The dawn was as black as muddy dirt. The stars had fled but the night seemed to last forever. A silence as heavy as the heat hung in the air. The crew must have been wallowing in rum. Toine, who had returned to his hammock, no longer spoke, but in the darkness his pupils glowed like cat"s eyes. Suspense enveloped us, impalpable yet present.
A sound like thousands of little paws running on the deck came from outside. Toine leapt from his hammock, shrieking words I could not understand. He glanced through the porthole. When he turned toward me, a broad grin split his face.
"That"s life coming from above, son. Can"t you hear it? Rain. At least we can drink as much as we want."
He went to the door, unlocked it and stepped out. I found him stretched out on the deck, his mouth wide open, avidly lapping up the fortunate tears of the sky. I let myself fall by his side and drank, drank until I became breathless. I rolled about in blessed and delirious joy. Toine put an end to it by tapping me on the shoulder.
"Come on, son. That"s enough. Let"s go lend a hand to the men."
I followed him reluctantly. The crew, what was left of it, was busy unfurling the largest sails. As they did so without hoisting them, they had endless trouble to keep the sails facing the sky; the rain falling on the canvases made their weight barely manageable.
Toine and I added our efforts to theirs. I helped them with some repugnance, the frightful scenes I had witnessed too fresh in my mind. Toine, however, spoke to the sailors in friendly tones. His kindness astonished me at first, but I had yet to learn that men are as vulnerable to joy as they are to suffering.
IV.
The rain had abated. The sails were hoisted, and the barrels we had placed everywhere filled with that precious gift from the sky. Calm reigned during a botched dawn in which pitch black shaded off into dark grey. Isolated sunrays pierced the clouds to shed light on a terribly flat sea like a lake of tar.
Far, very far away, cracked muted peals of thunder. The storm approached quickly, lightning streaking the leaden ceiling while the sea shivered and quivered under a fresh wind. The ocean began a wild dance. One by one, the sails puffed up, getting rid of the rain, once again as white as angels" wings. The ship listed then picked up speed as the wind shook the riggings in a song of departure.
We cried our joy as one. Then Toine tapped me on the arm. "That"s not all. We need to head somewhere. Let"s take a look at the bridge."
The bosun was already there, several maps unrolled in front of him. As we drew closer, he raised a frightened face.
"Ah," Toine said. "The captain tricked you."
"And you with us," the bosun riposted. Then he said in friendlier tones, "Ye"ve sailed with him for a long time. D"ye know where he kept his instruments?"
"First we should find out what our last position was," Toine answered.
"How? All I can find is maps that weren"t used. Surely the good ones must be hidden with the instruments. I"ve looked everywhere." He shouted, "Sailing without navigation equipment is like sailing blind."
"We"ve got the stars," Toine said in a quiet voice.
"Sure." The man shot a nasty glance at Toine. "And who can read the stars on this boat?"
"I can tell you," Toine said even more calmly.
The bosun grew red in the face, as if he were about to have a heart attack. Toine, hands buried in his pockets, gazed at him, an amused gleam in his eyes. He seemed to enjoy the man"s growing exasperation.
"Who?" the bosun yelled.
Toine shifted his quid to the other cheek, spat a long stream of saliva and said in nonchalant tones, "Me."
Then he became another man. He straightened his back and took on a hard tone. "Without me, you"re lost. Get it inside your head and tell your mates. I can lead you but on one condition. I want to be your commander. If not, go f.u.c.k yourselves. I"ve got nothing to lose."
At first, there was silence. Then the bosun, mouth stiff and fists clenched, stepped up to Toine. "Hey, Toine, are ye taking me fer a fool? Ye the commander? Are ye out of yer mind?"
"Maybe I am, but just take it or leave it. Go tell the others and quickly, because we"re running in circles. You can also tell them I"m not against your being my second-in-command."
The bosun opened his mouth, thought better of it, turned on his heels and went out.
"There we are," Toine said when he was sure the other couldn"t hear him. "It"s settled. And I"ll tell you something, son. I"ll be lucky if I can tell the difference between the Great Bear and the Southern Cross."
"But what will become of us?" I said, terrified.
He shrugged. "I wonder. But someone must take control of these brutes. We"ll manage to gather the weapons. After which, we"re in G.o.d"s hands."
It was the first time I had heard him mention G.o.d. I couldn"t tell why, but I didn"t like it. Maybe because I had deserted G.o.d since my childhood. I had no time to think about it because the bosun came back.
