believe him. Just between you and me, Phil, can you blame me for wanting to once in a while? I don't blame anybody for anything. Believe me, you show great promise. But don't you think you'd better move outside the family circle? We could be careful, couldn't we? That's exactly what I am being gorgeous. I don't want any trouble now. Perhaps I was mistaken in you. I'm a little surprised at myself, but thanks for the compliment anyway. You're entirely welcome. Schoolboy. The rest of the meeting was no less nightmarish. We drank our way through Kang's assortment of liquor, had dinner, and when I got to the point where I was hardly able to look Gallagher or Kang in the eye, we left. The next three days should have been the best period of the voyage. Kang didn't spare anything in making it a holiday for all of us. The Scarlet Queen went into dry dock for a complete repair and repainting. The crew was brought ashore to live and let go with an expense account limited only by the fact that there were only 24 hours a day to spend it in. Red and I were set up in a suite at the hotel metropole with two bedrooms and a palace. I didn't tell Red about Kang's wish. Maybe I should have, so we could have shared one of the most miserable times of my life. And instead I watched him leave the hotel every afternoon, watched him crawl back into the room every morning just before dawn. I didn't find out where he'd been spending his time until a little after two, the morning of the fourth day. And by then it was too late. His face was beaten raw when he came in. There was a look of terror in his eyes, but I'd never seen there before. Skipper. What's the matter, Red? What's the matter? Her husband. Whose husband? Malo. That Malo woman. Gallagher, stop making sense. Sit down. Is that who you've been mixed up with? Yeah. You picked a great one, Red. Anybody but his wife. So Malo showed up. What happened? I don't know, Skipper. I don't know, but he's dead. I don't know, Skipper. So help me. Put a shot. All right. What happened? He came in and he had a gun in his hand. I made him drop it and we landed on the floor and she put a gun in my hand. I didn't want it. He landed one on my face then. I was kind of groggy for a second and then... There was the shot. Okay, Red. That's a great story. It's the best I can do, Skipper. Accidents like that happen. I didn't have any reason to kill him. I wouldn't kill him just to get away from him, would I? I don't think you would, Red. That's the trouble. Oh, look. Answer it, Skipper. You know who it is. Yeah. That's right. Okay. Thanks. The police, Red, they're on their way up. Have you got the gun? Yeah. Here it is. All right. Leave it here. I'll keep it out of sight. Get out of here, don't you think? That'll make it look worse. Nothing will make it look worse. Get out of here. Let me know where you are when you can and stay undercover. You're hotter than you even think. Inspector Edwards, Deputy Public Prosecutor's Office. Your name, please? Philip Carney. What's the occasion? What do you want? Your Chief Officer, Mr. Gallagher, is to be held for prosecution, the charge to be murder. Why are you are crazy? Mr. Gallagher was discovered in a rather indelicate situation by Mr. Harry Marlowe, the husband of the woman sharing that situation. Do I make myself clear? It has a familiar ring. Naturally, there was a spurt of jealous anger from Marlowe, a bit of defensive action from Gallagher, a scuffle, a shot, and Mr. Marlowe was dead. Self-defense? If Gallagher were dead and Marlowe alive, yes. Self-defense and justifiable homicide under the unwritten law. It would be so much simpler for all of us if that were the situation, wouldn't it? Manslaughter. Possibly, a five-year minimum sentence in the Federated Malae Estates. But I'd like to think that it was premeditated. Oh, not a chance, Edwards. I've known Gallagher for a long time. Long enough to know he wouldn't use a gun to get away from a wronged husband. So where's your motive? We both know there was an excellent motive. Don't we, Mr. Carney? What do you mean, Edwards? We both know that Harry Marlowe was due to take Gallagher's place as Chief Mate on your vessel, don't we? But still no motive, because Gallagher didn't know. I didn't tell him. I'm afraid you're a bit mistaken. Gallagher did know. Where did you get that lie? From an entirely impeccable source. From your employer, Mr. Carney. Koogee Kang. Kang, you still awake? Yes, Fritip. I have been waiting for you. Sit down, my boy. I need some help, Kang. You've heard about everything, I guess. I just want to know one thing. Did you tell Gallagher that Marlowe was going to sail with me? You should be able to answer that yourself, Fritip. You didn't, did you? The police told me he knew. I'm afraid he did. I'm afraid Marlowe himself told him. Why? Marlowe came here tonight. He was most incensed. He was convinced that his wife involved herself only to keep him from making the trip with you. She had threatened that if he went, she would transfer her affections to the man whose place he took. He left here to explain her insincereity to Mr. Gallagher. He was going to tell him everything. When did she make that threat, Kang? The evening after you met them. Yeah. She's a great little woman. Perhaps she merely knows men's weakness. Maybe that's it, Kang. Maybe that's it. I stayed