N. Francis Xavier
Part XLI, (Continued from last week)
As soon as the whaler cleared the coral banks that formed the last barrier between the islands the open sea the sails were hoisted. A gentle breeze filled them. Hemraj trimmed the sails and set the boat on a course heading towards the general direction of India.
Once in the open sea the wind picked up. The gentle swells became choppy waves. The men were constantly on the move trimming the sails and shifting their position to keep the boat on an even keel. Soon the boat picked up speed. The islands started receding behind them. The monsoon showers came in heavy gusts, lashing the men in the open boat.
“Ship ahead!”,Sheobrat shouted.
Through the curtain of heavy rain a ghostly apparition of a ship appeared. It seemed adrift. The first thought of the men was to change course and turn back towards land where they may find shelter in the creeks. But Hemraj motioned them not to panic. There was something unnatural in the way the ship moved which aroused his curiosity. As they drew closer they could see it was an old sailing ship. It was partly rigged, the sails hanging loose and flapping in the wind. Its anchor hung halfway down, dragging in the water. No soul appeared on the deck.
Hemraj ordered the sails to be lowered. Slowly he guided the whaler alongside the ship. Harpal offered to go onboard. Like a monkey he clambered up the anchor chain on to the deck.
The ship appeared to have been abandoned in a hurry. There was no sign of a struggle or skirmish. The hatches were all tightly battened still. Coils of rope were neatly stowed at their proper places. Harpal spotted a rope ladder and let it down over the starboard side. He also threw down two ropes for making fast the whaler to one of the capstans on the ship.
Hemraj came onboard and surveyed the ship. He heard stories of ships that carried the deadly plague. Cautiously he went down to the captain’s cabin astern. On the table lay a chart and several brass navigational instruments. A sextant and a hand held compass were found in their cases.
“Let us repair the ship and sail it, instead of the whaler. We can perhaps loot some ships, just like the British used to do earlier”, one of the men said.
“You are a fool to do so”, Hemraj reprimanded the man. “We stand no chance against the steamers. We’ll be caught in no time and hanged. Moreover we are not familiar with handling such a big ship. Let us take the charts and the compass. Don’t touch anything. Don’t go down into the holds. They might be contaminated. Clean the deck so that no one should know we have boarded her.
The men went down the rope ladder. Harpal hauled it up, laid it in its place and went down the anchor chain into the waiting whaler.
After pushing away from the hulk the sails were hoisted again. Hemraj looked at the prismatic compass he brought from the ship. It would be most useful. He learnt basic navigation from Mr Portman. The chart was not of much use but the compass would certainly give them a sense of direction once they were in the open sea. He never learnt to use the sextant.
The ghost ship continued its drift towards an unknown destination while the whaler moved swiftly and confidently towards its goal. Soon the stove in the bottom of the boat was lit and rice kept for boiling.
Hemraj took the tiller and held the boat on a steady course. The sails were set. The men cheered up and broke into song. Soon they would be on the soil of their motherland. They never dreamt they would ever return to it alive. How wonderful to set foot on the home soil again! ( To be continued …)
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