This is a continuation of the story Lost as Sea.
Eli and Patrick tugged the heavy boat onto the beach. Eli surveyed what might be his new home for a while.
“We need to find fresh water. Follow me,” Eli led the others into the forest. He stopped occasionally to look around. It wasn’t long until he found a tiny stream trickling down a hillside. Everyone raced to the life-saving liquid and drank as much as they could. The first drink in over two days. After quenching their thirst, Eli led his friends on a hike to search the island for inhabitants. They circled the entire island in the tropical heat but found no trace of civilization. They were on their own until help arrived.
The weary group trudged back to the beach where they landed and set up camp. They worked together to fashion sticks and palm branches into a crude lean-to. The sail clothe was used for the roof, to keep themselves dry during the many tropical rain showers.
Finding enough food was a constant struggle. The twins were good at shimmying up palm trees to release coconuts. Eli, Patrick, and the girls searched the shallow tidepools for oysters and clams. They used a rusty sailor’s knife to pry open the shells. Eli wiggled a lose nail from the boat and formed it into a fishhook. He unbraided a piece of rope for a fishing line. While he managed to land a fish from time to time, but he often returned with nothing but a sunburn. Whatever food they able to find was divided equally among the six.
The most difficult task by far was lighting a fire. Again, the rope was used along with sticks to form a bow drill. For two full days Eli and Patrick worked until their arms gave out from fatigue but failed to ignite a single spark. Ellen and Mary took over but had no luck. Even the twins gave it a try. On the third day Eli produced a smoldering ember, and then everyone cheered when a flame sprang to life.
“If we are to be rescued,” Eli explained. “It will be by a passing ship. We must always keep a campfire burning. We’ll set up a tall wood stack with dry palm fronds on the beach. If you see a ship, take fire from the campfire, and light the signal fire. It’s our best hope of rescue.”
“We will have to take turns keeping the campfire burning and watching for a ship,” Patrick added.
All nodded in agreement, so they settled into a routine of foraging for food, fetching water, and collecting firewood. Everything seemed to be going well until the day a heated argument broke out.
What’s going on?” Eli demanded.
“Ellen let the fire go out,” Patrick sneered.
“I will get it started again,” said Ellen. “You will help me won’t you Mary?”
“That’s not the point,” Patrick continued. “If a ship happens to pass by, there’s no way to start the signal fire. They won’t know we are here.”
“Is it true you allowed the fire to go out?” All eyes turned to Eli, the unspoken leader of the castaways. It was up to him to get to the truth and then decide what to do next.
ENDING #1
“How could you let that happen?” Eli shook with anger. “We will never be rescued if we are careless.”
“Like I said, I will get it started again,” said Ellen.
Without thinking it over Eli pronounced his judgement. “It may take days to get it started. As a punishment, you will get half of the daily food ration for one week.”
Ellen stood with her mouth opened.
“That’s too harsh,” Patrick whispered in his friend’s ear.
“Let that be a lesson to the rest of you,” Eli growled, and then turned and walked away.
From that time on there was tension between Ellen and Eli. They only spoke to each other when it was necessary. One day they clashed.
“I’m going to leave here and go live on another part of the island,” Ellen threatened.
“Go ahead. You’ll never survive on your own,” Eli retorted.
Ellen stared down her former friend, her eyes turned from sad to angry, then she stormed away. But she never moved out on her own.
A few days later the twins faced Eli’s unmerciful judgement.
“What happened to the fruit that we collected?” asked Eli one morning after calling everyone together. “I’ve been watching the food supply carefully and I see that some of the fruit that was here last night is missing. Who took it?”
Ellen and Mary denied taking it, and Patrick just shrugged his shoulders. However, the twins glanced at each other, and then looked away. Eli sensed they were hiding something. He stood over the two boys and forced them to confess.
“Everyone was asleep, and you were tending the fire. Admit you took the food that was meant to be shared by everyone. Which one did it? Or was it both of you?”
One of the boys starting crying, and the other joined in.
“I thought so,” Eli sneered. “Both of you will lose half of your daily food for one week.”
Mary protested. “Don’t be a tyrant. They’re just kids. They know they’ve done wrong.”
“I agree with Mary,” Ellen joined in. “Just let them be.”
Patrick pulled his friend aside. “Be reasonable. A week is too long, especially for the young ones.”
“We need to keep the rules, or everyone will just take what they want, and we’ll become like animals.”
“That’s not true,” said Patrick.
“I’ve made my decision,” Eli dismissed his friend with the wave of his hand.
The twins suffered from hunger day and night for a week. But Eli suspected the girls gave them a little extra food when he wasn’t looking.
After a week had passed Patrick raced into the camp shouting.
“A ship! A ship!” He pulled a burning stick from the campfire and raced to the beach. He lit the signal fire while the others jumped up and down, waved their arms and called to the distant vessel. Flames from the fire reached high overhead and formed a giant column of smoke.
