"'The Speedwell? Captain, you did not believe my little pleasantry? We were nowhere near the wreck of the Speedwell, at any time—as Captain Wilbur should have known, had he retained his mental perspective'
"I smiled feebly. 'Well, I didn't know it. Tell me another thing, Lee Fu. Were you bluffing, there at the last, or was there really no passage through the reef?'
"'So far as I am aware, Captain, there was no passage. I believe we were heading for solid rock when we came into the wind'
"The answer surprised me. 'Would you have piled us up' I asked 'if Wilbur hadn't given in?'
"'That is a hypothetical question. I knew perfectly well that I should not be forced to do it. I was only afraid lest, in the final anguish, Captain Wilbur might lose his seaman's judgment, and so might wait too long. That, I confess, would have been unfortunate. Otherwise, there was no especial doubt or danger'
"'I'm glad to hear it!' I exclaimed, with a shudder of recollection 'It wasn't apparent at the time'
"'No, perhaps not. Time was very swift, just then. I will tell you now, Captain Nichols, that I myself had begun to grow alarmed. He waited very long. He was more wilful than I had fully anticipated; a strong, determined man, and an arch-criminal. But, as it chanced, this made it the more interesting'
"I didn't care to argue such a subtle point. 'What did you have in mind, Lee Fu' I asked 'before the typhoon shifted? Did you expect the centre of it to catch us?'
"The question seemed to amuse him. 'Captain, I had no plan' he explained in a puzzled tone 'It is dangerous to make plans, or to live according to a fixed design. There was a task to be begun; the determination of its direction and result lay with the gods. It was plain to me that I had been called upon to act; beyond that I neither saw nor cared to see. Action once begun, I seized events as they came my way.... How characteristic that you ask me for my plan! Would you have the temerity to inquire into the divine control of events? Or do you think that a man really may make a plan?'
"I could believe his statement only because I'd witnessed his incredible calmness.