168 ALBACORA 



only forty feet in length. Under a full load, it never 

 could make more than eighteen miles an hour, while 

 Eugenie VIII can speed six miles an hour faster, even 

 though its General Motors Diesels were designed prin- 

 cipally for long-range cruising. But it was in the fight- 

 ing chair in the stern of the Explorer that I battled Bos- 

 co's first cousin. The Explorer means only a trifle less 

 to me than the Ark must have meant to Noah. 



The Explorer was built under pressure, amid confu- 

 sion and in haste. It is a wonder that it was ever built 

 at all. On that morning when John Manning had first 

 dropped in from California to discuss Lou's ideas for 

 an expedition and a boat it was hard for me to believe 

 that anything would ever take shape. 



When Manning arrived at our Manhattan duplex 

 Lou and I were eating breakfast, our maid Elma was 

 scurrying in the kitchen and, in general, there was the 

 sort of chaos we have come to expect. I was dictating 

 to a secretary, Lou was trying to talk on two telephones 

 at once, while reading the financial pages and gobbling 

 toast, when the doorbell rang. I hurried to the winding 

 staircase, ran down and opened the door. 



"Hi," John said. "Have you got an extra glass of 

 orange juice?" 



After a greeting kiss, I ushered him upstairs. Lou 

 dropped the phone to wave a welcome and John asked 

 Elma if he could have eggs once over lightly. The bell 

 rang again, I ran to answer it again and, on opening 



