“Wull do I remember ut,” he said. “We was runnin’ our Eastun’ down, an’
makun’ heavy weather of ut. Oz fine a sailor-mon oz ever walked was
Samuel Henan. I remember the look of hum wull thot last marnun’,
a-watch-un’ them bug seas curlun’ up astern, an’ a-watchun’ the old girl
an’ seeun’ how she took them—the skupper down below an’ drunkun’ for
days. Ut was ot seven thot Henan brought her up on tull the wund, not
darun’ tull run longer on thot fearful sea. Ot eight, after havun’
breakfast, he turns un, an’ a half hour after up comes the skupper,
bleary-eyed an’ shaky an’ holdun’ on tull the companion. Ut was fair
smokun’, I om tellun’ ye, an’ there he stood, blunkun’ an’ noddun’ an’
talkun’ tull humsel’. ‘Keep off,’ says he ot last tull the mon ot the
wheel. ‘My God!’ says the second mate, standun’ beside hum. The skupper
never looks tull hum ot all, but keeps on mutterun” an’ jabberun’ tull
humsel’. All of a suddent-like he straightens up an’ throws hus head
back, an’ says: ‘Put your wheel over, me mon—now domn ye! Are ye deef
thot ye’ll no be hearun’ me?’
“Ut was a drunken mon’s luck, for the _Starry Grace_ wore off afore thot
God-Almighty gale wuthout shuppun’ a bucket o’ watter, the second mate
shoutun’ orders an’ the crew jumpun’ like mod. An’ wuth thot the skupper
nods contented-like tull humself an’ goes below after more whusky. Ut
was plain murder o’ the lives o’ all of us, for ut was no the time for
the buggest shup afloat tull be runnun’. Run? Never hov I seen the
like! Ut was beyond all thunkun’, an’ me goun’ tull sea, boy an’ men,
for forty year. I tell you ut was fair awesome.
“The face o’ the second mate was white oz death, an’ he stood ut alone
for half an hour, when ut was too much for hum an’ he went below an’
called Samuel an’ the third. Aye, a fine sailor-mon thot Samuel, but ut
was too much for hum. He looked an’ studied, and looked an’ studied, but
he could no see hus way. He durst na heave tull. She would ha’ been
sweeput o’ all honds an’ stucks an’ everythung afore she could a-fetched
up. There was naught tull do but keep on runnun’. An’ uf ut worsened we
were lost ony way, for soon or late that overtakun’ sea was sure tull
sweep us clear over poop an’ all.
“Dud I say ut was a God-Almighty gale? Ut was worse nor thot. The devil
himself must ha’ hod a hond un the brewun’ o’ ut, ut was thot fearsome.
I ha’ looked on some sights, but I om no carun’ tull look on the like o’
thot again. No mon dared tull be un hus bunk. No, nor no mon on the
decks. All honds of us stood on top the house an’ held on an’ watched.
The three mates was on the poop, with two men ot the wheel, an’ the only
mon below was thot whusky-blighted captain snorun’ drunk.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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