For the last few weeks now, Hubbard has disappeared every evening into his workshop. During each of these nightly sessions he would place a Japanese paper screen in the corner of the back of the room to hide whatever it was he was doing there. Sometimes I could hear his watch making tools, but most of the time it was very quiet. Two nights ago he brought something upstairs and placed it on the mantle piece in the library. The fireplace is very large indeed but this object, covered with a large cloth, now occupies most of the mantle piece and in order to fit other ornaments had to be cleared off, lest two candles he meticulously maneuvered into spots to either side of the ship. Yesterday evening I could no longer contain my curiosity and asked my old mentor what in the world he had been constructing.

"Perfect timing lad", replied Hubbard, "I am awaiting the arrival of Sebastian and Olivia together with Welder and once we're complete I will show you what I've been working on." Whilst waiting for our guests I decided to prepare hot chocolate, a brew that always appeals to urchins and grouchy old men. Especially when spiced with rum. Sebastian was the first to arrive and Olivia arrived minutes later together with Welder, who kept asking if anybody knew why they had been summoned. "Please sit down, sit down, this is very exciting indeed", said Hubbard with a glowing face. I took a seat on the furthest end of the room with my chair almost in the hallway so the urchins and Welder had a good view. I was assuming I could observe the object at leisure later on anyway. All were now heavily involved in consuming hot chocolate and Marie Éclairs, a treat brought in by Welder made fresh that afternoon by his French cook. "Friends, I do not want to explain what it is exactly what you will be seeing, instead I would like to have you simply experience it", began Hubbard. So far his description did not seem all that comforting and his usage of the word 'experience' gave quite an ominous suggestion. "Without further ado", he said as he carefully removed the cloth from the object, "I present, the Resolution!". On the mantle piece above the roaring fireplace stood an exact and finely detailed replica of Captain Cook's ship: HMS Resolution.

"Very nice", said Welder, "must have taken you a long time to build. I did not know you were into model construction?" Olivia and Sebastian wanted a closer look, but right before they were close enough to do damage with their chocolate covered hands, Hubbard stopped them and placed them at a safe distance. "It is not just a model ship that you see here", said Hubbard, carefully keeping an eye on Olivia who was inching herself towards the fireplace again. "You see before you a story!", exclaimed Hubbard as if the conclusion should be obvious to everyone. Welder turned to me and whispered: "He's getting old, just smile, we'll let him have his little fantasy." I must admit, it was a little strange but my mentor never did anything without a rational purpose, even though it is true he was prone to fantasize. Hubbard sat down on a little chair, which I had never seen before in the library and consulted his pocket watch. This he did for what felt like minutes. Sebastian started turning in his seat but Hubbard stopped this immediately by raising his hand towards the boy without his eyes leaving the watch. When some unseen signal had made itself known to the watchmaker he put away his timepiece, straightened himself and turned towards us.

"Dear audience, many years ago a man by the name of captain James Cook sailed from here on many voyages of exploration", began the watchmaker, now in a calm voice. Something in the room suddenly blew out the candles behind us and only two candles remained lighted, those next to the ship model. "His ship was the finest in the fleet. When all sails were raised and cargo carefully stowed, the ship could outpace any frigate in the Royal Navy, as well as any foreign ship of the line." Something very peculiar happened just then. I could have sworn a heavy wind blew across the library, for the sails of the little ship started flapping and bucking against a moderate gale. Curiously no wind could actually be felt even though all visual elements were present. Something resembling a light low hanging fog entered the room and created a limelight view of the interior and its occupants. The fireplace and on top of it the ship could still be seen but an eerie mist-induced glow was now between us. Only now did I notice that the model was rocking side to side and slightly up and downwards, as if it were at sea. This suggestion was emphasized even more by the sounds of wooden beams softly creaking. Perhaps it was my imagination but I could have sworn I heard voices coming from the decks of that model ship. Hubbard sat steadfast in his chair and with a glass of wine in his right hand he stared past us towards something his mind projected onto the far wall. He continued: "Cook's voyages were to take him across the world towards the South Pacific in search for unknown lands. A firm law, known to any seafaring man, is that for every land you discover a hand must surely suffer. This was no exception on Cook's ship and during his third voyage towards what we now know as the Hawaiian Islands many hardships had to be endured. Cook's endurance did not end when he and his crew finally arrived the promised land he called the Sandwich Islands, although at first he was treated as a representative of their God: Lono."

From somewhere in front of us, distant drum sounds could be heard. A very low rumbling noise came from somewhere out of the fireplace, or at least it must have come from there. The little ship itself had fallen silent but was still slightly wobbling, as if moored at the docks. Hubbard who was clearly enjoying his narrative continued the telling: "Cook was welcomed with open arms and treated to many feasts and ceremonies. It should be obvious that the crew wanted to stay. Cook did not mind that much, his was a voyage of exploration and the time could be used to discover the resources of the islands. New provisions were stored on board and the ship was cleaned top to bottom. They had torn their main spencer and needed some time to mend the damage. Lavishing on local foods, the crew was not content to leave and Cook had a most difficult time getting all his hands on deck. All in all the explorers spent two weeks with the natives and after heavy trading set sail north bound with a hold filled with goods. Cook reached north as far as Alaska before turning back again towards warmer waters. Perhaps he remembered his stay on the friendly islands and perhaps he was no longer in such a rush to conquer the globe. Seas may have been warmer again but the weather was fiercer indeed."

