Chapter 34 37.The Unlucky Macquarie

The tiring voyage never ends. It had been six days since the Mercalli sailed on February 2, and the coast of Oakland was still out of sight.The wind is smooth, it has always been from the southwest, but the current is against the sea, so it is a good thing that the boat does not fall.The waves were fierce, and the boat fell into the wave trough and barely got up. Every time the boat swung, the mast shook violently. Fortunately, Halle was a slow man, and he did not ask the ship to go fast, nor did he draw the sails too tight, otherwise the whole ship's mast would inevitably fall.Mengele hoped that this bad ship would be able to reach its destination in this way, and nothing would go wrong.

It was raining constantly, and Lady Helen and Mary had to stay in the cabin, but neither of them could cry out.They also sometimes go on the deck of the ship. As soon as the female guests returned to the cabin, everyone tried to amuse them.Paganel wanted to tell stories to entertain everyone, but it didn't work out.Everyone was discouraged about the journey home.Worst of all was Sir Glenarvan.No matter the rain or the waves, you have to stay on the deck.As soon as the wind stopped, he picked up the binoculars and searched the horizon tenaciously, as if he was asking a question to the silent sea.He was always restless, with a painful and restless look on his face.Everything feels powerless!

Regardless of the wind and rain, Mengele followed him every step of the way.On this day, Glenarvan looked at the horizon more earnestly than usual, especially when the sea fog accidentally opened a gap.John approached him and asked: "Your Excellency, are you looking for land?" Glenarvan shook his head. "I think you must be in a hurry to get off this brig," said the young captain again. "According to the rules, we should have seen the lights in Oakland 36 hours ago." Glenarvan did not answer.For more than a minute he kept watching, watching, and pointing his glass at the windward horizon.

"The land is not there," said John Menger. "Your Excellency, please look to starboard." "Why starboard, John?" replied Glenarvan. "I'm not looking for land!" "What are you looking for, ser?" "Look for my pleasure-boat! Look for my Duncan!" replied Glenarvan, groaning, "it must be there, out there on the sea, against the waves of the sea, doing the crime of piracy! It's out there, I tell you, John, in that boat, between Australia and New Zealand! I reckon we'll meet him!" "May God keep us from encountering it, ser!"

"Why, John?" "Your Excellency has forgotten where we are now! What shall we do if the Duncan comes after us? There is no escape!" "Escape, John?" "Of course, sir! But there's no escape, and we'll be captured, and at the mercy of those thugs, and Penn Juss is capable of anything! We don't care if we die! We You must defend yourself to the last drop of blood! But so what if we die? Think of Lady Glenarvan, sir, and Miss Mary!" "Poor woman!" said Glenarvan to himself, "John, my heart is broken, and sometimes I feel disappointment creeping into my heart. It seems to me that some new misfortune awaits. Us, it's like the sky is against us! I'm terrified!"

"You, sir?" "Not for myself, but for the people I love, and for the people you love." "Don't worry, sir," said the young captain, "don't be afraid now, I'm in charge of the Macquarie, and you're watching the Duncan just to avoid her!" Menger was right.The Macquarie would have been as bad as the Duncan; and in these narrow seas where pirates run wild, such encounters were likely.However, on this day at least, the cruise ship did not appear, and that night—the sixth night from Tufte Bay—what John Mengele feared did not happen. However, the weather became terrible that night.The sky suddenly darkened, and it looked terrible.Harley and the seaman were suddenly sober from their stupor.He walked out of the cabin, rubbed his unopened sleepy eyes, and shook his fat and big head.Then take two deep breaths of fresh air, as if drinking a cup of tranquilizer, and then look at the mast.The wind intensified, and at the same time turned it, from west to east, and blew the boat straight up the coast of New Zealand.

Captain Halle summoned some sailors with yelling and cursing, and told them to lower the topsail quickly and hoist the night sail.Mengele agreed with this approach and said nothing.He would not speak to the vulgar seaman.However, for safety reasons, neither he nor Jazz left the deck.Two hours later, the wind picked up.Halle kept the jib down.Because the Macquarie has two tiers of sails like the American ships.It is not difficult for five people to do this job.With two layers of sails, the jib can be reduced to a minimum area by simply lowering the upper layer of sails. The wind and waves continued to intensify, and the bottom of the Mercalli shook violently, as if hitting a rock.The heavy hull was not easy to climb up the waves, so when the waves hit, a lot of sea water rushed to the deck, and the small boat hanging on the port side pole was washed away long ago.

Mengele became uneasy.The waves are not too big. If you change to another boat, you can still float with the waves, so don't worry about it.And the wreck is likely to keep sinking.Because every time it falls, the sea water splashed on the deck is too late to drain due to the drain, and it is likely to fill the cabin.Just in case.Menger suggested hacking the bulwarks with an ax to allow the water to flow out easily.And Halle refused to do so. Moreover, there is a greater danger waiting for them.It was almost 11:30, Mengele and Wilson were standing downwind of the deck when they heard an unusual sound.They are instinctively alert.Mengele said to the sailor:

"Hui Lan!" "That's right, the waves hit the rocks and came back!" "At least 400 meters away?" "Up to 400 meters! That's land!" Mengele leaned over the side, surveyed the dark waves, and shouted: "Wilson! Measure the water!" Halle stayed on the bow, unaware of the danger he was in.Wilson grabbed the water hammer and ran to the foremast spar.He dropped the lead weight, and the rope slipped through his fingers, but after only three runs, the lead weight stopped. "Only three fathoms!" Wilson reported. "Halle! We're out in the rocks," Mengele said to the captain.

