"This pilotin' 's pretty rough sometimes," Captain Bob continued between
the puffs of smoke, "but it ain't nothin' to the old days. When I look
back on it all, seems to me as if we was out o' our heads most o' the
time. I didn't know it then, but 'twas true all the same. Think now o'
layin' the Screamer broadside on that stone pile at Shark Ledge,
unloadin' them stone with nothin' but a couple o' spar buoys to keep 'er
off. Wonder I didn't leave 'er bones there. Would if I hadn't knowed
every stick o' timber in 'er and jest what she could stagger under."
"But she was a good sea-boat," I interpolated. "The Screamer was always
the pride of the work."
"None better. You'd a-thought so if you'd been with us that night off
Hatteras; we layin' to, hatches battened down. I never see it blow wuss.
It came out o' the nor'west 'bout dark, and 'fore mornin' I tell ye it
was a-humpin' things. We started with a pretty decent set o' sails, new
eyelets rove in and new clew lines, but, Lord love ye, we hadn't taken
old Hatteras into consideration.
Pages:
84
85
86
87
88
89
90
91
92
93
94
95
96
97
98
99
100
101
102
103
104
105
106
107
108