Confrontation at Lloyds
The Confrontation at Lloyds brings together the survivors, the perpetrators, and the financial powers of the shipping world in a single room on Threadneedle Street, where the fate of the Titan's insurance policy — and the fortunes of those who bet on it — is decided not by a court but by the testimony of a one-armed man in rags. In Mr. Meyer's private office, partitioned off from a larger one bearing his name in the window, the underwriter has assembled Captain Bryce, First Officer Austen, the steamship company's attorney Mr. Thompson, and the elderly stockholder Mr. Selfridge. They wait for John Rowland, who arrives pale and weak, with his empty left sleeve, leaning on the arm of Captain Barry of the bark Peerless, who carries little Myra on his other shoulder. Rowland's clothing, though clean, is ragged and patched; his emaciated face, refined by suffering to an almost spiritual softness, is barely recognizable to the two officers who had schemed to destroy him.
The Revelation of the Drugging and the Cover-Up
Rowland, ignoring the two men he has come to expose, tells the terrible story of the cutting in half of the ship Royal Age on the first night out from New York, finishing with the attempted bribery and his refusal. Captain Bryce storms that it is a lie from beginning to end, but Captain Barry silences him with a threat. Rowland then recites the events prior to and succeeding the shipwreck: the finding of the whisky in his pocket, his being called to the starboard bridge lookout out of his turn, the sudden and strange interest Mr. Austen displayed as to his knowledge of navigation, the pain in his stomach, the frightful shapes he had seen on the deck beneath, and the sensations of his dream — leaving out only the part which bore on the woman he loved. He tells of the sleepwalking child which awakened him, the crash of ice and instant wreck, and the fixed condition of his eyes which prevented their focusing only at a certain distance, finishing with a graphic account of the fight with the bear. He concludes that he was drugged — he believes with hasheesh, which makes a man see strange things — and brought up on the bridge lookout where he could be watched and his ravings listened to and recorded, for the sole purpose of discrediting his threatened testimony in regard to the collision of the night before. He is positive the drug was in his tea at supper, which he partly spilled. Captain Bryce, in a fury, snarls that it was not hasheesh but an infusion of Indian hemp, and Mr. Austen's hand closes over his mouth too late. Rowland quietly notes that hasheesh is made from Indian hemp, and Mr. Meyer springs to his feet, declaring he has a witness now.
The Collapse of the Insurance Claim and the Death of Mr. Selfridge
Mr. Meyer, jubilant, tells the two officers that England is a fine country to leave behind, and that they will be bulletined at Lloyds in less than half an hour, never to sail under the English flag again, with all Scotland Yard looking for them. They leave, pale and crushed. Mr. Selfridge, who has been fondling Myra in the corner, asks if the insurance will be paid. Mr. Meyer roars that it will not, that the collision clause in the policy is void with the rest, and that the Titan company must reimburse him for the insurance he must pay to the Royal Age owners — unless Rowland will swear that her lights were out. Rowland refuses, saying her lights were burning. Mr. Selfridge, realizing he is ruined — he had invested his last farthing, one hundred thousand pounds, in Titan stock — stumbles, falls to the floor, and dies of heart failure before a doctor can arrive. Mr. Meyer, with simulated shock, pats Myra on the head and says the poor dear little child will not get the money.
Rowland's Refusal to Testify and the Moral Choice
Rowland, watching Mr. Meyer's face on which annoyance, jubilation, and simulated shock can be seen in turn, announces that he will not testify. He refuses to give his reasons, but Captain Barry understands: Rowland does not want to break this child. Rowland argues that the cause of the wreck was full speed in a fog, that all hands on lookout could not have seen that berg, and that the underwriters knew the speed and took the risk — let them pay. Mr. Meyer, in a frenzy, locks the door and begs Rowland not to ruin him, but Captain Barry kicks the door from its hinges and they leave. Rowland accepts passage to New York from the attorney, and Captain Barry offers him a mate's berth, but Rowland says his going to sea is ended — even a mate needs two hands. He vows never to drink again, saying he has a future now as well as a past.
