Free Haladras by Michael M. Farnsworth Page A

lips pressed firmly together. How he wanted to speak his mind. It
wouldn’t do any good. He knew that. There was nothing he could do to convince
them. It was over.
    With trembling limbs, the head inquisitor slowly sank back
into his chair.
    “Now,” he continued, “as I was saying, without further
evidence, we must conclude—”
    “My lord?” came a voice from the audience. The head
inquisitor looked up sharply, visibly agitated that anyone would be so bold as
to interrupt him. His anger, however, quickly vanished from his face when he
saw who it was.
    “Ah, yes, Captain Arturo. You wish to make a comment?”
    “If it pleases the board, I propose that we test the
veracity of the apprentice’s claim.”
    The old inquisitor raised a gray eyebrow. “A test you say?”
he said, skepticism apparent in his voice. “What sort of a test, Captain?”
    “I believe we can recreate the right conditions that the
winch was under when it allegedly malfunctioned.”
    “Recreate the conditions, Captain?” the head inquisitor
asked in astonishment. “I hardly think that it is worth our time or worth
putting more lives in danger by attempting to recreate these events solely for
the purpose of validating this very weak claim.”
    “My lord,” he replied, “I do not believe it a waste of this
court’s time to come to a thorough verdict in this matter. A discrepancy exists
between the claims of the chief engineer and this apprentice. I desire to know
the reason. If the apprentice is mistaken, so be it. But I want to be certain
that winch is in proper working order. Lives depend on it functioning
correctly.”
    “It is functioning correctly, I tell you!” shouted a voice
that Skylar recognized as the engineer’s. “It’s a waste of time. There’s
nothing wrong with that winch.”
    “Calm yourself, Mr. Engineer,” said the head inquisitor. “No
one doubts your competency. But the captain has the right to demand further
investigation. I only wish to know how he intends to accomplish this test in a
safe manner.”
    “Those details will only be important if they support the
apprentice’s claim. Without further waste of the court’s time, I respectfully
request the board grant me a few hours in which to execute my plan.”
    The old inquisitor paused, frowning in thought. Then he
slowly turned and looked at the other gray figures beside him. In turn, each
nodded slowly. The head inquisitor turned back to Arturo.
    “You have precisely two hours, Captain. I hope this test of
yours is worthy of our time. Harbor Master Rasbus, see that the captain has
whatever he needs to expedite his test. Until then, this court is adjourned.”
    “Thank you, my lord,” replied Arturo.
    Captain Arturo’s plan was ingenious in its simplicity. With
Rasbus’ permission, he had enlisted the aid of both Skylar and Kindor, in
addition to the chief engineer, who grudgingly complied, and two other
dockhands. His plan was to attach the cable of the winch Skylar had been using
to the cable of a winch on the opposite side of the deck. Gradually, two winch
operators would reel in their cables. Once the lines were taut, the operator of
Skylar’s winch would incrementally increase the tension on the cables from each
end. When the tension gauge neared the level at which Skylar had attempted to
activate the winch’s emergency release, the winch operator would try to do the
same on Skylar’s winch. Should it fail again the winchman on the opposite side
would merely activate his emergency release, and thus eliminate any danger.
    The chief engineer manned the winch Skylar had been using on
the day of the incident . Within short order the group, under Captain
Arturo’s concise directions, had prepared everything to perform the test.
Skylar watched intently as the two sagging cables tightened, his own muscles
tightening with every passing second.
    Gradually the needle of the gauge moved, the tension rising
higher. Every millimeter it moved brought him