Beth held her breath. She grabbed the thick pole and hugged it tight. She was sliding way too fast.
A loud shriek filled the air.
Beth had felt like screaming. But the shriek hadn’t come from her.
Aloe Oil
Beth turned toward the shriek. She saw Aris hugging the pole near her. His face was scrunched up. They slid all the way across the ship toward the opposite railing.
Beth looked around. Paul was helping stop other people from sliding.
Beth felt the railing smash into her back. She moaned in pain. The bundle of rope was between the pole and the rail. The rope had stopped the pole from squishing her. But she couldn’t get out from between the pole and the ship’s railing. She was trapped.
Aris said, “Ugh!” He was pinned also. He gasped for air. But it didn’t sound like he was getting any.
“Paul!” Beth yelled.
Aris didn’t say anything else. His face was losing its color.
“Help!” Beth cried.
Paul ran toward them.
Luke did too.
“Quick,” Paul yelled. “Pull the mast away. We need to free Beth and Aris.”
Paul, Luke, and others tugged at the pole. Beth pushed.
The pole slid a few inches.
Beth slid out. She saw something caught in the rope coil. It was long and made of cloth. It was Luke’s medicine pouch.
“Your pouch,” Beth shouted. She pointed to it.
Luke nodded. But he kept holding the pole with the other men.
Beth stepped toward the pouch. She wanted to save the aloe oil. But Aris’s face was contorted in pain. Beth hurried to him instead. She grabbed his arms and pulled.
Aris used his legs to push.
The ship rocked.
Luke grunted.
Aris was finally free from the mast. He gasped for air.
Paul let go of the pole. “Don’t try to stand, Aris,” Paul said. “Luke?”
Luke let go of the pole. He grabbed his medicine pouch from the rope. Then he knelt down beside Aris. Luke took a vial out of his bag.
Aris’s eyes were closed.
Beth gathered with others around him.
Luke put the small vial under Aris’s nose. The salts in the vial smelled like a strong cleaning liquid.
Aris’s eyes opened quickly. He gasped.
“You had the air knocked out of you,” Luke said. “How do you feel?”
“Like I fought a pole and lost,” Aris said.
The ship tilted. The mast slammed back into the side.
That would have killed us, Beth thought.
“Let’s throw that mast overboard,” Paul said. The men and Beth lined up next to the pole.
“This mast won’t hurt anyone ever again,” Beth said.
Paul said, “Ready? Heave!”
Beth picked up the pole with everyone else. The group lifted it above the railing.
The bundle of rope caught on the pole. It flew in the wind. Then it dropped into the waves. The pole went with it and snapped in two like a toothpick.
I’m glad we don’t have to jump into the sea, Beth thought. She turned around. The deck was clear. There was nothing left to throw overboard.
Aris looked better. Every breath brought color back into his face.
Paul helped him up. They walked with everyone toward the center of the ship.
Nothing protected them from the rain, wind, and waves now. All they had was each other.
Beth took a deep breath and turned to Luke. “Could I show Patrick the aloe oil?” she asked. “He’d really like to see it.”
“Of course,” Luke said. He opened his pouch and looked inside. Then he shook his head. “Some of my vials are missing. They must have fallen out. The aloe oil is gone.”
“No!” Beth said. Why didn’t I ask Luke to see it earlier? she thought.
Patrick thought about the aloe oil. It had been days since Beth had told him it was lost. But he still wondered if aloe oil was the liquid the Imagination Station needed.
Luke sat down on the deck next to him.
“Where does aloe come from?” Patrick asked.
Luke turned to him. “That’s an odd question,” he said.
Patrick shrugged and said, “There’s nothing to do but think.”
Luke nodded. “Aloe comes from a plant,” he said with a yawn. “It grows in many places around this sea.” He lay down next to Marcus. Luke shut his eyes and began to snore.
