“If you knew a bit more, sir,” he said, “you’d see for yourself that it’s impossible. The wind’s a-blowing direct off the sea.”
I said: “Captain Goyles, tell me what is this thing I have hired? Is it a yacht or a house-boat?”
He seemed surprised at my question.
He said: “It’s a yawl.”
“What I mean is,” I said, “can it be moved at all, or is it a fixture here? If it is a fixture,” I continued, “tell me so frankly, then we will get some ivy in boxes and train over the port-holes, stick some flowers and an awning on deck, and make the thing look pretty. If, on the other hand, it can be moved—”
“Moved!” interrupted Captain Goyles. “You get the right wind behind the Rogue—”
I said: “What is the right wind?”
Captain Goyles looked puzzled.
“In the course of this week,” I went on, “we have had wind from the north, from the south, from the east, from the west—with variations. If you can think of any other point of the compass from which it can blow, tell me, and I will wait for it. If not, and if that anchor has not grown into the bottom of the ocean, we will have it up to-day and see what happens.”
He grasped the fact that I was determined.