Anna's Crossing: An Amish Beginnings Novel by Suzanne Woods Fisher Read Free Book Online Page B

raising the anchor, was in the bow. It was all interesting and new and exciting, for about five minutes.
    Then he came across the crew’s sleeping quarters in the bow of the ship. The room was dark and Felix poked around until he was startled by a loud snore. First one, then another. Sailors were sleeping in hammocks, hung from the beams by large hooks, and he had practically walked right into one. He might be curious, but he wasn’t stupid. He backed up slowly and hurried out.
    Felix peered up the hatch to the bright sunshine on the upper deck. Briefly, he considered the warning that they were not to venture onto the deck without permission. He decided that the warning applied to those who didn’t understand the ways of a ship—someone like Catrina, who would get in the way and be a nuisance. He, on the other hand, was keenly interested in the sea. Hadn’t he and Johann studiedbooks about ship faring? Well, Johann might have done the actual studying part, but he told Felix all kinds of things he had read.
    Thinking about Johann made Felix sad, so he fixed his mind on one bright spot: because everyone had grown seasick, he was able to escape all adult constraints. No mother to flutter around him like a finch in a field of grain, no Anna fussing at him to sit still for English lessons. He was eight years old and he’d had enough schooling to last his lifetime. He was free to explore the ship at will and that meant above deck. He was particularly eager to get away from the eye-watering stink of the lower deck. Even the sailors covered their noses with a cloth when they walked through the lower deck to their sleeping quarters. He crept up the companionway stairs, felt the warmth of the sun hit the top of his head. He peered around and found another world entirely.
    Suddenly, his underarms were grabbed and he was held upside down over the hatch, as someone gave him a vicious shake. He couldn’t understand what the sailor was saying, but he figured he was about to get tossed down the hatch, headfirst. A small dog appeared in his line of vision, upside down, and peered at him curiously.
    “Decker!”
    A pair of black boots appeared in Felix’s field of vision. The owner of the boots shouted in English to the sailor, who held Felix upside down by the ankles. The sailor tossed Felix on the deck like he was a bag of flour, right by the black boots. Slowly, Felix opened his eyes to face the owner of the black boots, and wondered what kind of trouble he was in. Instead of a stern look, the man’s eyes held amusement, though he motioned to Felix to go below. As Felix slowly got to his feet,he decided that man might be the tallest man he had ever seen. Taller even than his father.
    Waiting for him by the top of the companionway stairs was the sailor who held Felix by the ankles. Felix groaned. He had seen this squinty-eyed sailor before, as ugly as he was mean.
    Squinty-Eye was hard not to notice. A large scar ran down one side of his face, causing one eye to pinch together. When he walked, his knees made a click-clack sound. He would click-clack through the lower deck on his way to his sleeping quarters, laughing and mocking and scolding the passengers who were sick. Last night, he even kicked the bucket out from underneath Maria Müller, so that she vomited all over her sleeping shelf. Then he pushed Felix out of the way, as if he was nothing but a buzzing fly, and click-clacked on by.
    Carefully, Felix descended down the companionway ladder, keeping as far away from the sailor as he could. Squinty-Eye’s face grew tight and narrow, with his eyeballs shooting around from side to side. It was almost too scary to watch. About three steps down, Squinty-Eye reached down and popped him square in the ear. Hard!
    Getting hit when you’re not expecting it can really shake you up. Felix’s legs started wobbling like they were made out of his mother’s chilled lamb stock, his eyes started leaking water, his nose started running. All