Vocabulary
Chapters 1 - 5

Definition: adj. not refined or processed
 Then they blew up six of our small lake tankers, the tubby ones that still bring crude oil from Lake Maracaibo to the refinery, Curagaosche Petroleum
Maatschappij, to be made into gasoline, kerosene, and diesel oil.

Definition: n. a large square-rigged sailing ship with three or more masts

Or sometimes we’d pretend we were the
Dutch going out on raids against
Spanish galleons.

Definition: n. sailing vessel used in former times
 Of course, they were only the tattered-sailed native schooners from Venezuela, Aruba, or
Bonaire coming in with bananas, oranges, papayas, melons, and vegetables.

Definition: v. request earnestly; ask for aid or protection
 The radio was on, and a voice said that fiftysix men had died on the lake tankers that were blown up and that the governor of the
Netherlands’ West Indies had appealed to
Washington for help.

Definition: n. the art of operating aircraft
 Late in the afternoon, my father, whose name was also Phillip —Phillip Enright—returned home from the refinery where he was working on the program to increase production of aviation gas.

Definition: n. countryside
 Fishing or sailing our small boat, or taking long hikes around Krup Bay or Seroe Male, or just going out into the koenoekoe, the countryside, together.

Definition: adj. on the side away from the wind
 I loved the old fort, and the schooners, the
Ruyterkade market with the noisy chickens and squealing pigs, the black people shouting; I loved the koenoekoe with its giant cactus; the divi-divi trees, their odd branches all on the leeward side of the trunk; the beautiful sandy beach at Westpunt.

Definition: v. show unwillingness towards
 The next morning my father said that the
Chinese crews on the lake tankers that shuttled crude oil across the sand bars at
Maracaibo had refused to sail without naval escorts.

Definition: v. be contingent upon
 The people had been very proud that the little islands of Aruba and Curasao were now among the most important islands in the world; that victory defeat depended on them.

Definition: n. open rebellion against constituted authority
 They were angry with the Chinese crews, and on the third day, my father said that mutiny charges had been placed against them.

Definition: n. any heavy material used to stabilize a ship or airship
 The big tankers from the United States or
England always carried fresh water to us in ballast, and then it was distilled again so that we could drink it.

Definition: adj. near or toward the stern of a ship or tail of an airplane
 She had machine guns fore and aft, one of the few armed ships in the harbor.

Definition: v. become invisible or unnoticeable
 The Empire Tern had vanished in a wall of red flames, and black smoke was beginning to boil into the sky.

Definition: v. squeeze together tightly
 Father was smiling and very gay but when the Hato’s whistle blasted out three times, meaning it was time to go, he said good-by to us between clenched teeth.

Definition: v. leave behind empty; move out of
 She helped me put on my life jacket, then put hers on, saying, “Now, remember everything that we were told about abandoning ship.”

Definition: n. the ship's officer who is in charge of dining arrangements
 We were thrown against the cabin door, which the steward had warned us not to lock because it might become jammed.

Definition: v. cause to start burning
 Tins of lubricating oil in the afterholds had ignited and were exploding, but the ones forward had not been exposed to the fire.

Definition: n. a type of West Indian music with
African rhythm
 The Negro was sitting with his back toward me, humming something in calypso .

Definition: n. an instrument used for measuring angular distances between objects
 He was carrying a brief case and a navigation instrument I knew to be a sextant.

Definition: n. a raised mark on the skin
 He had a big welt, like a scar, on his left cheek.

Definition: n. angular distance between the equator and a parallel line
 As to our veree location, I mus ’ guess we are somewhar roun d’cays, somewhar mebbe fifteen latitude an’ eighty long.

Definition: v. abandon hope; lose heart

He said, “Do not be despair, young bahss.
Someone will fin’ us.

Definition: v. make calm or still
 After a bit, lulled by the bobbing of the raft and by the soft, pleasant sounds of the sea against the oil barrel floats, I went to sleep again.

Definition: adj. greatly exceeding bounds of reason or moderation

He said, “I knew a Phillip who feesh out of St.
Jawn, but an outrageous mahn he was.”

Definition: v. dried out by heat or excessive exposure to sunlight
 My lips were parched and my throat was dry.

Definition: adv. in a rebellious manner
 I said defiantly , “A schooner will find us. And my father has ships out looking for us.”

Definition: adj. unpleasantly cool and humid
 They were stiff from salt and felt clammy.

Definition: n. the process of remembering

“I 'ave no recollection o’ anythin' cept dese islan’s. Tis pure outrageous, but I do not remember anythin ’ 'bout a place called
Afreca .”

Definition: v. search blindly or uncertainly
 His eyes groped through the darkness for mine.

Definition: adj. incapable of being put up with
 The pain in my head was almost unbearable now, and I remember moaning.

Definition: n. an unchanging intonation
 The faint drone of the aircraft seemed closer now.

Definition: v. put out, as of a candle or a light
 After a moment of silence, I heard the sizzle of the water as Timothy doused the torch.

Definition: v. take away the enthusiasm of

“Do not be dishearten, young bahss. Today, we will be foun ’, to be true.”

Definition: n. a crayfish or rock lobster
 Langosta, I knew was the native lobster, the one without claws.