“It always does.”
“You might,” said Evans after a moment, “check the lifeboat equipment.”
Bervick laughed. “We’re being real safe, aren’t we?”
Evans was about to say, “Better safe than sorry,” but he decided that it sounded too neat. Instead he said, “You can’t ever tell. They haven’t been checked for a while.”
“O.K., I’ll take a look.” He left through the door that opened onto the upper deck where the two lifeboats and one raft were kept.
Evans watched the dark long point they had just passed slowly fade into a harmless line on the water.
Martin returned from the galley. He glanced at the barometer as he came in. He did not comment on what he saw.
“What’s the course?” he asked.
Evans told him.
“Where did Bervick go? Is he in the sack?”