The Royal Handmaid (8 page)

“How is Miss Matthews?” Travis asked.

“She’s pretty sick, Travis. As a matter of fact, I’ve got to clean up after her. She threw up on the floor.”

“Oh, I’ll take care of that,” Travis said quickly. He looked at her closely and said, “You don’t look too good yourself, lady.”

“I think I’ll be all right.”

“Why don’t you go into the big cabin and take it easy? Maybe it’ll pass. I’ll take care of cleaning up.”

Travis went belowdecks and grabbed a pail and towels from a narrow cleaning closet. There were five small cabins, and he knocked on the first one on the right of the short passageway. “Miss Matthews, are you all right?” He waited and heard what could have been a faint answer but could not make out any words. He tried the door, found it open, and said, “May I come in?” Again he got only a faint answer.

Sticking his head inside, he saw that Rena was lying flat on her back. “Meredith tells me you’re not feeling well. Let me just do a little cleanup here.” When he had cleaned the floor and set the pail outside, he went to the small sink and washed his hands. He got water out of a small reservoir and dampened a cloth with it. “Sometimes it helps to put a cool cloth on your face,” he said as he put the cloth on her forehead. “Just close your eyes and try not to pay any attention to the ship. I’ll have somebody come by and be sure you’re all right. It’s good to drink a little water.”

“I’d just throw it up.” The words were faint, and Rena’s lips barely moved. “Just leave me alone.”

“All right. I think Meredith will be back to check on you soon.”

Leaving Rena’s cabin, Travis went to the large cabin used for their meetings and services. He found Meredith sitting there sipping water and nodded with approval. “She’s going to be all right, but we need to get her to drink water too, if we can.”

“I’m feeling better now. I’ll go see to it.” Meredith turned and smiled vaguely. “Not a very auspicious beginning for our great missionary jaunt, is it, Travis?”

“We’ll be all right. Captain Barkley says we shouldn’t hit any rough weather.”

“I’ve got a feeling this is just the beginning, though. We may hit things worse than a little seasickness before this is over.”

“Probably will, but God will be with us.”

Meredith smiled. “Yes, He will. I’ll go check on Rena.”

****

By their third day out, all the passengers had recovered from their seasickness except for Abby Townsend. She kept to her cabin, and Jimmy spent most of his time with her, coming out only for meals. When Travis asked about her, Jimmy bit his lip and said with a worried voice, “She can hardly keep anything down.”

Travis tried to encourage Jimmy, but he was afraid that Abby might be one of those people who remain sick for an entire voyage.

As for Rena, she had recovered her strength fully, and on the twenty-fourth of July, a Tuesday, they all met for a prayer breakfast. Oscar Blevins had fixed bacon, eggs, and fresh rolls. After they ate, Rena announced, “I’ve asked Professor Dekker to lead us this morning. Professor, we’re ready if you are.”

Dekker rose to his feet and smiled benignly at them. His dark eyes glowed warmly behind his thick glasses. Despite his gray hair and frail appearance, he was mentally acute. He began to expound on a text from the book of Second Samuel.

Travis listened attentively but found himself lost almost at once. The professor quoted liberally from books Travis had never heard of. Often he went into lengthy explanations about the meaning of certain Hebrew words, and he even read aloud a passage in Hebrew, which of course, meant nothing to Travis. He glanced around the room and saw that
others were watching with respect, but he himself was disappointed.
I guess I’m just too dumb to know what he’s saying,
he thought.

When the professor had finished, he said, “Let us now pray for our mission.” His prayer was very much like his lesson—too intellectual for Travis’s tastes. He couldn’t help thinking irreverently,
I hope God understands him, because I sure don’t!
He felt guilty for his attitude, however, and cringed a bit when Rena rose after the service and exclaimed to the professor, “That was very fine!” She glanced overhead and then added, “We’ll have the first service for the crew this afternoon. I think the weather is nice enough to have it on the deck, and all of the crew will be required to attend.”

“Some of them may not want to come,” Jimmy said.

“Some of them aren’t exactly devout Christians,” another added.

“That’s why it’s required,” Rena said curtly.

Pete Alford stood up, and he had to bend slightly to keep from hitting his head on the low ceiling. “I don’t know about that, Rena. I’m not sure that’s such a good idea.”