Eli breathed a sigh of relief when the ship changed coarse and sailed toward the island. It dropped anchor a safe distance from shore. The children continued to wave and shout as the ship’s boat rowed ashore.
As the sailors secured the boat, a man in a miliary uniform stepped onto the beach. “I am Lieutenant Walters of His Majesty’s Ship Greyhound. Who are you?”
Eli spoke up, “We are survivors of The White Dove. It went down in a storm six weeks ago.”
“It’s a good thing we saw your fire. Now let’s get you to safety.”
Once aboard Greyhound, the children told their story to Lieutenant Waters. They were given food and examined by the ship’s doctor. Early the following morning, Eli was escorted to the captain’s quarters by two redcoat marines. Eli wondered why the captain wanted to see him. He became alarmed when, after he was called in, the marines stood behind him at attention. The captain’s desk was covered with navigation charts, and what looked like a logbook. He dipped his pen in his inkwell and wrote in the book. Only after he finished did he look up at Eli.
“I understand you and the other five children landed on the island after your ship was lost in a storm?”
“Yes sir.”
“And you were the leader of the group?”
“Yes sir.”
“The children complained that you doled out harsh punishments and deprived them of food. Is that right?” the captain’s dark eyes locked on Eli and never blinked.
“They broke the rules, so I did what I had to do.”
The captain continued, “The navy prides itself on discipline and keeping order, but a good leader knows when to be strict and when to be lenient. Your actions were out of line, so you will be handed over to the authorities when we reach land. You will answer to a court of law. I’m not a lawyer, but I suspect you will face a strict sentence.” The captain turned to the marines, “Put this young man in chains.”
ENDING #2
“How could you let that happen?” Eli shook with anger. “We will never be rescued if we are careless.”
“Like I said, I will get it started again,” said Ellen.
Eli took a deep breath and exhaled slowly. “It may take days to get it started. As a punishment, tomorrow you will get half of the food rations.”
Ellen frowned but said nothing.
Eli turned to Patrick for advice, “What do you think. Is that right?”
“That’s fair,” Patrick whispered in his friend’s ear.
“I’m sorry, but we must all follow the rules, myself included,” said Eli.
Learning from their earlier mistakes, Eli and Patrick had the fire started after a few hours, and island life returned to normal.
A few days later the twins faced Eli’s judgement.
“What happened to the fruit that we collected?” asked Eli one morning after calling everyone together. “I’ve been watching the food supply carefully and I see that some of the fruit that was here last night is missing. Who took it?”
Ellen and Mary denied taking it, and Patrick just shrugged his shoulders. However, the twins glanced at each other, and then looked away. Eli sensed they were hiding something. He dropped to his knee and questioned them.
“Everyone was asleep, and you were tending the fire. Did you take the food that was meant to be shared by everyone?”
One of the boys starting weeping, and the other joined in.
“I thought so,” Eli grinned. “Isn’t that stealing?”
The boys nodded in unison.
“We need to follow the rules. If everyone takes what he wants, we’ll become like animals. If it happens again, you will be punished. Do you understand.”
“Yes,” said the twins with quivering lips.
A week later Patrick raced into the camp shouting.
“A ship! A ship!” He pulled a burning stick from the campfire and raced to the beach. He lit the signal fire while the others jumped up and down, waved their arms and called to the distant vessel. Flames from the fire reached high overhead and formed a giant column of smoke.
Eli breathed a sigh of relief when the ship changed course and sailed toward the island. It dropped anchor a safe distance from shore. The children continued to wave and shout as the ship’s boat rowed ashore.
As the sailors secured the boat, a man in a miliary uniform stepped onto the beach. “I am Lieutenant Walters of His Majesty’s Ship Greyhound. Who are you?”
Eli spoke up, “We are survivors of The White Dove. It went down in a storm six weeks ago.”
“It’s a good thing we saw your fire. Now let’s get you to safety.”
Once aboard Greyhound, the children told their story to Lieutenant Waters. They were given food and examined by the ship’s doctor. Early the following morning, Eli was called to the captain’s quarters. He wondered why the captain wanted to see him. The captain’s desk was covered with navigation charts, and what looked like a logbook. He dropped his pen and greeted Eli with a warm smile.
“I understand you and the other five children landed on the island after your ship was lost in a storm?”
“Yes sir.”
“And you were the leader of the group?”
“Yes sir.”
“The children praised you for your leadership on the island.”
“I did my best sir.”
The captain continued, “Well done. You should consider joining the navy. We could use outstanding young men like yourself.
“I will consider it sir.”
The captain nodded, “One more thing. I would like you to join my officers and me for dinner this evening.”
***
Read Matthew 7:1-2
What do these verses teach us about judging others?
In the story how did Eli judge his fellow castaways in the first ending?
How does that compare to the second ending?
If you were in Eli’s place, what would you have done?