Part 23 (1/2)

Still furious that their progress was being hampered by nothing more than a split knee, Roger continued to set a brisk pace. He decided that if the others couldn't keep up with him, so be it. He'd leave them to fend for themselves, and if they all died, he'd have to forgo the pleasure of Annie's company, but otherwise would be rid of five stones in his shoe. ”I won't wait!” he shouted, not bothering to listen to their replies. ”So you'd better start to drag the old hag!”

THE SEA HAD MUTATED into some kind of wet inferno. The wind whipped up waves that rocked the lifeboat to and fro. As the waves crested, their tops were gathered by the wind and sent flying horizontally. The sky was the shade of coal. The air was so laden with rain that it seemed a mere extension of the sea. Like the salt water, the rain sailed almost horizontally, pelting the side of the lifeboat so ferociously that the noise produced was almost as loud as the shrieking wind.

Turning to eye the distant sh.o.r.eline, Joshua looked for the break in the cliffs that marked the entrance to the cave. Though visibility was too poor for him to see their destination, he knew he was headed in the right direction. Now that he'd rounded the tip of the island and was rowing toward the eastern sh.o.r.e, the wind was directly behind him and pushed the lifeboat forward as if it were a leaf.

”Ratu!” he shouted. ”Ratu, get to the bow and warn me of any reefs!”

Ratu stumbled forward, the rain stinging his exposed flesh. ”What do I do?”

”Tell me how far the reefs are ahead, and whether they're on the port or starboard side!”

”Starboard?”

”Right or left! Tell me if they're on the right or left!”

Lightning cracked overhead, and Joshua cursed himself for putting them in such danger. He'd been foolish to think he could outrun the storm. Wiping salt water from his eyes with a b.l.o.o.d.y hand, he continued to row, staring straight back behind the boat, watching the storm grow closer. Like most seamen, he considered storms to be living things. He knew that this one was feeding off the warm waters of the South Pacific, feeding and growing larger. How far away is the eye? he wondered, trying to fight his way through his panic. How much time do we have?

”What can I do?” Isabelle shouted.

”Watch for rocks! Help Ratu watch for rocks!”

Joshua tried to row as upright as possible, for with the wind blowing them straight into sh.o.r.e, his body acted as a sail. ”Must be a sixty-knot wind,” he muttered to himself, knowing that it would grow stronger. ”Oh, Lord, please let me get them to safety. Please protect them.”

”A rock to the right!” Ratu screamed.

Joshua stuck his right oar deeply into the sea and pulled his left oar from it. The lifeboat immediately turned from danger.

”Brilliant!” Ratu yelled. ”b.l.o.o.d.y good work, Captain!”

A new roar grew to fill his ears, and Joshua realized that they were approaching the surf. ”Find a channel!” he shouted. ”Find a channel free of rocks and get us to the beach!”

Thunder boomed, causing each of them to duck lower. ”There's a way!” Isabelle announced. ”When I tell you, go to the left!”

Joshua glanced at the bottom of the lifeboat and saw that it had a good four inches of water in it. He started to ask Ratu to bail once more, but decided that he didn't want him leaving the bow.

”Now!” Isabelle shouted. ”Go left!”

Joshua did as she commanded and the lifeboat slowly changed course.

”And now straight!” she said.

He put his weight equally behind both oars, pulling hard.

”And now right! Right, Joshua, right!”

Hearing the panic in her voice, he furiously worked to get the boat to change direction again. The waves were growing larger as they approached the sh.o.r.e, and each swell rolled the boat forward. He knew that if a wave picked the boat up and dropped it on a reef, they'd be swimming for their lives.

”That's it!” Ratu yelled. ”Ha! Good job, Captain! Cracking good job, I tell you!”

”Yes!” Isabelle added. ”Yes, now just go forward! We've a straight shot to the beach!”

”Keep looking for rocks!” Joshua shouted, blood dripping from his palms. ”Ratu, start bailing! Get that water out of here!”

Wis.h.i.+ng that his father could see him, Ratu jumped to the floor of the lifeboat and began to dump out water as quickly as possible. The wind screamed in his ears and the rain stung his eyes. He looked behind and saw a large wave rolling toward them. ”Captain!”

”Hold on!” Joshua yelled, frantically trying to keep in front of the wave. The lifeboat managed to for an instant. Then the wave lifted it up and carried it ahead. Joshua felt the bow of the lifeboat tipping too far forward and he instinctively leaned back to try to counter the movement under him. Miraculously, the bow didn't disappear beneath the sea, but struck sand. Everyone and everything was thrown forward. Fortunately, Isabelle and Ratu had been holding on to the benches and succeeded in remaining in place. Joshua's grip slipped from the wet oars and he tumbled toward the bow, careening into the bench beside Isabelle. The air was hammered from his lungs, and, struggling to breathe, he rolled out of the lifeboat and into the shallows. His chest still throbbing, he dragged the craft behind him toward the beach. Isabelle and Ratu joined him, and the three of them pulled the boat as far as possible out of the water.

”You two . . . take the food and supplies . . . inside the cave,” Joshua said, still trying to catch his breath. Worried that the typhoon would destroy the lifeboat, he ran twenty paces to a boulder the size of a small pillow. He wrenched the boulder from the sand and carried it to the lifeboat, setting it on the floor of the vessel. He repeated the process at least ten more times. At that point, he felt he had enough weight in the boat that no wind could carry it away.

”Thank you, Lord,” Joshua whispered, making a sign of the cross. He grabbed whatever supplies remained in the boat and followed Isabelle's tracks to the cave, flying sand stinging his exposed flesh as he moved ahead. He hoped that the rest of the party would already be there, but upon entering the cavern saw that it was empty save Isabelle and Ratu. Groaning, he said a quick prayer for their safety and hurried to Isabelle. Putting his hands against either side of her face, he asked anxiously, ”Are you alright? Is the-”

”Shhh,” she said, placing a finger against his lips. ”Everything's fine.”

”Are you sure?”

”I'm sure.”

He hugged her tightly. ”I'm sorry to have put you through that,” he said, feeling her belly, weak with relief that she and their child were safe.

She kissed his cheek. ”I'm fine, Joshua.”

”I can't believe how b.l.o.o.d.y big this place is!” Ratu exclaimed, gazing about in wonder. ”It's like the inside of an old church!”

Ratu's enthusiasm had a slightly calming affect on Joshua, who reached out and squeezed his shoulder. ”You were a wonderful first lieutenant.”

”I was?”

”You most certainly were,” Isabelle added. ”I don't think we'd have made it without you.”

Ratu fingered the tooth on his necklace. ”Would you . . . would you call me that, Captain?”

”First lieutenant?”

”Yes, please.”

Despite his throbbing hands and fear for the other party, Joshua tried to smile. ”I certainly will.”

”Thank you, Captain. I tell you, my father will be so happy about that.”

Joshua turned to Isabelle and shook his head. ”I don't know why they're not here. They should be.”