Chapter 10 Chapter Ten After the Crash

When the sun came out the next day, the hurricane was still undiminished. The sea is full of white waves.On this side of the Cape, the swells were fifteen to twenty feet high, and the spray was blown up to the top of the cliffs by the wind.The ebbing tide and the hurricane at sea wrestled furiously at the mouth of the Elgow Bay.No boat can get into the bay, and no boat can get out.The sky was still so sad and gloomy, and it looked like the storm would still be days away. Evidently the two-masted ship could not leave this morning. This is what Fasquez felt when he got up at dawn and faced the swirling turbid current under his feet.

Here is what he saw! Two hundred yards to the north of Cape Land, that is to say, out of Elgow Bay, lay the wrecked ship.It was a three-masted ship with a load of about 500 tons. The mast had all been broken off, leaving only three sections of wood almost level with the deck, which may have been cut down by the captain's order, or they were knocked down when it hit the rocks.There was no visible debris floating on the water, but the wind might have swept the odds into Elgau Bay. If so, Conga would have known by this time that a ship had been struck and sunk on the rocks at Cape Sanchouan.

As a result, Fasquiz had to be careful, so he first made sure that there were no bandits at the mouth of the bay, and then went out. Within minutes he was walking to the scene of the accident.As the tide was out he had been able to walk round the stranded wreck and read "CENTURY, MOBILE" on a board aft. It turned out to be an American sailboat, sailing from the capital of Alabama on the Gulf of Mexico in the south of the United States. The entire crew of the Century drowned.There was no survivor of the wreck in sight, and only a battered wreck remained.When it hit the reef, the hull split in two.The waves swept away all the cargo.At this time, although the wind was wild, the reef was still out of the water; broken planks, ribs, spars, and sails were scattered here and there on the reef.Crates, barrels, and parcels abound along the Cape and the coast.

As the hull was exposed and dry, Fasquez finally got inside. The interior of the ship was completely destroyed, and everything was smashed by the wind and waves.He went into the bilge, but could not find a dead body.Those unfortunate crew members may all have been swept away by the waves, or they were all drowned when the ship hit the rocks. Fasquez went back to the beach and saw that Kanga did not come to the wreck site, nor did the rest of the people, so he was relieved again, and then he walked to the end of Cape Sanchouan in the strong wind. "Maybe there's a man alive on the Century," he thought, "and I can save him then."

He searched for a long time, but could not find it.He walked down the sand again and searched among the assorted debris left behind by the waves. "Maybe I can find some boxes of food," he thought, "to keep me alive for two or three weeks." In a short period of time, he found a wooden barrel and a box, which were brought by the tide and stuffed in the middle of the reef.It is clearly written on the outside of the box.Crackers in the case, corned beef in the bucket.This is enough food for two months. Fasquez first moved the box into his cave, which was no more than two hundred yards from the sea, and then rolled the barrel across.

He then went back to the end of the corner to see the situation in the bay.He thought Conga already knew about the wreck.From the top of the lighthouse, before dark, Conga would have seen the ship rushing towards land the previous day.Now that the Moore was still moored in the creek, the pirates would come to the mouth of the bay to collect what was left.If there are some odds and ends that can be obtained, perhaps very valuable, will the bandits be willing to let such an opportunity pass? When he reached the turning point at the foot of the cliff, Fasquez discovered that the strong wind was blowing straight into the bay.There was no way the Moore would sail in such a gale, and she would never go out to sea, if she could round Cape Sanchouan.

Just then, the wind died down, and Fasquez heard a human voice: it was a faint voice calling for help. Fasquez hurried to the direction where the sound came from, it was on the side of the first cave where he lived, not far from the robber's cave. He hadn't gone fifty yards before he saw a man lying under a rock, waving his hand as if calling for help. In an instant, Fasquez was at his side. The man was about a little past thirty, a stocky man in sailor's clothes, lying on his side on his right side, eyes closed, breathing intermittently, and now and again with convulsive movements.There was no blood on the clothes, so it was obvious that he was not injured.

This person may be the only person on the Century to escape his life.When Fasquez approached, he did not hear; but when Fasquez put his hand on his chest, he struggled to get up, but because he was very weak, he couldn't get up, and fell on the sand again. His eyes were open. After a while, he said, "Help, help!" Fasquez knelt down beside him, carefully raised his upper body, let him lean against the stone, and said softly: "Poor fellow! Poor brother! I am here. Look at me. I will save you." At most the poor man stretched out a hand, and then lost consciousness. The man was so weak that immediate first aid was imperative.

