Lateen Sail.
Lateen Sail.
Theysailed quietly down the river again, and excited much attention from the many yachts they met. They turned off along Oulton Dyke, and on to Oulton Broad. The lake was full of craft of all rigs and sizes. There had been a regatta there the day before, and the major part of the yachts still remained. There was a stately schooner, moving with dignity; a smart cutter, heeling well over, but dashing along at a great pace; a heavy lugger; and, most graceful of all, the lateeners. These are a class of boats peculiar to the Norfolk waters and to the Mediterranean. The shape of them will be familiar to all who have ever looked at a picture of the Bay of Naples. They carry immense yards, the yard of a boat thirty feet long being about sixty feet in length. Such a yard, of course, carries a very large sail. In addition to this large sail they have a fore and aft mizen astern. Theysail wonderfully close to the wind, but in running before it they sometimes take it into their heads to duck under, because the weight of the sail is all thrown on the fore-part of the boat, and sometimes proves too much for it.
A boat which attracted our boys' attention was a lugger, with her sails crossed by strips of bamboo, so that they looked something like Venetian blinds. These made the sails stand very flat and firm, and the boat so rigged seemed to sail very fast. The sun-lit waters of the broad, covered as they were with rapidly-moving yachts, whose white sails contrasted with the blue water and sky and the green fringe of tall reeds which encircled the lake, presented a very pretty spectacle, and one that called forth the admiration of our young yachtsmen. As they threaded their way through the numerous vessels, they saw that they themselves were an object of curiosity, and as sound travels far on the water, and people seldom think of that when they speak on it, the boys overheard many comments upon themselves. Those upon their boat were sometimes not flattering, but those upon their skill in handling her upon that crowded water were very appreciative, and at length Frank said, with something like a blush—
"Look here, this is getting too warm. I vote we moor her, and go to Lowestoft to have a dip in the sea."
The others agreed to this, and having moored the yacht in a safe place, they took their departure. At the lower end of Oulton Broad is a lock, by which vessels can be raised or lowered, as the case may be, to or from Lake Lothing, a tidal piece of water, communicating with the sea through Lowestoft harbour. A brigantine collier was in the lock when our boys came up, and they stood and watched it come through, going out upon a floating raft of wood, so as to see it better entering the broad.
"Why, look at her bows. They are carved all over like an old-fashioned mantel-piece."
As it came through the lock, it knocked against their raft, and threatened their safety, so seizing hold of the chains that hung over its bows, they climbed on board and entered into a conversation with her skipper. He told them that his ship was 100 years old, and he considered her still stronger than many a ship of more recent build. He had on board some beautiful little dogs of the Spanish breed, pure white and curly-haired,with sharp noses, and bright black eyes. Dick insisted on buying one.
"We cannot have it on board with the hawks," said Frank.
"But I shall send it home by the carrier from Lowestoft," answered Dick.
Ringed-Plover.
Ringed-Plover.
They walked along the shores of Lake Lothing to Lowestoft, and went and had a bathe. Then they walked along the cliffs towards Pakefield, and while crossing a sandy spot Dick discovered a ringed plover's nest. There were three eggs, cream-coloured, and blotched with brown. They were simply laid in a hole in the sand. They saw the old birds running along the shore before the wind, as is their habit, and looking very pretty with their grey beaks, and white stomachs, and black collars. On the shore they also saw some oyster catchers, with their plumage nearly all black, except a white belt, and white bars on their wings; and also a pair of redshanks, with their long red legs and bills, and French grey plumage; but although their nests are common enough in Suffolk (in which county our boys now were), they failed to find their eggs. The redshanks nest on the ground in marshy places, and lay eggs of a greatfamily likeness to those of other birds which lay in similar positions.
On the shore men and boys were fishing in the following manner:—
They had long lines with a number of hooks on at regular intervals, which were baited with mussels. One end of the line was pegged into the sand; the other was heavily weighted with lead. They had a throwing-stick with a slit at one end. Into this slit the line next the weight was introduced. With the aid of the stick the line was thrown out a considerable distance. After being allowed to rest some time it was hauled in, and the fish taken off. In this way they caught flat-fish and small codlings, and some of them had accumulated a large heap of fish.
