Chapter 6 Chapter 6 is on deck

I'm breathing fresh air now, gulping...at last they released me from the suffocating box and put me on the deck of the big ship...First, I looked to the sky and didn't see A piece of land... only an arc that separates the sky and the sea can be seen! No! . . . to the west, on this side of the coast of North America, which stretches for thousands of miles, not even a speck of land can be seen. At this moment, the setting sun casts only slanted light on the sea... It is about six o'clock in the evening... I look at my watch... yes, six thirteen. This is what happened on the night of June 17.

As I said, I've been waiting for the cabin door to open, determined not to give in to sleep.I'm sure it's dawn, and the day is slipping away without anyone coming.The food that was brought to me was completely eaten.I began to feel hunger pangs, and as I had a little ale left, I felt no thirst. When I awoke, the trembling of the hull told me that the ship had sailed after a night at anchor, and that it had probably been anchored the night before in some deserted cove off the coast, for I did not feel the usual vibration of dropping anchor. . At six o'clock, footsteps came from behind the metal partition of the cabin.Anyone want to come in? ... yes ... there was a rattle of the lock, and the door swung open.The light of a lantern dispelled the unfathomable darkness that had surrounded me since I had embarked.

Two people appeared in front of me. Before I could see their faces clearly, they grabbed my arms, and a thick cloth covered my head, so that I couldn't see anything. What is the point of such a cautious move? ...how are they going to deal with me? ...I tried to struggle...they held me tightly...my question...no answer...the two men exchanged a few words, I can't understand their language and I can't make out the language source. Apparently, they didn't have much respect for me!Indeed, the nurse of a madman, why should he treat such a small person with courtesy? ...but I'm not sure engineer Simon Hart will be treated well either.

This time they didn't gag me or tie my hands and feet.They just held me tight so I couldn't escape. After a while, I was dragged outside the cabin and pushed into a narrow passage.My feet echoed on the steps of the metal ladder.Then, the fresh air rushed towards me, and I breathed greedily through the hood over my head. Then they lifted me up, and the two of them put me on a plank, not iron this time, but the deck of a ship. The arm that grabbed me was finally released.I can move around freely now.I immediately tore off the cloth covering my head and looked around... I was standing on a sailboat that was sailing at full speed, leaving a long white trail where the sailboat broke through the waves.

I had to hold on to a backstay to keep from falling, and after forty-eight hours of captivity in total darkness, the harsh sunlight blinded me. A dozen rough-faced sailors walked up and down the deck--their features were so varied that I could not determine their parentage.Also, they hardly pay attention to me. According to my estimate, the draft of this sailing ship was two hundred and fifty to three hundred tons.The sides were very broad, the mast was massive, and the sails must have been of such size that it could sail swiftly with the wind. At the stern, a dark-faced man was steering the wheel.His hand was firmly on the handle of the wheel, and he kept the sailboat at full speed sideways.

I'd love to know the name of this sailboat that looks like a yacht.But was its name inscribed on a plaque at the stern or on the bulwark at the bow? ... I approached a sailor and asked him: "What's the name of this ship?..." My question was not answered, and I even suspected that he didn't understand me. "Where is the captain?..." I asked again. The sailor didn't answer the question either. I went to the bow. On top of the windlass hung a clock...perhaps the name of the sailing ship would be engraved on the bell's brass? ... Not a single name on the clock wall.

I went back to the stern and asked the helmsman the same question again... The man gave me an unkind glance, shrugged his shoulders, and leaned hard on the handle to correct the course of the sailboat which had drifted far to port. I suddenly wondered if Thomas Roche was on board too... I didn't see him... Wasn't he on board? ... this is really inexplicable.Why did they abduct the guard Gaidong from the nursing home? ... No one ever suspected that I was Simon Hart the Engineer, and even if they knew, what would be the profit of kidnapping me, what did they expect from me? ... Therefore, since Thomas Roche was not on deck, I reckoned that he might be locked up in some cabin, and that they valued him more than his former caretaker!

How does this sailboat sail? —How could this point not immediately attract my attention? ...the sails were tightly packed together...not a single canvas was exposed...the sea was calm...a few gusts of wind came from the east now and then against the direction the ship was going, as the ship sailed against the wind in that direction... However, the sailboat was moving very fast, rushing forward, the bow split the water, and the foam billowed on the waterline.A long undulating track was left behind. Is this a steam ship? ……no! ...with no chimney rising between her mainmast and foremast...is this an electric boat?Battery packs or high energy batteries to drive the propeller so it can go so fast? ...

