Chapter 24 Chapter 9 - Will Miz

Just after eleven o'clock, in the interlaced midnight of September 22nd and 23rd, a small boat was floating on the misty sea, almost heaving with the gentle waves, and no breeze disturbed it. The calm of the sea. The two oars moved the boat noiselessly in a northeasterly direction, which was probably the direction, for the Polaris could not be seen behind the thick fog. Those at the helm may be slightly regretting that the weather did not turn into a thunderstorm.If there was a momentary flash of lightning lighting up the night sky, he would be able to move directly towards the goal instead of groping blindly like this.He had to cross the distance separating him from the target before the wind whipped up the waves to ensure everyone could be rescued.

There were eleven people in this boat: two adults and nine young lads, the two oldest lads paddling, one of the two adults standing up now and then, trying to see through the mist, erect listen to... This is the boat on the Spirit, carrying the fugitives.Louis Clodijon and Axel Wickburn paddled ahead, and Will Meads steered the boat, trying in vain to find a course in the darkness, thickened by the midnight heat. A quarter of an hour later they could no longer see the Spirit, but neither did they spot the white signal lights of the barque, which should have been no more than half a mile away, and the calm sea would have kept it where it was.

That's what happened. After listening to the astonishing conversation between Coty and Ranya Kirk, Will Miz slipped past the forecastle without anyone noticing, and returned to the rest cabin of the poop. He stayed silently in the cabin for a few minutes, trying to figure out what had to be done before he acted. There's no doubt about it: Captain Paxon and his crew were killed aboard the Spirit.By the time the students arrived, the boat was already in the hands of Harry Markle and his accomplices. Will Meads learned about the actions of the Helifa pirates from newspapers in the Antilles. After they were arrested by the police, they escaped from Queenstown Prison in Ireland. dates match.After seizing the sailboat at the anchorage in Falma Bay, they were probably unable to anchor and escape due to insufficient wind... The next day, Mr. Pattenson and the students from the Antilles Middle School came on board... As for Harry Markle didn't ditch Pattenson and his students the way he ditched Captain Paxson and his crew, for reasons unknown.Why he hadn't carried out his own plans on the British voyage to the Antilles, too, puzzled Will Miz.

However, time did not allow him to explore the reasons.If the students can't escape the Spirit, they're doomed.If the wind blows, the two boats will grow farther and farther apart, and the massacre may be committed... If not this night, then tomorrow night, or even in broad daylight on the open sea... Although he couldn't tell anyone else about it, Will Miz was able to plan a serious precaution. Since the god-given opportunity has delayed the bad guys' murderous hands, we should take advantage of this opportunity to find a way to rescue them. So by all means leave, and by all means go without them being unsuspecting.Harry Markle has gone back to his cabin.John Carpenter and Wagga had just returned to the cabin where the others were asleep, and there was only the watchman left on the forecastle, and he might not have been fully alert.

To catch up with the stalled boat, then, there must first be a small boat, and just after the fishing, a boat was towed behind the Spirit at Harry Markle's behest. Will Miz was a brave and determined man, determined to do everything in his power to save his companions and, at the same time, possibly secure his own. The pirates from the Helifa are on the Spirit! ...In this way, the so-called Captain Paxson's dislike for him when he first boarded the ship, his disgust for these crew members and the reasons why these sinful guys kept him at a distance are all self-evident. There cannot be a moment's delay, and this favorable opportunity must be made the most of.

We all know that the climate changes very rapidly in this part of the Tropic of Cancer... A light wind is enough to send the Spirit far away... The first breeze will blow up the second sail and the foresail that are not tied. And the mizzensail... At the same time, the other ship will sail in the opposite direction, which will also lose the chance of meeting it, which is not easy to grasp in the thick fog. The most urgent task is to wake up the students one by one.Explain to them what happened in a few words, and then let them board the boat that was dragged astern, without attracting the attention of the watchman.

Before doing all of this, Will Miz wanted to double check that Harry Markle had been in his cabin.His cabin was just around the corner from the poop entrance.The noise might wake him up, and escape would be unaffected unless it prevented him from shouting. Will Miz slipped to the hatch and put his ear to the door for a while to listen. Harry Markle knew he probably had nothing to do tonight and slept soundly. Will Miz returned to his cabin. Instead of lighting the lamp hanging above the table, he opened one of the two windows on the ship's name plate, which was about twenty centimeters from the waterline. .

