was hard under foot, but, as she said, when the piled foam came softly
up to her waist she "felt gey funny." Half-way across she stumbled into
a hole caused by a swirling eddy, and she thought all was over; but her
nerve never failed her, and she struggled till she got a footing again.
When she reached the hard ground she was wet to the neck, and her hair
was sodden with her one plunge "overhead." Her clothes troubled her with
their weight in crossing the moor; so she put off all she did not need
and pressed forward again. Presently she reached the house where the
coxswain of the lifeboat lived. She gasped out, "The schooner! On the
Letch! Norrad."
The coxswain, who had seen the schooner go past, knew what was the
matter. He said, "Here, wife, look after the lass," and ran out. The
"lass" needed looking after, for she had fainted. But her work was well
done; the lifeboat went round the point, ran north, and took six men
ashore from the schooner. The captain had been washed overboard, but the
others were saved by Dorothy's daring and endurance.
THE SILENT MEN.
Two very reckless fellows used always to go fishing together, and used
also to spend their leisure together. One was known as Roughit; and the
other was called Lance. Roughit was big, with heavy limbs and a rather
brutal face. He wore his hair and beard very long, and his eyes looked
morosely from under thick reddish eyebrows. He scarcely ever spoke to
anybody; and some of the superstitious fishermen did not like to meet
him in the morning, because they thought he always brought them bad
luck. Lance was a handsome man, with small hands and feet. He was not
like the shaggy giants of the village--and, indeed, it had been said
that some people at the Hall knew more about his parentage than might at
first sight be supposed. The two men never talked much, and never
exchanged any kind of greeting when they met and parted. Both of them
were such expert boatmen that excepting on very dark nights they
scarcely needed to communicate except by signs.
On summer afternoons when the herrings were coming southward Roughit
would knock at Lance's door and pass on without a word. Presently Lance
would come out, with his oilskins over one arm and his water-bottle
swung by his side. The coble was lifted on to the launching-wheels and
run down to the water; then the two men took their places, and the boat
stole away northward over the bay. They never carried their fish to any
big port, because their boat was so small that it was not worth their
while. They always ran back to their own village and sold their catch to
the farmers and labourers in their own neighbourhood. When the boat was
beached, Roughit and Lance had their nets driven up to the great green
and then spread in the sun for an hour or two. They sat smoking and
listening to the larks that sung against one another over the common.
About one o'clock they strode home together and went to bed until it was
time to go north once more.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account