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"We have a squall heading our way"

Black clouds hadout of the western sky as quickly as if so a carpet over the castaways Withinthe boat Then they came heavier and more concentrated until the rain fell in a torrential downpour

"Open every locker and anything that resembles a container," ordered Pitt as he frantically lowered the nylon sail "Hold the sail on a slant with one end over the side of the boat for a minute to wash away the salt accuh to funnel the rainwater into the ice chest"

As the rain continued to pour down, they all tilted their faces toward the clouds, opening wide and filling theirbirds deed parents The pure fresh smell and pure taste came as sweet as honey to parched throats No sensation could have been

The wind rushed over the sea, and for the next twelve e The neoprene flotation tubes ruht sides Water soon filled the ice chest and overflowed on the botto squall ended as abruptly as it had begun Hardly a drop asted They re the water fro any excess from the bottom of the boat in every receptacle they could devise With the passing of the squall and the intake of fresh water, their spirits rose to new heights

"How ure we collected?" Maeve wondered aloud

"Between ten and twelve liters," Giordino guessed

"We can stretch it another three liters byit with seawater," said Pitt

Maeve stared at hi water laced with salt isn't exactly a cure for thirst"

"On hot, sultry days in the tropics, humans have a tendency to pour a stream of water down their throats until it comes out their ears and still feel thirsty The body takes in more liquid than it needs What your systeue may retain the unwanted taste of seawater, but trustit to fresh water will quench your thirst withoutyou sick"

After a meal of raw fish and a replaceain Maeve found a sine controls once attached under the console and ht fish to ly referred to her concoction as Fletcher's Flesh Armour and pronounced the Skin Protection Factor a minus six The only affliction they could not res and backs, caused by chafing front the constant motion of the boat Maeve's i problem

A stiff breeze sprang up in the afternoon, which boiled the sea around theht in the whim of the unpredictable waves The leather jacket sea anchor was thrown out, and Pitt lowered the sail to keep it froiant inner tube, completely out of control The blow lasted until ten o'clock the nextoff As soon as the seas callyup against the boat The more voracious fish, the bullies on the block, had a field day with their smaller cousins For close to an hour the water around the raft turned to blood as the fish acted out their never-ending life-or-death struggle that the sharks alon

Tired beyondthrown about in the boat, Maeve quickly fell asleep and dreamed of her children Giordino also took a siesta, his drea up a vision of an all-you-can-eat restaurant buffet For Pitt there were no dreas of weariness aside and rehoisted the sail

He took a sighting of the sun with his cross-staff and set a course with the co into a comfortable position in the stem, he steered the boat toward the northeast with the ropes attached to the rudder

As so often when the sea was cal alive and the sea around hihts always returned to Arthur Dorsett He stirred hier No man could visit unspeakable horrors on innocent people, even his