Is the window wide enough for the students to descend into the boat from here? ... Young lads, no problem! ...But the thick adult is difficult to get through. Fortunately Mr. Pattenson is not obese.To be sure, the exhaustion of sailing had made him thin.Although he attended various welcome banquets for the students of Antilles Secondary School. As for Will Miz, he was lanky, flexible, and supple enough to slip through the window. Escape is possible without climbing up the poop.Escaping up the poop might be impossible—Ver Mizzi was going to wake his companions. He gently opened the door of the first cabin, in which lived Louis Clodiron and Tony Renault.

They were both asleep, and Louis Cloduillon sat up as soon as he felt a hand on his shoulder. "Shut up! . . . " said Will Miz. "It's me . . . " "What do you want?……" "Shut up! . . . We are at great risk! . . . " One sentence is enough to explain the critical situation.Louis Clodillon understood the seriousness of the matter, and he restrained himself as much as possible. "Wake up your companions," said Will Miz, "I'll inform the others..." "How, then, to escape? . . . " asked Louis Clodiron. "Take that little boat, and it's tethered behind . . . to get us to that boat that should be near us."

Louis Clodijon didn't ask any more questions, and when Will Miz stepped out of his cabin, he woke Tony Raynor.Upon hearing this, Tony Raynor jumped out of his bunk. In just a few minutes, all the students were out of bed except Mr. Pattenson.He had to be woken up at the last moment.Don't even give him time to figure out what's going on.They must drag him into the boat. The Antilles High School deserves its due credit; none of its pupils is weak in the face of danger.They neither complained nor cried out in fear.These may affect the escape under extremely difficult conditions. However, Niels Alber made a suggestion that showed his strong will:

