"All we gotta do, Cap'n," Tug pleaded, "is give the Lucifer a pure white soul; and I can do it. Jes' let me handle it, Cap'n Douglas, and those two witches won't bother us a bit."
"Bo'sun Skelly!" Captain Douglas swallowed hard and gathered his benumbed senses. "I have heard tall tales and weird stories; but for sheer cockeyed balderdash yours is far and away the best yet! Your suggestion of the Cross Straits was invaluable; and I am very grateful to you for it. But by Jupiter if you go on talking about Twin Witches I'll have to clap you in irons. Good day."
Tug started to protest, but something about Young Douglas' clamped jaw made him halt and drop his big arms to his sides miserably. He stood there for a moment before mumbling a low, "Aye, aye," and offering a clumsy salute. Then he turned and walked from the cabin, his big shoulders drooped despairingly.
Captain Chris Douglas mopped his brow when he was alone in his quarters.
"Witches," he murmured incredulously. "Purifying the soul of a ship against witches!"
He gave his close-cropped, blond head a vigorous shake, as if to clear it of any goblins or pixies that might have crept in by contamination with Tug Skelly; and a second later he was at the desk communicator contacting the bridge.
"Mr. Jackson," Captain Douglas said when he heard the mate's voice. "I have decided to change our course. You will take all readings necessary to bring the Lucifer to the Straits of the Cross.... Yes, Mr. Jackson, I said the Straits of the Cross. At once!"
The Lucifer, a hollow black needle in the immense twilight of space, hurtled eagerly on the second day out toward the new pole her tiny masters had set for her. But First Mate Pete Jackson alone on the bridge didn't find himself any too eager about their new route. For one thing, the last three ships known to have tried the Cross Straits had never been heard from afterwards. For another, Jackson just didn't feel easy traveling off the main lanes.
He had intimated his fears to Captain Douglas at mess that morning; but without making any impression on the young skipper.