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 Oxford University Press is a department of the University of Oxford.
It furthers the University’s objective of excellence in research, scholarship,
and education by publishing worldwide. Oxford is a registered trade mark of
Oxford University Press in the UK and in certain other countries.

Published in Canada by
Oxford University Press
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Don Mills, Ontario M3C 0H5 Canada

www.oupcanada.com

Copyright © Oxford University Press Canada 2019

The moral rights of the author have been asserted

Database right Oxford University Press (maker)

First Edition published in 2008

Second Edition published in 2010
Third Canadian Edition published in 2013
Fourth Canadian Edition published in 2016

Copyright © 2016, 2013, 2010, 2008, 2005 by Oxford University Press.

Adapted from a work originally published by Oxford University Press, Ltd. This adapted version
has been customized for Canada only and is published by arrangement with
Oxford University Press Ltd. It may not be sold elsewhere

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in

a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, without the
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Every effort has been made to determine and contact copyright holders.
In the case of any omissions, the publisher will be pleased to make
suitable acknowledgement in future editions.

Library and Archives Canada Cataloguing in Publication

Vaughn, Lewis, author
The power of critical thinking/Chris MacDonald
and Lewis Vaughn–Fifth Canadian edition.

Originally written by Lewis Vaughn.

ISBN 978-0-19-903043-9 (softcover). –ISBN 978-0-19-903048-4 (eBook)

1. Critical thinking–Textbooks. 2. Textbooks.

I. MacDonald, Chris, 1969-, author II. Title.

BC177.V38 2019 160 C2018-906669-5

Cover image: iStock.com/Getty Images Plus

Cover design: Sherill Chapman
Interior design: Sherill Chapman
Interior design image credit: © hobbit/Shutterstock.com

Oxford University Press is committed to our environment.

Wherever possible, our books are printed on paper which comes from
responsible sources.

Printed and bound in the United States of America

1 2 3 4 — 22 21 20 19
Brief Contents
Boxes xi
From the Publisher xiii
Preface xxi

PART ONE: Basics 1

1 The Power of Critical Thinking 2
2 The “Environment” of Critical Thinking 33
3 Making Sense of Arguments 63

PART TWO: Reasons 121

4 Reasons for Belief and Doubt 122
5 Faulty Reasoning 174

PART THREE: Arguments 213

6 Deductive Reasoning: Categorical Logic 214
7 Deductive Reasoning: Propositional Logic 248
8 Inductive Reasoning 284

PART FOUR: Explanations 343

9 Inference to the Best Explanation 344
10 Judging Scientific Theories 390
11 Contexts of Application: Thinking Critically about Health, Law, and Ethics 432

Appendix A Essays for Evaluation 460

Appendix B Answers to Select Exercises 483

Glossary 512
Index 516
Contents
Boxes xi
From the Publisher xiii
Preface xxi

PART ONE Basics 1

1 The Power of Critical Thinking 2
Why It Matters 5
How It Works 9
Claims and Reasons 9
Reasons and Arguments 12
Arguments in the Rough 17
Summary 19
Field Problems 26
Self-Assessment Quiz 26
Critical Thinking and Writing Exercise 28
Writing Assignments 32

2 The “Environment” of Critical Thinking 33

Category 1: How We Think 34
Am I Really Special? 35
The Power of the Group 41
Category 2: What We Think 45
Subjective Relativism 45
Social Relativism 47
Skepticism 48
Summary 49
Field Problems 56
Self-Assessment Quiz 56
Integrative Exercises 57
vi Contents

Critical Thinking and Writing Exercise 59

Writing Assignments 61
Notes 62

3 Making Sense of Arguments 63

Argument Basics 64
Deductive Arguments 65
Inductive Arguments 67
Good Arguments 67
Judging Arguments 70
Finding Missing Parts 77
Argument Patterns 83
Affirming the Antecedent 84
Denying the Consequent 84
Hypothetical Syllogisms 85
Denying the Antecedent 86
Affirming the Consequent 87
Disjunctive Syllogism 87
Diagramming Arguments 92
Assessing Long Arguments 104
Summary 109
Field Problems 110
Self-Assessment Quiz 110
Integrative Exercises 112
Critical Thinking and Writing Exercise 115
Writing Assignments 118
Notes 119

PART TWO Reasons 121

4 Reasons for Belief and Doubt 122
When Claims Conflict 124
Experts and Evidence 128
Personal Experience 136
Impairment 136
Expectation 138
Innumeracy 140
Fooling Ourselves 142
Resisting Contrary Evidence 142
Looking for Confirming Evidence 144
Preferring Available Evidence 145
 Contents vii

Claims in the News 147

Inside the News 148
Sorting out the News 153
Advertising and Persuasion 154
Identification 156
Slogans 156
Misleading Comparisons 156
Weasel Words 157
Summary 158
Field Problems 163
Self-Assessment Quiz 163
Integrative Exercises 165
Critical Thinking and Writing Exercise 167
Writing Assignments 172
Notes 172

5 Faulty Reasoning 174

Irrelevant Premises 176
Genetic Fallacy 176
Appeal to the Person 176
Composition 179
Division 179
Equivocation 180
Appeal to Popularity 181
Appeal to Tradition 183
Appeal to Ignorance 184
Appeal to Emotion 185
Red Herring 187
Straw Man 188
Unacceptable Premises 190
Begging the Question 190
False Dilemma 191
Slippery Slope 194
Hasty Generalization 195
Faulty Analogy 196
Summary 197
Field Problems 202
Self-Assessment Quiz 202
Integrative Exercises 204
Critical Thinking and Writing Exercise 206
Writing Assignments 210
Notes 211
viii Contents

PART THREE Arguments 213

6 Deductive Reasoning: Categorical Logic 214
Statements and Classes 216
Translations and Standard Form 219
Terms 220
Quantifiers 223
Diagramming Categorical Statements 227
Assessing Categorical Syllogisms 232
Summary 242
Field Problems 244
Self-Assessment Quiz 245
Integrative Exercises 246
Writing Assignments 247

7 Deductive Reasoning: Propositional Logic 248

Connectives and Truth Values 250
Conjunction 251
Disjunction 253
Negation 256
Conditional 257
Checking for Validity 263
Simple Arguments 263
Tricky Arguments 267
Streamlined Evaluation 270
Summary 276
Field Problems 279
Self-Assessment Quiz 279
Integrative Exercises 281
Writing Assignments 283
Note 283

8 Inductive Reasoning 284

Enumerative Induction 286
Sample Size 288
Representativeness 289
Opinion Polls 291
Statistical Syllogisms 300
Evaluating Statistical Syllogisms 302
Analogical Induction 304
Relevant Similarities 307
 Contents ix

Relevant Dissimilarities 308

The Number of Instances Compared 309
Diversity among Cases 309
Causal Arguments 313
Testing for Causes 314
Causal Confusions 320
Confusing Cause with Temporal Order 323
Necessary and Sufficient Conditions 326
Mixed Arguments 333
Summary 335
Field Problems 336
Self-Assessment Quiz 336
Integrative Exercises 339
Writing Assignments 341
Notes 342

PART FOUR Explanations 343

9 Inference to the Best Explanation 344
Explanations and Inference 346
Abductive Reasoning 357
Theories and Consistency 358
Theories and Criteria 360
Testability 362
Fruitfulness 363
Scope 365
Simplicity 367
Conservatism 369
Telling Good Theories from Bad 374
A Doomed Flight 377
Summary 384
Field Problems 384
Self-Assessment Quiz 385
Integrative Exercises 386
Writing Assignments 388
Notes 389

10 Judging Scientific Theories 390

Science and Not Science 391
The Scientific Method 393
Testing Scientific Theories 396
Judging Scientific Theories 398
x Contents

Copernicus versus Ptolemy 400

Evolution versus Creationism 402
Science and Weird Theories 412
Making Weird Mistakes 414
Leaping to the Weirdest Theory 414
Mixing What Seems with What Is 415
Misunderstanding the Possibilities 416
Judging Weird Theories 417
Talking with the Dead 418
Summary 423
Field Problems 426
Self-Assessment Quiz 426
Integrative Exercises 428
Writing Assignments 430
Notes 431

11 Contexts of Application: Thinking Critically

about Health, Law, and Ethics 432
Thinking Critically about Health and Health Care 433
Key Skills 433
Evaluating Health Claims in the News 435
Finding and Evaluating Expert Advice 436
Stumbling Blocks 438
Thinking Critically about the Law 440
Key Skills 442
Stumbling Blocks 444
Thinking Critically about Ethics 446
Key Skills 446
Stumbling Blocks 453
Summary 455
Field Problems 457
Self-Assessment Quiz 458
Writing Assignments 459
Notes 459