"My God, I hope there's still time!" Fasquez said to himself. The first is to move him away from the location.Those pirates would come by boat or boat at any time, or even walk along the coast.The only way for Fasquez was to carry him into a small cave, so that it would be safe.He just does it. It took him fifteen minutes to walk about two hundred yards, and Fasquez finally carried the unconscious sailor into the crevice, put the sailor on a quilt, and took a bundle of clothes for his head. The man has not regained consciousness, but is still breathing.Although there is no obvious injury on the body, he may have broken an arm or a leg when he rolled off the reef.That's what Fasquez was worried about, because he didn't know what to do in such a situation.He felt the sailor all over, moved his arms and legs, and felt that nothing had been broken.

He poured a little water into the glass, mixed the little brandy that was left in the bottle with the water, and put it between the sailor's lips, forcing him to take a sip.He took off the sailor's wet clothes, put on some clothes he found in the hole, and began to rub the sailor's arms and chest. There was no other way to think of it. Seeing that the patient finally woke up slowly, Fasquez was very happy.The man even struggled to sit up, looked at Fasquez, who supported him in his arms, and said in a louder voice: "Water, give me some water to drink!" Fasquez gave him the brandy and water.

"Better?" he asked. "Better," answered the wrecked sailor. Then, as if trying to understand what was going on, he feebly took his savior by the hand and asked: "Where is this? Who are you? Where am I?" He spoke English, which Fasquez could have spoken, and replied: "You're in a safe place. I found you by the sea after the Century wrecked." "Century, yes; I remembered." "Your name?" "Davis; John Davies." "Captain?" "No, the mate. What about the rest?" "All killed," Fasquez replied, "all! You are the only one who survived the crash." "Are they all dead?" "correct." John Davies seemed to be taken aback by the words.He was the only one who escaped with his life!How did he escape with his life?Only then did he realize that the stranger in front of him bent over and looked at him anxiously was his savior. "Thank you, thank you!" he said, and big tears rolled down his face. "Are you hungry? Would you like something to eat: some biscuits and meat?" Fasquez continued. "Don't eat, just drink some water." John Davies drank the brandy and water well, and was soon able to answer questions. The following is the outline of what he said. The Century, a galley of five hundred and fifty tons, came from Mobile, and sailed from America three weeks before.The captain was Henry Stewart John.Davies was first mate, and there were twelve other crew members, including a cook and a heavy engineer.It was shipping nickel and some worthless cargo to Melbourne, Australia.It went all the way without incident; when it reached the fifty-fifth latitude of the Atlantic Ocean, it encountered the great storm that broke out here yesterday.At the beginning, the Century was overtaken by the hurricane, the mizzen mast broke, and all the mizzen sails were blown away.Shortly after this a great wave struck the port side, swept across the deck, damaged part of the stern compartment, and carried away two sailors. Captain Stuart's original intention was to sail into the Ramell Strait behind Starn Island and find a place to shelter from the wind.He had surveyed in the daytime, and was quite sure of the bearing of his ship; he thought it better to go round Cape Horn by this road, and to proceed to the Australian coast, and in fact he was right. The wind grew stronger during the night.With all the sails down except the foresail and the jibsail, we rode the wind with one furled sail. At this time the captain thought that he was twenty nautical miles away from land.He thought it safe to go straight ahead; wait until he saw the light of the lighthouse, and then turn south; that way he would not run into the rocks at Cape Sanchouan, and would easily enter the La Mer Strait. The Century is riding the wind like this.Henry Stewart always thought he could see the light in an hour, because the lighthouse could be seen at ten miles. But he did not see the light.Immediately, just when he thought he was still far away from Starn Island, there was a terrible shock.Three busy sailors at the masthead fell into the sea with the foremast and mainmast.At the same moment a wave came in and broke the ship, and the captain, mate, and the rest of the sailors were all thrown into the waves, and no one could hope to escape with their lives. That's how the Century sank, including the ship and its crew, except for the first officer, John Davis, who escaped with his life thanks to the encounter with Fasquez. At that time Davis did not know what shore his three-masted ship hit. "What is this place?" "Starton Island." "Stadden Island?" answered John Davies, stunned by his answer. "Yes, Starn Island," repeated Fasquez, "is at the mouth of the Elgow Bay." "But what about the lighthouse?" "There is no lighting for the lamp!" John Davies had an extremely surprised