The cruise ship Queen Alexandra caught the storm full-on less than a hundred miles off Hatteras. The companionways were laced with ropes, most of the passengers hadn’t shown from their bunks since the afternoon tea. By dinner time, the saloons were deserted, the bar crowd had dwindled to three hardened passengers and the bartender. He stood at the far end of the bar, made no attempt to erase the boredom from his eyes as he stared out onto the rain-lashed deck. Most of the crew of the Queen welcomed an occasional spell of bad weather because it kept the passengers occupied and out of their hair. Not the bartender, whose take depended on a heavy play from the passengers and their tips.
Queen AlexandraQueenOn the bridge, Captain Delmar Rose was scowling as he watched the build-up of the blac