Oyster-Catcher.
Oyster-Catcher.
Two boatmen came up to the boys, and asked them if they would like a sail. "We'll take you for an hour for sixpence each."
"Well, it's reasonable enough," said Frank; "I vote we go." So they stepped on board and were soon tacking merrily about, a mile or two from land.
"Did you ever see two uglier fellows than our boatmen?" said Dick in a whisper to Frank.
"No—but what are they staring at that steamer so hard for?" A large yacht was making direct for Lowestoft harbour.
"I say," said Frank, "is not that steamer standing too close in shore? There is a bank of sand somewhere about there. I remember seeing remains of a wreck there not long ago."
"Hush! hold your tongue," answered the steersman.
"What do you mean, sir? If she goes on in that course she'll strike."
The man looked savagely at him, and replied,
"Look here, young man, if she strikes there will be no harm done. The sea is too smooth, and we shall be the first on the spot to help them off, and we shall get a good long sum of money for salvage. If you hold your tongue and say nothing you shall go shares. If you don't, I'll crack your head for you, so mind you don't give her any signal."
"You unfeeling fellow!" said Frank. "Shout, Jimmy and Dick, with all your might. I will settle this blackguard."
Jimmy and Dick obeyed and waved their hats to the advancing yacht. The man at the helm could not let go the tiller, but his mate made the sheet fast, and rose to strike Frank. Frank seized the stretcher from the bottom of the boat and raised it in the air.
"Touch me, if you dare!" he said.
The brute struck at him, enraged at the prospect of losing so large a sum of money as his share of the salvage would amount to. Frank avoided the blow, and with all the strength of his lithe young body, brought the stretcher down on the fellow's skull. He dropped to the bottom of the boat, and lay there as still as a log.
"Now we are three to one," he said to the steersman, "so you must do as we tell you."
The man was a coward at heart, though a bully by nature, so he dared make no objection.
Meanwhile the yacht sheered off, but not soon enough to avoid just touching the end of the shoal, and getting a bump, which threw the people on her deck down, and gavethem a fright. They passed on without so much as shouting "thank you."
They now steered for the shore, Frank retaining the stretcher in his hand, in case of an attack. The man whom he had stunned soon came to himself, and growled and swore horribly, but dared not do more. When they landed Frank said, "Now you are a pair of blackguards, and I shall not pay you anything;" and followed by his companions he turned away. Before he had gone many steps, however, he turned back and said, while he pitched them half-a-crown: "There, that's for plaster!"
Animals which never die.—A Wonderful Tip to his Tail.—Thunderstorm.—Swan's Nest.—Bearded Tit.—Reed-wrens and Cuckoo.
Thenext day they sailed down the Waveney, until they came to Haddiscoe, and then, instead of continuing down to Breydon Water, they went along the New Cut, a wide channel which unites the Waveney with the Yare, joining the latter at Reedham. They found the channel of the Yare very much broader than the Bure or the Waveney; and as they had a favourable breeze for the greater part of the way, and there was plenty of room to tack in the reaches where it was against them, they made rapid progress.
As they sailed quietly along, Dick lay on the roof of the cabin reading a number ofScience Gossipwhich they had bought at Lowestoft. Presently he cried out,—
"Do you know that there are animals which never die?"
The others laughed at the idea, but Dick proceeded to read out as follows:—
"Will the reader be astonished to hear that there are exceptions to the universal law of death, that there are animals, or at any rate portions of animals, which are practically immortal. Such, however, is really the case. I allude to a species of thegenera Nais and Syllis, marine worms of no special interest to the ordinary observer, but those who have watched their habits closely, tell us of the almost extraordinary power of spontaneous division which they enjoy. Self-division, as a means of propagation, is common enough among the lower members of both animal and vegetable kingdoms, but the particular kind to which I refer now, is, I believe, peculiar to these singular worms. At certain periods the posterior portion of the body begins to alter its shape materially, it swells and grows larger, and the transverse segments become more strongly marked. At the last joint, at the point where it joins the first segment of the body, a true head is formed, furnished with antennæ, jaws, and whatever else goes to make a marine worm "perfect after its kind," and forthwith the whole drops off, a complete animal, capable of maintaining a separate existence. Whether the process goes on for ever—that is to say, throughout all generations—of course, no one can tell; but if it does—and there is no reason to suppose the contrary—then it is self-evident that the posterior portion of one of these worms is, as I observed before, practically never dying. It is simply fitted every now and then with a new head! In fact, the tail of the first Syllis ever formed, provided it has had the good luck to escape external accident, must still be in existence—a truly venerable animal, and without controversy the 'oldest inhabitant' of the seas."
