A—Three trips, about fifteen months.
Q—How old are you, Mr. Halvorsen?
A—I am seventeen and a half years old.
Was it possible this had begun only a few weeks ago? It had begun that day in Hong Kong when he met the Chinese stranger aboard the Fernhill and, like a fool, he had listened to the man’s talk about making easy money. That was when he should have walked away.
But he hadn’t walked away. And that’s why he was now in this strange room in Boston with these men who asked so many questions....
Q—Mr. Halvorsen, on the 15th of March, 1955, where was your ship, the Fernhill?
A—It was in Hong Kong.
Q—And did you have any conversation with a visitor to the ship?
A—Yes, I was talking to him.
Q—Will you explain what conversation you had and with whom it was?