"Its a polyvinylchloride solution which also contains vinyl acetate," he said. "Its sprayed on and then hardens. If you were to cut it open youd find inside, around the equipment, four or five small cloth bags containing silicate of soda in crystals, to absorb moisture. A very neat system. It does just what its supposed to do, keeps the equipment good as new."

Behind us, the vessels were disposed in fleet formation -- the carrier in the center, the two heavy cruisers before and behind her, the destroyer screen correctly placed in relation to the cruisers, or as much so as the width of the channel would allow. We were making, I judged, ten to twelve knots.

"It was difficult," he said. He then walked out of the chartroom and seated himself in one of the swivel chairs on posts in front of the bridge windows. I followed him.

I looked again at his uniform which suggested no such thing.

"What is that stuff used for the mothballing?" I asked.

It was now about six-thirty; the fog was breaking up, a little. I decided to climb to the bridge. I entered the wheelhouse; there was no one at the wheel. I took the wheel in my hands, tried to turn it a point or two, experimentally; it was locked in place.

"I am the Admiral."

"Only that?"

"But why?"

A man entered from the chartroom behind me. He immediathｔtpｓ://rｅaｄ.９９ｃｓｗ.coｍely walked over to me and removed my hands from the wheel.

"Something like that," he said.

"May I ask where this. . ."

He wore a uniform, but it seemed more a stewards or barmans dress than a naval officers. His face was not unimpressive: dark hair carefully brushed, a strong nose, good mouth and chin. I judged him to be in his late fifties. He re-entered the chartroom. I followed him.

I wandered about the destroyer until I found the galley. I made the coffee and sandwiches and returned with them to the bridge.

The forty destroyers, four light cruisers, two heavy cruisers, and the carrier were moving in perfect formation toward the open sea. The sight was a magnificent one. I had been in the Navy -- two years as a supply officer in New London, principally.

He did not answer my question. He was looking at a chart.

"My name is --" I began.

"All right," I said. "Yes."

"To be at sea," he said.

"Why not ask my name?"

There was no one on deck. All of the gun mounts and some pieces of special equipment were coated with a sort of plastic webbing, which had a slightly repellent feeling when touched. I watched my empty Pacemaker bobbing in the heavy wake of the fleet. I called out. "Hello! Hello!"

"No," he said. I felt however that he had appreciated my read.99csw.comshrewdness in guessing that there were no crews aboard the other ships.

"And then," he said, "think of each ship moving up the Hudson, or worse, being towed, to a depot in New Jersey where it is covered with this disgusting plastic substance. Think of the years each ship has spent moored next to other ships of its class, painted, yes, at scheduled times, by a crew of painters whose task it is to paint these ships eternally, finished with one and on to the next and back to the first again five years later. Watchmen watching the ships, year in and year out, no doubt knocking off a little copper pipe here and there --"

"No. But ship movements on this scale --"

There was no other traffic on the water; this I thought strange.

"No no," he said, without looking up. "Nothing like that." Then he said, "A bit careless with your little boat, arent you?"

"Radio?" I asked. "Remote control or something?"

"Think a bit," he said. "Think first of shipyards. Think of hundreds of thousands of men in shipyards, on both coasts, building these ships. Think of the welders, the pipefitters, the electricians, naval architects, people in the Bureau of the Budget. Think of the launchings, each with its bottle of champagne on a cord of plaited ribbons hurled at the bow by the wife ofhttps://read.99csw.com some high official. Think of the first sailors coming aboard, the sea trials, the captains for whom a particular ship was a first command. Each ship has a history, no ship is without its history. Think of the six-inch guns shaking a particular ship as they were fired, the jets leaving the deck of the carrier at tightly spaced intervals, the maneuvering of the cruisers during this or that engagement, the damage taken. Think of each ships log faithfully kept over the years, think of the Official Naval History which now runs, I am told, to three hundred some-odd very large volumes.

"Are there crews aboard the other ships?"

"Mothball fleet," he supplied.

"I was a messman on the Saratoga," he said, "when I was sixteen. I lied about my age."

"I am taking these ships away from them," he said.

"Objectively," he said, smiling slightly.

"Of course," he said. "You were anticipated. Why dyou think that ladder wasnt secured?"

"What is your mission?" I asked, determined not to be outfaced by a man with mustard on his coat.

"All right."

"Is this a test of some kind?" I asked. "New equipment or --"

"If its a matter of sealed orders or something. . ."

"There are also the submarines," he said. "Six submarines of the Marlin clasｒead.９9ｃsw•coｍs."

"Youre afraid that well be used for target practice? Hardly." He seemed momentarily amused.

It was early morning, just after dawn, in fact. The mothball fleet was sailing down the Hudson. Grayish-brown shrouds making odd shapes at various points on the superstructures. I counted forty destroyers, four light cruisers, two heavy cruisers, and a carrier. A fog lay upon the river.

"Good." He moved the lever of the bridge telegraph to Full Ahead.

"Remember that I was, once, in accord with them. Passionately, if I may say so, in accord with them. I did whatever they wished, without thinking, hated their enemies, participated in their crusades, risked my life. Even though I only carried trays and wiped up tables. I heard the singing of the wounded and witnessed the burial of the dead. I believed. Then, over time, I discovered that they were lying. Consistently. With exemplary skill, in a hundred languages. I decided to take the ships. Perhaps theyll notice." He paused. "Now. Do you wish to accompany me, assist me?"

The "Admiral" drank his coffee silently. Seabirds made passes at the mast where the radar equipment, I saw, was covered with the same plastic material that enclosed the gun installations.

"You will say: Yes, sir, " he corrected me.

This made me angry. "Not normally. On the contrary. But som九_九_藏_書ething --"

He had finished his sandwich. A bit of mustard had soiled the sleeve of his white coat, which had gold epaulets. I thought again that he most resembled not an admiral but a man from whom one would order drinks.

I thought about this for a moment. I decided to shift the ground of the conversation slightly.

"I am not interested in your name," he said. "I am only interested in your behavior. As you can see, I have at my disposal forty-seven brigs, of which the carriers is the most comfortable. Not that I believe you will behave other than correctly. At the moment, I want you to do this: Go down to the galley and make a pot of coffee. Make sandwiches. You may make one for yourself. Then bring them here." He settled back in his seat and regarded the calm, even sea.

"But what are your intentions?"

I went aboard as the fleet reached the Narrows. I noticed a pair of jeans floating on the surface of the water, stiff with paint. I abandoned my small outboard and jumped for the ladder of the lead destroyer.

"The ships were being stockpiled against a possible new national emergency," I said. "What on earth is wrong with that?"

"More than anything."

"-- is bound?"

"May I ask your rank?"

"Yes, sir."

"You are stealing forty-seven ships from the government of the United States?"