I stopped suddenly, my eyes had rested upon the outline of the poor old skipper's form, covered with the tarpaulin, amidships.
"Beg your pardon, Tim; do as you think best. I'll say no more. Let us lay to as you say, and try it."
There was a pause for a few moments. The spin-drift drenched us anew.
"Mister Jule," said he,—Jule being, of course, short for Julius,—"I think I understand ye. But, sir, you're the 'boss,' and arter all, the old dad—he can't hurt. He's 'done his bit,' and done it well! We'm alive-like, and we mustn't give in, must us? No, sir; we'll trim the boat, and run into the sea-way, and take what the Lord sends us. What d'ye say?"
"Done with you, Tim! Here's my hand on it. We'll sink or swim together. Is that right?"
"Yes, sir; that's hearty! I rather thinks it's sink more than swim. What you says I dessay's right; we may sink, and lay-to that way. Let's drive!"
"Ay, indeed! I am inclined to make a run for it, and do something."
Before I had finished speaking this ultimatum Tim had loosed the jib-sheet, and I shifted the helm a bit. The wind was lashing us then across Channel; the afternoon was glooming, the sun had disappeared to our starboard beam, and the sea became higher as the tide turned and carried us away from the "dirty cliffs."
"We shall smile at our fears to-morrow," I said, in an effort to be cheerful which my heart did not respond to.
Tim Murry made no reply, and we still ran seaward silently. Then I suddenly became dreamy—listless. I did not realise the circumstances, the sea seemed rocking me to sleep. Tim approached and looked at me, took the tiller from me, and I fell into a calm dream of home. I remember it well even now. The whole dream was for me a reality. My stepfather was looking at me, while I appeared to be on board a large ship like a man-of-war. Guns were mounted fore and aft, a number of men were running about, there was some great excitement. Yet I was not on the large vessel long; I was on a steamship next. The large man-of-war attacked us, I could not say how, and the ship I was in sank with a roar of steam and whistling and—