Appendix A Essays for Evaluation 460

Appendix B Answers to Select Exercises 483

Glossary 512
Index 516
Boxes
Food For Thought
Dumb and Dumber 5
Passion and Reason 7
Architecture: Creativity through Critical
Thinking 9
Religious Faith and Critical Thinking 11
When We Construct the Facts Ourselves 38
Is It Unethical to Believe without Good
Reasons? 40
Prejudice, Bias, and Racism 44
Constructing Your Own World—from the News 47
Persuading or Reasoning? 65
When Reasoning Crashes . . . Leave the Scene of
the Accident 73
Arguments on the Net 83
No Arguments, Just Fluff 106
Fact and Opinion 125
Folk Psychology 127
Evaluating Internet Sources 132
Do Non-experts Know Best? 134
Anti-expert Sentiments 135
How Reliable Is Eyewitness Testimony in Court?
An Interview with Dr John Turtle 137
Gorilla? What Gorilla? 139
Race Expectations 140
This Is Lunacy! 144
The Dangers of Fooling Ourselves 147
Fake News 149
Facebook and the News 152
Hypocrisy in Politics 178
Bamboozling the Taxpayers 182
Are We Begging the Question Yet? 190
False Dilemmas, Evolution, and Creationism 193
Categorical Inspiration 220
Standard Form versus Fuzziness 222
Let Us Count the Ways . . . 224
Living by the Rules 234
The Limits of the Venn Diagram Method 241
When Critical Thinking Leads to Strange
Places 249
Logic and Computers 254
Arguments We Have Known and Loved 255
Propositional Logic and Essay-Writing 273
How Survey Questions Go Wrong 292
Mean, Median, and Mode 293
Polling the Clueless 295
Analogical Induction in Ethical Reasoning 307
Semmelweis, Clean Hands, and Childbed
Fever 315
Is It Causal Confusion or ESP? 318
Spurious Correlations 321
Darwin and the Best Explanation 350
Sherlock Holmes and Inference to the Best
Explanation 351
Inference to the Best Explanation and the
External World 361
The Importance (and Fun) of Outrageous
Theories 364
There’s No Theory Like a Conspiracy
Theory 368
Was the Moon Landing a Hoax? 370
Are You Scientifically Literate? 395
The Philosophy of Science 399
Ancient Interest in Stars and Planets 400
Can You See Evolution? 404
Gaps in the Fossil Record? 406
Critical Thinking and “Magic” 413
Eyewitness Testimony and Extraordinary
Things 419
Why People Believe Psychic Readings 422
Critical Thinking and Health Professionals 438
Hey, Doc! Don’t Look for Zebras! 440
Ought Implies Can 452
xii Boxes
Everyday Problems and Decisions
What Should I Believe? 7
Self-Concept and Consumerism 39
It’s at the Drugstore. Should I Buy It? 129
The High Cost of a Fallacy 180
Logic and Racism 233
Propositional Logic and Bad Choices 258
Review Notes
Why Critical Thinking Matters 10
Claims, Reasons, and Arguments 17
Avoiding Self-Interested Thinking 41
Avoiding Group Pressure on Your Thinking 45
Deductive and Inductive Arguments 69
Valid Conditional Argument Forms 86
Invalid Conditional Argument Forms 88
Diagramming Arguments: Step by Step 98
Conflicting Claims 135
Personal Experience 141
Fallacies with Irrelevant Premises 189
Fallacies with Unacceptable Premises 196
The Four Standard-Form Categorical
Statements 222
Three Steps to Diagramming a Categorical
Statement 228
Health Care Decisions 325
Grades, Studying, and the Criteria of
Adequacy 375
Conspiracy and Vaccines 417
Jury Duty 441
Five Steps to Checking Validity with Venn
Diagrams 237
Statements and Connectives 259
Common Argument Forms Symbolized 264
The Short Method: Step by Step 271
Enumerative Induction 296
Analogical Induction 310
Causal Confusions 327
A Look Back at the Basics 346
The Lore of Explanations 349
Minimum Requirement: Consistency 359
Criteria of Adequacy 363
Evaluating Theories: The TEST Formula 377
Steps in the Scientific Method 396
Common Errors in Evaluating Extraordinary
Theories 416
 List of Boxes xiii

From the Publisher

The fifth Canadian edition of The Power of Critical Thinking builds on the success-
ful approach used in the previous Canadian editions that have served instructors
and students so well. It gives first-time students a comprehensive, engaging, and
step-by-step introduction to critical thinking, providing them with the tools they
need to apply their critical thinking skills to the real world.
The fifth edition retains qualities that will be familiar to long-time users while
adding new features to help students use their critical thinking skills in everyday
life. Highlights include the following:

1 | The Pow
er of Critical Thinki

W
ng 3
hen you were bor
n, you were com
ments or values pletely without
or viewpoints— opinions or jud
with them. Opinio and now your hea g-
They guide you ns help you to ma d is overflowing
to success (or fail ke your way thr
sions (or bad), emp ure), understand ough the world.
owerment (or par ing (or ignorance
and some blind alysis). Some of ), good deci-
you. Some are tru your beliefs truly
are which? This e; some are not. enable you,
kind of question— But the question
is the fundament a question about is, which ones
al concern of crit the quality of you
Determining the ica l thinking. r beliefs—
quality or value
Student-friendly tone Without compromising rigour kind of thinkin
sity or college edu
g that does this
cati
of your beliefs
job best is critical
thin
requires though
king—a skill tha
t, and the
critical thin
The systematic
king

directly about wha on seeks to foster. This means

evaluation
t a univer- or formulation
or oversimplifying material, this introductory text is t you think but
The quality of beli rather how you
efs is not about
that critical thin
think.
king is not or statements
standards.
of beliefs
by rational
that you do. A soc what factors cau
iolo sed you to have
moral views. A psy gist might tell you how society
written in an engaging tone that students will enjoy. to certain opinio
chologist might
describe how you
has influenced som
the beliefs
e of your
“The recipe for
ignorance is: be
perpetual
ns. Your best frie r emotions cause satisfied with
absorbed most of nd might claim you to cling
The authors tackle tough topics with a casual ap-
your opinions
that you have unc and content
your beliefs dire with your know
lations have mu ctly from your par onsciously ledge.”
ch to do with the ents. But none of
Critical thinkin central task of crit these specu- —Elbert Hub

proach, mixed with humour where appropriate, to ical thinking. bard

g focuses not on
believing. A belief what causes a beli
is worth believin ef but on whether
g, or accepting , if it is worth
we have good reas
enhance students’ understanding and enjoyment. ons to accept it.
CartoonStock
Bradford Veley/

Critical thinking
helps us to asse
most valued beli ss our beliefs
efs. Are they and core valu
supported by es. Consider
good reasoning? some of your

mac30439_ch01_0
01-032.indd 3

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xiv From the Publisher

4 Abundant exercises New and revised exercises

draw from contemporary culture, politics, and
media to provide students with the practice they
need to become confident critical thinkers. Select
B elief
Re asons for answers are provided at the back of the book (Ap-
a nd D ou bt pendix B).

ec tives
Chap te r O bj
s Conflict
When Claim son to
have good rea
You will be able
to other claims we
m conflicts with
that when a clai
• understand
accept, we hav
e good ground
s for dou btin g it.
our backgroun
d information
, we hav e good Emphasis on evaluation of evidence, authority,
conflicts with
that if a claim ely dubi-
• recognize
reason to dou
bt it.
are confronted
with a claim tha
t is neither
to the evidenc
com
e.
plet
and credibility Students are encouraged to critically
that when we tion our belief
• appreciate uld pro por goo d reason for
assess evidence and claims put forward by ex-
ible, we sho there is no
ous nor fully cred a claim when
able to believe
t it is not reason
• realize tha
doing so.
perts, news media, politicians, business leaders,
Evidence
Experts and
You will be able
to
eone an expert
and what doe
s not.
have good rea
son to and friends. In each case, the main principles and
what makes som ert opinion, we
• understand flicts with exp
• understand
doubt it.
that if a claim con

about a claim,
we have goo d reason to suspend procedures are explained and illustrated.
erts disagree
t when the exp
• realize tha
judgment. ity. ertise.
eals to author indicators of exp
• recognize
fallacious app using the four
non-experts by
true experts from
• distinguish

PM
12/17/18 04:44

21-173.indd 122
mac30439_ch04_1

236 Par t Thr ee |

Arg uments

Let’s diagram our

one premise at a syllogism about
politicians and civi
time. We can star l servants, diagram
empty, overlappin t by labelling the ming
g circles: diagram like this
, with three

Elected officials

An updated art program New photos, along with

thought-provoking captions, reinforce key concepts
in each chapter. Most captions pose questions that
will prepare students for in-class discussions and
Politicians
Civil servants

Now, we diagram
participation. To do this, we
“elected official
the first premise
look only at the (“A ll elected offi
two circles invo cials are civil serv
lved in premise ants”).
s” circle and the 1—namely the
circle entirely. You “civil servants”
should literally circle. For now,
A-statement. So, pretend that it is ignore the other
to represent prem not there at all.
circle that does ise 1, we shade the Premise 1 is an
not overlap with part of the elected
existing elected the civil servant officials
officials are also s circle. This sign
civil servants: ifies that all the

Rigorous attention to detail All exercises, Elected officials

philosoph­ical facts, figures, and diagrams have been

checked and validated by a panel of leading ex-
perts in the field.
Politicians
Civil servants

Notice that, if you

gram looks exactly just look at the two
like our original circles we’re wor
A-statement diag king with here,
of A-statements the dia-
always look like ram on page 228
that! . Diagrams

mac30439_ch06_2
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PM
 From the Publisher xv

Enhanced Pedagogy
This edition of The Power of Critical Thinking builds on10the| Judging
pedagogical approach
Scientific Theories 417
that has successfully helped students practise and refine their critical thinking skills.

