In the following days, Lionel, at the strong request of the passengers, had to tell two more "Pirates of the Caribbean" stories consecutively.
He adapted the second film in the series, Dead Man's Chest, and the third, At World's End, respectively.
He told of Captain Jack Sparrow's entanglement with a debt due to a deal with Captain Davy Jones of the "Flying Dutchman."
The octopus-faced Davy Jones and the pirate ship that could travel underwater once again made everyone marvel at Lionel's imagination.
Lionel also narrated Will Turner's suffering and choices to save his father "Bootstrap Bill"; Elizabeth Swann's leadership qualities when she was chosen as the Pirate King after Captain Jack Sparrow's "death";
And the Maelstrom at the world's end, the sealing and release of the sea goddess Calypso, as well as the epic gathering and final battle of the nine Pirate Kings at Shipwreck Cove...
The unfolding of each new story made the world view of this pirate legend increasingly grand, magnificent, and incredible.
From the Caribbean Sea to the distant Southeast Asia, Singapore, it involved the conspiracies of the East India Company, ancient maritime myths, and mysterious exotic cultures...
The listeners were completely engrossed in this pirate world constructed by Lionel, a world filled with incredible wonders and a spirit of freedom.
They marveled at the intertwining of Captain Jack Sparrow's turbulent fate and good fortune, worried about Will Turner and Elizabeth Swann's love enduring hardships, feared Davy Jones and the sea monster Kraken, and the various factions vying in battle within the whirlpool...
All of this formed the main topic of conversation during the "Perelle"'s subsequent two-day voyage.
It can be said that this story held people's most fervent emotions and brought them the most captivating spiritual enjoyment.
The entertainment room was packed every day, with latecomers only able to squeeze into the corridor and listen intently.
It wasn't until the last two days of the voyage that Lionel told a brand new story.
He narrated "the legend of a teenager who, after a shipwreck, drifted for over two hundred days on a lifeboat with a Bengal tiger."
This exotic story was full of tension in its depiction of coexistence with a fierce beast, showcasing humanity's reflections on faith, reason, and the meaning of survival in desperate situations...
This story finally allowed the listeners to disengage from the legend of "Pirates of the Caribbean," providing a certain degree of mental and spiritual relaxation.
It was like a long prose poem, leaving people to gaze for a long time at the boundless sea outside the porthole after listening, pondering humanity and divinity, reality and illusion.
The last story Lionel told was on the evening before arriving in New York.
But this story was entirely different from the previous ones, extremely concise, highly condensed, and filled with the grand power of ancient Greek tragedy.
The protagonist of the story was named Saint Jacques, an old fisherman living on Réunion Island in the Indian Ocean; having not caught a big fish for a long time, he fell into hardship and decided to try one more time, so he sailed his fishing boat alone into the vast sea.
The result of this attempt was both fortunate and unfortunate—he caught a giant marlin and fought with it for three days to subdue it.
However, on the return journey, the marlin's bloody scent attracted sharks.
Although Saint Jacques fought desperately to protect it, only a skeleton of the marlin was left when it was finally dragged back to the fishing port.
At the end of the story, Lionel, in a calm and firm tone, slowly recited the old man's immortal monologue:
"But a man is not made for defeat. A man can be destroyed but not defeated."
As the words fell, the entertainment room became solemn, and this sentence struck heavily in everyone's hearts.
It washed away the strangeness and splendor of all previous stories, telling people who the true hero was in the simplest, most unyielding, yet most moving way.
As if to add a footnote to this declaration of human will, at the very moment Lionel's words faded, the "Perelle"'s whistle suddenly blew, "Woo—"
The powerful, long whistle pierced through the evening sea fog, announcing the end of a journey and that people had finally arrived in the New World.
New York, here we come!
————————
The massive hull of the "Perelle" slowly came to a halt, chains churning with a heavy clatter, and the giant anchor sank beneath the waters off Sandy Hook Shoals.
This was the outer anchorage of New York Harbor, where the distant coastline was faintly visible in the evening mist.
Lionel stood by the porthole, watching the busy scene outside.
Several small steamboats shuttled nearby, and soon, a small boat flying the American flag approached.
Several uniformed officials boarded the "Perelle."
They were U.S. customs and health quarantine officers.
New York's inspections of ships from Europe were extremely strict, especially fearing the introduction of cholera, yellow fever, and smallpox.
The captain informed all passengers that due to complex quarantine and immigration procedures and a large number of passengers, the "Perelle" would anchor here for an entire night.
Steerage passengers, after inspection, would be taken away first by special shuttle boats directly to the Castle Garden Immigration Depot; they would not enter downtown New York with the ship.
First-class and second-class passengers, after passing quarantine, would disembark in Manhattan after the "Perelle" officially sailed into New York Harbor.
Lionel returned to his cabin and began to pack his carry-on luggage.
