Captured on the High Seas
Page 5
“Onions are a cure for scurvy,” James said. “I need to think about how to use it best.”
James set the plate on a barrel. Then he leaned in close to the cousins. “I heard something about a prisoner exchange. The captain’s going to swap an American officer for a British officer,” he said.
“Lieutenant Prescott?” Beth asked.
James seemed surprised. “Yes,” he said. “How do you know him?”
“He helped us,” Beth said. She thought for a moment. “Officers are allowed to keep their sea chests, right?”
“Yes,” James said. “He’ll take his with him.”
Beth’s face lit up. “That’s how you’ll escape!” Beth said to James.
“I don’t get it,” Patrick said.
“James can hide in Lieutenant Prescott’s sea chest,” Beth said. “They’ll carry it off the ship tonight with you inside.”
“We’ll all be inside,” James said.
“Wait here,” Beth said and ran off.
Later Beth found Lieutenant Prescott near the front of the ship. He was staring at the water.
“May I talk with you, lieutenant?” Beth asked him in a low voice.
The lieutenant nodded and leaned closer to Beth. She whispered her idea to him.
“I leave in half an hour. You’ll find my sea chest just outside the captain’s cabin,” he said softly into her ear. “This is a docked prison ship. The captain doesn’t live on board. His rooms are almost always empty. They use the space for storage.”
“That’s perfect,” Beth said.
“But there’s a problem,” the lieutenant said. “Only one stowaway will fit.”
Lieutenant Prescott stood straight and walked away.
Beth returned to the boys and told them the news.
“You have to go,” Beth said to James.
James shook his head. “No,” he said. “You’re a girl. You go.”
“I won’t go without Patrick,” she said.
“And I won’t go with her,” Patrick said. “It has to be you. Otherwise, they still might sell you into slavery.”
“I can’t leave the two of you here,” James said.
“We’ll be all right,” Beth said. “But we have to hurry, or no one will escape!”
They made their way to the captain’s cabin. Just outside the door was the sea chest. A boy sat on the floor nearby. He looked sick. His blond hair was falling out in patches. He had sores on his arms.
“Do you have anything to eat?” the boy asked.
James knelt next to him. “How long have you been sick?” he asked.
The boy wearily closed his bloodshot eyes. “I don’t know. It’s the scurvy, they say.” Beth felt sad for the boy. She took the onion out of her pocket. “Maybe you should eat this.”
James smiled at her.
Beth peeled the brown skin off the onion. She tore off the roots. Then she handed it to the boy. He bit into it as if it were an apple.
James turned to the cousins and said quietly, “He’ll die if he stays here. We must allow him to escape in Lieutenant Prescott’s sea chest.”
Good-Bye
Beth and Patrick looked at each other. James would lose his chance for escape. But he would save a dying boy. How could they argue with him?
“My name is Daniel Brewton,” the boy said. He chomped the last bite of onion. His eyes were teary. Then he wiped his mouth with his hand. He looked up at the three of them and said, “Thank you.”
“We have an idea, Daniel Brewton,” James said. He told Daniel what they planned to do.
“You would do that for me?” Daniel asked.
“Of course we would,” James said, “You don’t want to die on this ship, do you?”
Daniel shook his head slowly. “I’ve seen others die,” he said. “It’s horrible.”
James opened the sea chest.
Beth lifted out some of the clothes.
Patrick helped Daniel to his feet. “Let’s hurry,” he said. He thought he heard footsteps come toward them. He helped Daniel lie down inside the sea chest. Beth covered Daniel with the clothes.
James closed the lid. “Shhh,” James said to Daniel. “Go to sleep if you can.”
Just then Patrick heard a familiar whirring noise. It came from inside the captain’s cabin.
“James,” Patrick said. “There’s a way for us all to escape.”
He looked at Beth. She nodded.
James looked puzzled. “How?”
Patrick said carefully, “There’s a ship that can take us far away from here. You’ll be safe.”
“To another country?” James asked.
“Kind of,” Beth said.
“You have to trust us,” Patrick said.
James thought and then frowned. “I cannot escape if it means taking me away from my duty,” he said. “I intend to stay and fight for freedom. Will you promise to take me where I can do that?”
Patrick looked at his cousin. He didn’t know what to say. She shook her head. The Imagination Station might take them back to Whit’s End. Or it might drop them somewhere else. How could Patrick promise?
James reached out to shake Patrick’s hand. “If you can’t promise, then I will thank you and say no,” he said. “I will stay here to help my countrymen. You should escape if you can.”