Everyday Problems and Decisions

Conspiracy and Vaccines
Being a parent means making many critical decisions, including decisions about your child’s health care.
One of the most important steps in insuring a child’s health is making sure that he or she gets properly
vaccinated. Standard vaccinations for infants include vaccinations that protect against diphtheria, teta-
nus, influenza, measles, mumps, rubella, polio, and more. Some of the diseases that these vaccines help
to prevent are deadly. Many of them have been virtually eliminated in countries like Canada and the
United States, in large part because almost all children are now vaccinated against them. But many of
them are still a frequent cause of illness and death in parts of the world where vaccination is unavailable
or unaffordable.
Some parents in Canada and the United States, however, still opt not to have their children vaccin-
ated. In some cases, they fear the side effects they believe the vaccines to cause. It is true that all vac-
cines can have side effects, but most of them are very minor (like a sore arm or a mild fever) and more
serious side effects are extremely rare. In other cases, parents may believe that the vaccines are simply
unnecessary and that their widespread use is the result of an evil scheme, a conspiracy funded by the
major pharmaceutical companies that make the vaccines. Is that possible? Perhaps, but is it likely? Par-
ents who choose not to have their children vaccinated are ignoring the guidance of the entire med-
ical profession, the conclusions of epidemiologists (scientists who study the spread of disease), and the
advice of every single public health agency. Which theory stands up best when subjected to the tests
provided in this chapter and the previous one?
Everyday Problems and Decisions boxes
allow students to apply their critical think-
ing skills to real-world issues.
Some
12
thingsBasthat
Par t On e |
ics are logically possible, however, are physically impossible. It’s
logically possible for Vaughn’s dog to fly to another galaxy in 60 seconds. Such an
Reasons and
astounding performance Reasons provide
would Argunot ments violate a principle of logic. But it does violate
support for a stat
laws of science pertainingbelieving that a
So a statement
statto
ementspeed-of-light
is true .
ement. That is, they
Rea sons are themselv
travel
prov and
ide us with groundsgravitation;
for
it is therefore
expressing a reas es expressed as stat
physically impossible.
argument
The
ment is true or
(or stateme upshot
like ly to be true.of
nts) supposedly Thi s all
on or reasons is
com
this is
used to
bination of stat
that,
show that ano contrary
ements.
ther state-
to what some people
providing reasons ements—a stateme
would have us believe, the fact that are the main focu is logically
umentssomething ther statement— possible doesn’t mean it’s
known as an arg for accepting ano nt
A group of state
ments in um ent. Arg
are the mos
which some of
t important tool is
them (the
we have for eval s of critical thin
physically possible. That
own and those of
is,othifers)something isemelogically king; they
possible, that doesn’t mean it
premises) are
intended to uating the truth
support another
acceptan and for formulat of stateme nts (our
conclusion).
of them (the
ce. Arg uments are, ing stat nts that are trul
therefore, essentia y worthy of
happened or exists—manyin all fields. In ever
debate or an ang logically
yda y conversation, possible
ry exchang
l for
things
the advancement
people use the wor
d argu
of may
kno wled genot be real.
e. In critical thin men
assertion of reas
ons in support of king, however, argu t to indicate a
The statements a statement. ment refers to the
premise (reasons) given
In an argumen ally called the pre in support of ano
mises. The stateme ther statement

Judging Weird Theories

t, a statement
or reason given is called the con nt that the prem are technic-
clusion. We can ises are intended
A marginal glossary highlights key terms
in support of
the conclusio
n. define an argumen to support
ARGUMENT t, then, like this
: A group of stat :
premises) are inte ements in which
some of them (the
near
thetheir
TESTfirst mention in the text, reinfor-
nded to support
Now let’s do a detailed evaluation of an extraordinary theory using
conclusion
In an argumen
The following are
some simple argu
another of them
(the conclusion)
.
t, the ments:
formula from Chapter 9. Recall the four steps of the procedure: cing important concepts for students.
statement that
are intended
the premises
to support.
1. Because you
world, you sho
want a job that
will allow you to
uld consider wor mak e a difference in
Doctors Withou king for a charita the
t ble organization
2. The Globe and Borders.
Step 1. State the theory and check for consistency.
heavily in gold.
Mail’s Report on
Business says that
like
Therefore, investin people should inve
Step 2. Assess the evidence for the theory.
3. When Jose
ph takes the bus
today, so I’m sure
g in gold is a sma
, he’s always late rt move.
. And he’s taki
st
he’s going to be ng the bus
Step 3. Scrutinize alternative theories.
4. Yikes! This
movie is on Net
It’s not a good sign
late.
flix, but it was nev
er even shown in
when a movie goe theatres.
Step 4. Test the theories with the criteria of adequacy.
shown in theatres
5. No one sho . This one must
uld drink a beer
s straight to vide
be pretty bad.
o without ever bein
g
is brewed by a gian brew ed by a giant corp
t corporation, so oration. Labatt’s
no one should drin Blue
Here are the sam k it.
e arguments whe
re the parts are
1. [Premise] Bec easily identified:
ause you want a
in the world, [Co job that will allo
nclusion] you sho w you to make a differen
organization like uld consider wor ce
Doctors Withou king for a charita
2. [Premise] The t Borders. ble
Globe and Ma
should invest hea il’s Report on
vily in gold. [Co Bus iness says that
is a smart move. nclusion] Therefo people
re, investing in
3. [Premise] Wh gold
mac30439_ch10_390-431.indd 417 en Joseph takes 12/20/18 03:07 PM
taking the bus tod the bus, he’s alw
ay, [Conclusion ays late. [Premis
] so I’m sure he’s e] And he’s
going to be late.

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statement (claim)
that doesn’t stop them from counting as statements!) They assert that some state
of affairs is or is not actual. You may know that a specific statement is true, or you
An assertion that something
is or is not the case. may know that it is false, or you may not know either way. There may be no way
xvi From the Publisher
to find out at the time if the statement is true or false. There may be no one who
believes the statement. But it would be a statement nonetheless.

Review Notes
Why Critical Thinking Matters
• Our thinking guides our actions, so it should be of high quality.
• If you have never critically examined your beliefs, they are not truly yours.
• Critical thinking is one way of defending against the cognitive biases that tend to lead us to false con-
clusions and bad decisions.
• To examine your beliefs is to examine your life. Socrates said: “The unexamined life is not worth
living.”
• Critical thinking involves determining what we’re justified in believing, being open to new perspec-
tives, and fairly assessing the views of others and ourselves.
• Critical thinking complements our emotions and can enhance our creativity. Review Notes boxes appear through-
• Critical thinking is thinking outside the box.
out each chapter to reiterate the main
points of chapter sections, improving
comprehension and making later review
more efficient.
4 | Reasons for Belief and Doubt 149

mac30439_ch01_001-032.indd 10 12/20/18 03:55 PM

Food For Thought

Fake News
What is “fake news”? There has always
been fake news—news presented by
sources whose main purpose is to
entertain rather than to inform. Tab-
loids, such as the National Enquirer,
are often accused of falsehoods, with
some of them even tending to favour
silly, sensationalistic headlines along
the lines of “Tom Cruise Fathers Space
Alien’s Baby!” Other sources of “fake”
news are more obviously intended to
be fun: the satirical news source The

Harley Schwadron/www.CartoonStock.com
Onion reports on “news” stories that
are entirely fake but obviously so and
clearly aimed at entertaining rather
than informing.
Unfortunately, the idea of “fake
news” took on a new, more sinister
meaning during the 2016 US presi-
dential election. During that election, When someone tries to convince you that something really is news-
several websites and social media ac- worthy, what steps can you take to critically analyze their claim?
counts sprang up that were dedicated
to spreading false but damaging stories about political candidates. This was fake news in the worst sense
of the word. Soon after that problem came to light, Donald Trump began using the term “fake news” to
refer to any news story that didn’t reflect well on him, including stories reported by reputable, highly reli-
able news sources, such as CNN and the New York Times.

