Chapter 9 Chapter 9 Fasquez

Since the two-masted ship came into Elgow Bay, Fasquez lived by the sea near Cape Sanjouan, and he did not want to leave here, because if a ship happened to come into the bay, he could at least be on board with it. Say hello to the boat as you pass by. That way he could be rescued aboard, and the captain would be warned of the dangers on the way to the lighthouse.If there are not many people under the captain.Not enough to capture the gangsters, or drive them to the interior of the island, at least he had time to re-drive to the sea. But why should a ship come into this harbor unknown to the whole world?Unless it is forced over by the wind and waves.

Such a ship would be best bound for the Falkland Islands, as they were only a few days away; that would quickly inform the British authorities there of what was happening on the islands.Perhaps a man-of-war would be dispatched to Elgow Sound at once to wipe out Conga and his bandits and light the lighthouse before the Moore could sail away. "Should I wait until the San Fe comes back?" Fasquez often asked himself. "Two months! By then the two-masted ship will have sailed far away, and how can one find her among all the islands in the Pacific?" Faithful Fasquez had not himself in mind, but his comrades who were mercilessly murdered. He worried that these criminals would escape punishment, and worried about the serious threat to the ships sailing in this area after the lighthouse went out. .

He had once been to a pirate's cave, which reassured him a little about his situation, as long as the pirates didn't find out where he lived. This is a deep cave.Those pirates have lived here for several years.They picked up many wrecks along the coast at low tide, and piled anything of value in holes.Kanga and his bandits lived in the cave for a long time, eating the food they brought with them when they first landed, and then relying on what they got from shipwrecks, several times of which they were responsible. In order not to make Conga and the others aware, Fasquez took from these stores only what was absolutely necessary: ​​a small tin of biscuits, a tin of corned beef, a small stove for a fire, a A kettle, a cup, a woolen blanket, some changes of shirts and socks, a raincoat, a handful of ammunition for two pistols, a tinderbox, a lamp, and some tinder, besides two pounds of tobacco .He knew that the two-masted ship would have to be repaired for several weeks, during which time it would be available again when it was used up.

He found that the narrow cave where he lived was very close to the robber's cave, so he went to find a farther and safer place. He found one five hundred yards away, on the coast beyond Cape Sanjoen, just along the La Mer Strait.There are two towering rocks supporting the cliff, and a small cave is recessed in the middle, and the entrance of the cave is well hidden.He had to crawl in through a crevice, which was hardly discernible among a mass of rocks.When the tide is high, the sea water rises almost to the foot of these rocks, but it does not flood the cave; the cave is covered with fine sand, and there are no shells in it, and it is not damp at all.

A man could walk past the cave a hundred times without discovering that there is a cave here, and Fasquez only discovered it a few days ago. He brought all the things he took from the robbery hole here. Conga and his men hardly ever come to this part of the sea.The only time they had been there was when they came up to the cave the second time, and that was when Fasquez saw them standing at the end of the corner.At that time, he had been crouching under the rock gap all the time, and was not discovered by them. He would never go out without careful reconnaissance, and most of them went out at night, especially when he went up to the cave.When rounding the turning point of the cliff at the mouth of the bay, he always looked to see if the boat or boat had landed there.

How long is the time in solitude!How hateful was the recurring remembrance of his mind!He was spared the scene of the massacre, but Philip and Maurice were murdered by those murderers. This scene appeared again and again before his eyes.In his heart, he wished to fight face-to-face with the leader of the bandit party and avenge his partner with his own hands. "No, no," he repeated to himself, "they will be punished sooner or later! God will not let them slip through! They will all die!" He forgot that his own life was in great danger while the two-masted ship lay in the Elgow Firth!

"I hope these rascals don't go away! Oh, if only they'll be here when the San Fe comes back! My God! Don't let them go!" he prayed. Can his wish be fulfilled?It was at least three weeks before the letter ship appeared off the island. On the other hand, Fasquez could not help being surprised that the two-masted ship would remain on the island for so long.Is the damage so serious that a month's work is not enough to repair it?The records in the lighthouse log will also tell Kanga when the next relief will come.He will not be unaware that he must drive away in early March.

It was already February 16, and Fasquez was anxious and worried, and he didn't know what to do.After the sun went down, he ran up the mouth of the bay and walked along the north shore to the lighthouse. It was completely dark at this time, but if there was someone from the Pirate Party standing on this side, he might be seen by them.So he crawled cautiously along the bank, looking into the darkness, pausing now and then to listen for suspicious noises. From here it is about three miles into the bay.The path he was taking was the one he had escaped that day after his comrades had been massacred, but in the opposite direction.Now, as on that evening, he was not seen.

