The Baroque Cycle - The Confusion Part 59

"North," said van Hoek. "They say that if we turn east too soon, we will make it most of the way across the Pacific, only to be becalmed, almost within sight of America, where we'll starve to death."

This conversation happened at dawn. It was midday before Minerva Minerva's topmasts could be raised again, and midafternoon before she was under way, sailing north by northeast. Every man was busy repairing the s.h.i.+p, and those who had no skills at carpentry or rope-work were sent down to the bilge to collect quicksilver that had trickled down there from broken flasks.

Two days later they grazed the fortieth parallel, which put them at the same lat.i.tude as the northern extremes of j.a.pan. Van Hoek finally consented to sail towards America. His intention was to hew closely to forty degrees, which (according to a bit of lore he had pried out of a drunken Spanish sea-captain in Manila) would lead eventually to Cape Mendocino. But this went the way of all intentions a day later when he discovered that some combination of winds, currents, and wandering compa.s.s-needle had driven them down almost to thirty nine degrees. He laughed at this, and that evening when they gathered in the dining cabin to saw at planks of dried beef and flick maggots out of their beans, he explained why: "Legend would have it that the Spaniards have found out some secret way across the Pacific Ocean. It is a good legend because it prevents Dutchmen, Englishmen, and other prudent Protestants from attempting the voyage. But now I know the truth, which is that they wander wander across, driven north and south w.i.l.l.y-nilly, placing their lives and estates in the hands of innumerable saints. So let us drink to any saints who may be listening!" across, driven north and south w.i.l.l.y-nilly, placing their lives and estates in the hands of innumerable saints. So let us drink to any saints who may be listening!"

Thus they wandered for most of October. It turned out that the storm had done irreparable injury to the foremast, rendering it more trouble than it was worth, and so they lost a knot or two. Sometimes the wind would grow frigid and bear down out of the north, pus.h.i.+ng them toward the lat.i.tude of thirty-five degrees, which was the lowest that van Hoek would tolerate. Then they would have to work painstakingly into the wind. The cold spray blew into the faces of the Filipino and Malay sailors like chips of flint. Van Hoek's insistence on remaining far to the north led them to grumble. Jack did not think they were going to mutiny, but he could easily imagine circ.u.mstances in which they would would. The difference in climate between thirty-five and forty degrees was considerable, and winter was making no secret of its intentions.

They had no idea where they were. Indeed, the very notion of being somewhere lost its hold on their minds after they had gone for a month without seeing any land; if some Fellow of the Royal Society had been a-board with a newfangled instrument for measuring longitude, the figures would have meant nothing to them. Van Hoek made estimates based on their speed, and at one point announced that they had probably crossed over the meridian dividing the East from the West Hemisphere. But under close interrogation from Moseh, he admitted that it might have happened last week or that it might happen a week in the future.

Jack saw no difference between East water and West water. They were in a part of the world that, on the Doctor's maps, either had not appeared at all (it being considered sinful wastefulness to leave such a large expanse of fine vellum blank) or else had been covered up by some vast Barock cartouche with words printed on it in five-hundred-mile-high letters, surrounded by bare-breasted mermaids blasting away on conch-sh.e.l.ls. Minerva Minerva had crawled underneath the legends, compa.s.s-roses, a.n.a.lemmas, and cartouches that were superimposed on all the world's maps and globes, and vanished from all charts, ceased to exist. Jack had a phant'sy of some young Princess in a drawing-room staring at a map, and seeing a bit of movement under the eastern edge of some bit of engraver's had crawled underneath the legends, compa.s.s-roses, a.n.a.lemmas, and cartouches that were superimposed on all the world's maps and globes, and vanished from all charts, ceased to exist. Jack had a phant'sy of some young Princess in a drawing-room staring at a map, and seeing a bit of movement under the eastern edge of some bit of engraver's trompe l'oeil, trompe l'oeil, a sc.r.a.p of faux-weather-beaten scrollwork where the cartographer had writ his name. She would suppose it to be a wandering silverfish at first-then, peering at it through a magnifying lens, would resolve the outlines of a certain s.h.i.+p filled with mercury... a sc.r.a.p of faux-weather-beaten scrollwork where the cartographer had writ his name. She would suppose it to be a wandering silverfish at first-then, peering at it through a magnifying lens, would resolve the outlines of a certain s.h.i.+p filled with mercury...

