The Wood Beyond the World | Page 6

turned and bade the mariners take in sail

and be right heedful. And when Walter asked him what he looked for,
and wherefore he spake not to him thereof, he said surlily: "Why
should I tell thee what any fool can see without telling, to wit that there
is weather to hand?"
So they abode what should befall, and Walter went to his room to sleep
away the uneasy while, for the night was now fallen; and he knew no
more till he was waked up by great hubbub and clamour of the shipmen,
and the whipping of ropes, and thunder of flapping sails, and the
tossing and weltering of the ship withal. But, being a very stout-hearted
young man, he lay still in his room, partly because he was a landsman,
and had no mind to tumble about amongst the shipmen and hinder them;
and withal he said to himself: What matter whether I go down to the
bottom of the sea, or come back to Langton, since either way my life or
my death will take away from me the fulfilment of desire? Yet soothly
if there hath been a shift of wind, that is not so ill; for then shall we be
driven to other lands, and so at the least our home-coming shall be
delayed, and other tidings may hap amidst of our tarrying. So let all be
as it will.
So in a little while, in spite of the ship's wallowing and the tumult of
the wind and waves, he fell asleep again, and woke no more till it was
full daylight, and there was the shipmaster standing in the door of his
room, the sea-water all streaming from his wet-weather raiment. He
said to Walter: "Young master, the sele of the day to thee! For by good
hap we have gotten into another day. Now I shall tell thee that we have
striven to beat, so as not to be driven off our course, but all would not
avail, wherefore for these three hours we have been running before the
wind; but, fair sir, so big hath been the sea that but for our ship being of
the stoutest, and our men all yare, we had all grown exceeding wise
concerning the ground of the mid-main. Praise be to St. Nicholas and
all Hallows! for though ye shall presently look upon a new sea, and
maybe a new land to boot, yet is that better than looking on the ugly
things down below."
"Is all well with ship and crew then?" said Walter.
"Yea forsooth," said the shipmaster; "verily the Bartholomew is the

darling of Oak Woods; come up and look at it, how she is dealing with
wind and waves all free from fear."
So Walter did on his foul-weather raiment, and went up on to the
quarter- deck, and there indeed was a change of days; for the sea was
dark and tumbling mountain-high, and the white-horses were running
down the valleys thereof, and the clouds drave low over all, and bore a
scud of rain along with them; and though there was but a rag of sail on
her, the ship flew before the wind, rolling a great wash of water from
bulwark to bulwark.
Walter stood looking on it all awhile, holding on by a stay-rope, and
saying to himself that it was well that they were driving so fast toward
new things.
Then the shipmaster came up to him and clapped him on the shoulder
and said: "Well, shipmate, cheer up! and now come below again and
eat some meat, and drink a cup with me."
So Walter went down and ate and drank, and his heart was lighter than
it had been since he had heard of his father's death, and the feud
awaiting him at home, which forsooth he had deemed would stay his
wanderings a weary while, and therewithal his hopes. But now it
seemed as if he needs must wander, would he, would he not; and so it
was that even this fed his hope; so sore his heart clung to that desire of
his to seek home to those three that seemed to call him unto them.
CHAPTER V
: NOW THEY COME TO A NEW LAND
Three days they drave before the wind, and on the fourth the clouds
lifted, the sun shone out and the offing was clear; the wind had much
abated, though it still blew a breeze, and was a head wind for sailing
toward the country of Langton. So then the master said that, since they
were bewildered, and the wind so ill to deal with, it were best to go still
before the wind that they might make some land and get knowledge of
their whereabouts from the folk thereof.