It was now slack tide and first high water.
With steady stroke, Peter urged the dinghy along, while Sir Brian steered for the High Light at Sandbanks.
"This will do," he observed, when the white section changed to red. "Right in the middle of the channel. It's a good fifty feet down. Steady, Peter, mind the gunwale; it was varnished only yesterday.... Let go!"
With a sullen splash, the "box of tricks" disappeared from sight. Sir Brian sat gazing at the ever-increasing circles in the moonlit water.
He sat up with the air of a man who has taken a critical step and is well satisfied with the result. Then, in a barely audible voice, he quoted:
"Let us be back'd with God, and with the seas
Which He hath given for fence impregnable,
And with their helps only defend ourselves;
In them and in ourselves our safety lies."
PRINTED AND BOUND IN GREAT BRITAIN
By Blackie & Son, Limited, Glasgow
Transcriber's Notes:
This book contains a number of misprints.
The following misprints have been corrected:
[find out how Don Jose] —>
[find out how Don José]