At about nine o'clock, he stopped two hundred yards from the outer perimeter of the lighthouse, and from here he could see a few lights shining in the windows of the houses below the lighthouse. When it was this group of robbers who came instead of himself and those dead companions, he couldn't help shaking his fist towards the dormitory. Fasquez could not see the two-masted ship from where he stood because it was completely enveloped in darkness.He approached another hundred yards or so, and all the pirates were locked in the dormitory, and it seemed that no one would come out. Fasquez came a little closer and climbed up to the edge of the creek, where the two-masted ship, towed from the sand at high tide the day before, was floating on the water, tied to anchor.

How he wished he could cut through the bottom of the boat and sink it to the bottom of the river! The damaged part of the hull has been repaired.But Fasquez saw that although the boat floated, it was still two feet short of the draft.This shows that neither the ballast nor the goods have been loaded on the ship, so there may be a delay of several days before leaving.It was safe to say that this would be the last delay, and that in perhaps forty-eight hours the Moore would weigh anchor, round Cape Sanchouan, and disappear from the horizon. Fasquez now has little food left.So the next morning, he went to the cave to get some more.

It was only dawn; he reminded himself that the boat must come again this morning to take all that was to be loaded on board, and he got up quickly, taking care not to be seen. He went around the shore and saw that there were no boats, and the shore was deserted. Fasquez immediately went into the cave. There was a lot of stuff left in the hole, all useless, so Conga didn't want to use it to take the place of the Mole.But when Fasquez started looking for biscuits and bacon, he couldn't help being disappointed. All the food was removed, and in another forty-eight hours, he would have nothing to eat! He didn't even have time to resent, at this moment, he heard the sound of paddles in his ears.The boat came, with Cargante and two others on board. Fasquez rushed to the entrance of the cave, stuck his head out and looked carefully. By this time the boat had landed.He had only time to slip back into the hole, and hide himself in the darkest corner, where a great mass of sails and yards had been placed, for it took up too much room.There was no room for it on the boat, so I had to leave it. Fasquez made up his mind that if they found out, he would use the pistol in his waist to fight them desperately, but he was one against three! Only two persons entered, Cargante and Fargas the carpenter. Cargante held a lighted lamp, and Fargas behind him, unpacking the miscellaneous things for the last load on the ship.The two men were searching and talking, and the carpenter said: "Today is already February 17. It's time to sail." "Yeah, going," Cargante replied. "Tomorrow?" "Tomorrow I'll see it's all right. Everything's settled." "It depends on the weather," Fargas said. "Of course, it doesn't look very good this morning, but it's going to clear up." "If we're on the island for another week or ten days..." "Ah!" said Cargante, "there's the danger of running into their benefactors." "No! No!" Fargas cried out. "We don't have the strength to deal with a warship." "Can't deal with it, the warship will deal with us ... and it's easy," Cargante replied, with a trembling curse. "Huh!" murmured another, "I'd love to be able to drive a hundred miles overseas." "Tomorrow, dare I say it, tomorrow!" Cargant said emphatically, "unless it's windy enough to blow heads off!" Fasquez listened to their conversation without moving, not even breathing.Cargante and Fargas came and went with their lamps, and rummaged through things, and took some out, and put the rest where they were.Sometimes walking very close to the corner where Fasquez is crouching.Fasquez could have put a pistol to one of the men's chests almost as soon as he reached out. They remained in the cave for half an hour before Cargante called the boatman.The man hurried to catch up and helped carry the package down. Cargante took one last look around the cave. "What a pity to leave these behind!" said Fargas. "It's got to go," said Cargante. "A two-masted ship would be all right if she'd carried three hundred tons! But we've taken the most valuable things, and I think there's still good money to come. Woolen cloth." Then they went out of the hole; after a while, the boat disappeared around the mouth of the bay taking advantage of the favorable wind. Fasquez then came out and went back to his cave. In another forty-eight hours, he would have nothing to eat, and when those people left, Kanga and his men would take all the food stored in the lighthouse with them! How could Fasquez survive until the message ship, if not a day's delay, would not return in a fortnight? The present situation could not have been more serious, and Fasquez, despite all his courage and determination, could do nothing; he had to go to the woods to dig grass roots to eat, or catch fish in the bay.But it was impossible to do so before the Moore left.If something goes wrong.Had the Mole stayed a few more days, Fasquez would have starved to death in his cave at Sanjoen Point. In the morning, the weather looked even worse.Big chunks of thick dark clouds gathered in the