Part 4 (1/2)

'We want another chart now,' and he pulled down a second yet more stained and frayed than the first 'We had a splendid ti the Zuyder Zee, its northern part at least, and round those islands which bound it on the north Those are the Frisian Islands, and they stretch for 120 miles or so eastward You see, the first two of them, Texel and Vlieland, shut in the Zuyder Zee, and the rest border the Dutch and German coasts' _[See Map A]_

'What's all this?' I said, running er over some dotted patches which covered ible; clean-cut coasts and neat regiiven place to a confusion of winding and intersecting lines and bald spaces

'All _sand,_' said Davies, enthusiastically 'You can't think what a splendid sailing-ground it is You can explore for days without seeing a soul These are the channels, you see; they're very badly charted This chart was almost useless, but it e or two on the islands, if you wanted stores'

'They look rather desolate,' I said

'Desolate's no word for it; they're really only gigantic sand-banks theerous?' I asked

'Not a bit; you see, that's where our shallow draught and flat botto aground--she's perfect for that sort of work; and she doesn't really _look_ bad either, does she?' he asked, rather wistfully I suppose I hesitated, for he said, abruptly:

'Anyway, I don't go in for looks'

He had leaned back, and I detected traces of incipient absent and relighting feverishly--a habit of his when excited--seeround,' I persisted; 'surely that's apt to be dangerous?'

He sat up and felt round for a match

'Not the least, if you knohere you can run risks and where you can't; anyway, you can't possibly help it That chart ht)--'but at half flood all those banks are covered; the islands and coasts are scarcely visible, they are so low, and everything looks the saround' took awayan anchorage requires care You can generally get a nice berth under the lee of a bank, but the tides run strong in the channels, and if there's a gale blowing--'

'Didn't you ever take a pilot?' I interrupted

'Pilot? Why, the whole point of the thing'--he stopped short--'I did take one once, later on,' he resumed, with an odd sed, for I saw a reverie was coht I wonder what the weather's doing'; he rose, glanced at the aneroid, the clock, and the half-closed skylight with a curious circular movement, and went a step or two up the companion-ladder, where he remained for several minutes with head and shoulders in the open air

There was no sound of wind outside, but the 'Dulcibella' had begun todrowsily to some taint send of the sea, with an occasional short jump, like the start of an uneasy dreamer

'What does it look like?' I called fro,' said Davies, returning, 'and possibly wind; but we're safe enough here It's co from the sou'-west; shall we turn in?'

'We haven't finished your cruise yet,' I said 'Light a pipe and tell reed, with --here it is, the third island fro eastward' _[See Map A]_

'I?'

'Oh! I forgot Morrison had to leave et--to join le-handed, but for that sort of work two are much better than one The plate's beastly heavy; in fact, I had to give up using it for fear of a sed his memory

'Well, I followed the Dutch islands, A, Rottum (outlandish names, aren't they?), sometirand sport and very interesting

The charts were shocking, but I worried out most of the channels'

'I suppose those waters are only used by small local craft?' I put in; 'that would account for inaccuracies' Did Davies think that Ad the road for such quixotic little craft as his, in all its inquisitive ras? But he fired up