At night, the Alvarado sugar plantation was unusually quiet, and both the white overseers and black slaves had returned to their houses to enjoy a rare rest. At this moment, suddenly there was a sound of "rattling" from the sugarcane fields that were blown by a strong but not too deep wind, and I saw that the sugarcane on the top of the sugarcane, which was composed of a few tender knots and blue-green leaves, was slightly blown away by a gust of wind.

A few white overseers who were sitting in the house drinking and chatting suddenly craned their necks, listening with alarm to the strong wind, which was somewhat similar to that of a hurricane. At the same time, several people sitting under the pergola of the plantation owner Diego Alvarado's house became a little nervous. In particular, the two young female black slaves standing in the corner of the pergola were even more frightened, and they kept chanting a few simple words of Spanish in their mouths: "Harriken is here, Harriken is here..."

Perhaps it was a louder voice that Isabel Walton, who was sitting across from the plantation owner, could hear her. After looking at the two black slave women and listening carefully to each other's words, he turned his gaze to the plantation owner, "Mr. Alvarado, what does your black slave girl seem to be talking about?" ”

Diego, whose face became extremely serious, did not go to see the black slave servant, but walked under the eaves of the pergola and observed the changes in the clouds in the sky, "Miss Brenda, actually, my servant is talking about a kind of demon in the Caribbean. ”

Captain Hawkins looked at Isabel on one side and said with certainty, "I think it's probably a gust of wind blowing from the sea." ”

"Well, if it's a squall, return to port at once." Isabel commanded Captain Hawkins, then stood up and walked over to the sturdy Alvarado and looked at the sky, "Sir, do you know what this demon looks like?" ”

"Demons?! Mademoiselle, this is a name given to the Caribbean natives for the wind blowing from the sea. This kind of wind blowing from the sea will destroy everything on the coast. ”

"Well, I see. Sir, do you feel a strong wind blowing now? ”

"Not yet." Diego retracted his jaw and shook his head as he looked at her,

Whether it's the tempest or the demon "Harriken", Isabel can now confirm that this unprovoked gale is somewhat similar to a hurricane. A hurricane is a tropical cyclone with winds of 33 m/s or more, and its name varies depending on the region. Any wind that generates in the Atlantic, the Caribbean, and the eastern North Pacific, any tropical cyclone, and any gale force wind that reaches force 12 can be called a hurricane.

The eastern part of the island of Spain has a rainy season from May to November and a hurricane season from June to November. It is also surrounded by the sea on three sides, lacks natural barriers, and is often hit by hurricanes in summer and autumn. Because of the geographical location of the plantation, a strong wind may be a harbinger of a hurricane.

When the two returned to their respective seats, the occasional strong wind actually stopped. No longer worried about the hurricane, Alvarado removed a small pipe made of palm fronds from his neck and picked up a small box from the small table next to his seat. Holding the small pipe in his left hand, he grabbed a handful of grass leaves from the small box with three fingers with his right hand, put it into the small pipe, and pressed it vigorously with his thumb.

At this time, a black slave girl had already gently come to her master's side, picked up a burning candle from the small table, and lit the blades of grass in the small pipe for her master. After a while, a puff of fragrant smoke erupted from the mouth of the plantation owner, Alvarado. Looking at his expression again, it was like being drunk. The strong smell of smoke seemed to completely empty his brain and relax his spirit.

Captain Hawkins, who was sitting on one side, was completely stunned by the scene, staring at the little pipe with his eyes wide open. He looked at Alvarado, who was spewing clouds and mist, "Sir, this is the smoke that only happens when the devil appears, you... Are you the devil!? ”

Isabel, who sat across from the plantation owner, knew of course what his actions and the smoke he puffed meant, he was smoking tobacco. As a puff of smoke from the plantation owner's mouth hit her, she involuntarily waved her hand to the sides. Frowning, he stared at the plantation owner and said, "Sir, did you learn this from the natives?" ”

"Hahaha... Miss Brenda, I didn't expect you to know even the elixir? It seemed that Alvarado, who had smoked a few puffs of cigarettes, was much better and spoke with great energy.

"Holy medicine? Miss, what is the Holy Medicine? Since it is medicine, why can you spit smoke out of your mouth? Captain Hawkins, whose curiosity was soaring, looked at her and asked a few questions.

Isabel is well aware of the dangers that smoking can bring to the smoker's body. Even if she has never smoked, she will also suffer from the damage to her body from passive smoking. As he quickly stood up and walked towards the eaves outside the pergola, he turned to look at Captain Hawkins, "Captain, Mr. Alvarado can explain everything to you." ”

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The evening's talks ended in a smoky and pleasant atmosphere. Captain Hawkins took the small pipe and a small box of tobacco silk given to him by the plantation owner Diego Alvarado, and looked at Isabel in a very good mood, "Miss, do you know that the elixir can not only quench hunger and thirst, but also drive away fatigue and restore strength. ”

Holding a copy of the plantation's first Spanish grammar book published in the Spanish Empire in 1492, Isabel looked at the contents without blinking and said, "I see." Captain, anything else? ”

Captain Hawkins glanced at the smiling plantation owner on the other side, and then at her, "Mr. Alvarado said that this blade of grass can be used to cure toothache, parasitic diseases and bad breath when burned. He said that some Spanish sailors who had been to the Americas also believed that it could cure the plague (the Black Death, or the plague). ”

"It turns out that the plague can only be cured with the harshest means of quarantine and washing hands, face and feet with soap."

"Miss, this is just a rumor among the crew. Still, you can't deny its medicinal effects. ”

Isabel didn't want to explain any more, and looked up from her book at Captain Hawkins, "Well, since it's a holy medicine, I just hope you can use it to avoid the plague." ”

Alvarado looked at Isabel with an approving gaze, "Miss, I hope you will not refuse such a small gift, albeit just a book on Spanish law. ”

Isabel smiled as she closed the book, "Sir, tell me what your purpose is." ”