Chapter 8 Chapter Eight On the Ship

The journey of Mr Pattenson and the nine boarders of Antilles Secondary School was carried out in excellent conditions.They have a strong interest in the big and small events that happened on the way.A group of birds that actually escaped from their cages were completely tamed and had to return to their cages!And things are just getting started. These young students are certainly not traveling by train or ship for the first time.They had all crossed the Atlantic Ocean when they came to Europe from the Antilles.So it is not objective to say that the sea has no more mysteries for them!They could barely remember the trip across the Atlantic to Europe.The oldest of them was only a teenager when they set foot on British soil.A voyage aboard the Spirit was new to them.For their leader, it was the first time he had ventured across a treacherous ocean, and it was an itch.

"It is my wish." Horace is still quoting it 1800 years later. After the traveling group got off the train at Bristol, they changed to the Dings liner between England and Ireland at five o'clock, with a voyage of about 200 nautical miles. These are luxury liners, well decorated and fast, with a top speed of seventeen knots.It was a time when the sea was calm, with only a light breeze blowing, and it was generally difficult for ships to enter St. George's Channel when they had passed Milford-Haven and the last headlands of the Welsh region.It is true that the ship has basically gone halfway, but the passengers still feel that they have gone half a day.This time, they partly felt they were driving a speedboat on Loch Lomond, or on the calm waters of Loch Katrina in Rob Roy, in Scotland's hinterland.

Mr. Horatio Pattenson felt no discomfort in crossing St. George's Channel, and he concluded that the rest of the journey would be smooth sailing.According to his tone, as long as a person is strong, cautious and energetic, he has nothing to worry about seasickness. "Perseverance," he said repeatedly, "is nothing else." Horatio Pattenson and his students were the Queenstown docks when they were in better shape and mind.In all likelihood, they had no time to visit the city, nor Cork, let alone the capital. It is understandable that they all felt a strong desire to travel on the Ingenuity, to board the steamer—a yacht, so to speak—that was chartered for them, to have cabins of their own. , felt the urge to stroll from foredeck to aft deck, to get in touch with Captain Paxon and his crew, to eat their first meal in the crew's mess room, to participate in the ways they could help A strong desire to do all sorts of sailing operations, no matter how insignificant their help may be.

If the Spirit had been moored at the pier, Mr. Pattenson and his students would have been on board immediately, and there would have been no problem of wandering Queenstown Street, but it was running out of time, and it was almost nine o'clock at night.The next day, the boat sails to Farma Cove. This created a slight disappointment for all, as they all expected to spend their first night on board, curled up in their own frames stacked like chest of drawers, as Tony Raynor put it. Sleep well! But the boarding time was postponed to the next morning. From that very evening, however, Louis Clodiron and John Howard made appointments with the wharf seamen.The docksideman promised to take them to the Spirit's cat berth in his dinghy.On request, the dock crew pointed out the location of Farma Cove when entering the bay two nautical miles away.They could be sent as soon as they arrived, if they suggested it, and those who were impatient to get aboard agreed to the proposal.Roaming the bay on a hot, windless night can only be refreshing.

Mr Pattenson did not think the proposal should have been agreed to.They were not late for calling on Captain Paxon the next day, since departure was scheduled for June 30th.The students arrived before June 30th, which was certainly not expected. The night was ticking away...the clock in Queenstown struck ten...there was no doubt that Captain Paxon and his crew were asleep...why wake them? ... "Hi!" Tony Raynor yelled, "if we're on board, maybe the Spirit will set sail that night?  …" "Stop dreaming, my esteemed sir," said the seaman at the pier. "It is impossible to set sail. Who knows if this calm weather will last for a few more days..."

"Mr. Sailor, what do you think? . . . " began Mr. Pattenson. "It's impossible to say..." "In that case," continued Mr. Pattenson, "we might be better off staying in some inn in Cork or Queenstown till we have a fair wind to fill our sails. . . . " "Ah! Mr. Pattenson...Mr. Pattenson!..." Magnu Anders and several other students couldn't restrain their anger and shouted. "But... dear students..." They discussed it.The result of the discussion was that they spend the night in a hotel, and after daybreak and low tide, they will be taken to Farma Cove by the scheduled boat.

