They met frequently in the following weeks and slept together, mostly in his cabin aboard ship. It was the added thrill of sneaking on board and making love under the noses of the captain and crew that she found especially exciting. Katie had been trapped on board when General Hui surrounded the ship and dock with a small army of security guards. Unable to go ashore despite pleas by Gallagher and an angry Captain Hunt when he was informed of her presence, General Hui insisted she remain on board for the duration of the voyage. Since leaving Shanghai, she had rarely stepped from the cabin; her only companion when Gallagher was on duty in the engine room was the little dog that she had taught tricks to pass the long hours at sea.

Gallagher hurriedly inserted their papers, passports and valuables in a waterproof oilcloth pouch. He threw on a heavy sailor's peacoat and looked at her through blue eyes clouded with concern. "You ready?"

She held up her arms and looked down at the bulky mass of clothing. "I'll never get a life jacket over all this," she said, a tremor in her voice. "Without one I'll sink like a stone in the water."

"Have you forgotten? General Hui gave orders that all Me jackets be thrown overboard four weeks ago."

"We'll get away in the lifeboats then."

"The boats that haven't already been bashed to pieces can never be launched in these waters."

She looked at him steadily. "We're going to die, aren't we? If we don't drown, we'll freeze to death."

He pulled a stocking cap down over her blond hair and ears. "Warm head makes for warm feet." Then he gently tilted her face upward between his massive hands and kissed her. "Darlin', didn't they ever tell you that Irishmen never drown?" Taking Katie by the hand, Gallagher dragged her roughly into the passageway and headed up a companionway to the deck above.

Forgotten in the bedlam, Fritz the dachshund stretched out obediently on the bed, believing his mistress would soon return, bewilderment in his brown eyes.

Those of the crew off duty who weren't sitting around playing dominoes or telling stories of other storms they survived were sleeping in their berths, oblivious to the ship about to break up around them. The cook and his galley help were leaning up after dinner and serving coffee to those who lingered. Despite the battering from the storm, the crew was happy at the prospect of reaching port. Although their destination had been held from them, they knew their exact position within thirty miles.