"It strikes me," said Frank, "that that animal would be something like the Irishman's stocking, which he had worn for a score of years. It had been re-footed and re-legged several times, yet he always asserted that it was the original stocking, although there was not a particle of the old stuff in it."
"What a wonderful tip to his tail some animal has got then, if that is true," said Jimmy.
I cannot say whether the statement of the writer inScience Gossipis strictly accurate, for who can decide when doctors disagree; but it seems plain enough that the process of generation by sub-division is far nearer the longed-for perpetual life, than anybody has been able to get to the coveted solution of the problem of perpetual motion.
"Do you know that the water we are sailing on is higher than the marshes around us?" said Frank.
"Yes, and all those windmills are to pump the water up fromthe drains. They look very funny twirling away all by themselves."
Early in the day they reached a public-house surrounded by a little grove of trees, which gave an agreeable variety to the landscape. This was Coldham Hall, and as the sky was clouding over and the wind sighing fitfully through the reeds and the trees, and there was every symptom of a violent storm, the boys decided to remain there until the morrow, and then sail up to Norwich.
During the afternoon they amused themselves by fishing for eels, which were biting very freely. The heavens grew black, and the thunder muttered at intervals, but the storm held off until the evening, and then as it was getting dark it came on most violently. The rain came down in torrents. The lightning lit up the marsh for miles most vividly, and each flash was succeeded by an intenser blackness, while the bellowing of the thunder made the very earth shake. The boys stood at the door of the inn, gazing at the storm and awe-struck by its mighty power.
"I don't like the idea of sleeping on the river to-night," said Jimmy. "The landlord has a bedroom vacant, and I vote we sleep here instead of going on board."
The others willingly consented, and Dick and Jimmy had a double-bedded room between them, while Frank slept in a small attic. As the night wore on the storm passed away, but its mutterings could still be heard. Jimmy did not like thunder, and felt very nervous while it was about, as many otherwise brave people will. He could not for the life of him go to sleep, and lay tossing about in a most uncomfortable state for half the night, while Dick was slumbering peacefully. Jimmy could stand it no longer, and got out of bed with the intention of arousing Dick, and getting him to talk to him. He stole across the room, and by the faint starlight which came from the sky, which had partially cleared after the storm, he saw that Dick had kicked all the bed-clothes off, and lay very deep in slumber. He touched him lightly on the foot to awake him gently. To his amazement Dick lifted his leg and began to wave it slowly backwards in the air, at the same time whistling softly. Jimmy was so struck with the oddity of this procedure in a sleeping man that he burst into a peal of laughter. Even this did not wake Dick; and Jimmy, having now something to occupy his mind, wentback to bed and laughed himself to sleep. When he detailed the incident to the others in the morning they would not believe him, but said that he must have been dreaming.
Swan's Nest.
Swan's Nest.
The morning broke sunny and with a wonderful freshness in the air, which put the boys into the highest spirits. They sailed a little way up the river to Surlingham Broad, which they wished to explore. They sailed past the main entrance to the broad, thinking there was a wider passage further on. Finding they were mistaken, they attempted to take the punt through anarrow and sinuous dyke which appeared to lead into the broad. They pushed their way along this for some distance until it became so narrow and shallow that they could scarcely get on. Just then they came round a corner of reeds, and to their dismay found that they had come suddenly upon a swan's nest. The female swan was sitting upon a huge pile of sticks placed on a small reedy island. Round this island the male swan was swimming in a very stately fashion, and when he saw the boys coming so near his beloved, he swam towards them, with his wings and tail raised and set out in a way that unmistakably told them he meant war. They hastily pushed back, but the punt stuck in the mud, and Frank had to take an oar and keep the swan at bay with it, while the others pushed the punt off and back again.
