178 ALBACORA 



pointed out. "This is not a pleasure cruiser. It's a func- 

 tional boat." 



The man went away satisfied, but of course the Ex- 

 plorer was not functional until afterward, when it un- 

 derwent the fiberglass and infrared treatment. I never 

 allow myself to wonder what we all would have done 

 if the treatment had not worked. 



During the weeks we worried about the Explorer, we 

 could always get momentary relief by turning our wor- 

 ries elsewhere. Port clearance was a typical alternate 

 concern. Lou made repeated trips to Washington and 

 the UN to plead with ambassadors and consuls lest the 

 Explorer be held up like a cargo vessel in each foreign 

 port. Then Lou arranged our passports for Chile, Ecua- 

 dor and Peru. He prodded the embassies for all the in- 

 formation they could supply on the Humboldt and how 

 the fish were running. Still, our chief distraction from 

 worry about construction of the Explorer was, unhap- 

 pily, equally upsetting. For a time, planning ship- 

 ment of the Explorer to fishing waters seemed no easier. 



"Did you ever hear about the Egyptian obelisk in 

 Central Park?" I asked Lou one morning when he 

 paused between the phone calls during breakfast. 



"What about the obelisk?" Lou said. 



"Well, the Pharaoh didn't build it in Manhattan, 

 you know," I said. "It had to be shipped over here from 

 Egypt." 



"Well?" 