Food for Thought boxes provide addi-

its money not from selling its product (news) through subscriptions or direct
tional, sometimes humorous, sales material
but from selling opportunities for other companies to advertise to the news
on a topic and challenge students outlet’s audience.
to The organization wants a big audience because big audiences
bring in big advertising dollars. “Everything is being
apply the critical thinking skills they
Thearepressure on news organizations to turn an acceptable profit is immense compressed into tiny tablets.
You take a little pill of news
learning. The material is purposely
and has di-
been growing in the past two decades. Indeed, today many traditional every day—23 minutes—
verse in both subject matter andnews outlets (especially print outlets such as newspapers) are struggling to survive
format.
in the face of competition from online outlets, which tend to be cheaper to run
and that’s supposed to be
enough.”
and quicker to update as news unfolds. The old ideal of journalism as primarily a —Walter Cronkite

public service and not a cash cow has seldom been able to withstand the corporate
push for profits. The effects of this trend on the nature and quality of the news
 From the Publisher xvii

| Basics
20 Pa rt On e
n. They
for identificatio
neatly labelled arg uments.
ost never appear are not part of the
Arguments alm of statem ent s tha t clusion
bedded in a lot identify the con
usually come em ur main task is to
s can be com plex and long. Yo of wo rds .
Argument t in the maze
hout getting los
and premises wit

Exer cise 1.1 may be fou nd in Appendix

B,
h an asterisk (*)
rcises marked wit
Answers to exe
Exercises.
Answers to Select
ions
Review Quest
ical thinking? te to critical
is crit formulation rela
*1. W hat c, evaluation, and
terms systemati
2. How do the h how
you think or wit
thinking? ned with what
ica l thi nk ing primarily concer
3. Is crit ing is done
you think? that critical think
s it mean to say
the text, what doe
*4. According to s?
ional standard l thinking?
according to rat refer to in critica a loss of
the term critical l thinking cause
*5. What does t, how doe s a lack of critica
Ac cor din g to the tex
6.
personal freedo
m?
e does it play in
critical thinking
?
Hundreds of exercises cover a wide range
and what vital rol
7. What is logic, ce, on the
*8. What is a sta
tement?
. Then give an exa
mple of a sen ten
of topics. They are found throughout each
Giv e an exa mp le of a statement
9. . to be-
is not a statement ng how strongly chapter, presented progressively from simple
same topic, that how should we
go about decidi
g to the tex t,
10. Accordin
lieve a statement
? to complex, elementary to more advanced,
arg ument? mises.
*11. What is an ent with three pre
12. Give an exa
mp of an arg um
le and familiar to unusual.
a pre mi se?
13. What is stitute an
*14. What is a con
clusion? iefs by itself con
statement of bel
W hy can ’t an assertion or
15. ent.
arg ument? contain an arg um
of disagreement ple passage: Jail
sen-
e: All expressions an arg ument? Sam
16. True or fals sag e con tai n
es the fol low ing pas kn ow I’m rig ht!
*17. Do ger. I sage: I know
nals should be lon ent? Sample pas
tences for crimi contain an arg um iculous—there’s
lowing passage he. But that’s rid
18. Does the fol ed you r hea dac
bal tea cur
you say that her do that.
t herbal tea can
no evidence tha rds play in arg um
ents?
do indicator wo
*19. What role ind icator words.
mi se
20. List three pre words.
clusion indicator
21. List three con

12/20/18 03:55
PM
PA R T O N E
mac30439_ch01
_001-032.indd
20

B a s ic s
Contemporary Design
The design of the fifth Canadian edition reflects
the vibrancy and excitement of learning how to
think critically without sacrificing content or
authoritativeness.

mac30439_ch01_00
1-032.indd 1

12/20/18 03:55
PM
xviii From the Publisher

Aids to Student Learning

Chapter openers preview the contents of

1
each chapter with chapter objectives that
provide a concise overview of the key con-
cepts to be covered.

Chapter summaries at the end of each chap-

ter provide additional support to ensure that
students have identified and understood key
f Critical
T h e Po w e r o concepts.
T hin king
ec tives of the
Chap te r O bj of critical thinking
and the importa
nce and meaning
and the meaning onal standards.
• To underst
luation, form ulation, and rati truth or falsity of state-
tic, eva ted to logic, the
terms systema thinking is rela
and how critical nt.
• To underst al empowerme
dge, and person
ments, knowle

rs
Why It Matte beliefs.
to acceptance of
You will be able than the passive g” to
king is better is not worth livin
why critical thin unexamined life
• appreciate of the claim “Th e
the relevance
• appreciate thin king makes people
. ious: “Critical
critical thinking g claims are dub l,” and
why the followin and unemotiona
• understand es people cold
l thinking mak
cynical,” “Critica
too critical or my of creativity.” eav our s.
is the ene an end
“Critical thinking of critical thin
king in all hum
the usefulness
• appreciate

How It Works
to tements.
You will be able nts and non-sta premise, and con
clusion.
between stateme ment, inference,
• distinguish ts of reasons, argu ions.
the basic concep es and conclus
• understand oint premis
r words to help
pinp an argument.
• use indicato do not contain nts and
es that do and ween argume 3 | Making
between passag distinguish bet Sen se of Arg um
• distinguish contexts and and conclusions
.
ents
ume nts in various s, and premises 115
• iden tify arg
l, arg uments and exp
lana tion
Critic al Th in
superfluous materia
ki ng and W
riting Exer ci
12/20/18 03:55
PM From Th es is to Outline se
In the “Critical
Thinking and Wr
second step in wri iting Exercise”
mac30439_ch01_0
01-032.indd 2 ting an arg ument in Chapter 1, we
ment, or conclus ative essay (after saw that the
ion) is to create determining you
other things, the an outline. Outlin r thesis state-
y help to avert disa es are useful bec
ing two-thirds ster in the essay-w ause, among
of your essay, the riting phase. Ima
arg ument cannot n discovering tha gine writ-
be supported and t the second pre
the whole arg um is, in fact, false. mise of your
ent and start ove You might have
At the head of you r. to thr ow out
and as precisely as r outline, insert
your thesis stateme
possible. At ever nt, expressing it
ment for guidan y stage of outlini as clearly
ce. The premises ng, you can then
will constitute the and conclusion refer to the state-
major points of of your argumen
preliminary out your outline. The t (or arguments)
line for the essay following, for exa
discussed in the mple, is the
Thesis: Allowing module at the end
Writing modules embedded within oxide will most
coal-burning pow
likely increase the
er plants to emit
of Chapter 2:
more sulphur di-
incidence of resp
iratory illnesses.
the end-of-chapter student activities I. High amount
creases in the inci
s of sulphur dioxide
in the air have bee
n linked to in-
dence of asthma
II. Many areas and other respirat
in the first five chapters introduce the of the countr y alre
dioxide in the air. ady have high am
ory illnesses.
ounts of sulphur
III. Most sulphur
dioxide in the air
rudiments of argumentative essay- plants.
IV. Therefore, allo
comes from coa
l-burning power
wing coal-burnin
writing. phur dioxide wil
tory illnesses.
l most likely incr
g power plants to
ease the inciden
emit more sul-
ce of respira-
After you clearly
state the premis
them need to be es, you need to
defended. As we ask yourself whe
any premise like discussed in the ther any of
ly to be questioned module at the end
premise itself wil by your readers of Chapter 1,
l need arg ument will need suppor
should be indicat s to back it up, t. Tha t is, the
ed in your outline and the suppor
port because the . (Some premises, ting arg uments
y are obvious or though, may not
you can support generally accept need sup-
a premise (claim) ed.) As discusse
premises made through deduct d in this chapte
up of examples, ive or inductive r,
research or trustw analogies, empiric arg uments with
orthy observatio al evidence (suc
from reliable exp ns), and authoritat h as scientific
erts). Here’s how ive judgments (suc
tional) supporting the preceding out h as those
arg uments clearly line might look
shown: with (fic-
Thesis: Allowing
coal-burning pow
oxide will most er plants to emit
likely increase the more sulphur di-
incidence of resp
iratory illnesses.