Mr. Pattenson also made this consideration, which is all too natural in a man who works as an accountant: to spend the night on a ship, to save money on hotel bills, and the savings are worth it.Besides, if there was no wind, the return to Queenstown was not inconvenient a few days after setting sail. Mr. Pattenson and his students hired a car to a hotel on the pier.There they passed the night, got a good night's sleep, and had tea and sandwiches for their first meal of the next day before boarding the boat that took them to the Spirit.They did not forget that the mist had dissipated by this time.Hardly had the boat gone a mile before the little bay of Farma emerged at the bend of the headland, where it was bounded to the north.

"Smart!..." Tony Raynor shouted, pointing at the only boat at the anchorage. "Yes... my young sir, the Ingenuity..." said the owner of the boat, "is a fine liner, I assure you!" "Do you know Captain Paxon? . . . " asked Louis Clodiron. "I don't know Captain Paxon. He seldom comes ashore. He's a good seaman, though. He has a good crew." "What a beautiful three-masted ship!..." Tony Renault exclaimed.His admiration was widely shared by his classmate Magnu Anders. "It's a true cruise ship!" said Roger Hinsdal.Mrs. Karen Moses had flattered his pride by chartering the luxury liner for them.

A quarter of an hour later, the boat came under the starboard ladder of the Spirit. It is known that, as had been said in advance, the owner of the boat and his two men stayed in the boat and did not move, and when they boarded the steamer, they immediately turned around and sailed towards the pier. We also know the conditions under which the introductions took place and how Harry Markle received his passengers under the guise of Captain Paxson.After some pleasantries, John Carpenter, in his capacity as bosun, offered to help and offered to lead them to the crew lounge where the cockpit was ready for them.

Before that, Mr Pattenson thought it appropriate to greet the captain again.Pattenson is thankful that Mrs. Karen Seymour has entrusted the fate of his group of young excursionists to a distinguished captain with a high reputation in the , they are going to take some risks... But with Captain Paxon, a ship as good as the Ingenuity, and experienced sailors, they can withstand the rough waters of the sea... Harry Markle was very calm in the face of this kind words.He only replied that he and his men would do their best to make the journey of the Spirit's passengers a pleasant one. Now it was a matter of seeing the liner "from the bilge to the little ball at the top of the mast," as Tony Raynor kept saying.

