The Captive Read online

  Lucas had not opened his eyes; he lay at the bottom of the boat, inert. My other companion was tinkering with the boat. I did not know what he was doing but it seemed important and the fact that we had kept afloat told me that he must have some knowledge of how the thing worked. He looked up and caught me watching him. He said:

  “Get some sleep. You’re exhausted.”

  “You too …”

  “Oh … there’s enough to keep me awake.”

  “It’s better now, isn’t it?

  Have we a chance? “

  “Of being picked up? Perhaps. We’re in luck.

  There’s a can of water and a tin of biscuits here . shut away under the seat. Put there as emergency rations. That will help us to keep going for a bit. Water’s most important. We can survive on that for a while. “

  “And him …” I pointed to Lucas.

  “In a bad way. He’s breathing though. He was half drowned … and it looks as though his leg’s broken.”

  “Can we do anything?”

  He shook his head.

  “Nothing. No supplies. He’ll have to wait. We’ve got to look for a sail. Nothing you can do so try to sleep. You’ll feel better.”

  “What about you?”

  “Later, perhaps. Nothing more we can do for him. Have to go the way the wind takes us. Can’t steer. If we’re lucky we’ll hit the trade routes. If not…” He shrugged his shoulders. Then he said almost gently: “Best thing for you is to get some sleep. That will work wonders.”

  I closed my eyes and, to my later amazement, I obeyed.

  When I awoke the sun had risen. So a new day had broken. I looked about me. The sky was stained red which threw a pink reflection over the sea. There was still a strong breeze which set white crests on the waves. It meant that we were moving along at a fair pace. Where to, was anyone’s guess. We were at the mercy of the wind.

  Lucas lay still at the bottom of the boat. The other man was watching me intently.

  “You sleep?” he asked.

  “Yes, for a long time, it seems.”

  “You needed it. Feel better?”

  I nodded.

  “What’s happened?”

  “You can see we are in calmer waters.”

  “The storm has gone.”

  “Keep your fingers crossed. It’s abated for the time being. Of course, it can spring up in a matter of minutes … but at the same time we’ve got a second chance.”

  “Do you think there is a hope of our being picked up?”

  “Fifty-fifty chance.”

  “And if not?”

  “The water won’t last long.”

  “You said something about biscuits.”

  “H’m. But water is most important. We’ll have to ration it.”

  “What about him?” I asked, indicating Lucas.

  “You know him.” It was a statement, not a question.

  “Yes. We were friends on board.”

  “I’ve seen you talking to him.”

  “Is he badly hurt?”

  “I don’t know. We can’t do anything about it.”

  “What of his leg?”

  “Needs setting, I expect. We’ve nothing here …”

  “I wish …”

  “Don’t wish for too much. Fate might think you were greedy. We’ve just had what must be one of the most miraculous escapes possible.”

  “I know. Thanks to you.”

  He smiled at me rather shyly.

  “We’ve still got to go on hoping for miracles,” he said.

  “I wish we could do something for him.”

  He shook his head.

  “We have to be careful. We could overturn in half a second. He’s got to take a chance just as we have.”

  I nodded.

  “My parents …” I began.

  “It could be that they got into one of the boats.”

  “I saw one of the boats go off … and go under.”

  “Not much hope for any of them.”

  “I’m amazed that this little craft survived. If we get out of this it will be entirely due to you.”

  We fell into silence and after a while he took out the water can. We each took a mouthful.

  He screwed it up carefully.

  “We’ll have to eke it out,” he said.

  “It’s lifeblood to us … remember.”

  I nodded.

  The hours slipped by. Lucas opened his eyes and they alighted on me.

  “Rosetta?” he murmured.

  “Yes, Lucas?”

  “Where …” His lips formed the word but hardly any sound came.

  “We’re in a lifeboat. The ship has sunk, I think. You’re all right.

  You’re with me and . “

  It was absurd not to know his name. He might have once been a deck hand but now he was our saviour, the man in charge of our brilliant rescue.

  Lucas could not hear properly in any case. He showed no surprise but shut his eyes. He said something. I had to lean over him to catch it.

  “My leg …”

  We ought to do something about it. But what? We had no medical supplies, and we had to be careful how we moved about the boat. Even on this mild sea it could bob about in an alarming fashion and I knew it would be easy for one of us to be thrown overboard.

  The sun came up and the heat was intense. Fortunately the breeze -now a light one-persisted. It was now blowing us gently along but neither of us had any notion in what direction.

  “It will be easier when the stars come out,” said our rescuer.

  I had learned his name which was John Player. I fancied he had admitted to it with a certain reluctance.

  “Do you mind if I call you John?” I asked, and he had replied: “Then I shall call you Rosetta. We are on equal terms now … no longer passenger and deck hand. The fear of death is a good leveller.” I replied: “I do not need such fear to call you by your Christian name. It would be absurd to shout, ” Mr. Player, I am drowning. Please rescue me. “

  “Quite absurd,” he had agreed.