mac30439_ch03_0
63-120.indd 115

12/20/18 05:56
PM
 From the Publisher xix

| Basics
26 Pa rt On e
ple like you
ple. People—peo
ns as if they’re peo rporations
treat corporatio ations don’t. Co
4. It’s wrong to righ t to free spe ech, and corpor con vin ce you that
and me—have the law yers may try to
conscience. Corpo
rate an rights,
also don’t have a all rights are hum
you and I do. But n.
e rights, just like about a corporatio
corporations hav not hin g hum an is
for sure . . . there’s just society, this
and one thing is to thin k that we are a fair and bee n treated
hou gh Ca nad ians like nad a hav e never, ever
5. Alt ples in Ca igenous
Indigenous peo ment and non-Ind
a boldfaced lie. Canadian govern ous com-
dreds of years, the people in Indigen
fairly. Over hun the m bad ly. Today, many fairness all they
treated about our
Canadians have . People can talk nt.
terrible conditions peoples is abhorre
munities live in bt that trea tme nt of Indigenous
no dou 4 | Reasons
want, but there is for Belief and Do
ubt 165
Enrique Portillo
laughed, smiled and brothers Ale
and joked with xi Saenz and
each other as pro Jairo Saenz
s
Field Problem
were waiting to secutors said the
hear from the U.S y
one arg u- they can pursue . Justice Departme
contains at least the death penalty nt about whether
ct an entry that .
t interests you. Sele The family of 16-
year-old Kayla Cu
1. Find a blog tha conclusion and each premise. but that con- they are accuse eva s, the Bre
ment. Identif y the a point of view d of slaughterin ntwood, N.Y. girl
ry that presents contains at leas
t one Nisa Mickens, 15, g in cold
e blog, find an ent entry so that it glared at them from blood alongside her friend
2. From the sam Rew rite the sible, and stay reported. the gallery, the New
s no arg um ent at all. orig ina l entry as pos York Post
tain of the
preserve as much The two teenage
arg ument. Try to spaper). hood near an elem
girls were slaught
ered in a residen
ic. town’s main new entary school on tial neighbor-
on the same top jor new spa per (or your own comment that Mickens’ 16th Sept. 13, 2016—
3. Go to the web
site of a ma
posted below it. Find a birthday. Her bod
y was
the day before
me nts mise and in Brentwood, wh
Find a stor y tha
t has reader com identif y the pre ile Cuevas’ beaten found on a tree-lined street
opinion!—and backyard of a nea
ent—not just an rby home a day
body turned up
in the wooded
presents an arg um The two teens wer late r.
conclusion. had been insepa e lifelong friends
who friends and
rable and shared family said
an interest in bas
17. Is the stor y ketball.12
slanted in a way
ent Quiz defendants in thi that seems to enc
Self-Assessm s case are especia our age readers to believe
18. Are there inst lly good or bad that the
ances of loaded people? How?
make the victims or biased langua
icators. in thi s cas ge or emotional
1. What is an arg
ument? ee conclusion ind 19. What main e seem
source did the rep especially sympathetic?
app eals that
indicators and thr s:
t three premise s are not statement problematic? Wh orter use for the
2. Name at leas sen ten ces , ind icate which one y? details of this stor
y? Is that
owing 20. On the ma
3. From the foll nki ng exa m? in page for the
is our Critical Thi Fox News website
a. On what day e indicators. ts and different. It read,
“MS -13 monsters , the headline for
mples of premis rantees the righ this stor y was
b. Give two exa and Freedoms gua by for heinous murde laugh in court as
ian Charter of Rights such reasonable
limits prescribed rs of teen girls.”
Can you see the
feds mull death
penalty
c. The Canad sub ject onl y to soc iety . main page use diff
erent wording? difference? Wh
in it, ocratic y might the
freedoms set out d in a free and dem
onstrably justifie Water Cafe.
law as can be dem ver is at the Blue mises in
d. The best sea
food in Vancou ported by the pre
sele ct the con clusion that is sup Integrative Ex
below, ercises
4. From the list
ument: nothing wrong
with
the following arg pus wh o see The
ber of stu den ts on cam the y just did n’t get it. se exercises pertain to
I spoke to a num material in Chapt
issue to them, but ers 1–4.
d to explain the 1. What is an
plagiarism. I trie 2. How can bac
inductive arg um
ent? What is a ded
kground informa uctive arg ument
deductive arg um tion help us to ?
ent or the cogenc determine the sou
12/20/18 03:553.
PM
Can our backgr y of an inductive ndness of a
| Ba sic s od oun d informa one ?
Pa rt On e rk. Every go is valid? If so, how tion help us to det
32
be yo ur ver y best wo be st wo rk 4. Is your own exp
? If not, why not
?
ermine whether
an arg ument
ost never ng their
mac30439_ch01_0
01-032.indd 26
ort will alm key to putti writers aren’t
ertise more imp
Your first eff ng and revising is the ird. Good
ductive arg ument ortant for determ
8. Revise. s th at ed iti an d a th 5. or the strength
of an inductive
ining the validity
of a de-
writer know draft What is an appeal
ite a second to authority? Is one?
need be, wr nd on them
. appealing to aut
for ward. If th ey de pe hority always fall
acious?
isions; For each of the
afraid of rev say whether it is
following arg um
ents, specify the
deductive or ind conclusion and
n m e n ts uctive. If it’s ind premises, and
ssig nd ix A, uct ive,
Writi ng A
pe
oning Shou
ld Be Permitt
ed ”) in Ap
s statement
or main Student activities are included at the end of say whether it is
strong or
Human Cl fy the thesi
Es say 7 (“Yes, nted. Speci
1. Re ad
and outline
the arg um en t pr ese
pporting pr
emise.
d a claim th
at contradic
ts the each chapter; they reinforce concepts and ideas
and each su ich you defen Watching”) in Append
ix A.
conclusion paper in wh
2. Write
a 50 0-w ord
ent in Es say 2 (“H urray ! No On e’s
2 ac tu ally suppor ts yo ur thesis through a variety of formats, including the
mac30439_ch04_1
21-173.indd 165

esi s sta tem e cit ed in Essay ord ing ly.

th evidenc nce acc in
Pretend th at all th e
u may alter
the details of
th e ev ide
s in the Class
3 (“Electronic and objections con-
ro om ”)
following: 12/20/18 06:21
PM

statement. Yo ent presented in Essay premises

the arg um ion and the the claim
St ud y th e co nc lus Th at is, defend
3. Identif y to the essay. laptops in
• “Field Problems” that invite students to apply
Appendix A. ite a two-page rebuttal ab ou t wh ether to use
wr oice
sidered, then ould not be given a ch ding
s sh paper defen
that student
m. t, and write
a 750-word newly acquired and refined critical thinking
the classroo m the fol low ing lis
issue fro ?
4. Select
an
a claim perta
ining to the
issue: m their classr
artphones fro overseas, should they
ooms
follow skills to real-world problems.
ssors ban sm ting try?
• Should profe n companies are opera s of th eir “host” coun
dia ard
When Cana or the stand
•
Canadia n eth ica l standards
atory for he
alt h ca re workers?
to attempt
to red uce • “Self-Assessment Quizzes” that allow students
ots be mand carbon tax
Should flu sh n provinces institute a
•
• Should Ca na dia
greenhouse
gases? to test their understanding of the material.
emissions of

• “Integrated Exercises” that help students

to bring information and techniques from
multiple chapters together, ensuring that
their understanding of critical thinking is
comprehensive.
• “Writing Assignments” that allow students to
apply their knowledge and practice working in
12/20/18
03:55 PM
longer formats such as essays.

dd 32
01_001-032.in
mac30439_ch
Another random document with
no related content on Scribd:
The Project Gutenberg eBook of Salvage
This ebook is for the use of anyone anywhere in the United States
and most other parts of the world at no cost and with almost no
restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or re-use it
under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included with this
ebook or online at www.gutenberg.org. If you are not located in the
United States, you will have to check the laws of the country where
you are located before using this eBook.

Title: Salvage

Author: Roy Norton

Release date: March 24, 2024 [eBook #73244]

Language: English

Original publication: New York: Street & Smith Corporation, 1928

Credits: Roger Frank and Sue Clark

*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK SALVAGE ***

 Salvage
By Roy Norton
Author of “Mr. Catlin’s Weakness,” “Widders Come First,” Etc.

Captain Drake again proves, and this time most brilliantly,

his right to the title: “The Opportunist.” With remarkable
sagacity he scents an opportunity on the wind.