Swan.
Swan.
"Pray, look sharp," said Frank, "I cannot keep him at bay much longer without my hurting him or his hurting me."
"We're doing our best," said Jimmy, and missing his footing as he spoke he fell into the mud and water.
"That's no help," said Frank, giving the swan a sharp poke with the oar. Jimmy scrambled into the boat, and the swan, satisfied that they were in full retreat, gave up the pursuit.
They went back to the yacht, where Jimmy changed his clothes, and then went on to the broad by the proper channel.
Their object in visiting this broad was to find the nest of the bearded tit, which Bell had told them bred there in great numbers. This beautiful little bird is now becoming very rare. Its home is among the reed-beds of Norfolk and Suffolk, but it has been so shot down wholesale by bird-stuffers, and its eggs collected for sale, that it has become exceedingly rare. It is a very pretty bird, having a long tail, fawn-coloured back, and white belly, but its distinguishing feature is that it has a pair of moustaches in the shape of black tufts of feathers depending from either side of its mouth. Very properly, too, it is only the males which have this appearance. In Norfolk it is called the reed pheasant. It is very interesting to see a flock of them flitting about the reeds. Like all the tit family, they are very lively, jerking up and down the reed-stems in all sorts of positions, and as often as not with their heads down and their tails up.
Apart from the open water of the broad, there were numerous channels among the reeds which latter rose to the height of seven or eight feet above the water. Along these channels the boys made their way, listening attentively to the chirping of the birds, which they could hear but not see. By keeping very still they could at length distinguish two or three of the birds they sought, flitting about the reeds, and by the aid of their glass they could perceive the birds with great distinctness. The movements of one bird led them to its nest, and pushing their way with some difficulty they were fortunate enough to find it. It was built of dry stems of grass and sedges, and was placed about a foot from the ground (or water, for it was a compound of both), in the midst of a thick clump of reeds. It contained five eggs as large as those of a great tit, pinkish-white in colour, spotted and streaked with reddish brown, something like those of a yellow-hammer. While they were debating how many of the eggs they should take, Frank saw a tit fly from a tuft of reeds a few yards off, and on going there they found another nest with four eggs in it. This waslucky, for it enabled them to take two eggs from each nest without feeling any compunction.
Cuckoo and Egg.
Cuckoo and Egg.
They found several of the beautiful purse-like nests of the reed wrens attached midway up the tall reed-stems. In one of them there was a young cuckoo, the sole occupant of the nest. What had become of the little reed-wrens was plainly to be seen by the bodies which strewed the ground beneath. The poor little fledglings had been ousted from their home by the broad-backed cuckoo. I suppose we ought not to call him cruel, because it is the instinct of self-preservation which makes him behave so badly. If the young birds, the legitimate owners of the nest, had been allowed to remain, the old birds could not have fed them all, and the young cuckoo must have starved. The boys watched the nest for some time to see the old birds feed it, and they were greatly delighted to see the way in which the reed-wrens managed it.They perched on the young cuckoo's backwhile they placed the food inits broad mouth. It was the only standing room there was, for the cuckoo more than covered the whole of the nest.
"Who wouldn't be a naturalist!" said Frank, "when he can see such things as that?"
Dick replied, "I did not know that life could possibly be so jolly, until I learnt something of natural history. I do wonder that so few fellows take to it. I suppose it is because books make it appear so dry. Books don't seem to me to go into thesportof the thing. They only show you the surface of it, and not the life. I will try to write a book some day when—" and he hesitated.
"When you get more conceited, eh, Dick?" said Frank laughingly.
Then they sailed up to Bramerton, and when they brought up at the Wood's-end public-house they found a number of old school-fellows there, and the racing four-oar belonging to the school club.
Old School fellows.—Tom-tit's Nest in Boot.—Nuthatch.—Wryneck.—Ant-hill.—Marsh-Tit.—A Comical Fix.
AstheSwanwas brought up to her moorings at the Staithe the boys who were assembled on the green before the front of the house rushed down to inspect the strange boat and then to claim acquaintanceship with Frank and Jimmy. They were their old school-fellows, and were glad to see their old companions again. They swarmed over the yacht, criticising her, and asking questions about her and the cruise of the boys.
