少年派的奇幻漂流：Chapter 52

After a thorough investigation, I made a complete list:

- 192 tablets of anti-seasickness medicine

- 124 tin cans of fresh water, each containing 500 millilitres, so 62 litres in all

- 32 plastic vomit bags

- 31 cartons of emergency rations, 500 grams each, so 15.5 kilos in all

- 16 wool blankets

- 12 solar stills

- 10 or so orange life jackets, each with an orange, beadless whistle attached by a string

- 6 morphine ampoule syringes

- 6 hand flares

- 5 buoyant oars

- 4 rocket parachute flares

- 3 tough, transparent plastic bags, each with a capacity of about 50 litres

- 3 can openers

- 3 graduated glass beakers for drinking

- 2 boxes of waterproof matches

- 2 buoyant orange smoke signals

- 2 mid-size orange plastic buckets

- 2 buoyant orange plastic bailing cups

- 2 multi-purpose plastic containers with airtight lids

- 2 yellow rectangular sponges

- 2 buoyant synthetic ropes, each 50 metres long

- 2 non-buoyant synthetic ropes of unspecified length, but each at least 30 metres long

- 2 fishing kits with hooks, lines and sinkers

- 2 gaffs with very sharp barbed hooks

- 2 sea anchors

- 2 hatchets

- 2 rain catchers

- 2 black ink ballpoint pens

- 1 nylon cargo net

- 1 solid lifebuoy with an inner diameter of 40 centimetres and an outer diameter of 80 centimetres, and an attached rope

- 1 large hunting knife with a solid handle, a pointed end and one edge a sharp blade and the other a sawtoothed blade; attached by a long string to a ring in the locker

- 1 sewing kit with straight and curving needles and strong white thread

- 1 first-aid kit in a waterproof plastic case

- 1 signalling mirror

- 1 pack of filter-tipped Chinese cigarettes

- 1 large bar of dark chocolate

- 1 survival manual

- 1 compass

- 1 notebook with 98 lined pages

- 1 boy with a complete set of light clothing but for one lost shoe

- 1 spotted hyena

- 1 Bengal tiger

- 1 lifeboat

- 1 ocean

- 1 God

I ate a quarter of the large chocolate bar. I examined one of the rain catchers. It was a device that looked like an inverted umbrella with a good-sized catchment pouch and a connecting rubber tube.

I crossed my arms on the lifebuoy around my waist, brought my head down and fell soundly asleep.