Piræus, that historical port of Greece, lay drenched and sweltering in

sunshine. Its great water front, whence galleys had sailed bravely
forth in ancient days, was packed with shipping, most of it idle; for
trade was in the doldrums. Docked between two big “smoke boats”
lay the very trim and neat steam schooner, Malabart, Captain Eli
Drake, owner and commander; and there was nothing in the
Malabart’s physical appearance to indicate that she, too, was
yawning for a cargo of any sort, or to any port, though the charter
rate might be so low as to barely pay expenses. Captain Drake,
whose sobriquet of “The Old Hyena” had survived the days of sail,
was ashore, harassed by cares.
 He had been eating into capital to keep his ship in commission,
and his crew, which he had gathered in the course of many years,
from being disbanded. He prized his crew and, after his ship, they
came first in his affections. In quest of cargo—any cargo—he had
scoured the port, made daily trips over the short drive to Athens, and
spent liberal sums on cablegrams to many agents, without avail. He
felt like cursing the big steamship companies, which, with their army
of organized runners, were rapidly driving the independent owners
and tramps off the seas.
In a mood of sullen obstinacy he had tramped almost the length of
the docks when, unexpectedly, he heard the clatter of a cargo winch;
and the sound was so unusual that, like a magnet, it drew him in its
direction. He found a rusty tramp that was lading.
“Now what—how did I miss getting that cargo?” he reflected. “The
Rhodialim, eh?” And after a moment’s thought he muttered: “Oh,
yes. Belongs to that firm of Hakim & Letin. Got her and one other
schooner, doing mostly Levantine and East African coast trade. Wish
I could have got that cargo. My luck’s out.”
Without thinking, or observing that at the dock gates there was a
watchman, who, at the moment, had his back turned and was in
voluble altercation with one of his countrymen, Captain Eli strolled
inward. He finally halted, and with hands in pockets stared, suddenly
discovering something else that made him curious.
“That’s blamed funny!” he thought. “Big cases marked ‘Mining
machinery,’ but a couple of stevedores chuck ’em into the slings as if
they were empty. Also cases of merchandise put up like heavy prints
that seem just as light, and as—— Good Lord! Up there on the
bridge! If that ain’t Bill Morris, I’m dotty. So he’s got a ship out here,
eh, after it got too hot for him about everywhere else on salt water!
Lost two ships in the Pacific trade, under mighty suspicious
circumstances, and had his ticket taken away, last I heard of him.
Ummh! Ten or twelve years ago, that was. So he’s skipperin’ this
craft, eh? If him and me hadn’t locked spars two or three times, I’d
go over and rile him up with a leetle light, airy banter. I guess he’s
——”
“Hey you! Got any business here? How’d you get past me at the
gate?” a voice disturbed him. And although the fellow spoke bastard
Greek, Drake, who, with a sailor’s facility, had picked up
considerable of the tongue, understood, and turned to see the
watchman glowering at him.
“Why?” he asked. “Can’t anybody come onto your dock? Nothing
secret about it, is there?”
The watchman sputtered something about none without a pass
from Hakim & Letin being allowed in, and somewhat peremptorily
ordered Drake to clear out. Not being accustomed to such treatment,
disgruntled, affronted, but recognizing the weakness of his position
and the futility of retort, Drake turned and, swearing under his breath,
obeyed.
It is possible that the episode might have passed from his mind
entirely, but for an encounter that followed some hours later, when,
just as he was turning toward the Malabart, a man whose face bore
the almost indelible stamp of the engine rooms of ships, with grease
worked deeply into the pores of the skin, respectfully touched his cap
peak and accosted him in fairly good, though accented, English.
“Captain Drake,” he said. “Excuse me, sir, for stopping you, but I
am a good man out of work, and want a job on your ship, sir.”
“Sorry, my man, but we’re full up,” Captain Eli replied. “Too full,” he
added, and would have proceeded on his way, had not the applicant
insisted.
“I am good man, sir. First-class engineer; but I would take
anything in your engine room. Because me, I have big family, and
ships are all full now, it seems to me, sir. I lose job when not my fault.
Not at all. When I took engines of ship Rhodialim anybody tell you
they scrap heap. I make ’em good. And now, without word, since that
Captain Bill Morris come, I am fired. He say have his own engineer
and——”
“Huh? What’s that?” Captain Eli, who had been slowly moving
forward with the insistent one at his side, stopped and stared at the
man. “Do you happen to know the name of the new engineer?”
“It is Simmons, or Simons, or something like that.”
Drake’s mouth pursed itself as if to whistle an exclamation, and for
a moment he stood absent-mindedly staring at the stones beneath
his feet. But his thought ran: “Simmons! Simmons! That was the
engineer of the ship that Bill lost last, and he was one of the chief
witnesses at the insurance investigation. Something funny about this
business!”
He abruptly started away, saying as he did so: “You come on
board with me, and I’ll learn if there’s anything can be done. Let me
see your ticket.” And then, a moment later: “Beltramo—Giuseppe
Beltramo is your name, eh? And your ticket shows a long, clean
record. No wonder they didn’t want you on that boat. Never mind the
questions, now. I’ll ask all the questions myself.”
As a rule the relations between Captain Eli Drake and his chief
mate, William Catlin, were of two separate characters, inasmuch as
afloat they observed the distinctions in station and Drake brooked no
interference; but it was well known that ashore they were more
intimate than brothers usually are, and confidants in nearly
everything. Hence, when the commander sent for Catlin upon his
arrival aboard, and on his entry into the cabin addressed him as
“Bill,” Catlin thought: “Something’s turned up.” Aloud he said:
“Landed something, skipper?”
“Landed enough to set me to a heap of thinking, Bill,” Drake said.
And then he bent forward and in a confidential tone told of his
experiences, ending with: “It seems to me there’s some sort of a job
being put up by Hakim & Letin; and—well, there might be some way
for us to make something out of it.”
“Sort of an opportunity, eh?” Catlin grinned, remembering that the
Cape Cod man had earned the reputation of being an opportunist.
“Maybe you can see one, but I can’t. Don’t mind my thick-
headedness. I can get anything when it’s explained, all right.”
But Drake seemed to have become absorbed in some thought of
his own. He stared absently through the cloud of pipe smoke; and
finally chuckled, as if he had reached a solution of some problem.
“I think I sort of grab an idea,” he said at last, getting to his feet.
“You’re a hell of a good friend, Bill, but as a helper in working out a
puzzle you don’t amount to much. Never mind. Think I got it, myself.
So just talking it over with you did have some use, after all. You go
down and keep that feller I brought aboard interested, while I slip
below and see the chief. Most likely be in his cabin, I expect.”
 They went out together and Drake sought the engineer.
“Forbes,” he said to that gray-haired veteran. “Can you find
something for an engineer out of a job to do for a few days?”
“Can’t find enough to do myself, let alone make work for a new
man. If this keeps up—— Hold on. While I think of it, that chap Flint,
my third, asked me to-day if I thought there was a chance for him in
the navy. Now if he got a month off to go to the nearest place he
could pass his examinations and file his application——”
“The sure-enough right thing! Let him take a month, and put this
feller on until Flint comes back. Come on up topside and talk to him.”
The result of the conversation was that two men, at least, were
made happy that evening—Flint, who had got unexpected leave for a
month, and Beltramo, who had got a temporary billet.
But Drake was not on the ship when the shift was made. In the
roughest suit of clothes he could muster he had gone ashore and
made his way to a not too-clean bar, where he knew that pilots were
wont to gather. There he patiently waited for the arrival of one he
knew. The man came at last, and Captain Eli drew him into a little
private room at the rear.
“Christophe,” Captain Eli said, “I have done you a favor once or
twice, and you’re the kind of man that likes to repay. Well, the time
has come when you may be of use. Now first, you’ve got to keep
your mouth shut—not one word—not one word to anybody, not even
your wife, of what we say here in this room.”
The pilot, whose face was seamed with years and sea service,
promptly lifted his hand and swore an oath that would have satisfied
any band of conspirators that ever existed.
“First, you know this sea as well as any one, I take it?”
“By Heaven! Better than all save one or two. Was I not a
fisherman in these waters when old enough to float? I know every
foot of it and every reef, and every island and——”
“Good!” Captain Eli interrupted. He leaned across the little table
between them and lowered his voice. “Christophe, if you were going
to sink a ship that was supposed to be bound eastward—say for
Jaffa—where would you do it?”
 For a moment the pilot’s mouth hung open and his eyes were
wide, as if he feared for Drake’s sanity.
“But, sir, captain—you—you are not going to sink—— You don’t
mean that——”
“No, of course not! I sink nothing. But you think it over carefully
and answer my questions,” Drake continued. And the pilot, still
wondering, slowly lowered his eyes, shut them as if to ponder such a
case, and then asked: “What time of year, captain?”
“This time of year,” Drake replied.
And again the weather-beaten old pilot shut his eyes and thought.
“Listen, sir,” he said in his quaint but adequate English. “Many
things one must think of. If mens want to sink ship, but not drown
anybody, they must be not too far from land for open boat, eh? Must
be some place where not too much danger big seas for small boats,
eh? Must also be some place where nobody see—away from
fishermen’s boats, or cargo boats, or bigger ships—some place
lonely this time year. Plenty places man could scuttle ship, but few
where get all these things what want, eh? Well, about now most
fishin’ boats work”—he got up and walked to a rough map that was
tacked on the wall and that was almost solidly smeared with the trails
of many fingers across its surface—“works up about here mostly. In
some months, here; some months, there; but now, about here. So no
good up there.” His finger moved as he talked. “No good through
here, because big ships go there. No good there, because small
ships what do island trade work in and out. So, here best place for all
things. Almost only place which fit all I speak between here and
Island of Rhodes. Not too far out of the way. Very good place. Deep
water—plenty water and not much chance boat ever drift when hit
