And after a while, he dried his tears and walked the deck as a captain should with assurance and dignity. Stern faced, he inspected the prisoners, satisfying himself that they were clean, well fed and comfortable within reason. The prisoners averted their eyes but not before he had glimpsed hatred and anger. Only Cromwell, the giant boatswain, was mild-mannered and respectful.

He said, ``Captain, may I speak, please? Captain, I am innocent of any plot against you or the ship.''

``Are you, Cromwell?''

``Yes, sir. Before God I swear I am innocent. I know nothing of any plot, if there is such a thing.''

``You are the only man aboard who can be in doubt.''

``I cannot speak for others, sir, but I am innocent.'' He leaned closer to Alexander, squinting up at him from the deck. ``Surely, Captain, you did not find my name on any suspicious paper or anything.''

``No, Cromwell, I did not find your name. You were careful about that.''

Now Spencer, seeming with effort to shake himself from lethargy, spoke. He said, ``Cromwell is telling you the truth. He is innocent.''

Alexander shifted his gaze to Spencer. The calmness and detachment of his tone suggested unawareness of how implicit was his own guilt in the words he had used to defend Cromwell. Alexander knew Spencer too well to think him naive or thick-skulled. And in a sudden wave of painful clarity, Alexander recognized a kinship with Spencer. Here was another human who understood the stupidity of quarreling with the inevitable. There was good fortune and there was bad and Philip Spencer, in handcuffs and ankle irons, knew it to be a truth. He expected nothing for himself but that which naturally follows those marked for misfortune. The red haired captain, towering above the prisoner as a symbol of decency and authority, was shocked to find himself looking with sympathy upon Philip Spencer. This tragic lad had forged his own shackles. But he could not have done so, could not have found the way, had fortune favored him. And because fortune had favored neither the prisoner nor the red haired captain, they would be each other's undoing.