NIGEL HINTON Cerita Dongeng ( fary tales ) 1
SHIP OF GHOSTS
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| Cerita Dongeng ( fary tales ) 1 |
And
at night my sleep is filled with terrible dreams. Dreams of him. He has been
dead many years and his bones lie at the bottom of the sea. But he haunts me
still
My
mother only told me four things about my father. His name was james lane. He had
blond hair and green eyes. He was a sailor. They were probably there only
things she knew about him. She met him one night at a party and fell in love
with him. A week later he went back to sea. He said he would write but she
never heard from him again. So, he never knew that he had a son. Me
From the moment my
mother told me about james lane, i
wanted to be a saallor. Everybaftenoon i stopped at the doks on my way home
from school.and during the holiday i spent all my time there. I watched the
ship come and go and i dreamed of
faraway palaces. I watched the sailors and I dreammed of metting my father.
The day I was
fouurteen I walked out of school and I never went back. My mother was so angry
she hit me with a belt but nothing could make me change my mind. I was going to
sea.
Every morning I
went to the docks but times were hard and there were a lot of men looking for
work. I was thin and small. The captains took one look at me and always chose
someone stronger. Then I met captain glenn.
The first time I
saw him, he was walking down the gangplank from his ship, the shamrock. The sun
was behind him and all I could see was a dark figure coming towards me.
He stopped in front
of me and the sunlight made his hair look blond. I saw his green eyes and for a
moment my heart stopped still.
Could he be my
father ? Then the sun went behind a could and I saw that his hair was red.
“Any work, sir ? “ I asked .
He looked at me closely then nodded.
“ I need someone to help the cock and look
after my cabin. We sail tonight.”
It was as quick and easy as that.
I
ran home, packed some clothes in a bag, then ran to the shop where my mother
workeed. I could see she was upset when I told her I was leaving. But she
couldn’t say much because of the other people in the shop.
“you’ll
write to me ? “ she said.
“
every week,” I said
I
turned to go.
“
Mick,” she called.
I
stopped and she ran to me and kissed me and held me tight.
“
Take care.” She whispered.
I
could feel my eyes start to water so I
pulled away from her and went out of the door.
A clock was
striking four o’clock when I walked up the gangplank of the shamrock. Two hours
later we steamed out of the harbour.
As
we sailed away from land I saw someone run out onto the harbour wall. It was my
mother.
I
think she wanted to stop me leaving.
But
it was too late.
The first night on
board the shamrock I was so excited that I found it difficult to sleep. My bunk
was in a tiny space next to captain Glenn’s cabin. I lay there listening to the
throb of the engine and the creak of the ship as we sailed south.
Then the screaming
began. I sat up in the darkness and listened to that terrifyng sound coming
from the captain’s cabin. On and on it went. Scream after terrible scream.
Suddenly it
stopped.
There was a long
moan and the sound of someone sobbing. Then it faded and all I could hear was
the throb of the engine and the creak of
the ship again.
The next day nobody
said anything about the screams and I quickly forgot about them as I got caught
up with my new life.
The shamrock was
only an old cargo ship but to me she was the finest ship on the ocean. The ten
tailors on board were a rough lot. They had no uniforms and their clothes were
old and oily. They swore at each other all the time and were always ready for a
fight. But they were hard workers and I
tought they were the best crew in the world.
I was young and my
young eyes saw only what they wanted to
see.
All I saw was the
blue of the sky and the endless waves of the ocean. Each morning I woke to a
new adventure. My school friends wwere still at their desks looking at maps of
africa while I was sailing down the African coasts. I was feeling the heat that
they could only read about. I was visiting ports that were just names on an
atlas for them.
I had never been so
happy in my life. The work was hard but I loved it. Every day I polished and
scrubbed captain glenn’s cabin until it was spotless. And every day he noticed
and praised me.
“ you’re the best
cabin boy I’ve ever met,” he said one day.
I felt a stupid
grin burst on to my face and my heart swelled with pride. All I wanted to do
was please him.
