 log entry the catch scarlet queen Philip Carney master position nine degrees 13 minutes south 146 degrees 30 minutes east wind fresh sky fare remarks departed Port Moresby New Guinea after completion of salvage and rescue mission reason for mission the derelict and the wandering boy we were 50 miles off the Louis 8 archipelago standing across the Coral Sea when we ran into the wall of rain blotted out the whole world from the wheel I could hardly see the Queen's Bowsprit or the tops of her spars and it continued it brought squalls with it the drops slanted across our decks and bit at us like insects with nightfall the visibility dropped to zero we reefed sail leaving a loft only enough canvas to give us headway we inched forward blindly into complete streaming darkness I was at the wheel and my chief mate Gallagher was below he'd been at the radio sending out our position speed and course to any ships that might be in our vicinity in an hour he hadn't found any it didn't take long to realize that things had changed when he came out of the cabin well I got some great news for you skip what's up red a distress call from the steamship Lawson captain Mark ready great nice always what's her position red she's a ground on a reef about 20 miles east of here in Massima streets she's our babies come on it's not another ship within 12 14 hours of visibility like this yeah okay red we'd be a fine pair if we didn't take a crack at it hey Gordon break out the watch stand by the trim sail we're changing course go on plot us a course red we'll see if we can find it and so mutual continues the voyage of the Scarlet Queen written by Gildowd and Bob Talman 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 voyage of the Scarlet Queen we maintain radio contact with the Lawson as we groped blindly taught her through the rain we learned that she was a small thousand-tonner carrying mixed cargo and eight passengers she was a ground by the head a whole ton in a forward place by the sharp coral of the reef we requested her to rigor brightest search light into swing its beam in the direction of our approach a few hours later when we picked our way carefully into Massima straights it was her steam whistle that caught our attention its monotonous call reached out for us across the rain swept water then we picked up the faint glow of a light 40 minutes later we pulled alongside okay red tosser aboard cut red send one horse aboard red we'll keep a strain and stay off the reef with the engine all right Nielsen that's stop by the line of dough send a couple of men to give me a hand at the ladder pick up our call captain we're in a bad way believe it she sounds like she's ripping her belly out on the reef are you the first officer that's right sir Tom Chris where's captain reading oh up in the chart room most likely three sheets to the wind the way he was when he piled us up on this coral if he doesn't lose his papers over this one I'll be shocked bait I better pay on my respects don't you think the ladder to the bridge deck is right through that passageway I'd better stay on deck okay chief see you later as I stepped through the passageway the sounds of rain and water lowered and the groan of the ship's bottom tearing itself on the reef seemed louder I swung up the ladder leading to the bridge deck past half a dozen frightened passengers huddled in the ratty little dining saloon below me I found the chart room door just forward of the top of the ladder you be Captain Phillip Carney to catch Scarlett Queen what might she be doing force an entry into my ship's chart room we've picked up your distress call captain was standing by the stress called that mutinous devils took it on himself did he be up before the ship and what minister mr. Grayson mr. Grayson report to the chatroom I won't even answer me this fool Captain Mark greedy never sent out a distress call in 40 years at sea cast off your ship captain let me along you better drink some coffee and get yourself back on an even kill you got a ship breaking up on the edge mice you can have her really she won't live through a change of tide rising water a lifter free so she'll sink from that hole in her bow and she'll capsize if the water falls with her head jammed on the reef the way it is take your choice would you join me in a drink no thanks you're going down and start transferring your passengers to my ship and as much of your valuable cargo as I can handle wait a minute captain yeah this this is my ship I don't know what you think of me I don't mind telling you I think your line should have retired your 10 years ago I don't think you're fit for a command sit down son I won't ask you one question make it short along with you've been sailing these waters long enough to stay afloat Captain Reedy I've been navigating this run from the salamence in Lewis age to Port Moisby since I was as young as you yeah yeah drunken sober through calm and gale well you only have to miss once you know just let me finish son I come in the Massima straight tonight the same way as I come in a hundred or two hundred nights before standing the wheel myself now you don't do it by chance son not when you make it as many times as I have come on get to the point captain hell there's a lighted channel boy as long as you keep it well and you're starboard you miss this cluster of reefs that's why it's there why are you giving me this story captain because the channel boy was on my starboard son well on my starboard like it's