Anyway, he was not the only man aboard seeing strange visions, for one day early in November, the lookout let out a wail of mingled fear and confusion. It was not a cheering kind of sound, coming from a lookout, and so it got the attention of every man on board.

"He says that there is a s.h.i.+p in the distance-but not a s.h.i.+p of this world," Dappa said.

"What the h.e.l.l does that mean?" van Hoek demanded.

"She sails upside-down. She leaps from place to place and her form s.h.i.+fts, as if she were a droplet of quicksilver trapped between sea and sky."

Jack found this marvelously poetickal, but van Hoek was all ready with a tedious explanation: "Tell him he is only seeing a mirage. It might be another s.h.i.+p that lies over the horizon, or it might be a reflection of our own vessel. But there is probably not another s.h.i.+p within two thousand miles of us, and so it is most likely the latter."

But every man who was not busy with something else ascended the ratlines and got in position to view this entertainment. Jack got up sooner and higher than most. As a shareholder, he slept in a cabin instead of belowdecks, and as an Englishman he kept his windows open unless there was a positive hurricane blowing, and he had escaped the never-ending round of catarrhs, influenzas, rheumatic malfunctions, and foebrile disorders that eddied through the crew. At any rate he had more energy and better lungs than they did and so he climbed all the way to the topmast trestletrees: high enough that he could take in Minerva Minerva's whole length at a glance. At first the mirage was not visible, but van Hoek said that this was the common way of mirages and to be patient. So while he was being patient in the topmast trestletrees, Jack looked down at the crew, struggling up the ratlines and coughing, spitting, and scratching themselves just like the audience in a theatre, waiting for the show to begin. This was not such a bad similitude either. From the point of view of a drawing-room Princess, Minerva Minerva had vanished underneath a florid mermaid-cartouche. But from had vanished underneath a florid mermaid-cartouche. But from Minerva Minerva's point of view, it was the world that had disappeared-somewhat as players do when the story pauses between acts. With their wigs, costumes, swords, and stage-props they exeunt; nothing happens for a while; the audience s.h.i.+fts, mutters, farts, cracks hazel-nuts, hawks up phlegm; and if it is a better cla.s.s of theatre, there begins a little play-within-the-play, an entr'acte entr'acte.

"Mira!" someone shouted, and Jack looked up to see it. someone shouted, and Jack looked up to see it.

The phantom-s.h.i.+p appeared to be no more than a cannon-shot away from them. At times it appeared quite normal and solid. Then it would split into two symmetrical images, one right-side-up and one upside-down, or it would warp and flit about, like a drop trapped between panes of gla.s.s and being moved hither and thither by the pressure of a finger.

But when it was solid and stable for a moment, it was obviously not Minerva Minerva but some other s.h.i.+p. It had men on it, and they had trimmed her sails to run before the wind, just as but some other s.h.i.+p. It had men on it, and they had trimmed her sails to run before the wind, just as Minerva Minerva was doing. Several of them had climbed into her rigging to gawk and point at something. was doing. Several of them had climbed into her rigging to gawk and point at something.

"Does she have any cannon run out?" van Hoek inquired.

"It would be a strange part of the world to go a-pirating," said Dappa.

"Hmph!"

"She is running up a flag," said Moseh de la Cruz. "She must see us, as we see her!"

Red silk bloomed in the mirage, a sudden billowing of flame. In the middle of it a gold cross and some other heraldic designs. Every man sighed at once.

"It is the Manila Galleon!" Jack announced.

At this news van Hoek finally bestirred himself. He climbed to the maintop and began trying to fix his spygla.s.s on the mirage, which was like trying to spear a flea with a jack-knife. There was a certain amount of cursing in Dutch. Jack had spent enough time with van Hoek to know why: For all her bulk and shoddy construction, the Manila Galleon had not only survived; she had come through the storm in better condition than Minerva Minerva, or at least without losing any of her masts.

After that it hailed for two straight days. One of the older sailors remarked that hail never occurred far from land. The wind came about into their teeth, and as they'd been pushed by inscrutable currents dangerously close to thirty-five degrees, they had no choice but to sail northwest for a day. When the weather cleared and the trade-wind returned, and they were able to steer towards California again, someone sighted a school of tunny fish. All agreed that tunny never ventured far from land-all except for van Hoek, who only rolled his eyes.

