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.Dolphins leap about the prow and flying fish scatter before us in silver showers.We are now able to work without shirts but Mr.Thomas has cautioned us to be careful of sunburn and to expose ourselves only for minutes at a time.Captain Jones appears on deck, scanning the islands through his telescope.I think he plans to put in at one of the islands for fresh water and provisions.Feb.15, 1702: Despite Mr.Thomas’s warning, both Bert and myself have painful sunburns from the waist up, owing to our fair complexions, whereas Clinch, Sean, and Paco are unaffected.Bill, Guy, and Adam never take their shirts off.Charlie Lee, the cook, has some skill as physician though without formal training.He has given us an ointment to rub on our bodies, which has afforded considerable relief, and we have both taken some drops of opium tincture.Adam has given me a small bottle and showed me how to measure out the correct dose.He tells me the amount he takes would make us deathly sick and could be lethal.Feb.16, 1702: I am now recovered from the sunburn and my body is beginning to acquire a protective tan.This morning we all gathered at the rail to witness a great commotion in the water a few hundred yards ahead, occasioned by mackerel leaping to escape larger fish.Mr.Thomas gave the order to lower sail and issued fishing poles with spoons and triple hooks.In a short time a number of great fish were flapping on the deck.These fish are known as yellowtails and are highly esteemed for the table.We were kept busy cleaning the fish, at which of course we are adept from our experience on the Great Lakes.Some were reserved for immediate use and the others salted and laid away.After the blood was washed from the decks we hoisted sail and proceeded on our way.The fresh fish has provided a most welcome change from a diet of salt cod and cornmeal, although the flavor is not as delicate as fish from fresh water.Feb.18, 1702: Dreamed this morning I was in a large workshop with tools, a forge, and gun parts scattered on a bench.I was examining a gun with a number of barrels welded together.I was trying to arrive at a method of firing the barrels in sequence.Juan was standing to one side and behind me.He pointed to an iron wheel with a handle and said something I did not catch because at this moment Clinch Todd came off his watch and awakened me, grumbling that we had ejaculated all over his blankets.The wind has fallen and we are moving now at a few knots an hour.Feb.19, 20, 21, 1702: We are almost becalmed and take advantage of the slow movement to fish from the deck.I hooked a shark and the pole was torn from my hands and lost.We seem to float on a sea of glass, like a painted ship.Tempers are short.Brady and Mr.Thomas got into an altercation and I thought they would come to blows.Feb.22, 1702: Today we put ashore on an uninhabited island to take on water and what provisions we could find.Captain Jones had spotted a stream through his telescope.We anchored in a bay between two points of land about two hundred yards from a beach with coconut palms behind it.The water here is so clear that you can see fish swimming at a considerable depth.We are sure at least to find abundant coconuts.Mr.Thomas, Bert Hansen, Clinch Todd, Paco, Jerry the cabin boy and myself put ashore in a boat loaded with water kegs.We filled the kegs with fresh water and loaded them into the boat.Todd and Paco rowed back to the ship and returned with empty kegs.When sufficient water had been collected, we filled the boat a number of times with coconuts.It was now after noon.Mr.Thomas then gave us the rest of the day off to explore the island, admonishing us to be back on the beach before sundown.Before returning to the ship he issued to each of us a cutlass for the unlikely event we should encounter dangerous animals or hidden natives.Following the stream we climbed to the summit of the island, a distance of about six hundred feet.From the summit we had a fine view of the whole island.The Great White appeared at that distance like a toy.On the far side of the island are a number of small bays and inlets, and we made our way down to a little beach surrounded on both sides by overhanging rocks.Here we stripped off our clothes and swam in the bay for half an hour, being careful not to venture too far out for fear of sharks.The water is wonderfully warm and buoyant, quite unlike the swimming in freshwater lakes.Feeling hunger after our swim, we put out lines which we had brought and soon took a number of the fish known as red snapper, each one two or three pounds in weight.Five fish we fried in a pan, leaving the others on a string through the gills in the water.This most delectable fish we ate with our fingers, washing the meat down with coconut milk.Feeling a great drowsiness after eating, we all lay down naked in the shade of a rock, Jerry with his head on my stomach and I in turn resting my head on Bert Hansen’s stomach.Clinch and Paco lay on their backs, side by side, with an arm around the other’s shoulders.The heat, our full stomachs, and the sound of gently lapping waves put us into a light sleep which lasted for about an hour.I woke with a strong erection and found my companions in the same condition.We stood up stretching and comparing.The breeze was rising and it was getting towards sundown.We put out our lines and caught enough fish to make a goodly string, and made our way back to the beach as speedily as possible [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]