Willie hes­i­tated out­side Queeg’s door for a cou­ple of min­utes, rehears­ing answers to hypo­thet­i­cal shrieks and snarls of the cap­tain. He knocked. “Come in!”

It was dark in the cabin. The black-out cur­tain hung over the port­hole. Dimly, Willie could see the bulge of the captain’s form in the bunk. “Who is it and what do you want?” said a voice muf­fled by a pillow.

“Sir, it’s [Willie] Keith. It’s about the court-martial. Stil­well wants to plead not guilty.”

The cap­tain reached a curved talon out from under the pil­low and snapped on the bed lamp. He sat up, squint­ing, and scratched his naked chest.

p. 334

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Tags: character description, dialogue, Herman Wouk, mood, The Caine Mutiny, tone