Jethou Part 18

"Monday, you're joking."

"Not at all. We have been out on several rough nights in her, and surely, Norfolk is not such a great way off, that we need fear such a voyage in early September. By your leave I will go with you and act as skipper and pilot, and then, having taken you safely home, will resume my post as King of Jethou. What do you say?"

"But the 'Anglo-Franc' is too small, my good sir."

"Perhaps so; but in a week we can lengthen her, and by adding a couple of strakes to her upper works she will carry a ton more than she does now, if it should be necessary."

"Agreed, Alec. Your hand! Good thought!"

The more I turned it over in my mind the better I liked the project. Why not lengthen and strengthen her at once?

Without delay we would set about it; but to make sure that my father would not send a vessel for me, I would write him a line. As with my former letter, brevity marked my epistle.

"_Jethou_, "_August 21st, 18--._

"DEAR FATHER,

"All's well. I hope to arrive home about September 10th, and trust to find you all well.

"Your affectionate Son,

"HARRY NILFORD."

Then, launching the boat, I instructed Alec to take the letter to Herm, so that the first boat crossing would take it to the St. Peter Port post office.

I stood and watched him as he neared the little pier at the landing place of Herm, and before he had arrived within two hundred yards of the place, the whole population--men, women, and children--turned out to see him. I am not sure but that the _entire_ population was waiting to receive him, for I could only count twelve persons. I think they could not muster more than two or three more, all told, so that his reception was a grand one.

Having instructions from me not to land, he handed the letter up in a cleft stick, and pushing off a boat's length, had a chat with the natives.

"They all spoke at once," said he, "and would not give me time enough to answer their questions, so they got very little information from me.

There was one very nice girl there though, that I should like to know, and when I get back from England, I think I shall try and see her parents, for I shall be very lonely all by myself, when you are gone."

Poor fellow! He had fallen in love at first sight with a vengeance. But it is just like we poor men; we are no sooner in possession of enough means to live comfortably upon, than we are sure to want to share it with someone else, providing the someone else is a pretty and loveable woman. Right away from the Creation it has been the same. Adam and Eve set us young fellows an example that it seems will never die out--at least I hope not till we have all found Eves to our liking.

The next ten days we worked very hard, for we lengthened the "Anglo-Franc" nearly five feet amidships, and built her up nearly a foot above her old gunwale, so that by raising the deck or roof of the cuddy forward about fourteen inches, and lengthening it a couple of feet, we had quite a cosy little cabin.

It was wonderful what a remarkable difference these alterations made in her appearance. True, she was only some six inches broader in the beam, but now that she was lengthened amidships she was over twenty feet long, and could stand larger and taller masts. These we soon gave her, so that she now appeared as a half-decked lugger, and, considering our materials and tools, quite a smart little craft.

My occupation of Jethou, according to the agreement, ceased on September 2nd, and as it was now the last day of August, we set about putting everything in order previous to leaving on the 3rd, should the weather prove fine.

It would never do to leave the island without someone in charge; and as we neither of us knew anyone who would act while Alec was away, we were again in a quandary. At last I hit on a bright idea, one that made my comrade's eyes sparkle with delight.

"Did you not say that the pretty damsel of Herm had a father?" I asked.

[Ill.u.s.tration: LENGTHENING THE "ANGLO-FRANC."]

"Yes," said Alec, "and a mother too. Would you like them to come over and take charge? Yes? Oh! la! la!!"

Then the simple fellow gambolled about like a young schoolboy, and exclaimed, "Never mind the boat, let me try and swim over."

"Swim, Alec! Don't be a ninny. Do you want to throw your life away in such madness? Go down to the boat directly, and do not act like an a.s.s."

Away he sailed, and soon landed at the little pier, and was quickly surrounded by the inhabitants, who took him towards the cottages out of my sight.

He was gone so long that I became impatient for his return. It almost seemed as if he had forsaken me; but at length I descried him putting off again, and soon he landed, wreathed in smiles, happiness beaming from his eyes. He had settled everything. Father, mother, and daughter were to come over at sunrise on the 3rd, so as to help us off and take final instructions.

The 1st and 2nd of September were occupied in taking in ballast, water, provisions, etc.; in overhauling all the ropes, sails, and gear, and in making a couple of beds of sacking stuffed with the softest hay we could get. Then we had to bake and fish, so as to replenish our stock of food.

Fruit had to be gathered, two small kegs filled with water, and finally the treasure and all my little curiosities to be got aboard.

All this took us till long after dark on the 2nd, so that when Graviot, his wife, and daughter landed about five a.m. on the 3rd, we were both fast asleep, so much so indeed that they had difficulty in finding our whereabouts and awakening us. At last, by rattling at the windows we were aroused, and turned out to bid the old couple and their pretty daughter, Marie, welcome to Jethou.

They were very quickly busy, Marie especially, for with Alec's help she soon had the breakfast spread and all ready, and anyone with half an eye could see how matters stood between them. All appeared quite settled.

