I repeat, it was hard for me to look at them, and I was anxious to leave them.

“I just want to take a glance into the engine-room, and then off!” I said.

They were asking me questions: What voltage should be used for the initial spark, how much ballast water was needed in the tank aft. As if a phonograph were somewhere within me, I was giving quick and precise answers but I , my inner self, was busy with its own thoughts.