"All right, cook," he said defiantly. "Ye"ve been made commander. But they don"t want me to be yer only second mate, they want two."
"Perfect." Toine slitted his beady eyes. "Then go tell them they can navigate with the wind. If I"m the commander, I don"t take orders."
The other looked stunned but once again left without a word.
In the meantime, the wind blew with greater force and the ship listed dangerously. n.o.body seemed to care. Through the large windows of the navigation room, we saw the sails all puffed up.
"If they"re stiff like that for a long time, they"ll tear."
He stuck his head through the door and shouted into a megaphone I hadn"t noticed before. "Furl the mainsail!"
I felt hesitation among the sailors on deck but it didn"t last. Someone repeated the order and Toine was promoted commander of a ship he didn"t know how to guide. In other circ.u.mstances, I would have thought it funny.
The day pa.s.sed without incidents. Even though hunger had weakened us, we took courage. When night came, Toine pointed to a star to follow, surely chosen at random, and then he took me to the captain"s cabin, our new quarters. It was a wide, comfortable cabin with two bunks. By some miracle, it had not been looted.
"We"ll be better off here," Toine commented.
He searched everywhere but found only one instrument, which he studied closely before showing it to me. "With this instrument, when it works and this one doesn"t you can determine the lat.i.tude."
"Really? How?" "By measuring the height of the sun above the horizon. It"s called a s.e.xtant. But we don"t have the right maps anyways."
I let Toine choose one bunk and I took the other. An empty stomach prevented me from enjoying the new comfort, after so many nights pa.s.sed in a crude hammock. Despite my hunger, I soon fell into a deep sleep.
V.
When I awoke, I was alone. The ship shook; her sh.e.l.l and hull creaked. I took a sitting position and glanced to the porthole. Enormous waves swelled and broke, their crests crowning with foam before hollowing into abysses. The sight appalled me but I decided to go up to the deck to join Toine, who was probably in the navigation room.
I climbed up but had a hard time opening the hatch to the companionway. I thought I had made it when a terrible wave sent me back down. I tried again and this time, between two billows, I succeeded in hoisting myself on to the deck. Doubling over, I started as fast as I could toward the room. A wave rushed on my heels as I hurled myself through the door.
Toine wasn"t in the room. I looked outside and there he was, clutching the tiller. He was taking the commander"s role seriously. No one else had ventured on the deck. It was a remarkable spectacle, Toine alone against the wild elements. Like looming skeletons, the mizzenmast and the fore-mast stood stripped, for the sails had been furled, while the bowsprit, with its sail still stretched out, pointed toward the sky and then plunged into the sea like a flag announcing death.
Surging waves. .h.i.t the deck in rapid succession. I would never get to Toine. Staying in the cabin was out of the question. A strange uneasiness pushed me to avoid being alone. I decided to try despite danger. The waves had me rolling on the deck against the bulwark and I narrowly escaped going overboard. When I started again, I saw Toine"s lips move. He shouted words I could not hear. Finally, one wave heaved me against him. One hand on the helm, he grabbed me with the other until I steadied myself.
"Tie yourself up." He thrust his chin toward the base of the helm, where a rope was fastened, the same he had used to attach himself.
Gripping the helm with both hands, he righted the ship that had been listing dangerously.
"Just in time to lend me a hand, son," he said. "It takes two to hold on to this d.a.m.ned wheel."
"Where are we heading?"
"That, ship"s boy, n.o.body knows. To avoid any argument about the direction, I ordered them to head straight at the rising sun."
The wind howled. The dance of the ocean was getting ever wilder. The galleon kept soaring and diving. The mainmast swayed like a drunkard but, free from the heavy sails, it held. The bowsprit, however, still enc.u.mbered by the sail, could not withstand the strain. A moment later, the sail swelled so suddenly the bowsprit broke.
The two of us had a hard time keeping the tiller steady. From time to time, it swung free from starboard to port.
After one hour, the bosun appeared. The astonishing ease with which he advanced attested to his long experience with tempests. He shouted to Toine, "It"s my turn, commander."
I shot an admiring glance to the cook who had managed to force his authority on the crew in such a short time. Back in our cabin, Toine told me he had to fire on a crewman who had refused to carry out the order of furling the sails. The man had tried to stab him. After this incident, all hands had obeyed him with no further discussion.
