was when Eloise, who was
tied next to her by the mast passed her a cloth. It had been torn from
her voluminous robes, and she had wrung all the salt water out of it before
letting it soak up the rainwater. On the other side of her, Harry, who
had already had a drink, shouted: “Suck it! Suck out the water!”
Then it was much better. Just those few delicious drops gave her back her
energy and strength; the others had experienced the same. So Eleanor held the
cloth up to the rain again to soak it through. This time she let Sophie
suck in the water. Then, even with the strength from the drink of water,
she lay down and slept again. This time there were just bad dreams.
When
they all awoke, dawn was breaking. The sun was just peeping up in the
east, though that could be the only indication of where they were. Then
it vanished again behind dark clouds and the night returned for a moment. The
clouds stayed to hide the sun, but the day gradually became lighter.
The
ship was dipping and diving, out of control, but it did not seem to be in
danger of sinking. Harry, Eleanor and Grace could make out figures on the
deck. The Captain was moving around. There beside him was the diminutive
figure of Edwin, hacking away at broken ropes and rigging with an axe nearly as
tall as him in an effort to help make the ship work in some way again.
Harry
suddenly realised he wanted desperately to be away from the ropes around
him. He remembered the penknife he had put into his pocket just before he
had gone to visit Great Uncle Jasper in his study. He hacked at the thick
rope around his waist. The rope was made of hundreds of tiny pieces of
twine wound together, and it seemed each one only gave way at a time. It
was infuriating. Harry felt utterly trapped. Finally, it
split. Then he was able to set Grace and Sophie free. By then,
Edwin had managed to release himself and used an axe to break Eloise’s bonds
open with one blow. That annoyed Harry after all the work he had done
with his penknife.
The
Captain emerged from the hold and came running to see them. “Thank God
you are all still alive. We’ve lost the Sailing Master and nearly half
the crew. Those who are left and aren’t injured must work all day if
we’re to survive the night.”
Harry
saw sailors toiling all around him. So much seemed broken. Barrels
had broken free from their bindings against the side of the ship and had rolled
across smashing everything in their way, spreading their contents aimlessly as
they went. He thought they should do something to assist: “How can
we help, sir?”
The
Captain looked at them, three children and a mute maid. Instead of being
sarcastic or telling them to go and stay out of the way, as a normal adult
might, he took Harry’s offer at face value.
“I
can spare no men to check the stores until I know the ship is water-tight and
there are no more leaks. We’ll need food and water. There are
injured men too who need help.” All of the crew looked battered and
bruised. Harry had sore ribs from where Eleanor had landed on him, but he
was clearly in a much better state than many of the crew. Some of them
had giant splinters in their legs and arms. Others were crushed and being
laid out in a makeshift hospital amongst the wreckage. Even the fittest
looking were bruised and battered.
Eleanor
stepped forward and pulled Eloise with her. “We can do that, can’t
we? Let’s hope my herbs are still here. My book is safe under these
robes and was protected from the rain.” She pulled it out of her pocket
with some relief, unwrapping it.
“We
have no idea where we might be,” added the Captain. “Without some guidance, I
don’t know how we might get back home. I need to someone to discover
what’s left of the chart room and the compass box.”
“We’ll
do that, sir,” said Harry. “Come on navigator Grace. I think it’s
time we showed our
tied next to her by the mast passed her a cloth. It had been torn from
her voluminous robes, and she had wrung all the salt water out of it before
letting it soak up the rainwater. On the other side of her, Harry, who
had already had a drink, shouted: “Suck it! Suck out the water!”
Then it was much better. Just those few delicious drops gave her back her
energy and strength; the others had experienced the same. So Eleanor held the
cloth up to the rain again to soak it through. This time she let Sophie
suck in the water. Then, even with the strength from the drink of water,
she lay down and slept again. This time there were just bad dreams.
When
they all awoke, dawn was breaking. The sun was just peeping up in the
east, though that could be the only indication of where they were. Then
it vanished again behind dark clouds and the night returned for a moment. The
clouds stayed to hide the sun, but the day gradually became lighter.
The
ship was dipping and diving, out of control, but it did not seem to be in
danger of sinking. Harry, Eleanor and Grace could make out figures on the
deck. The Captain was moving around. There beside him was the diminutive
figure of Edwin, hacking away at broken ropes and rigging with an axe nearly as
tall as him in an effort to help make the ship work in some way again.
Harry
suddenly realised he wanted desperately to be away from the ropes around
him. He remembered the penknife he had put into his pocket just before he
had gone to visit Great Uncle Jasper in his study. He hacked at the thick
rope around his waist. The rope was made of hundreds of tiny pieces of
twine wound together, and it seemed each one only gave way at a time. It
was infuriating. Harry felt utterly trapped. Finally, it
split. Then he was able to set Grace and Sophie free. By then,
Edwin had managed to release himself and used an axe to break Eloise’s bonds
open with one blow. That annoyed Harry after all the work he had done
with his penknife.
The
Captain emerged from the hold and came running to see them. “Thank God
you are all still alive. We’ve lost the Sailing Master and nearly half
the crew. Those who are left and aren’t injured must work all day if
we’re to survive the night.”
Harry
saw sailors toiling all around him. So much seemed broken. Barrels
had broken free from their bindings against the side of the ship and had rolled
across smashing everything in their way, spreading their contents aimlessly as
they went. He thought they should do something to assist: “How can
we help, sir?”
The
Captain looked at them, three children and a mute maid. Instead of being
sarcastic or telling them to go and stay out of the way, as a normal adult
might, he took Harry’s offer at face value.
“I
can spare no men to check the stores until I know the ship is water-tight and
there are no more leaks. We’ll need food and water. There are
injured men too who need help.” All of the crew looked battered and
bruised. Harry had sore ribs from where Eleanor had landed on him, but he
was clearly in a much better state than many of the crew. Some of them
had giant splinters in their legs and arms. Others were crushed and being
laid out in a makeshift hospital amongst the wreckage. Even the fittest
looking were bruised and battered.
Eleanor
stepped forward and pulled Eloise with her. “We can do that, can’t
we? Let’s hope my herbs are still here. My book is safe under these
robes and was protected from the rain.” She pulled it out of her pocket
with some relief, unwrapping it.
“We
have no idea where we might be,” added the Captain. “Without some guidance, I
don’t know how we might get back home. I need to someone to discover
what’s left of the chart room and the compass box.”
“We’ll
do that, sir,” said Harry. “Come on navigator Grace. I think it’s
time we showed our
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