The Adventures of Pocahontas and John Rolfe: Book I

Chapter 11: Just Around the River Bend

The Adventures of Pocahontas and John Rolfe: Book I

Chapter 11: Just Around the River Bend

Pocahontas and Louise nearly jumped out of their skins when the thunder struck. They looked at each other with wide eyes. "Oh no, the ship!" they bellowed in unison.

"Pocahontas, be safe! The girls need me. Monsieur Rolfe put me as second-in-command until you recovered!" Louise told her, turning on a heel and heading right back up top. When she arrived on deck, rain was beginning to fall on the deck and picking up speed. The crewwomen were in a panic as the sea rose and fell higher with each wave.

"Where's Captain Rolfe? Help!"

"The captain is hurt, I saw!"

"He can't command!"

"God in heaven, what do we do?!"

"The only man on the ship is incapacitated!"

"We're doomed!"

Startled screams erupted as a massive wave shoved the ship upward with a jerk. Louise peered up at Nicole as she clung to the wheel with a look of terror on her face. "Hold on, Nicole! I'm coming!" Louise cried. Using the railings and banisters to maintain her balance, she stumbled her way up the stairs and to the helm to take command. With two fingers in her mouth, she let loose a shrill whistle that could be heard over the winds. "Geneviève, Denise, tie yourselves to the yards and furl the topsails," she shouted up to the riggers high on the mast. "You'll have to weather the storm from there!"

"Aye, aye!" the sisters replied in unison.

Louise struggled to maintain control of the wheel as the waves began to toss the hapless vessel about. She shouted commands to Marie-Claude and Catherine to climb up the lower shrouds and begin furling the main sails. "We have to get the sails up, ladies. The mast might break or the ship might overturn. Only then are we doomed! Don't lose hope! We can do this!" She turned to Lorraine and Isabelle, both of whom were clinging for dear life to the railings on lower deck. "Girls, go down below to the pump and start working it like your life depends on it! The ship will take up water! You'll feel safer down there anyhow! Go! Simone, you man the tiller!" she decreed.

The girls held on to the rope ladders and skidded down the deck as the first waves crashed over the railing. They were nearly washed down the stairs, but Lorraine spread her legs just in time to stomp against the banisters on each side of the stairway, stopping her, Simone's, and Isabelle's descent. When the ship righted itself, they took the chance to hop up on their feet and run down the stairs one after the other. They passed Pocahontas on the way who, after searching fruitlessly for her animal friends, had decided to return to John Rolfe and Madeleine. The storm frightened her, but she feared more for the Englishman's safety in light of his serious head injury.

Pocahontas's greatest challenge would be getting back to John Rolfe's cabin, but she was determined to crawl on hands and knees if she had to. Leaving her useless crutches behind, she clung to the banisters as she clumsily hopped up to the lower deck. The raging winds whipped her hair painfully against the skin of her face and the pouring rain soaked her through and through. It was like trying to resist the pull of a river current. She fought against it with all her might, the weight of her sopping clothes pulling her down.

Pocahontas wedged herself into a secure spot behind the banister to upper deck as another massive wave bowled into the starboard side. She was temporarily submerged and felt the ear-popping pressure of the raging seas on her body. The Powhatan woman coughed and sputtered once the water had retreated, heaving to fill her lungs with air. "Princess, what are you doing up here?!" Louise cried, seeing her at the bottom of the staircase.