William successfully found the book that Charles mentioned.

It was not deliberately hidden, but was always placed on the desk, within reach. William has never read it yet because it is too ordinary - Shakespeare's "Richard II", one of the four well-known historical scripts. He knew that Arthur had always favored such books.

However, it is worth considering to use it as a birthday gift for yourself.

He dusted off a thin layer of dust from the seal of the book and held it in his palm to open it.

There are indeed a few lines of short poems on the title page, which are Arthur's usual puzzle method.

"There are two fewer than seventeen 'this',

The four ‘dear’s’ must move their ears;

The story doesn't have to be told from the beginning.

Go to the second act to see what to look for.

Which song is ringing the church bell?

The precious gems are buried deep in the throne.”

Apart from this poem, no more clues were left on the paper. William turned the book over and hugged it for a while, and no bookmarks or anything else fell out.

Charles also brought his clothes back to the dormitory. He followed William into the house and watched the blonde boy concentrate on studying the book he bought.

"Did Arthur ask you to do anything later?" William was busy reading the script page by page, without turning back.

"It's gone." Charles tried hard to recall for a while, "Oh, before he left, he said that I don't need to send out this year's birthday gift."

Because he knew that I would definitely come here. William knew it in his heart. Even if he had not entered the Royal Naval School by chance, he would definitely arrive in Plymouth after learning about Arthur's accident.

He lied to me that he didn't have time to prepare a gift. William chuckled softly. Now that Anne and Isaac are not around, he has to rely on himself to solve Arthur's puzzle.

Unfortunately, he hasn't gotten a clue yet.

During this period, William looked at Charles several times, and each time the guy was either fiddling with his beetle jar or looking out the window blankly, William had to continue to be distressed alone in a depressed mood.

William read the puzzle poem again and again. According to past experience, there must be important clues in the poem.

"There is no need to start the story from the beginning..." He murmured in a low voice, and a sudden flash of inspiration in his mind.

"Act 2!"

William's sudden cheer scared Charles. When he saw William's excited look, he also became happy: "Did you guess it?"

"It's still early." William said this, and he felt a little proud of himself. He kept turning the pages of the book to the second scene and continued to search.

Soon he discovered: "Here! The second scene in the first scene... two places were blackened!"

According to Shakespeare's original work, the story of the first scene in Act 2 originally said that John of Gunter sternly defended and condemned King Richard for his rebellious actions. However, his famous patriotic lines were covered with ink by Arthur.

"The kings' throne...the gems embedded in the silver sea..." William memorized these two lines that were deliberately smeared. He carefully pondered them and gradually linked them to the last line of the puzzle poem: "The kings' throne...the gems in the silver sea?"

"The precious gems are buried deep in the throne-"

This seems to be implying the final answer to the puzzle. But he knows nothing about what the gem is and where the throne is. And the two uninformed words at the beginning seem to be implying a clue. A clue that he still cannot understand now.

Just as William was thinking hard, the dormitory door was pushed open roughly, and Old Qiao rushed in with high cowhide boots: "Go to work on the deck!"

The honest Charles didn't care whether he was calling him or not, and immediately stood up quickly. Seeing that William was interrupted, he was angry, afraid that the stubborn young master would suffer when he contradicted Old Qiao, so he quickly pulled him up.

William opened his mouth to refute, but Charles pulled his arm and stopped him. He pretended to be relaxed and hid his hands behind him and quietly pushed the book back to the table.

The originally relaxed and pleasant day first made Charles messy, and then fell into Old Joe's clutches. William was so angry that he thought of this. He poured a bucket of sand on the deck, picked up a brick from his feet, leaned over and knelt on the board to start rubbing.

This is a traditional method of cleaning and maintaining the deck of the ship. After this step is finished, he will use hemp floes to fill the gaps between the wooden strips on the deck, swing the hammer to pound the fibers into the cracks and stick them firmly, and then repeatedly brush a few layers of tar to fill them tightly. He also has to pray that these gaps must not leak when Lao Qiao inspects, otherwise there will be no good fruits to eat.

Theoretically speaking, there is no need to let Mr. Thomas do this kind of hard work. He is an intern sergeant and can supervise and command the sailors to do these things. However, his fierce battle with Lao Qiao has not yet decided on the outcome, and he grits his teeth and takes on any hard work, but he just refuses to give in.

The warship shaking with the waves, and the wind blew from the sea, like a powerful hand shaking its mast.

William looked up worriedly, and Charles had disappeared among the layers of sails.

Judging from his clumsy attitude just now, the situation is very bad. William is sure that besides being afraid of water, that guy must be afraid of heights.

Reclaiming sails is a very dangerous job. The sails that can drive large ships with the help of wind are extremely dense and of amazing quality. They cannot be cleaned up with just one hand. Generally, multiple people need to cooperate with the work. Under the strong wind, even experienced sailors often have accidents, not to mention the land duck that has not even had a few experience going out to sea. "Water duck" is the name of the veterans for novices. It has to be admitted that it is impossible to use it on Charles.

This dangerous job was sent to Charles by Old Joe, and William angrily accused him of murder. But the unlucky victim himself came forward to smooth things over and agreed to the difficult task, which made William choke for a long time.

In fact, William knew very well that Charles wanted to prove himself. He always forced himself to do some dangerous work. Even if his final performance was mostly unsatisfactory, he always had to be so strong. Just like he secretly learned to swim.

"Step on the cables! Climb from the wind!"

William put his hands on his mouth and shouted at the top of his head.

He said it was too late.

Charles' panicked voice came from above, accompanied by the screams and scoldings of the old sailors.

-------------------------------

【This    royal    throne   of    kings,】this    scept'red   isle,

This    earth    of    majesty,    this    seat    of    Mars,

This    other    Eden,demi-paradise,

This    fortress    built    by    Nature    for    herself    Against    infection    and    the    hand    of    war,

This    happy    breed    of    men,    this    little    world,

【This    precious    stone    set    in    the    silver    sea,】

Which    serves    it    in    the    office    of    a    wall,

Or    as    a    moat    defensive    to    a    house,

Against    the    envy    of    less    happier    lands;

This    blessed    plot,    this    earth,    this    realnd,

This    nurse,    this    teeming    womb    of    royal    kings,

Fear'd    by    their    breed,    and    famous    by    their    birth,

Renowned    for    their    deeds    as    far    from    home,

For    Christian    service    and    true    chivalry,

As    is    the    sepulchre    in    stubborn    Jewry    Of    the    world's    ransom,    blessed    Mary's    Son;

This    land    of    such    dear    souls,    this    dear    dear    land,

Dear    for    her    reputation    through    the    world,

Is    now    leas'd    out-I    die    pronouncing    it-    Like    to    a    tenement    or    pelting    farm.
Chapter completed!