I was not the only
one. The whole crew liked him. They swore and fought amongst themselves but
when the captain gave them an order they
did it at once. And they did it well.
Many of them had
been at sea longer than he had but they said he was the best-a born sailor.
They trusted him.
The sea is a
dangerous place. And you need to trust your captain because your life is in his
hands.
I say that all the
crew admired him but there was one man who did not. Yan Chung, the chinese
cook.
Every day, when I
finished cleaning captain glenn’s cabin, I had to help Yan Chung as he cooked
in the galley. I peeled and chopped vegetables for the crew’s meals and I
washed the dishes afterwards.
Yan was small and
bent. His face was covered in thin wrinkles and his long, grey hair was tied in
a pigtail. He was a wonderful cook and he made some of the best meals I have
ever tasted. And he was a great story teller.
He had been at sea
for over fifty years and while we worked in the steam and heat of the galley he
used to tell me about his life.
“I been ever’where
in this world,” he said one day when I was washing up. “ I seen ever’thing in
this world. I know ever’thing in this world. And I know things from the secret
worlds, too.”
“what secret
worlds?”I asked, up to my elbows in greasy water.
“The secret world
in here,” he said, tapping the side of my head. Then he fixed his black eyes on
me and he whispered, “ and the other world. The one that live right next to us.
But we don’t see.”
“What do you mean?
Ghosts ?” I laughed.
“You not laugh,” he
said sharply, pointing his finger at me. “ it is here. All around us. Eyes not
see it but it is here. Just . . . here.”
He held his hand in
front of my face and a shiver ran up my back.
He saw me shudder
and he nodded, “ it is there – you feel it.”
Then he smilled and
began talking about something completely different. He was like that. One
minute he could chill my blood and the next moment he could tell me a story to
make me laugh.
It wsa never dull
in the galley and I liked working for Yan. The rest of the crew used to shout
at me when I made a mistake, But not Yan.
He only got angry
with me once. He was telling me stories about the many captains he had sailed
with.
“I bet captain
Glenn is the best,” I said.
“ You idiot boy,
You young.”
“ Oh come on, Yan
.He’s got to be the best. The whole crew says so.”
“They all idiot,
like you, they know nothing.”
“ Oh yes, “ I
jeered. “ we’re all wrong. And clever Yan Chung is the only one who’s right.”
“Yes, I right,” he
yelled with fury in his eyes.
“ Yan is right and
idiot crew is wrong ! captain glenn is bad luck man. Is dark cloud round him.
He bad luck man. I know. And you know nothing, idiot boy . “
I didn’t care what
Yan said – he was just a strange old man. I liked captain glenn. And so did the
rest of the crew. And we had good reason.
The voyage was
going well and it was all due to our captain. He had contacts in every port
along the west coast of africa so we never went short of work. We steamed
slowly southwards dropping off cargo at one port and picking up a new load to
carry to the next.
The weather was
fine. The ship was in good shape. And we were all earning extra money from the
busy trade we were doing.
Then, one day, a
couple of things happened that changed what I felt about captain Glenn.
The ship was
anchored off the coast while we waited for high tide so we could get in to a
small port. It was a hot day and a few of us scrambled down a rope for a swim in
the warm blue sea. After ten minutes the others climbed out but I decided to
stay a bit longer.
I was floating
lazily on my back when I heard a sudden shout. I opened my eyes and saw captain
Glenn leaning over the said of the ship . To my horror I saw that he was aiming
a rifle at me. There was a bang and a bullet hit the water.
I saw him take aim
again.
“ No, dont-“ I
started to shout.
“ Get out of there
! “ he yelled. “ get out now ! “
His voice was so
fierce that I began swimming in terror. Above the sound of my frantic splashing
I heard two more cracks of the rifle.
Then I reached the
rope and hauled myself up. I got clear of the water and looked down just in
time to see a huge black shape passing below me.
It was a shark.
I was so shocked
that I could hardly climb the rope. When I got near the top captain glenn
leaned over and pulled me up to the deck.
“ You all right ? “
he asked.
