Treasure of the sea |Lesbian story|

CHAPTER LI

"What the devil has got into her?" exclaimed Stevenson.

"Don't mind her. She's been acting like that since this morning," Eddie replied.

I watched Arenis, not far behind us. She was scolding Naade for spilling some of the pitch on the sand. She was red in the face and sweat was beading on her forehead.

I frowned. "What do you mean?"

"Oh." Stevenson huffed. "She seems more irritated than usual."

Their comments worried me so much that I started to observe Arenis. It didn't take long to realize that something was really wrong. I saw her wobbling dangerously; she was forced to cling to a log to keep her balance. Naade stared at her, tense, and she scolded him harshly, yelling at him to get back to work.

They all ran away from her and avoided angering her in any way.

I abandoned my tools in the sand and ran to her.

"Captain," I called to her.

She turned. Her eyes were clouded and alight with fever. "What is it, Adler?"

"You should go rest."

"I don't have time to rest."

She made to leave, but with a snap I grabbed her arm, holding her back. "You're obviously sick."

"Don't worry about me."

Arenis ignored my presence and began talking to Dinnington, agreeing on what to do. As she spoke, however, she suddenly lowered her head and tried to move away from us, stifling a sneeze.

"Captain," I insisted. "You've taken a sunstroke, and you can't continue to work under these conditions."

"I'm fine, Miss Adler."

"No you're not fine. You have a fever."

"No matter."

"It does matter."

"My men are counting on me."

"They can manage without you for a while. I'm sure Dinnington will be able to guide them properly. Isn't that so, Mr. Dinnington?"

The man nodded. "Of course."

Arenis tightened her lips in a grimace.

"Captain, listen to Adler," Dinnington continued. "Your health will deteriorate if you don't give yourself some rest. And then you would be of no use to us in any case."

"All right!" Her voice trembled. A strand of hair had stuck to her forehead.

"Adler, why don't you accompany the Captain?"

"I don't need a wet nurse, Dinnington," the woman scolded him, through gritted teeth. "Adler is more useful here."

Her tone was so stern that neither I nor Dinnington dared protest. We watched her walk quickly away, heading toward the township.

"I never knew a more stubborn person than she is," commented the quartermaster, shaking his head. "Sometimes it's infuriating."

The next day Arenis didn't show up. We all looked at each other a little bewildered by her absence. We proceeded to work in silence, wondering what happened to the Captain. She didn't show up even as the sun approached its zenith. And then Dinnington became seriously concerned.

"Adler!"

At this time, I was several feet above the ground, clinging to the side of the Black Star, with a rope tied round my waist to prevent my being smashed on the beach. I was in charge of spreading a compound called 'grease,' consisting of tallow, fish oil, sulphur, and lead white mixed with a compound of lime and arsenic to prevent the attack of the worms that penetrated the hull planking, feeding on the wood. Jackie Jay, on hearing the quartermaster's call, loosened the rope a little to allow me to descend.