Chapter 2 Chapter 2 Mrs Seymour's Thoughts

A trip to the West Indian Ocean Islands arranged by the generous Mrs. Karen Seymour!Of course, the winner of the exam seems to be satisfied. There is no doubt that students should give up the idea of ​​long-distance expeditions through Africa, Asia, and Oceania, and consider going to the lesser-known Arctic or Antarctic places in the New World. However, if you don't go where you want to go and feel a little disappointed, if you go where you want to go and want to come back faster than you went, then traveling to the Antilles can be said to make the most of the upcoming holiday. summer vacation.It doesn't take a lot of effort for Mr. Ade to let the students understand the benefits of making good use of the holidays.

Are the Antilles their homeland? ... Most of them left the Antilles when they were young children, and traveled thousands of miles to Europe to study ... They have hardly ever set foot on the Antilles where they were born Hot land, I hardly have a deep impression of the Antilles in my mind! Although their homes have moved out of the Antilles and they do not intend to move back, some of them still have relatives and friends there.Therefore, for young people born in the Antilles, the proposed tour is in every way particularly meaningful. The travel subsidy is given to the nine winners of the exam, but when the distribution is made, the personal situation of each of them must be evaluated, and the basic evaluation results will be distributed.

First of all, British students are introduced.Most of them studied in Antilles secondary schools, and those who won the exam are: Roger Hinsdale, from St. Lucia, is 20 years old. His parents returned to the UK after successfully abandoning their business and now lives in London. John Howard, from Dominica, eighteen years old, his father is an entrepreneur, now lives in Manchester. Huber Perkins, from Antigua, seventeen years old, family members include parents, two younger sisters.His family has always been in Antigua. After he finishes his studies, he will return to Antigua and work in a firm.

Now introduce French students.There are more than a dozen students in the Antilles Middle School, and the winners in the exam are: Louis Cloduillon, from Guadeloupe, twenty years old, comes from a family of shipowners, and has settled in Nantes for several years. Tony Renault, from Martinique, sixteen years old, four siblings, he is the eldest son, from a family of former Parisian officials. Introducing the Danish students: Nils Alber, from St. Thomas, his parents died, his elder brother was ten years older, and he stayed in the Antilles. Axel Wickburn, from St. Croix, nineteen, was born into a family of ex-lumber merchants in Copenhagen, Denmark.

Then introduce the Dutch students.The representative of the Dutch students is Albertas Lewin, from St. Maarten, 20 years old, an only child, and his father used to live in the suburbs of Rotterdam. We will also introduce a winning student from Sweden.Magnu Anders, was born on Butlemy Island, nineteen years old, and his family recently moved to Gothenburg, Sweden, in order to earn some money before returning to the Antilles. Let's be honest, young people born in the Antilles must be very happy to travel back to their birthplace for a few weeks.Whether most of them are willing to go back to their hometown to have a look, no one has any idea!Louis Clodiron had an uncle in Guadeloupe; Nils Albert had a brother in St. Thomas; and Huber Perkins had his whole family in Antigua.Except for them, none of their classmates had any relatives or friends with the Antilles, and they didn't want to go back after they left.

Among the students enjoying travel sponsorship, the oldest three are: one is Roger Hinsdale.He was somewhat haughty by nature; the other was Louis Clodiron, steady, industrious, and popular; the third was Albertus Levin.The scorching sun of the Antilles had not warmed the Dutch blood in his veins.What Niels Alber likes, he has never confessed; Magnu Anders likes work related to the sea and plans to serve in the merchant navy in the future; Axel Wickburn wants to join the Danish army To serve, to be a soldier.The following students are introduced in order of age: John Howard was slightly less British than his compatriot Roger Hinnsdal.There are also two youngest ones, one is Huber Perkins, as he once said, he wants to do business in the future; the other is Tony Reynolds, he loves boating and will become a navigator in the future.

One of the more important questions that needs to be clarified at the moment is, does this tour include the Greater Antilles and the Lesser Antilles, the Windward Islands and the Leeward Islands? ...However, after visiting all these archipelagos, the students will have to use up their holidays, and I am afraid they will have to postpone it for a few weeks.There are no fewer than three hundred and fifty islands in the West Indies, and it would take a whole year to visit all the islands in one day. No!That was not Mrs. Karen Seymour's intention.The boarding students of Antilles Middle School will only be able to stay on their home islands for a few days, to visit relatives and friends who have not seen them for a long time, and to see their hometowns.