Marston, a great big fellow, dived into the cabin exclaiming, "What a jolly little box!" and sat down on a berth to see how it felt. No sooner, however, had he sat down than he jumped up and out on deck, as quickly as a Jack in a boxdoes when the spring is touched, at the same time uttering a howl of pain.
"What is the matter?" said Frank.
"I do not know," answered Marston, poking his head into the cabin again to see what was there, while he rubbed his back disconsolately. The fact of the matter was that he had sat down in the corner where the hawks were, and they, seeing an inviting bit of bare flesh between the waistband of his breeches and his jersey, had saluted him with aone,two, of very remarkable poignancy.
Jimmy's delight at this incident was unbounded. He felt now that he was amply repaid for the damage to his own big toe. When the general laugh at this incident had subsided, Marston said:—
"I say, Frank, we are going to row a race with the Norwich Rowing Club. A four-oared race; it comes off the day after to-morrow; and most unfortunately our No. 3 has sprained his wrist and cannot row, and we did not know what to do. We have no other man big enough to take his place who is in condition. We were discussing the matter as you came up. Now, you are a good rower; will you row for us?"
Frank was pleased at the invitation, especially as it was backed up by the others most cordially; but he said—
"I have not rowed for so long a time that I am quite out of condition."
"Oh, nonsense, you look in perfect condition. If you have been out for a week's yachting you must be in capital condition. Do row, or we shall lose the race to a certainty."
"You had better row, Frank," said both Jim and Dick together, but he still hesitated.
"Come, Dick," said Jim, "let us go and birds'-nest in the wood while Frank listens to the voice of the charmer."
So off they went, leaving Frank and the others to settle the question between them.
Behind the inn there rose a steep wood-crowned bank, and it was to this that the two boys directed their steps. On their way they passed a skittle-alley, and Dick said to the man in charge—
"Can you show us any birds' nests?"
"Yes, I can show you one in a very rum place. Look into that old pair of boots hanging against the wall."
They did so, and to their surprise a tom-tit flew out, and upon closer inspection they found its nest in one of the boots, and in the nest twelve tiny white eggs.
"These are master's marsh-boots, but when he found that the birds had begun to build in them, he gave orders that no one was to touch them until the birds had hatched off their young ones."
Tom-tit and Egg.
Tom-tit and Egg.
Tom-tits have a knack of building their nests in strange places. Inside a pillar letter-box, where letters were being tossed every day; in a hole in a door-post, which was closed when the door was shut, so that the birds were shut up during the night; in the pocket of a gardener's coat hanging on a nail. Such are the places in which master tom-tit sometimes builds his nest. Even more curious, however, was a nest I read of which was built by a fly-catcher in the spring of a bell, which vibrated twenty times a day when the bell was rung.
When they reached the wood, Dick's attention was attractedby the movements of a bird with a slaty blue back and fawn-coloured belly, which was flitting about the trunk of a large beech-tree.
"What bird is that, Jimmy?" he asked.
"It is a nuthatch. Let us watch it, and perhaps we may see its nest."
Nuthatch.
Nuthatch.
After a little while they saw it disappear into a hole in a neighbouring tree. Going up to this, they found that it was its nest, and that it was made after a fashion peculiar to these pretty birds. The nest was built in a hole in a tree, but the hole being larger than was required by the birds, they had built up the entrance with mud, like that which forms a swallow's nest, leaving an aperture only just large enough for the old birds to get in and out. Dick got on Jimmy's shoulders, and broke away a piece of mud, so that he could get his hand in.
"There are five eggs, white with brown spots, and I have caught the old bird on."
"Let her go, and take two of the eggs; I know Frank hasn't got any."
Dick did so, and then moistening the piece of mud which he had removed, in a little pool which was near, he fixed it very neatly in its proper place again.
Proceeding a little further, they saw a bird about as big as a nuthatch, but very different in appearance. It had a curiously mottled and brown-lined back. Every now and then it descended to the ground, and flew back again to a hole in a decayed poplar, varying the journey with wanderings up and down the trunk of that and adjacent trees. As it did so, it stretched forth its head and twisted its neck about in a very peculiar fashion.