expression on his face, and when he was waiting for Fasquiz to explain the reason, Fasquez suddenly stood up and listened attentively.He thought he heard suspicious noises and wondered if any pirates had come around to search. He climbed out of the cleft and surveyed the coast of Cape Sanchouan to the end of the cape. Not a single person was there.The wind is still so strong.The waves were still as rough when they hit the shore, but the dark clouds in the sky were rushing towards the horizon with smoke, which made the situation even more frightening. The sound that Fasquez heard just now turned out to be the sound from the Fragmentation of the Century.The strong wind turned the rear half of the hull around, and the wind poured straight into the cabin, pushing it further towards the land.The ship rolled like a box with a hole in it, and finally stopped when it hit the corner of the cliff.The original wreck site is now only the front half of the hull, and the mess on the ground is full of debris. Fasquez went back into the cave and lay down on the sand next to John Davies.The spirit of the First Officer of the Century has recovered somewhat.He wanted to help Fasquez's arm to get up and go to the beach to watch together, but Fasquez stopped him, and John Davies asked why the lighthouse was not lit last night. Fasquez told him of the terrible accident at Elgow Bay seven weeks before, and spoke of his murdered companion in a miserable voice. "Poor man!" cried John Davies. "Yes! My wretched companion!" Fasquez replied, his bitterness being fully aroused by painful memories. "How were you!" asked John Davies. "I was on the platform when I heard my companions shouting and I understood what had happened. The two-masted ship was a pirate ship. We were three men guarding the lighthouse. They killed two, and the third Leave him alone." "How did you get out of their hands?" John Davies went on. "I went down the stairs," Fasquez said, "rushed into the dormitory, snatched some clothes and some food, slipped out before the brigands on the two-masted ship got ashore, and took shelter by the sea here." "These robbers! These robbers!" John Davies yelled. "So they are the owners of the lighthouse now, so they don't light the light. They caused the Century to run aground, and they killed our captain and crew. of!" "By the way, they did it," Fasquez said. "I overheard a conversation between the pirate leader and a gangster, and I knew they had such a plan." John Davis went on to listen to Fasquez's narration that this group of robbers had been lurking on Starn Island for several years, and they often lured ships to the island to crash and sink, killing all escaped crew members, Valuable things are stored in a cave, waiting for Kanga to get a boat and go away.Later, a lighthouse was to be built on the island, forcing these pirates to abandon Elgo Bay and flee to Cape San Basuloma for a temporary shelter, so no one knew that there were traces of them on the island. They came back after the lighthouse was completed, seven weeks ago.It so happened that a two-masted ship had run aground at Cape San Bartholomew, with the crew dead, and they got it. "But why didn't the ship load up and go away?" asked John Davies. "It's going through a lot of repairs, and it's been dragging on till now. But I've found out, Davis, that the repairs are done and the cargo is on board, and it should be sailing this morning." "Where are you going?" "Go to the Pacific Islands. These bandits think they will be safe there and continue their piracy." "But in such a storm, a two-masted ship can't get out." "Of course not," Fasquez replied, "and judging by the weather, it may take another week." "While they're on the island, the lighthouse doesn't light up, does it, Fasquez?" "Of course not." "Then don't other ships have to be wrecked like the Century?" "You can never be more right." "Is there a way to warn the sailors that there is land when ships come in at night?" "Maybe there's a way to start a big fire on the beach at the end of Cape Sanchouan. I was going to call the Century that way. I'm trying to set a man on fire with some drift and dry seaweed. But it's too windy to light. .” "Well, what you couldn't do alone, I can do with you two, Fasquez," said John Davis firmly. The wood can’t be used up. Pirate ships can’t leave, ships in the sea can’t find the lighthouse on Starn Island, maybe there are other ships that will be wrecked, don’t you think?” "Anyway," said Fasquez, "Conga and his party of bandits will not have long to stay on the island, and the two-masted ship will hurry away as soon as the weather improves." "Why?" asked John Davis. "Because they know there will be a ship coming soon to replace the lighthouse keeper." "Switch?" "That's right; it was early March, and now it's February 19th." "Then there must be a boat coming?" "Of course, the letter ship San Fe will leave Buenos Aires on or about March 10, maybe even earlier." There was an idea in Fasquez's mind, and now Davis has it in his mind. "Ha!" he exclaimed, "that'll change the whole game! May God keep the bad weather till then, and may the bastards be still here when the San Fe gets to Elgo Bay!"