If this is the case, everyone knows in their hearts that the Greater Antilles, Cuba, Haili, Santo Domingo, and Puerto Rico may have to be deleted from the travel schedule first, because the Spanish boarders did not pass the exam.Jamaica was also dropped because none of the test winners came from the British colony.The Dutch colony was wiped from the schedule for the same reason.The Lesser Antilles, administered by Venezuela, also has several islands that are not on tourist routes.These islands are Tortigos, Aldera, Avis. If the tourist routes are arranged in this way, their tourist destinations will be the islands in the Lesser Antilles, including St. Lucia, Dominica, and Antigua under the British rule; Guadeloupe and Martinique under the French rule; Danish jurisdiction. St. Thomas and St. Croix under the jurisdiction of Sweden; St. Barthelemy under the jurisdiction of Sweden; half belongs to the Netherlands and half belongs to the island of St. Martin in France.

From a geographical point of view, these nine islands are all within the range of the Windward Islands.Nine test winners from Antilles Secondary School will travel to the nine islands one by one. No one will be surprised to add another island to the schedule, because the tenth island may take the longest and most reasonable time to visit. The island is Barbados.Barbados is an island in the Windward Islands and is one of the largest islands in the British Empire. It is not difficult for them to imagine that if this generous English lady is willing to host the nine test-winning students of the Antilles Middle School, then these nine test-winning students are also eager to get to know this local rich woman in Barbados and ask her Express their sincere gratitude; they are not sorry if it is not possible.She had written to Mr. Julian Arder, and from what Mr. Julian Arder revealed in the postscript to her letter, the generosity of Mrs. Karen Seymour was unparalleled.

Mrs Karen Seymour actually covered the cost of the trip, plus an allowance of £700 each for the students when they left Barbados. As for the travel time, is summer vacation enough? ... Enough is enough, but the start time of the stipulated holiday has to be advanced by one month. With this adjustment, the travel to and from the Atlantic Ocean will be in time for the calm and good season. In short, from all aspects, this trip will be enjoyable, especially because it has important educational significance. Presumably teachers and students will not have any objections, and the parents of the students probably will not have too much objection.If all possible delays on the way back and forth are considered, it is more appropriate to set the travel time at seven to eight weeks.When the students return to Europe at the end of their trip, they will bring with them fond memories of the lovely New World islands.