The day after that they once again caught sight of the Manila Galleon in a mirage. This time-though the image was fleeting and warped-they saw a jab of flame, which probably meant that the Galleon had fired a cannon in an effort to signal them. All hands shushed each other, but if any sound reached Minerva Minerva it was drowned out by the shus.h.i.+ng. Accordingly van Hoek refused to fire an answering signal; the Galleon, he said, might be a hundred miles away, and there was no point in wasting gunpowder. it was drowned out by the shus.h.i.+ng. Accordingly van Hoek refused to fire an answering signal; the Galleon, he said, might be a hundred miles away, and there was no point in wasting gunpowder.

That evening one far-sighted man insisted he saw a column of smoke to the southeast, which he took to be an infallible sign of land. Van Hoek said it was probably a waterspout. Still, several men loitered at that quarter of the s.h.i.+p, looking at it while the sun went down. Sunsets at this lat.i.tude, in November, were long and gradual, so they had plenty of time to look at this apparition, whatever it was, as the horizontal red light of dusk reflected from it.

Eventually the sun went down, of course, though some clouds high in the eastern sky continued to reflect back a faint glow for a while afterwards.

But there was one spot that refused to stop glowing, as if a spark of sun had flown off and gotten lodged there. It lay over the horizon, along the same bearing as the column of smoke or waterspout seen earlier. Van Hoek now revised his explanation: it was most likely an uncharted volcanic island in the middle of the Pacific. As such it might be naught more than a hot rock. On the other hand it might have streams of fresh water, and birds that could be shot and eaten. Every mouth on the s.h.i.+p was, in an instant, flooded with saliva. So he ordered a change in course, and had more canvas raised, since tomorrow weather might close in and make it difficult to see the volcano and easy to run aground on it.

At first he estimated the distance to the volcano at a hundred miles or more. But the light (which at first they'd seen only by its reflection on a cloud layer above) popped up over the horizon almost immediately, and van Hoek halved the estimate. Then, when flickerings in that light became clearly visible, he halved it again. Finally he declared that this was no volcano but something entirely different, and then everyone understood that, whatever it was, they were no more than a few miles away from it. Van Hoek ordered a prudent reduction in speed. Every man was abovedecks now, b.u.mping into things because dazzled by the light.

They were close enough to see that it was an enormous fire that had by some miracle been kindled on the very surface of the ocean. Crackles and roars came out of it, and it billowed and stretched easily, sometimes drawing itself up and surging hundreds of yards straight up into the air, other times growing squat and spreading out over the hissing surface of the calm sea. At times black shapes became visible in its heart: suggestions of ma.s.sive ribs, and a broken mast clothed in fire. Sparks of green, red, and blue flame appeared here and there as exotic Oriental pigments and minerals were reached by the flames.

At some point they could no longer deny that they were hearing screams. "Socorro! Socorro!" "Socorro! Socorro!" The Spanish word for The Spanish word for help help had a sorrowful rather than an urgent sound. There was sentiment for going in closer, but "We wait for the magazine" was all van Hoek would say. Jack saw a red-hot cannon finally break through the charcoal beams that were supporting it. It dropped clumsily into the bilge and e.j.a.c.u.l.a.t.ed a vast cloud of steam that blurred and dimmed the fire-light. One man with a very loud voice was crying had a sorrowful rather than an urgent sound. There was sentiment for going in closer, but "We wait for the magazine" was all van Hoek would say. Jack saw a red-hot cannon finally break through the charcoal beams that were supporting it. It dropped clumsily into the bilge and e.j.a.c.u.l.a.t.ed a vast cloud of steam that blurred and dimmed the fire-light. One man with a very loud voice was crying "Socorro! Socorro!" "Socorro! Socorro!" But then he changed over into some Latin prayer. But then he changed over into some Latin prayer.

He was halfway through it when all of the gunpowder on the Manila Galleon exploded at once. Flaming planks streaked away in every direction, blazing with the white heat of a forge as air shrieked over them, rapidly burning away to black cinders that plopped and sizzled in the water all around. Some landed on the s.h.i.+p and burnt little holes through her sails or started small fires on her deck, but van Hoek had long since ordered men to stand by with buckets, and so all flames were smartly doused.

It was near dawn before they could mount any serious attempt to look for survivors. The longboat had been taken apart and stowed, and in the darkness it took hours to get its pieces out, put it together, and launch it. Though no one came out and said as much, it was understood (as how could it not be) that everyone aboard Minerva Minerva was starving to death was starving to death to begin with to begin with and that matters would only get worse with each survivor that was plucked out of the water. and that matters would only get worse with each survivor that was plucked out of the water.