Wryneck.
Wryneck.
"That can be nothing else but a wryneck," said Jimmy, noticing its movement. "Its nest must be in that hole; but what is it picking from the ground?"
Working Ant and portion of Ant-hill.
Working Ant and portion of Ant-hill.
Underneath a large fir-tree was a big conical heap of straw and leaves. Upon examination it was found to be swarming with large chestnut-coloured ants. It was a nest of the wood-ant, and thousands of the tiny creatures were busy dragging straws and sticks to build up the nest, or grains of wheat or other food. It was a grand feast for the wryneck, which had been picking up the ants' eggs, and carrying them to its young ones. The boys stood for some time looking at the busy heap, until from looking at the whole together they came to selecting particular ants and speculating on their destination, for every ant had a purpose in going and coming. One about a foot from the hill was tugging a piece of straw which was evidently too large for him to pull along unassisted, so he left it, and presently returned with a companion, and the two together managed to take the straw along capitally. Dick was much struck with this incident, which looked more like reason than instinct. And he would have stayed longer watching the ants, had not Jimmy been in a hurry to climb up to the wryneck's nest, and he could not do without Dick's help, who had to give him a back. When he got up he very nearly came down again, so startled was he to hear a loud hissing in the hole like that of a snake. The wryneck flew off, and as there could not be a bird and a snake together in the hole, he concluded that thebird had made the noise with intention to frighten him, and he boldly put his hand into the hole and popped his fingers into the gaping mouths of some young wrynecks. He nevertheless felt carefully about, in hope of finding an addled egg, and he was not disappointed. There were two addled eggs, which he brought down in safety. They were pure white, about the size of a swift's.
Egg of Wryneck.
Egg of Wryneck.
They now came to something in Dick's line. On a tall nettle-top sat a small tortoiseshell butterfly opening and shutting its wings with the fanning motion peculiar to its tribe. The rays of sunlight falling through the foliage of the trees overhead lit up the beauty of its red and black wings. Dick had not his net with him, so taking off his cap, he made after the butterfly, which launched into strong flight, and sailed away out of the wood and over the meadows with Dick in hot pursuit.
Jimmy went on rambling through the wood, and presently saw a small tree which divided into two branches about a dozen feet from the ground. At this fork of the tree it was split some distance down, and, in this split, some moss betokened a nest of some kind. Jimmy threw a stone up, and as it clattered against the tree, a bird like a tom-tit, but with a black head, flew out. Jimmy watched it as it fluttered about the branches of the tree a few yards off, and soon came to the conclusion that it was a marsh-tit, and that its eggs were worth having.
Marsh Tit and Egg.
Marsh Tit and Egg.
He accordingly climbed up the tree, and found that he could not reach the nest, which was too far down in the slit. By dint, however, of sitting on one of the forks, and pushing with all his might at the other, he succeeded in opening the crack wide enough for him to insert his hand and reach the nest.It contained eight eggs, white spotted with red. He took four of them, and sitting in the fork of the tree, he blew them and put them in his box. Then he thought of descending, and attempted to jump to the ground. To his astonishment he found himself brought up sharp, and then he saw that his trousers had caught in the slit, and that a large portion of the slack of them behind was firmly wedged in; and there he hung with his legs dangling in the air with ludicrous helplessness. He tried to haul himself up again, but he was in such an awkward position that he could not do it. He tried to open the crack with his hands, but with the weight of his body on the one side instead of in the middle, this could not be done. In despair he let go with his hands, in the hope that his trousers would tear and that he would fall to the ground; but they were too stout for that, and he only narrowly escaped turning topsy turvy and hanging in a worse position. Then he fell to laughing vigorously at the comical scrape he had got into. He did not laugh long, however, for he was very uncomfortable, and kick and struggle as he would, he could not get free.Then he felt more inclined to cry than he ever had done in his life before. It was so very humiliating to be hung up there like a cockchafer at the end of a pin. When he found he could not get down by himself he began to shout for help.
