The Swan And Her Crew Part 36

"Mem. How do flies walk with their heads downwards, and how do they buzz?"--R. C.

"Caught a lizard in the garden to-day, and when I touched it, its tail dropped off. Curious habit some reptiles have of parting with their tails. It is done to divert attention from the body, which makes its escape."--J. B.

"Our keeper set some trimmers on our little lake in the park last night, and this morning he found on one of them a great crested grebe which had swallowed the bait, and on the other an eel of four pounds weight with a kitten in its inside."--R. C.

"Frank's head has a permanent set to one side, from always looking into the hedges for nests. I noticed it in church."--J. B.

"You'll get a licking, young 'un."--Frank.

[Ill.u.s.tration: COMMON LIZARD.]

"Bell says that he has seen an osprey resting on one of the posts in Hickling Broad, and it was so gorged after a meal of fish that he rowed quite close to it."--F. M.

"I saw a squirrel eating some toad-stools which grew at the foot of a tree near Sir Richard's house. I thought they fed only on nuts."--J.

Brett.

"They say that hedgehogs will go into an orchard and roll themselves on the fallen fruit, so that it sticks to their spines, and then they walk off with it. Should like to see them do it, and I wonder how they get it off again."--J. B.

[Ill.u.s.tration: OSPREY.]

[Ill.u.s.tration: CRESTED GREBE.]

"Saw a robin kill a sparrow in fair fight this morning, and it afterwards _ate_ a portion of him! Also saw two rooks fighting like anything, and a third perched on a branch just above them, as if to see fair play."--F. M.

[Ill.u.s.tration: 1. Nest of White Ant. 2. Suspended Wasp's Nest. 3. Common Wasp. 4. Demoiselle Dragon-fly. 5, 6. Soldiers of White Ant. 7. Hornet.

8. Worker of White Ant. 9. Wood Ant. 10. Red Ant.]

"What a curious instinct it is which leads moths and b.u.t.terflies, while you are killing them, to lay their eggs. It is their last will and testament!"

[Ill.u.s.tration: HEDGEHOG.]

[Ill.u.s.tration: HONEY-BUZZARD.]

"I found a brood of caterpillars on a hawthorn-bush; they were the caterpillars of the small oak-eggar. They make a silken nest in the branches, and they come out to feed and go in to sleep. There were at the least five hundred of them. The moth, I see, is a small, dingy brown thing, with white spots on the wings."--R. C.

"Bell's son took a hornet's nest the other day. He was stung by one of them, and was ill for some days, the inflammation was so bad. Bell says that hornets are much rarer now than they used to be, and a good thing too.

"While going to take a wasp's nest to-day, we disturbed a large hawk-like bird, which had been digging it up and apparently eating the grubs. The wasps were flying all about it and settling on it, but it did not seem to mind them. Upon looking at our books we have decided that the bird was the honey-buzzard, one of the short-winged hawks."--F. M.

CHAPTER XL.

A Regatta.--The "Waterlog's" Victory.

The waters of the broad once more blazed beneath the summer sun. The _Swan_ lay at anchor in a reedy bay, and the three boys were sitting on deck, busily engaged in discussing some project which seemed to interest them very much.

For some years past a large yacht had been a prominent object on the Norfolk and Suffolk waters, not on account of her speed or her beauty, but because of her great ugliness of form, and her exceeding slowness of sailing. Cram on as much sail as you could, and yet the clumsiest wherry could beat her in sailing. Her owner entered her for many a race, and she was invariably so badly beaten that she became a laughing-stock. Her name was the _Waterlily_, but she was facetiously christened and universally called the "Waterlog." Her end was tragic. One time when the waters were very high after great floods, her owner sailed her into a small broad, and, not taking her off in time, the waters fell, and there was not depth enough to float her out, and she became fixed in a trap, out of which she could not be removed. She was offered for sale, but no one would buy her; so her owner, in a fit of disgust, first dismantled her and then set fire to her, and so she perished. Her nickname survived her, however, and, to the great indignation of the boys, descended upon the _Swan_, whose stiff and stately motion and peculiar appearance had made her the mark for it.

They were now holding an "indignation meeting" upon the subject, and a way had just been mooted by which they hoped to sustain the dignity of their boat.