In fact, I have no other explanation for this voyage.In any case, since the "engine" could be only one propeller, I could just lean over the side of the boat and see it in action, and all that remained was to figure out where its mechanical power came from. The helmsman let me approach, and looked at me mockingly. I leaned over and looked out... There is no trace of the propeller in the tumbling waves... only a flat track extending six or seven hundred meters, which is the usual sign of a sailboat... But what kind of "engine" gives this sailboat such a speed?As I said, the wind is headwind now, and the sea is rolling but not rough...

I'll figure it out, and without arousing the suspicions of the crew, I'm back on the bow. When I came to the cab, a person appeared in front of me. His face seemed familiar... This person leaned on the bridge, let me approach, and watched me... He seemed to be waiting for me to talk to him... I remember... this is the man who accompanied Count Atticus on his visit to the Sanatorium.Yes... can't be wrong. So it was this wealthy foreigner who kidnapped Thomas Roche, and I was on board the "Aiba", in his famous speedboat on the east coast of the United States! ……Ok!This man before me will tell me what I have a right to know.I remember Count Atticus and he both spoke English...he would understand me and not refuse to answer my questions.

I knew that this man was the captain of the sailing ship "Aiba". "Captain," I said, "I saw you in the sanitarium... did you recognize me?..." He just looked at me a few times and didn't bother to answer my question. "I am the caretaker Guyton," I went on, "the caretaker of Thomas Roche, I want to know why you kidnapped me and brought me to this sailboat?  …" The captain interrupted me with a gesture, not to me, but to some of the sailors by the forecastle. They grabbed my arms and dragged me down the stairs, ignoring my struggle with uncontrollable rage. In fact, the so-called stairs are just ladders made of iron rods, fixed vertically to the planks of the ship.There are doors on either side of the landing which lead to the crew quarters, the captain's bedroom and other adjoining cabins. Are they going to throw me into the dark room at the bottom of the cargo hold again? ... I was turned to port, and they led me into a small room, lighted by sunlight through a porthole in the hull, which was left open to let in a fresh air.There is a canvas hanging bed, bedding and pillows, a table, a chair, a dresser, and a wardrobe in the room. The cutlery is already set on the table.I just had to sit down and the helper in the kitchen brought out the dishes and was about to exit and I asked him a few words. Another mute,—this is a dark boy, maybe he can't understand me? ... The door closed, and I ate with relish, planning to consider these questions later, which would not remain unanswered forever. I am indeed a prisoner, but this time, the conditions are much more comfortable and superior, and I hope it will remain until the destination. Then, I began to fall into deep thought. The first thing I thought of was: Count Atticus planned the kidnapping. He was the original culprit who hijacked Thomas Roche. ” in a room on the ” and it was as comfortable as mine. In short, what is the identity of this person? ... Where did he come from? ... Was his purpose of kidnapping Thomas Roche to obtain the secret of "Lightning" at any cost? ...and that's probably the case.Therefore, I had to be vigilant about not revealing my identity, because if they knew my real identity, I would have no chance of being free. But how many mysteries were there to be probed, how many marvelous things to be explained--the life of Count Atticus, his plans for the future, where the sailboat sailed, where it anchored... and that it was without sail Or propeller sailing, but can go ten nautical miles an hour! ... At last night fell, and fresher air came in through the portholes of the room.I shut it, and now that my door is bolted from the outside, the best thing to do is to go to bed and be rocked softly to sleep by this strange Alba sailing across the Atlantic. The next day, I got up at dawn, washed and dressed, and waited. I suddenly wanted to see if the rudder door was still closed... No, it's not closed.I unlatched the door, climbed up the iron ladder, and came to the deck. The sailors were busy cleaning the deck aft, and two men, one of whom was the captain, were talking.Seeing that I did not express any surprise, he shook his head and pointed me to his companion. I have never seen another person, in his fifties, with a dark beard and hair mixed with a few silver threads, with a sarcastic and shrewd expression, sharp eyes, and a very intelligent face.He is very Greek, and when we see the captain of the "Aiba" call him Engineer Sokol, we are sure that he is of Greek origin. The captain's name was Spard, a name apparently of Italian origin.A Greek, an Italian, a crew from all over the world, a sailboat with a Norwegian name... the mix seemed suspicious to me. As for Count Atticus, whose name is Spanish and who looks Asian, where is he from? ... Captain Spard and Engineer Sokol were talking in low tones.Spade watched the helmsman closely, seemingly oblivious to the indications of the compass on the binnacle in front of him.It seemed that he was more obedient to the gestures