After breakfast we all walked round the island together, so that I might point out what I required done during the absence of Alec. I introduced them to "Flap," the gull, who seemed to be rather shy of them, as they were the first human beings who had been permitted to interview him since I captured him fifteen months before, except Alec. The goat, "Unicorna," and her companion, or rather son, "b.u.t.t," for she had had a son a couple of months after her landing, were next placed under Marie's protection, while my dear old friend, "Eddy," was handed over to Graviot pere, with strict injunctions to use him well and not to overload the poor fellow. He seemed to know I was going to leave him, for he thrust his nose into my hand, and made a great fuss of me as I caressed him.

At eleven a.m., all being in readiness, I strode down the well-known pathway towards our little pier for the last time, and it was not without deep regret and dim eyes that I bade farewell to the home in which the past eighteen months of my life had been pa.s.sed in perfect peace, contentment, and happiness. I could not help a sigh as I thought that this was the last tide I should see rise around Jethou. The last time I should see

"The busy waters, mult.i.tudinous, Lip the dry beach, and rippling every pool, Embathe the limpets in their swirling cool, And plash upon the rocks, returning thus To their old haunts with pleasure tremulous."

I loved every rock and tree, and felt loath to part from them, for they were all old friends to me.

I almost forgot to mention that after altering and painting our n.o.ble craft, we re-christened her the "Happy Return," trusting that a good name might give us a good voyage, and I am glad to say such proved to be the case.

We calculated the distance from Jethou to Great Yarmouth to be about three hundred and fifty miles, but before our voyage was finished we found we had greatly under-estimated the actual course; but apart from the wish of getting to the journey's end, we had a most enjoyable time of it. We calculated the trip would take us about five days, if the weather were at all favourable, and in this we were not far out. Perhaps a few details of the trip may be of interest to my readers, for a voyage across the channel is not often undertaken in such a small vessel.

As I have stated, we left Jethou about noon on the 3rd, and rounded the southern end of hilly Herm, then we laid our course so as to pa.s.s between Alderney and Cape La Hogue, but for fear of rocks gave the cape a rather wide berth, so that about three o'clock we had Alderney a couple of miles off on our weather beam. I was laughing at Alec about his yarn of the "Dewdrop," when an idea occurred to me.

"What do you say to a gla.s.s of ale at the tavern you put up at in Braye for those eleven days, eh, Alec?"

"Just the thing. I have not tasted a gla.s.s for months."

"Nor I," I replied. "Swing her round," and putting the helm over, we made for Braye Harbour to get a gla.s.s of beer. The wind being south-west was somewhat against us, but in an hour we were lying safely in the little harbour, not far from the sh.o.r.e end of the great breakwater, which is nearly a mile in length. We had two gla.s.ses of ale each and no more, and having verified Alec's yarn of the "Dewdrop," which was substantially correct, once more embarked, and with a fair wind cut through the water at a smart race. Rounding Cape La Hogue we were fortunate to get the tide in our favour, and by sunrise on the 4th could just make out the entrance to Havre, from which we were some seven or eight miles distant, and pa.s.sing Fecamp, were abreast of Dieppe at three p.m.

So far we had done remarkably well, and I proposed to Alec, that as I had a little money, we should go ash.o.r.e and have a civilized dinner and a look round the town; but he took a different view of the matter, and advocated keeping on as long as the wind favoured us, and to this I readily a.s.sented, as the wind was now somewhat unsteady.

"Begum" seemed quite to enjoy the fun as well as ourselves, and made himself quite at home, though I have no doubt he would have thoroughly enjoyed a run ash.o.r.e, and, as luck would have it, that night he had it.

Some twenty miles further along the coast, that is, beyond Dieppe, we met with our first mishap. The sea hereabout was decidedly choppy, and the wind very puffy, and during one of these puffs we sprung the foremast, which could not have been very strong, as the wind was not at all high. Consulting a chart of the French coast, which we had obtained at Braye, we decided, as it seemed to be setting in for a dirty night, to round in to the mouth of the river Somme and stay the night at St.

Valery, so that we could get a new mast stepped early next morning, before proceeding across Channel.

It was lucky we did so, for the wind backed to the westward, raising a lumpy sea, and down came the rain till past midnight, after which the wind lulled and went to south-west again. About two a.m. out came the moon, and quickly chased away the remaining black clouds, after which it was fine again. It did not matter what the weather during the night was, as we were safe in Port St. Valery, from seven p.m. of the 4th, till eleven a.m. on the 5th.

Early in the morning we found a carpenter, who soon rigged us up a new mast, and after a stroll through the busy town to replenish our little stock of eatables, we again pursued our voyage.

From St. Valery to Boulogne is a distance of about forty-five miles, and ere we reached it darkness was closing in, so we took in a reef, as was our wont at night, and lowered the mizzen altogether. This gave us an opportunity of moving along slowly, while one of us slept.

We took it in turns throughout the night to take charge of the "Happy Return," and thus by changing watch every two hours we got a fair amount of sleep. Two hours at a stretch is all very well, but it is not comfortable to be awakened out of a sound sleep in a warm, snug cabin, to take one's turn at the helm; and I soon discovered that three turns of two hours each is not nearly equivalent to a straightaway snooze of six hours, by any means. One has just time to get comfortably off, and then, "Ahoy, there! Larboard watch, turn out!" And then out you come to set for two mortal hours in the wet stern sheets, gaping enough to dislocate your jaw, and longing for the pleasure of dragging your mate out at the expiration of the watch, while you turn into his warm bed with a chuckling "Good-night, mate."