bottom. Yes, captain, sir, that best place anybody can think of—right
about there.”
His gnarled finger ceased to move—pointed at open water off
Nauplia.
They sat down again and, while Christophe eyed him with
perplexed looks, the captain reflected.
“That, you think, is a place a man who knew these waters well
would select?” he said. “But a man who didn’t know them?”
 “God knows where!” the pilot exclaimed, lifting his hands and
letting them fall to the table again. “It is the place—the place I say—
where one who knew would choose in, say—seven times out of ten.
As you, sir, know, there are some thousands of islands.”
For half an hour Drake continued to catechize, but without stirring
the old pilot from his conclusions.
“Well, Christophe,” he said at last, arising to go, “I’m going to hire
you for a cruise that may never take place; but I’m taking a little
gamble on certain things. You begin work to-morrow, always with
your mouth shut. Here’s what you are to find out: First, when the
Rhodialim sails. Second, if she’s taking a pilot aboard, and if so, who
and what he is. And third, you’re to report to me aboard the Malabart
each evening just after dark. I don’t care to have too many notice
that you come there. Is it understood? Going wages, of course,” he
concluded, with Yankee thrift.
“Yes, sir, captain. Very well I understood it, and do what you ask.
Maybe some time you tell me why all this, eh?”
“Maybe,” said Drake laconically, as he thumped upon the table to
pay for his bill. And he left behind him one who was still wondering a
little if a certain Captain Drake was all there.
Catlin had a surprise on the following morning, when told that they
were going to take on some supplies. And he was still more
astonished when Drake asked him to muster the crew and learn
whether there was any man aboard who had ever had any
experience in diving. Catlin found a stoker who admitted that years
before he had worked for a salvage company. Drake told the man to
get on shore-going clothes and come with him, and the twain
disappeared. The man returned that afternoon accompanied by a
truck, which duly unloaded and brought aboard a collection of stuff
that made even Catlin scratch his head, and caused conjectures
for’ard as to whether The Old Hyena was going into the wrecking
business. It consisted of a complete diving outfit—air pumps and all
—as well as huge collision mats and handling gear. Drake did not
appear until evening, and seemed unusually speechless, and he
dined and waited for Christophe.
The latter came at last, grinning with self-satisfaction, and was at
once closeted with Drake, who asked: “Well, what did you learn?”
 “That Rhodialim, she sail day after to-morrow. She got most her
cargo aboard now. But it’s funny, captain, sir, she got one man who
knew this sea same as me. Long time ago he fisherman, then go
away, and been down Smyrna where not got too good name. Good
man, when sober, but too much drink, so never get good job. That
man I see in saloon. He most full and—— You owe me thirty
drachmas, I spend on him get him fuller, so he talk. Bymeby he
borrow fifty drachmas from me, which also you owes me. He brag
some and say pretty soon he pay back. Pretty soon, maybe two
weeks, he come back with plenty money in pockets. But he shut up
like oyster when I ask how make this so much money, and he say
nobody but him ever goin’ know that. Now what you wish me make?”
“You go home and keep on keeping your mouth shut. Come
aboard at noon to-morrow. We sail to-morrow afternoon.” Drake was
suddenly decided in his movements.
“How long be gone from my old woman?” Christophe asked.
“Can’t tell. Maybe one week, maybe two. Not likely to be longer, I
think. But all you’ve got to do is to come aboard and I’ll tell you then
where we’re bound. I’m going to clear for Smyrna. There will be no
secret about that.”
On the following morning when Captain Eli went ashore he took
with him the chief engineer. The latter returned with two big machine
cases and armored, high-pressure hose, together with a case of
fittings. Late that afternoon the Malabart slipped out and away, so
palpably light that other sea captains who observed her shook their
heads with understanding. A ship putting to sea in ballast in dull
times evokes the sympathy of the seawise. Aboard the Malabart
there was an air of gloom among the crew.
The captain and owner, walking the bridge, said to Catlin:
“Well, Bill, I’m taking a gamble—thousand to one shot, that’s all.”
When dusk fell the island of Thermia lay close in to starboard, and
the man at the wheel stood ready to port his helm and bring her over
from the sou’-east-by-east to an easterly course to round the island,
that being the route toward Smyrna; but old Christophe, standing
behind him, took the wheel, rang for slow speed and groped in
toward the island. It loomed up about them, a rocky point, before he
said over his shoulder to Captain Eli:
“Here’s where we can lay to, sir. Good anchorage here in this
cove, and no risk of wind.”
All that night she rocked there, gently; on a sea that was almost
without a swell. And when morning came, to the crew’s further
curiosity, she brought in her hook, swung about, and headed due
west, plodding along at slow speed and apparently purposeless. A
liner came out of the north and gave her a passing hoot. Christophe,
eyeing the other boat, said to Captain Eli:
“She be for Messina way, and now not likely be another ship along
here for ten days. That’s what those mens know. If I make good
guess, that’s why they clear Pirzeus to-day, after big ship go, sir.”
“And when will we make that Island of Hydra?” Drake asked,
staring to the westward.
“Just about sunset, captain, sir. Then we slip round it and there
are small islands between it and mainland, and entrance into Nauplia
which so long and so big it is like long gulf. We lay behind them
islands, sir, and—see what shall see about midnight, I think, sir.”
Drake caught his dry, knowing grin, but did not entirely share his
confidence as to the outcome of their strange voyage.
The pilot’s prediction as to progress was fulfilled; just as a hazy
sunset colored the tips of the high, bleak mountains behind which
the day disappeared, they passed the isle with its abandoned and
obsolete fortifications, and hove to in waters that seemed to have
been deserted since the time of ancient wars. Night fell with a thin,
low-lying fog that seemed to sweep down from the great bastions of
Nauplia and rest on the still waters. The stars were obscured and a
new depression engulfed Drake.
“The weather’s against us,” he said gloomily, to the storm-beaten
old pilot. “They could pass us at a couple of cable lengths and we’d
never know it.”
“Not if we were out in a small boat, listening,” Christophe said. “In
small boat hear everything. On ship, no—not so quite well. We must
put out boat and get out maybe two three miles and wait. Yes,
maybe fog too bad, one way, but very good, other. When they pass
we get course then slip quiet, very quiet, same way, with Malabart,
eh?”
Drake pondered. There seemed no other method. He cursed the
fog, but ordered a boat away with Catlin and the pilot aboard, the
latter assuring him that he could find his way back to the ship if the
night were as black as the pits of Satan. A long wait followed after
the boat had disappeared. The gloom of the darkened Malabart, the
lack of the bell striking the hour, the absolute stillness of the ship,
were all upsetting. The very lifelessness of the protected water
where she lay was annoying, for there was not the slightest lapping
whisper of a wave against her hull. Down in the engine room even
the stokers who kept up steam had been cautioned against the
clanging of a furnace door or the ring of a shovel. Had one passed
the Malabart within ten yards he might have thought her the ghost of
some long-abandoned ship. Drake listened from the outer wing of
the bridge, bending over, sometimes with a hand cupped to his ear,
until he was tired. He had about decided that his voyage and
expenditure had been born of folly, when he heard a faint creak,
followed a minute later by another. Then Catlin’s voice below hailed
softly, and the boat pulled around to the side ladder, which had been
lowered and swung barely above the water.
“All right, sir. She passed so close that she almost ran us down.
She had doused her lights and was not doing more than five or six
knots. Christophe says there could be no mistake. She was the
Rhodialim, all right.”
The pilot joined in with: “About a mile and a half out. Long row
back.”
“It won’t do for us to follow too closely on their heels, anyway,”
Captain Eli said. “But are you certain that you can pick her up again,
Christophe, in all this murk?”
“I know the course she will take. I think so, with luck,” the pilot
said. “They not alter course again. Too much else business think of, I
expect. Just keep straight on about five, six miles; then stop. They
not want go much farther. Might meet small fishin’ boats out of
Nauplia. Not take chance of that, eh?”
Captain Eli stood blockily, a dim figure in the darkness, and
seemed making mental calculations.
 “I don’t think we’d best be in too much of a hurry,” he said at last.
“We’ve got to take the chances of being too late. If the crew are in on
it with the commander, mate and engineer, there’ll be no time
wasted. If they’re not, the boats won’t be ready to lower, and besides
he’ll have to put up a bluff at saving the ship, to fool the crew. We’d
best give them at least an hour and a half.”
“That crew, captain, sir, are the scum of the water front,”
Christophe put in.
“But just the same, we don’t know that they’re in on it,” Drake
replied. “Bill Morris don’t like to cut too many in on his crooked work.
Seems to me more likely that he’ll try to stampede ’em into the boats
after putting up a great show to save the ship. He’ll call on his
engineer for steam and announce that they must beach her. The
engineer will either pretend to start the engines, or swear that he
can’t turn ’em over. That would stampede the crew, if they’re the sort
one picks up in these parts. I think we’ve got to risk it, and give ’em
an hour and a half, certain. After that it depends on how quickly we
can pick her up. Beltramo tells me that she’s fitted with two sea
cocks only into her main hold, because her engines are set well aft.
So she’s not likely to fill within some hours after they’re opened, and
I’ve got it doped out from what I know of Morris’ work that’s the way
he’ll put her under, if that’s what he intends to do; but it’s only little
things that are queer which makes me think that’s what he’s up to.
Big gamble, but——”
“Must be. If not, why he not go on to east’ard?” the pilot asked.
“I’m sure of it, captain, sir.”
But Drake was still doubtful when, still in blackness and running at
slow speed, the Malabart nosed out into the sea with the pilot himself
at the wheel and keeping an eye on both time and compass as he
took up the trail. To the commander’s ears it seemed that with the
ship so light that her blades were barely under water the thrash of
the slow-turning screw must be audible for miles. He saw the wheel
