Chapter 58

I pulled out the survival manual. Its pages were still wet. I turned them carefully. The manual was written by a British Royal Navy commander. It contained a wealth of practical information on surviving at sea after a shipwreck. It included survival tips such as:

- Always read instructions carefully.

- Do not drink urine. Or sea water. Or bird blood.

- Do not eat jellyfish. Or fish that are armed with spikes. Or that have parrot-like beaks. Or that puff up like balloons.

- Pressing the eyes of fish will paralyze them.

- The body can be a hero in battle. If a castaway is injured, beware of well-meaning but ill-founded medical treatment. Ignorance is the worst doctor, while rest and sleep are the best nurses.

- Put up your feet at least five minutes every hour.

- Unnecessary exertion should be avoided. But an idle mind tends to sink, so the mind should be kept occupied with whatever light distraction may suggest itself. Playing card games, Twenty Questions and I Spy With My Little Eye are excellent forms of simple recreation. Community singing is another sure-fire way to lift the spirits. Yarn spinning is also highly recommended.

- Green water is shallower than blue water.

- Beware of far-off clouds that look like mountains. Look for green. Ultimately, a foot is the only good judge of land.

- Do not go swimming. It wastes energy. Besides, a survival craft may drift faster than you can swim. Not to mention the danger of sea life. If you are hot, wet your clothes instead.

- Do not urinate in your clothes. The momentary warmth is not worth the nappy rash.

- Shelter yourself. Exposure can kill faster than thirst or hunger.

- So long as no excessive water is lost through perspiration, the body can survive up to fourteen days without water. If you feel thirsty, suck a button.

- Turtles are an easy catch and make for excellent meals. Their blood is a good, nutritious, salt-free drink; their flesh is tasty and filling; their fat has many uses; and the castaway will find turtle eggs a real treat. Mind the beak and the claws.

- Don't let your morale flag. Be daunted, but not defeated. Remember: the spirit, above all else, counts. If you have the will to live, you will. Good luck!

There were also a few highly cryptic lines distilling the art and science of navigation. I learned that the horizon, as seen from a height of five feet on a calm day, was two and a half miles away.

The injunction not to drink urine was quite unnecessary. No one called "Pissing" in his childhood would be caught dead with a cup of pee at his lips, even alone in a lifeboat in the middle of the Pacific. And the gastronomic suggestions only confirmed to my mind that the English didn't know the meaning of the word food. Otherwise, the manual was a fascinating pamphlet on how to avoid being pickled in brine. Only one important topic was not addressed: the establishing of alpha-omega relationships with major lifeboat pests.

I had to devise a training program for Richard Parker. I had to make him understand that I was the top tiger and that his territory was limited to the floor of the boat, the stern bench and the side benches as far as the middle cross bench. I had to fix in his mind that the top of the tarpaulin and the bow of the boat, bordered by the neutral territory of the middle bench, was my territory and utterly forbidden to him.

I had to start fishing very soon. It would not take long for Richard Parker to finish the animal carcasses. At the zoo the adult lions and tigers ate on average ten pounds of meat a day.

There were many other things I had to do. I had to find a means of sheltering myself. If Richard Parker stayed under the tarpaulin all the time, it was for a good reason. To be continuously outside, exposed to sun, wind, rain and sea, was exhausting, and not only to the body but also to the mind. Hadn't I just read that exposure could inflict a quick death? I had to devise some sort of canopy.

I had to tie the raft to the lifeboat with a second rope, in case the first should break or become loose.

I had to improve the raft. At present it was seaworthy, but hardly habitable. I would have to make it fit for living in until I could move to my permanent quarters on the lifeboat. For example, I had to find a way to stay dry on it. My skin was wrinkled and swollen all over from being constantly wet. That had to change. And I had to find a way to store things on the raft.

I had to stop hoping so much that a ship would rescue me. I should not count on outside help. Survival had to start with me. In my experience, a castaway's worst mistake is to hope too much and do too little. Survival starts by paying attention to what is close at hand and immediate. To look out with idle hope is tantamount to dreaming one's life away.

There was much I had to do.

I looked out at the empty horizon. There was so much water. And I was all alone. All alone.

I burst into hot tears. I buried my face in my crossed arms and sobbed. My situation was patently hopeless.