At dawn they set out in the longboat and began rowing toward what had been the Galleon. She had burnt to the waterline, and now was just a shoe, a sole afloat in the Pacific, likely to fill up and sink as soon as the seas rose. Curls of cinnamon-bark dotted the surface of the water, each one looking like a small burnt s.h.i.+p itself. Around the hulk spread a mora.s.s of Chinese silk, ruined by fire and sea-water but still more gaily colored than anything their eyes had seen since their final wh.o.r.ehouse-visits in Manila four months earlier. The silk caught on the longboat's oars and came out of the water with each stroke, giving them gorgeous glimpses of tropical birds and flowers before sliding off and sinking into the gray Pacific. A map floated on the surface, a square of white parchment no longer parched. Its ink was dissolving, images of land, parallels, and meridians fading away until it became a featureless white square. Jack fished it up with a boat-hook and held it above his head. "What a stroke of luck!" he exclaimed, "I do believe this map shows our exact location!" But no one laughed.

"MY NAME," SAID THE SURVIVOR, speaking in French, "is Edmund de Ath. I thank you for inviting me to share your mess." speaking in French, "is Edmund de Ath. I thank you for inviting me to share your mess."

It was three days since Jack had pulled him out of the drink and slung him over one of the longboat's benches; this was the first time de Ath had emerged from his berth since then. His voice was still hoa.r.s.e from inhaling smoke and swallowing salt-water. He had joined Jack, Moseh, Vrej, Dappa, Monsieur Arlanc, and van Hoek in the dining cabin, which was the largest and aft-most cabin on the quarterdeck; its back wall was a subtly curved sweep of windows twenty feet wide, affording a splendid view of the sun setting into the Western Pacific. The visitor was drawn inevitably to those windows, and stood there for a few moments with the ruddy light emphasizing the pits and hollows of his face. If he put on two or three stone-which he was likely to do when they reached New Spain-he'd be handsome. As it was, his skull stood a bit too close to the surface. But then the same was true of every man aboard this s.h.i.+p.

"Everything is idiotically plain and stark here, and that goes for the view as well," Jack said. "A line between water and sky, and an orange ball poised above it."

"It is j.a.panese in its simplicity," said Edmund de Ath gravely, "and yet if you only look deeper, Barock complexity and ornament are to be found-observe the tufts of cloud scudding in below the Orb, the delicate curtseying of the waves as they meet-" and then he was off in high-flown French that Jack could not really follow; which prompted Monsieur Arlanc to say "I gather from your accent accent that you are Belgian." Edmund de Ath (1) took this as an insult of moderate severity but (2) was too serene and poised to be troubled by it unduly. With Christian forbearance he responded with something like, "And I gather from the company you keep, monsieur, that you are one of those whose conscience led him to forsake the complexity and contradictions of the Roman church for the simplicity of a rebel creed." That this Belgian friar refrained from using the word that you are Belgian." Edmund de Ath (1) took this as an insult of moderate severity but (2) was too serene and poised to be troubled by it unduly. With Christian forbearance he responded with something like, "And I gather from the company you keep, monsieur, that you are one of those whose conscience led him to forsake the complexity and contradictions of the Roman church for the simplicity of a rebel creed." That this Belgian friar refrained from using the word heretic heretic was noted silently by every man in the cabin. Again he and Arlanc went off into deep French. But van Hoek was clearing his throat a lot and so Jack finally broke in: "The maggots, weevils, mealworms, and mold in those serving-dishes aren't going to keep fresh all night!" was noted silently by every man in the cabin. Again he and Arlanc went off into deep French. But van Hoek was clearing his throat a lot and so Jack finally broke in: "The maggots, weevils, mealworms, and mold in those serving-dishes aren't going to keep fresh all night!"

The only food remaining on the s.h.i.+p was beef jerky, some dried fish, beans, and biscuit. These were steadily being converted into c.o.c.kroaches, worms, maggots, and weevils. They had long since stopped observing any difference between food that had and that had not undergone the conversion, and ate both in the same mouthful.