"I can't leave without killing this scumbag!" He rushed to Harry Markle's cabin. Will Miz held him back. "You can't do anything, Mr. Alber..." he said, "Harry Markle will probably wake up when you enter his cabin. Then, he will shout, resist, and before long, we will Will be subdued! . . . Let's get on board now and make no noise . . . Once we're on that ship, I'm sure its captain will come and take the Spirit. And yet, these bandits still hold the Spirit!" This is the only possible way. "What about Mr. Pattenson?..." asked Roger Hinsdalty anxiously. "You go aboard first," replied Will Miz, "and we'll put him down as soon as you're settled." Louis Clodiillon and his classmates quickly put on some warmer clothes, so that they did not need to bring food.Since it is only necessary to catch up with the boat half a mile away, even if the small boat waits at sea until the clouds clear or the sky is bright, people will find it after all.When the fugitives were seen by those on the Ingenuity, they were taken in by that ship before Harry Markle and his cohorts could catch up to them. It was especially worrying if the wind picked up again, in which case the ship would sail west, while the Ingenuity sailed east.In this way, after daybreak, the boat will face various dangers. In this empty sea, there is no fresh water and no food. Therefore, Huber Perkins advised everyone to take their own little bag with guineas.At dawn, should the Spirit slip away, the seven thousand pounds which did not fall into the hands of robbers would be sufficient to pay the fugitive home. The time for action has come. Louis Clodijon went over to guard the cabin door, making sure that Harry Markle's sleep was not disturbed at all.Meanwhile, through the open door of the poop, he observed the watch on the forecastle. Will Meads leaned out of a window and grabbed the cable with his hand to pull the boat up to the stern. The mist was thickening.They had just been able to see the boat clearly, and all they could hear was the gentle slapping of the sea against the metal plates of the Spirit. One by one the young lads slid effortlessly down the taut cable of Will Miz.John Howard and Axel Wickburn lead the way, followed by Huber Perkins and Nils Alber, followed by Magnu Anders and Tony Reynolds, and finally Albertus Lewin and Roger Hinsdal, Louis Clodijon and Will Miz were the only ones left in the cabin. "Be careful..." he whispered, "the person on duty is here..." "Let's wait," Will Miz said. "He has a lamp in his hand..." Louis Clodillon went on. "Close the door so he can't see into the cabin." The sailor on duty walked between the main and mizzenmast, and even if he climbed to the poop, the thick fog would obscure the full boat and the cables ready to be let go in front of him. Will Miz judged from the wobbling and moving lights that the man seemed to be on his feet, and obviously the fellow had gotten a bottle of brandy or gin and had drunk too much.Maybe he heard the sound of the stern, and he walked over involuntarily from the front, maybe he saw that everything was safe and sound, and went back to the forecastle. And so it went.As soon as the drunk turned back, Louis Clodiron and Will Miz went to wake Mr. Pattenson. Pattenson was fast asleep, and the cabin was filled with the sound of his snoring.Perhaps it was the loud snoring that caught the attention of the sailor on watch. He should be woken up quickly.Students already on board are suffering from worry and anxiety.All the time they imagined the sudden cry and saw the sailors appearing on the poop! …Mr. Pattenson, Louis Clodiron, and Will Miz are not with them, so what should they do? ...if Harry Markle wakes up and shouts; if John Carpenter, Coty comes along, they're doomed...the boat that shows up can't stop the carnage! ... Louis Clodillon entered Mr. Pattenson's cabin and shook him slightly by the shoulders.The snoring ceased at once, and the following words came out of his mouth: "Mrs. Pattenson...cave snake...angelum...to be married soon..." What did the venerable man dream of...?Snakes... Latin Quotations, and Marriage! ... What kind of marriage? ... Since he had not woken up, Louis Clodiron hastened to shake him again.Then put his hand over his mouth to keep him from shouting, in case he saw himself in the phantasy again hunting the dreadful giant snake in the forests of Martinique. This time, Mr. Pattenson woke up and recognized the speaker's voice. "Louis...Louis Clodijon?..." he repeated, barely understanding what they were saying: "This Captain Paxon is not really Captain Paxon, the Ghost is in the hands of Harry Markle, it must Meet the students, they are waiting for you on the boat." But what he could understand was that if they remained on the Spirit, the lives of the students, as well as his own, were being threatened... Everything was in place for an immediate escape, and everyone was waiting for him to seek refuge on that ship. Mr. Pattenson didn't ask any more questions. He dressed calmly and quickly, rolled up his trouser legs carefully, put on his vest, put his watch in the small pocket of his vest, put on his long coat, and put on his black hat .Said to Will Miz who urged him: "When do you want to go, my friend..." Mr. Pattenson probably felt a little sad when he saw the snake that had to be discarded; how he wished to retake the Spirit from Harry Markle and sail the ship back to the nearest port in the Antilles. When the snake, it will still be in the original place.But these are not considered. The problem of getting down was to get out of the narrow window at the back, grab the cable and slide into the boat without any mistakes or noises. Just as he was about to get out of his cabin, it occurred to Mr. Pattenson to take the little bag containing the seven hundred pounds given to him by Mrs. Karen Seymour, and his little book of travel expenses, which he packed into into the wide pocket of the dress. "No one thought that Captain Paxon would be like this! . . . " he said to himself. He was still thinking about Captain Paxson and Harry Markle being the same person.Haven't been able to separate these two very different people. Pattenson couldn't be expected to slide down with dexterity or agility, and he had to be helped as he slid down the cable.Will Miz's greatest fear was that he would fall hard into the hold of the boat.That would get the attention of the drunken watchman... Mr. Pattenson got down into the boat at last, and Axel Wickburn took his arm and helped him to the stern. Now it was Louis Clodiron's turn, and he made one final check that Harry Markle's sleep had not been interrupted, and the ship was silent. Will Miz followed, through the window, and in the blink of an eye he was in the boat.In order not to waste time to untie the end of the cable, he took out a knife and cut the cable, leaving a length of rope about 1.5 meters hanging at the stern of the ship. The boat was far away from the Spirit. Will Will Miz and his companions be able to escape to that ship? … in this foggy night, before the sun rises above the horizon, will they be able to find the ship? ...Also, is that ship still there? ... Will there be a wind in the sea that will drive the ship away? ... In any case, if the students are able to escape the fate that Harry Markle and his cohorts have arranged for them, it will be thanks to Will Miz and Mrs. Karen Seymour, who hooked Will Miz with the No!