east.The wind blowing out to sea was getting stronger and stronger.The waves rushing by on the sea surface turned into big waves, covered with spray, and hit the rocks of Jiaodi in an instant, roaring. If this weather continues, the two-masted ship will not be able to take advantage of the tide to leave tomorrow morning. In the evening, the weather is still like this.Not only has it not changed, but it has gotten worse.This is not some thunderstorm, which can be done in a few hours.The storm has risen.The color of the sky and the sea is so ugly; the clouds blowing apart, passing swiftly and faster; coming soon.Fasquez was originally an old sailor, so he could have misunderstood him.The weather gauge in the lighthouse dormitory was down to storm point. But despite the violence of the wind, Fasquez did not stay in the cave.He was walking square steps by the sea, his eyes looking at the gradually darkening sky: although the red sun had sunk, the afterglow had not faded away, at this moment Fasquez saw a black thing moving on the sea. "A boat!" he cried. "A boat, and it seems to be heading for this island!" It was indeed a ship coming from the east, either going into the Ramer Strait, or heading south through it. By this time the wind was blowing more violently.This was no ordinary storm, but the unstoppable hurricane that destroys the largest ships.If the ship has no room to maneuver at this time, that is to say, if it is blown towards the shore by the wind, it is rare that it will not hit the rocks. "Those bastards don't light the lighthouse," cried Fasquez. "The boat is looking for the lighthouse, but it can't be found! It won't know that the shore is only a few miles ahead. The wind will bring it straight to the shore, ready to go." It will hit a rock and sink!" Indeed, the ship was bound to wreck, and it was the fault of Conga and his men.They must have seen from the lighthouse that the ship could not stay, but was carried away by the hurricane in a raging sea.Its captain was looking for a guiding light, but could not find it; so it was certain that she could not go around Cape Sanchouan, into the Strait of La Mer, or around Cape Several, to the south of Staten Island. .In just half an hour.It would hit the rocks outside the mouth of the Elgow Bay without even realizing it, because the land ahead could not be seen at night. The wind is now at its peak.It had been a bad night, and as it passed, it was the same the next day, for this hurricane certainly didn't look like it would pass in twenty-four hours. Fasquez didn't think of going back to the cave at all, his eyes were fixed on the sea.Although he could not make out the ship now in the darkness surrounding it, he could sometimes see its lights as it bumped left and right.Judging from her present state of distress, she could no longer control the direction of travel: perhaps she could no longer steer; she had even lost the ability to drive, and part of the rigging had blown off.In short, it is now almost certain that the sails of the ship have all been taken down.When this kind of violent battle between universes, it is simply impossible to think about a ship with any kind of sail. Fasquez could only see the traffic lights on the ship, so he was sure it was a sailing boat, and if it was a steamer, there would be white lights on the bow props.So in the fight against the hurricane, it has no engine to rely on. Pacing up and down the beach, Fasquez was disappointed to find himself unable to stop the boat from running aground.The most urgent requirement at this time is that the lighthouse can light up in the dark.Fasquez turned and walked towards Elgow Bay, shaking his fist at the lighthouse, but there was nothing he could do.The light on the lighthouse had never been lit for two months, and it would not be lit tonight; the ship was doomed to hit the rocks at Cape Sanchouan, and the crew would die. Then Fasquez suddenly had an idea.As long as the ship knows that there is land ahead, it may still be able to avoid it in time.Even if it can't stop, maybe it can change the direction of its sailing to avoid hitting land, because the coast from Cape Sangian to Cape Several is only a little more than eight nautical miles, so it may not be impossible to avoid it.As long as you drive through this section, the sea is in front of you. The beach was plentiful with lumber, drifts, and broken skulls.Could he take some of these things to the end of the corner, make a heap, put a few handfuls of seaweed, make a campfire, and let the wind fan the flames?Wouldn't this campfire be seen by the people on board?Even if it's only half a nautical mile from shore, it might still be able to avoid a collision in time. Fasquez immediately raised his hand.He found some pieces of wood and moved them to the end of the corner lot.There was a lot of dry seaweed on the ground, for although the wind was violent and unusually violent, it had not yet rained.He waited until he had piled up the wood and seaweed, and prepared to light the fire. It's too late!Out of the darkness a huge figure appeared.The mountain-like waves lifted it up, and threw it down again.Before Fasquez had time to raise his hand, the boat rushed to a row of rocks like a burst of flood water. There was a terrible crash, a few urgent cries, and then all silence.Nothing could be heard down here except the howling of the wind and the roar of the sea hitting the shore.