Within a week, Leah was becoming proficient at her chores. The wind had been steady but not brisk, so the sailing had been slow and uneventful. Land was a distant memory. She marveled at the endless water all around the ship, and often watched her father's ship in the lead. The crew viewed her as shy, enabling her to avoid conversation most of the time, and when asked to do a job, she would simply nod.
This morning Leah woke when she tumbled off her hammock. The weather had changed and now the ship heaved to and fro like a toy in the hands of a child. She climbed up out of the galley to the deck and peered out. Never had she seen the ocean so dark. Waves violently crashed over the bow of the ship, testing the strength of the wooden vessel. She looked for the other two ships, but they were only visible on the tops of the swells. Leah feared the three ships might get separated. About the deck the crew was busy working the sails, and everyone ignored her. She went on deck and grabbed the mast, hanging on tightly, mesmerized by the angry ocean.
“Squall coming!” one of the sailors, Radbert, yelled. Leah looked to her right. A wall of water was heading directly towards the ship, and she thought it would be sunk for sure.
“Lee! Get below!” Gervase ordered, but she was too frightened to move. “Go below!” he repeated. Leah clung tenaciously as her bandanna flew off her head and her short curls blew wildly in the wind.
It was too late to go below. The squall was about to hit the ship. Gervase crawled over to Leah and tied a line around both of them and the mast. “Hang on,” he called. Both clung as a sheet of water drenched the ship. The squall seemed to last forever, flooding the deck and tossing the ship. Leah felt the ocean clawing at her, prying her away from safety. She choked on water and gasped for air, clinging to the line.
When the worst of it was over, Gervase untied her and told her to go below. She did, not venturing topside again until the weather calmed. The crew worked through the day and most of the night to repair the damage. By the time they finished, they were exhausted and quickly falling to sleep in their hammocks.
Leah went up on deck the next morning. She was seasick now, and hoped the fresh air would help, but it didn’t. Gervase came over and secured her to the side of the ship so she wouldn’t fall overboard. “You let your stomach get too empty.”
“What?” she whispered weakly.
“You need to eat.” He looked sympathetic. “You never done this before, have you?”
She didn’t answer. No need to talk if she could avoid it.
“I thought as much. No matter. Everyone has a first time. That storm was hard. You’ll get your sea legs soon.” He patted her shoulder and then returned to his duties.
All Leah could think was would she ever feel better again? Her stomach hurt and she closed her eyes tightly hoping that not looking over the constant motion of the waves would improve her lot. But she felt just as bad two hours later, when Leah looked up from her mournful perch on the port side of the ship, where she remained secured by the line. She gasped, and then screamed. Two sailors, Irwyn and Byron, hurried next to her and looked out over the water where she was pointing.
“What is that?” she asked.
“A water spout,” Byron said as they stood quietly, watching the funnel of water in the distance, twisting and turning high into the sky.
“Are we going to die?” Leah whispered.
“Not if it doesn’t come this way,” Byron answered. The whole ship watched silently as the funnel circled about in the water several hundred feet away. Leah stared in fascination and fear as the sea monster danced around the ship. Peter was right. She didn’t know all the dangers of the sea.
Slowly they sailed past the funnel. She looked around for the other two ships and was relieved to see them following alongside.
“Tis a bad omen,” Irwyn said.
Gervase countered, “We’ll have no such talk, Irwyn.”
Irwyn muttered and returned to his job. Leah looked around. Gervase told her, “Lee, you got chores to do. Sailors can’t let sickness stop them. You need to get back to your tasks.”
She untied the lines securing her, walked shakily back to the galley and climbed the ladder below. She ate some bread and sat down for a moment, feeling only slightly better. She slipped into her bunk and was soon asleep.