Começo da Vida

That's why they cut the front mast. CRACK! It fell into the sea. But now the main mast was shaking terribly. It was going to break the ship. They had to cut that one too. Now we didn't have masts. We were like a cork in the water.

Then I saw something that froze my blood. The captain was praying. The first mate was praying. These tough men who feared nothing were on their knees begging God for mercy. If they were praying, we were truly lost. I fell to my knees too.

In the middle of the night it got worse. A sailor came running from below. "We have a leak!" he shouted. "Four feet of water in the hold!" The captain jumped. "Everyone to the pumps!" he shouted. This was our last chance.

My heart stopped. I fell on my bed. I couldn't move. The water was coming in. We would sink. I would die here in the cold, dark sea. But the sailors lifted me up. "You too!" they said. "Everyone must pump or we all die!"