Our clothes were soaked, and we had to change into dry ones. It was a hard task. With each movement of the ship, I was sent rolling. Toine burst into laughter. "Son, you"ll never be a good sailor." He continued in harsher tones. "Sit down on the floor to get dressed, given you can"t do better."
A wave broke over the deck, staggering us. Another followed with a terrible roar. Above us, we heard a crash of breaking wood.
"Jesus Christ, it"s the deckhouse getting the h.e.l.l off the boat. We"re going to take in water astern. We must change direction."
After seizing a rope from under the lower bunk, he tied one end around his waist and threw me the other. "You"re going to follow me to the deck, but not right away. Stay on top of the ladder and hold me until I get to the helm. Then, I"ll pull you."
We hastened to the ladder. Combining our efforts, we pushed the hatch to the companionway. Toine climbed on to the deck. Despite the storm roaring, I heard him bellow.
I stuck my head out of the hatch. "What"s the matter?"
"That bunch of freshwater sailors! They don"t even know how to frap a sail. Take a look at the mizzenmast."
And sure enough, the mast was bending like a young willow, the wind lashing at the spread-out sail with all its might.
Toine leant down and stuck his face close to mine. "Now listen carefully, son. You"ve already gotten me out of a tight spot. Here"s a chance to do it again. Have to go and cut down that mast. With that G.o.dd.a.m.ned sail, all we do is go round and round. Water is washing over the sides. If I don"t stop this, we"ll sink in less than one hour. So go down and fetch me the axe from under the bunk."
I ran down and was back in no time.
"Good job, son. Now hold on."
And he let a wave sweep him away with its foam. He tugged at the rope like a fish on a line.
The ship veered to one side and I caught the full lash of a wave. I tumbled down the ladder. Hands clutching the rope, I couldn"t break my fall. The shock jarred me. Had it jarred Toine even more? I clambered back up. There he was, pushed back to the starting point. At the sight of me, he grumbled.
"Another like that one, and we"re done for." He struggled to his feet. "Come on. We try again."
Where did this sinewy, wizened middle-aged man find his inexhaustible strength? He was extraordinary. Only an iron will could overcome the fatigue that plagued us.
This time he managed to reach the mast.
He had already cut the ties and was about to hack at the mast when two crewmen, yelling and gesticulating, bounded in his direction. No doubt they intended to stop him. But the bosun, who must have known that the mast had to be cut down, interposed himself. Both sailors threw themselves at him. Only I noticed the enormous wave breaking on the ship. I buried my head between my shoulders and gripped the rope with all my strength, my full weight balanced against the ladder. The entire ocean seemed to crash over me. When I was able to raise my head, I saw Toine hugging the mast while the three others rolled all the way to the bulwark. A bow wave dragged them the length of the deck. They lay astern, unmoving. Another surge lifted their bodies and yanked them overboard into the tempest.
In the meantime, Toine had been hewing at the mast. I heard a crack followed by a m.u.f.fled noise and glanced at him. The old devil had managed to cut the mizzenmast down. But he was nowhere to be seen. Panicked, I tugged at the rope. But with every new receding wave I had to give way a bit more and I feared discovering a drowned man at the end of the rope. He finally appeared, his head bleeding. The sea had calmed a little and the ship forged ahead again. I succeeded in dragging Toine down to our cabin and hoisting him on to his bunk. He scarcely breathed but he was alive. The gash in his forehead did not seem to be serious. After fetching some rum, I lifted his head and had him swallow a few mouthfuls.
Several hours pa.s.sed before he opened his eyes. As the ship entered the centre of the storm, the ocean doubled its violent dance, tossing and rolling the ship like a toy. Twice I climbed up to the deck but saw no one. The tiller, left to its own devices, spun at full speed. Not knowing how to steer, I had no intention to try. In such a sea, I might have broken my arms. I returned to the cabin and sat down by Toine.
He had not regained consciousness. His eyes, open, held a vacant stare. He did not seem to recognise me. I placed compresses on his forehead and forced him to swallow some rum but he remained inert. Helpless, I watched the day fade as I sat there, prey to melancholy. My hunger had become intolerable. After a while, all I could think of was food. I was ready to devour anything. I did not recall seeing Toine throwing away our rotting flour but neither did I remember spotting it in our cabin. Thinking it inedible, he had probably left it in the galley. Mildewed flour seemed a delicacy now. Without further hesitation, I headed for the galley.