I nodded and then I
started to shake-half from cold and half from fright. The captain smiled and
took off his jacket and put it round me.
“ Go on, captain
Mick,” he laughed, giving me a salute, “ . . . get below and change into some
dry clothes.”
I
had just finished dressing when captain Glenn came down on his way to his
cabin.
“ I’m afraid it’s a
bit damp, sir, “ I said, holding out his jacket.
“ It’ll dry .”
“ Thank for ...
what you did just now, “ I mumbled.
“Well, I couldn’t
let a shark eat my best sailor, could I ?” he chuckled.
Again, I felt that
stupid grin on my face. And a blush was creeping up my neck.
“I mean it,” he
went on. “ I’ve watched you at work. You’re going to be a fine sailor. Must be
in your blood.”
He turned and
opened his cabin door.
“It is in my blood,
“ I blurted out .
He looked back at
me.
“ My dad ... “ I
began.
And I told him. I
told him everything I knew about James Lane.
“ So, he doesn’t
even know you exist ? “ he asked when I finished.
‘” Oh well, perhaps
you’ll meet him one day,” he said kindly and went into his cabin.
I was just hanging
my wet towel over a warm pipe when the door opened again and the captain looked
out.
“ Did you say James
Lane ? “ he asked .
I nodded.
“ Green eyes ?
Blond hair ? “
I nodded
“ Jimmy Lane ! I
dont believe it ! I know him. We were on a cargo ship together in the south
China sea – oh, must be ten years ago.”
“ What ? “ I
gasped.
“ Well, there can’t
be many blond, green – eyed James Lanes about, can there ? It must be him.”
“ You know him !
You know my dad ! “ I said, my heart beating fast.
“ Of course I do !
we were on the same ship for nearly two years sailing between Hongkong and
Singapore. And come to think of it ...” he stopped and peered at me.” I knew
you reminded me of someone. It’s my old friend, Jimmy. You look just like him.
Your eyes, the nose ... “
It was too much. I
had to turn away to hide the tears.
“ That’s all right,
Mick,” the captain said gently and he put his arm round my shoulder.
“ What . . . what’s
he like ? “ I managed to ask at last.
“ Oh, he’s a good
sailor, Mick. The best. You’d be proud of him. And he’d be proud of you.”
I couldn’t go on .
If I stayed, I would break down. I ran up the stairs out on to the deck.
I stood at the side
of the ship and looked out to sea.
My father was a
good sailor. The best.
I would be proud of
him and he . . .
As I said, my
feelings towards captain Gleen changed that day. He had saved my life. And now,
to top it all – he knew my father. He was my father’s friend.
Before that day, I
had liked the captain. Liked him and admired him. He had been a sort of hero to
me. But now it was more.
Now, I was ready to
die for him.
Or to kill for him.
The next time Yan
dared to say anything against captain Glenn it was my turn to get angry.
We had finally
reached the southern tip of Africa. Normally, The Shamrock would turn round
here and head back north. But he morning after we docked at Cape Town the
captain called a meeting of the crew.
“ Listen, lads,” he
said.” I had a bit of luck today. I meet an old friend of mine in port. He’s
got an urgent cargo bound for Australia and another cargo for us to bring back.
I’ve spoken to the Shamrock’s owners in London and they’re happy for us to go
ahead. It’s a long time at sea but they money’ll be damn good. It’s up to you .
. .”
Of course, everyone
wanted to go. Everyone except Yan. But it was all of us against him, so we
went.
We loaded the cargo
that afternoon and we steamed out of cafe Town in the evening.
The next day, when
we were cooking the meal, Yan started going on about what fools we all were.
“ You think only
money,” Yan grumbled.” You don’t see danger. Indian Ocean is big. They big
storm there. We just little ship.”
“ Yeah, but if
captain Glenn thinks we can do it . . . “ I began.
“ I tell you
before, idiot boy. Captain Glenn is bad luck man.”
“ You shut up, Yan
! “ I shouted, raising my fists.” You say another word about him and I’ll . . .
