“Now would I give a thousand furlongs of sea for an acre of
barren ground.... The wills above be done! but I would
fain die a dry death.”
“I have great comfort from this fellow: methinks he hath
no drowning mark upon him.”—Tempest.
THE wind, which we had observed was rising when we landed, had increased during our stay at the inn, and was now blowing almost a gale from the south-west; whilst the sea, which we had left smooth as a lake, was rolling in and breaking on the beach in somewhat formidable waves.
“I tell you what,” said Coleman, as soon as he had observed the state of affairs, “I won't attempt to steer in such a sea as that; it requires great skill and judgment, besides a stronger hand than mine, to keep the boat's head right; if I were to let her turn her broadside to one of those waves, it would be a case of 'Found drowned' with some of us, before long.”
“What's to be done, then?” inquired Oaklands. “I am sure I can't do it: it's a thing I'm quite ignorant of; all my boating having been on the river.”
“Let's hire one of those amphibious beggars out there to steer for us,” proposed Lawless, pointing to a group of fishermen who were lounging round an old boat, not far from where we stood; “they're up to all the right dodges, you may depend. Here, my men! which of you will earn half a guinea by steering our boat for us to Helmstone?”
“I wouldn't, master, for ten times the money,” replied an old weather-beaten boatman, in a tarpaulin hat; “and if you'll take an old man's advice, gentlemen, you'll none of you venture out in that cockle-shell this afternoon; the wind's getting up every minute, and we shall have a rough night of it.”
“Nonsense,” replied Lawless; “I've often been out in worse weather than this. Are you, all of you, frightened by that old woman's croaking?” continued he, turning to the group of men.
“He's no old woman,” replied a sturdy fellow, in a rough pea-jacket; “he's been a better sailor than ever you'll be, and he's right now too,” he added. “It's as much as a man's life is worth to go to sea in that bit of a thing, with the waves running in as they do now—and with such a set of landlubbers as them for a crew,” he muttered, turning away.
“Suppose we try and get something to take us home by land,” suggested Oaklands; “and leave the boat for some of these good fellows to bring home, as soon as the weather will allow.”
“You'll have to walk, sir,” replied one of them, civilly; “I don't believe there's a cart or horse in the place; they all went inland this morning with fish, and won't return till to-morrow.”