“Did you hear anything?”
“I heard peculiar thumping sounds from the deck above me.”
“Did you hear anything else?”
“I heard a loud noise.”
“You heard a shot, didn’t you?”
“I presume it was a shot, yes.
“Then what happened?”
“I started to walk back toward the stairs, up which I had seen the woman climbing. The ship was rolling heavily. Shortly before I reached the stairs, it took a very heavy roll to port, and I slipped on the wet deck.”
“What did you do?” Scudder asked.
“I tried to regain my balance, and ran toward a stanchion on the port rail. I caught hold of it and hung on.”