"According to my faith, I am not allowed to eat any flesh flesh on Friday," said Edmund de Ath, "and so someone else may have my portion of on Friday," said Edmund de Ath, "and so someone else may have my portion of beans beans." He was gazing bemusedly at a raft of maggots that had floated to the surface of his bowl. Van Hoek's face grew red when he understood that their new pa.s.senger was making jests about the food, but before the Dutchman would leap up and get his hands around the throat of the Belgian, Edmund de Ath raised his eyes to the red horizon, delved blindly with his spoon, and brought a stew of beans and bugs to his mouth. "It is better fare than I have had in a month," he announced. "My compliments, Captain van Hoek, on your logistical logistical ac.u.men. Rather than trusting to some ac.u.men. Rather than trusting to some saint saint as the Spanish captains do, you have used the brain G.o.d gave you, and provisioned the s.h.i.+p as the Spanish captains do, you have used the brain G.o.d gave you, and provisioned the s.h.i.+p responsibly. responsibly."

The diplomacy of de Ath only seemed to make van Hoek more suspicious. "What sort of Papist are you, to make light of your own faith?"

"Make light of it? Never, sir. I am a Jansenist. I seek reconciliation with certain Protestants, finding their faith nearer truth than the sophistry of the Jesuits. But I would not bore you with tedious theologickal theologickal discourse-" discourse-"

"How about Jews?" asked Moseh gravely. "We could use an extra Jew on this s.h.i.+p, if you could stretch your principles that that far." far."

"I will not stretch my principles, but I will stretch my mind, mind," said Edmund de Ath, refusing to be baited. "Tell me, what do the rebbes rebbes say concerning the eating of larvae? Kosher, or say concerning the eating of larvae? Kosher, or trayf trayf?"

"I have been thinking of writing a scholarly treatise on that very subject," said Moseh, "but I need access to certain rabbinical writings that are not available in Captain van Hoek's library of nautical lore and picaresque novels."

Everyone laughed-even Monsieur Arlanc, who was hard at work grinding a fragment of boiled jerky against the tabletop with the b.u.t.t of his dagger. His last remaining tooth had fallen out a week ago and so he had to chew his food manually.

They had spent so many years together that they had nothing to say to one another, and so this new fellow-whether they liked him or not-held their attention fast, no matter what he did or said. Even when he was answering Vrej Esphahnian's questions about Jansenist views towards the Armenian Orthodox Church, they could not look at anything else.

After dinner, hot sugar-water was brought out. Dappa finally broached the subject they all wanted to hear about. "Monsieur de Ath, you seemed to take a dim view of the Manila Galleon's management. Without intending disrespect for the recently departed, I would like to know how the disaster came about."

Edmund de Ath brooded for a while. The sun had set and candles had been lit; his face stood out pale, floating in the darkness above the table. "That s.h.i.+p was as Spanish Spanish as this one is as this one is Dutch, Dutch," he said. "The overall situation was more desperate, as the s.h.i.+p was slowly disintegrating and the pa.s.sengers were unruly. But the atmosphere was gay and cheerful, as everyone aboard had given themselves over to the verdict of Fortune. The chief distinction between that s.h.i.+p and this is that this this is a single unitary Enterprise whereas the Manila Galleon belonged to the King of Spain and was a sort of floating bazaar-a commercial Ark supporting diverse business interests, many of which were naturally at odds. Just as Noah must have had his hands full keeping the tigers away from the goats, so the Captain of the Galleon was forever trying to adjudicate among the warring and intriguing is a single unitary Enterprise whereas the Manila Galleon belonged to the King of Spain and was a sort of floating bazaar-a commercial Ark supporting diverse business interests, many of which were naturally at odds. Just as Noah must have had his hands full keeping the tigers away from the goats, so the Captain of the Galleon was forever trying to adjudicate among the warring and intriguing commercants commercants packed into her cabins. packed into her cabins.

"You'll recollect that a few days ago we had two days of hailstorms. Several of the merchants who'd bought pa.s.sage on the Galleon had brought aboard servants from balmy climes where cold air and hailstones are unheard of. These wretches were so unnerved by the hail that they fled belowdecks and secreted themselves deep in the hold and would not be fetched out for anything. In time the weather cleared, and they emerged to be soundly beaten by their masters. But about the same time, smoke was observed seeping out from one of the hatches. It appears likely that one of those servants had brought a candle below with him when he had gone down fleeing the hailstorm. Perhaps they had even kindled a cook-fire. The truth will never be known. In any event, it was now obvious that a slow smoldering fire had been started somewhere down amid the countless bales of cargo that the merchants had stuffed into the hold."

Van Hoek rose and excused himself, for from the point of view of s.h.i.+p's captain the story was finished. There was no point in hearing the details. The others remained and listened.

