Chapter 18 life and death

On the second morning of the "Alice" wreck, Jenny Porter was the first to wake up in the lifeboat.Some of the remaining people were still sleeping soundly on the thwarts across the hull, and some were curled up and lying on the bottom of the boat. Realizing that they had lost contact with the other boats, the girl panicked.The boundless sea aroused infinite loneliness and melancholy in her heart.This feeling oppressed her, and from the beginning she had no hope for the future.She believed that this time they were all lost, and there was no possibility of salvation. After a while, Clayton woke up too.His sleepy eyes slowly relaxed, and it took him a while to recall the disaster of the night before, and realized that he was drifting on the sea now.Then his doubtful eyes saw the girl.

"Oh, Jenny!" he cried, "thank God for putting us in a boat." "Look!" said the girl, with a very gloomy expression, and pointed to the sea indifferently, "We are the only boat in this vast sea." Clayton looked around. "Where did they go?" he exclaimed. "It's impossible to sink to the bottom of the sea, because the sea has been calm. They were all in the boat when the yacht sank. I saw it with my own eyes." He immediately woke everyone up and explained the situation to them. "It's no big deal if several small boats are scattered." A crew member said, "There are sufficient provisions on board, and there is no need to take care of each other. If a storm blows, it will not help even if everyone stays together. Scattering has one The good thing is that maybe one of the boats will be saved, and they can immediately look for the other boats. If we are together, the probability of being saved is one, and now it is four."

After listening to the clever explanation of the sailor, everyone felt relieved, but unfortunately, this relief did not last long, because when everyone decided to row east to the coast, they found that the only two oars on the boat were there. Two crew members were lost while sleeping, and there was no trace of oars in the vast sea. The crew hurled insults, blamed each other, and nearly fought.But Clayton managed to convince everyone.But after a while, Mr. Thrane—that is, Rukov—nearly started another quarrel by calling the English, and especially the English sailors, stupid. "Come on, come on, guys!" said a sailor named Tompkins, who had been out of the quarrel. "What's the use of being so noisy! Didn't Spade say it before, we can always be saved. Listen to me, let's eat first."

"That's a good idea," said Mr. Thrane.Then turning to Wilson, he said, "Please come to the stern and get me the can." "Get it yourself!" said Wilson sullenly. "I'm under no obligation to be sent by you. You're not the captain of this boat!" Seran had to go get the can by himself.There was another row over the matter, and one of the crew accused Clayton and Mr. Thrane of conspiring to control the ship's provisions so that they themselves would get the greatest share. "Someone must command the ship," said Jenny Porter.This small group that got together temporarily may last for many days, but now there are cracks.Jenny Potter loathed the disgraceful quarrels that marked such a rift. "It's dreadful enough to be adrift in the Atlantic all alone in a flimsy boat. One's own quarreling and disputing, creating new dangers and miseries. You men should choose, Then, everything is up to him alone. Now we need discipline more than a well-ordered ship."

Before making this suggestion, she hadn't wanted to get involved in their disputes. Because she believed that Clayton could handle any emergency.But now she had to admit that he didn't show a better ability to deal with complex affairs than others.Of course, he did his best not to escalate the situation in any way.He even threw the cans at the sailors when they objected to him picking them up. The girl's words temporarily silenced the men.In the end, everyone decided that the two small barrels of fresh water and four cans of food would be divided into two shares, and the crew members would choose one first, and the rest belonged to the passengers.

So this small group was divided into two boys.After the water and food were separated in proportion, everyone immediately prepared to open cans and buckets.The crew first opened the iron bucket containing the "food", and immediately burst into shouts of anger and disappointment.Clayton hurriedly asked what was the trouble. "Trouble!" screamed Spade. "Trouble, more trouble than trouble! It's death! This bucket's full of kerosene!" Mr. Clayton and Mr. Thrane hastily opened their bucket, and found to their horror that it contained either food or kerosene.The four iron barrels were opened one after the other, and the contents inside were "clearly revealed".The angry yells announced the dreadful truth—there was not an ounce of food in this boat!

"Oh, thank God, it's not the bucket that's the problem," cried Tompkins. "It's better to have nothing to eat than to have nothing to drink. If you can't help it, you can 'eat' you with your shoes." You can't drink it like water." While he was talking, Wilson cut a hole in a bucket, and Spade held a tin teacup in his hand, waiting for Wilson to lift the bucket and pour the precious "jade liquid nectar" into it.The black powder slowly flowed out from the small hole, covering the bottom of the cup.Wilson groaned in pain, dropped the iron bucket in his hand, stared blankly at the powder in the forest, and couldn't say a word.

