West from the Virgin Islands toward Haiti stood S.S. America, a thwarted ship in a restricted ocean. Biggest (27,000 gross tons) and fanciest merchantman ever to slide down a U.S. way, she had been conceived by the Maritime Commission for the blue-ribbon North Atlantic passenger trade. But before her birth was complete, World War II and the Neutrality Act closed in her horizons. Since she left her fitting-out dock ten months ago, her life has been a pleasant tedium of Caribbean cruises. Last week adventure crooked an imperious finger to this immaculate loafer of the Antilles. She was drafted...
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