"Dick, Dick, Dick!" but no Dick came. The fact was that Dick who had been unsuccessful in his chase after the butterfly, had returned to the spot from whence he started, and then not seeing Jimmy about, he concluded that he had gone back to the others—and all the time Jimmy was still up in the tree shouting lustily. Dick heard an inarticulate shouting, but never for one moment imagined it came from Jimmy. When, however, he saw that Jimmy was not with the others, he thought of the shouting; and they all went in search of the missing one, and when they found him they went into such fits of laughter that for some time no one could help him.
"Oh dear, Jimmy, you will be the death of me! This is worse than the big toe affair," said Frank.
"I say," said Jimmy, "don't tell anyone at home about this, there's a good fellow."
"All right, I won't."
Frank had agreed to row in the race, and while Jimmy and Dick sailed the yacht up to Norwich, he went for a racing spin in the four-oar, and found that he was in much better condition than he had thought.
When they reached Norwich they found some letters awaiting them. Frank after reading his, said,—
"Hallo, Master Dick, you never said that you were going to send that dog you bought at Mutford to my sister Mary."
"Didn't I?" answered Dick blushing.
"No, of course you didn't. Well, here is a message for you from her; she says, 'Tell Dick that I am very much obliged to him for the pretty little dog. He is a sweet little dear, but he soon got into a scrape. He went into the laundry and ate up the blue-bag, flannel and all, and he isn't a bit the worse, although Florrie says she is sure his white coat will turn blue.'"
The Boat-race.—Winning.—Mr. Marston.—Nightingale and Nest.—The noise of the Nightingales.
Thenext morning Frank had another row in the four-oar, and in the afternoon they practised starts. The boat went very well indeed, notwithstanding the importation of new blood into it at the last hour. The day of the race came, a beautiful summer day with a gentle breeze, and the glare of the sun subdued by light clouds.
The race was at three o'clock, and a goodly company had assembled at Whitlingham to witness it. The course was from below Postwick Grove to Whitlingham, a distance of two miles, the latter part of which was a long straight course, where for nearly a mile the boats could be seen by all the spectators.
"How do you feel, old man?" said Jimmy to Frank as he was in the boat-house dressing.
"Oh, all right; we mean to win."
"I don't know that you will though. I have seen the other crew rowing past on their way to the course. They have got such a splendid long stroke and swing so evenly."
"Yes, they row well," said Marston, who was the stroke of Frank's boat, "but they have not got enough of 'go' in them. They take it too easily, and so don't get a good grip of the water; and I think they have over-trained. Still we shall have a hard job to beat them, but we all mean to try. Now look here, you fellows. This is what I mean to do. We will put on a spurt at first, and get ahead of them, and then settle down into a steady stroke."
This was very good advice, for it is a well-known fact that boys row with all the moreespritif they can only get a start at the beginning. They are not so good at rowing a 'waiting' race as men are, but if they can but get ahead at first they always have a very good chance against men who are much stronger than themselves.
Dick and Jimmy went to their yacht, and as the wind,although light, was dead aft, they sailed down to Whitlingham before the racing-boats arrived there. There was a goodly number of spectators on the fair green meadow which lies between the river and the wood, for the race had excited some interest. The gay dresses of the ladies made the scene very lively and pretty. Dick gallantly made it known that the yacht, which they had moored by the winning-post, was at the service of the ladies, and his offer was taken advantage of, and theSwan'sdeck was soon crowded with the fair sex.
The Norwich boat was the first to appear on the scene. On they came with a long swinging stroke on their way to the starting-point. Nothing could be prettier to look at than their style of going. The crew rowed a long stroke which had every appearance of strength. They bent to and fro with the regularity of machines. The oars were pulled well home to the breast, the wrists dropped, and the oars feathered cleverly; the arms shot out, quickly followed by the body until the breast came well between the wide-open knees, but there was just one fault noticeable. The oars were put too gingerly into the water. There was no 'grip.' The men looked as if their boat were too light for them, and they were afraid of making her roll by too great an exertion of force. The men, too, looked pale and over-trained.
A few minutes after they had passed, the boys came by with a quick, lively stroke, such a quick dash in it, and a firm grip of the water at the commencement of the stroke, that promised to do them good service. They did not go nearly so smoothly as their opponents; nor was this to be wondered at, seeing the change which had been effected so late in the day.