James shook Beth’s hand, too.
Beth gave James a quick hug.
“I have to wonder about this ship of yours,” James said. “I suspect you’re making it up. But I don’t even know where you came from. How did you get on the ship when we first met?”
Patrick heard footsteps again and held up a hand to be quiet.
“We must go,” James said. “The guards might search the chest if they see us together.”
“We should split up,” Patrick said. “You go back to the top deck. We’ll go inside the captain’s cabin.”
James nodded and moved away from them. He turned just once to look at them. The cousins waved.
James disappeared from sight. Patrick and Beth went into the captain’s cabin. They climbed inside the Imagination Station.
“The windshield is fixed,” Beth said.
“Good,” Patrick said. And he pushed the red button.
Whit’s End
Beth and Patrick found themselves back in the workshop at Whit’s End. The cousins climbed out of the Imagination Station.
“We made it home!” Beth said.
Beth gave Whit a hug. “What happened?” she asked. “Why didn’t the Imagination Station bring us back before?”
Whit rubbed his chin. “That musket ball caused a lot of damage,” he said. “It messed up some of the controls. I didn’t intend for you to land on that ship.”
Patrick and Beth were both surprised.
“When I saw where the Imagination Station took you,” Whit said, “I was able to give you the marbles and the onion. But I couldn’t do much else until I fixed the controls here.”
Patrick said, “But what about James? I felt terrible leaving him there.”
“He gave up his chance to escape,” Beth said. “He didn’t die on that ship, did he?”
“I’m happy to say he didn’t,” Whit said. “Better than that, he was released seven months later. He returned home to Philadelphia. He grew up to become a wealthy business owner. He made sails and used his money to fight slavery. He spent his life helping that cause. He wanted everyone to be free in America.”
Beth asked, “What about Daniel? Do you know what happened to him?”
“Daniel lived. And he never forgot James’s kindness,” Whit said. “Daniel and James even became friends after the war.”
“So everyone had a happy ending,” Beth said.
“Not everyone,” Patrick said.
Beth and Whit looked at him.
“I went all that way to see the American Revolution. But I didn’t get to meet George Washington,” Patrick said.
Whit chuckled. “Would you really like to meet George Washi
ngton?” he asked.
“Yes!” Patrick said.
“Me, too!” said Beth.
“I think there’s just enough time,” Whit said.
Patrick looked at Beth. Her eyes were shining. He bolted for the Imagination Station. Beth raced after him. Another adventure was waiting.
To find out more about the next book, Surprise at Yorktown, visit TheImaginationStation.com.
Secret Word Puzzle
Unscramble each bold word in the following set of clues. Write the word on the lines provided. Some of the letters have numbers underneath. Write those letters in order on the spaces provided. You’ll find the secret word. You’ll also know what James Forten gave to the cause of freedom.
ACP
___ ___ ___
(hint: Beth needed this)
8
CONNNA
___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___
(hint: KABOOM!)
3
INOON
___ ___ ___ ___ ___
(hint: cure for scurvy)
7
LAIROS
___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___
(hint: navy man)
1
4
FINEK
___ ___ ___ ___ ___
(hint: it’s sharp)
5
6
SLABERM
___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___
(hint: game)
2
9
___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
Go to TheImaginationStation.com. Find the cover of this book. Click on “Secret Word.” Type in the correct answer, and you’ll receive a prize
Questions about this book
Q: Why didn’t the British blow up the American’s ship?
A: The Royal Louis was a valuable prize for the British. The ship, called a man-of-war, was turned into a British ship in 1781.
Q: Did James Forten really turn down an offer to become part of a wealthy family in England?
A: Yes. Captain Bazely offered James the opportunity to be Henry’s companion. And James really did turn down the offer because of his loyalty to America.
Q: Did Lieutenant Prescott get into a sword fight on board the Amphion?
A: No. Prescott is a make-belive character. But an American officer prisoner did offer James a chance to hide in a trunk.
About the Authors and Illustrator
AUTHOR MARIANNE HERING is the former editor of Focus on the Family Clubhouse® magazine. She has written more than a dozen children’s books. She began writing these books for her twin sons, Justin and Kendrick.
ILLUSTRATOR DAVID HOHN draws and paints covers and pictures for books, posters, and projects of all kinds. He works from his studio in Portland, Oregon.
AUTHOR NANCY I. SANDERS is the bestselling and award-winning children’s author of more than eighty books. She and her husband, Jeff, visited James Forten’s house in Philadelphia. Find out more about her at nancyisanders.com.