Patrick sighed. Nothing had changed for days. There was no sun to show when it was daytime. There were no stars to show when it was nighttime. The sky was black with clouds and rain. The ship had been in this storm now for fourteen days.
Will it ever end? he wondered.
“What will we do today?” Aris asked. “Is anyone up for a swim?”
Beth smiled.
“Be quiet,” a voice in the darkness said. “Quit your jokes. There’s no hope. We are all lost.”
“All we have left to do is die,” another said.
“What are you talking about?” Paul asked. His lips were curved in a smile. “God gives us every breath as a gift. You don’t know what the day will bring. That is reason enough for hope.”
Patrick sighed. His stomach rumbled. Luke had given him peppermint days ago. It had settled his stomach. But now even it was gone.
The bread Patrick had tried to eat earlier had not stayed down. He closed his eyes again.
Paul stood. Wind whipped the edge of his cloak. Rain poured down his face.
People turned toward him.
“Men, you should have listened to me,” Paul said. “We shouldn’t have left Crete.”
Patrick sighed. “It’s too late for that now,” he said.
“It’s not too late,” Paul said. “I have heard from God.”
The Fourteenth Day
Another wave splashed over Patrick. Beth looked as cold, tired, wet, and hungry as he felt.
“Take heart,” Paul said. “No one among us will die.”
“You can’t know that,” Demetrius said.
“But I do. This very night an angel stood before me,” Paul said. He paused. Some of the people around Patrick sat up to listen more closely.
Paul said, “The angel came from my God. He said, ‘Do not be afraid, Paul. You must stand before Caesar.’”
Demetrius stood. “That sounds good for you,” he said. “Not us.”
“Maybe there’s more,” Beth said.
Patrick hoped there was. He knew Paul had slept. Paul was one of the few who had. Maybe God spoke to Paul through a dream.
Paul smiled. He said, “The angel said God would spare everyone on this ship.”
“Really?” Beth asked.
“Things will happen exactly as I have told you,” Paul said.
“That’s nonsense,” Demetrius said. He put on his helmet.
“Nothing’s changed yet,” Aris said. “But it will. You’ll see. Then perhaps you’ll believe in our God too.”
Demetrius said, “I doubt we’ll get out of this alive. If we do, I’ll listen to your babbling. But not a moment before.” He stomped away.
“Maybe the storm will suddenly stop,” Patrick said.
“Maybe another ship will rescue us,” Aris said.
Luke’s snoring grew louder.
“Maybe large birds will carry us to land,” Patrick said.
“Oooh,” Aris said. “I like that one. I think I’ll dream about that. Good night.” Aris stretched out next to Luke.
“Sleep well, Aris,” Paul said. “Soon you’ll get the chance to tell Demetrius about Jesus.” He stretched out also.
Patrick walked over to the railing. He listened to the pit-pat of raindrops and the rumble of thunder.
Beth joined him.
There was a great burst of wind. Patrick heard the crashing of waves.
Beth said, “I hear something.”
Then Patrick heard it too. It sounded like water was slapping something hard, like
a sidewalk. He and Beth hurried back to their friends.
Marcus moaned in his sleep.
Patrick shook him.
“What?” Marcus asked.
“Listen,” Beth said.
Marcus sat up and tilted his head to listen. Marcus’s eyebrows went up.
“The waves are hitting something,” Patrick said. “What are they hitting?”
“Rocks!” Marcus said. “We have to tell the centurion!” He jumped up.
Patrick and Beth stood too. They followed Marcus through the sleeping men and ran toward the stern.
Patrick saw a man in a short tunic in the distance. He wore a metal breastplate and metal skirt over his tunic. The man’s helmet sported a bright-red plume.
“Will that man know what to do?” Beth asked.
“Yes, Julius is a centurion. When he enters a battle, he leads the troops. When he steps onto a Roman ship,” Marcus said, “he becomes the person in charge. The ship’s captain will obey him.”
Julius was talking to soldiers.