"Now, many ponderous sermons could be written about the rich pageant of greed and folly that played out over the next days. The correct action would have been to man the pumps and drench everything in the hold with sea-water. But this would have ruined all of the silks, and caused incalculable losses, not only for the merchants but for the s.h.i.+p's officers, and various of the King's officials in Manila and Acapulco who had bales of their own in the hold. So the captain delayed, and the fire smoldered on. Men were sent below with buckets of water to find and douse the fire. Some returned saying that the smoke was too thick-others never came back at all. Some argued that the hatches should be opened and bales brought out onto the deck, but others who had more knowledge of fires said that this would allow an in-rush of air that would cause the fire to billow up and consume the Galleon in a moment.

"We sighted your s.h.i.+p in a mirage, and fired a signal-cannon hoping you would come to our aid. There was disagreement even concerning this, for some supposed you were Dutch pirates. But the captain told us that you were a merchant merchant-s.h.i.+p loaded with quicksilver, and confessed he had made an agreement with you in secret, that he would guide you across the Pacific and grease the path for you in Acapulco in return for a share of your profits."

"Was everyone shocked and dismayed?"

"No one batted an eye. The signal cannon was fired forthwith. No answer came back to our ears: only the silence of the Pacific. At this, madness descended on the Galleon like a Plague. There was an insurrection-not merely a mutiny but a three-sided civil war. Again, someday it will make for a great allegory-tale that preachers may recite from pulpits, but the way it came out was that those who wanted to unload the cargo-hold prevailed. Hatches were opened-smoke came out, which you must have seen on the horizon-a few bales were hoisted out-and then, just as some had predicted, flames erupted from below. I saw the very air burning. A boiling flame-front came towards me, trapping me against the rail, and I toppled overboard rather than be roasted alive. I climbed onto one of the bales that had been thrown overboard. The s.h.i.+p crept downwind, slowly getting farther away from me, and I watched the final catastrophe from a safe distance."

Edmund de Ath bowed his head slightly, so that arcs of reflected candle-light gleamed in the tear-filled channels beneath his eyes. "May Almighty G.o.d have mercy on the hundred and seventy-four men and the one woman who perished."

"You may scratch the one woman off that list, at least for the time being," Jack said. "We plucked her out of the water fifteen minutes after you."

There was a long pause, and then Edmund de Ath said: "Elizabeth de Obregon survived?"

"If you call this surviving," Jack answered.

"HE SWALLOWED SWALLOWED!" SAID M MONSIEUR A ARLANC the next day, having cornered Jack up at the head. "I saw his Adam's apple move." the next day, having cornered Jack up at the head. "I saw his Adam's apple move."

"Of course he swallowed-he was eating dinner."

"Dinner was finished!"

"All right, he was drinking sugar-water then."

"It was not that sort of a swallow," said Monsieur Arlanc. "I mean he was perturbed. Something is not right."

"Now Monsieur Arlanc, consider it: What could de Ath possibly find troubling about the poor lady's survival? She's half out of her mind anyway."

"People who are half out of their minds sometimes forget discretion, and say things they would normally keep secret."

"All right, then, perhaps he and the lady were having a scandalous affair de coeur affair de coeur-that would explain why he's been sitting at her bedside ever since."

Jack was sitting in a hole, his b.u.t.tocks dangling over the Pacific, and Monsieur Arlanc was standing next to him; together they gazed down the length of the s.h.i.+p for a few moments. The several divisions and subdivisions of the current watch were distributed among the masts and sail-courses, running through a drill that every man knew in his sleep, tr.i.m.m.i.n.g the sails for new weather that was bearing down on them out of the northwest. Their limbs were swollen from beri-beri and many of them moved in spasmod.i.c.kal twitches as their feet and hands responded balkily to commands from the mind. On the upperdeck, in the middle of the s.h.i.+p, a dozen Malabaris were standing around a corpse st.i.tched up in a sheet, joining in some sort of heathenish mourning-chant prepatory to flinging it overboard. A sc.r.a.p of cordage had been lashed around its ankles and made fast to an empty drinking water jar packed with pot-shards and ballast-sand, so that the body would be pulled smartly down to David Jones's Locker before the sharks who swarmed in the s.h.i.+p's wake could make sport with it.

"We gained two mouths from the Galleon, and fretted about going hungry on that account," Jack mused. "Since then three have died."

"There must be some reason for you to sit there and tell me things of which I am already aware," said Monsieur Arlanc, mumbling pensively through swollen gums, "but I cannot fathom it."

