Summary

Humphrey Van Weyden boards a new ferry in Sausalito, California to go to San Francisco to visit an old friend. In dense fog, the ferry collides with another steamboat, keels over and sinks to the endless shrieks and screams of women passengers. In the ice-cold waters of San Francisco Bay, Van Weyden bobs to the surface in a life preserver and soon passes out from the shock and cold water. When he regains consciousness, he is dragged onto a lifeboat rowed by an old salt who carries him to a commercial seal hunting ship, the Ghost. As Van Weyden is transferred to the other ship, he loses consciousness again.

When he regains consciousness, Van Weyden is being rubbed vigorously by a large, muscular Swede called Yonson. His efforts are curtailed by the sound of a Cockney voice belonging to Thomas Mugridge, otherwise known...