by Parker Marvin
It was a cold, September evening in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean. The Pilgrims were crammed under the decks. Fifty foot high waves crashed onto the ship. Sailors ran madly about, using their full effort to put the mainsail down. Almost all the Pilgrims were seasick.
Suddenly...
Crack! A beam cracked inside the ship, above where the Pilgrims were staying. Water as green as a dragon poured in from all sides. What could save them now? They knew they were doomed.
"Mother, I do not want to die!" said a young girl named Mary Chilton. The men used all their might, but they could not set the beam back into place.
"We're doomed for sure!" exclaimed Degory Priest. The men continued pushing as hard as they could, but still failed to put the beam back. The children were crying like mad.
Just then, William Brewster, who owned a printing press, thought to bring out his printing press to try to raise the beam. The printing press had a large wooden screw that just might be able to force the beam back up.
Once they got the printing press in place, the men cranked and cranked and cranked. Finally, they raised the beam back into place. But would the beam snap in half or not? That was the question.
The beam held in place! The Mayflower would sail on!