Chapter 11 Chapter Eleven At Sea

The next morning, the sun, described by Charles Dickens as the punctual steward of the world, rose above a horizon cleansed by a strong sea breeze.The Spirit no longer had any intention of landing. Harry Markle has made up his mind to hold off on his sinister plans. In short, it is not difficult for Harry Markle to impersonate Captain Paxson, because Captain Paxson is not only unknown to his future passengers, but there is no crew member left on board the old ship.Get rid of Mr. Pattenson and his friends, Harry Markle will no longer have any worries, and the Spirit can enter the Pacific waters without incident.

But this desperado suddenly changed his plan just now.He is now going to drive the Spirit to its destination, to sail in the waters of the Antilles, to successfully complete the travel plan, to let these young students get their travel grants in Barbados, after leaving the Antilles Throw them into the sea. There are still big dangers in doing so.It's a personal opinion, and Coty's is one of them, even though he's active about making money.Captain Paxson couldn't possibly have known anyone on an island in the Antilles, or at any rate in the crew? ... But having said that, it is reasonable that the crew of the Spirit ship may have made some small changes before they set off for the Antilles.

"Even if there is a change," Coty pointed out, "it's one or two sailors... But, Captain Paxson...how can you explain that he's not on board?..." "It's really unexplainable," Harry Markle said, "but the good news is that after reading Captain Paxson's material, I believe that he never went to the West Indian Ocean Islands with the Spirit and other ships. It can therefore be assumed that he No acquaintances there at all... In case we are in any danger, I will be responsible, but then again, the risk is worth the risk, Mrs. Karen Seymour promised to give the Antilles Secondary School the money for the travel grant... ..."

"I agree with Harry," said John Carpenter. "It was a matter of chance! . . . Leaving Queenstown was the key at first, but not now, we've been out of Queenstown for thirty years It's in the sea... As for the subsidy that Mr. Pattenson and the middle school students will each receive..." "Every one of us will get as many," Harry Markle said. "There are ten of them, and there are ten of us." "The calculation is very correct." The boatswain said, "If you add the value of the three-masted ship, it will be a lot of money!... I will be responsible for letting the brothers understand the benefits of this move..."

"Whether they understand it or not," Harry Markle said, "it's settled. Hope everyone is responsible on the way and don't ask for trouble for their words and deeds! I want an inspector!" In the end, Coty listened to Harry Markle anyway.Thinking of the benefits in the future, his worries gradually dissipated.As John Carpenter said, the prisoners in Queenstown were now harassed by the police, and once out at sea they no longer had to worry about the police coming back to hunt them down. Harry Markle's plan is so bold that it has the general approval of his associates, so let it be.

In the morning, Harry Markle also wanted to check the ship's materials again, especially Captain Paxson's arrangements for traveling and exploring in the Antilles. There was no doubt that it was best, from every point of view, to sail directly to the coast of Barbados, where the passengers would be able to meet Mrs. Karen Seymour, and receive the stipend she had promised them.Harry Markle also saved the trouble of calling from island to island. Leaving Barbados, the ship can sail directly to the sea... throw the passengers into the sea at night, and then sail southeast to prepare for rounding the Cape of Good Hope.

Mrs. Karen Seymour, however, had drawn up an itinerary which must be followed to the letter.This route Mr. Horatio Pattenson and his traveling companions all know that Harry Markle can't be negligent, he has to be aware of it. The route was set logically. The Spirit had to enter the waters of the Antilles from the north, and then follow the long leeward direction south towards the Windward Islands. The first stop was at St. Thomas and the second at St. Croix.Nils Alber and Axel Wickburn were to settle in these two Danish territories respectively. The third stop was at Saint-Martin, where the Spirit could anchor.St. Maarten is a French-Dutch territory and the birthplace of Albertus Löwen.

The fourth stop is at St. Barthelemy Island.St. Barthelemy is Sweden's only territory in the Antilles, where Magnu Anders was born. At the fifth port of call, Huber Perkins will visit the British island of Antigua, and at the sixth port of call, Louis Clodijon will go to the French island of Guadeloupe. In the last few stops, the Spirit sent John Howard to the British Dominica, Tony Reynolds to the French Martinique and Roger Hinsdale to the British St. Lucia. After calling at all nine islands, Captain Paxson sailed to British Barbados, where Mrs. Karen Seymour lived.There Mr. Horatio Pattenson was to introduce the winners of the Antillean secondary school examinations to their travel sponsors.There they thank their patrons for their kindness, and from there embark on the long journey back to Europe.