slowly revolving under Christophe’s hands and sensed that the pilot
was now where he thought they might find the sinking ship.
Captain Eli knew that both Catlin, and the second mate, Giles,
and nearly all the crew were forward peering into the dimness
ahead, but it seemed impossible to see anything on such a night. It
was a matter of luck, and he felt a dawning apprehension that his
luck was out. Watching the compass over the pilot’s shoulder he saw
that the ship had made one complete circle and was now holding
dead ahead. The wheel again whirled, and they began another
circle, a mile deeper in that huge bay surrounded by high and
forbidding mountains, when there came a soft whistle from forward
and a pattering of bare feet. Catlin’s muffled voice came from below:
“Hold her, sir, hold her. I think we’ve sighted the Rhodialim about
two points off the port quarter.”
Drake jumped to the engine tube—it having been arranged that a
man was to stand by to obviate the use of bells, inasmuch as the
sound of an engine bell might carry far in such stillness—and now
the Malabart lost way and came to a stop. The boat, which was
swinging barely above the water, was lowered, and Drake, Catlin,
and two men tumbled in and fell to the oars. They rowed quietly.
“There she is, sir,” Catlin whispered.
Exercising still more caution, they drew down on the dim shape
that lay inert and heavy on the water. They came alongside and
listened for voices, but caught no sound. They found the boat davits
hanging idly over the water, and went up the falls noiselessly, and
stood on the deck. Together they ran here and there, making a
search for any human being. Not until then were they confident that
she had been abandoned. Listening down the main cargo hatch they
could hear the swirling and gurgling of water and the soft bumping of
empty cases and crates.
“Get back to the ship, Bill, and rush across all the men that can be
spared; so that if that gang are standing by waiting for the Rhodialim
to sink, we can knock ’em overboard. Tell Christophe to bring the
Malabart alongside twenty minutes after you’ve gone. That’ll give
you time to be back here ahead of her; so if we have to repel
boarders, we’ll have the men to do it. Be as quiet as you can and get
a move on.”
Catlin slipped away and over the side like a ghost. After he had
gone Drake listened attentively for a few minutes, then went back
and again bent over the open hatch. Afterward he tried, by leaning
far over the rail, to estimate how deeply the scuttled ship had already
sunk. It seemed to him that she couldn’t last very much longer.
Taking an electric torch from his pocket, he went below. She was a
fairly deep ship, of good draft, and he was pleased to observe that
the cabin floors were not yet damp. He decided that if the sea cocks
were of the diameter given by Giuseppe, the former engineer, she
had at least an hour and a half longer to float. He knew that her fires
must have been drawn, because Morris would not run the risk of the
sound of a boiler explosion drawing attention to the spot, if there
chanced to be any boat within hearing.
“He knows this business of scuttling ships better than any one I
ever heard of,” Drake soliloquized. “But if he cleared off this time,
without waiting to see her under, he made one hell of a mistake.”
He looked at his watch in the light of his torch and meditated: “If
Bill moves lively and doesn’t lose his way, he should be back here in
half an hour from now. If he loses his way in this blamed fog—I’m
afraid we cut it pretty short!”
He climbed back to the deck, went to the port side, from which the
boat had put off, and listened, prepared to answer a hail, if Catlin
returned groping and had to shout to learn his bearings. Then from
the opposite side of the ship, he heard a single telltale thump, as if
an oar in clumsy hands had slipped from an oarlock and brought up
with a bang.
Drake ran across to the starboard rail just in time to hear a
muttered imprecation, in colloquial Greek:
“Quiet there, you lubber! If the skipper and those two pets of his
are hanging around, we’ve a fine chance of getting away with
anything.”
Drake pursed his lips into a silent whistle, and through his mind
ran the thought: “It’s the crew of this craft come back. Probably
suspected something and are trying somehow to double-cross
Morris, Simmons and whoever they’ve let in on it with ’em. I’m a fool.
Should have kept at least one man with me for such an emergency.”
Quick as was his thought, his action was quicker. He jerked off his
boots and threw off his jacket. He ran aft in the direction that he was
certain the boat must take to board, and leaned over the rail just as a
man started to climb upward.
 “Get back into that boat and sheer off,” he called down. “This ship
is abandoned and is salvage.”
The man hesitated, and a voice from below ordered:
“Go on up! We’ll talk this over on deck.”
“Like hell you will!” Captain Eli declared. “And if any man tries to
come on this ship, he’s looking for trouble. Sheer off, if you want a
talk. If you want a fight, come ahead.”
The man holding the boat fall climbed up and got a foothold on the
strake. He threw a hand inward and caught a rail stanchion and
swung upward, encouraged by muttered comments.
“All right! If you will have it——” Drake growled.
And leaned far over, and struck. In the gloom and darkness he
had not struck well, and instead of knocking his man overboard into
the boat below, he merely shifted him outward just beyond reach of a
second blow. Drake threw himself over the rail and hanging by one
hand struck again with the other. It was a body blow, but the man
was tenacious, clung to the rope, swayed like a pendulum, and, as
he swung back, kicked at Drake with his heavy sea boot. But this
time Drake’s fist smashed home, and the boarder grunted, loosened
his grip on the boat fall, and went slithering down among his
companions. Drake climbed back over the rail just in time to feel a
stunning smash on the back of his head, and was not until then
aware that while he had engaged one assailant, another had climbed
up the opposite boat fall with a monkey-like agility, and had come
behind him.
Infuriated by the attack, he whirled, seized the man, lifted him as if
he were a bundle of waste, and, with a giant’s heave, threw him far
outward. The man shouted as he fell, but Drake did not hear the
splash; for now he found himself fighting desperately with two other
dark shapes who charged silently. Even as Drake fought, he recalled
what he had overheard, which convinced him that these men also
had no wish to recall Morris and his fellow conspirators. Drake
grinned at the humor of that situation—a scalawag crew trying to
steal aboard the ship they had abandoned, Morris and his fellows
somewhere out there in the dark, himself battling for the salvage like
a dog for a bone, and all the time, down there in the hold, the sea
cocks flooding the sinking ship.
The number of his assailants increased. They were urged on by
the leader in a hoarse mutter:
“He’s alone. He must be alone, because no one else comes.
Down him! Down him, because he’s probably got a boat coming!”
Drake fought desperately. Two of his assailants went to the deck
and lay there struggling, as they tried to recover their senses.
Veteran fighter that he was, the participator in events which had
earned for him the sobriquet of The Old Hyena, he used his, head
coolly, his fists heavily, and as he moved here and there slipped out
of the dangers of being cornered and fought for time.
Then came the accident. Retreating, his heels caught over a coil
of rope that had been carelessly left on the deck. He struggled vainly
to recover his balance, but they were on him like a pack of wolves.
And in a fighting, struggling group came to the deck, where they
twisted and turned as he tried to regain his feet, was pulled down,
tried again, was struck heavily over his eyes, saw stars, shook his
head like an enraged bull, and felt himself pinioned to the deck while
one of the men he had previously knocked down arrived in time to
kick him in the ribs. He was now roaring with fury, heedless of all
alarms and thinking of nothing but revenge. He did not hear the
angry shout of Catlin and his men coming on deck. The hold on him
suddenly relaxed. He sat up, rubbing his bruised side and clearing
the blood from his eyes, heard Bill Catlin’s fighting oaths and got to
his feet. Both forward and aft shadowy forms of men in flight flitted
across the decks. He heard Catlin’s shout:
“Don’t let ’em get back to their boat! Knock ’em out and hold ’em.
They’ve probably killed the skipper. If Drake is dead, we’ll drown the
whole damn lot!”
“Yes, don’t let ’em get away, Bill,” Drake shouted, climbing to his
feet and regaining his full senses. “I want ’em. Particularly that
fleabitten rat who gave me the boots. Lash ’em up and get ’em
together. Quick! The ship may sink under us at any time.”
Both he and Catlin ran here and there to bring matters to a
conclusion, and within a few minutes there were seven somewhat
bruised and battered ruffians thrown into the nearest cabins and,
despite their protestations and appeals, locked in. Their leader, who
time and again shouted that he was the second mate of the
Rhodialim, was the first to whine for mercy. He cried, in
comprehensible English:
“You hell of an Ingleeshmans tie us up and put us here to drown.
You let us go we make no more of the fights. We go quiet. But
capitano, please, sir, not drown us.”
“Drown nothing!” Drake growled. “If we see that we can’t save the
ship, we’ll bring you up and turn you loose in your boat, you damn
pirates! And listen here! You keep quiet now. We’ve got no more time
to waste on you.” He turned to Catlin and said: “Lock ’em in. We’ve
got to fall to, if we want to keep this craft afloat.”
They hastily ran out to the deck just in time to hear Giles, the
second mate, calling:
“Ship’s coming, sir. Shall I flash a light for ’em, or hail?”
Drake himself cupped his hands and called: “Malabart, ahoy! This
way!” When he got a response, he ran back to where he had fallen,
struck a match, found his electric torch that had fallen from his
pocket, and with it as a beacon, directed the Malabart to come
alongside.
He called for Beltramo to come aboard to point out the location of
the sea cocks, and for the collision mats to be put across. He set
lookouts to guard against the possibility of other boarders, and
himself took a hand at the work.
“If the others haven’t heard the row, it’s not likely they’ll come
back,” he said. “But we’ll take no chances; we’ll keep as quiet as
possible, just to avoid any more risks of interference. Move lively
now!”
The men of the Malabart ran here and there, their bare feet
pattering, and pulled and hauled a huge, unwieldy mat to the
outward side. Then they ran its looped lines forward and under the
ship’s hull. The Malabart sheered off to give play, and the men fell to
the lines, heaving and tugging, as the mat went over the side and
submerged itself at the point indicated by Beltramo. Throughout their
work, running, and pulling, and hauling, that same air of