The end of the day had brought no lessening of the tempest. When I poked my head through the trapdoor to the quarterdeck, an enormous wave beat at me. I withdrew and waited for a while before trying again. Nothing on earth could have deterred me. The fourth try proved successful. I carefully closed the door to avoid flooding the lower deck. Hanging on to whatever was within reach, I made my way toward the galley. It took me an incredible amount of time, every moment a further risk of being swept away. When I arrived there, I was in for a cruel disappointment. The cupboards had been ripped open and the interior ransacked. Even the boards on the floor had been torn loose. Traces of struggles everywhere. Blood smeared on the bulkheads. The surviving crewmembers, upon finding Toine"s stash of flour, had battled over it. I drank from our store of rainwater, which relieved my hunger a little. I resumed searching, in the hope that another hidden cache had escaped the looters, but I found nothing beside a little flour left at the bottom of a torn sack. In despair, I made it back to the cabin.
A pistol shot punctuated the noises of the storm. Through the porthole, I saw the last survivors locked in combat for the only remaining lifeboat. It was their ultimate battle for life, and they fought ferociously. A gigantic wave washed over them, carrying men and lifeboat away. The mainmast shattered on the deck with a tremendous sound. At once, the galleon, gathering speed, began to spin.
Although I knew nothing about seafaring, I was convinced the ship was caught in a whirlpool. I went back to the cabin, walking between two gigantic liquid walls. The seam had opened its mouth to swallow us alive. I finally opened the hatch and let myself slide down.
Toine was seated on his bunk. Thank Heaven he was quite alert. In a few words I told him what had happened and described the whirlpool that trapped us.
This last piece of information shook him out of his lethargy.
"We"ve fallen into the very soul of the cyclone, son. Like The Flying Dutchman. Are you sure there"s no one else on board?"
"Certain."
"Well, then. That"s too bad. We must manage to right the boat, if it"s not too late."
He stood up and gripped the bunk to steady himself. He"ll never make it up to the deck, I thought.
I had misjudged him. Not only did he make it to the deck but, with some difficulties, the two of us got to the helm in one piece.
A liquid wall enclosed us, and we spun within it at breakneck speed. The watery ma.s.s formed millions of circles that reflected the grisly colours of the twilight sky. Toine grasped the tiller but let it go.
"Too late," he said. "Even the combined strength of a thousand men wouldn"t suffice to resist the pull."
The galleon was attracted to the centre of the storm. It spun ever faster and we had to lie on the floor. The centrifugal force became so strong we were pinioned to the deck. As the deck was vertical, we felt as though we were standing at attention to witness our own execution. The sky above us was as wide as the palms of two hands. We were sinking into the depths.
An explosion was followed by a sound like a long sigh. The pressure that kept us up against the deck decreased as the ship rotated more slowly and righted itself, although it continued to list dangerously. The mainmast rolled from one side to the other, smashing everything in its path. Now the ship listed low in the heaving sea.
Toine shouted. "We need to pa.s.s over the other side. It"s going belly-up, and if we get caught under it we don"t have a chance."
We clung to ropes, using them to slide down the hull toward the water. Although I didn"t know how to swim, I wasn"t anxious because I felt as if this adventure was happening to someone else. Without Toine by my side, I would have drowned. He held my head above the water. When the mainmast floated within reach, he took hold of it. In a haze, I glimpsed the ship one last time, its keel sticking out of the water.
Then I lost consciousness.
VI.
I opened my eyes but didn"t realise where I was. The deafening noise of the sea and the wind, which seemed to be blowing out of h.e.l.l, brought back all the ghastly memories.
Total darkness enveloped me as I lay stretched out on the mainmast, the cords that lashed me to it preventing any movement. And Toine. Where was he? I called out to him. The only answer I got was the sound of the wind drowning out my voice. Feeling alone in the middle of nowhere, I wept.
Cold and weakness sent shivers through my body, which vibrated like a violin string. The night dragged on. I was starting to think it would never end when a moon ray pierced the inky sky. It looked like death brandishing a light, but the ashen pillar comforted me all the same.
A storm broke. I opened my mouth wide to quench my thirst. Then the rain abated, the wind subsided and thunder rumbled an evil omen. A galaxy of stars unfolded above. I was pa.s.sing into another world, another life. I knew that until my last hour I would never forget this sense of transition.
The darkness that had once again conquered the sky became tattered, and then vanished, and the firmament appeared, filled with stars larger and brighter than those I had seen before.
Delusion sparked odd thoughts. G.o.d, tired of monotony, had reshaped the Heavens.