Chapter 31: Staying The Course Part 1

The conversation with her father came back to her. There will be a time... It had sounded so easy at home. What had he said at the end? Stay the course.
Would Father continue his work if it had been me? Cal sat up in her bunk. He would; she'd want him to. Grief was all very well, but moping in her berth was no fit memorial for Sam.
Cal got up and dressed with extra care. She replaced the water damaged sketchbook, but left the knife in the satchel. Time to get to work.
The deck hummed with activity. Captain Cully had determined the water was safe enough for the boats, but no more sounding ropes. They filled sample jars with fish, crabs and other things Cal couldn't identify. Shells and bones were cleaned and packed away, skins dried before they too were stowed below deck. Cal found a place out of the way and began recording the activity in her sketchbook.
Each of the scientists found an excuse to wander past and offer words of comfort and encouragement. Sir Shillingsworth caught her eye and nodded once. Pentam refused to look at her. She wasn't sure what had happened with him. They'd almost been friends when they'd left Finches Harbour.
The activity continued through the next days. The boats darted back and forth between the Peregrine and the weeds. A sailor waved with flags from the top deck. The boats adjusted their positions. One moved south to where birds flocked, pecking at the weed mat and pulling up crabs. They couldn't get close without entering the weeds. After a short time, the boat turned and returned to the Peregrine.
Cal cornered a crew member and had him teach her semaphore. She drew each letter out in her sketchbook.
The mess buzzed with conversation as the scientists talked and argued about their discoveries. They'd found scores of new creatures; others were known, but grew differently out here on the Sargasso weed. Strange fish which looked like floating clumps of seaweed, but feasted on shrimp and tiny crabs. Some of the crabs had long legs to spread their weight and allow them to scamper across the seaweed. Prof. Orthin had seen sharks cruising along the edge of the mat, but hadn't managed to catch one yet. They were relatively small, he'd said, only eight or ten feet in length. Not big enough to pull a man out of a boat.
Cal forced her mind away from thinking of Sam.
"I'd like to get to those ships and study the big crabs." Lahdin said between bites.
"Captain Cully will allow one boat to enter the seaweed tomorrow." Sir Shillingsworth set his cutlery down. "Not far at first. Slow is best."
"Why is it the Captain's decision?" Dan scraped at his plate.
"They're his boats, and he is responsible for the safety of us and the crew." Sir Shillingsworth spoke casually, but Dan nodded, then went back to the galley to get another plate of food.
***
In the morning, the scientists drew straws for the privilege of entering the seaweed. Prof Orthin and Dan won. Captain Cully assigned two sailors to row the largest of the three boats.
"Your job until they return is to keep watch." Sir Shillingsworth handed Cal his spyglass. "Alert them of any danger."
"Yes, Sir." Cal stowed her drawing materials and took the glass, following the boat's progress to the weeds. The Peregrine held station a hundred yards from the edge of the mat. The flurry of study determined that was a safe compromise between convenience for study and clearance from the seaweed.
The boat hardly slowed when it first entered the mat. It looked solid from the ship, but like a marsh, it deluded the unwary. The scientists moved carefully to the sides of the boat, and nets in hand scooped up creatures, peered at them, then put them back or put them in a sample jar for later study.
Throughout the morning, they zigzagged perhaps a hundred yards into the weed, their progress slowed as they went deeper. From the waving arms, Cal could tell the scientists were arguing with the sailors. They went no deeper; instead they headed toward the spot where the birds chose to fight over whatever crab or fish they caught.
Something moved on the edge of the spyglass' circle. She swung the glass. Hadn't there been a bird there a second ago? Keeping the boat on the periphery of the circle, Cal watched the birds. She could see gulls, pelicans, and others she couldn't name. They flew down, snatched a meal, then flapped up to hover awkwardly to eat.
Why waste the energy? She'd seen any number of birds floating on the surface around the Peregrine.
A gull missed its prey and took time to try again. A snakelike head popped out of the weed-filled water and caught the bird as easily as the gull had caught the smaller creatures. Cal gasped and sat back, almost dropping the glass.
"Sir Shillingsworth!" she shouted, then put her eye to the glass. Nobody in the boat reacted to the creature's appearance. They didn't know the danger they were in.
"What, Cal?" Sir Shillingsworth's shadow fell across her.
"Something is eating the birds, big enough to pull them under easily." She handed him the glass and pointed. "Watch for one to stay too long near the water." Cal stood up and screened her eyes with her hand. She couldn't see much beyond moving specks of white.
She felt more than saw Sir Shillingsworth stiffen.