Dick and Jimmy ran down the bank of the river to the starting-point, accompanied by many more.
And now the boats were side by side, waiting for the signal to start. As the wind was light there was not much drifting, and a few strokes of the oars of bow and stroke kept them in position.
Frank settled himself well on his seat, and waited for the word. The starter said, "I shall ask if you are ready and then say Go!"
"Now mind," said Marston, "one short stroke to get her away, and then row with all your might to get her ahead."
"Are you ready?"
Frank grasped his oar firmly, and drew in his breath.
"Go!"
The oars flashed in the water, and then it seemed to Frank as if the other crew were fast drawing away from them. He clenched his teeth and threw all his power into the stroke, pulling with every muscle of his body from his scalp to his toes. The river was white with the foam churned by the oars. There seemed to be a deafening noise of rushing water and rattle of oars in the rowlocks. Marston's jersey had been hung on a nail, and this had caused a projection in it at the back of the neck. On this Frank fixed his eyes, neither looking to right or left of him for fear he should make the boat roll and lose time. Then out of the corner of his eye he saw that he was opposite number two in the rival boat, and he knew that they were gaining. Another dozen strokes and they were clear. Then Marston eased a bit, and the boys got into a little better time. Their coxswain tried to take the water of the other boat, and thus nearly caused a foul at the bend in the river, but Marston shook his head at him and he steered his own course.
Frank had now lost his nervousness, and felt pretty comfortable and able to take a little notice of what was passing on the banks, where a small crowd was running at the top of its speed abreast of them; a noise which had been humming in his ears resolving itself into the eager shouts of the partisans of the rival crews.
Dick was well in advance, saying, "Well rowed, number three; splendidly rowed, Frank;" and Jimmy was a little way behind him shouting as excitedly. Frank for a time fell into the error of thinking that he was doing the real work of the boat, and began to row somewhat too violently, when a warning voice from the bank cried out—"Steady, steady number three!" and that recalled him to himself.
They were now in the straight reach, and in sight of the winning-post, and their opponents were steadily gaining on them. "Why doesn't Marston quicken?" thought Frank impatiently; but his stroke knew what he was about, and he kept on steadily until the boats were level once more. Frank's hands were becoming numbed, for he was so afraid of slipping his oar that he grasped it more firmly than was needful. His wind was going too, and his tongue seemed swollen and clove to the roof of his mouth. He ventured a side glance at number three in the other boat, and was relieved to find thathe seemed in quite as bad a plight as himself. An unlucky swan got in the way, and Frank struck it violently with his oar, and very nearly caught a crab in consequence. A sudden puff of wind blew somebody's hat off, and Frank smiled as he saw it float past and knew that it was Dick's.
The oars flashed with increasing quickness, the shouts on the bank grew louder, and still the long slim boats swept over the water side by side, their opponents drawing slightly ahead.
Pair-oared Boat.
Pair-oared Boat.
"Now!" gasped Marston; and Frank knew that the time for the final spurt had come, and if the stroke had been quick before it was doubly so now. Frank felt that each stroke must be his last, but he struggled on; and just as he felt faint (for his want of training had told) and he lost sight of the other boat in a mist, he heard the sound of a pistol and knew that the winning post was reached.
"Who's won?" he managed to ask.
"We have, by half a length," answered the coxswain.
Mr. Marston's House.
Mr. Marston's House.
They drew close up to the bank amid the cheers of the people, and they staggered ashore; and Frank went away a little distance and leaned against a tree with his face to the wind, trying to regain his breath again. Who does not know the agony of thus fighting for breath after a severe struggle! Eventhe excitement of victory does not atone at the moment for the penalty of over-exertion. Dick and Jimmy fanned him with their hats—or rather Dick used his handkerchief, for his hat had gone to the bottom by this time.
As soon as he had got his wind back Frank turned to the others, and was at once seized by his companions and raised on their shoulders, and then carried in triumph to a carriage where some ladies sat. A tall clergyman approached, and he said,—
"You rowed splendidly, number three; wonderful, considering, as I am told, you had no training for the race. I hope you will be none the worse for it. Will you have some champagne?"