in the suite the next day waiting for word from Gallagher. It came about 2.30 that afternoon. He was holed up in a room out on Victoria Street in the Chinese section where he thought he'd be safe for a while. Then I left the hotel and went down to get the autopsy report on Marlowe. And after that, I went out to pay my respects to his widow. She was reclining in a wicker chair near a little fountain in the garden of the Marlowe Cottage. Phil, I'm glad you've come. What about Red? No, they haven't found him yet. Not that they don't have the dragnet out. Well, I know I shouldn't say this, Phil, but I just can't bring myself to hate Red. Because a method with some strong personal feeling between the two, I think that the shooting in the middle of the struggle was really accidental. I'm afraid I've got the only real proof, either for him or against him. The gun he was carrying. I know I ought to turn it in, but it's hard to bring myself to do it. Oh, Phil, what an awful burden. You know how they are. They'll want to check the bullet they took from your husband's body. Oh, how terrible for you. I know I can't help, but believe me, whatever you do is your secret. I've forgotten everything you've said to me. Thanks, Mrs. Marlowe. I really didn't come out here to share my problem with you. I wanted to tell you that I'd be in my hotel for the rest of the afternoon. I have to leave for an hour, around five. Then I'll be in for the rest of the night. So if you need anything, want any help, just let me know. Oh, thank you, Phil. I think I'll be all right. When I left her, I had two hours to arrange the biggest gamble of the voyage. The odds were two to one against me. The two-figure was divided into the possibility that Redd had killed Marlowe to keep his birth, or that it had been accidental during the scuffle, which under the circumstances would be almost as bad. The one against those two was the possibility that Jean had killed Marlowe. And that was based upon the faint, hazy fact that she tried to involve me before she'd gotten her hooks into Redd. It was weak, but I've caught 100-pound shark on 50-pound test line. All I could do was try. I grabbed a cab out to Victoria Street and found Redd huddled in a ratty room about the size of the queen's paint locker. What's doing this, skipper? I don't know, Redd. Well, nice place you got here. Yeah, and don't think I haven't been kicking myself around it once in a while. I'll give you a hand next time around. Redd, tell me one thing. Did you know there was talk of giving Marlowe your birth on the queen? My birth? What's the matter, skipper? I haven't given him my birth. Okay, that's all I wanted to hear, Redd. What's the matter, skipper? Haven't I been all right in your birth? Sure you have, Redd. I didn't want to give me a birth. Now shut up! Will you drop it? Marlowe didn't say anything about it when he came in, huh? No, he didn't say anything. How about the woman? Something about too late. Didn't make any difference if he left or not. That's when he rushed me. Yeah. Okay, Redd, come on. We're gonna gamble. On what? On whether she knocked him off or not. Fine, gentlemen. Hello, Edward. Did you have any reason to lure me here, Connie? No, you can go anytime you want. Then you've become dreadfully careless and an outstandingly simple accessory. You see the gun, gentlemen? We'll leave now. Oh, wait a minute, Edward. You said you liked premeditated murder instead of manslaughter. Would you be willing to give us an hour and a half? I most certainly would not. Then I guess we'll have to resist arrest, Edward. We can't go with you. You're a reasonable gentleman. I have to take you. Then you shouldn't have come alone. There we are, Redd. One of us will get you, Edward. Take your choice. You're my choice, Connie. It wasn't foolhardiness. It was desperation we had to get out of there. We separated, putting him between us. He started backing toward a wall. I wasted two breaths and glanced at Redd. He started to rush and stopped. Edward's eye swung his way for an instant, and I landed prone in front of him and rolled into him. He got scouched the floor inches away from me, and Redd hit him from behind. Between us, we quieted him down. We shoved a gag in his mouth, trust him up with our belts. When we left, there were two of us on the wrong side of the Singapore law. We sneaked into the hotel suite through a rear entrance. A few minutes before five, I made my public exit for the benefit of Mrs. Harry Milo. I circled the building and went back to the room by way of the rear door again and settled down to wait for her to pick up the cue I'd given her and sneak into the room to trade the murder weapon for the one Redd had left with me. It was a good plan. It was very clever. But it didn't work. Six o'clock, Redd and I looked at one another. What now, Skipper? I don't know. Maybe she'll still come. If you were going into somebody's room and you knew they'd be out between five and six, would you be late? But we still got the gun. If that isn't the one that killed him, I'm in the clear. Isn't that right? Yeah, yeah. We got the gun. No. Edward isn't going to stay in the hotel all night. You wait here, Redd. I'm going out. Maybe I'll get another brilliant idea. But that particular Singapore night didn't seem to be the one for brilliant ideas. I didn't dare go out