of a sailor standing in the bow, who told him whether he should go left or right. Thomas Roche stood beside the deckhouse...he gazed at the empty, boundless sea...there was no land in the sky.Two sailors stood beside him, watching him for a moment.What can't this lunatic do - even throw himself into the sea? ... I don't know if they'll allow me to have a word with a former patient of mine... I approached Thomas Roche, he didn't see me, I came to him. Thomas Roche didn't seem to recognize me at all, he remained motionless.His piercing eyes kept scanning his surroundings.He blissfully breathed the clean, salty air, his chest pumping up and down as he inhaled deeply.The brilliant sun and the fresh air blend together, shooting from the cloudless sky, and the whole person is bathed in the sunshine.Does he know that his circumstances have changed? ...Has he forgotten about the sanatorium, the small building where he was placed under house arrest, and the guarding of Gaidon? ...it's extremely possible.The past has faded from his memory and he lives fully in the present. But it still seemed to me, on the deck of the Alba, in the vastness of the sea, that Thomas Roche was still the oblivious man whom I had been tending for fifteen months.There is no change in his mental state, and only when talking about his invention does he regain his sanity.Count Atticus already knew this when he visited the sanatorium, and evidently pinned his hopes on it, hoping that one day he would learn the inventor's secret.How would he deal with Thomas Roche? ... "Thomas Roche? . . . " I said. He heard my voice, looked at me for a moment, then looked away. I grabbed his hand and squeezed it tightly, but he pulled it back abruptly.Then walked away,--he didn't recognize me,--he went aft, where Engineer Sokol and Captain Spard were chatting. Did he want to speak to one of them, and if they spoke to him, would he give them an answer I didn't get? ... Just then a gleam of intelligence came into his face, and it was evident that the strange way of sailing of the sailboat had caught his attention. In fact, his eyes fell on the mast of the "Aiba", the sails were furled, and the sailboat was gliding quickly on the calm water... Thomas Roche took a few steps back and boarded the starboard longitudinal passage. He stopped at a place where, if the "Aiba" was a steam ship, there should be a chimney towering from which the black smoke would flow. Squirting out, circling up... It seems that what puzzled me also puzzled Thomas Roche... He couldn't explain what I couldn't explain. Like me, he also went to the stern to watch the propellers work... A pod of porpoises hopped and played on both sides of the sailboat.Although the "Aiba" is sailing very fast, these sensitive animals can still overtake it effortlessly. They jump, carry and follow, and play flexibly in their natural living places. Thomas Roche turned a blind eye to them.He leaned over the bulwarks... Immediately, Engineer Sokol and Captain Spud came to his side, and fearing he would fall into the water, they grabbed hold of him and pulled him back on deck... As I watched, Thomas Roche was, in my long experience, in a state of great excitement.He spun around, danced and said some confusing words, as if he was talking to himself... Evidently, his illness was about to strike again.This episode was very similar to the last night in the nursing home, and the consequences were dire.He has to be caught and taken back to his room, maybe they'll let me go and give him special care as usual... At present, Engineer Sokol and Captain Spud have been following him.Apparently, they wanted him to do whatever he wanted, which he did. He went to the mainmast first, looking vainly for the mainsail, came up to the mainmast, hugged it, shook it vigorously, and at the same time shook the frame of the bitt, as if trying to pull the mainmast up... Seeing that the mainmast was still and that his efforts were in vain, he tried to shake the fore-mast.He is getting more and more agitated.Muttering a trace of indistinct words, mixed with vague shouts... Suddenly he ran for the port shroud and clung to it.I'm wondering if he's going to pounce on the rope ladder and onto the boom of the second sail...he'll fall to the deck if he's not stopped, or a violent roll of the sailboat will throw him overboard ... Captain Spard made a gesture, and several sailors hurried over and hugged him, but his hands were tightly gripping the sidestays, unable to let him go.I know that when he is sick, his strength will be ten times stronger than usual.I often had to turn to other nurses to subdue him... This time, some able-bodied crewmen hold down the hapless lunatic.Thomas Roche was lying on the deck, and two sailors held him down despite his fierce resistance. Then, another man came on deck, and he ordered the sailors to take Thomas back to his room and let him rest there until he calmed down.The man's voice drifted into my ears... I turned around and recognized him. He was Count Atticus, the sullen and imperious count I had seen in the sanitarium. I immediately walked over to him.I still have to explain and... "What right have you to do to me... sir?..." I asked. "I have the power of the strong!" replied Count Atticus. He then made his way towards the stern while the sailors escorted Thomas Roche back to his chambers.