Unit 3: Lesson 11

"Mr. Adams, you are going to embark under very threatening signs. The heavens frown, the clouds roll, the hollow winds howl, the waves of the sea roar upon the beach."

As the captain surveyed the damage, he had only one bit of good news.

Johnny's father and the captain often spoke together of their mission and the conduct of the ship.

The passageways were cramped, and everywhere was a terrible smell—of sea and sailors mingled together.

"It was with the utmost difficulty," John Adams remembered, "that my little son and I could hold ourselves in bed with both our hands, and bracing ourselves against the boards, planks, and timbers with our feet."

It was dangerous to cross the ocean mid-winter, but time was pressing.

Though John Adams also felt ill, he distracted himself by writing in his diary.

Other representatives were in Paris already, but their progress was uncertain.

And from their viewpoint, the odds were just right.

The main mast was shattered, and four crew members were hurt.