16 The Wine-Dark Sea - Libro della tutto

Patrick O'Brian The Wine-Dark Sea
With Jack's voice in the background, the roll
and pitch of the ship and the crash of the sea
on her weather-bow never affecting his concentration
he read a succinct narrative, cast in
the wooden service style: the Surprise, proceeding
eastwards in accordance with their
Lordships' instructions, had been overtaken in
latitude 28° 31' S, longitude 168° 1' E by a
cutter from Sydney with official information
that the inhabitants of the island of Moahu
were at war with one another and that the British
seamen were being ill-used and their ships
detained: Captain Aubrey was to deal with the
situation, backing whichever side seemed
more likely to acknowledge British sovereignty.
He had therefore changed course for Moahu
without loss of time, pausing only at
Anamooka for water and provisions: here he
found the whaler Daisy, recently from Moahu,
whose master, Mr Wainwright, informed him