meant to be huh as sure as I'm sitting here son captain captain Connie Connie my case will look better in Admiralty court if if I can prove I went to ground due to accident instead of carelessness yeah I know you think the channel boy broke loose that's what I think I know it was well on my starboard where it belongs when I went to ground it'll not take you long to have a look captain the boy is still there on the start I won't take long for this tub to capsize a sink it'll take my command captain I'll pay you for your trouble if that's what you want I've been a seafarer man all my life son I know nothing else all right Captain Reedy I'll start putting your passengers aboard my ship then I'll go take a look you better start getting your gear ready too if you want to keep a deck on the if you find the boy out of position I'll leave with you Connie you don't I think I'd rather stay with my ship your old-fashioned captain I will talk about it later you can feel the gentle jarring of the ship grinding on the reef now it seems as though the foreign-aft angle was becoming steeper as the tide dropped from beneath the stern when I went far enough I knew the ship would tear loose from the coral and settle on its port side to the passengers waited for me at the bottom of the ladder a man punchy and badly used by the tropics and a younger woman with a calm almost indolent expression in her dark eyes man's expression and attitude were different the captain Connie I am Frederick J. Wade the Owen Stanley Goldmines limited this is my wife hello captain how do you do wait a captain wait I must have a word with you make it short mr. Wade I'm going to start putting you passengers aboard my ship the very question that was in my mind captain but it so happens that I'm traveling with a fabulous cargo he doesn't mean me captain that's a little surprising don't interrupt freedom it so happens captain that my company placed me in charge of the transport of over 3,000 ounces of gold from our mines on the island of blood s to Port Mores being we had the misfortune of being forced to use this miserable button so I must ask you to save for you yes you will be amply repaid for it safe delivery what I can what you can serve good must be saved like I got eight passengers and probably 20 crewmen to put aboard my ship wait if there's time and room after they're taken care of will load your gold then by all means captain let us proceed with all the speed we can muster I'll go to my cabin and prepare myself for the transfer he takes good care of me doesn't he don't worry mrs. Wade you're surrounded by men to take care of you that sounds interesting but I'm not worried our condition isn't as serious as you led my husband to believe is it Tom said we didn't have anything to worry about Tom yes you mean Greerson the chief officer Tom to his friends yeah well I hope Tom's right but in case he isn't I think you better get your stuff ready too it would be quite feathering your cap to salvage as much gold as we have aboard wouldn't it captain to say nothing of the money it would put in your pocket you think I'm scaring you off this hook just so I can earn a salvage fee you better find a life jacket we'll pick you out of the water when you find out I'm not kidding the rain had lightened by the time I got out on deck the clouds above were beginning to thin and silver some from the moonlight above them Greerson stood by the ladder waiting for me well did you get him sobered up captain yeah Greerson he was making headway when I left I want you to start putting your passages aboard the Queen I'll be back before you finish with it where you going my chief mate and I gonna take our small boat and row up and take a look at that channel light where the devil you're gonna do that for maybe a skipper wasn't as drunk as you thought he was he seems to think that boy broke loose and is out of position he's crazy you must be too to go along with that he was just drunk that's all it won't take long to find out Greerson if it's true the boy broke loose he won't lose his master's ticket so at his age I guess he deserves somebody looking into it huh it's your time Connie go ahead and waste thanks I'd like to see an officer port is captain the way you do go on get started with the passengers get Nielsen set to receive passengers you put the small boat over the side going for a short trip in 20 minutes red and I have pulled 100 or so yards the lighted channel boy picking our way through the reef points by the phosphorescent swirling in the currents around them we shipped our oars red held us steady at the light well I threw a painter around it made us fast yeah it broke loose all right if you kept this on your starboard look red I want to raise this cable if I can yeah thanks red what do you got skipper that drunken captain didn't know how right he was why what do you got it didn't break loose red somebody move this boy the metal cable usually used to anchor boys have been cut and a heavy manila line bent on in this place that meant that the Lawson had been deliberately sent a ground with a hundred thousand dollars worth of gold a border it wasn't hard to figure why really I checked on the board oh Greerson I'm glad you're here too I'm trying to get the old man out of here well it's all right for you to go captain really the light had been moved all right it what I told you son I told you something was wrong how do you know it was moved Connie the boy had been cut loose from