'Messages for transmission.'
'Leave 'em in the chartroom,' I told him.
They're quite straightforward,' he said. 'Three from Jorgensen, one from Dahler and one from the girl.'
'I'd still like to look them over,' I replied. 'And get below again, will you, Dick. I don't want them left on their own till we're at sea.'
'Okay,' he said, and went below.
It was cold, sitting there at the wheel, and the time passed slowly. I was impatient to be out of the river. Gradually the lights of the docks and warehouses on either side thinned out until black areas of darkness marked open countryside and mudflats. We passed a big freighter moving slowly upstream. Her deck lights slid quickly by and in a few minutes she was swallowed up by the night. At full ahead we made a good eight knots. Add to that a four knot tide and we were going downstream at a fair rate. At a call from Dick, Wilson went below and returned with mugs of steaming coffee and sandwiches for Carter and myself. By eight we were running past Tilbury and Gravesend and half an hour later we could see the lights of Southend. We were out in the estuary now and the ship was beginning to show a bit of movement. The wind was south-east Kid piling up a short, steep sea that hissed angrily in the darkness i& it broke against our sides.
Dick joined me just as I picked up the Nore light, blinking steadily far ahead. 'Dirty looking night,' he said. 'When are you getting the sails on her?'
'We'll run out to the Nore,' I answered. 'Then we'll be able to steer our course with a good reaching wind. How's everything below?'
'Fine,' he said. 'Dahler went straight to bed. Said he's a bad sailor. Wright and Jorgensen are talking skiing over a bottle of Scotch. And the girl's changing her clothes. What about tonight — are we splitting into watches? Wright's done some sailing and Jorgensen says he can handle small boats.'
That was better than I'd hoped. The boat was an easy one to handle, and the four of us could have managed her quite comfortably. But if there were much sail changing to do, we'd soon tire ourselves out and then we'd have to heave-to for sleep. And I was anxious to get across to Norway as quickly as possible. 'Right,' I said. 'We'll split into watches. You take the starboard watch, Dick, with Carter, Wright and Jorgensen. For the port watch I'll have Wilson and the girl.'