Chapter 14, Forty Paces Long And Eight Paces Wide Summary

In Chapter 14, the passengers experience their first hardships on the ship. They are separated into sections for married and unmarried couples. Karl, Robert, Jonas-Petter, and Arvid sleep in the bunks, some of which they share. They have little space under the deck where the air is damp and full of urine and vomit. Robert and other boys examine the ship the size of some households, being forty paces long and eight paces wide. He learns that because it has a gaff sail it is called a brig. Robert meets a man who has been to America, where he worked for a Mormon priest until the priest was hanged in one of the towns.

The second mate distributes water and food, explaining the rules on ship such as not throwing...