“
I was only small
but Yan was even smaller ana he backed away from me, looking scared.
Suddenly I felt
ashamed of frightening an old man. I lowered my fists.
“ I not say a
word,” Yan said quietly. Then even more quietly, he added, “ You good boy,
mick. That why I warn you. One day you go see I right.”
He came back to the
table and we got on with our work in silence.
And in the silence,
Yan’s warning kept going round and round in my mind.
Yan was right
The indian Ocean is
big . it is huge. Huge and deep. And the Shamrock was a small ship.
You know loneliness
when you are over a thousand miles from the nearest land. And you know fear
when the water below you is as much as five miles deep. It’s best not to think
about it.
I did think about it
one day.
I was learning over
the edge of the ship, painting the hand rail, when I almost slipped. I grabbed
hold of the rail just in time and I pulled myself back on deck. I stood
there with my heart pounding with shock.
Supposing I had fallen ?
How long would I be
able to swim before I finally said bellow the waves ? I imagined myself slowly
sinking. Salt water filling my lungs. My body being crushed by the weight of
the ocean.
I saw myself
floating down and down until I came to rest in the darkness at the bottom. My
bones trapped and presssed down by five miles of water above them.
It took us twenty
days to cross that ocean and every evening captain Glenn and I had a chat in
his cabin before I went to bed.
The day I nearly
fell in, I told him what had happened.
“ You know the
first rule that sailors have to learn ? “ he said.
“ No, what ? “
“ Never let go ! “
he laughed.” Good rule that – never let go! “
I loved those
evening talks with captain Glenn. He told me about his years at sea. The ships
he had sailed on. The places he had visited. The people he had met. But what I
most wanted to hear about was my father.
“ It was a long
time ago, “ he always said.
But I kept nagging
him and every day he managed to remember another small detail about James Lane.
And, bit by bit, I began to build up a picture of my father.
He was a radio
operator. He was really good at his job.
He had a great
sense of humour and was always laughing and telling jokes. And he was popular
with all the other sailors.
He loved curries.
He was a good
swimmer. He had even saved someone from drowning one day.
He’d cut this hand
budly once but he didn’t have a scar.
He could speak
chinese real well.
They were only
small details but captain Glenn was right. My father sounded like someone I could
be proud of . and every night before I went to sleep, I thought about him .
The day we arrived
off the coast of Australia I teased Yan badly.
“ Terrible crossing
we’ve had !” I joked.” All those big nasty storms !”
“ We still got go
back,” was all he said.
We lauded at fremantle and unloaded the cargo. Then we
had two day’s leave while the new cargo was loaded and we took un supplies.
Most of the crew
sat in bars getting very drunk. I spent my time walking round the docks.
Maybe James Lane
didn’t sail between Hongkong and S ingapore anymore. Maybe he sailed round the
Australian coast. Maybe he was here . Maybe I would bump into him on the next
corner.
I didn’t meet him,
of course. And after two days on safe, solid land we set off back cross the
Indian Ocean.
On the second
evening out of fremantle, you looked out of the small porthole in the galley
and pointed at the sky.
“ New moon – she
got old moon in her arms.”
I looked out to see
what he meant. The thin curve of the new moon was shining brightly but the rest
of it was almost hidden in the dark. And it did look a bit as if he new moon
was holding the old moon in her arms.
“ so what ? “ I
asked.
“ it bad sign. It
mean bad weather,” Yan said. “ Bad weather” and bad trouble.”
The
Trouble Begins
The next morning
the sun was shining and the sea was calm.
“ Bad storm out
there ! “ I said to Yan as I went into the galley.
He looked away and
didn’t say a word. I kept teasing him all day long but he said nothing.
Then, in the
evening, the trouble began.
I was having my
usual chat with captain Glenn when tere was a knock at his cabin door. It was
Joe young, the chief engineer. He was covered in coal dust and oil from the engine room as usual.
But he wasn’t his normal cheerful self. He looked pale and he was trembling.
“ what’s up, joe ?
“ captain Glenn asked.