its cable and re-anchored in its new position with a heavy piece of manila line hold back son you you mean always done a purpose yeah and if you weren't drowned in that liquor you'd know why it was done by someone who knew you had that gold aboard knew where you were taking it who'd know all that you would captain you would Greerson what are you talking about jade Wade would so it is why free to how about it Greerson are you accusing me Connie I'm asking you why did you tell Frida that you had nothing to worry about well I just expecting another ship and another crew to board you hi I just told her that so she wouldn't worry and go out of pieces maybe you and she are working together wait a minute this is hard to you were making wild guesses why suspect me why not the old man here he's the one who sent me to check the boy remember I'll never mind waiters offered to pay me for salvaging that gold I'm taking them up on it suppose I'll see both of you later are we in danger Wade I saw you rush up to the bridge deck I've been waiting for you thought you'd be aboard the queen with the rest of the past oh Frida and I stayed here and I wanted to be sure you'd move my gold aboard your ship and Frida I suppose wanted to be near that scoundrel Greerson well that's her affair not where is Frida way heaven knows with him I suppose fine Wade this ship being a ground is no accident is no accident well who did it somebody aboard was in on it I figured that another ship supposed to arrive to take your gold good heavens oh but you said yourself she was paired off with Greerson will be a good enough haul for anybody oh no no but captain you are going to salvage my goal like I told you I'll do what I can look you can help anything you say captain and I can assure you you'll be generously rewarded by my company upon the successful completion of the operation all right Wade where is your gold locked in two strong boxes in the purse's office to all of which I have the key give me the one of the office then get aboard the queen and tell Mr. Gallagher to douse all lights and get ready to receive your boxes I'll get some steam into these winches and send them down here as you say captain right away I watched this portly figure disappear through the passageway then I started to work if there was another ship in on the deal I figured that the bad visibility had slowed her up the sky was clearing now I decided to give them as little help and finding us as I could I found the master light panel I killed all the deck lights first then I started on the main house this is I was reaching for the switches to darken the salon I heard a step scuff the deck behind me I pulled the switches through myself prone for even luck first shot screamed off the bulkhead just above me when the flash died I rolled into a new position second one missed me by a more comfortable margin then I heard steps fading after on the companion way I cut to my feet made what speed I could through the pitch darkness after them I heard a door slam just to head of me into my right I groped for it found it went in drop the gun Frida who is it I can't see the gun I haven't got a gun I haven't got a gun I didn't have one and who threw the shots don't know it's you captain yeah who threw the shot no how should I know what's happening captain why don't you drop the act Frida your boy Gerson gunning for me why should maybe because I'm taking the gold off and messing up his chances are you two doing a fast disappearing act with it captain Connie what are you saying oh look you weren't kidding anybody especially your husband I never tried to kid anybody Frederick knew I was going to divorce him and marry Tom but the gold somebody arranged things so that this ship would go aground the best motive is the gold no he couldn't have he couldn't have done that then what he was so determined to get a ship command and he hated captain Reedy but he wouldn't have done this to get one my dough I wish that was behind it look if you don't want to slide off into 30 fathoms when this hulk lets go of that reef you better get over the side under the queen not without Tom where is he I'd feel safer if I knew gorgeous but I don't come on I ought to but I took on a rescue job I won't go you won't have to Frida Tom Tom darling where are you don't try to find me honey step away from me and get away from Connie I don't want to hit you all right darling it's time you when I settled this Connie there's not too much time this hulk is slipping I heard what you told Frida and I've taken enough of your meddling as far as I can see you haven't got anything on anybody aboard this ship I'm stealing a man's wife but that's no crime in any law book you're so clean why don't you save your story for the lawyers Grayson because I want you squared away before I leave here I'm not going on the block for this wreck you keep forgetting that I'm the guy who ordered that distress message sent out the lawyers are gonna like that aren't they a good thing you did maybe with that bad visibility the other ship couldn't find you wait a minute Grayson don't try anything Connie I warn you if you do this gun goes wrong wait don't answer Connie I didn't have to I saw the beam from a powerful flash streak into the dark companion way I kept my back to it when I saw it hit Grayson's face saw his eyes wince from the sudden light I moved in on him get a hold of this guy we're going on Grayson offer me I got to talk to me are you calm down Grayson you