A huge black shadow suddenly unfolded above his head.

It was the main sail of the warship. The sailors had already wrapped the wet sails, but the last step was to tie it under the sail truss with hemp ropes. It was exactly here that something went wrong.

They were in groups of four, and a total of two groups were carried out in this work at the same time. Charles was afraid of high school and dared not go to both ends of the sail, so he was assigned to the central position close to the mainmast. He could not keep up with his companions' speed and was in a hurry to tie the rolled canvas tightly.

When a strong wind blew, the main sail was blown again from the loose middle. The canvas bag was filled with wind, bulging like a big ball, and in the blink of an eye it rose from under his feet to above the sail truss.

"Let go! Let go!"

The sailors working on the mast shouted in unison.

The situation is very critical. If you don't let go in time, you may be beaten down by the main sails that are shaken by the wind. It's not a joke to fall from a mast that is nearly a hundred feet long. There are either a hard deck or a cold sea surface. A little carelessness can kill people.

The experienced sailors let go of the rope and avoided it, leaving Charles, who was unable to react, holding the rope in his hand tightly. The bulging sails made the mast shaking violently. He was afraid that he would be scraped over by the canvas, and even more afraid that he would fall down now.

The old sailors were so anxious that they cursed loudly: "Damn it, let it go! Let it go!"

The strong wind blew, and the main sail finally broke free from the binding of the rope. It spread high like the wings of a big bird, fluttering continuously in the wind.

Charles shouted and was thrown into the air by it. He relied on both hands to hold the rope tightly before it fell, like a funny weight.

"This kid is finished!"

A voice shouted. It was only a matter of time before all hands were exhausted, and everyone knew it.

William subconsciously ran towards the rope ladder connecting the mainmast. Although he knew that his actions were futile, it was better than watching misfortune happen.

Charles indeed got out of hand. He turned into a black shadow and screamed and fell downwards, and was swept by the bulging sail again. The panicked big boy waved his hand and tried to grab the safety cable while slowly sliding down, but failed.

He continued to fall along the canvas, missing the climbing and net bags several times in the middle. People's cry of disappointment came one after another.

When the sails reached the end, Charles suddenly rolled and flew out again amid everyone's regretful amazement.

“Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh

His scream suddenly stopped, and he paused in the air, and then flew like a big bell's pendulum.

——Thank God, this guy wrapped his legs around his feet while rolling around the canvas, one of which saved his life at this time. But the cleavage was not reliable, and Charles was sliding down little by little at a speed visible to the naked eye.

William finally found a quick knife, and he immediately rushed to the pin on the back of the mainmast, and cut off all the ropes that fixed the sails. Several sails that had lost their restraints drifted and fell, intertwined in the air, forming a huge pad that just held the fallen Charles and wrapped him around and landed softly.

Everyone breathed a sigh of relief and approached the place where Fengfan was lodging, and quickly launched a rescue operation.

William was the first to discover Charles wrapped in layers. He cut the tightly wrapped canvas and quickly called the sailors to carry the unconscious guy away.

The onlookers rushed up, checking and slapping water. They gradually dispersed after confirming that the boy who was in trouble was fine.

Charles woke up slowly, as if he had completely forgotten the thrilling scene that had just happened: "William...ah!"

Old Qiao walked over with a blue face and stood in front of the two teenagers. The shadow cast from his burly body fell on their faces.

Old Qiao didn't say anything, but just from the expression on his face, he could tell that the anger he was spraying was about to lit the deck through the soles of his feet.

"That... is not his business," Charles defended in panic, "it was me, I was accidentally--oh!"

Before he finished speaking, he grabbed the chicken for Lao Qiao and threw it aside.

"Is it very loud?" Old Qiao stared at William who slowly stood up provocatively, "It seems that our stage is not enough for Mr. Thomas to perform."

William fired back indifferently: "Give me two cannons, and I can still let you hear it." He sarcastically said, "Didn't your boss tell you that he is a Norman's child? If something really happens, it will be enough for you to drink a pot."