through the lobby. I slipped out the back and started toward the Marlowe cottage. But with every step it became more obvious that there was no purpose in going any place. If she'd held to a story through my bluff, there was no way I could jar her off of it. I got a half a block away and the weight of the situation stopped me. Without a better answer for Marlowe's murder than the one they had already, there was no way for me to turn. With the Edwards thing, I was in as deeply as red. That meant Melee State's law. That led to jungle prisons. No, I couldn't see it. I turned around and headed for the front entrance to the Metropole with my mind made up to go to Kang. Asked him to take care of the crew, keep his eyes closed. Well, Redd and I tried to make it out of the city to wherever we could get. Scattering of early diners was strolling towards the hotel unlike during my first visit to the hotel, but at the other extreme, I wondered if I looked as obvious as I felt. I hugged the shrubbery at the edge of the wide sidewalk and I'd almost reached the doorway when a whisper stopped me. Phil. Stopped my feet, my heart and my mind. Phil, I want to talk to you. Hello, Gene. What are you doing here? I've been waiting for you. Come into the garden with me. All right, Gene. What do you want? You expected me to come to your room, didn't you? Yes, I did. You expected me to bring this gun and leave it there, didn't you? But it was a trap, wasn't it? What do you want, Gene? I came to kill you because that stupid Gallagher gave you that gun instead of throwing it away like I told him to. And you're the only one who can prove that he didn't kill Harry Marlowe. You got the autopsy report. You know they took the bullet from his body. And that it won't check with Red's gun. That's right. But it won't do you any good to kill me, Gene. How long have you been here? I've been waiting since five. Then you don't know that Inspector Edwards is at your house now waiting for you. You're lying. He isn't there. Give me the gun, Gene. No, you're lying. Gallagher has been cleared. He's down on the ship now. You're lying to keep me from killing you. You're backing up. Settle down. Settle down or I'll take the gun away from you. And then where will you be? You want me to take you home, Gene? No, no, Edwards. He's there. Take me to your room. You can help me out of this. Sure, gorgeous. We can help you out of this. Now drop the gun before I break your arm. Later that same night, the deputy public prosecutor's office got a more coherent confession than she'd given me. She'd been trying to get rid of her husband for the past two years by every method in or out of the book. And when two guys with potential motives arrived, me, to keep Gallagher in his birth, and Red, to keep himself in it, she'd gone to work. She'd missed me and caught Red and killed her husband during the fight she'd arranged herself. Later that night, the DPP's office had also received a very agitated inspector named Edwards. And at about that time, Red and I were two-thirds through a second or third celebration bottle of Kang's white mule in his rooms at the Metropole. Kang took me aside. If you lift my son, you are a young man with a stubborn will. Instinct, Kang. I know a good chief mate when I see one. There is no argument left in me. If you will submit to what you have recently experienced to keep Gallagher aboard, then Gallagher, it will be your handful. I wish to congratulate you on your police work. You mean the simple threat of checking the slug to her gun? I believe that is what does they say cracked the case? Yeah, it did, Kang. But it would have been a mess if somebody had asked me to make the threat good. That slug... it had hit Marlowe's belt buckle on the way in. It was so misshapen they couldn't have checked it to any gun. Surprising revelation, my son. Bitter proof that even the wisdom of Confucius blanches before the luck of the Irish. By nine the next morning, we'd slipped out through the islands before harbour, and as we headed into Main Strait, we picked up the trades whistling down toward the equator. Then bang to make sails! The queen looked like the cover girl on a dollar yachting magazine in her new paint and her new varnish. The new hemp in her running rigging was stiff in the crew's hands. The stabber cheats make sails! The big expanse of the mainsail crackled into the breeze, and the streak of sunlight on the shining mane must blistened and moved as the tall spar leaned a little under the wind. The gypsy, white and untried rode out. The mizzen creaking with newness swung over my head, and the scarlet queen brazenly showed her shining side as she buckled into the run toward British north Borneo. I'm trying to think of a time when I felt better, and I can't. For me, you can have Singapore. What's our next port, Gipper? Sundercan. And listen, Red. Now, I hope you aren't going to mind a little fatherly advice. No, sir. Now you'll have to admit that woman was dynamite. Yes. So from now on, when you meet some charmer, you bring her to your captain. That doesn't sound so good. Well, we'll get references, letters of recommendation, things like that. That won't be much fun, but we'll keep you out of trouble. Yes, sir. Yeah, now. A bottle, please. Yes, sir. Prince Gipper. Huh? You need one worse than I do. After you, mate, after you.