"If strong sailors are dropping dead, what chance has Elizabeth de Obregon?"

Monsieur Arlanc spat blood over the rail. "More chance than I have. She has endured a voyage that would slay any man on this s.h.i.+p."

"Are you trying to tell me that there is a worse voyage in all the world than this this one?" one?"

"She is the sole survivor of the squadron that was sent out from Acapulco years ago, to find the Islands of Solomon."

Now Jack was glad in a way that he was sitting on the head, for it was a pose well-suited to profound silent contemplation. "Stab me!" he said finally. "Enoch told me of that expedition, and that the only survivor was a woman, but I had not drawn the connexion."

"She has seen wonders and terrors known only to the Spaniards Spaniards."

"In any event she is very sick just now," Jack said, "and so it is no wonder that Edmund de Ath sits at the lady's bedside-we'd expect no less of a priest."

"And nothing more of a blackguard. blackguard."

Jack sighed. The corpse went over-board. Several Filipino idlers-which meant tradesmen not attached to any particular watch-were arguing about ducks. A flight of ducks had been sighted in the distance this morning and several were of the opinion that ducks were never seen more than a few miles from land.

"It is in the nature of men cooped up together aboard s.h.i.+p that they fall to infighting at some point," Jack finally said.

Monsieur Arlanc grinned, which was an unspeakably nasty sight: his gums had peeled back from his mandibles to show blackening bone. "It is some sort of poetic justice. You turn my faith against me by arguing that I am predestined to distrust Edmund de Ath."

MONSIEUR A ARLANC DIED a week later. They held on to his corpse for as long as they could, because a fragment of kelp was sighted in the water almost at the moment of his death, and they hoped that they could make landfall and bury him in the earth of California. But his body had been well decayed even while he'd been still alive. Dying scarcely improved matters, and forced them to make another burial at sea. It was just as well that they did. For even though kelp-weeds continued to bob in the waves around Minerva's hull, it was not for another ten days after they threw the Huguenot's corpse overboard that they positively sighted land. They were just below thirty-nine degrees of lat.i.tude, which meant they'd missed Cape Mendocino; according to the vague charts that van Hoek had collected in Manila, and a few half-baked recollections of Edmund de Ath, the land they were looking at was probably Punto Arena. a week later. They held on to his corpse for as long as they could, because a fragment of kelp was sighted in the water almost at the moment of his death, and they hoped that they could make landfall and bury him in the earth of California. But his body had been well decayed even while he'd been still alive. Dying scarcely improved matters, and forced them to make another burial at sea. It was just as well that they did. For even though kelp-weeds continued to bob in the waves around Minerva's hull, it was not for another ten days after they threw the Huguenot's corpse overboard that they positively sighted land. They were just below thirty-nine degrees of lat.i.tude, which meant they'd missed Cape Mendocino; according to the vague charts that van Hoek had collected in Manila, and a few half-baked recollections of Edmund de Ath, the land they were looking at was probably Punto Arena.

Now the so-called idlers, who really had been idle for most of the last several weeks, worked night and day re-making Minerva Minerva for a coastal voyage. The anchors were brought up out of the hold and hung on the s.h.i.+p's bow. Likewise cannons were hoisted up from storage and settled on their carriages. The longboat was re-a.s.sembled and put on the upperdeck, an obstruction to the men of the watch but a welcome one. While these things were being done for a coastal voyage. The anchors were brought up out of the hold and hung on the s.h.i.+p's bow. Likewise cannons were hoisted up from storage and settled on their carriages. The longboat was re-a.s.sembled and put on the upperdeck, an obstruction to the men of the watch but a welcome one. While these things were being done Minerva Minerva could not come too near the coast, and so they put the distant mountains of California to larboard and coasted southwards for two days, sieving kelp up out of the water and trying to find some way to make it palatable. There were clear signs of an approaching storm, but as luck had it, they were just drawing abreast of the entrance to the great bay of California. As the wind began to blow hard off the Pacific they scudded between two mighty promontories that were lit up by golden sunlight gliding in beneath the storm-clouds. Changing course to the south, they were then able to navigate between a few steep rocky islands and get through a sort of bottle-neck. Beyond it the bay widened considerably. It was lined with salt-pans reminiscent of those at Cadiz, though of course no one was exploiting these. They dropped anchor in the deepest water they could find and readied the s.h.i.+p to wait out the storm. could not come too near the coast, and so they put the distant mountains of California to larboard and coasted southwards for two days, sieving kelp up out of the water and trying to find some way to make it palatable. There were clear signs of an approaching storm, but as luck had it, they were just drawing abreast of the entrance to the great bay of California. As the wind began to blow hard off the Pacific they scudded between two mighty promontories that were lit up by golden sunlight gliding in beneath the storm-clouds. Changing course to the south, they were then able to navigate between a few steep rocky islands and get through a sort of bottle-neck. Beyond it the bay widened considerably. It was lined with salt-pans reminiscent of those at Cadiz, though of course no one was exploiting these. They dropped anchor in the deepest water they could find and readied the s.h.i.+p to wait out the storm.

