1868, Strait of Malacca

Boom! Boom! Cannon¹ fire exploded in the dark, stormy sky.

With a howl, the wind pushed the Wonder, as though helping² it dodge³ the missiles. The moon broke through the clouds, illuminating⁴ the three large Malayan junks bearing down on the Wonder, their cannons⁵ blazing. These pirates would show no mercy.

The jagged outline of an island reared up in front of the Wonder. Rings of broken rock shoals—perfect for grounding ships—surrounded it.

His arms straining, the helmsman wrestled⁶ with the steering⁷ wheel as cannon balls whistled through the air. Debris⁸ rained down on him, shattering the chronometer⁹.

"Sir!" the helmsman shouted to the first mate. "We've lost the clock! We cannot reckon our position through the shoals!"

Scanning the deadly outcroppings ahead of the clipper, the first mate felt a rush of despair. He turned to a f?igure behind him.

"Captain, we must surrender!" the first mate cried. "Or we shall all be lost!"

Alice Kingsleigh stepped out of the shadows, her face f?ierce and determined¹⁰. She had not worked so hard or traveled so far to lose everything.

"I'm not sure surrendering my father's ship guarantees survival, Mr. Phelps," she said calmly.

Alice glanced down at the sextant in her hand, measuring the angle of the moon, and then eyed the barrier shoals ahead. A thrill ran through her as she spotted¹¹ something her f?irst mate had missed.

"Dead ahead! Full sail!" she cried.

Her crew stared at her in disbelief. Had their captain gone mad?

Mr. Phelps tried to reason with her. "Captain! The shoals ... the ship will founder¹²! That's impossible!"

"You know my views on that word, Mr. Phelps!"Alice shot him a stern look. Her father had taught her long ago that anything was possible, and Alice's own adventures had proven that time and again.

"Hard to starboard, Harper!" Alice shouted at the helmsman.

"To starboard? We'll surely capsize!" Harper cried.

"Exactly, Harper. Exactly ..." Alice said. Her eyes were lit with certainty. Harper had never known his captain to be wrong, so he pulled the ship to the right, gritting¹³ his teeth.

The Wonder began to tip to the side even as it barreled toward the rocks. This has to work, Alice thought. Her mad plan was their only hope. Looking skyward, she spotted a young sailor struggling to unfurl the topsail.

"Secure yourselves, men," Alice called as she raced to a halyard. "We're going to roll!" Grabbing hold of the rope, she slashed¹⁴ it with her sword. Alice's eyes shone as the rope lifted her off the deck and carried her to the top of the Wonder. She danced through the rigging and severed¹⁵ the lines keeping the topsail closed. With a whoosh¹⁶, the sail unfurled and snapped full in the raging wind.

Here we go! Alice thought as the Wonder leaned fully¹⁷ horizontal and the mast she clung to dipped into the frigid¹⁸ ocean waves. The keel of the ship scraped along a sandy shoal; then a wave lifted it and pushed it beyond the barrier into calmer waters.

Alice scrambled¹⁹ to reach the mainsails and used her sword to cut them. The sails slumped²⁰ like weary travelers. Without the full force of the storm behind it, the Wonder swung upward, righting itself.

A cheer rose from her crew as she slid down to the deck. Were it not for her, they would be dead, and they knew it. Stepping forward, Mr. Phelps bowed his head in admiration²¹.

"The only way to achieve the impossible is to believe it is possible," Alice told him, thinking of her father's ever-optimistic spirit.

She f?ished her beloved pocket watch from her cloak and gazed at its inscription²²: Charles Kingsleigh, Esq. If only he could be by her side. She stepped across the deck and hung her pocket watch in front of the broken chronometer.

"I trust this will guide us home," she said. As her crew turned the Wonder toward London, Alice added softly under her breath, "It always has ...."