“ I’m feeling
really rough, skipper. And I’m not the only. One of my stokers, Eddie Ford, he
has got it, too. We’re puking our guts up. I think we’ve been poisoned.”
“ Poisoned ? “
captain Glenn shouted. He stood up and his face was twisted with anger. “ don’t
you dare use that word on my ship.”
I’d never seen the
captain lose his temper before. He was always so calm and spoke softly even
when he was giving orders.
Joe and I looked at
him, shocked by this sudden outburst.
“ Sorry, sir, “Joe
said. “ I meant . . . you know . . . we must’ve eaten something bad or . . . “
Then he swayed and
leaned against the door as a wave of pain hit him. His face was chalky white he
was sweating.
“ we’re going to
have to close the engine down, sir. I can’t . . . “
“ That’s all right,
joe, “ the captain said.
All his anger had
gone. He was calm and in control again. He patted joe on the shoulder.
“ You go and lie
down. As you say, it’s probably something you’ve eaten. Or you’ve picked up a
bug. A good night’s rest and you’ll be fine tomorrow. Don’t worry about the engine. I’ll look after it
tonight.”
Joe nodded and
staggered out of the cabin.
“Come on, Mick,”
the captain said.” We’ve got work to do .”
The captain and I worked
in the engine room for twenty hours non-stop. One of the stokers, Dave Roach,
was there to help us for the first couple of hours. Then he, too. Suddenly
started being sick and had to go and lie down.
“ Ever’ body ill.
Now.” Yan said when he brought our breakfast down to us the next morning.
“ They all say it
my food . but my food good. I tell’em. Captain not ill. Mick not ill. I not
ill. We all eat same food. But they not listen.”
“ Don’t worry about
that, Yan,” the captain said.” You keep looking after them. And we’ll handle
the ship.
All they long the
captain and I shovelled coal and kept the boilers going and the engine running.
We were sweating and tired and our hands were covered in blisters but we didn’t
stop.
Then, in the
evening, Yan came down again.
“ Joe Young, he
puke blood now. He go die, captain. We got to ask help on radio.”
“ ok ,” the
captain said and he went up to the radio
room .
I started to shovel
coal again but I could feel Yan looking at me.
“ What’s up with
you ? “ I snapped.
“ what Yan tell you
? “ he said.” Death come on board this ship.”
I turned away and
forced my aching muscles to go on working.
Half an hour later,
the captain came slowly down the steps. His face was grim.
“ Can’t get the
damn radio to work. It’s had it.”
Then he looked at
both of us and his eyes were dark.
“ Joe Young’s
dead,” he said softly.
We tried to go on
working but our bodies were too tired and our hearts weren’t in it.
“ We can’t go on
like this. We need sleep,” the captain said at last.” Go and get some rest,
Mick. And you. Yan. I’ll shut down the engine. The sea’s calm enough. We can
drift around a while without any danger.”
I went upstairs and
fell into my bunk.
An hour later, I
woke in the darkness and heard screaming. It was coming from the captain’s
cabin.
Screams of terror.
They went on and on
and on.
The next day,
captain Glenn refused to come out of his cabin.
Every time I
knocked on his door he told me to go away. Finally I dared to open the door. He
was lying on his bunk.
“ What should we do
about Joe Young, sir ? “ I asked.
He said nothing. He
just kept staring at me with his sunken eyes.
I went back to Yan
and we decided we would have to act without the captain. The weather was very
hot and sticky – we couldn’t leave Joe Young’s body any longer.
We put a heavy bag
of nails on his chest to make sure he would sink. Then we sawed him into a
sheet. We carried him to the edge of the deck and laid him on a plank of wood . Then we lifted the plank
and let him slide over the side.
Yan chanted some chinese
prayers. I stood there thinking of Joe’s long, long journey down to the
bottom of the ocean . then we went back
to looking after the rest of the crew.
Dave Roach and the
other stoker, Eddie ford, both died that afternoon. Again, Yan and I sent their
bodies sliding down into the dark waters.
