"`There she lay, all the day, In the Bay of Biscay, O!'
"And the sails look so jolly too."
"I can't make it out," said Bevis. "The sails are all proper, I'm surethey are. What can it be? We shall never get out of the gulf."
"And after all the rowing round too," said Mark. "Lubberly."
"Horrid," said Bevis. "I hope there's no other ship about looking atus. The sailors would laugh so. I know--Mark!"
"Yes."
"Don't row next time; we'll wear ship."
"What's that?"
"Turn the other way--with the wind. Very often the boom knocks you overor tears the mast out."
"Capital, only we've no boom. What must I do?"
"Nothing; you'll see. Sit still--in the middle. Now."
Bevis put the tiller over to windward. The boat paid off rapidly toleeward, and described a circle, the mainsail passing over to theopposite side, and as it took the wind giving a jerk to the mast.
Mark tightened the other foresheet, and they began to sail back again.
"But just look!" said he.
"Horrid," said Bevis.
In describing the circle they had lost not only what they had gained,but were level with the mouth of the Nile, and not five yards from theshore at the head of the gulf. It was as much this tack as they coulddo to get above the railings; they were fifteen yards at least below therushes, when Bevis put the tiller up to windward, and tried the samething again. The boat turned a circle to leeward, and before she couldget right round and begin to sail again, they had gone so near theshore, drifting, that Mark had to put out the scull in case they shouldbump. In crossing this time the wind blew so light that they could notget above the mouth of the Nile.
"It's no use wearing ship," said Mark.
"Not a bit; we lose more than ever. You'd better row again," said Bevisreluctantly.
Mark pulled her round again, and they sailed to and fro three timesmore, but did but keep their position, for the wind was perceptibly lessas the day went on, and it became near noon.
"I hate those rushes," said Mark, as he pulled her head round once more.
Bevis did not reply, but this time he steered straight across to theNile and up it till the bank sheltered them from the wind. There theytook down the sails, quite beaten, for that day at least, and rowed backto harbour.
Next morning when they arrived at the New Sea they found that the windcame more down the water, having turned a little to the south, but itwas the same in force. They started again, and sailed very well tillthey were opposite the hollow oak in which on the day of battle it wassupposed Bevis had hidden. Here the wind was a head-wind, against whichthey could only work by tacking, and when they came to tack they foundjust the same difficulty as yesterday.
All the space they gained during the tack was lost in coming roundbefore the boat could get weigh on her. They sailed to and fro from thehollow oak to some willow bushes on the other side, and could notadvance farther. Sometimes they got above the oak, but then they fellback behind the willow bushes; sometimes they worked up twenty yardshigher than the willow bushes, but dropped below the oak.
Bevis soon discovered why they made better tacks now and then; it wasbecause the wind shifted a little, and did not so directly oppose them.The instant it returned to its usual course they could not progress upthe sea. By the willow bushes they could partly see into Fir-Tree Gulf;yesterday they could not sail out of the gulf, and to-day, with alltheir efforts, they could not sail into it.
After about twenty trials they were compelled to own that they werebeaten, and returned to harbour. Bevis was very much troubled with thisfailure, and as soon as they had got home he asked Mark to go up in thebench-room, or do anything he liked, and leave him by himself while helooked at the old encyclopaedia.
Mark did as he was asked, knowing that Bevis always learnt anything bestby himself. Bevis went up into the bedroom, where the great bookremained open on the chair, knelt down, and set to work to readeverything there was in it on ships and navigation. There was the wholehistory of boats and ships, from the papyrus canoes of the Nile, made byplaiting the stalks, the earthenware boats, hide boats, rafts or skins,hollowed trees, bark canoes, catamarans, and proas. There was anaccount of the triremes of Rome, and on down to the caravels, bilanders,galliots, zebecs, and great three-deckers. The book did not quite reachto the days of glorious Nelson.
It laid down the course supposed to have been followed by Ulysses, anddescribed the voyages of the Phoenicians to Britain. The parts of athree-decker were pictured, and the instruments of navigation wereexplained with illustrations. Everything was there except what Beviswanted, for in all this exhaustive and really interesting treatise,there were no plain directions how to tack.
There were the terms and the very orders in nautical language, but noexplanation as to how it was done. Bevis shut the book up, and rosewith a sigh, for he had become so occupied with his search that he hadunconsciously checked his breathing. He went down to the bookcase andstood before it thoughtfully. Presently he recollected that there wassomething about yachting in a modern book of sports. He found it andread it carefully, but though it began about Daedalus, and finished withthe exact measurement of a successful prize-winning yacht, he could notmake out what he wanted.
The account was complete even to the wages of the seamen and the methodof signalling with flags. There was a glossary of terms, but nothing totell him how to tack, that is, nothing that he could understand. He putthe book away, and went out into the blue-painted summer-house to thinkit over again.
What you really want to know is never in a book, and no one can tellyou. By-and-by, if you keep it steadily in memory and ever have youreyes open, you hit on it by accident. Some mere casual incident throwsthe solution right into your hands at an unexpected moment.
Bevis had fitted up his boat according to his recollections of those hehad seen in the pictures.
There was no sailing-boat that he could go and see nearer than fortymiles. As he sat thinking it over Mark rushed up. He, too, had beenthinking, and he had found something.
"I know," he said.
"What?"
"We have not got enough ballast," said Mark. "That's it--I'm surethat's it. Don't you remember how the boat kept drifting?"
"Very likely," said Bevis. "Yes, that's it; how stupid we were. Let'sget some more directly. I know; I'll ask the governor for a bag ofshot."
The governor allowed them to take the bag, which weighed twenty-eightpounds, on condition that they put it inside a small sack, so as to looklike sand, else some one might steal it. They also found two pieces ofiron, scraps, which made up the fresh ballast to about forty pounds.The wind had now gone down as it did soon after midday, and they coulddo nothing.
But next morning it blew again from the south, and they were afloatdirectly after breakfast. The effect of the ballast was as Mark hadanticipated; the boat did not drift so much, she made less leeway, andshe was stiffer, that is, she stood up to the wind better. They did notlose so much quite, but still they did not gain, nor would she comeround without using a scull; indeed, she was even worse in this respect,and more obstinate, she would not come up into the wind, the weightseemed to hold her back.
After two hours they were obliged to give it up for the third time. Thefollowing day there was no wind. "Let's make the anchor," said Mark,"and while we're making the anchor perhaps we shall think of somethingabout tacking."
So they began to make the anchor, after the picture of one in the oldfolio. They found a square piece of deal, it was six inches by four,and sawed off about two feet. In the middle they cut a long hole rightthrough, and after much trouble found a flat stone to fit it. This waswedged in tight, and further fastened with tar-cord. Near one end asmall square hole was cut, and through this they put a square rod ofiron, which the blacksmith sold them for a shilling--about three timesits value.
The rod was eighteen inches long, and when it was through it was be
ntup, or curved, and the ends filed to a blunt point. It fitted tight,but they wedged it still firmer with nails, and it was put the oppositeway to the stone, so that when the stone tried to sink flat on thebottom, one or other of the points of the bar would stick in the ground.Mark thought there ought to be a cross-piece of wood or iron as thereis in proper anchors, but so far as they could make out, this was notattached to the ancient stone-weighted ones, and so they did not put it.
Lastly, a hole was bored at the other end of the shaft, and the rope orcable (a stout cord) inserted and fastened. Looking eagerly out ofwindow in the morning to see if there was a wind they were delighted tosee the clouds drifting from the north-north-west. This was a capitalwind for them as they could not tack. It was about the same that hadbeen blowing the first
Bevis: The Story of a Boy Page 46