: Four Anchors

Beth was out of breath by the time they reached the centurion.

Marcus said, “We’re at ninety feet.”

Julius’s eyebrows rose. “Drop the anchors,” he commanded.

Sailors rushed across the deck. Marcus hurried to help them.

Beth and Patrick moved to the side and watched.

“This might be a good thing,” Beth said.

Patrick gave her an odd look. He said, “Crashing into rocks?”

“No,” she said. “Didn’t Luke say aloe grows in many places around this sea?” She smiled.

“I understand,” Patrick said. “We can find an aloe plant once we’re on land. We can test it with Whit’s gadget.”

Beth watched the sailors work. The anchors were bigger than the sailors. One by one all four anchors were lowered into the sea.

The ship slowed.

“How will we get to shore?” Patrick asked. “We can’t swim. The waves are too wild.”

Beth knew that was true. She’d seen the mast snapped in two by the waves.

The ship came to a stop. The lines to the anchors were tight. The anchors kept the ship from moving forward.

“I have an idea,” Patrick said. “There’s a lifeboat on deck. Maybe we can row it to land and find the aloe ourselves. We could be back at Whit’s End before breakfast.”

“I didn’t know they had lifeboats on Roman ships,” Beth said. “Do they have enough for everyone?”

“I don’t know,” Patrick said. “But I’ll show you the one I saw.” He started walking away from the back of the ship.

Beth walked with him. Her tunic slapped her legs. It felt good to be doing something. She was tired of being on the ship.

The cousins reached the bow.

Patrick pointed. “The lifeboat used to be right there,” he said.

Beth looked where he was pointing. A group of sailors was looking over the side of the ship.

“Maybe someone moved it,” Beth said. She walked to the railing and looked over. She saw one wooden lifeboat partway down to the sea.

Sailors were lowering the boat.

“Excuse me,” Beth said. “Where are the other lifeboats?”

The ship rocked to one side. Thunder boomed and rain poured down.

Beth grabbed the railing to keep from falling.

The sailors scowled at her.

“We’re throwing smaller anchors into the sea,” a sailor said.

Patrick looked at Beth and then at the sailors. “No, you aren’t. You’re lowering the small boat,” he said.

One of the sailors came toward them. “You don’t understand,” he said. He seemed nervous. “To release the smaller anchors, we go out in the lifeboat. We don’t drop them next to the ship.”

“But you don’t have any anchors,” Patrick said.

“You children get out of here,” another sailor said. “We have work to do.”

Beth turned to Patrick. “Let’s find a different lifeboat,” she said.

“I didn’t see any others on our way here,” Patrick said.

“Is there only one?” Beth asked

“Maybe.” Patrick held on to the railing. He said, “I wonder what the sailors are really doing with the boat.”

“I don’t know,” Beth said. “I feel bad. We were thinking of taking the only lifeboat.”

“I feel bad too,” Patrick said. “I don’t think our plan would have worked anyway. The boat looked too heavy for us. Let’s find Paul. He’ll know what the sailors were doing.”

The cousins walked back to the center of the ship.

Paul, Aris, and Luke were on their knees in prayer. “Mighty Lord,” Paul said, “I know you have promised to keep us safe. Now I pray for daylight.”

Lightning flashed. It lit up the deck.

Beth was surprised. Those three men weren’t the only ones praying. People all over the deck were praying. Some were praying with loud cries and groans.

Are they afraid the ship is going to hit the rocks? she wondered.