Page:The Days Work (1899).djvu/331

 "We do not. We prefer to go as direct as may be. But we were followin' the Grotkau, an' she 'd no walk into that gale for ony consideration. Knowin' what I did to her discredit, I couldna blame young Bannister. It was warkin' up to a North Atlantic winter gale, snow an' sleet an' a perishin' wind. Eh, it was like the Deil walkin' abroad o' the surface o' the deep, whuppin' off the top o' the waves before he made up his mind. They 'd bore up against it so far, but the minute she was clear o' the Skelligs she fair tucked up her skirts an' ran for it by Dunmore Head. Wow, she rolled!

"'She 'll be makin' Smerwick,' says Bell.

"'She 'd ha' tried for Ventry by noo if she meant that,' I said.

"'They 'll roll the funnel oot o' her, this gait,' says Bell. 'Why canna Bannister keep her head to sea?'

"'It 's the tail-shaft. Ony rollin' 's better than pitchin' wi' superfeecial cracks in the tail-shaft. Calder knows that much,' I said. "'It 's ill wark retreevin' steamers this weather,' said Bell. His beard and whiskers were frozen to his oilskin, an' the spray was white on the weather side of him. Pairfect North Atlantic winter weather!

"One by one the sea raxed away our three boats, an' the davits were crumpled like ram's horns.

"'Yon 's bad,' said Bell, at the last. 'Ye canna pass a hawser wi'oot a boat.' Bell was a vara judeecious man—for an Aberdonian.

"I 'm not one that fashes himself for eventualities outside the engine-room, so I e'en slipped down betwixt waves to see how the Kite fared. Man, she 's the best geared boat of her class that ever left Clyde!