"Are you a plum idiot?" demanded the captain. "Can't you be left in charge of this ship? Have you been drinking? First you stopped the ship, then you put back for France, then you turn again, and now you blow a landing whistle."
At that moment the fog horn began to sound, although the sea was almost as bright as day with a round moon shining overhead and the stars studded thick in the sky.
The captain himself grabbed the telephone.
"I want to know who's doing all this!" he demanded. "Who's in charge there?"
"I am, sir; the second engineer," answered the voice.
"Put your assistant in charge and report to me in the pilot room at once."
Just then the chief engineer came in.
"What does all this mean?" roared the captain.
"I don't know, sir," said the engineer. "I got signals to stop, then to put about, then to come back on the course, all of which I did."
"I don't want you to attempt to put this on to me," said the mate. "I haven't touched a button for an hour. There has been no necessity. We have been going straight on our course."