Tuesday, 10 May, 1870
~later~
It is as I thought. The visions begin to become clear. The aspects of the goddess are manifest in more than one of the ladies of the household.
In my excitement I must not get ahead of myself. Mr. Graves would be disappointed. I should begin at the beginning. Which means reporting some details which I have left out of my earlier account of the journey.
We have reason to believe that at least two french warships are racing us to St. Damian Island. An aerofrigate called la Victoire, and an ironclad name la Regeneree, both of which left french ports under suspicious circumstances. We spent the first day under steam at 9 knots. The engines seemed to operate as expected, so the speed has been increased to 12 knots. I overheard Sir Cosmo, Lt. Nottle, and the captain discussing pushing the engines even harder if they stand up to 12 knots for two days without trouble.
During Tuesday morning's hindi lesson, inside the spacious cabin Sir Cosmo has been assigned, Mrs. Cuthbert and Miss Whitnell reported disturbing visits in their dreams by the spirits of slain sailors -- most probably the crew members of le Majeste. Each reported details in their dream which support the theory earlier expounded that members of the Gordon expedition were take prisoner by the crew of le Majeste, and that the aerofrigate later met with fiery destruction.
It was decided that Mrs. Cuthbert and Miss Whitnell would pursue additional information through divination, while the rest of the party pursued the pilferers and the possible saboteur.
After supper, Lt. Lochsley walked Miss Chigwidgeon back to her cabin. I followed, of course. Miss Chigwidgeon had promised to loan the lieutenant a book, so that he could try "this reading thing," as he described it. While she retrieved the book from the cabin, he prattled on apparently trying to be friendly. Miss Chigwidgeon hurried him along his way.
Miss Sinclair and Sir Cosmo joined us shortly thereafter. Sir Cosmo asked the ladies to accompany him on a walk of the aft deck. He indicated I should watch the cabins while they were away.
When they returned, they seemed terribly disappointed that no one had attempted to break into any of the cabins. Even so, it soon was apparent that Miss Chigwidgeon's secret admirer had managed to leave her more presents. Miss Sinclair, Miss Chigwidgeon, and Sir Cosmo spent several minutes discussing the latest discovery inside the ladies' cabin.
Lt. Lochsley returned, carrying the periodical and wearing a confounded expression. When I intercepted him in the corridor, he asked me, "they are not allowed to print it unless it really happened, are they?" I indicated that I had been told so. This seemed to confuse him further, but he went on his way.
Sir Cosmo went up on deck to get Edward and Owen.
Moments after he departed, I felt a sudden sense of foreboding. Miss Chigwidgeon stepped out of her cabin, a peculiar expression on her face, and strode toward the stairs. Miss Sinclair was close on her heels. I followed.
When we reached the deck, it was apparent that something was amiss. Half the sky was blotted out by clouds. The air seemed charged, as before a thunderstorm. Directly in front of the ship, a fiery ball of light was coming toward us.
Miss Chigwidgeon walked up to Sir Cosmo, who was helping Edward lash down his sinkable boat, and calmly asked if they were all right. Lightning seemed to swirl around her, and her eyes glowed.
The wind was becoming very fierce. Members of the crew were hurrying about, lashing down object. Lt. Wooster's crew as preparing the turret. Mrs. Cuthbert and Miss Whitnell were chanting protective spells.
Miss Sinclair grasped Miss Chigwidgeon's arm and asked if she were feeling well. Miss Chigwidgeon seemed surprised at the question. I could see sparks of electricy arcing off of Miss Chigwidgeon's body. They became larger as the wind intensified.
The ball of fire, which burned a brilliant green, loomed before us. As it engulfed the front of the ship, the decks vibrated frightfully, and the electrical lights on the wheelhouse exploded. I moved forward, intended to knock Miss Chigwidgeon and Miss Sinclair to the deck and shield them from further explosions with my body, when Miss Chigwidgeon open her mouth, and spoke with the voice of the goddess.
It was Miss Chigwidgeon's voice, yet it had the volume and power of thunder. She spoke in hindi. The first words were, "I am the power of time."
I knew, then, that Kali had taken her. Uncertain how Kali might react to finding herself being grasped by an Englishwoman, and an unbeliever, I grabbed Miss Sinclair and dragged her away, pushing Sir Cosmo and Edward to safety at the same time.
Miss Chigwidgeon's voice continued, growing louder and more powerful, as she recited the Invocation of Maha-Kali.
That is not quite right. When one speaks the invocation in temple, or in private meditation, one does not speak in the first person. "Maha-Kali is the power of time. Kali is the night of eternity. Clad only in space, who dare look her in the face? Out of fear of her fire burns. Out of fear of her the sun shines. By her light the world is illuminated. She is the star, the power of hunger, the night of anger."
Miss Chigwidgeon spoke in the first person.
When she finished, the terrible wind and the ball of fire vanished. A gentle rain fell on us. Miss Chigwidgeon fainted. I caught her, though I nearly tripped over Edward and may have knocked Sir Cosmo aside doing so. She was unconscious, breathing as if in an ordinary slumber.
Two of the gunners were badly burned. Wooster and Caine carried them to the surgery. We followed. The surgeon and Dr. Shinnaig seemed out of sorts. As Miss Chigwidgeon regained consciousness, everyone asked after her health. She indicated that she felt good. Well rested. She did not recall anything that had happened after Miss Sinclair grasped her arm.
