Harley ran on deck. The crew was scrambling into lifeboats. There was no room for him！ He had no choice but to jump into the black water and start to swim.
Suddenly， in the darkness， his fingers hit something hard. It was a life raft！ Climbing aboard， Harley called out again and again. But no one answered.
Soon his first feeling of panic left him. In one way he was lucky. The raft had enough food and water for 15 men for several weeks.
At daybreak， Harley saw some little boxes floating by. He fished one out of the sea. Chewing gum！ Quickly， he hauled in 20 small cartons.
In the afternoon， Harley spotted another raft. He tied it to his own. Later， a third raft bobbed up. And then a mattress floated by him in the wreckage. Harley could hardly believe his eyes. Here was the start of a bedroom！
He tugged the mattress aboard. Using boxes， he made himself a bed. With a blanket， he made a shade from the hot sun.
The next morning， he ate like a king. He had tomato juice， codfish and biscuits. Supper was a feastfeast feast of beans and canned tunatuna fish. And afterwards， there was chewing gumchewing gun ！
On the third day， Harley made a net. He used bandagesbandagen from the first-aid kit. With this net， he caught several fish. Then he built a little house from food cases. From flags， he made a sail.
The sea was always peaceful. Every day was like a vacation！ When the sun got hot，the carefree sailor took a swim. After that， he enjoyed a sunbath as he chewed more gum， of course.
Each evening， Harley scratched a mark on the mast. This mark showed that another day had passed. Then， before going to bed， he went for a walk on the two rafts floating behind.
Harley A. Olson was delighted with his Kingdom on the Sea！
The pleasure trip lasted 28 days. On the morning of the 29th day， Harley spotted a dark dot far off. The dot grew bigger. It was a ship！
Harley leaped and shouted. He tore the “sail” from the mast and waved wildly. Could they see him？ yes， the ship was heading his way！
Soon the ship was near the rafts. But harley had to paddle with his hands to get close enough to the big boat. Sailors tossed over a rope ladder. Grabbing the end of it， Harley scrambled up the “stairway of string”.
As he tumbled onto the deck， a sailor stooped to help him. But Harley jumped to his feet.
“I’m all right.” he said. “I want to report to the captain. Where‘s his cabin？”
Once there， Harley met the captain-and trouble！ Harley told his story. But the captain would not believe him！
“You look too healthy.” said the captain. “You couldn’t have been on a raft for four weeks！”
Harley stuck to his story. But it was no use. The captain would not believe him.
“You‘re a spy.” he snapped. “The plan is clear. You were left adrift to be saved by one of our ships. That way you could get into the United States！”
Harley did get into the United States-at Key West， Florida. FBI men were there to meet him， They checked his fingerprints. They checked his story. They checked everything！
Finally， they let him go. Harley Olson was an American citizen， all right. Just a gum-chewing sailor from Portland， Oregon！
Happy Ending for All
Harley learned later about the rest of the crew. They were all safe. Other ships had enjoyed being shipwrecked not so much as Harley A. Olson！
哈利在漂流中度过的愉快日子
“火！ 火！船在下沉！”
无线电报务员哈利·奥尔森被一声爆炸扔到床下后，他拼命工作， 试图发出一个求救信号，但是断电了。
哈利跑上甲板，船员们正争先恐后地爬上救生艇。船里已没有哈利待的地方了！他别无选择，只得跳入黑黝黝的水中，开始游泳。
突然，在黑暗中，他的手指碰上了什么硬东西。原来是一只救生筏！哈利爬上去后，一声又一声地喊了又喊，但是没有人回答。
他起初感到的恐慌很快就消失了。有一个方面他是幸运的。这只救生筏上有足够15个人过几个星期的食品和水。
拂晓时，哈利又看见有一些小盒子从旁边漂过去。他从海里捞起一个， 是口香糖！他很快又从海里拉上来20小盒的口香糖。
下午， 哈利又发现了一只救生筏。他把它和自己那只救生筏拴在一起。后来，又突然冒出一只救生筏来。 接着，漂流物中有一张床垫从他身旁漂过。哈利简直不相信自己的眼睛，现在可以开始搭个卧室啦！
他使劲把弹簧垫子拉了上来。他用箱子给自己搭了一个床。用毯子做了凉棚遮挡灼热的阳光。
次日清晨，他像国王似的吃了一顿丰盛的早餐。他喝了西红柿汁，吃了鳕鱼和饼干。晚餐简直是开宴会--豆子加罐头金枪鱼，饭后还有口香糖！
第三天，哈利做了一个网，是用急救箱里的绷带制成的。他用网捕了几条鱼。然后他用食品箱子盖了一个小屋。他用旗帜做了一张帆。
大海一直风平浪静。每天都像度假一样！烈日当空时，这位无忧无虑的水手就下水游泳，接着就享受一下日光浴--当然，嘴里一边还嚼着口香糖。
每天傍晚，哈利在桅杆上画一个记号，这表示又过了一天。然后，在睡觉前，他还要到漂在后面的两个救生筏上散一下步。
哈利·A.奥尔森为他的海上王国感到十分得意。
这次娱乐航行持续了28天。第29天的早晨，哈利发现远处有一个小黑点。这个点越来越大，原来是一艘轮船！
哈利又跳又喊，他撕下桅杆上的“帆”拼命挥舞着。他们看得见他吗？看见了，轮船正迎着他开来！
不久，轮船接近了救生筏。为了紧靠近那只大船，哈利只好用手划水，水手们扔下一个软梯，哈利抓住绳梯末端，爬上了“绳子的楼梯”。
哈利翻过船舷，摔倒在甲板上，一个船员弯身去扶他，可是他却一蹦就站起身来。
“我挺好。”他说。“我要向船长报告，他的船舱在哪儿？”
一到船长的舱里，哈利就见到了船长--可是也遇到了麻烦！哈利把自己的经历讲了一遍，但是船长却不相信他！
“你看上去很健康，”船长说，“你不可能在救生筏上待过四个礼拜。”
哈利坚持表示自己说的是真情，但是毫无用处，船长就是不相信他。
“你是一个 间谍，”他厉声说道，“你们的计划很清楚。他们让你在海上漂泊，等我们的一艘船将你救起。这样一来你就可以进入美国了！”
哈利的确进了美国--在佛罗里达州的基韦斯特入境。联邦调查局人员在那儿等着他，他们核查了他的指纹，他的经历，他的一切！
最后，他们把他放了。哈利·奥尔森是美国公民，没错。他是俄勒冈州波特兰人，只不过是一个爱嚼口香糖的水手而已！
皆大欢喜的结局
后来哈利了解到其余船员的下落。他们都安全了。别的轮船把他们救了起来，但是轮船失事后没有一个船员像哈利·A.奥尔森那样悠哉乐哉！
The Last Days of Vincent van Gogh
by Robert Wernick
