condensed master

Will Bonner
It was all over, but he was still not looking forward to the remainder of the
voyage. Reflecting on what he had just done, he began to wonder what sort of a
person he was turning into. If his family knew what he was doing they would be
horrified and ashamed. On the other side of the coin he had to survive, by
whatever means.
The remainder of the voyage offered up no surprises, and there were no
reactions from the three Goanese. As each day passed Will grew more confident,
eventually disregarding any thoughts of reprisals from them.
The ship was now approaching roughly the same latitude as Casablanca, but
a few hundred miles west. The weather was excellent, but as each day went by
and the farther north they sailed, the weather would deteriorate.
Whilst sailing up the West coast of Africa, he had spent many hours, especially
in the late afternoon talking to Wes on deck, but this particular day would
probably be their last opportunity.
"We shall soon be in Liverpool, Wes."
"Yes, just a few more days."
"I should tell you that I won't be signing on for another trip."
"I'm sorry to hear about that Will. I'm going to miss you, especially when we
call at Aden!"
"I guess I won't be forgetting that episode in a hurry, but that is one of the
reasons why I am moving on. Quite a few things have happened on this ship and
by signing off, I am hoping to break this cycle of misfortune."
"You're probably doing the wise thing, anyway it's about time you had a
change. I suppose now that we are sharing secrets I should tell you what I will be
doing when the war finishes," he paused, as if to make certain that what he was
about to say, would not be misinterpreted. "I'll be going to live in Brazil."
"In Brazil?"
"Yes. I met a woman in Rio de Janeiro, and we get on like a house on fire."
"You met a woman?"
"Yes. She's bought a ranch and wants me to help her manage it."
Will took a deep breath, he was getting a surprise in every sentence. "You're
getting married then?"
70