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Page 353
seaworthy vessel and lightly laden, he explained. The problem was simply that the ship had been first to begin with. "It will be far, far ahead," he judged, "Unless the master was fool enough to try to make for shore, and only a novice or an idiot would do that."
The King looked at Simon, who shook his head. "Thirty years at sea," he said, "and more than fifteen years captain of his own vessel."
When Richard asked where the ship might be, he got no more certainty. The captain shrugged and raised his hands to indicate helplessness. "The wind was northeast, Your Grace, so doubtless they are ahead, but wherethat I cannot even give a guess. Each master has his own theory on how one should run before a wind. Some run straight; some believe it better to run at an angle, and of these some like the angle into the direction the wind is driving while others like the angle away from that direction. Besides that, if the master sighted land, he would surely steer clear of it. How wide he would think safety required is another thing each man decides for himself. No, Your Grace, I cannot guess."
"But they will be ahead, you say? There is no use in going back toward Sicily?" Richard insisted.
"That, yes, ahead to the east, certainly."
Richard flew into a frenzy of activity, ordering the fleet to make ready to put to sea again at once. They were to sail for Rhodes where some of their lost ships might have made port. The wind blew strong, but even so Simon spent every moment he was not under orders staring ahead, wishing only that he could get out and push to increase their speed. He could neither eat nor sleep and grew so haggard that Richard noticed and offered to relieve him of his duties.
"No, my lord," Simon exclaimed in horror. "I beg you to lay more tasks upon me. If I am free to think, I will die of fear."
Unfortunately so long as they were aboard ship there

 
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