and I both have been suckered in this deal it was a good case against you I don't blame you for blowing your top but you can quit worrying you're as clear as deep water you're just always suspicious Connie I told you you didn't have anything on anybody on this ship if somebody wrecked to get that goal if I'm some place else the visibility just kept him from getting you're wrong Grayson there is somebody on this ship and if he'd been a little so very to found me with one of those slugs back in the salon the old man captain reedy he wanted the ship to go a ground so we could split that gold with somebody with the boy moved he wouldn't be blamed huh you got barnacles on the brain skipper reedy was a guy that sent us out to check on the position of that boy and that's where he made his mistake he gave me that story about taking a site on that boy he was still trying to lift the blame from himself but listen with the zero visibility in that rainstorm he couldn't have even seen that light much less kept it on his starboard but what are you waiting for you haven't got much time come on Gallagher get those two aboard the Queen I'll go take care of the gold we slung the two strongboxes over the side and onto the decks of the Scarlet Queen with as much speed as we could get out of the rusty winches and the dying steam the tide was still dropping the decks of the loss and we're beginning to angle to port as well as steeply down by the stern I headed for the chart room for the last time and open up reedy it's time to go I said get away from that door come on your rum head look what's a prison term to a worn out old seadog like you he'll feed you better and you ain't on this scow get away get away the other ship will come for me they'll never make it reedy we're here yesterday come on ready I'll give you a hand get away she's going reedy look I haven't got time to argue I'll ask you once more come on sweat it out for a few years okay old pirate okay old pirate get off of my ship I'll sail it apart must be myself you're certain red red and I stood on the deck of the Queen 50 yards off the reef watched the tide had dropped so far that only the after half of the Lawson was in the water the swells lifted it twisted it and dropped it a little lower each time finally it couldn't hang on the reef any longer twisted a little more to port enough to let the water rush into its after holes the moon broke through the clouds for an instant I saw the figure of Captain Reedy on the bridge deck where he'd commanded his ship for so many years he stood there pushing his weight against the list of his ship looking out over the bow 30 seconds later the Lawson was out of sight there's nothing I like about a guy who'd murder his own ship I don't know what made me hate to see him go that way crazy old seadog did everything I could to get him off right sure you did come on we better get some cloth up and get out of here oh yeah yeah I guess I've seen enough of this reef fair and brisk and that afternoon we found our birth at Port Mores Bay we put off our passengers and Frederick Wade's gold the generous payment we received wasn't quite as generous as his buildup had been but split among the crew it was enough for everyone to send a few trinkets back to the States two days after that we discharged our cargo and taken on another coffee and rubber for the warehouses of Darwin we stood out of the harbor under power found the wind and put our figure head on to a course up through Torres Strait and Arafura Sea who eager for an Australian port where girls on the streets spoke their language and the girls in the bars spoke the same jump to their stations with a will but throat and peak had your teeth the big main soul into its working position the chips went up and the mizzen we trimmed them for a close reach under the steady breeze well I guess we'll get there with this rig and skip it I think we might if nobody moves a channel boy on us are not having anything more valuable in our holes than a few thousand pounds of raw coffee and raw rubber I guess there's no danger of that or passengers red passengers will cause trouble when a cargo won't and that day freedom for example yeah if she'd had a different type husband the fur would have been flying I don't know with a wife like that why should he be so interested in gold search me but that Breeson brought up an interesting point stealing a man's gold is a crime but stealing his wife isn't I don't like that well let's somebody else worry about it the saints be praised we aren't bothered by either I don't know we aren't exactly unattached now but she'll never leave with another first mate while I'm alive to the Queen's give up to the Scarlet Queen after you mate after you log entry the catch Scarlet Queen 5 30 p.m. when fresh sky fair sea calm with long cross well ship secure for night signed Philip Carney master mutual invite you to sail into further adventure on the voyage of the Scarlet Queen next week at the same time Porto call Darwin the voyage of the Scarlet Queen stars Elliot Lewis as Phil Carney with Ed Max as Gallagher and tonight featured Ira Grossell as Captain Reedy Clark Gordon played Berson John Daner was Wade and Frida was Maya Gregory music scored and conducted by Richard Oron the Scarlet Queen a command radio production is written by Gildowd and Bob Talman the voyage of the Scarlet Queen has come to you through the worldwide facilities of the United States Armed Forces radio and television service