id," someone protested. "It is impossible to secure
a concentration of acid on the surface of the sea strong enough to eat
holes in steel."

"Maybe it's impossible but it sure as hell has happened!"

Each passing wave tossed the oily liquid against the hull of the Idaho.
It hissed softly when it struck and promptly began its deadly work. What
was happening below the waterline was not visible. Probably no damage
was being done there because the acid was on the surface and did not
touch the areas below the waterline. But enough damage was being done
above the water! Pits two inches deep were already appearing in the
steel sides of the ship.

"Full speed ahead!" Captain Higgins ordered.

Their hope was to get out of the area covered by the acid and to get out
of it quickly. But--the patch of silver was miles in extent. And there
was no way to determine exactly how much damage had been done to the
ship. The line of corrosion extending around the hull might have
weakened her so badly that she was unseaworthy.

Captain Higgins took the only possible course. He ordered the ship to
make for land.

* * * * *

Two hours later the Idaho was resting in a natural harbor between low
hills. A river emptied into the sea here. Captain Higgins had grown
years older as he took the ship into the mouth of the harbor. He had no
charts of the place, no way of knowing how much water was available, or
whether there were hidden reefs waiting to rip the bottom out of the
ship. He took her in blind, the hardest job any ship's master ever has
to face.

Like a wounded lion, the Idaho was seeking a place where she could lie
up and determine how badly she had been hurt. In entering the harbor she
was going into what might easily be a death trap but if she stayed
outside, her weakened hull might give away and she might go down with
all hands.

Higgins sent his engineers in boats to determine how much damage had
been done to the hull. With his officers, he waited on the bridge for
the engineers to report. There was none of the acid on the surface of
the harbor.

Craig heard the chief engineer report.

"The hull is so weak that the ship may sink at any moment, sir. An
effort to move her might crumble the plates. Holes in the sides six to
eight inches deep, sir."

The captain's hands on the rail of the bridge tightened until the
knuckles showed white.

"Very well," he said. "Beach her."

"Beach her, sir?"