Bevis: The Story of a Boy

by Richard Jefferies

proportion as the mainsail. The foresail lookedalmost large enough, but the mainsail in the boat was not only smaller,it was not of the same shape.

  In his sketch from memory the gaff or rod at the top of the sail rose upat a sharper angle, and the sail came right back to the tiller. In theactual boat before him the gaff was but little more than horizontal tothe mast, and the sail only came back three-fourths of the distance itought to have done.

  "It must be made bigger," Bevis thought. "The mainsail must be madeever so much larger, and it must reach to where I sit. That's themistake--you can see it in a minute. Mark! Mark!" He shouted andwhistled.

  Mark came presently running. "I've been all round," he said panting,"and I've--"

  "This is it," said Bevis, holding up his pocket-book.

  "I've seen a huge jack--a regular shark. I believe it was a shark--andthree young wild ducks, and some more of those parrots up in the trees."

  "The mainsail--"

  "And something under the water that made a wave, and went along--"

  "Look, you see it ought to come--"

  "What could it have been that made the wave and went along?"

  "O! nothing--only a porpoise, or a seal, or a walrus--nothing! Lookhere--"

  "But," said Mark, "the wave moved along, and I could not tell what madeit."

  "Magic," said Bevis. "Very likely the magician. Did you see him?"

  "No; but I believe there's something very curious about this island--"

  "It's enchanted, of course," said Bevis. "There's lots of things youknow are there, and you can't find," said Mark; "there's a tiger, Ibelieve, in the bushes and reeds at the other end. If I had had myspear I should have gone and looked, and there's boa-constrictors and ahippopotamus was here last night, and heaps of jolly things, and I'vefound a place to make a cave. Come and see," (pulling Bevis).

  "I'll come," said Bevis, "in a minute. But just look, I've found outwhat was wrong--"

  "And how to tack?"

  "Yes."

  "Then let's do it, and tack and get shipwrecked, and live here. If weonly had Jack's rifle."

  "But we must sail properly first," said Bevis. "I shan't do anythingtill we can sail properly: now this is it. Look."

  He showed Mark the two sketches, and how their mainsail did not reachback far enough towards the stern.

  "Frances must make it larger," said Mark. "Of course that's it--it's asdifferent as possible. And the mast ought to be higher--it would crackbetter, and go overboard--whop!"

  "I don't know," said Bevis; "about the mast; yes, I think I will. Wewill make one a foot or eighteen inches higher--"

  "Bigger sails will go faster, and smash the ship splendidly against therocks," said Mark. "There'll be a crash and a grinding, and the deckswill blow up, and there'll be an awful yell as everybody is gulped upbut you and me."

  "While we're doing it, we'll make another bowsprit, too--longer," saidBevis.

  "Why didn't we think of it before," said Mark. "How stupid! Now youlook at it, you can see it in a minute. And we had to sail half roundthe world to find it."

  "That's just it," said Bevis. "You sail forty thousand miles to find athing, and when you get there you can see you left it at home."

  "We have been stupes," said Mark. "Let's do it directly. I'll shavethe new mast, and you take the sails to Frances. And now come and seethe place for the cave."

  Bevis went with him, and Mark took him to the bank or bluff inside theisland which Bevis had passed when he explored it the evening of thebattle. The sandy bank rose steeply for some ten or fifteen feet, andthen it was covered with brambles and fern. There was a space at thefoot clear of bushes and trees, and only overgrown with rough grasses.Beyond this there were great bramble thickets, and the trees began againabout fifty yards away, encircling the open space. The spot was almostin the centre of the island, but rather nearer the side where there wasa channel through the weeds than the other.

  "The sand's soft and hard," said Mark. "I tried it with my knife; youcan cut it, but it won't crumble."

  "We should not have to prop the roof," said Bevis.

  "No, and it's as dry as chips; it's the most splendid place for a cavethat ever was."

  "So it is," said Bevis. "Nobody could see us."

  He looked round. The high bank shut them in behind, the trees in frontand each side. "Besides, there's nobody to look. It's capital."

  "Will you do it," said Mark.

  "Of course I will--directly we can sail properly."

  "Hurrah!" shouted Mark, hitting up his heels, having caught that trickfrom Bevis. "Let's go home and begin the sails. Come on."

  "But I know one thing," said Bevis, as they returned to the boat; "ifwe're going to have a cave, we must have a gun."

  "That's just what I say. Can't we borrow one? I know, you put upFrances to make Jack lend us his rifle. She's fond of you--she hatesme."

  "I'll try," said Bevis. "How ought you to get a girl to do anything?"

  "Stare at her," said Mark. "That's what Jack does, like a donk at athistle when he can't eat any more."

  "Does Frances like the staring?"

  "She pretends she doesn't, but she does. You stare at her, and actstupid."

  "Is Jack stupid?"

  "When he's at our house," said Mark. "He's as stupid as an owl. Nowshe kisses you, and you just whisper and squeeze her hand, and say it'svery tiny. You don't know how conceited she is about her hand--can'tyou see--she's always got it somewhere where you can see it; and shesticks her foot out so," (Mark put one foot out); "and don't you move aninch, but stick close to her, and get her into a corner or in thearbour. Mind, though, if you don't keep on telling her how pretty sheis, she'll box your ears. That's why she hates me--"

  "Because you don't tell her she's pretty. But she is pretty."

  "But I'm not going to be always telling her so--I don't see that she'sanything very beautiful either--you and I should look nice if we wereall the afternoon doing our hair, and if we walked like that and stuckour noses up in the air; and kept grinning, and smacked ourselves withpowder, and scent, and all such beastly stuff. Now Jack's rifle--"

  "We could make it shoot," said Bevis, "if we had it all to ourselves,and put bullets through apples stuck up on a stick, or smash an egg--"

  "And knock over the parrots up in these trees."

  "I _will_ have a gun," said Bevis, kicking a stone with all his might."Are you sure Frances could get Jack--"

  "Frances get Jack to do it! Why, I've seen him kiss her foot."

  They got on board laughing and set the sails, but as the island kept thewind off, Mark had to row till they were beyond the cliff. Then thesails filled and away they went.

  "Thessaly," said Mark presently. "See! we're getting to places wherepeople live again. I say, shall we try the anchor?"

  "Yes. Let down the mainsail first."

  Mark let it down, and then put the anchor over. It sank rapidly,drawing the cable after it. The flat stone in the shaft endeavoured asit sank to lie flat on the bottom, and this brought one of the flukes orpoints against the ground, and the motion of the boat dragging at itcaused it to stick in a few inches. The cable tightened, and the boatbrought up and swung with her stem to the wind. Mark found that theydid not want all the cable; he hauled it in till there was only aboutten feet out; so that, allowing for the angle, the water was not muchmore than five or six feet deep. They were off the muddy shore, linedwith weeds. Rude as the anchor was, it answered perfectly. In a minuteor two they hauled it up, set the mainsail, and sailed almost to theharbour, having to row the last few yards because the trees kept much ofthe breeze off. They unshipped the mast, and carried it and the sailshome.

  In the evening Mark set to work to shave another and somewhat longerpole for the new mast, and Bevis took the sails and some more canvas toFrances. He was not long gone, and when he returned said that Franceshad promised to do the work immediately.

  "Did you do the cat
and mouse?" said Mark. "Did you stare?"

  "I stared," said Bevis, "but there were some visitors there--"

  "Stupes?"

  "Stupes, so I couldn't get on very well. She asked me what I waslooking at, and