'minä tulin ja sinä istut tääl'

 Minä toimitan asiani,

ja teen mitä teen.

Sinä toimitat asiasi, teet mitä teet.

Minä en elä vain sen vuoksi,

että täyttäisin teidän toiveenne.

Et sinäkään ole

maailmassa minun vuokseni.

Sinä olet sinä, ja minä olen minä.

Ja jos sattumalta tavataan,

se on vain hyvä asia.

Jos taas ei, niin

ei sillekään mitään voi.

REFANULT

By Harry Tobin

Ginsberg wasn't much more than thirty years of his age; he was slim and tall with a pale complexion and had unusual eyes.

There was something like eyes of a deep-sea fish, they seemed to be subject to unusual fluctuation of their colour, altering between blue and grimy grey, depending on how long his drinking-bout lasted.

He was a drunkard, and so susceptible for alcohol that after a few bottles of beer, he was unable to make out which colour an oncoming ship was showing.

His body was weakened by alcohol so that he could suddenly, and- without warning-fall over like a person with epilepsy. After a single tumble of this kind, he had hurt his head, and there was an indentation on the right side, just under his blonde hairline.

Being sober, he was quiet and tame, but getting just a glassful of vodka he got drunk, and a significant change came over his appearance. The drunk really took the upper hand of him for he then became contentious and he started cries with high-pitched stone, like a drunken woman.

In spite of this physical and mental lameness, he had the sea captain tickets in his pocket, and, with referring for that merit of rating, he naturally held permission to act, as the master on board for any range and any size of vessels.

The document, the honorable title and the certificate of competence had given him pieces of bread then and now. He had never gotten a job or opportunity as the master on board a ship before, so he hasn't faced the possibility of losing his captain's ticket, There was only one exception when he had ran into an incident that led to the risk of losing his ticket.

The episode took place in the archipelago, in a domestic trade when he was making a voyage with a Barge, fully loaded with sand. And during that voyage, he had taken a glass or two of vodka then got drunk and then disappeared.

How long time he had been out of the wheelhouse before the Helman, got worried and slow down the engine and began hooting and calling after his skipper.

Ginsberg had been hiding in the stern nook of the barge, and there he was asleep and high as a kite.

The deckman now with bewildered mind began to hail for help from the boats of pass buyers, he also had gulped up half a bottle of vodka and was entirely unable to do anything.

For the sake of this case, Ginsberg nearly lost his master ticket.

However, the authorities of the National Board of Navigation - after inquiry, just considered to canceling his ticket for a while which didn't prevent him from servicing onboard as an o/s

Ginsberg spent his leisure time in a public bar named Cookie. He sat there among the no seamen. There were two sorts of people around him, some of them boasted being once or twice afloat in a vessel of local traffic and there were men as well, who never been set their foot on the deck of a ship of any kind.

What they shared with themselves was the familiar feeling of drunkards with a deep sense of drunken comradeship, and for all of them,-he was

the captain.

It was a day in middle winter when Ginsberg got back his ticket and got a sign on a ship as the master; the vessel was a coaster and she bore a biblical name as Refanult.

The muster occasion took place in a room of the port admiration, it was a formal and respected occasion for a seagoing crew so that at the end of it, Ginsberg became the official master of the freighter Refanult.

His documents in his hand, wearing his white-blue jacked he stood by the table of the mustering office. He was sober, and there was no sign of inability to be found in his manner or his appearance, standing there waiting his turn to sign the ship's article, he gave an impression of a reliable seafarer.

It was a cloudy midwinter day in the most unstable season of the year when a northern could blow for days causing troubles at the sea and was asked hard work at the shipping business and kept the seafarers stand-by.

Extreme changes could exist over the sea, and all kind of change of the weather above the sea, and on the shore as well, it could be frozen hard during a night, and ice growing on the ship's antennas and rails with white mantle, by the evening the cold was breaking down. Then there was the fog, spreading over the sea and coast such conditions were eating the nerve of the seafarers,

MV Refanult was a coaster, little more than a thousand tons of capacity, and she was fitted with old techniques and provided with poor stores. She too much looked like a rusting hulk with her rusted broadsides.

According to the ship's classing certificates and the classifications of the vessel, she had licensed for sail near the coast only.

Ignoring this point of safety and the surveyor made his engagement notes for the seaworthiness to the muster roll in the compliance by demand of the shipowner Mr Hollow, who requested that the ship must be labelled with the stamp which proved the ship as seaworthy for the voyage.

The surveyor was well aware of her limitations, but the usual corruption, which gave him a permanent asset of the duty-free whiskey and American cigarettes obligated him taken a less sharp look over the rules.

There was the crew in this muster room to join. A man about thirty, solid build, lowering faced a young man in his prime. He stood there upright with his mate's certificate in his pocket.

Despite his gloomy outlook, he was very obedient. One could know that there was a haunting shadow of fear in his young mind; it has link to his experience at sea. He has been badly traumatized during his previous voyage. He had been acting as the third mate aboard a ship named 'Cannibal.' and quite well remembered that early morning when he had been in charge as the duty officer on the bridge. He couldn't forget it. There had been an unknown ship in the situation as 'close quarter,' close in a collision, and that unknown vessel nearly rammed his ship with her large bows as an axe ready to fall and with the terrible sound of her loud horn.

After this traumatic experience, he had settled onshore, keeping his

decision; leave the sea forever, never accept a job as the mate on

board a ship anymore.

Now he was standing there waiting for his turn to sign, he was going to the sea again. His mate certificate stood there because the official roll of the crew was short of the license, not short of skilful men. So he had approved the request of the shipowner Mr Hollow, to join the ship, only with a particular clause, which will give him the position and rank on board as an able seaman without any responsibility of the navigation.

