Travel Scholarships

12. Crossing the Atlantic

{ 117 C r o s s i n g t H e a t l a n t i C And who knows? Wasn’t number twenty-eight the one recommendation that had to be trusted the most? Here are its exact words: “Do nothing in order to avoid seasickness!” Crossing the Atlantic Navigation proceeded under conditions that were favorable enough, and it must be noted that Mr. Horatio Patterson’s state had not become worse—on the contrary. Needless to say, he had given up holding a lemon between his fingers. Most certainly, the collodion rubs of Wagah had not failed to have a certain effect. The mentor’s stomach was reestablishing its chronometric regularity, reminiscent of the ticking of his bursar’s office clock back at the Antillean School. From time to time they passed through squalls that shook the Alert violently. The ship withstood them without any problems. Moreover, the crew maneuvered so skillfully under Harry Markel’s command that the young passengers were amazed—especially Tony Renault and Magnus Anders. They lent a hand, whether to strike the high sails, or to brace the yards, or to reef the main, operations made easier by the double topsail yards. If Mr. Patterson was not there to recommend caution , he was reassured knowing that John Carpenter was watching over the young topmen with an almost paternal solicitude, and with good cause. What is more, the atmospheric disturbance did not become a heavy storm. The wind was holding from the east and the Alert was making good time. Among other distractions that this crossing of the Atlantic provided was the pleasure of fishing, which the scholarship-recipients did with both passion and success. They set long lines with dragnets, paying close attention to their work as do true disciples of this great art, and bringing back all kinds of fish on each hook. It was the normally cool Albertus Leuwen and the patient Hubert Perkins who showed the most enjoyment and displayed the most zeal for this activity. The menu for the meals were happily supplemented by the delicious results, thanks to open-sea fish like mackerel, dolphin, sturgeon, cod, and tuna that the crew also enjoyed. 12 P a r t i 118 } Certainly, Mr. Patterson would have taken the greatest pleasure in following the results of the fishing, but if he left his cabin, it was still only to breathe fresh air. Of course, he was not less interested in observing the frolics of the porpoises, dolphins leaping and plunging on the side of the Alert, and in hearing the cries of the young passengers admiring the prodigious somersaults and tumbles of these ocean clowns! “Here go two that jumped so high we could have used them for target practice!” declared one. “And these two are going to run into the bow stem!” exclaimed another . The supple and agile animals gathered in schools of fifteen or twenty, now at the bow, now in the wake of the ship. And they moved faster than it did, too. They appeared on one side, and one moment later they would show up at the other after passing under the keel. They would leap three or four feet high into the air and would fall back down making graceful silhouettes, and the eye could follow them deep into the greenish waters, so clear and transparent. Several times, at the request of the passengers, John Carpenter and Corty attempted to capture one of the porpoises, to hit them with harpoons . They were unsuccessful due to the animals’ great agility. They had better luck with the sharks that lived in that zone of the Atlantic. Their voracity was such that they would jump onto any object that fell into the sea; a hat, a bottle, a piece of wood, a bit of rope. Everything is edible to their formidable stomachs, and they store what they are not able to digest. On the day of July 7, they caught a shark that measured no less than twelve feet in length. As it swallowed the hook baited with leftover meat, it struggled with such violence that the crew had a hard time reeling it up onto the bridge. Louis Clodion and his classmates were there, watching the gigantic monster not without some fear, and upon John Carpenter’s suggestion, they were kept from getting too close, since a whack from its tail would have been dreadful. The shark was quickly struck with an ax and...