Chapter 12 Summary

Jack is a prisoner, staring out of the stern windows of Captain Christy-Pelliere's ship, the Desaix.

Jack has been lucky again, for he could not have found a more agreeable captor. Captain Pelliere speaks English perfectly, has English cousins and has taken a remarkably personal interest in Jack, refusing, indeed, to even accept his sword of surrender. Instead, he asked Jack to keep his sword. In addition to that, he has supplied Jack with a gigantic, sumptuous breakfast.

For the doctor, however, his breakfast with the Desaix's doctor is not in that category. Dr. Ramis is most careful with his breakfasts, consisting of milkless cocoa and bread with a tiny smattering of oil. There is an admirable relationship developing between Stephen and the French doctor, despite the food scarcity. In fact, Stephen has read, with admiration, Dr. Ramis' tome, "Specimen Animalium," which Stephen...