- On the morning of Charlotte's forty-fifth day at sea, the hurricane strikes. Captain Jaggery commands that the ship sail through the storm.
- Captain Jaggery gives Charlotte the task of cutting down the foreyard sail so that it won't pull the mast down. He gives her a knife.
- Charlotte climbs into the rigging with the knife between her teeth. Her long hair gets in her way, so she stops and hacks it off with a knife.
- After much struggle, Charlotte reaches the top of the mast and begins cutting the ropes holding the sail. At one point, Charlotte slips, drops the knife, and is dangling from a great height.
- Charlotte loses the grip of one hand but right before she can fall, a figure appears and grabs her, yanking her back onto the spar. It's Zachariah!
- Charlotte hears an explosion as the foreyard rips away. When she looks back, Zachariah is gone.
- As the crew clears the deck, they find Mr. Hollybrass with a knife in his back. Charlotte recognizes the knife as the dirk Zachariah gave her.
- The captain approaches Mr. Hollybrass's body and takes something from the corpse's fingers. It is Charlotte's handkerchief.
- The captain orders the crew to take the body below, clear the deck, and man the pumps. Charlotte helps pump the water.
- Finally, the storm is over and Charlotte sleeps.