Carse, Robert "The Menacing Cargo"

This formulaic ship-in-a-hurricane tale with a flashback to an event which occurred during the recently concluded Second World War is of chief interest to today's reader for its psychological depiction of what we now know to be Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder. Carse sets his short story aboard the Caribbean cargo-liner SAN FELIPE during a violent hurricane and focuses the narrative on 1st Mate Harris, a World War 2 veteran of merchant convoys. When the SAN FELIPE's captain takes seriously ill and is confined to his bed, Harris is forced to take charge of the vessel. This is the Mate's first position after a self-enforced period ashore during which time he sold vacuum cleaners door-to-door, of all things, in order to support his wife and young children. Mate Harris is portrayed as being edgy and unsure of himself, particularly since he is serving with the pre-War captain who'd trained him as a junior officer. Midway through the story Carse gives us a flashback to a younger, more confident Harris, now captain of a Liberty ship (the fictitious HOFRICH) in the South Pacific. Despite his young age, Harris is chosen as Commodore for a convoy of Liberty ships sailing from New Guinea to the Schouten Islands. Fog and bad weather kept then-Captain/Commodore Harris on the bridge of his ship for days on end, and, relying solely on navigation information provided him by his green 1st Officer, he had piled the HOFRICH on an uncharted reef. Harris then shot off rockets to warn other convoy ships of the reef's position; unfortunately, a lurking Japanese submarine used the rockets to gain a fix on the convoy and soon destroyed two tankers in it. A hastily convened American "bamboo court" found Harris responsible for the loss of the HOFRICH as well as the tankers, and his license was suspended for 6 months.

Back Stateside, Harris collapsed emotionally and vowed never to return to the sea. Listless, easily agitated, unable to focus are but a few of the Post-Traumatic Stress Syndrome symptoms he exhibited. Only his failure as a salesman propelled him back to the sea. Suffice to say, he received no treatment for his psychological ailment and indeed its cure only comes about at the conclusion of Carse's tale when Harris unconsciously confronts his demons, casts them aside and takes over command of the SAN FELIPE. His quick acting decision-making saves the vessel from foundering, and the tale ends with Harris about to be promoted to captain of the SAN FELIPE - improbable psychology, of course, but a damned good way to conclude the story!