"The barrel's full of gunpowder!" whispered Spade, turning to look at the men standing in the stern.Their "bucket" was also opened, and it was also filled with gunpowder. "Kerosine and gunpowder!" cried Mr. Thrane. "Damn it! That's the delicacy for shipwrecked sailors!" Once they knew that there was neither food nor fresh water in the boat, the people immediately became very hungry.And so, on the first day of this misfortune, all the terror and anguish that followed the shipwreck came over them violently. Days passed and things got worse.no matter day or night

At night, the people on the boat stared wide-eyed, looking at the place where the sea and the sky meet.Their eyes were sick, and the exhausted people slumped at the bottom of the boat, and walked into dreamland blindly, temporarily relieving them of the pain and fear brought about by the terrible reality. The crew was so tortured by relentless hunger that they began to eat belts, leather shoes and sweatbands inside their hats.Mr. Clayton and Mr. Thrane tried to dissuade him, but to no avail.Although they themselves know that doing so will only increase the unbearable pain. These six frail, hopeless beings lay in the scorching heat of the tropics, with chapped lips and swollen tongues, looking forward to death.

The three passengers had been eating nothing, and the intense pain of the first few days had begun to become numb.But the pain of the crew is simply horrible, because their stomachs, which have long lost their ability to digest, have to deal with the belts, leather shoes and the like stuffed into their stomachs indiscriminately.Tompkins died first. A week after the Alice wreck, the crew member died horribly on board the boat. His twisted body lay in the stern of the boat for hours.Afterwards Jenny Potter could not bear the miserable scene any longer. "Can't you throw him into the sea, William!" she asked.