Finally, there is another question, which parents want to figure out right away. Among the students participating in the tour, the oldest one is not over 20 years old. Will they manage themselves?Did they know what to do without a teacher following them and bringing them together?When visiting an island under the jurisdiction of different European countries, if a student raises the question of the ownership of the island, will this cause mutual suspicion among them, and then lead to a collision? . . . Without Mr. Ard's discreet and intelligent teaching, would the students have forgotten that they were Antilleans and boarders at the same school? ... Presumably, the principal of Antilles Middle School has basically thought of these questions.If he could not go with the students, whom would he find to bear the burden for him? ... In fact, Mrs. Karen Seymour had already considered this question.Mrs. Seymour was a practical person, and they would wait and see how she would solve the problem.Mrs. Karen Seymour is very cautious and would never allow these students to do as they please during the tour. Now, how to cross the vast Atlantic Ocean? ...is it necessary to take a regular liner between England and the Antilles? ...Do you want to reserve a seat in the name of the nine exam winners? ... Mrs. Karen Seymour repeatedly pointed out that they left Barbados and returned to Europe without paying their own travel expenses, and the expenses of the journey were not deducted from the pocket money of seven hundred pounds each of them received. Mrs. Karen Seymour clarified this issue in her letter.The original words are as follows: "I will bear the cost of traveling across the Atlantic Ocean. The ship to the Antilles has been chartered. The ship will pick up and pick up the little passengers at Cork Wharf, Queenstown, Ireland. The name of the ship is Smart, the captain is Paxson, and it is ready to sail. Work is in progress. The sailing date is set for June 30th. Captain Paxson hopes that the little passengers will arrive at the boarding place on schedule. Once the little passengers arrive, the ship will be fired and anchored." To be sure, students on travel grants are traveling on a yacht, if not a luxury liner.Anyway, this is their special ship, which takes them from England to the Antilles, and from the Antilles back to England! Mrs. Karen Seymour really knows how to get things done!She pays for everything, the Brit!After all, when millionaires do something good with their million dollars, everybody wants them to be rich, rich as hell! Exactly how Mrs. Karen Seymour arranged it is unknown, but contradictions have arisen in the small world of the Antilles High School, and the students who did not pass the exams began to envy their classmates who did well in the exams.If the students who did not pass the exam knew how good and comfortable the conditions of the trip were, their jealousy would reach its peak. Of course, the winners of the exam are very happy in their hearts, because the reality is approaching their wishes step by step.After crossing the Atlantic, they will travel by boat to the main islands of the Antilles. "When are we leaving?..." They were discussing. "tomorrow……" "Nowadays……" "Neither...it will be another six days..." the wisest mind reminded. "Ah! We're already aboard the Spirit! . . . " Magnu Anders babbled. "Get on our boat!" Tony Raynor yelled. In fact, they are unwilling to admit that they are preparing for this overseas trip. Even so, first of all, we should tell the parents of the students about the trip, ask for their opinions, and ask for their support, because the place where the test winners go is not the old continent but the new continent.Mr. Julian Adé must address these issues one by one.In addition, this adventure travel may last for two and a half months, so you must make some necessary preparations and bring some clothes, especially rain boots, rain hats, raincoats and other rain gear.In a word, take a set of sailor's gear. Secondly, the headmaster had to choose a reliable person and entrust him with the management of the nine students.It stands to reason that these students have grown up and are sensible, and they can manage themselves without others to supervise them, but it is still wise to send them a team leader, besides, the shrewd Mrs. Karen Seymour The reply letter also expressed the same meaning, it seems that the team leader must be sent. Since there is a team leader, there is obviously no need to ask the parents to agree with the principal's suggestion.Several of these students will be in the Antilles visiting relatives they haven't seen in years.Huber Perkins had relatives in Antigua; Louis Clodiron had relatives in Guadeloupe; Niels Albert had relatives in St. Thomas.It is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to reunite with relatives whom we have not seen for many years under such unusual and comfortable conditions. The headmaster has informed the above-mentioned families that some students from Antilles Middle School will travel to the Antilles Islands.They already know that many students will be taking the test for travel grants.Mr. Ade believes that after the test results come out, their relatives will be among the winners, and their long-cherished wish will be truly realized. During this period, Mr. Ade considered choosing a class teacher for this mobile class, because these students were traveling abroad for the first time, and he had to choose someone who could manage them well and get along well with them.Mr. Adler was really stumped by this.Wouldn't it be enough to find a qualified teacher among the teachers of Antilles Middle School?But the problem is that the semester is not over, and the class cannot be suspended in advance. The faculty must remain intact. Therefore, Mr. Ader believes that he cannot accompany nine students on a trip to the Antilles.During the period before the end of the semester, he couldn't leave the school. One of the main reasons was that he had to attend the awards ceremony on August 7 in person. Except for him and other teachers, his subordinates are not solid in work, strong in organization, conscientious and responsible, and trustworthy in handling things. Are the students willing to accept someone as their team leader? There are people, but now I don't know if he himself is willing to take this long trip, whether he can go across the ocean to take risks... On the morning of June 24th, five days before the scheduled sailing date of the Spirit, Mr. Ade had something important to tell Mr. Pawksen, so he invited Mr. Pawksen to his office. Mr. Pattenson was in charge at Antilles High School.When Mr. Ade sent for him, he was busy paying the previous day's account according to his habit for decades. Mr. Pattenson raised his head, pushed his spectacles to his forehead, and said to the orderly at the door: "I'll see Mr. Principal right away." After the handyman was sent away, Mr. Pattenson pulled down his glasses, picked up the quill pen, and wrote down the nine-character work that had not been written in the expense column of the ledger just now, made a subtotal, and picked up