THE WAGER

Not so long ago, in London , England there lived a young man named, William Turner. Turner was a very shrewd man and he made his living by gambling. Turner would wager on almost any type of event or activity. He once wagered on which flower a fluttering butterfly would land! Everyone knew Turner for his relentless gambling habit. Everyone also knew that he always won his wagers.

The Fourth of July was approaching and that meant the annual Fourth of July cruise, from London to New York would soon take place. Turner was very happy because he knew this would be the perfect opportunity to gamble and to earn a fortune. The day finally arrived and the cruise ship docked to pick up the passengers. Turner quickly purchased his passage and boarded the ship, filled with unsuspecting victims. When Turner boarded the ship he carefully looked around for people whom he felt he could easily outwit.

Once the ship set sail, Turner found the perfect man with which to wager. The man's name was Andrew Thorton. Turner casually walked up to Thorton and started a conversation. They spoke about various topics and finally, making believe he was bored, Turner perked up, looked at Thorton and asked, "How would you like to make this voyage a bit more interesting?"

Thorton looked puzzled at Turner and responded, "What exactly did you have in mind?"

Turner smiled and stated, "Would you like to make a wager with me? We can spice up this voyage."

Thorton rubbed his chin with his hand, thought for a minute, and said, "Yes, indeed I do! What shall we wager?"

Turner also thought for a moment then slowly smiled and said, "I'll wager you ten thousand dollars that this ship won't arrive in New York on time."

Thorton laughed and replied to Turner, "Are you mad? This is the fastest ship in the fleet. If anything, it will arrive ahead of schedule."

"Well then, it looks like a sure bet for you. It would be a shame to pass up such a fine offer," replied Turner.

"Fair enough, if the ship arrives there late I will pay you ten thousand dollars. However, if it arrives there on time, you shall pay me."

The two men laughed heartily and shook hands.

Over the next few days, Turner enjoyed himself and did not worry about the wager. Turner ate, danced, and mingled with the other passengers all day long. After all, when he purchased his ticket, just before boarding the ship, the ticket agent had warned Turner that the ship would be delayed in arriving at New York by at least half a day because of a terrible storm off of New York . Turner could afford to laugh and dance. He was already counting his money.

The day before the ship was due to arrive in New York , the passengers were eating breakfast in the main dining room. Captain Sparrow, the ship's captain, would eat breakfast with the passengers every day during the cruise. Each day the old captain would stand up during breakfast and tell the passengers a story about his many years at sea. That morning, however, Captain Sparrow told a very different story. A story that would change Turner's life forever. Captain Sparrow stood up and said, "Normally, I would tell you a tale of the sea. But today I have some news that will make you quite pleased. When we left London , the weather reports called for a terrible storm off of New York , with gale winds and large waves. I knew this would delay us for at least one day. But I did not want to alarm you so I decided to wait and see if the weather would change. You will be pleased to learn that the storm has moved out and we will be arriving in New York , tomorrow, at lunchtime as scheduled." All the passengers clapped and cheered while Turner sat motionless like a statue. All of a sudden Turner realized his wager was lost and he would owe Thorton ten thousand dollars. Ten thousand dollars he didn't have.

The rest of that day Turner paced frantically around the deck scheming for a way to delay the boat. After the fourth time Turner circled the deck he stopped and noticed an old man sitting at the very rear of the ship. He was sitting on a deck chair, facing the ocean. He was an old man about seventy years old, Turner guessed. He was all bundled up in a blanket with a hat, coat and dark glasses. Turner remembered seeing the old man in the same spot, sitting in the same chair, dressed the same way, every morning during the voyage. Suddenly a strange smile appeared on Turner's face.

Turner was starting to count his money again. He came up with a brilliant plan to stop the ship long enough to win his wager. The plan was filled with danger. But ten thousand dollars was a lot of money and Turner was a good swimmer. In a split second Turner realized that if he jumped overboard the ship would have to stop to pick him up. It was a big ship. It would take time to turn the ship around and stop. It would take more time to launch the lifeboat and row out to him. It would then take time to bring him into the lifeboat and row back to the ship. Then they would have to get the lifeboat back onto the ship and take Turner to the ship's hospital. Then the captain would want to see Turner and inquire what had happened. By the time Turner stopped thinking of all the possibilities, he figured that he could delay the ship's arrival by at least two hours.

Now Turner started to plan how he would 'fall' into the ocean and make it appear to be an accident. He remembered the old man sat out there while everyone else was eating breakfast. It was perfect. Tomorrow morning, while everyone else was having breakfast, Turner would fall overboard near the old man. The old man would immediately run for help yelling and screaming. The captain would stop the boat and rescue Turner. If the old man told anyone Turner had jumped, they would think he was mistaken and Turner would tell them what 'really' happened. Everyone would believe Turner not the old man. After all, he was an old man. He wouldn't be able to tell the difference. Turner had it all carefully planned out. He would jump tomorrow morning during breakfast.

That night Turner ate, danced and had the time of this life. Tomorrow he would be ten thousand dollars richer.

The next morning, while everyone was sitting down to breakfast, Turner was walking towards the old man sitting in the deck chair as usual. He stopped next to the old man, smiled at him, turned to make sure no one else was looking and jumped overboard.

A few seconds later, while he was fighting to swim in the cold water, Turner stared up at the old man at the rear of the ship. He could see him clearly. But the old man didn't get up. Turner thought the old man didn't see him, so Turner began waving his arms while yelling and screaming, "Help, help! Anyone help!"

No one came to Turner's rescue. The old man never got up to get help. In fact, the old man never moved. The ship never stopped or even slowed down. The ship continued on its way as Turner still screamed with horror. It took about twenty minutes before Turner's arms and legs became too tired to swim anymore. By then, the ship was miles away sailing into the horizon. It took only a few seconds for Turner to realize that the ship would never rescue him. And it only took Turner one second to realize that he was about to drown. But in that final second all Turner could think of was how could that old man have left him to drown? Why didn't the old man run and get help? How could he just sit there and watch him die? How could he have lost his wager; Turner never lost a wager. That was his final thought as he sank into the dark blue ocean.

The ship arrived in New York , on time at twelve o'clock . Thorton was the last passenger to leave the ship. Thorton had spent the last hour searching the ship in anger, looking to collect his money. In the end, Thorton figured Turner was a coward and a cheat. Thorton thought to himself he probably was the first man off the ship. He didn't realize how right he was.

In reality, Turner lost his wager seventy years earlier -- when the old man was born deaf and blind.

Jacqueline M. Penichet

Age: 13