Halle shrugged and ran to the helm and turned the tiller against the leeward side.At this time, it was extremely dangerous. Wilson threw away the water hammer and pulled the foremast's trimming line vigorously, letting the sail turn around in the wind.The owner of the ship was pushed aside violently, and I don't know why he was pushed! "Try to let the wind blow! Relax! Let go of the rigging!" Mengele shouted, busy turning the bow of the boat to avoid the reef. Half a minute later, a false alarm passed.The boat passed along the crevices of the reef. Although it was dark, a turbulent white line could be seen four miles away from the boat.

Only then did Harley feel that a catastrophe was imminent and panicked.He spoke the wrong words and gave contradictory orders, which fully demonstrated that the pig-like drunk had lost his composure.He always thought that there were still 20-30 kilometers of land, and everything was safe and sound; but unexpectedly, a dangerous shoal near the land suddenly appeared in front of him, and the original current had knocked him out of his usual route. Gotta panic. In fact, he didn't know that at this time Mengele took emergency measures to drive the boat away from the dangerous shoal.The difficulty is that we don't know the direction, maybe the boat is in the reef circle.The wind was blowing eastward, and the ship was pitching and rolling, and every time the bow or stern dropped, there was a possibility of hitting the rocks. Sure enough, as expected.After a while, there are more and more reefs below.Now it is inevitable to make a sudden turn and go against the wind to return to the water surface without hidden reefs.With such an unbalanced boat, the sails are so narrow that it may not be possible to turn sharply.However, you must try it. "The rudder is fully turned to leeward!" Mengele shouted to Wilson. The Mercalli began to approach the reef.After a while, I saw the waves hit the rock under the water and foam came up.The foam glowed white on the waves, it was almost like a phosphorescent light suddenly shot through the waves.The sea roared like those old rock spirits in Greek mythology. Wilson and Mulla leaned on the rudder wheel, the tiller had been turned to the end, and could no longer be turned.At this extremely thrilling moment, suddenly, there was a bang.The Macquarie hit the rocks, and the staystays snapped, and the foremast became unstable.With only this little damage, can the ship turn around? Impossible, because suddenly a high wave picked up the boat, sent it to the reef, and then let it down suddenly, and the Mercalli fell heavily on the reef, motionless. The cabin glass was shattered.The passengers all ran to the deck.But with the waves washing over the deck, there are dangers too.Mengele knew that the boat was sunk deep in the sand. So ask them to go back to the poo again. "Tell me the truth, what happened to the ship?" Sir asked Mengele. "Sinking will not sink, whether the waves will break up the boat is unknown. Fortunately, we still have time to figure out a way. " "Can't you put the boat into the sea?" "It's too dark, the waves are big, and I don't know where to land. Let's wait until dawn." Meanwhile, Harley was running around the deck like a madman.His subordinates, after a moment of panic, began to anesthetize themselves with alcohol.Mengele expected trouble when they were drunk.It's not up to the captain to stop them, and the poor wretch is scratching his head, trying to figure out whether he can get the insurance company to pay for his lost cargo! Mengele didn't bother him either.He ordered his traveling companions to be armed and ready to repel the harassment of this gang of bad things.The sailors were so drunk that they called their fathers and mothers. "Which of you bastards has the guts to run into the toilet," said the major, quite calmly, "I'll kill him like a dog." Those sailors saw the situation clearly, knew it was not easy to mess with, and ran away in a hurry. At this point, Mengele no longer worried about the drunkards coming to make trouble, but just waited for the dawn. The wind died down, the sea gradually calmed down, and the boat did not move at all.Mengele planned to explore the land as soon as the sun came out—if there was any convenient place to land.The only means of transport left on board was a small canoe hanging on the starboard side.But the boat is very small, only 4 people can sit at a time, and it takes 3 trips back and forth. Menger leaned on the canopy, trying to find something through the black night shadow.He wondered in his mind, if it was a little farther away from the coast, would the thin little boat be able to stand up and down? Menger was thinking like this outside, hoping that Dongfang would show his full self sooner.At this time, the female guests trusted his words and fell asleep on the bunks.The other male compatriots could not hear the yelling of the drunk, so they also took a nap to recover their spirits.The boat was very quiet, as if the boat had fallen asleep on the beach. At 4 o'clock in the morning, the east finally brightened.Mengele went on deck and waited.The earth is gradually turning white, a cloud appears in the sky, and the morning curtain slowly rises on the stage of this vast nature.There is also a luminous point shining like a beacon on a mountain peak, which is blocking the view, so that the rising sun cannot be seen yet.The land is there, less than 15 kilometers away. "Land in sight!" cried Mengele. The traveling companions were awakened by the cry, and all rushed to the deck, looking at the coast that appeared in the sky.Regardless of whether the residents on the shore are kind or vicious, after all, that is where they escaped. "Where's Harley?" Sir asked. "I don't know, ser, he and his sailors are gone," Mengele replied. "Go and find them, don't leave them on board." Golinavan was always kind. Everyone searched the sailor room, the middle cabin, and the lower cabin, but there was no sign of them. "Perhaps fell into the sea," said Paganel. "Quite possible!" replied Mengele, worried. After he finished speaking, he walked towards the stern. "Look for a boat," Mengele said. Wilson and Mulla followed him eagerly, ready to put the boat into the sea.Who knows, the boat has long since disappeared.