Closing
the majestic red story-book, Tallimar's mother slid the
safety-bar across the four-year old's berth, covered him
with a small blanket, then mounted the wooden stairs that
led to the main deck. When she emerged, her husband voiced
his concern about the new crewman he had recently hired.
"I
may have made a mistake," he shook his head,
"There is something about him."
Harris
watched as the man called Rogers stood on the bow of the
motor-sailor while in the distance the dark blue sky
challenged the western horizon. Meg's kerchief battled the
rising wind as Harris suddenly yelled, "Rogers, watch
that line!"
The
wind had appeared in it's cloak of invisibility and took the
sail. Roger's inexperience had lead to his mishandling of
the nylon lines, causing them to career wildly across the
open deck. They caught both men by surprise, casting them
like toy soldiers into the boiling sea. The mast snapped in
two with a grinding crash, flinging sail and ropes down upon
the two men.
Meg
and the first mate, Jope, watched helplessly as the two men
slipped beneath the surface of the tossing waves. The mast,
now completely submerged, sank like a stone, sucking both
men down past the white coral reef.
Rogers
drew a sharp knife from his waist-band and began to hack
furiously at the bindings. Such was the fury of his efforts,
he was free in seconds. Thinking only of his own safety, he
pulled free of the mast and began to swim painfully to the
surface, leaving Harris to his own devices.
Raging
in anger, Harris forged his wilful spirit with his seaman's
strength and broke free from the tangled web. Being a
superior swimmer, in mere seconds he came face to face with
this man who has left him to die. Within twenty feet of the
surface, a strange physical tingling began to overwhelmed
the bodies of the two men.
to
be continued....
The Complete Story