"No problem," Mr Hollow assured him.

"If you wish to be just as the 'metros, 'you can be the matrons. 'It's

only the certificate of competency I need."

He signed the engagement, which indicated him as an able

seaman on board and he firmly pointed out that matter of fact for everyone.

When a man is going to sea after been living a long time on shore with his lovely wife, been settled in their regular life, there must be some other reasons go to sea as the sea itself. Perhaps a man long accustomed to living daily life onshore became bored and wanted little more attention for himself and he could then wishing to take a ship and go to the danger of the seas, for, him, as a man, the sea has always been the focus of hero worship.

There were two men left in the muster room. A young fellow an ordinary seaman, no more than eighteen years of his age, he was going to join as a first trip man. He was a fisherman who had made his living by fishing in a boat like a dory on the inshore water.

The last one who was going to join aboard the vessel Refanult - wasn't quite old either, perhaps less than forty of age. He was a man with sobers look and wealthy outlook. In spite of the sign for ab seaman, he, in reality, become the real captain and commander on board the Refanult.

He had served his time as skipper limited trade that entitled him to act as a master on board for the Baltic Sean with his home trade certificate. Now the ship was bound far over the limitation and by the formally, he could declare competent on board as an able seaman only. His name was Peter, and he was nicknamed and called by his friend, as Peter per mil, and with this nickname, he was well known along the coast and in the seaports. He had earned that kind of epithet by his habit to wight man's ability. "No worth of his salt', was heard him saying, or "it's three per mil of man". He had gained his reputation as the as tug master, and was coming to know as a caple man and would be able to handle a ships and the men in them.

A couple of days ago the phone had ringed and the owner Mr.

Hollow had been online.

"Would you like to drive a trip by the ship little?" Mr Hollow

asked. That; trip-by ship 'sounded odd to Peter's ears. He always thought that navigation is something more than a ride.

There was a little barrack-like hut standing nearby the dock, It was the office of the well-known shipowner Hollow and there was the company's arm,

The arm was there, decorated on the outer wall aside from the exterior door. The picture was made with white paint on the plate with a blue background; at once anyone could find its made with very dubious hands and there was curious

a tableau of ship's anchor with a tangle of cable, It was indefinite

tangle and in the center of the figure it read, written in white letters;

the Christian name of shipowner Mr. Hollow.

The hut was small, and so were the rooms in it.

Peter opened the door and entered the small room. The room was divided into two equal portions by the inner wall. In the first room

were two pale-faced women in their daily duty of the bookkeeping.

In this room were all the bookkeeping documents and all the necessary paper needed to run the ship management so that the other

the room which was the room of the boss and director; was, almost empty.

There wasn't anything but a maritime calendar hanging on the wall of the room, and a writing pad on the table.

Mr Hollow lifted his head and waved Peter to sit down opposite the table. Mr Hollov was a short lean, tiny man. He has a narrow shaped gull, weak chin with small fish eyes and sand-coloured hair. These didals made him look very much, like some grey human rat.

.

With his watery grey eyes, he stared at Peter.

"Sit down and take off your hat. You got my ring?"

"Yes, I got it. and here I'm".

Peter sat, saying nothing for a while.

'' I 'll put you as the captain aboard. How does it sound to you? Hollola said.

"I don't know. Boud where?"

" For Sant Malo".

"It's a long way".

"If you don't want to embark, say it now. If you are not satisfied, say it now, and I will find some other".

"I have just the home trade certificate, not enough to sail out of the baltic sea".

"There will be not a problem at all," he said." Let's mix this pack

of cards, and you will be the captain on board the Aku. Of course,

formally you are an able seaman, but as I said, in practice, you act as the

captain. You will have the captain's cabin and all the power."

"I don't know," Peter said with a hesitated mind.

. "It sounds odd. How could You warrant that the boy will agree that all? The boy could draw

his head full and cancel all my authority and rise one hell of a row."

"He must." the voice of the boss was firm. "The boy has been a long

time here, and I know him. I can't entrust the ship to him. The boy

had got his bread from here. He will be obedient for that. We here

will hold on to the rule to decide who will be the captain of our vessels.

I, from here shall inform every port you will call at. I will let everybody know-all of them, that you are the captain on board. If there will

arise any conflict between you and the boy, I can give my word that you can

sent the boy home along the soil ground, by the birth's way. The boy

will serve on the board as the chief mate, and you will have an able

seaman as well onboard who hold the mate's receipt if you fall into a problem with the authorities. It's up to you."

The speech of the mall man was firm and purposeful, there was

specific security in his speech as at the statement of a country preacher who assures

that any bad things cannot touch them, who are authorized by the Lord.

"You can go home now, rest overnight," Hollow added. "I can

take care of the loading, there will be loading the granite up to the nine

a hundred tons and timber on it five hundred tons. You come then,

tomorrow afternoon. The loading ought to be ready then."

Peter rose and went out. When he closed the door behind him, he

heard Hollow shouted after him. "See tomorrow ."

Peter paced his way along the quayside, then he stopped for a while and

light a cigarette. He could see Refanult moored at the opposing side of the dock, she laid haight with no cargo and there was bustle on the quay as the stevedoring prepared to start the loading. The short northern daylight had turned dark and the deck lights burned above the deck. A black figure of human appeared in the galley's doorway, standing there and

smoking. The character remained for a while in the door, then the

cigarette blew over the side, and the human shape disappeared from the deck.

Peter continued his walk, he wanted to walk a little a bit to think and work out

the kinks that sounded in his mind still didn't find the way out. He