No one should be surprised that these young students take such a strong interest.Isn't this the floating city chosen for them for a period of one season? ...isn't this part of the Antillean Secondary School, which is not connected to England, where they will stop during their journey? ... The first is the crew dining room, which is located inside the rear deck, where everyone may eat together. The non-slip table is placed in the middle, there are movable backrest benches, there are cabin lights and universal joint suspension devices for cabin lights, and there are various Such utensils, hung from the mizzenmast, straddled the dining table, with the barred deck window into which light was poured from the outside, and the pantry, with its cups and saucers; Rolling and discharging. Secondly, there are passenger cabins on both sides of the side, which are equipped with canvas hangers, toilets, and small wardrobes. The cabins are illuminated through a lens glass porthole on the bulkhead of the rear deck.Students living on the travel subsidy will be divided into groups according to their nationality.The first cabin on the port side is Huber Perkins; the second cabin is Roger Hinsdal alone; Louis Clodijon and Tony Raynor are in the third cabin.Nils Alber and Axel Wickburn in the side cabin; Albertus Lewin in the fifth cabin; Magnu Anders in the sixth cabin. As for the cabin reserved for Mr. Horatio Pattenson, it was just opposite the captain's cabin door, on the right side of the mess room, facing the forward part of the quarterdeck, and was slightly larger than the students' cabins.He could consider himself the Ghost's first mate if necessary, and was entitled to wear two-banded armbands on the sleeves of his uniform. It goes without saying that Mrs. Karen Seymour has made careful arrangements in advance, not neglecting every aspect that can ensure the comfort and hygiene of the students' journey.Although there were no doctors on board, even if there were, there was really no reason to expect either illness or danger of any kind.The leader, Mr. Pattenson, was able to check the rashness of the most reckless of the students.The medicine chest on the Spirit did indeed have ample supplies of common medicines.In bad weather and high winds, passengers can wear sailor clothes.There is no shortage of waterproof jackets, sailor hats, and oilskin trousers in the cabin. No one would be surprised if Tony Raynor and a few other classmates wanted to be sailors as soon as they got aboard.For Mr. Horatio Pattenson, the top hat, the black frock coat, and the white tie were always worn, which he always felt did not match his character and his respect for the wearing of the sailor's uniform and the traditional rain hat. It was not, however, that Mr. Pattenson, having met with calm weather in the calm waters of Cork Bay, found reason not to make any change in his habits, but that the three-masted ship did not feel the waves at all. surge.As long as Mrs. Pattenson was by his side, Mr. Pattenson would never feel like leaving his loving family at Antilles High School.Perhaps he did not see much difference between Farmer's Cove and Oxford Street, except that there were not as many passers-by. After visiting the seamen's lounge and putting the suitcase in the cabin where it should be placed, start to visit the ship.John Carpenter did the honor of being the owner of the ship, answering the students' questions, especially the various questions that were thrown at him by Tony Reynolds and Magnu Anders.On the aft deck the students took a particularly close look at the steering wheel and binnacle.These would-be sailors itch when they see someone holding the wheel and turning the course to north-north-east slightly east, or south-south west slightly west.When they got down to deck again, they ran over the deck, looking at the two skiffs hanging from the portal davits and the multi-oared yacht hanging from the stern.Ahead of the fore-mast was the galley, where Ranya Coker, under the leadership of the cooks, had lit a fire for lunch.Ranya Coker's African good looks were complimented by Mr Horatio Pattenson.In the end, the forecastle did not arouse the suspicions of the students, and the poop, the anchor capstans, the anchor on the port side in the water, and the anchor on the side on the anchor cradle, all this distracted the attention of the curious young students. force. Now there is only the bilge left to see. After seeing the bilge, the tour of the ship will come to an end. No one would be surprised if Mr. Pattenson didn't want to risk going down with his students into the dark depths of the Spirit's hold; Gap, to go down to the bilge, the foot must step down through these gaps.Mr. Pattenson would not have risked it, any more than he would have risked climbing the ladder ropes into the main transom, or the fore-mast transom, even through the manholes.But these young students nimbly slipped into the bilge of the Spirit, where the cargo was replaced by iron ballast that could keep the ship running smoothly.The bilge was stepped on from end to end.The bilge is connected to the crew cabin by a ladder.A metal airtight partition at