Demetrius took a double look at Patrick, Beth, and Marcus. He stepped in their way. “Stop!” he said. He had an angry glint in his eyes.
“We must speak to the centurion,” Patrick said.
“It’s urgent,” Beth said.
Demetrius’s eyes narrowed. He didn’t move.
“Ave, my centurion,” Marcus yelled. He beat his fist to his chest.
“What does ‘ah-vey’ mean?” Patrick whispered.
Beth shrugged.
“Ave, my centurion,” Marcus shouted louder.
Patrick trusted Marcus. He started yelling, “Ave, my centurion!”
Beth yelled it too.
“Quiet!” Demetrius said. “What good is ‘ave’ now? You can’t tell him to be well. No one can be well in this storm!”
“Rocks!” yelled Marcus. “We’re nearing rocks!”
Julius raised his hand. The children stopped yelling. Everyone stopped talking.
The centurion listened. “I hear it,” he said.
Patrick breathed a sigh of relief.
Julius said, “Bring those children here.”
Marcus walked forward quickly.
Demetrius grabbed the scruff of Patrick’s neck. He moved Beth forward with his other hand. He didn’t let go until they were in front of Julius. Just as quickly, Demetrius released them and left.
“Take a sounding,” Julius said.
“Yes, my centurion,” Marcus said. He turned to Patrick and Beth. “Follow me.”
The children hurried to the far end of the stern.
“What are we doing?” Patrick asked.
“Measuring the sea,” Marcus said. He took a long, thin piece of metal from a chest. It had a rounded cap at the bottom. A long, knotted leather rope was attached to it.
“That looks like a bell. How does it work?” Beth asked.
“It isn’t a bell,” Marcus said. “It’s a weight.”
Marcus dropped the weight into the water. He held on to the rope. The rope had knots every six feet or so. Marcus slowly fed the rope into the sea.
“You’re counting the knots,” Patrick said.
Marcus nodded.
Patrick peered into the stormy night. We must be close to land if we hear waves hitting rocks, he thought.
“The weight has reached the bottom,” Marcus said. “The water is one hundred twenty feet deep. Tell the centurion.” He started rolling up the knotted rope.
Patrick ran as fast as he could on the slippery deck. The ends of his belt flew sideways in the wind. Finally, he reached Julius. Patrick stumbled forward.
“Ave, my centurion,” Patrick said. “The sea is one hundred twenty feet deep.”
Julius gave a single nod. “Again,” he said.
Patrick turned. He slid only once on his way back to Beth and Marcus.
The knotted rope was in Beth’s hands.
“We have to measure again,” Patrick said.
Marcus nodded. “Throw the weight into the sea, Beth,” he said. “It will continue to go down until it reaches the sea floor.”
Beth threw the weight into the sea. She counted the knots as they went into the water after it.
“Why does he want it measured again?” Patrick asked.
“A smaller number means we are headed toward land,” Marcus said. “A larger measure means we’re headed away from land.”
Beth said, “We are at ninety feet.”
Marcus frowned.
Patrick knew why. The ship might be headed toward a rocky shore. The ship could be dashed to pieces.
Four Anchors
Beth was out of breath by the time they reached the centurion.
Marcus said, “We’re at ninety feet.”
Julius’s eyebrows rose. “Drop the anchors,” he commanded.
Sailors rushed across the deck. Marcus hurried to help them.
Beth and Patrick moved to the side and watched.
“This might be a good thing,” Beth said.
Patrick gave her an odd look. He said, “Crashing into rocks?”
“No,” she said. “Didn’t Luke say aloe grows in many places around this sea?” She smiled.
“I understand,” Patrick said. “We can find an aloe plant once we’re on land. We can test it with Whit’s gadget.”
Beth watched the sailors work. The anchors were bigger than the sailors. One by one all four anchors were lowered into the sea.
The ship slowed.
“How will we get to shore?” Patrick asked. “We can’t swim. The waves are too wild.”
