Adrift in a Boat | Page 8

were soon set. It was as much sail as the boat in the rising
gale could carry, and away she flew seaward. The old man took the
helm, and the boy, who had not spoken, laid in his oar, and facing
forward, put his hand on the foresheet to be ready to go about when the
word was given. The boat was somewhat old and battered, like its
master,--the rigging especially seemed in a bad condition.
The old man saw the boys examining her, and divined their thoughts.
"She's not like one of your fine-painted yachts, young masters; but she
has helped to save your lives, and she'll serve my time, I'm pretty sure
of that," he observed. "She'll be tried, howsomever, not a little to-night,
I'm thinking. We were late as it was coming up from `Put off shoal,'
and this work with you made us still later, so that we shall have to be
thankful if we get into Penmore harbour before the tide turns."
"She is a good boat, no doubt, and at all events we are most thankful to
you for having by her means saved our lives," said David; and Harry
repeated what he had said.
"No, young masters, it wasn't I saved you, it was God. Don't thank me.
Man can do no good thing of himself, you know, and I couldn't have
saved you if it hadn't been His will." The fishing-boat went careering
on over the foaming seas, guided by the skilful hand of the old man. It
is surprising how much sea a small boat with good beam will go

through when well managed. The old man was far more loquacious
than the young one, who sat quite still forward, only every now and
then turning his face aside as the spray dashed in it, and shaking the
water from his sou'-wester.
To the boys' inquiry of the old man to which place he belonged, "Little
better than a mile to the eastward of where I took you aboard," he
replied; "but when the wind blows as it does now, there's no place for
landing nearer than Penmore harbour. That matters nothing, as we get a
good market for our fish near there, and we have a good lot to sell, you
see." He pointed to the baskets in the centre of the boat, well filled with
mackerel and several other kinds of fish. He told them that his name
was Jonathan Jefferies, that he had married a Cornish woman, and
settled in the parish, and that the lad was his grandson. "Not quite right
up there," he remarked, touching his forehead; "but he is a good lad,
and knows how to do his duty. We call him Tristram Torr, for he is our
daughter's son. She is dead, poor thing, and his father was lost at sea,
we suppose, for he went away and never came back."
The old man thus continued giving scraps of his family history, till the
gloom of evening gave way to the darkness of night. His chief regret at
being out so late was that his old woman would be looking for him, as
he had told her that he expected to be home earlier than usual. The
darker it grew the less talkative, however, he became; indeed, all his
attention was taken up in steering, for with the darkness the wind and
sea increased, till the boat could hardly look up to it. At last Harry and
David began to suspect that though they had escaped from the rock,
they were in no small danger of being swamped, and thus, after all,
losing their lives. Every now and then a heavy sea broke into the boat
and half filled her. Still the boy Tristram said nothing, but turning
round took a bailer from under the thwart, and began energetically
bailing away. Harry and David did the same with their hats, till old
Jefferies handed them a bucket, with which they more rapidly cleared
the boat. They had to be quick about it, for scarcely was she free of
water than another sea came in and again half filled her. It seemed also
pretty evident to them that instead of going to windward she was
making leeway, though, as the tide was still running to the eastward,

she was going in that direction. The two boys were feeling thoroughly
chilled and uncomfortable; they were, of course, wet to the skin, and
the wind was strong and keen, and even when they sat down, by the old
man's advice, in the bottom of the boat, their legs were in water. Still
they kept up their spirits, and when the water washed into the boat they
were glad to jump up and bail it out again. Besides that they