第五十八章

    我拿出了求生指南。书页仍然是湿的。我小心翼翼地翻着。指南是一位英国皇家海军中校写的。里面有大量关于沉船后如何在海上生存的有用的信息。其中包括一些求生忠告，例如：

    ●一定要认真阅读指南。

    ●不要喝尿。不要喝海水。也不要喝鸟血。

    ●不要吃水母。也不要吃带刺的鱼，或长着和鹦鹉一样的尖嘴的鱼，或像气球一样鼓起来的鱼。

    ●按压鱼的眼睛能使它们无法动弹。

    ●身体可能是战斗英雄。如果失事者受了伤，要当心出于好心却没有根据的医治方法。无知是最糟糕的医生，而休息和睡眠是最好的护士。

    ●每小时最少把双脚抬起五分钟。

    ●一定要避免不必要的劳累。但是不思考的大脑往往会衰退，因此一定要保持大脑不断地思考，可以思考任何出现在心里的可以稍微分散注意力的事情。纸牌游戏、“二十问”和“我用一双小眼睛看见了……”都是极好的简单的休息方式。集体唱歌是另一种一定能振奋精神的方式。极力推荐绕毛线的活动。

    ◆绿色海水比蓝色海水浅。

    ◆当心远处像山一样的云。寻找绿色。最终惟一能对陆地作出出色判断的是脚。

    ●不要去游泳。这是浪费精力。而且救生船漂流的速度比你游泳的速度快。

    ●更不用提海生动物所带来的危险了。如果你热，就把衣服打湿。

    ●不要穿着衣服小便。为了暂时的温暖而得尿疹，不值得。

    ●躲在荫蔽处。曝晒能比干渴或饥饿更快地杀死你。

    ●只要不通过出汗丧失过多的水分，身体就可以在不喝水的情况下存活14天。如果你感到渴，就吮吸纽扣。

    ●海龟很好扒，是很好的食物。海龟血是一种美味、营养、不含盐的饮料；海龟肉口味鲜美，也容易填饱肚子；海龟油有很多用途；失事者会发现海龟蛋是真正的美味。小心海龟嘴和爪子。

    ●不要让自己泄气。可以胆怯，但不可以被打败。记住：最重要的是精神。如果你有生存的愿望，你就能生存下去。祝你好运！

    还有几句简短含糊的话，浓缩了航海艺术和航海科学。我从中学到，风平浪静的时候，在五英尺高处能看到地平线就在两英里半远处。

    关于不要喝尿的叮嘱很没有必要。没有一个小时候叫排泄哩的人会在喝一杯尿的时候被逮个正着，即使他是独自一人在太平洋中央的救生艇上。美食建议则让我证实了英国人的确不懂得食物这个词的含义。除此之外，指南是一本关于如何避免被海水腌制的有趣的小册子。只有一个重要话题没有提到：与救生艇上的较大的宠物建立老大与老小的关系。

    我得为理查德·帕克设计一套训练方案。我得让他明白，我是地位最高的老虎，他的地盘仅仅局限于船板上，船尾坐板和舷边坐板，一直到中间的横坐板。我得让他有一个根深蒂固的概念，那就是油布顶上和船头，以中间坐板处的中立区为界，是我的地盘，对他是绝对的禁地。

    我得很快就开始捕鱼。不用很长时间，理查德·帕克就会把动物尸体吃完。在动物园里，成年狮子和老虎平均每天要吃十磅肉。

    还有很多其他事情要做。我得找到一个方法，为自己遮蔽阳光和风雨。理查德·帕克总是待在油布下面，那是很有道理的。一直在外面，暴露在日晒、风吹、雨林、海浪拍打之中，这很让人疲劳，不仅身体疲劳，精神也疲劳。我不是刚刚读过曝晒会迅速致人于死地吗？我得设计一个顶篷。

    我得再用一根缆绳把小筏子系在救生艇上，以防第一根缆绳断掉，或者变松。

    我得改进小筏子。目前它能经得起风浪，但几乎不能住人。在我搬到救生艇上的永久住舱之前，我得把小筏子变成一个适合居住的地方。例如，我得找到一种办法，让自己在上面能保持干燥。因为总是湿漉漉的，我全身的皮肤都又皱又肿。这个情况必须改变。我还得找到一个在小筏子上储藏东西的方法。

    我得停止对被船只救起抱太大的希望。我不应该依靠外来的帮助。生存得从我开始。根据我的经验，失事者最糟糕的错误就是抱的希望太大，做的事情却太少。生存从注意近在手边的东西和需要立即去做的事情开始。带着盲目的希望往外看就等于虚度生命。

    有很多我得做的事情。

    我朝船外面空荡荡的地平线望去。水那么多。而我却独自一人。独自一人。

    热泪涌出了眼眶。我把脸埋进交叉的双臂里，抽泣起来。我的处境显然毫无希望。