 

1868年，马六甲海峡

轰隆！轰隆！雷雨交加的黑夜，炮火轰鸣。

呼啸中，狂风推着“仙境号”前进，似乎是为了帮它躲开导弹的袭击。月亮冲破云层，照亮了三艘马来人的大帆船，它们正朝着“仙境号”驶来。船上的火炮迸发着火焰。这些海盗可不会心慈手软。

忽然，“仙境号”前方隐约出现一座小岛凹凸不平的轮廓，小岛的四周是一圈碎石铺成的浅滩，这些浅滩可是帆船搁浅的绝佳地点。

炮弹不断从空中呼啸而过，尽管舵手的胳膊早已发酸，但他仍然奋力控制着船舵。炮弹的残片如雨点般落在他的身上，也打碎了航海经线仪。

“头儿！”舵手朝着大副喊道，“我们的表毁了！现在没法估算到达浅滩的位置了！”

大副看到帆船前方那些致命的礁石后，内心涌起一阵绝望。大副转向了他身后的那个人。

“船长，我们只有投降了！”大副大声喊道，“否则我们都活不成了！”

爱丽丝·金斯利从暗处走出来，脸上的神情既激动又坚定。她这么努力地长途跋涉，决不能在这里功亏一篑。

“我不觉得牺牲我父亲的船就能活命，菲尔普斯先生。”她冷静地说。

爱丽丝瞥了一眼手中的六分仪，估算着头顶的月亮和水平面的角度，然后又看向前方的浅滩屏障。当她注意到大副忽略的地方时，立刻兴奋了起来。

“正前方！满帆！”她大喊。

全体船员难以置信地盯着她。难道船长疯了吗？

菲尔普斯试着劝阻她：“船长！这些浅滩……船会沉的！我们不可能过得去！”

“菲尔普斯先生，你知道我对‘不可能’这个词的态度！”爱丽丝严肃地看着他。很久以前父亲就告诉过她，没有什么是不可能的，而她自己的奇遇也一次又一次地证明了这一点。

“哈珀，右满舵！”爱丽丝朝舵手大喊。

“右满舵？那样船肯定会翻的！”哈珀大叫道。

“没错，哈珀！没错……”爱丽丝说道，她的眼神坚定无疑。哈珀知道船长从来没有出过错，于是他咬紧牙关，将船驶向右侧。

正当“仙境号”朝着礁石全速前进时，船身开始向一侧倾斜。一定要成功，爱丽丝心想。这个疯狂的计划是他们唯一的希望了。她抬头看向天空，发现一名年轻的船员正努力着想要拉开上桅杆的帆布。

“注意安全，伙计们。”爱丽丝一边喊，一边跑向升降索，“船要开始加速了！”她紧紧地抓住缆绳，用剑砍掉绳索的下端。绳索带着爱丽丝离开甲板来到“仙境号”的最高处，她的眼睛亮了起来。爱丽丝拽着索具摇摇晃晃，她爬向杆顶，割断了捆着上桅帆的绳索。嗖的一声，船帆鼓了起来，在狂风中全速前进。

成功了！爱丽丝心想。此时，“仙境号”的船身已经完全倾斜到了一侧，她手里握着的桅杆也浸入了冰冷的海浪中。船的龙骨擦着沙质浅滩一路前行；紧接着，一个浪头将船冲起，越过危险的浅滩将它推到平静的海域。

爱丽丝赶忙爬向主帆，用剑将拉起船帆的缆绳砍断。主帆就像疲惫的行者一样，重重地掉了下来。没有了暴风的猛力驱动，“仙境号”的船身一下子直立起来，恢复了平稳。

爱丽丝在船员的一片欢呼声中顺着缆绳滑到甲板上。大家都心知肚明，要不是她，所有人就都死了。菲尔普斯先生走上前来，钦佩地向爱丽丝鞠了一躬。

“实现不可能的唯一方法就是相信它是可能的。”爱丽丝边对他说，边想起父亲那永远乐观的精神。

她从斗篷里摸出心爱的怀表，凝视着上面刻的字：查尔斯·金斯利先生。要是他在身边该有多好。她穿过甲板，将怀表挂在破碎的航海经线仪前。

“我相信它会带我们回家的。”爱丽丝说道。舵手转了舵，“仙境号”朝着伦敦驶去。爱丽丝低声补充道：“它一直都会……”

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