I felt a nudge at my elbow. It was Hari. She looked pale and tired in spite of spending much of her time sleeping. Her hand sought mine and I gave it a squeeze, happy that she was up and out of our cabin.
“Ladies and gentlemen,” Captain Hellyer called, coming out into the centre of the upper deck. “As you can no doubt see for yourselves, we are heading into a gale. The barometric pressure is extremely low, which means this will be a storm force we seldom see. But there’s no need to panic. The Tynemouth is an extremely sturdy ship. She’s withstood major gales in the Black and Mediterranean Seas when she was on duty with the Royal Navy. But for safety’s sake, no one will be allowed on the decks for any reason during the storm, so I’d kindly ask you all to return to your cabins.”
As people quickly began to disperse, Reverend Burk waved his arms in the air to capture Captain Hellyer’s attention. “Please, Captain, a moment for the Lord. Let us pray for deliverance.”
Without waiting for Captain Hellyer’s permission, he and Mrs. Burk clutched hands and bowed their heads. The captain sighed deeply, dropped his chin slightly, and closed his eyes.
“Let’s go,” I said to Harriet, a prickle of anxiety taking root in my brain. But our pace was slow because there were too many people in front of us blocking the deck, all trying to make it through the main door that led directly into the dining room.
“Dear Lord, look down upon these poor, wretched souls and save us from this devil-sent apocalypse,” Reverend Burk began. “Smite the devil, dear Lord, so that we, with your grace, may survive this journey through the fringes of hell and live to glory in your bright light another day.”
I smelled the tropical dampness—a mixture of palm, cocoa, and sugar cane—before I saw the rogue wave bearing down on us. It was still some distance away but moving at incredible speed. We had to go.
“And, Lord, for those of us wretched sinners who are not destined to survive this cataclysmic catastrophe, take us unto your bosom, Lord. Forgive us our sins and make room in the kingdom of heaven. Let us sit at the feet of Jesus for all eternity.”
“Wave!” a woman in the crowd screamed.
Captain Hellyer looked up and saw the curtain of white headed towards us. “Everyone inside!”
There was a moment of eerie calm when the muggy air seemed to stand still, and then the crowd surged forward. Beside me, Harriet tripped, and as I stooped to reach for her, I felt a hand pulling me up.
“John,” I said. He didn’t say anything, only kept a tight grip on Harriet and me, pulling us through the crowd.
“Bring her about, Mr. Fulbright,” Captain Hellyer yelled shrilly at the pilot. The wind snatched at his words, but I could just make out, “Head into the wind or we’ll be swamped!”
The boat lurched to one side and we struggled to remain upright as a sheet of blinding, stinging water pummeled the ship, surging over the deck and soaking our bodies. We worked our way along the deck, past several cabins until we reached our door. John didn’t let go until we were safely inside.
The three of us stood there wet and shivering until I rummaged through our things and found towels to wrap up in. “Thank you for your help out there,” I said to John. It was only then that I noticed he had a thick rope tied around his waist and crisscrossed across his chest and back.
“What’s this for?”
“It’s a harness so I can’t be washed overboard.”
“Why? You’re not going back out there?”
“Yes, I’m moving the animal pens. The cow and pigs aren’t safe where they are, so we’re moving them up to this deck.” He couldn’t suppress a grin. “They’ll be travelling first-class from now on.”
“And so they should.” I smiled back. “But be careful.”
“Yes, please do take good care, Reverend Crossman,” Hari said, and her voice was sincere. “You’ve been very kind to help us today. Thank you.”
John nodded, then headed out of our cabin directly onto the storm-tossed deck. Hari and I set about changing out of our wet things and then we vowed to remain safely where we were for the storm’s duration. But I couldn’t help but worry about John.
Chapter Twenty-six
I poured myself a glass of sherry to steady my nerves and sat up with my book even though the gyrations of the ship made it hard to read. I was surprised Hari could sleep. I thought back to the first storm, when I discovered Hari’s addiction. She had slept through that gale as well, I recalled. And then it struck me, her listlessness, declining health, and endless sleeping—Hari was taking drugs again.
“No, no, no, no,” I muttered, getting up and going into her room. “Harriet,” I said, but she didn’t stir. Her breathing was very shallow and her pulse was hard to find. I opened the drawer in the bedside table. Several spent vials rattled in the bottom of the space. I had no idea how much she had taken today, but it must have been more than the two she took to get her through the first storm. I tried to shake her, but with no luck.
“How could you do this again?” I yelled, but I knew the answer. And I knew that she would die if I didn’t get help soon. I had to find Dr. Carson.
As I opened the front door of our cabin, the storm, in all its fury, took my breath away. The sound struck me first. The wind had turned the sail spars on all three masts into high-pitched tuning forks, screeching a
