Robert sent Ch. 2 of the book. We’re going to slow down the posts on this project to give the author and translators time with it. I know that Robert wants ideas for improvement/change so please chime in on this and if anyone wants to put up their own novels you are most welcome. We got it started! Future texts we will just keep in English here and let the books develop that way.
A few notes from Robert:
Brigitte both proofread and translated for me. She deserves a big thanks. The formatting doesn’t come through when transferred to the blog. I use italics for everything that anyone thinks and a couple of different fonts. Chapter 2 picks up from the final sentence of chapter 1:
“….. water, only water, as far as he can see.
The Cabin Boy
North Sea, 1400
Geoff can only see water. There are no people and there is no land, only water. Geoff is almost blind from the light reflected by the waves. A few gray clouds hang in the sky. The wind gives Geoff goose bumps; it is warmer in the water, even though the water is cool. When Geoff is lifted by a wave, he can see the horizon. He sees the bright sun, the blue sky with gray clouds and lots of water, but he sees no land, no surfers, and no boat or ship. He does not see Miguel either. Geoff is all alone in the cool water.
Cripes! thinks Geoff. Where is Miguel? What happened to him? Is he here, too?
Geoff looks for Miguel for a long time, but he does not find him. Then he starts to think about his own situation. Where is he? What happened? How did he end up in the middle of the ocean, for he thinks that he must be in the middle of the ocean.
Now Geoff is afraid. He thinks, Don’t panic! I must think clearly. How long can I stay in the water? How long can I swim? In what direction should I swim? Where is land? How far away is land? Did I end up in another time once again?
Geoff really did come to another time. This is not the first time that Geoff has gone to another time. But he does not know where or “when” he his. Also, he does not know what is going to happen. Is he going to die in the water? He knows that we will not be able to stay in the cool water for long. He has to get out of the water or die, but he does not see any land and he does not know in which direction he should swim.
The body board is gone, too. The monster wave took the body board out of Geoff’s hand. Geoff cannot lie on the body board, he has to swim. Geoff only has the boardshorts that he is wearing. He has no body board, no surf board, no t-shirt, no shoes, nothing. He only has the boardshorts.
Geoff does not just want to wait until his body gets cold and he will not be able to swim anymore. He has to do something, but he does not know where the land is. He does not know if it is morning or afternoon. He does not know if the sun is hanging in the East or in the West. Geoff does not know. But he begins to swim. He briefly swims in one direction and then in another direction. He quickly learns that it is easier to swim in one direction than in the other directions. There must be a current in the water.
If I swim in the direction of the current, it is easier, thinks Geoff. Then I won’t use as much energy and I can swim longer. Hopefully, the current will take me towards land and not further out into the ocean.
After a while, Geoff sees that he is swimming Northeast with the current. Slowly, the sun has risen in the sky and then sunk toward the horizon in the West. Geoff is still swimming, but he is swimming more slowly, and he feels colder. His nose and shoulders are really red. He is tired and does not know how much longer he can swim.
Geoff looks around one more time. Far away, he sees something on the water. Is that a ship? Is somebody coming? Who could it be? Will they see him? Geoff does not want to get his hopes up too much, but he hopes that this is a ship approaching him and that it sees him and that it will rescue him.
Now Geoff is no longer swimming. He waits. Slowly, the “something” gets bigger. After a while, Geoff can see that it really is a ship. The wind from the West is cold, and the ship is getting closer far too slowly because it is sailing against the wind. Geoff can hardly wait, but he has to wait while the ship comes slowly closer.
Cripes! Will they see me? What can I do so they will see me? If they don’t see me, I will die. I don’t want to die. The have to see me. Geoff thinks a long time about what to do. At the moment, he has to wait.
Slowly, the ship gets closer to Geoff. It does not approach under full sail but slowly. Finally, Geoff can do something. He has to do something, so the people on board the ship will see him.
<<H-H-H-elp!>>, Geoff shouts. He does not shout loudly.
Cripes! They don’t hear me. I have to shout louder and I have to do something so they will see me.
<<H-H-Help! P-P-Please, help me!>>, Geoff shouts louder and waves with his hands.
The ship does not change its course.
Now, Geoff is afraid, almost panicked, that the people on board the ship will not hear or see him.
Dang! What am I going to do now?
Then Geoff has an idea. He quickly takes of his boardshorts. Now he waves with his boardshorts. Maybe the people on board will see his brown boardshorts against the blue and white water. He shouts again, as loud as he can:
<<H-H-H-E-E-E-L-L-L-P-P-P!>>
A man on board the ship waves back and shouts: <<Man overboard!!>> The ship changes its course and moves even more slowly towards Geoff.
Geoff puts is boardshorts back on and swims to the ship. When he gets near the ship, a man throws him a rope from the ship. <<Grab the rope!>>, the man yells. <<We are not stopping!>>
There is only one chance for Geoff. He has to grab the rope or die. But his hands are cold, can he grip the rope?
Yes, he can. Geoff grabs the rope. He cannot grip it well, but he can grab and hold it. Then he brings the rope under his arms and around his body. Now, Geoff is going along with the ship. He is not so afraid anymore.