Old Qiao ignored him and turned to count the sails scattered on the deck: "With the canvas and ropes, your dad can receive a new bill again."

William bit his lips tightly and said nothing. He didn't want to give Old Qiao a chance to ridicule his family.

"Send your son to the Royal Navy, Mr. Thomas is really a loss-making business." Old Qiao sneered, "Have you calculated how many years it will take for your family to pay back the debt?"

"I really haven't calculated this." William hates that Old Joe always uses this to humiliate himself in public. "Have you calculated how many years it will take for him to become a captain?" He added viciously, "I mean the serious captain, I can have a boat."

William has heard about Lao Qiao's experience. He was a humble background and relied on his bravery and brute force to become a lieutenant from the bottom of the sailor, but he was always snatched away the opportunity for promotion by aristocratic children who had family backgrounds younger than him. His bad intentions to himself were probably deeply related to this unpleasant experience.

The pain was revealed to people in person and laughed at him. Old Qiao could no longer suppress the anger in his heart.

He punched, and William had been used to this trick, and he could dodge it skillfully.

The rules in the military camp have always been talked to by the strong. It is unlikely that they will knock Old Qiao down for a while, but William doesn't mind letting him make a fool of himself in front of the sailors first.

"You bastard!" Old Qiao was furious and reached out to grab his hair.

William bent over and avoided, grabbed the sand on the deck, and raised his hand to face it.

When the sand entered his eyes, Old Qiao cursed loudly, suddenly letting William stumble on his side and stretching his legs to his feet. The sailors burst into laughter, seeing William being clever and flexible, there were also some cheers.

For veteran officers, such public jokes are more uncomfortable than killing them.

"Okay! Great!" Old Qiao covered his eyes with one hand and roared and stood up again. "It seems that our Master Thomas wants to wear a 'plaid shirt' today!"

The old sailors stopped laughing. The silence of the crowd made Charles have an ominous premonition. He looked around in confusion, and everyone lowered their eyes to their feet.

The so-called plaid shirt refers to the diamond-shaped blood-stained scars left on the back after being whipped.

"Destroy the sail cable, confront the superiors, maliciously attacked," Old Joe announced gloomyly, "William Thomas, whip."

When Charles heard the word "fighting", he felt dizzy. Two years ago, he had seen a sailor arrested who defected and was whipped. The other party was a strong man over seven feet tall, and was whipped by people on the entire boat in turn. He died shortly after that whip.

He could not imagine that William had encountered the same thing. He could not imagine that such a terrible thing was caused by himself.

Although the sailors have many complaints, no one will contradict Lao Qiao for a recruit.

"He...he's trying to save me..."

Charles stuttered and blushed. His voice was completely ignored.

Under Old Joe's command, several quick sailors quickly arrested William, stripped naked and tied him to the mast.

William was not afraid of eating a whip, but what annoyed him was that the Regulus, who had been wearing on his chest, was discovered by Old Joe and took it away without hesitation. This was not only a gift that symbolized friendship, but also Isaac's secret. If the people from the East India Company knew that he had successfully made such a mysterious unknown substance, he might have to make some conspiracy.

He was worried that he would arouse Old Qiao's suspicion, but instead pretended to be nothing, and kept saying provocative words to attract his attention.

"Young man like you have a pretty face, but you talk too much." Old Qiao slapped him twice, "See if you still have the strength to talk nonsense after eating the whip."

He dipped the whip made of cowhide into the skin and shook it open, and handed it to Charles, who was standing not far away, with his back hand: "The first whip, come."

Charles was shocked and frightened. He couldn't believe what he heard and looked at Old Joe tremblingly: "What...what?"

"The first whip, come."

Old Qiao stared at the poor big boy, and the murderous aura in his eyes almost made him faint on the spot.

"No...no!!"

Old Qiao was too lazy to talk nonsense to him: "If you can't do it, let you wait and swim with him."

Charles glanced at William's back and swallowed the saliva that was blocking his throat.

He prayed in a low voice, stretched out his hand tremblingly, and took the whip.
Chapter completed!