  “But I hope you will never have to do that.”

  I asked him: “Shall you be able to steer by the stars, John?”

  He shrugged his shoulders.

  “I am no trained navigator, but one picks up a bit at sea. At least if we get a clear night we might have some idea of where we are heading for. It was too cloudy last night to see anything. “

  “The direction could change. After all, you said it de pended on the wind.”

  “Yes, we have to go where we are taken. That gives one a great sense of helplessness.”

  “Like depending on others for the essential things in life. Do you think Mr. Lorimer is going to die?”

  “He looks strong enough. I think the main trouble is his leg. He must have got a battering when the lifeboat overturned.”

  “I wish we could do something.”

  “The best thing is to keep our eyes open. If we see the smallest sign on the horizon we must do something to attract attention. Put up a flag …”

  “Where could we find a flag?”

  “One of your petticoats on a stick … something like that.”

  “I think you are very resourceful.”

  “Maybe, but what I am looking for now is another piece of luck.”

  “It may be that we had our share when we got away from the wreck.”

  “Well, we need a little bit more. In the meantime, let’s do our best to find it. Keep your eyes open. The least speck on the horizon and we’ll send up a signal of some sort.”

  The morning passed slowly. It was afternoon. We drifted slowly along.

  Lucas opened his eyes now and then and spoke, although it was clear that he was not fully aware of the situation.

  The sun was fortunately obscured by a few clouds which made it more bearable. I did not know what would be worse rain which might mean a storm or this burning heat. John Player had suddenly dropped into a sleep of exhaustion. He looked very young thus. I wondered a
bout him. It took my mind off the present desperate situation. How had he come to be a deck hand? I was sure there was some hidden past. There was an air of mystery about him. He was secretive . almost furtively watchful. At least during the last hours I had not noticed these qualities because he was intent on one thing. saving our lives. That had brought about a certain relationship between us. I suppose it was natural that it should.

  I could not keep my mind from my parents. I tried to imagine them coming out on to that deck in that childlike, bewildered way in which they faced life which did not centre round the British Museum. They were quite unaware of the practicalities of life. They had never had to bother about them. Others had done that, leaving them free to pursue their studies.

  Where were they now? I thought of them with a kind of tender exasperation.

  I imagined their being hustled into a lifeboat . my father still mourning the loss of his notes rather than his daughter.

  Perhaps I was wrong. Perhaps they had cared for me more than I realized. Hadn’t they called me Rosetta, after the precious stone?

  I scanned the horizon. I must not forget that I was on watch. I must be ready if a ship came into sight. I had removed my petticoat and it was attached to a piece of wood. If I saw anything like another craft, I would wake John and lose no time in waving my improvised flag madly.

  The day wore on and there was nothing-only that wide expanse of water all around us . everywhere . to the horizon . wherever I looked there was emptiness.

  Darkness had fallen. John Player had awakened. He was ashamed to have slept so long.

  “You needed it,” I told him.

  “You were absolutely worn out.

  “And you kept watch?”

  “I swear to you there has been no sign of a ship anywhere.”

  “There must be some time.”

  We had more water and a biscuit.

  “What of Mr. Lorimer?” I asked.

  “If he wakes up we’ll give him something.”

  “Should he be unconscious so long?”

  “He shouldn’t be, but it seems he is. Perhaps it’s as well. That leg could be rather painful.”

  “I wish we could do something about it.”

  He shook his head.

  “We can’t do anything. We hauled him aboard. That was all we could do.”

  “And you gave him artificial respiration.”

  “As best I could. I think it worked though. Well, that was all we could do.”

  “How I wish a ship would come.”

  “I am heartily in agreement with you.”

  The night descended on us . our second night. I dozed a little and dreamed I was in the kitchen of the house in Bloomsbury.

  “It was such a night as this that the Polish Jew was murdered …”

  Such a night as this! And then I was awake. The boat was scarcely moving. I could just make out John Player staring ahead.

  I closed my eyes. -I wanted to get back into the past.

  We were into our second day. The sea was calm and I was struck afresh by the loneliness of that expanse of water. Only us and our boat in the whole world, it seemed.

  Lucas became conscious during the morning. He said:

  “What’s the matter with my leg?”

  “I think the bone may be broken,” I told him.

  “We can’t do anything about it. We’ll be picked up by a ship soon, John thinks.”

  “John?” he asked.

  “John Player. He’s been wonderful. He saved our lives.”

  Lucas nodded.

  “Who else is there?”

  “Only the three of us. We’re in the lifeboat. We’ve had amazing luck.”

  “I can’t help being glad you’re here, Rosetta.”

  I smiled at him.

  We gave him some water.

  “That was good,” he said.

  “I feel so helpless.”

  “We all are,” I replied.

  “So much depends on that ship.”

  During the afternoon John sighted what he thought was land. He called to me excitedly and pointed to the horizon. I could just make out a dark hump. I stared at it. Was it a mirage? Did we long so much for it that our tortured imaginations had conjured it up? We had been adrift for only two days and nights but it seemed like an eternity. I kept my eyes fixed on the horizon.