"Knock, knock, knock."
A knock sounded at the door.
Lionel thought it was Zola or Maupassant, and while responding "Coming," he opened the cabin door.
Standing outside the door was a stranger, not tall, thin, and pale-faced.
While blocking the doorway with his body Lionel cautiously asked,
"Excuse me, who are you?"
The stranger spoke French, but with a British accent:
"Mr. Sorel, I apologize for the intrusion. I am Robert Louis Stevenson.
I, too, am a... well, I suppose a writer. I am British."
Lionel was stunned.
Robert Louis Stevenson?
Robert Louis Stevenson of Treasure Island and Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde?
Only, the man before him looked somewhat down on his luck; clearly, the works that would make him famous had not yet been born.
He showed a friendly smile:
"Mr. Stevenson? Please come in."
He stepped aside, making way, and Stevenson sat somewhat reservedly in the armchair.
Lionel closed the door, leaned against the desk, and gently asked,
"Mr. Stevenson, how may I help you?"
Stevenson nodded:
"Yes, Mr. Sorel. I... I was sent by a newspaper.
They paid for me to travel on the 'Perelle' to document your journey and that of your friends."
He paused, then pulled a thick notebook from his old satchel and handed it to Lionel:
"This... this might be useful to you."
Lionel took the notebook and opened it.
Inside were dense, scribbled notes.
He quickly scanned a few pages, growing more and more surprised—the other person had actually recorded all eight stories he had told on board these past few days!
From The Legend of 1900 to The Old Man and the Sea, not a single one was missed.
Although the handwriting was messy, the plot, dialogue, and even some key descriptions were recorded quite in detail.
The notes were mainly written in French, interspersed with some English.
Lionel looked up and praised sincerely:
"This... this is too detailed. Mr. Stevenson, your French is excellent."
Hearing the compliment, Stevenson smiled shyly:
"Thank you. My childhood tutor was a French lady, and she taught me a lot.
I've always loved reading French books myself. In previous years, I often went to France and even lived in the south of France for a while...
For this, I also wrote two travelogues, one called An Inland Voyage, which recorded my travel experiences on the Seine River and Oise River;
And another called Travels with a Donkey in the Cévennes, which recounted my experiences strolling through the Ardennes region and Cévennes Mountains..."
Lionel shook the notebook in his hand and asked, puzzled:
"I'm very grateful to you, Mr. Stevenson.
But this notebook, although it contains my stories, is also very important to you; with it, you could easily write several excellent reports.
Why are you giving it to me?"
Stevenson lowered his head, a deep sense of guilt on his face:
"Mr. Sorel, this time on the ship, I witnessed your talent with my own eyes.
Listening to the stories you told, I reflected on my past days and felt like I had been living in a daze, wasting my life."
He looked up, his eyes seeming to have found direction:
"Especially your 'Pirates of the Caribbean' stories, Captain Jack Sparrow, treasures, curses...
It suddenly made me realize what I truly wanted to write deep down! Definitely not these things I'm writing now just to make a living..."
His voice became firm:
"This notebook is what I 'owe' you. I know that a novel requires extensive revisions and additions to go from oral narration to written form.
I thought this record might help you save some time and let these wonderful stories get into print sooner. Please, you must accept it."
Lionel looked at the thin young man before him, deeply moved:
"Mr. Stevenson, I am very grateful to you.
I accept your kindness, and I believe you will definitely become a great writer in the future!"
He extended his hand, wanting to shake Stevenson's hand.
However, Stevenson suddenly recoiled, as if he had been burned.
A blush of shame spread across his face:
"No, Mr. Sorel, you don't need to thank me. This... this is actually amends...
Amends for a mistake I made against you in the past."
Lionel withdrew his hand, growing more curious:
"A mistake? What mistake? I don't recall us meeting before."
Stevenson struggled for a while, but finally shook his head:
"Please don't ask. My dignity does not allow me to personally speak of such an embarrassing thing.
It would stain your ears and make me feel utterly mortified."
Lionel did not press further, a tolerant smile appearing on his face.
He patted the notebook, his tone relaxed:
"Alright, Mr. Stevenson, if you don't want to say, then I won't ask.
But no matter what you did in the past, I choose to forgive you. I'll accept this notebook, and we'll consider ourselves even, how does that sound?"
These words were like a pardon, making Stevenson tremble.
His eyes actually became a little moist, and his voice choked:
"Thank you! Mr. Sorel, thank you for your generosity!
I promise you, I, Robert Louis Stevenson, will write clean articles and earn honest money from now on!"
He thanked him several more times before leaving Lionel's cabin with a sense of relief.
Lionel closed the door and carefully placed the notebook at the bottom of his suitcase; this was an unexpected treasure.
He had just picked up a shirt again, preparing to continue packing—
"Knock, knock, knock."
The cabin door was knocked on once again.
(End of Chapter)