This is the plan that the captain of the Ingenuity will strictly implement, and it is the arrangement that Harry Markle must abide by.In the minds of the gangsters, the crucial point is that nothing has changed in this plan.As long as the hapless Captain Paxson has no acquaintances in the Antilles - which is quite possible - Harry Markle's plan is likely to succeed, for no one will doubt that the Ingenuity has fallen to the pirates of the Helifa hand. As for a good ship, crossing the Atlantic during the time when the trade winds pass through the tropics every year, I believe the crossing will be smooth.

Harry Markle turned the steering wheel to the southwest instead of the southeast as he left British waters. —if the passengers had disappeared the night before, it would have been a fait accompli —the Spirit might have managed to enter the Indian Ocean and then the Pacific in the shortest possible time.The problem now was that the ship was heading for Antillean waters while crossing the Tropic of Cancer near the seventieth meridian.Therefore, even if the three-masted ship is equipped with everything, even with topsail, gaff sail and jib sail, it will still be winded on the starboard side, sailing with a cool sea breeze on its back, and can reach a speed of eleven knots an hour.

Of course, no one gets seasick that way.With the strong support of the starboard sail, the Ingenuity hardly moves on the long and regular waves, but just floats gently with the waves, and hardly feels the bumps. Still, by afternoon, Mr. Pattenson was feeling a little sick.Indeed, because of Mrs. Pattenson's carefulness and thoughtfulness, Mr. Pattenson's box contained a lot of medicines formulated according to the famous Weijiaer's formula. People who know the details said that these medicines can effectively prevent and cure seasickness.Mr. Pattenson elegantly called it "Ocean Spirit". In addition, in the last week spent at Antilles Middle School, in order to maintain good health and resist the tricks of the sea god, the far-sighted Pattenson did not neglect to carry out a variety of step-by-step catharsis.This is said to be a purely empirical precaution, a precaution which the future passengers of the Ingenuity have taken prudently. Then—a particularly useful piece of advice—Mr. Horatio Pattenson, before leaving Queenstown aboard the Spirit, had a feast with the young travel grant students, who told him Frequent toasting made him feel extra solid in his heart. Mr. Pattenson knew that the least noticeable spot in the boat was mid-ship.Whether it is at the bow or at the stern, the ship is pitching back and forth, left and right, quite violently.So for the first few hours of the voyage he felt he could stay on the quarterdeck.He was seen walking up and down the quarterdeck, standing with his legs spread apart to better maintain his balance, as a real seaman would.Mr. Pattenson is indeed an amiable and respectable person. He suggested that his traveling companions learn from him to prevent seasickness, but these traveling companions seem to be dismissive of his preventive measures due to their good health and young age. . Mr. Horatio Pattenson's lunch did not seem to have been as good as the day before, although the cook's meal was well done.At dessert time, he did not want to move, so he simply sat on a bench on the rear deck and watched Louis Clodijon and his classmates walk up and down around him.He only tasted the supper.After dinner, Waja sent him to the meeting cabin, let him lie on the canvas hammock, raised the pillow for him, and let him close his eyes and rest before falling asleep. The next day Mr. Pattenson got out of bed, feeling refreshed, and went out to sit on the folding stool by the door of the seaman's cabin. As Harry Markle walked past him, he asked Harry Markle in a less sonorous voice: "Anything new, Captain Paxon?" "No, sir," said Harry Markle. "The weather is still the same?..." "The original weather, the original sea breeze." "Do you expect the weather to change? . . . " "No, except that the sea breeze tends to cool off." "So... everything is normal?..." "everything is normal." Perhaps Mr. Pattenson thought deep down that everything was not necessarily better than the day before yesterday.Maybe he feels that he can't sit still all the time, it's better to get up and move around.So he stood up, leaning on the railing with his right hand, and walked from the quarterdeck to the mainmast.This is one of Weijiaer's more prescriptions, and passengers must consider it at the beginning of crossing the ocean.When he was amidships, he hoped he would not have too much trouble bearing the pitch.Pitching was more painful than rolling, but rolling was almost non-existent now because the Spirit had a more pronounced bank to port. Coty was bumped into several times by Mr Pattenson as he hobbled around.Coty felt that he should be concerned about him, so he said: "May I give you a suggestion? . . . " "Speak up, my friend." "Okay...don't look at the sea...the nausea will be better..." "But," said Mr. Pattenson, clutching the tethered horn, "I've read the passenger notices . . . recommend keeping your eyes on the sea . . . " It is true that the