Primal Spillane: Early Stories 1941-1942

The Sea of Grassy Death

“Pull in your lines, Jack, and fast — the bottom just fell out of the barometer! This storm is coming up like nobody’s business.”

Even then, the small cutter was beginning to pitch violently. The young fellow in the stern hauled away on the outrigger lines until they were coiled all over the deck. No time to put them on the drying spools when a blast was headed their way.

The wind began to howl, blowing the tops of the waves into white foam. In a few minutes the chop would turn to mountainous waves; a dangerous situation in a boat only thirty feet long.

“Looks pretty bad, Slim!” Jack yelled above the wind. “Maybe we ought to anchor here!”

“’Fraid we haven’t enough line! Water’s too deep here. We’ll just have to ride her out.”

No sooner had he spoken, than the black clouds overhead flashed lighting, and the rain drenched the boat. Slim and Jack dashed into the cabin to keep the craft headed into the storm. They took turns at the wheel, using all their strength to avoid being turned over. Then, with a shuddering impact, a wall of water came over them. The motor hissed out and they were left at the mercy of the sea!

For hours, the boat and its occupants were thrown about; first buried in a trough, then swirled to the high crest. The boys were smashed against the cabin and tossed about like corks. Finally, they lashed themselves to the wheel-post, but then, other movable objects in the room would come at them as if thrown by a giant hand.

It was a mystery to Jack and Slim how they remained alive, but the stout heart of the boat couldn’t be broken, and when the dawn came, the ocean calmed down to a glassy slick. Jack patted the rail and looked at Slim. “Close one, wasn’t it?”

“And how! We lost all our tackle, but it was worth it to pull out in one piece.” Jack had been studying the water for some time. Even in the early morning haze, what he saw made him jump. With a worried frown he turned to Slim.

“Slim, we’re marooned! Look — right in the middle of the Sargasso Sea!”

Slim looked, and his eyes almost popped out. With the mist rising like smoke, the aged, water-logged hulks of vessels came into view, all trapped in an ocean of floating seaweed!

The Sea of Doomed Ships! The deadly mass of purple-green vegetation that trapped unwary ships and held them for all time, now had them! When the boys studied their position they knew that they would never fish from their cutter again.

“Just looking at this won’t do any good,” Jack said. “From what I make of it, the only way out is by raft, and the only wood around is on those ghost ships.”

Slim didn’t like the idea, but in the murky haze of the morning, both stripped down to their pants, and went overboard.

They paddled around ship after ship, but all were rotten to the core — not fit for raft wood, and the lines that hung down over the sides were slimy, green things.

“Over there, Jack! What’s that?” Slim pointed a shaking finger at a ball of fog.

As if covered with a filmy curtain, the sharp prow of a sailing vessel jutted out of the stuff. The only visible portholes were like huge eyes glaring balefully at them. It was a fearsome sight, but the boys, more out of curiosity than courage, swam over. The mist, for some reason, was not lifting around the black hull of the ship, but hung suspended, so that the deck was hardly visible. Slim was about to say something, when from the boat came the unmistakable sound of voices! Nothing could have been more startling. Slim was all for getting out of there fast, but Jack held him!

“Something fishy here, Slim. This fog — and those voices. And look! The hull of this boat is in perfect condition!”

“Let’s park on one of those schooners until tonight, and see if we can get aboard her,” Slim said. The setup is even too phoney for me!”

Together, they swam noiselessly away to the nearest derelict, and climbed the rotted ropes to the deck. In the daylight their hiding place wasn’t so bad, but for the night, Slim decided he’d rather face the voices on the other boat than what might be on this one. They passed the day exploring the hold, but whatever had been on board was long gone, for the bottom was torn clear out of it, and it was resting only on the twisted grass!

Darkness closed in quickly, and before they could lose sight of the mystery ship, Jack and Slim dove in. When they reached the ship, there were no dangling ropes to be seen, so they swam to the rudder chain, and climbed the mossy links to the rear deck. Everything was in order, but no one was about. Careful not to make any noise, they sneaked forward and pressed their noses against a darkened porthole, when something cold and hard pressed against their backs! A voice boomed out of the black.

“Vell, spies, huh? Git along there!”

Rough hands grabbed them and they were shoved into a cabin, brilliantly lighted, but with the portholes blacked out! At first the boys could hardly believe their eyes — the place was a maze of radio equipment! The drone of a hidden generator was plainly audible.

A dark-faced man came out of a room off the cabin. He took in the situation with a glance. “Tie em up and throw ’em in the hold! In the morning, dump ’em both on one of the derelicts!”

Before they could say a word, their hands and feet were in ropes, and they were rolled down a flight of stairs into the belly of the ship.

When the sound of footsteps faded away, Jack spoke up. “Quick, get busy on these ropes! No time to lose!”

Slim and Jack lay back to back, and worked on each other’s bonds. Fortunately, the men who tied them weren’t sailors, and in an hour they were free.

“What goes on here, Jack?” Slim asked, taking a deep breath.

“From the looks of things, this is a German ship! Probably radioing the sizes and positions of our convoys to the Fatherland. They’re in an ideal spot to pull a stunt like that!” The boys stared at each other intently. Slim broke the silence.

“Then, it’s up to us, I guess— Let’s go!”

They stole up the stairs, and with a little manipulation, opened the lock on the door. There was no sound at all. Evidently, the crew was asleep. Slim located the radio room and softly opened the door. Snoring in a chair was the operator, and to keep him asleep, Slim hefted a handy wrench and brought it down on his head.

They set to work in a hurry, barricaded the door and windows, and then flipped on the generator. Jack was at the key of the set. In a moment, the air was filled with their urgent message. Jack tapped it out, and at the receiving end, Slim got an almost immediate reply! A destroyer was in the neighborhood and had their position — coming at full speed!

And just in time, for the set went dead as the sound of shoulders smashing against the door reached their ears! But the barricade held. Shots cracked through the panels, and the room shook with the effort to break in! The door was about to give, when a shell screamed through the air!

Jack and Slim thumped each other, shouting, with joy. “THE DESTROYER!”

Later, on board the destroyer, with the enemy in irons, the captain congratulated the boys. “You’ve done your country a great service, men! We’ve been trying to locate that set a long time!”

Slim looked at Jack. They were still shaking at their close call. “Well,” Slim smiled, “if it happens again, I hope it’s on land. That doggone Sargasso Sea is too spooky to suit me!”