Night came but the
air got hotter and hotter. There was no breath of wind. And the sea was calmer
than I had ever seen it.
It didn’t feeel
right and I began to be afraid.
I was lying on my
bunk trying to sleep when the screaming began again.
Without the noise
of the ship’s engine to cover them, the screams sounded so loud in the night. I
didn’t want Yan and the others to hear captain Glenn like that, so I went into
his cabin .
Captain Glenn woke
up the moment I opened the door. He sat up quickly, covered in sweat.
“ oh god, help me !
“ he cried and pointed to the dark corner. “ he’s there !”
I went over to his
bunk and knelt down next to him.
“ There’s nobody
there,” I said.” It’s just a nightmare.”
He shock his head
and looked at me. His eyes were filled with terror.
“ We’re all going
to die ! he’s there, look at him ! he came to tell me we’re all going to the
bottom of the sea with him. “
“ with who ? who
are you talking about ? “
“ Him ! “ he
pointid into the corner.” Oh thank god ! thank god – he’s gone.”
Tears filled his
eyes and egan to slide down his face.
“ I killed him,
Mick. It was terrible. I poisoned him and watched him die. It took him an hour
. . . and all the time . . . he lay there cursing me.”
In spite of the
heat, a cold shiver slide down my ack.
“ Who ?” I asked.”
Joe Young ? The others ? “
“ No, no them, “
the captain sobbed.” It was someone else ... a sailor ... in Hong kong ... We
were in love with the same girl ... and I thought ... if I could get rid of him
... oh god, I must’ve been mad ... I gave him poison ... and ... when he was
dead, I ... threw him into the harour ... oh Mick, he was my friend.”
The captain
suddenly gripped hold of my arm and pulled me towards him.
“ He waits until
I’m asleep and then his ghost comes to me ... from the sea ... he’s covered in
slime ... and his eyes ... his eyes have been eaten by fish. And now – it’s
going to happen to us.”
I stood up and
pulled my arm out of his grip.
“ Don’t go ! “ the
captain cried. “’ don’t leave me alone. You’re my best sailor. My friend.”
I opened the cabin
door and went out.
I stood on the deck
for the rest of the night, staring at the flat sea. It looked smooth and oily
in the moonlight.
Suddenly the
stillness was broken by splashing. Hundreds of eels rose to the surface.
They twisted and
tangled their bodies together as if they were fighting over something. Their
jaws gaped and I could see their sharp teeth. And I wondered if eels ate the
eyes of dead men. Then they sank down into the depths again.
But the twisting
and tangling went on inside my mind. Captain Glenn was a murderer. But he was
my hero. He was a poisoner. But he was
my father’s friend. He had taken someone’s life. But he had saved mine.
I was torn in two.
I stood there and
watched the first rays of the sun begin to rise above the horizon.
And with the dawn,
out of nowhere, clouds began to lock out the light. Huge clouds. Huge and black
and boiling. They darkened the sun and began racing towards the ship.
And with them, came
the wind.
You could see it
swirling across the sea, whipping up the water.
The wind hit me.
One moment the air
was warm, the next it was cold.
One moment I could
breathe, the next the air was filled with water.
The ship tilted and
I fell to the deck, I began crawling. I reached to doorway. I threw myself
inside and pushed the metal door closed just as the first wave hit us.
The storm had
begun.
There was nothing
Yan or I could do.
All the men who ran
the engine room were dead. The rest of the crew were getting better but they were still to weak to help. All we
could do was pray that the shamrock would ride out the storm.
The poor ship did
her best. But without her engine, she was at the mercy of the weather.
The wind howled and
roaded. And the sea shook and battered us. Sometimes we hit the waves just
right and went sweeping up to the top before tipping forward and plunging down
the other side. But sometimes huge walls of grey water crashed right on top of
us and tried to push us under.
All they and all
night we stayed in the main cabin. We hardly said a word, just held on tight
and listened to the shamrock creak and shudder as she battled the sea.
Then, as the new
day dawned, we saw an enormous wave tower above us. It hung for a moment and
then came smashing down. It hit us from the side and pushed the shamrock over.