latter suggestion is in the passenger notice, but the first one is also in the passenger notice. The two suggestions seem to contradict each other, but they are written in the same notice.But having said that, whether the two musts contradict each other or not, Mr. Pattenson is determined to experience it himself.Mrs. Pattenson had prepared a red flannel sash for him.He used the belt, which was wrapped three times around his waist, as tight as a girdle on a donkey. Mr. Pattenson felt increasingly uncomfortable, but these precautions were not taken.Mr. Pattenson felt his heart swing like a pendulum in his chest when Wagga rang the lunch bell.He let the students go to the sailor's restaurant for dinner, and he stayed under the mast without moving. At this time, Coty was uncharacteristically serious and said to Mr. Pattenson: "You see, sir, that you are uncomfortable because you are not rocking with the rocking of the ship. When you are sitting..." "My friend, I'm afraid it will be difficult to follow..." "It's not difficult... sir...you look at me..." Coty explained and demonstrated.He leaned back when the Spirit's head was against the waves, and leaned forward when the tail of the Spirit dived into the foam of the wake. Mr. Pattenson rose to his feet, unable to keep his balance, and began to babble: "No... no... Help me sit down again... There are waves on the sea..." "There's waves...the sea...it's oil...sir...it's oil!" Coty said with certainty. Passengers certainly did not want to see Mr. Pattenson suffer from his unlucky fate, they felt like asking him every moment how he was doing...they tried to distract him by chatting...they tried to persuade him , reminding him that there are many other remedies for seasickness, so you might as well try them.Mr Pattenson took their advice and agreed to try. Huber Perkins went to the sailor's restaurant and got a shot of rum, which had a special effect on nausea.Mr. Pattenson took the rum and drank it in sips. An hour later Axel Wickburn brought Mr Pattenson another melissa, and Mr Pattenson drank a tablespoon. Instead of being relieved, the nausea became serious, and even spread to the internal organs, and swallowing grains soaked in cherry wine could not relieve it. Mr. Pattenson's complexion turned from sallow to pale, and the moment when he had to go back to the cabin to rest came every second, and the moment when people worried that his condition would worsen also came every minute.Louis Clodijon asked Mr. Pattenson if he had paid attention to the precautions in Weijiaer's formula. Mr. Pattenson opened his mouth reluctantly and said weakly: "Note... Pay attention... I also brought a small packet of medicine that Mrs. Pattenson prepared for me, and some sea salt was added to the medicine..." A red flannel belt won't help, and if this pack doesn't work, sea salt won't help, and indeed nothing can be done! For the next three days, there was a cool breeze.Mr. Pattenson was very ill, and no one could leave his cabin, no matter how good his mouth was, and, as the Bible says, he was falling into his old habit again.If he had the energy to come up with a Latin idiom, he would definitely express this meaning. At this moment he remembered that Mrs. Pattenson had concocted him a bag of herbs with cherry pits.As long as Pattenson can stop seasickness, or stop seasickness from happening, or stop seasickness from continuing to develop, by taking a healthy cherry pit in his mouth first, he will firmly believe in Wei Jiaer's prescription.He carried at least thirty kinds of this kind of herbal medicine with him. If he wanted to eat herbal medicine, he didn't have to eat the cherry pit. M. Pattenson asked Louis Clodiron to open the pouch of cherry pits and take out a cherry pit.He just put the cherry pit in his mouth, cough!Then I hiccupped violently, and the cherry stone was blown away like a small ball on the end of a bamboo tube that a child blows bubbles. What to do, what to do? ...Is there no other formula that can be used? ...Have you tried all the curative folk remedies? ...Can I have something to eat? ...Yeah, eating a little is tantamount to suggesting not to eat anything... The young student did not know how to care for Mr Pattenson, who was severely collapsed.Still, they stayed by his side as much as possible to avoid leaving him alone.They know in their hearts that distraction is advocated, that relief from distress is advocated... But reading aloud from Mr. Pattenson's favorite author is unlikely to produce such results... Mr Pattenson needed fresh air first, but there wasn't much in his cabin.So Waja prepared a cushion for him at the front of the rear deck. Mr. Horatio Pattenson was lying on the quarterdeck.This time he was convinced that energy and perseverance were no match for seasickness with the different remedies enumerated in medical books. "What has become of him, our poor steward! . . . " said Roger Hinsdale. "He's going to write a will, which seems wise!" said John Howard. That's an exaggeration, seasickness doesn't kill you. In the afternoon, the nausea returned, and it was severe.The helpful waiter finally came out to speak: "Sir, I also know a prescription that works