Beth knew that was true. She’d seen the mast snapped in two by the waves.
The ship came to a stop. The lines to the anchors were tight. The anchors kept the ship from moving forward.
“I have an idea,” Patrick said. “There’s a lifeboat on deck. Maybe we can row it to land and find the aloe ourselves. We could be back at Whit’s End before breakfast.”
“I didn’t know they had lifeboats on Roman ships,” Beth said. “Do they have enough for everyone?”
“I don’t know,” Patrick said. “But I’ll show you the one I saw.” He started walking away from the back of the ship.
Beth walked with him. Her tunic slapped her legs. It felt good to be doing something. She was tired of being on the ship.
The cousins reached the bow.
Patrick pointed. “The lifeboat used to be right there,” he said.
Beth looked where he was pointing. A group of sailors was looking over the side of the ship.
“Maybe someone moved it,” Beth said. She walked to the railing and looked over. She saw one wooden lifeboat partway down to the sea.
Sailors were lowering the boat.
“Excuse me,” Beth said. “Where are the other lifeboats?”
The ship rocked to one side. Thunder boomed and rain poured down.
Beth grabbed the railing to keep from falling.
The sailors scowled at her.
“We’re throwing smaller anchors into the sea,” a sailor said.
Patrick looked at Beth and then at the sailors. “No, you aren’t. You’re lowering the small boat,” he said.
One of the sailors came toward them. “You don’t understand,” he said. He seemed nervous. “To release the smaller anchors, we go out in the lifeboat. We don’t drop them next to the ship.”
“But you don’t have any anchors,” Patrick said.
“You children get out of here,” another sailor said. “We have work to do.”
Beth turned to Patrick. “Let’s find a different lifeboat,” she said.
“I didn’t see any others on our way here,” Patrick said.
“Is there only one?” Beth asked
“Maybe.” Patrick held on to the railing. He said, “I wonder what the sailors are really doing with the boat.”
“I don’t know,” Beth said. “I feel bad. We were thinking of taking the only lifeboat.”
“I feel bad too,” Patrick said. “I d
on’t think our plan would have worked anyway. The boat looked too heavy for us. Let’s find Paul. He’ll know what the sailors were doing.”
The cousins walked back to the center of the ship.
Paul, Aris, and Luke were on their knees in prayer. “Mighty Lord,” Paul said, “I know you have promised to keep us safe. Now I pray for daylight.”
Lightning flashed. It lit up the deck.
Beth was surprised. Those three men weren’t the only ones praying. People all over the deck were praying. Some were praying with loud cries and groans.
Are they afraid the ship is going to hit the rocks? she wondered.
A Final Meal
Paul finished praying. He smiled. “Ah, you have just missed being refreshed through prayer,” he said.
But not all the passengers looked refreshed.
Patrick frowned. He had missed praying with Paul.
“And we’ve come looking for you. Something strange is happening,” Beth said.
“What is that?” Paul asked. He leaned in closer.
“Before I explain that, Patrick and I have something to confess,” Beth said. “We wanted to find an aloe plant.”
“On the ship?” Luke asked. He chuckled softly.
“No,” Patrick said. “We were going to take one of the lifeboats. We thought we could row to land. The ship is close to the shore. We didn’t know there was only one lifeboat.”
“But sailors were already using it,” Beth said. “They might be leaving the ship.”
“What?” Paul said. His voice carried across the deck.
Luke leaned toward them. “Are you sure?” he asked.
“They said they were lowering anchors,” Beth said.
“They would need the lifeboat to drop small anchors,” Aris said. “Very dangerous but quite common.”
Patrick said, “But there weren’t any anchors in the lifeboat.”
Aris frowned.
“Julius needs to know,” Paul said. He stood and started walking. “Come. You must tell him what you saw and heard,” he said.
The wind caused Paul’s cloak to billow around him.
Swept Into the Sea Page 3