“I guess he fell off, if he did fall off, after Bervick came in,” said Hodges.
“Could be,” said Evans.
“I can’t really believe this has happened,” said the Chaplain. “He must be somewhere on the ship.”
“I wish he were,” said Evans. “I wish he were.”
“There will probably be an investigation,” said the Major.
Evans nodded. “They’ll be running all over the ship.”
Bervick and Martin joined them. Bervick looked surprised.
“Chief’s missing. That right?”
“Yeah, he’s gone. The Lieutenant here didn’t see the Chief after you and him went out to fix the vent.”
Bervick nodded. “We went out and when we finished the Chief said something about going up forward. I went on back to the salon. I guess he went on below later.”