occasionally..." "Okay...no matter what the prescription is this time," Mr. Pattenson said in a low voice, "if there is still time, please tell me!" "It's the lemon in my hand when I was crossing the ocean... day and night..." "Give me a lemon!" Mr. Pattenson said in a low voice, broken by convulsions, and he didn't catch up with the beginning and the end. Waja didn't make up anything, and he didn't talk nonsense.Holding a lemon is one of the series of prescriptions conceived by experts to treat seasickness. Unfortunately, this recipe for holding lemons is still ineffective like the previous recipes.Mr. Pattenson's complexion was yellower than a lemon fruit, and he was holding a lemon with five fingers, almost squeezed out the lemon juice, but it didn't help. He didn't feel the pain relieved at all, and his heart continued to churn in his chest. After trying this last method, Mr. Pattenson wanted to see if wearing glasses would help.The lenses of the glasses are slightly vermilion.This trick was not very successful.The medicine chests on board seemed to be out of stock.As long as Mr. Pattenson holds up physically, he may remain ill.Apart from physical fitness, there is no other hope. After Waja, Coty also came to recommend a wonderful recipe. "Do you have courage, Mr. Pattenson?" Coty asked Mr. Pattenson. Mr. Pattenson shook his head, indicating that he knew nothing. "What kind of prescription?..." Louis Clodiron couldn't believe the treatment used by the sailors, and wanted to ask clearly. "It's so simple, just drink a glass of sea water..." Coty said, "This method often produces... miraculous results!" "Would you like to try it, Mr. Pattenson? . . . " inquired Huber Perkins. "As you please!" moaned Mr. Pattenson. "Okay," said Tony Raynor, "it's not like drinking the water dry." "No... just a glass." Coty said, throwing a bucket over the side of the boat, and the bucket was filled with water. The sea water was crystal clear and impeccable. Mr. Pattenson—who, it must be admitted, was very determined—had no desire to be picky about what he was saying he wasn't feeling well, trying some remedies and not trying others.He braced himself halfway up from the mat, took the cup with a trembling hand, lifted it to his mouth, and took a long gulp. This is really bad.It turns out that the nausea is nausea, but the convulsions are not so severe, the contractures are not so severe, the convulsions are not so strong, the body is not so terribly crooked, and it is not so difficult to cough up sputum.If these words do not have the same meaning, at least they have the same meaning in expressing the understanding of external things by the patients who were suffering from the illness that day. "We can't let him stay like this, he will be fine when he returns to the cabin..." Louis Clodiron said. "Here's a man in a canvas hammock," declared John Carpenter, "be sure to get him down when we get to St.-Thomas!" The bosun may be realistic, and if Mr. Pattenson had died before reaching the Antilles, he and his companions would have lost seven hundred pounds. . . . He immediately called Vaja to help Cody lift the patient.The patient lay there, not knowing what to do with his body. The internal medicine has been used and it has no effect. Now they decided to use external medicine.It is impossible for foreign medicine to have no effect.Roger Hinsdal hinted that, among all the prescriptions of Weijiaer, he wanted to adopt one of the famous prescriptions, which was the only one that had not been used by anyone, and believed that it would have the desired effect. Mr. Pattenson was stripped naked and his belt was removed, and his stomach was repeatedly pressed with a cloth soaked in liquid collodion.If someone skinned him alive, he would not show any resistance. Don't think that it is a gentle hand that is touching him, the movements are light and regular!Not at all!It can be said that Waja, who is strong and strong, completed this task with all his strength. He has a strong sense of responsibility. At the end of the tour, Mr. Pattenson gave him three times the reward, so it is considered that he did not treat him badly... In short, where there is nothing, for one reason or another, it may be that nature, like the mightiest sovereign, has lost her rights, or that the patient is so exhausted that this exhaustion frightens him.Mr. Pattenson signaled he was bored, and turned on his side, his stomach resting against the edge of the hammock, again suddenly and completely unconscious. His companions let him rest, and came to see him whenever they heard the cry.In short, if Mr. Pattenson recovers his health before the end of the crossing, it is not impossible that he will regain his full physical and mental strength when he sets foot on the first island of the Antilles. However, Mr. Pattenson is a serious and practical person, of course he has the right to think that Weijiaer's prescription is wrong or a lie, because there are no fewer than twenty-eight prescriptions that he believes to be true! ... Who knows? ...The prescription that should be believed is not the twenty-eighth one.The exact wording on this prescription is: “Seasickness cannot be prevented at all!”