WHEN THE WEATHER lifted three days later they found that they had dragged their anchor for a short distance. But not far enough to put them in danger, for the bay behind the Golden Gate was vast. Its southern lobe extended south as far as the eye could see, bounded on both sides by swelling hills, just turning from green to brown. The crew of lifted three days later they found that they had dragged their anchor for a short distance. But not far enough to put them in danger, for the bay behind the Golden Gate was vast. Its southern lobe extended south as far as the eye could see, bounded on both sides by swelling hills, just turning from green to brown. The crew of Minerva Minerva now embarked on a strange program of eating California, beginning with the seaweed that floated off-sh.o.r.e, working their way through the mussel-beds and crab-flats of the intertidal zone, chewing tunnels into the scrub that clung to the beach-edge and perpetrating ma.s.sacres of animals and birds. Foraging-parties would go out one after the next in the longboat, and half of them would stand guard with muskets and cutla.s.ses while the others ransacked the place for food. Certain parts of the sh.o.r.eline were defended by Indians who were not very happy to see them, and it took a bit of experimentation to learn where these were. The most dangerous part was the first five minutes after the longboat had been pulled up on the beach, when the men felt earth beneath their feet for the first time in four months, and stood there dumbfounded for several minutes, their ears amazed by the twittering of birds, the buzzing of insects, the rustle of leaves. Said Edmund de Ath: "It is like being a newborn babe, who has known nothing but the womb, suddenly brought forth into an unimagined world." now embarked on a strange program of eating California, beginning with the seaweed that floated off-sh.o.r.e, working their way through the mussel-beds and crab-flats of the intertidal zone, chewing tunnels into the scrub that clung to the beach-edge and perpetrating ma.s.sacres of animals and birds. Foraging-parties would go out one after the next in the longboat, and half of them would stand guard with muskets and cutla.s.ses while the others ransacked the place for food. Certain parts of the sh.o.r.eline were defended by Indians who were not very happy to see them, and it took a bit of experimentation to learn where these were. The most dangerous part was the first five minutes after the longboat had been pulled up on the beach, when the men felt earth beneath their feet for the first time in four months, and stood there dumbfounded for several minutes, their ears amazed by the twittering of birds, the buzzing of insects, the rustle of leaves. Said Edmund de Ath: "It is like being a newborn babe, who has known nothing but the womb, suddenly brought forth into an unimagined world."

Elizabeth de Obregon emerged from her cabin for the first time since Jack had carried her in there, all wet and cold from the Pacific, on the night the Galleon burned. Edmund de Ath took her for a feeble promenade around the p.o.o.p deck. Jack, lying on his bed directly beneath them, overheard a s.n.a.t.c.h of their conversation: "Mira, the bay seems to go on forever, no wonder they believed California was an island." the bay seems to go on forever, no wonder they believed California was an island."

"It was your husband who proved them wrong, was it not, my lady?"

"You are too flattering, even for a Jesuit, Father Edmund."

"Pardon me, my lady, but I am a Jansenist."

"Yes, I meant to say Jansenist-my mind is still addled, and I cannot tell waking from dreaming sometimes."

"That promontory to the south of the Gate would be a brave place to build a city," said Edmund de Ath. "A battery there could control the narrows, and make this entire Bay into a Spanish lake, dotted with missions to convert all of these Indians."

"America is vast, and there are many nice places to build cities," said Elizabeth de Obregon dismissively.

"I know, but just look look at this place! It's as if G.o.d put it here to be built on!" at this place! It's as if G.o.d put it here to be built on!"

They tottered onwards and Jack heard no more. Which was just as well-he'd heard enough. It was a type of clever, courtly conversation the likes of which he had not been forced to listen to since he'd left Christendom behind, and it filled him with the same old desire to run abovedecks and throw those people overboard.