“What are you talking about, Pete? We all had required attendance at services at Bible school.”

Peter was usually silent in meetings like this. He felt he had not been a good scholar and was rather slow in books, making him feel inadequate. “We were there for such things as chapel and Bible study,” he said. “These fellows are just working at their job.”

“Don’t be foolish, Pete!” Rena said shortly. “It’ll be good for them.”

Rena turned and looked at Travis as if she expected him to challenge her. When he didn’t speak, she said, “I want them all to come. We’ll pray that they’ll all be converted.”

****

Travis spent as much time with the crew as possible. He had learned a great deal in the short time about the sails,
the lines, the rigging, and all of the ship’s gear. Now as the
Mary Anne
was cleaving her way through the emerald green water, the crew had gathered on the portside for a smoke. Cerny Novak was speaking of the good time they would have in Hawaii; then he winked at Charlie. “Watch out for the preacher here. We don’t wanna offend him with stories of what goes on in some of those places. You remember Mama Winnau’s place?”

Charlie Day laughed and drew deeply on his cigarette. “I sure do remember it. Especially that one girl named Juanita.” He turned and said, “Do you like women, preacher?”

Travis was accustomed to their rough teasing and merely smiled back. “Some of them,” he replied.

“You’d like Juanita. I’ll introduce you to her. Maybe she could teach you a few things.” Laughter went up from the others, but it was good-natured, for they had discovered it was impossible to get Travis’s goat.

Lars Olsen looked up at the sky. He had the gift of telling time almost as accurately as a watch. “Almost time for the service.”

“I ain’t goin’ to no service!” Novak growled, his good mood vanishing.

“Me neither,” Day said, shaking his head emphatically.

Shep Riggs looked up from his seat on an empty case and shook his head. “You fellows won’t have much choice. None of us will.”

Novak cursed, but Olsen said, “We’ll all have to go, Cerny.”

“I’ll go if I gotta, but I ain’t listenin’.”

“I tried to talk her out of this,” Oscar Blevins said. “I don’t think this meeting’s a good idea. What do you think, Travis?” The balding cook was a roly-poly man who had served for years in the marines. He was a crack shot but was retained on the
Mary Anne
for his culinary skills more than for any military training.

“I’d rather it were voluntary,” Travis agreed, “but I’m not the boss.”

“I don’t think you can force people to do things like this,” Shep said. “Can’t you talk her out of it, Winslow?”

“I’d be the last man who could.”

“That’s right. You’re the low man on the totem pole, ain’tcha?” Novak laughed. “Before this is over you’ll be a sailor like the rest of us.”

“I wish I had been a sailor. I love the sea, but it’s too late now. The Lord’s got ahold of me, and I can’t get loose.”

“Would you want to?” Blevins asked curiously.

“No, the Lord has been good to me. Did I ever tell you fellows I got saved in jail?”

Everybody looked at him in surprise. “In jail! What were you in for?”

“Oh, nothing very serious. It was down in Mexico.” Travis began to tell the story of his conversion and noticed that even Novak and Day were interested. He concluded, saying, “A man can find God anywhere.”

“Well, I ain’t findin’ God, and I ain’t listenin’ to that female. I’ll take some wax along and stuff my ears full,” Charlie Day muttered. “She can make me come to that doggone service, but she ain’t convertin’ me!”

****

The service was not much of a success. Travis joined in with the songs and noticed that Shep Riggs had one of the most beautiful tenor voices he had ever heard. Shep also knew most of the hymns. The rest of the crew made no attempt to join in.

Rena had taken it upon herself to preach the sermon. She chose the text from Galatians, “Whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap.” She made a pretty enough sight as she stood there facing the passengers and the crew. The captain remained at the wheel, but he could look down through an open window facing the bridge and had a clear view of the group.

Rena’s sermon bluntly declared the need of every man to be saved before it was too late. She spoke almost harshly, and
when the service was over, the crew shuffled out in silence to resume their duties on deck. Travis approached her with a smile. “That was fine, Miss Matthews.”

Rena was perplexed. She had expected more response from the crew, and now she bit her lip thoughtfully. “I guess they’re just hardened men, aren’t they?”

“Yes, they’re pretty tough, all right. They’ve had difficult lives, most all of them, but Shep there was raised by his uncle and aunt, and his uncle was a preacher.”

