“You see, sir, after we started from Havre the weather seemed to be a bit sorry for itself for being so dirty, and you know how we bowled along down south till the wind got into a tantrum again—got out of bed the wrong way, as you may say, and then everything was wrong. We were getting into the Bay, you see, where it comes quite natural to lay all that day. In the Bay of Biscay O! Then Nature got all out of sorts again. It seemed as if she was waxy to let us have it so comfortable, and made a snatch to drag us back again. But the old man was one too many for her, and kept on for them two bad days, when we sailed out of her reach and everything was fine.”
“Yes, Joe, it was fine. All that coast of Spain and Portugal was lovely.”
“Yes, sir, and you got grumbling ’cause your uncle wouldn’t give orders for us to let go the anchor for you to go fishing.”
“Well, see how grand it was, and how calm the sea used to get of an evening before we put in to Gibraltar.”
“And then you weren’t half satisfied, sir. You’ll excuse me, Mr Rodd, sir, but you do make me laugh;” and to the boy’s great annoyance the man half turned from him, leaned over the taffrail, laughed till his sides shook, and then pulling himself up suddenly wiped his eyes. “I am very sorry, sir,” he said.
“Doesn’t seem like it,” cried Rodd warmly, as he made as if to go away.
It was one evening when the calm sea as it heaved seemed in places to glint forth all the glorious colours of a beautiful pearl shell, and the east wind was of a different complexion to that familiar to an English lad, for it was soft, balmy and sweet, suggestive of its having been blowing gently for miles and miles over beds of flowers.
“Oh, don’t go away in a tiff, Mr Rodd, sir. It was only me, and you know what I am. I didn’t mean no offence.”
“Well, it was offensive,” said Rodd. “How would you like to be laughed at?”
“Me, sir?” cried the man merrily. “Me who has been knocking about the sea nearly all my life, first in a west-country fishing-boat, and then in a King’s ship, and been in action! Like being laughed at! Why, bless your heart, sir, it suits me down to the deck. I like it. Deal better than having the old man dropping on to me about something being wrong aloft.”