When she read the part of Davis’ letter about abolishing slavery, the emotional impact on the Chaplain and Jack was the same as it had been on Ashley, Lincoln, and Wells. She always knew her friend Father Rick was willing to let go of his emotions, but, before now, she had never seen Jack cry. She reached across the table and they squeezed hands.
“Father Rick, Jack, I honestly don’t know how I can thank you two,” Ashley said.
“Now let’s find that wormhole. I’ll see you guys later.”
“Oh, one thing, Captain,” Father Rick said. “Mike Donizzio, the motor launch captain, gave me this for you.” He pulled an envelope out of his pocket. “A soldier gave him this letter from Jefferson Davis to you. Davis specifically asked that it not be given to you until after your meeting with Lincoln. I think Jack and I should let you read the letter in private.”
“No, I want you and Jack to hear it as I read it.”
Ashley began to read Davis’ letter.
My Dear Captain Patterson:
As you read this letter, you shall already have met with President Lincoln and have given him my letter. I trust that my entreaties to him shall put us on a course toward peace. But in this letter, Madam, I wish to express to you my personal thoughts on your diplomatic mission along with your two able colleagues. I wrote this letter after I retired to my home for the evening. I was greeted at the door by my trusted servant, the head of our household servants, Mrs. Ida Mae Bardwell. Yes, Mrs. Bardwell is a slave. As I looked at the woman, who my wife and I hold with affection, and I believe it to be likewise with Ida Mae, my thoughts went back hours earlier to my meeting with you, Captain. Ida Mae is, I believe, about your age. You, Madam, if I may be so bold, are a courageous and talented woman of proven deeds. Your Nation has entrusted you with the Command of a powerful warship, and I am sure that such trust was not granted lightly. I looked at Ida Mae, and realized that she would never have the opportunity to achieve your accomplishments, for one reason. She is my property.
I have long been uncomfortable with the institution of slavery. You, Captain Patterson, have turned my discomfort into action. As you read this letter, Captain, I am pleased to inform you that Ida Mae Bardwell is a free woman, no longer my slave. It is because of you that I made this decision. Ida Mae is pregnant with the child of her husband, Joseph, also my property until this morning. I have freed Joseph, as well as all of my other slaves. I am happy that Ida Mae and Joseph will stay on with me as salaried employees. I told them about you. They asked me to tell you that their child, whether boy or girl, will be named Ashley.
God bless you.
Jefferson Davis
Father Rick looked at Jack, gave him a squint and a sideways shake of the head, indicating that
they should give Ashley some privacy.
Ashley hugged each of them before they left.
Ashley walked to the door leading to the weather deck. She wanted to breathe in some fresh salt air, and to be with her friend the ocean.
Chapter 91
At 0800 on August 5, Ashley met with the ship’s navigator, Lt. Wayne Bellamy, in her office. She also invited XO Ivan Campbell to the meeting.
“We’re going to do a bunch, and I mean a bunch, of modified Williamson turns,” said Bellamy. “The Williamson Turn is the good old fashioned lifesaving turn that we used to pluck Lt. DeLouker from the water during the storm. We turn the rudder on specified and timed commands and wind up where we started, but facing 180 degrees in the opposite direction. I call it modified, because we don’t want to wind up in the same spot, but a spot a few yards to starboard. We then steam for three miles and do it all over again. We don’t have satellite navigation, of course, so we’ll be plotting by dead reckoning, marking a fix based on our known speed and compass heading.”
“I know you two have worked on this plan, but tell me,” said Ashley, “are there any downsides?”
“Yes, Captain, there are two big downsides,” Bellamy said, “monotony and seasickness. We’re going to be spinning in the ocean like a top until we hit that sweet spot of a wormhole that Lt. Jack is looking for. I recommend that we have a quartermaster next to the OOD at all times with a stop watch so we can execute the turns correctly. I also recommend that we have two people qualified as OOD on watch and that the watch be two hours, not four. I can’t overemphasize the monotony of these repeated maneuvers. The Williamson turn is designed to get the ship to the approximate spot of the guy who fell overboard. It wasn’t designed to be executed every three miles.”
“Nobody ever said getting home would be easy,” Ashley said. “I accept your recommendations gentlemen. Ivan, post the watches accordingly.”
“Aye aye, Captain.”
After the Navigator and the XO left, Ashley met with Father Rick and Jack. She told them about the Navigator’s warning of monotony as they carved circles in the ocean. She wanted to talk about morale, and what could be done to help during long and sickening maneuvers.
Father Rick talked about his most recent meal with the crew, which was yesterday after he made the announcement that the California was heading for home. It was a different experience from the sad, sullen and angry emotions he had seen.
“Handling periods of monotony and a rocking ship should not be a problem,” said Father Rick.
“I don’t want to throw cold water on people preparing for a big party,” said Jack, “but I want to talk about something we have to face. Nobody on this ship, and that includes me, can guarantee that we’ll ever find the wormhole. We’ve been making our plans based on my book research and my personal experiences. Find the place where you crossed the threshold and just cross back. It sounds easy and logical, but, as I’ve said before, I’ve never heard of this being done on the ocean. All of my interviews as well as my own experiences have always involved a specific spot on land. I recommend that we don’t put out a lot of ‘any day now’ reports. Truth is, we don’t know what’s going to happen. We’ve all heard stories of the Bermuda Triangle. What if all of those lost ships, boats, and planes went through a wormhole and could never find a way to get back.”
Ashley looked at him.
“Jack, I want you on the ship’s TV. I’m thinking of a sort of call in show where you tell the crew what you know, including a sprinkle of reality like you just gave us, and then take calls from the crew.”
“I couldn’t agree more, Captain,” said Father Rick. “Jack is the obvious person to talk about hunting for a wormhole.”
“We’ll arrive on location where we start our search tomorrow,” said Ashley. “Jack, could you be ready to go on tonight?”
“No problem, Captain.”
The ship’s TV station operated throughout the day. It was a valuable outlet for the Captain to get word out to the crew. Ashley called Petty Officer Wally Cabrerra, the host of TV California, and told him to start announcing that tonight’s special show will be entitled, “Lt. Jack Thurber Talks About the Hunt for the Wormhole.”
Chapter 92
“This is Petty Officer Wally Cabrerra, host of TV California. I realize that I haven’t been much of a Leno or Letterman substitute these last four months, but hey, you get what you pay for. Tonight, however, you will get a break from my endless bad jokes. You will get to listen to a man who has a lot to tell us about something we’re mildly curious about — How the hell do we get home? Lt. Jack is a highly accomplished author of ten non-fiction books and three novels. He even won a Pulitzer Prize for an article he wrote about the Gulf of Tonkin Incident, something that happened before a lot of us were born. The book that we’re really interested in hearing about is Living History — Stories of Time Travel Through the Ages, which was on the New York Times Best Seller List for 48 weeks. This guy is no slouch. I think this is a man we should listen to. Lt. Jack has agreed to take calls from our viewers, which means I get to do my Larry King, Murray from Sheboygan, Michigan, You’re on.” Cabrerra prided himself with his excellent imitation of Larry King.