the stern of the bilge separates the bilge from the food store located under the afterdeck.There were sails, rigging, and spare yards, and there were boxes of canned food, and barrels of wine and spirits, and sacks of flour.The wit is full of items, and it really looks like it is going to travel around the world. After the tour of the bilge was over, the students all climbed up to the deck and returned to the leader who stayed with the captain on the back deck.The two of them are chatting.Mr Pattenson gushed as usual, Harry Markle just answered briefly.A brave seaman, Harry Markle certainly deserves it, but he's decidedly not very talkative. So Tony Renault turned around the steering wheel, checked the binnacle, and turned the steering wheel forward and backward like a helmsman. After turning enough, he expressed his thoughts: "Captain...you will certainly allow us...from time to time...to take the helm...when the weather is fine..." "Hey! . . . " said Pattenson, "I don't know if it's prudent to do this . . . " "Don't worry, Mr. Pattenson, we won't let you overboard!" Tony Reno argued. Harry Markle said nothing, only made an affirmative gesture. What is this guy thinking? ...Could it be that seeing these young students so happy and happy after boarding the Spirit, a little bit of compassion sprouted in their hearts? ……no!None of them could command his favor in the coming night. At this moment the bell on the foredeck of the Ingenuity rang.A sailor had just struck the big clock that said eleven o'clock four times. "It's the bell for lunch," said Louis Clodiillon. "Well, we're going to have a good meal! . . . " said Mr. Horatio Pattenson, "I'm starving . . . " "Hungry for seals..." Tony Raynor picked up Mr. Pattenson's words. "Sea wolf." Mr. Pattenson translated the word for seal into Latin. At lunch, Harry Markle affirmed that he was used to eating alone in the cockpit and apologized for not being able to have the main meal. The lunch was eaten in the crew's mess, and everyone sat around a table.Eggs, cold meat, fresh fish, biscuits, and tea are eaten for lunch, all of which are considered particularly delicious.These thin-skinned and tender-stomached students go out for a walk in the morning, their stomachs are hungry, their appetites have increased, and they are not picky about their meals. It must be admitted that Mr. Pattenson's appetite is also doubled compared with the meals in the Antilles High School cafeteria. some. After lunch, everyone found Harry Markle on the back deck. So, according to the plan they had just discussed, Louis Clodiron asked Harry Markle for advice: "Captain, do you think you can set sail right away?..." "With the wind," Harry Markle replied logically, anticipating the purpose of Louis Clodijon's question, "you can set sail at any time." "Well... what if there's no wind? . . . " interrupted Mr. Horatio Pattenson. "If there is no wind, we can still set sail. The wind we need is a breeze, no matter where the breeze blows..." "Yeah..." Tony Raynor yelled, tugging at the watch crew. "Sailing against the wind..." Magnu Anders added. "Gentlemen, you put it lightly," Harry Markle retorted. With the sails all up, is there really a prettier sailing course than the downwind course of sailing the ship close to the wind—whether port or starboard? ... "Captain," asked Nils Alber, "is there any reason to think that the breeze is about to blow again..." "We'll meet in the afternoon? . . . " went on John Howard. "I hope so," Harry Markle said. "The calm weather has lasted for almost sixty hours and will definitely stop soon." "Captain," demanded Roger Hinsdale, "we want to know how likely it is that the Spirit will set sail today? . . . " "I tell you again and again, gentlemen, that I am not in the least surprised, because the barometer has dropped a little. . "In that case," said Louis Clodiillon, "we might be able to spend the afternoon ashore?" "Okay... yes!..." The students agreed with Louis Clodiron's suggestion. However, it's a suggestion Harry Markle doesn't agree with at all.He didn't want to see anyone go ashore, passengers or crew.Their situation is already very dangerous, if there is another mistake, it is to avoid the pit and fall into the well. Therefore, Mr. Horatio Pattenson cited several very appropriate examples to support the request.He and his students are neither familiar with Cork ... nor Queenstown ... they failed to visit the two cities the day before ... the suburbs of the two cities are said to be very strange ... especially the village of Blarney , the village is named after the Irish rhetoric ... followed by that castle.It is said that there is a stone in the castle that can forever confuse the minds of those who put their lips to it... It was clear that the students supported Mr. Pattenson's opinion.The Ingenuity took out a small boat and sent two sailors to take them to the pier in half an hour, since they promised to come back before dark. "Alas, Captain," continued Mr. Pattenson, "we are pleading with God to count his captain..." "I would love to agree to your request," Harry Markle replied in a somewhat blunt tone, "but I can't... Our fixed sailing