Doctor Who_ Island of Death - Barry Letts [38]
Sarah found that, unaccountably, the very fact that she was tightly wedged into a position that made her one with the movement of the ship took away the ghastly nausea that came from the conflicting messages of her body. As long as she kept her eyes shut, held in the cradle of the bunk and Bob‟s suitcase she was able to sink into a comatose semi-trance, and eventually into a deep dreamless sleep.
And, miracle of miracles, when she woke up - it was mid-afternoon, just after 3.30 - she not only felt quite better, but ravenously hungry, and eager to experience for herself what a real full gale felt like. She wasn‟t likely to get another chance.
Food could wait.
She was beginning to get her sealegs too. Though the motion of the ship was just as extreme, it seemed to her to have lost its violence, and was more regular, more predictable. After all, she thought as she clambered up the ladder on her way to the upper deck, even Nelson used to be seasick when he went back to sea after a spell at home.
Sammy would have been proud of her. She was a real sailor after all.
When she poked her nose out of the door onto the deck, she realised why it felt so different. The howling gale had gone. There was now no more than a strong breeze; and the waves had settled into a deep rolling swell, which the Hallaton was punching through almost as if she was enjoying herself in the fitful sunlight. True, when she was in the trough, the tops were as high as the bridge, or even higher; and her bow was still alternately plunging into the water and pointing at the still turbulent sky. But at least she wasn‟t rolling from side to side and staggering like a comedy drunk any more.
But the waves! As you rose to the top you could see them stretched in regular ranks far out to the horizon, and every one different and constantly changing, like a mobile work of art sculpted by a giant hand.
This was something like it! Clorinda would give her a double-page spread for shots like this.
Off she went to get her camera.
„Take over, Number One. And try to keep the bloody ship steady, will you? Can you manage that, do you think? I‟m going to get my head down. Give me a shake if there‟s any change.‟
Well, that‟s got rid of him for a bit, thought the Brigadier as the door closed behind Eugene Hogben. For this relief, much thanks... Granny McDougal was always quoting Shake-speare. Macbeth, wasn‟t it? Or Hamlet. One of those.
He looked doubtfully over at Pete Andrews. He was standing by the helmsman (who was still the grizzled Petty Officer Hardy, the veteran cox‟n who had piloted them through the storm). He was staring grimly ahead, and showed no signs of turning the ship back onto the southbound course that would take them to Stella Island.
Should he say something?
He glanced at the door to the port wing of the bridge. The Doctor was still out there - hadn‟t come in for hours. Perhaps he could persuade him to come and have a go.
On the other hand, he‟d got short shrift from him when he‟d suggested it earlier.
„Er... Is there any chance of our getting back on course?‟ he asked.
Andrews turned and looked at him, angry and preoccupied.
„I‟m sorry?‟
„I was just asking about the way we‟re heading. I mean, now that the gale is over...‟
Andrews‟ face cleared, and he became, again, the amiable teddy-bear of a man they‟d all come to respect. „Forgive me, sir. The last few hours have been a little stressful, to say the least. No, I‟m afraid we‟ll have to wait a while. It‟s not just the wind, you see. With a swell like this, it still wouldn‟t be safe.‟
„Ah! You mean we might... er... broach to?‟
The First Lieutenant looked surprised. „Precisely,‟ he said.
„Yes, well...What does that mean exactly?‟ It was hardly the sort of thing they taught at Sandhurst, for God‟s sake!
Petty Officer Hardy took his eyes off the gyro-repeater compass for a moment, and started to speak, „Well, it‟s like this... Oh sorry, sir.‟
But the First Lieutenant didn‟t seem to mind his interrup-tion. „No, no, Cox‟n. You‟ve had far more experience of this sort of thing than I have.