The Arrival

Walter gazed into his monocular in the direction his compass and maps had told him he would find land. For days, they had been off-course, only recently was the problem discovered. But now everything was in order - or at least the anxious captain hoped as much. "The land should be close..." he noted aloud to himself.

--

A young, adventurous man named Joseph Neville Barraud, who had signed on late to the expedition like about two hundred and fifty others. The excitement had spread when the approval was finalized for this young, ambitious captain to colonize the Unexplored Lands and the numbers of the original expedition swelled to nearly double the original, from what Joseph could tell. The expedition added a whole ship to accommodate the influx, so clearly they were significant.

However, so far, Joseph had not liked this expedition. Word was that they were terribly off course. Some of the experienced sailors said they would probably be heading back if land wasn't found soon. Joseph was forever the optimist, but even he was losing his patience and beginning to doubt the plausibility of this effort.

--

Excitement was abound. Cheers spread across the ship as Captain Gilbert came into view. "We are mere hours from landfall," he proclaimed, smiling and pointing with his monocular towards the spotted land area. "Be at the ready, we will have to set up camp quickly once we arrive at shore!" the Captain exclaimed, drawing more cheers at the mention of land. Being at sea for months will make one appreciate land.