Pitt gestured up at the high-angled bow of the cruise ship. "I see life up there."

A large group of human figures could be seen waving excitedly on the forepeak of the ship. Unlike those who had run for the stern, fifty or more passengers and large numbers of the crew had made their way to the open forepeak above the bow. Fortunately for them, the bow was a good two hundred feet away from the forward bulkheads of the superstructure and upwind from the fire and acrid smoke that had streaked toward the stern.

McFerrin straightened, held a hand over his eyes to shield them from the rising sun and peered up at the tiny figures wildly gesturing above the bow. "Mostly crew, with a sprinkling of passengers. Actually, they look like they might be okay for a little while. The fire's going the other way."

Pitt took a pair of binoculars and scanned the waters around the bow. "None appear to have jumped. I see no sign of floating bodies or swimmers."

"So long as they're safe from the fire for the moment," said Burch, approaching from inside the pilothouse, "it's better we leave them until another ship arrives or the weather settles down."

"It's obvious we can't stay afloat in rough seas with another four hundred people on board," Pitt agreed. "We're just a hair away from capsizing and sinking as it is."

The wind was beginning to fling itself at them, rising from ten miles an hour to thirty. The sea was tossing whitecapped foam in the breeze, and the swells came marching in like an irresistible force, now rising nearly ten feet high. It was only a warning of the fury that was yet to come.

Pitt rushed off the bridge and shouted for the crew and scientists to get as many people as possible off the work deck and to secure those who were left before the waves smashed over the sides and swept them away. The crush on the lower decks was quickly becoming unbearable, but there was no alternative. To leave hundreds of people exposed to the elements during a tempest would be signing their death warrants.

Pitt studied the crews of the two boats trailing in the wake. He was gravely concerned about their situation. The sea was too chaotic for them to come alongside and unload their passengers. Pitt looked at Burch. "I suggest, Skipper, that we turn and come around on the lee side of the cruise ship and use her for a shelter from the storm's battering. If we can't get the boat crews and the survivors on board, we've got to move them to calmer water in the next few minutes or it will be too late for them."

Burch nodded. "A sound recommendation. It may be our only salvation as well."

"Can't you bring them on board?" asked McFerrin.

"Another hundred people on this vessel will be the straw that broke the camel's back," said Burch soberly.