  The boat seemed not to be moving. There we were on a tranquil sea and if there really was land close by we might not be able to reach it.

  The afternoon wore on. The land had disappeared and our spirits sank.

  “Our only hope is a ship,” said John.

  “Goodness knows if that is possible. How far we are from the trade routes, I do not know.”

  A slight breeze arose. It carried us along for a while. I was on the lookout and I saw land again. It was close now.

  I called to John.

  “It looks like an island,” he said.

  “If only the wind is in the right direction …”

  Several hours passed. The land came nearer and then receded. The wind rose and there were dark clouds on the horizon. I could see that John was anxious.

  Quite suddenly he gave a shout of joy.

  “We’re getting nearer. Oh God . please help. The wind … the blessed wind … it’s going to take us there.”

  A tense excitement gripped me. Lucas opened his eyes and said: “What is it?”

  “I think we’re near land,” I told him.

  “If only …” John was right beside me.

  “It’s an island,” he said.

  “Look, we’re going in .

  “Oh, John,” I murmured, ‘can it be that our prayers are answered? “

  He turned to me suddenly and kissed my cheek. I smiled and he gripped my hand hard. We were too full of emotion in that moment for more words.

  We were in shallow water and the boat scraped land. John leaped out and I joined him. I felt an immense triumph, standing there with the water washing above my ankles.

  It took a long time for us to drag the boat onto dry land.

  The island on which we had landed was very small, little more than a rock jutting out of the sea. We saw a few stunted palm trees and sparse foliage. It rose steeply from the beach which I supposed was the reason why it was not completely submerged. The first thing John wanted to do was examine fully the contents of the boat and to his delight in one compartment under the seat he found more biscuits and another can of water, a first aid box containing bandages with some rope which enabled us to tether the boat to a tree and this gave us a wonderful sense of security.

  Finding the water particularly delighted John.

  “It will keep us alive for another few days.”

  My first thought was for Lucas’s leg. I remembered that Dot had once broken an arm and Mr. Dolland had set it before the doctor had arrived and commended him for his prompt action. It had been related to me in some detail and I now tried to recall what Mr. Dolland had done.

  With John’s help I did what I could. We discovered the broken bone and tried to piece it together. We found a piece of wood which served as a splint and the bandages were useful. Lucas said it felt more comfortable as a result but I feared our efforts were not very successful and they had in any case come far too late.

  It was strange to see this hitherto self-sufficient man of the world so helpless and dependent upon us.

  John had taken charge of us. He was a natural leader. He told us that he had attended drills on board the Atlantic Star, which every crewman was expected to do, and he had learned something about how to act in an emergency. That stood him in good stead now. He wished he had paid more attention but at least he remembered something of what he had been taught.

  We were impatient to explore the island. We found a few coconuts. He shook them and listened for the rattle of milk.

  He turned his eyes to the sky.

  “Someone up there is looking after us,” he said.

  Those days I spent on the isl
and stand out in my memory never to be forgotten. John turned out to be quite ingenious; he was practical and resourceful and was constantly trying to find ways to help us survive.

  We must keep an account of the time, he said. He was going to make a notch in a stick for this purpose. He knew we had been at sea three nights and so we had a start. Lucas was now fully aware of what was happening. It was maddening for him to be unable to move but I think his main concern was that he might be a hindrance.

  We tried to assure him that this was not so and we needed someone to be on watch all the time. He could stay in the boat and keep a lookout while John and I explored the island searching for food, or doing any jobs that needed to be done. We had been provided with whistles with our lifejackets and if he spotted a sail or anything unusual happened he could summon us immediately.

  It is amazing how very close one can become to another human being in such circumstances. Thus it was with John and me. Lucas had been my friend before this shipwreck. John had been almost a stranger. Now we seemed like close friends.

  He would talk to me more frankly when we were alone than he did when Lucas was present. There was something very kind about him. He understood Lucas’s feelings, realizing how he would feel in his position, and he never mentioned before him his fears about the water supply running out. He did to me, though. He had installed a system of rationing. We took water at sunrise, midday and sunset.

  “Water is the most precious thing we have,” he said.

  “Without it we’re finished. We could very shortly become dehydrated. A healthy young person can do without food for perhaps a month, but that person must have water. If is only a little we’re getting. Drink it slowly. Hold it in your mouth, roll it round to get the utmost from it. As long as we have water we can survive. We’ll preserve some if it rains. We’ll manage.”

  I felt comforted to be with him. I had an immense confidence in him.

  He knew it and I believe my faith in him gave him courage and the power to do what might have seemed impossible.

  He and I explored the island, looking for likely food, while Lucas kept watch. Sometimes we walked in silence, sometimes we talked.

  We had gone a mile or so from the shore and climbed to the top of a slope. From there we would see the island clearly and gaze right out to the horizon all around us.

  A feeling of utter aloneness swept over me and I think he felt it too.