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spot out of the wind. A crewman stood beside a large, open box, handing out canvas pillows with trailing ribbons. He already had one tied around his torso.
    "Have you ever worn a lifejacket, lass?" William asked, pressing the surprisingly hard pillow against my chest. He helped me pull the awkward thing over my head before he tied the ribbons securely around me. When he was similarly trussed, he led me through a maze of boxes and crates and along the path that skirted the deck.
    I scanned the grey-green waters, searching for the other ships that had provoked the call to arms, but I saw nothing but us, clear to the horizon. Turning to survey the sea in the other direction, I bumped into something hard. I squeezed my eyes shut at the blinding pain in my head.
    William's warm fingers touched my forehead. "Ooh, that was a nasty bump. You should watch where you're going – these lifeboats could save your life. You don't want to dent one with that hard head of yours." For a moment, the only sound was wind and that blaring horn, before he continued, "Are you all right? Do you want to lie down? I'll carry you back to the cabin when we're done, but we have to wait here until the whole crew's assembled."
    I forced my eyes open. The stars had faded and the initial, shocking pain, too. The dull ache it left behind was bearable. I turned my eyes on the object I'd collided with – a small, wooden boat suspended at head height to catch the unwary. Another hung behind it and two more mirrored these on the starboard side of the vessel.
    I lost interest in the boats as I realised the whole crew was standing on the deck and they all seemed to be staring at us.
    "If you're this slow in a real crisis, McGregor, the lifeboats might launch without you, leaving you to your fate," Captain Foster said.
    "You wouldn't leave without us, captain," William replied. "The sound of the alarm horns terrified Maria. You could have given the poor girl some warning. After the ordeal she's been through, it seems hardly fair to scare her into thinking this ship's sinking, too."
    Captain Foster's expression hardened. "Just because a ship rescues you once, doesn't mean it's safe. I learned that in the Atlantic. Those German U-boats had it in for me that day. Maria!"
    I jumped at the sound of my name, but my eyes were already on the angry captain.
    "When you hear that sound, it means the ship's sinking and if you don't hurry, you'll sink with her and drown. Do you understand?" I stared at the man, mystified at what I'd done to make him look so desperate. He stomped his foot on the deck and waved his hands. "The ship. Tell me you know what a ship is!"
    I wet my lips and pointed at the deck beneath my feet. "Ship," I said slowly.
    "Hallelujah, she's not as stupid as we thought," a voice sneered and several men laughed.
    Painstakingly, Captain Foster lifted one hand and rippled it like the swell beneath the ship. "Ocean." I nodded – this word I knew. He floated his other hand above the first. "Ship." I nodded again. His ship hand took a sudden dive, plunging down beneath the surface of his make-believe ocean. "Ship sinking."
    "Ship sinking," I repeated warily, wondering what he knew of such things. Surely this ship wasn't...please, no! I raced to the rail, leaning over to stare at the waves. The ship didn't look any lower in the water than it usually did. I stormed back to the captain. "NO ship sinking."
    William burst out laughing. "She's got you there, captain. You did scare the life out of her this morning for no good reason. I think we'd all be in for a tongue-lashing if she knew enough English. Thank God for small mercies."
    Captain Foster's eyes bored into mine. "If the ship's sinking, that horn will blow." He stabbed a finger at the source of the blaring sound. "And you leg it up to the lifeboats if you want to live." He slapped the side of the nearest lifeboat with unnecessary force, making it rock in its davits. "That's it for today's drill. Get back to