Dr. Shinnaig and Mr. Moorehead indicated that there had been a distressing manifestation in the surgery. They were not aware of what had happened above decks.
We gathered in Sir Cosmo's room to discuss what had happened.
It seems that Dr. Wilson had been the first to see the ball of fire approaching. As the wind rose and the clouds blocked the stars, someone sounded an alarm. They fired the cannon into the ball of fire. Perhaps it had an effect.
Dr. Shinnaig told us that Mr. Pym, the former cartographer and possibly only survivor of the Gordon expedition, was possessed by some force which caused him to levitate in the air and glow as if he were a ball of lightning. He spoke to Dr. Shinnaig in a language the doctor did not recognize. Then, in english, he said, "There is no such thing as death. There is a thing called change."
Dr. Shinnaig seemed even more disturbed at the casual way members of the League spoke of magic and spirits then he had been by the events he had witnessed in the surgery.
The captain wanted to discuss with Sir Cosmo what had happened. The rest of the League retired to their cabins. I took up my post in the corridor.
Wednesday, 11 May, 1870
By breakfast the mood among the crew was subdued. Although none agreed on what had happened the night before, most seemed certain that it was a sign of trouble yet to come.
Before the ladies had their lesson, Mrs. Cuthbert visited the surgery to lay hands on Mr. Pym in an attempt to cure him. He did not regain consciousness until much later in the day. During the daily hindi lessons, several of the League confessed to having dreams similar to the ones Mrs. Cuthbert and Miss Whitnell described the previous night. Several of the dreams included a high priestess or queen who ruled the island as a goddess.
Mrs. Cuthbert's attempt at divining the nature of the island resulted in a vision of a community of people going about their lives in ignorance of the outside world, until the expedition and the aerofrigate intruded. Mrs. Cuthbert's vision also indicated that the queen or priestess has sealed off the island mystically.
It had been decided that Edward, Owen, and myself would watch Miss Chigwidgeon's and Miss Sinclair's cabin continuously in hopes of capturing the secret admirer. Edward was watching the room while the ladies had their lessons. One of the cabin boys went into the room with a package. Edward confronted the boy, and kept him there until Owen had brought Sir Cosmo. Under questioning, the boy admitted that he had been leaving the presents for Miss Chigwidgeon, encouraged in his unorthodox courting by Dawkins--the same sailor who had claimed to be a friend of her father. The boy swore that he had had nothing to do with the theft of the ship's clock.
Dawkins had further offered to pay the boy for any papers he might find in the captains which would pertain to Miss Chigwidgeon's inheritance. Sir Cosmo offered to return the pilfered items without revealing the boy's identity to the captain, in exchange for an apology to the ladies, a promise to give up his pilfering ways, and a promise to assist, if need be, in the search for the other thief.
Very shame-faced, the boy apologized and agreed to Sir Cosmo's terms.
The stolen jewelry was turned over the Lt. Cooper, the executive officer. Who returned them to their rightful owners, telling them only that the discipline would be handled discreetly.
Dawkins' unsavory interest in Miss Chigwidgeon's inheritance was troubling to the entire League, particularly his comments about her father's supposed death. Mrs. Cuthbert suggest holding a seance, to determine once and for all whether Rip Chigwidgeon was dead. Meanwhile, Miss Whitnell set about composing a document which would indicate that Miss Chigwidgeon was entitled to a generous, but not overly generous, allowance from Sir Cosmo's estate. The reasoning being that if Dawkins was plotting some fraud or extortion, he might be discouraged if it seemed there was not a substantial inheritance.
The seance indicated that Rip Chigwidgeon was probably not dead. In fact, many spirits who claimed to have been murdered by the man responded to Mrs. Cuthbert's summons. One of these spirits indicated he had only been dead a few days.
Meanwhile, Lt. Lochsley had been drilling the crew in pistols. He offered to teach the ladies how to shoot. Miss Sinclair agreed. She did quite nicely at her first attempts shooting.
A wager was somehow made between Lochsley, Dr. Wilson, and Mr. Cuthbert. Apparently this was the result of a conversation earlier in the day. By the time the targets had been reset, Sir Cosmo and Miss Whitnell had also become involved.
Dr. Wilson did not do as well as anyone expected. It was suggested that the bout of seasickness he had been suffering all day was to blame. Having seen him in action under very difficult circumstances, it is my belief that he needs the threat of real danger to bring out his best efforts. I have seen the phenomenon before.
Miss Chigwidgeon's accuracy with a pistol was impressive, as was Lochsley's and Sir Cosmo's. I believe everyone agreed that Mr. Cuthbert won the final round. Mr. Lochsley was quite graciously offering to buy Mr. Cuthbert a drink when the unfortunate accident happened.
Miss Chigwidgeon tripped, stumbling into the sailor who was locking away the munitions. The small arms chest spilled, sending cartridges and lead balls across the deck. Several people slipped and fell.
The captain fell rather spectacularly. It appeared that he banged his head quite hard on the handrail of the steep stairs leading to the upper deck.
The doctor has been summoned. Someone has been sent to fetch Lt. Wooster, as he may need to take command of the vessel.
Proceed to Wooster Takes Charge
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