Clayton got up and staggered towards the body.The two dying crewmen watched him, their eyeballs glinting painfully and strangely in their sunken sockets.Clayton tried to lift Tompkins' body and throw it into the sea, but was too weak to do so. "Come here and do me a favor," he said to Wilson.He is closest to him. "Why throw him?" the crew complained. "We've got to get this done while we've got some strength," said Clayton. "One day's sun will make it even worse to-morrow." "Better leave it alone," murmured Wilson, "we might need him till tomorrow!" Clayton gradually recognized his blindness, and finally understood why the fellow objected to throwing dead bodies into the sea. "My God!" whispered Clayton in a trembling voice, "do you want to..." "Why not?" Wilson said viciously. "Aren't we still alive? He's dead." He twitched his thumb at the dead body, and added, "Anyway, he doesn't care anymore." "Come here, Thrane." Clayton turned his head and said to the Russian, "If this corpse is not disposed of before dark, something more terrible than death will happen to our ship." Wilson staggered over and stopped Clayton hostilely.But because Spade also sided with Clayton and Mr. Thrane, he had to give up.He had been staring greedily at the dead body as the three men worked together to throw the dead Tompkins into the sea. All day Wilson sat staring at Clayton, his eyes flickering like a psychopath.In the evening, when the sun sank into the sea, he pursed his lips and laughed softly, and murmured something to himself, but his eyes never left Clayton. It was already very dark, and Clayton always felt that those terrible eyes were still on him.He dared not go to sleep, exhausted from the relentless struggle against sleepiness to keep his head clear.I don't know how long he endured the unbearable pain, and finally he fell asleep with his head resting on a seat board.He seemed to have slept for a long time, when he was suddenly awakened by the rustling voice of a victim who was very close.The moon had risen, and Clayton opened his frightened eyes to see Wilson stalking towards him, his mouth open, his swollen tongue hanging out. Jenny Potter was also awakened by the slight noise at the same time.She cried out in fright at this terrible scene, and Wilson had already thrown himself on Clayton, like a beast, with his mouth wide open and his sharp teeth showing, trying to bite off Earth's throat.Although very weak, Kefeton managed to push the bloody mouth away from his face. Thrane and Spade were awakened by Jenny Potter's cry.Knowing why she was so frightened, the two of them crawled over to rescue Clayton.The three of them worked together to overpower Wilson and push him to the bottom of the boat.Wilson lay there laughing and muttering something, then rose with a loud cry, staggered a few steps, and walked toward the bow.Before his companions could stop him, he had already jumped into the sea. The tension caused by excitement and fear made these exhausted survivors tremble and exhausted.Spade, whose nerves seemed shattered, was crouching on the boat and sobbing; Jenny Potter was praying; Clayton was cursing softly to himself.Mr. Thrane put his head in his hands and was thinking.After much deliberation, the next morning he made a proposal to Spade and Clayton. "Gentlemen," said Mr. Thrane, "you can see what fate awaits us—unless we are rescued within a day or two, there is nothing but death. In the past few days, we have not seen a single white sail, nor a wisp of blue smoke, which is enough to show that the hope of salvation is too slim. "If there was food, there might be a possibility of salvation; if there was no food, there might be nothing. Now there is a choice, but it must be made at once. Either die together; or one person makes Sacrifice so that others may live. Do you understand what I mean?" Jenny Potter shuddered at the words.Perhaps she would not have been so surprised if the suggestion had come from the poor, uneducated sailor.However, she found it unbelievable that this was clearly coming from a cultured and educated gentleman. "If I had to choose, I'd rather die together," Clayton said. "It's a matter of the majority," said Mr. Thrane. "Since only one of the three of us will make the sacrifice, this matter can only be decided by the three of us. Miss Potter has nothing to do with it, because she There is no danger yet." "How do you decide who dies first?" Spade asked. "A draw. Fair and reasonable," said Mr. Thrane. "I have a good number of coins in my pocket, and we shall choose a coin of a certain year, and six coins including this Cover the small coin with a piece of cloth, and whoever touches the unlucky coin will die first." "I don't take part in the devil's tricks," murmured Clayton. "Perhaps we'll always see land, or a boat in time." "The decision of the majority must be obeyed, and whoever disobeys is the 'first'." Mr. Serann said in a threatening tone. "Come on, let's vote on this plan. I agree with myself. What about you, Stan?" Pad?" "I agree too," replied the sailor. "So the majority agrees." Mr. Selan announced, "Now, let's hurry up and draw lots. This matter is fair and reasonable, neither partial nor four. Three people live, one person dies. The dead person Maybe it's just a few hours ahead of everyone else." After speaking, he went to prepare for the lottery that determines life and death.Jenny Potter sat there, eyes wide open, terrified at the thought of the horrors he was about to witness.Monsieur Selane spread his coat on the bottom of the boat, selected six one-franc coins from a large handful of change, and examined them carefully.The other two also bent down to examine.After a while, he handed the coins to Clayton together. "See clearly," he said. "The oldest one is from 1875, and there is only one." Clayton and the crew went over every coin.From their point of view, there is no difference between these small coins except for the date printed on them.They are very satisfied.However, they never dreamed that Mr. Thrane was a well-trained gambler.He could tell the difference between several cards by the touch of his fingers, not to mention that this 1875 coin was a hair thinner than the others.As for Clayton and Spade, I am afraid that this difference can only be seen with the help of a micrometer. "In what order?" asked Mr. Thrane.Summarizing past experience, he came to the conclusion that when drawing unlucky lots, most people are willing to draw last. Because people always take chances and hope that the bad luck will fall on others first.Based on his analysis of people's psychology, Mr. Thrane made up his mind that if he had to smoke