Here Hubbard stopped and consulted his pocket watch. For a moment he seemed confused and absent mindedly sipped from his wine. "What happened then?", asked Sebastian. "I believe my watch has stopped, very peculiar, very peculiar", answered Hubbard. "Not the watch, what happened to Cook?", said Olivia. "Ah yes of course, the third voyage of Captain Cook." Hubbard finally continued: "The crew and captain found themselves in a heavy storm. The sails they had repaired not weeks before tore before their very eyes and as soon as the storm had started a large amount of water was taken in, making the ship heavy in the water. Men were running frantically to their posts to adjust the ship's configuration for the storm, which is normally done in fairer weather. When wind gets hold of sails they stay up and making them come down is not an easy thing to do. Rain was streaming down and turned the decks into a washboard, flushing anything that was not stowed away off the ship. Most of the sails had been tied down but not enough of them. On February 4th 1779 when the ship tried to turn away and thus save the sails, the foremast gave way and broke clean through. Losing the foremast was disastrous but may have saved their lives since the wind had less of a hold on the ship now." The little ship on the mantle piece was now clearly fighting against imaginary waves and the creaking of wood and flapping of cloth was now audible to all present. From deep within the fireplace thunder came rolling down and Welder even asked me to look out the window to see if it had started storming outside. For a little while I could have sworn I heard men yelling and screaming far away, somewhere on that ship in front of us.

"Cook's ship and men survived, but barely", continued the watchmaker. "Their only glint of good fortune was that they could easily make their way back to their private heaven on the Sandwich Islands. To their astonishment, their landing was different than last time and they were not greeted with welcoming hands. The natives could not figure out why their God needed to return and even more astonishing to them was the fact that he needed their help. Very soon Cook was seen as an impostor and when he realized this he took their chief hostage as a means of securing safe passage. He was able to sustain himself on the Island for barely two weeks, when on the 11th he lost the final standoff. The natives overpowered him and his men as they were on their way to the ship. What exactly happened to the famous traveler we do not know, but we do know he lost his life on that fateful day."

We all sank back in our chairs. The model ship was again quietly bobbing on the mantelpiece. The fog started lifting and was slowly sucked away into the fireplace. Wood settled again and the creaking noises subsided. Very soon it was as if no storm or thunder had ever appeared in our midst's. Hubbard was simply glowing: "Well how did you like it? Worked rather well I should say?" "How in the world did you do that?", asked Welder. "Simple mechanics and some other tricks.", replied Hubbard. "Ahem!", came a voice from behind us. "And Helen helped tremendously with the fog and the sound effects", added the watchmaker hastily. Helen the maid nodded, looking extremely dirty as if she had had her head stuck in the chimney for hours, which was probably the case. "I will be cleaning up now", she said, "was there anything else you wanted?" "No dear, you were sublime, I thank you for your assistance." Helen departed with her chin in the air and a dignified tread. "You wouldn't believe the voices she can do", said Hubbard, staring after her.

"Amice, I will have to return tomorrow so you can show me the intricacies of that contraption of yours", said Welder as he stood up from his chair. "Come Olivia, it is my duty to deliver you safely to Mrs. Vandermeer. She must be worried sick by now I'm sure", he added. Olivia moved along slowly not wanting to leave and it took Welder forever to get her coat on and out the door. Sebastian by now was inspecting the little device up close. Too close for Hubbard's comfort who shooed the urchin away from his precious machine. "Time to go Sebastian, there are more tales in there than just tonight, you'll see." Sebastian made his exit by saying he was going to sail around the world as well. "I'm sure you will and I'm sure you will dream your first voyage shortly", added Hubbard.

"How did you do it?" I asked when everybody had left, echoing Welder's thoughts. "It is all mechanical of course, and there is not that much to it", replied Hubbard. "The most difficult part was scaling down the parts of the ship in such a way that when they moved they moved realistically. Take the sails for instance, they were washed, stretched and scraped until they were as thing as razorblades. Only then would they respond to the winds that were put to them. The rest of the ship was not modified much. A large weight in the center that moves like a pendulum powered by the mechanics I took out of a German carriage clock. As the weight moves around in the hold, the ship moves appropriately. Small nails placed throughout the ship's hull are pulled by wires to create the creaking sounds". I stopped my mentor from explaining more. Not knowing was much more rewarding than knowing the intricacies of the device. In the future I plan to spend evenings gazing at the small ship that seems to move as if motivated by unseen forces and see if it can tell more stories like the one we just heard.

"... I had ambition not only to go farther than any one had been before, but as far as it was possible for man to go ..."

~James Cook, R.N.