We were all flung across the cabin.
For a long
time it felt as if the ship would roll right over. We held
our breath but then she groaned and, oh so slowly, she swung upright again.
And at that moment
I remembered what captain glenn’s ghost had said – soon we would all be at the
bottom of the sea, and, as I thought of the ghost, everything suddenly came
together.
A sailor. Hong
kong. My father
I threw myself to
the door and staggered along the passage to captain Glenn’s cabin.
He was still lying
on his bunk and I went up to him and grabbed hold of him.
“ was it him ? “ I
screamed into his face.
“was it my father?”
“ Mick, we’re going
to die,” he said, and tears filled his eyes.
“Damn you ! “ I
yelled.” You damn coward. Did you kill him ? did you poison James Lane ?”
“ James Lane ? “ he
said, looking at me as if he didn’t know what I was talking about. Then,
suddenly, he laughed strangely. “ James Lane ? you stupid little ... I never
met any James Lane. I made him up. You wanted to hear about him so I made him
up ! “
I walked out of the
captain’s cabin and I felt all hope drain out of my heart. I was never going to
meet my father’
And as the hope drained
away, my heart filled up with dark anger.
I hated captain
Glenn.
He had given me a
father. He had given me something to dream about. And it was all a lie. It was
worse than if he had killed him.
I went back to the
main cabin and I stood in the centre of the cabin and the crew looked at me. As
the ship rocked and the sea thundered all around us I told them captain Glenn’s
secret. And as I told them, I know what would happen, and I knew who
would start it.
And , sure enough,
Yan turned to the others as soon as I had finished speaking.
“ The curse of the
murderer,” he said.” That why we have bad luck. He bad luck man. I always know.
We all go die if he stay on ship.”
There was a long
pause.
Then Yan spoke
again. “ what we go do ? “
We dragged captain
Glenn out of his cabin and up the
stairs.
He kicked and
screamed and begged us to let him go but our ears were deaf. He tried to hold
onto the steps but we stamped on his fingers until he lost his grip.
We pulled him out
into the wild storm. The deck was wet and we slipped and stumbled as he
struggled to get free. But we slid him closer and closer to the edge.
Then we grabbed his
legs and we grabbed his arms and we swung him. Once . Twice. Three times.
And on the third
swing we let go and he went flying over the side and down into the raging sea.
The waves closed over him.
Then , to our
horror, we saw a hand come out of the water. It seized hold of the rope that
was trailing down the ship’s side. The same rope that I had climbed up when
captain Glenn had saved me from the shark.
Slowly , the
captain began to pull himself out of the water. We watched him haul himself up,
hand over hand. Then , as he neared the top, the rest of the crew moved away
from the side. I was the only one left.
There a was terrible roar and we both saw the huge wave
sweeping towards the ship.
“Mick,” he called.
Please help me – you’re like a son to me.”
He reached a hand
up towards me .
“ You’re not my
father,” I said.
“ Please ! “ he
screamed.
I shock my head.
For a long, long
moment he looked straight in my eyes. Then he let go. He broke the rule he had
told me about. He let go.
The wave smashed
against the ship. Tons of spray hit me and knocked me off my feet.
When I got up and
looked over the side, the captain had gone. He had started his long, slow
journey to the bottom of the Ocean. Two hours later, the storm died down.
“ You see,” Yan
said. “ Bad luck finish now .”
The next day,
another ship found us drifting on a calm sea. They asked us what had happened
to the captain and we all told the same story : he had been swept overboard by a big wave.
They towed the
shamrock back to Australia.
The crew split up
and all got work on different ships. None of us wanted to see each oyher again.
I stayed in
Australia and found work on a sheep farm, far from the sea.
I never met my
father.
There is blood on
my hands.
When I was very
young I helped to kill a man.
I am very old now,
But I can never forget what I did.
And at night my
sleep is filled with terrible dreams.
Dreams of him.
He has been dead
many years and his bones lie at the bottom of the sea. But he haunts me still.
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