date has arrived... Although the wind is very small, if necessary, even if only The tide is out and I want to sail out of Cockle Bay..." "But," Louis Clodiron reminded, "since we can't sail normally, what should we do once we get out of the bay?" "Anchored close to land to avoid the waves," said Harry Markle, "at least the Spirit is out of Falma Cove... If the wind comes up, as I expect, we'd rather be at sea than in the wind." Windy in Falma's cove, which is very windy..." These reasons are very plausible, but all in all, the captain should be trusted. "Gentlemen," Harry Markle added, "I implore you to abandon your plans to go ashore ... and risk losing a tide." "It's settled, Captain," replied Mr. Pattenson, "and we won't insist any longer." The young students quickly made up their minds.However, at least two students only thought about leaving the port.It was assumed that the two students were Magnu Anders and Tony Reno.The joy of the boat ride seemed to them enough.After boarding the Spirit, they planned not to disembark until some port in the Antilles.Their classmates had visited Cork or Queenstown.When the ship couldn't set sail because the passengers didn't come back, they looked forward to the wind... But who knows if the longer delay will affect the travel? ... what would Mrs. Karen Seymour say? ...What would the principal of Antilles High School think?What responsibility does a student leader who understands the seriousness of this debate have? ... When the questions are over, they will stay on board.The ensuing conversation was about travel, and it was impossible for Harry Markle not to be a part of it.Roger Hinsdal asked if the Spirit had ever sailed across the ocean from England to the Antilles. "No, sir," replied Harry Markle, "so far our ship has made two trips in the Indian Ocean." "Captain," Huber Perkins asked Harry Markle, "so you know the Antilles well? . . . " "I'm not familiar with the Antilles." "It seems," remarked Mr. Horatio Pattenson, "that the sailor may go directly where he has never been..." "Of course!" Tony Leno broke in and said loudly, "and with eyes closed..." "No," Harry Markle interrupted Tony Leno, "keep your eyes open, check the ship's position, check the map, and check the direction..." "We're going to see it all?" Magnu Anders asked. "As long as you are at sea, not nestled in the bay, you can see everything!" Louis Clodiillon and his classmates had to be patient.Also, since they were not allowed to disembark, they will spend the whole day on board.No extrapolation is made that they feel the day will be long.Won't!It never occurred to them to ask someone to take them to the nearby beach.Had they thought of it and brought it up, Harry Markle would probably have agreed, because it wouldn't put him in any danger.Sitting on a bench on the quarterdeck, rocking in a rocking chair, taking a walk on deck, going up to the top of the mast or up the transom, are these things enough to pass the afternoon lightly? ... Although the Cockle Bay is calm, it still presents a lively scene.The sea breeze has never been blown, and the boats at Queenstown Wharf have never stopped.The pupils' small telescopes, and Mr. Horatio Pattenson's large telescope--two feet and four inches--were therefore in use, and kept busy.The busy scene of the bay should not be ignored: fishing boats cruising in the bay for fishing operations, motorboats shuttling the waterfront for service, tugboats laying down their towlines busy hauling sailboats out of the bay eager to drive away, passenger ships and other ships entering and leaving the bay .There are many of these boats in Cockle Bay every day. After dinner at five o'clock, which is equivalent to lunch, the team leader Mr. Pattenson praised Lanya in front of everyone, and Cork's food was well done.When the students were all back on the back deck, Harry Markle told everyone that the land breeze had started to blow.As long as Landbreeze keeps blowing for another hour, Harry Markle will probably decide to set sail. The news was of course warmly welcomed! Clouds did appear in the northeast that lead to belief that the weather will change.There was no doubt that these clouds were rising over the land, or even better over the sea.But the Ingenuity would leave anchorage after all, and once past the rocky corner, the captain would let the wind steer her. "Get on deck, everyone," Harry Markle ordered, "and get ready to weigh anchor!" Several sailors came to the windlass and started turning the capstan with the help of the students who were willing to help them heave anchor.During this time, the sails have been let loose and the yards have been hoisted to the top of the mast.Then, when the anchor chain was straightened and the iron anchor slowly returned to the anchorage, the three-masted Spirit was driven by the foremast lowersail, jib, foretopsail, maintopsail, and mizzensprig. Next, start to coast. In the latest news column, the evening paper carried the following news: The three-masted ship Smart, led by the captain Paxson, carried the winners of the Antilles Secondary School Travel Grant Examination, and it just sailed to the Antilles. islands.