his ebony ruler , drew a horizontal line, then shook the quill pen on the ink bottle lightly, inserted it into the pen wash that had been shot blasted, and cleaned it several times. next to the ruler.Next, he picked up the ink blotter, blotted the excess ink on the account page, and put a piece of blotting paper on the account page, making sure that the nine-character tail would not leak, and then slowly closed the account book and put it away. Go into the compartment of the desk where the ledger is placed.Then put the blade, pencil, and eraser back into the pencil case, and blow off the dust on the ink absorber.After everything was tidied up, he stood up slowly, pushed the leather-covered easy chair away, left the seat, and returned the leather-covered easy chair to its original position.Take off the puff sleeves, hang them on the coat hook by the fireplace, take the brush, brush the jacket, waistcoat and trousers, take off the hat from the coat hook, smooth the fur with the arm, and buckle it On his head, he put on black leather gloves, as if he was going to meet the president of the university.After dressing neatly, I looked in the mirror and felt that the clothes were well-groomed. I also found a beard that exceeded the prescribed length. I picked up the scissors and trimmed it. Finally, I felt that the handkerchief and wallet were in my pocket.Turn around and go to the door, open the door, step over the threshold, take out the key bag, find one of the seventeen jingling keys, lock the door, go down the stairs leading to the playground, steadily diagonally through Playground, go to the main building where Mr. Ade's office is located.When he reached the door, he stopped first, then stretched out his hand to press the electric bell, and when he heard the bell ringing inside, he stood and waited for someone to open the door. Taking advantage of this gap, Mr. Parkeson scratched his forehead with the tip of his index finger while thinking in his mind: "What would the headmaster want to talk to me about?" Seeing the principal at this time in the morning, in the eyes of Mr. Pattenson who was thinking about it, seemed really abnormal. So it was, Mr. Pattenson's watch was only nine forty-six.The time on the watch is reliable, because Pattenson's watch is very accurate, with an error of less than one second per day, and the accuracy is comparable to that of the owner.Before 11:42, Mr. Pattenson never went to Mr. Ader's office. Between and forty-three minutes, there has never been a precedent for early or late. Mr. Pattenson may be starting to speculate.He guessed that something serious had happened. The headmaster sent the handyman to tell him to come over before he had finished paying the bills from the previous day.He procrastinated and settled the bill.This sudden interruption certainly couldn't have gone wrong. The door opened, but not by someone coming out, but by a rope connected to the porter's room. Mr. Pattenson took a few steps into the hallway—five as his habit—and knocked lightly on the second door panel marked "Principal's Office." "Come in!" There was an immediate response. Mr. Pattenson took off his hat, shook the dust off his high-top leather shoes, put on his gloves again, and entered the principal's office.The windows inside looked out on the playground, and the curtains were half drawn.Mr. Ad is sitting at his desk with a lot of documents piled up in front of him, and there are several electric buttons on the desk.Mr. Ad raised his head and greeted Mr. Pattenson cordially. "Did you call me?" Mr. Pattenson asked the headmaster. "Yes, Mr. Steward," said Mr. Adler, "I would like to speak to you on a matter which is purely personal." Then pointing to the chair by his desk, he said: "please sit down." Mr. Pattenson gently lifted the long back of his dress and sat down, with one hand flat on his knee and the other holding his cap on his chest. Mr. Ad spoke. "Mr. General Affairs, you know the results of our school's exam for travel grants..." "I see, Mr. Principal," said Mr. Pattenson. "Our fellow colonists generously donate money to fund the tour, which is entirely in deference to our Antilles High School." Mr. Pattenson spoke with ease and clarity.The words that came out of his mouth, he pronounced them in a rhythmic and sonorous manner without artificiality. "You also know," Mr. Arder continued, "the use of this travel grant..." "I know, Mr. Principal." Mr. Pattenson nodded as he said, his hat flicked, as if greeting someone on the other side of the ocean. "Mrs. Karen Seymour is a woman who cares about the next generation. I think it is hard enough for her to take care of her ancestral estate, or the wealth she has accumulated through hard work, but she also has the heart to support people who are eager to travel far. Young students..." "I feel the same way, Mr. General Affairs. Surely you also know the conditions for this trip to the Antilles?" "I've heard, Mr. Headmaster. There's a boat for our little visitors. I hope they won't beg the god of the sea to throw her famous trident into the rough waves of the Atlantic!" "I hope so, too, Mr. Pattenson. It's a calm season at sea to and from the Atlantic." "Actually," said Mr. Pattenson, "July and August are the favorite rest months for the capricious sea..." "Therefore," continued Mr. Ade, "this excursion is indeed very comfortable for our examination winners and their leaders..." Mr. Pattenson said, "The team leader will have two important responsibilities: to greet Mrs. Karen Seymour on behalf of Antilles Secondary School; to thank Mrs. Karen Seymour on behalf of all boarders at Antilles Secondary School." "But," said the headmaster, "it's a pity that this person is not me. The day before the final exam, there will be an exam ceremony, and I have to preside over it..." "Of course you can't get out, Mr. Headmaster," said Mr. Pattenson. "Then you appoint someone to take your place. I'm sure he won't complain." "There will be no complaints. But I can choose left or right, because I need a person who is particularly credible, completely reliable, and who is unanimously approved by the students' parents... To be honest, I have already found this person among the teachers and staff of this school. ..." "I congratulate you, Mr. Headmaster. I suppose this man is either a science teacher or an arts teacher..." "No. You can't suspend classes until the holidays come. This person is you, Mr. General Affairs. I choose you to accompany them to the Antilles, because I think your financial work will be suspended for a while, and it will not affect the overall work of the school too much. ..." "I...Mr. Principal?..." Mr. Pattenson's voice changed a bit. "Yes, Mr. Pattenson. I'm sure that the accounts of the students during the trip should be recorded and settled on time just like the accounts of the school." Mr. Pattenson took out his handkerchief and wiped his glasses slightly blurred by tears. "One more thing," said Mr. Ard, "Mrs. Karen Seymour is very generous. She will also give a stipend of seven hundred pounds to the leader who takes this burden...Mr. Pattenson, please make some preparations, Depart in five days."