<<Tie a knot! Then we will bring you on board!>> shouts the man from above.
It is hard for Geoff to tie a knot because his hands are cold. He is cold. He was in the cold water much too long. Finally he ties the knot.
<<Good! Now, push your feet against the ship. We will pull you up!>>
The sailors pull up the rope a little bit and Geoff pushes his feet against the ship. Now he is no longer in the water, but he feels even colder. The wind is very cold. Geoff is freezing.
Then Geoff hears singing. The sailors are singing! Why are they singing? Geoff hears a few words, and then the sailors pull on the rope. Now he understands. They are singing in order to have a rhythm. They pull in time to the rhythm. They all pull in time to the beat. and that makes them stronger. Geoff hears the rhythm and begins to walk in time to the beat. He takes one step, then a second. In time to the singing and pulling he walks up the side of the ship towards the sailors who are pulling on the rope.
Finally, he is at the top. The sailors grab him and lift him over the railing on board the ship. Geoff is dead tired, he is overtired, and he is cold. He is freezing and he cannot stand up. He falls to the deck, rolls himself into a ball, wraps his arms around his body and shivers. His skin is a little blue.
A man with a fire-red beard comes and looks at Geoff. <<By death and the devil! What do we have here? A landlubber? He is freezing. Bring him a blanket!>>
The sailors bring a blanket. Then they pick Geoff up off the deck. When he is back on his feet, they dry him off. Two sailors come and one of them stands in front of him and the other behind him. They hold Geoff in the middle. Another sailor puts a blanket around Geoff and the two sailors. The man with the fire-red beard gives Geoff something to drink. It burns in his throat and he coughs, but then he feels warmer.
Within a short time, Geoff is not freezing anymore. He is not so cold and he can stand on his own. His skin is no longer blue. The two sailors let go of him and put the blanket around his shoulders.
Now Geoff looks around. A group of sailors are standing around him in a circle. The tall man with the fire-red beard looks at Geoff. He is wearing a hat, a shirt, a vest, a jacket, and a pair of pants, but no shoes and no socks. The other men are wearing shirts and pants, and they aren’t wearing shoes either. Geoff thinks they look like pirates.
<<Well, boy, where are you from? How did you get into the water? How long have you been in the water? Why didn’t anybody save you?>>
“Well, I was in the water for a very long time, the whole day. This morning, a great big wave, a monster wave, grabbed me and pulled me deep under the water. I think the others believe that I am dead.>>
The tall man with the fire-red beard looks up to the sky. He sees the gray clouds in the East. Then he looks at Geoff again.
<<This morning, there was a storm. It is possible that a big wave grabbed you. What’s your name? And how>> – the man takes Geoff’s hand and looks at his ring – <<did you come by this gold ring?>>
<<M-My name is G-Gottfried, Gottfried von Lichtenstein.>> The sailors are looking curiously at Geoff. <<The ring has been in my family for a long time. My mother gave it to me.>>
<<Shiver me timbers! Not only is he a landlubber, he’s also a nobleman. Or maybe not a nobleman. Maybe you’re a thief, and the sailors threw you overboard. Maybe this is why you were in the water. Should we send you to the fish?>>
<<Oh no, oh no, I am not a thief. I was really swept away by a wave. Please, don’t throw me overboard.>>
The tall man with the fire-red beard laughs. <<Ha, ha! Maybe it is better if you are a thief. We are freebooters; we could get money for a noble boy. Isn’t that right, men?>>
All the men say, <<Aye, Capt’n!>>
Cripes! That won’t work, Geoff thinks. Then he says loudly: <<My family doesn’t have a lot of money, and now I don’t know where they are. I think they are far away from here.>>
<<Hm. Then maybe I’ll take the ring. It is valuable and maybe it was stolen.>> The captain looks at the ring.
<<P-Please, don’t>>, says Geoff. <<It has been in my family for a really long time.>>
<<O.k. then, I don’t care whether you’re a nobleman or a thief. But on board this ship, everyone has to do his job. You don’t have any real clothes, only these ridiculous shorts. You have no money. You don’t want to give me the ring. You’re not a sailor but a landlubber. What are we going to do with you?>>
<<With permission, Capt’n,>> says an older man with a long, grey beard. <<Moses* could become an apprentice now; he has been with us for almost a year. This boy here can be the new Moses.>>
<<Not a bad idea, shiver me timbers, not a bad idea. So boy, now you are the new Moses, the new cabin boy. If you do a good job, then you will get a piece of everything, because we are the “Likedeelers”** (equal sharers). But if you don’t do a good job or if you are disobedient, then I will be angry with you and you will be punished. Maybe I will take this ring after all and send you to the fish. And one more thing, Gottfried is no name for a cabin boy. From now on, you’re Götz.>>
<<Aye, aye, Capt’n.>> And so Geoff, whose new name is Götz, becomes the cabin boy for the famous North Sea pirate Klaus Störtebeker.
*”Moses” was the nickname for a cabin boy because the biblical Moses had been found by Pharaoh’s daughter in a “boat” (basket) on the water.
**”Likedeelers” is the term the North Sea pirates used for themselves. It indicates that they shared equally with one another.
©2012 Robert Harrell