Surprise washed across Rena’s face. “How did you know that?”

“Why, he told me, of course.”

“Have you talked to all of them?” she asked, shaking her head. “I’m not sure that’s such a good idea.”

“Look, Miss Matthews, how are we going to preach the Gospel to people if we don’t talk to them? You have to show an interest in their lives first if you want them to listen to you.”

“Your ideas are different from mine. First we’ll build a church; then they’ll come and we’ll preach to them.”

A protest rose to Travis’s lips, but he saw the stubbornness on Rena’s face and turned and left the meeting room. Rena watched him go, then found that Lanie and Maggie were waiting for her.

“That was excellent,” Lanie said excitedly.

“Yes, it was,” Maggie agreed. “Even though they didn’t appear to be listening very much—especially Mr. Novak. He just glared at you the whole time.”

“He’ll come around,” Rena insisted. “They just need a firm hand.”

****

Later in the week, Cerny Novak was still seething over the required attendance at the services. He had attended three of them, and each time he had sullenly glared at the speaker. He was a moody man, and his discontent centered on Rena.

Rena was well aware of Novak’s dislike for her. She did
not speak to him personally until one day when she made her way along the deck toward the stern, where she often sat and watched the sunset. She was surprised to see Novak there along the narrow space between the top cabin and the rail. She waited for him to move, but he stayed put, apparently wanting a word with her.

“Yes, what is it, Mr. Novak?” she asked.

“I ain’t comin’ to no more of your pea-brained services.”

It was obvious that Novak was angry to the bone. Rena also suspected he had been drinking. She could not smell it, for the smell of the sea was too strong, but she resented any crew member showing such disrespect. To his rude remark she shot back, “Oh, yes you will—as long as you’re a member of the crew. If you don’t want to take orders, we’ll put you off at Hawaii.” She started to pass him and go on her way when, to her shock, he grabbed her arm. He was frightfully strong, and his grip hurt. “Turn me loose!” she cried.

“I oughta throw you overboard for the fish to eat!”

Rena was not afraid of the man, but she tried to jerk her arm free. When she couldn’t release his steely grip, she shouted, “Turn me loose, you beast!” and struck him in the face.

Her quick action caught Novak off guard and he snarled, “Why, you little—”

“That’ll be enough, Cerny!”

Novak whirled his head about to see who had suddenly appeared behind him. “Turn Miss Matthews loose,” Travis told him. “You know better than this.”

“What’ll you do if I don’t?”

“I wish you wouldn’t look at it like that. We’ve got a long way to go, and it’s best if we don’t have scenes like this.”

Novak had indeed been drinking. He was not a heavy drinker, but liquor always made him stubborn and quarrelsome. Now he grinned and kept Rena’s arm in his grip. “Well, I ain’t turnin’ her loose! Now, you just go about your own business, preacher.”

If Captain Barkley had been in the wheelhouse or on deck, he would have quickly squelched Novak, but he was down below taking an early meal, for he had the late watch. Now Travis said calmly, “This is bad, Cerny.”

“No, this ain’t bad.
This
is bad!”

Releasing Rena so abruptly that she staggered, Novak threw a right fist that caught Travis high on the head. Travis saw the blow coming and tried to dodge, but it scraped along the side of his head and sent tremors through his body. “Cut it out!” he shouted, but he saw that Novak was beyond reason. The big man came at him throwing punches, and Travis fended them off as best he could. He could not block them all, however, and Novak’s fist caught him in the mouth. The shock ran down his spine almost to his feet, and he staggered backward. Novak started for him again, but at that instant Captain Barkley’s voice cut across the deck.

“Novak, stop that!”

Novak had his fist doubled, ready for another blow. He watched as Travis got up with blood running down from the corner of his mouth.

“What’s this all about?” Barkley demanded.

“This man was insolent to me,” Rena spoke up, “and Travis was trying to help. I want him discharged as soon as we get to Hawaii.”

Captain Barkley turned to face Rena. “No, I won’t do that.”

Rena stared at him. “Yes, you have to, Captain.”

“No I don’t. I’m the captain of this ship, not you, Miss Matthews. I’ll discipline Novak in my own way, but he’s a member of this crew. I guarantee you he won’t bother you again, and there will be no more fights. But he stays on.”