
You, Bruce Barkins, and Harry Smith had climbed into the liberty boat when Lieutenant Reardon stopped the oars from dropping. We have leave for the day, but departure still belongs to the officer at the gangway until he clears us. You step into this one-chapter preview with Bruce Barkins at the center, where choices turn on the people, promises, and pressure already in the room. You stepped toward Ching's offered route with the collision unsettled and the crowded city still unknown. The chapter closes on a continuation question rather than resolving the novel's larger arc.
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