Chapter Seven, Arch Patton: The Bering Sea

CHAPTER SEVEN

Hull Down in a Following Sea

I moved through the throngs of passengers now populating the corridors of the ship. Murmurs of “doctor” came from some of them, as they reacted to my surgical scrubs. I had removed my coat. The temperature maintained inside the vessel hallways was always high, probably to help passengers recover from the penetrating cold just outside. In my cabin, I threw off the scrubs and slipped into my bunk. Hours passed, but I needed no alarm clock to awaken me. The anchor chain did that job quite efficiently. Link by link the chain locker filled. Each was like the single beat of a bass drum in the cabin. I sighed and got up. While I had slept, a set of clothes had been delivered to my room. All of my things had been cleaned and pressed. I was astounded by the speed and quality of work.

‘Botany Bay’ stepped into my room, closing the door behind him. Once again I was caught naked. “Don’t you people ever knock?” I asked, throwing on underwear and my ironed shirt.