twice to decide his fate, he would rather smoke first. So when Spade offered to draw last, he offered to be the first to draw, and he did so generously.He reached under his coat, which was covered with coins, and with quick fingers he ran through each of the pennies, and when he found the hapless coin, he dropped it and picked up another.He withdrew his hand from under his coat and confidently showed the coin between his fingers, stamped with the year 1888. It was Clayton's turn.As he fumbled under his coat, Jenny Potter leaned forward and looked at the man she was going to marry with a tense, apprehensive look on her face.Presently he withdrew his hand, and in the palm of his hand was a one-franc coin.For a moment, he didn't even dare to look at it.Mr. Thrane poked his head over, looked at the date, and cheered—Clayton was all right. Jenny Potter shuddered and limp, and sat down against the side of the boat.She felt dizzy and nauseous.If Spade couldn't get hold of the 1875 coin, she would have to endure the ordeal of great pain all over again. Spade had already got his hands under his jacket, and there were big beads of sweat on his brow.Shaking with malaria, he cursed himself aloud for why he had to be the last draw, when his chances of escaping his fate were now three to one. Mr. Selance was five to one, and Clayton was four to one. The Russian was patient and did not rush Spade.Because he knew in his heart that whether the 1875 coin would be caught by Spade this time, he was safe anyway.The crew member withdrew his hand, glanced at the coin held between his fingers, and fainted at the bottom of the boat.The coin fell from his hand and rolled to his side.Clayton and Mr. Selance quickly picked it up and looked at it, but there was no sign of 1875 on it.Spade was so nervous that his nerves collapsed as if he had caught that unlucky coin. Now have to do it all over again.The Russian, of course, once again escaped danger. Clayton put his hands under his coat, and Jenny Potter closed her eyes in pain.Spade stooped, eyes wide open, fixed on the hand that would decide his fate.Because no matter what Clayton's last catch was, Spade's fate was decided in one fell swoop. William Cecil Clayton—Lord Greystoke withdrew his hand from under his coat, shaking a coin tightly in his palm, and looked at Jenny Potter, not daring to open his palm. "Come on!" said Spade ferociously. "My God! Let's see!" Clayton stretched out his fingers, and Spade was the first to see the writing on the coin. Before everyone could figure out what was going on, he had stood up, plummeted, and disappeared forever in the blue sea-Clayton didn't catch the 1875 coin! All three who were still alive fell into a semi-comatose state due to mental stress.They lay there till dark, and did not speak of the subject again for the next few days.Those days were filled with desperation and terror.People are getting weaker and weaker.At last Mr. Thrane crept up to Clayton, and said softly, "Before we are too weak to eat, another lot must be drawn." Clayton was in a state where he couldn't even control his will. Jenny Potter hadn't spoken for three days. He knew that she was going to die.Although it was terrible to think about it, he still hoped that whether it was his sacrifice or Mr. Thrane's sacrifice, it would give her the strength to live again.So he immediately agreed to the Russian's proposal. The lottery went on as before, but this time there was only one result—Clayton caught the 1875 coin. "When will we do it?" he asked Thrane. The Russian had already pulled a pocketknife out of his trousers pocket and tried to open it with limp fingers. "Now," he murmured, looking greedily at the Englishman. "Can't wait until dark?" asked Clayton. "Must Miss Potter must not see. We were going to be married, you know." A look of disappointment appeared on Mr. Thrane's face. "Well," he replied hesitantly, "there's not much time until dark anyway. We've been waiting for days, and we can wait a few more hours." "Thank you, my friend," murmured Clayton. "I'm going to crawl to her now, and I'd like to spend an hour or two with her before I die." By the time Clayton crawled up to the girl, she was unconscious.He knew she was going to die, and was glad that she would not have to witness this terrible tragedy.He took her hand and pressed it to his chapped, swollen lips.He lay beside her, stroking the withered, claw-like hand for a long time.This hand belonged to that beautiful girl in Baltimore, and it had been so white, smooth, and beautiful. Before I knew it, it was already dark.Someone was calling him in the twilight.It was the Russian who was going to carry out his sentence. "I'll go there, Mr. Thrane." He quickly replied. Propping himself on his hands and knees, he tried three times to climb over and accept death's verdict.However, after lying next to Jenny for several hours, he became more and more exhausted, and he could no longer crawl to Thrane's side. "Crawl over here, sir!" he cried feebly. "I've lost all strength. I can't move my hands and knees." "Damn it!" muttered Mr. Thrane. "So you're trying to trick me." Clayton heard the Russian scrambling under the boat, followed by a moan of despair. "I can't crawl," he sighed sadly. "It's too late and you've tricked me, you dirty English dog!" "I'm not lying to you, sir!" replied Clayton. "I've done my best. But I'm going to try again, and if you put in the effort, we'll both climb halfway, and you can eat me." Clayton scrambled forward with what little strength he had left, and he heard Thrane obviously struggling to move towards him.After about an hour, the Englishman finally succeeded in propping himself up on his hands and knees, but just moved forward a little, and fell headlong into the boat again. After a while he heard a cry of relief from Mr. Thrane. "Here I am," said the Russian softly. Clayton tried again to crawl over to meet his fate.But he fell headfirst to the bottom of the boat again, and although he struggled hard, he still couldn't get up again.He lay on his back in the boat and looked at the stars in the sky.The Russian crawled with difficulty, and the sound of gasping and gasping got closer and closer. He lay like this for about an hour, waiting for Mr. Thrane to crawl out of the darkness and end his ordeal.Now Seran was very close to him, but with each climb, the rest time in between was getting longer and longer.Clayton, who was waiting for death, could hardly notice that he was moving forward little by little. Later, he finally realized that Thrane was very close to him.He heard a giggle, something touched his face, and he lost consciousness.