"Wroxham Regatta is on the 20th of next month," said Frank, "and there is a race open to all cla.s.ses of yachts except the winners of the previous races. Those will clear off the crack ships, and I don't think we need fear any of the others. I vote we enter the _Swan_ for it, and show them how she can sail. The prize is a very handsome cup."

"Do you really think she will have any chance, Frank?" asked Jimmy.

"Not with her present rig; but we will add a big top-sail to both main-sail and mizen. Her double shape will enable her to stand any amount of sail, and if we have a good side wind and plenty of it we shall stand a very good chance."

So it was decided that the yacht should be entered for the race, and they set to work to prepare two immense yards and top-sails, and to practise sailing the yacht with them up. Mary Merivale and Edith Rose were invited to be on board during the race; the elders were to be present on board a friend's yacht to witness the regatta.

The day of the regatta arrived, and a strong north-wester was raising mimic waves on the broad. The boys had taken the yacht overnight to Wroxham, and in the morning they met Mary and Edith at Wroxham Bridge, and took them on board.

"Is it not dreadfully windy?" asked Edith Rose, as the wind blew her curls back from her pretty face.

"It is just what we want, Miss Rose," answered Frank.

"Wouldn't it be safer if we were not to be on board during the race? I am afraid you are going to be too venturesome. I heard you were going to put some more sails up, and I am sure these are large enough," said Edith.

"Pray don't desert us now," said Frank, so piteously, that Edith made no more objection for fear of vexing him.

Over the fence of tall reeds which now separated them from the broad they could see scores of white sails and gay pennants, and it was evident that there was a large a.s.semblage.

"Why, Frank," said Mary, "I declare you are quite nervous; I can feel your arm tremble."

Frank indignantly repelled the accusation, but Jimmy, who was sitting on the roof of the cabin kicking his heels, said:--

"I am awfully, miserably nervous, and I believe we are going to make a tremendous mull of it, and we've done all we can to make ourselves conspicuous."

They had entered the yacht, out of a spirit of bravado, under the name of "The Waterlog," and they had painted the name on slips of stout paper, and tacked it over the legitimate name of their yacht.

"Nonsense!" was Frank's somewhat angry commentary on Jimmy's speech.

They now entered the broad, which presented a lively scene. Yachts of all rigs and sizes were skimming about, with gunwales under, to the stiff breeze. When the signal for the first race was given, those yachts not engaged in it came to an anchor, and the _Swan_, on whom all eyes were turned, took up her station next to the yacht in which were Mr.

Merivale and his friends.

The wind continued to freshen and grow more gusty, so that of those yachts which started with their top-sails, two had them carried away in the first round, and the others had to take them down, and the yacht which won had a single reef in her huge main-sail.

There were three races before the open race for which the _Swan_ was entered under her a.s.sumed name. I have not s.p.a.ce to dwell upon the incidents of these, nor to dilate upon the glorious life and movement of the broad, with its crowd of white sails, and its waves sparkling in the sunlight. Three of the best yachts were, through being winners in the races, prohibited from sailing in the open race, but there were nevertheless a sufficient number of entries on the card of the races to make our boys dubious as to the result of their somewhat bold experiment. There were six named as to start. Two were lateeners, one a schooner, two cutters, and the sixth was the "Waterlog."

The course was three times round the lake, outside of certain mark-boats; and, as the wind blew, the yachts would catch it abeam for two-thirds the course, dead aft for a sixth, and dead ahead for the remainder. As Frank said, it was a wind in every respect suitable for the raft-like _Swan_.

The race excited a great amount of interest. The _Swan_ was now well known to all the yachtsmen, and her change of name provoked curiosity and interest, and as the signal came for the yachts to take their station all eyes were upon the "Waterlog" (as we will call her during the race). As the boys ran up her sails and sailed away to the starting-point, a decided manifestation of admiration arose as the great top-sails slowly ascended under the strenuous efforts of d.i.c.k and Jimmy.

As they fluttered in the wind, Mary threw all her little weight on to the halyard to a.s.sist in hauling them tight and flat.

Mary and Edith took up their places in the bows, where they were out of the way, as there is no jib in a lugger rig.

"Now, d.i.c.k," whispered Frank, "if any accident _should_ happen--although it isn't likely--do you see to Mary, and I'll take Edith."