Part 39 (1/2)

The behaviour of the passengers struckastern like regretful e Now no vestige of the low land was visible, so I was driven to the conclusion that it was the lighter they were discussing; and I datefrom the moment that I realized this But the thread broke pre the deck, and I had to lie low When next I was able to raise ed, as far as I could discover froument about our course and the tiht of a hand-lantern

We were heading north, and I knew by the swell that weand Baltru out to open sea? It came over hter at Memmert Had I been Davies I should have been quicker to seize certain rigid conditions of this cruise, which no huh tide The water therefore was falling everywhere; and the tributary channels in rear of the islands were slowly growing impassable It was quite thirty miles to Memmert, with three watersheds to pass; behind Baltrum, Norderney, and Juist A skipper with nerve and perfect confidence ht take us over one of these in the dark, but most of the run would infallibly have to be made outside I now better understood the protests of Herr Schenkel to Grihter in tow in the open sea, though plenty behind the barrier of islands; indeed it was the very existence of the sheltered byways that created such traffic as there was It was only Griested Mean to doubt it now That tricky hoop of sand had befooled us before

At this raph rang and the tug slowed down I effaced hter to starboard his helm, and to the look-out to come aft The next order froze my very marrow; it was 'loay' So the tackles; the forward fall-rope actually slipped in the block and tilted the boat a fraction I was just wondering how far it was to swi, i out, 'No, no! We don't want the boat The swell's nothing; we can juh

'Mercy!' thought I, 'are _they_ going to swi rolled lifelessly in the swell for a little, and footsteps retreated aft There were cries of 'Achtung!'

and so; and on we erly, and then full-speed ahead The passengers, it see in; coal-dust and exposure to clean planks and a warain I peeped out Gri the spokes, with a glance over his shoulder at his precious freight And, after all, ere_ going outside

Close on the port hand lay a black foaht, while ung slowly round to ard over the troubled bar Noere in the spacious deeps of the North Sea; and feeling it too in increase of swell and volleys of spray

At this point evolutions began Griave the wheel up to the look-out, and himself went to the taffrail, whence he roared back orders of 'Port!' or 'Starboard!' in response to signals fro on each point of the wind in succession, after that worked straight out to sea till the water was a good deal rougher, and back again at a tangent, till in earshot of the surf on the island beach There the manoeuvres, which were clearly in the nature of a trial trip, ended; and we hove to, to transshi+p our passengers They, when they ca steadied the tug on a settled course and entrusted the wheel to the sailor again, stripped off his dripping oilskin coat, threw it down on the cabin skylight, and followed them

The course he had set was about west, with Norderney light a couple of points off the port bow The course for Memmert? Possibly; but I cared not, for ht _It was the course for England too_ Yes, I understood at last I was assisting at an experireat scene, to be enacted, perhaps, in the near future--a scene whenfull loads of soldiers, not half loads of coals, should issue simultaneously, in seven ordered fleets, from seven shallow outlets, and, under escort of the Imperial Navy, traverse the North Sea and throw theent reader, you may be pleased to say that I have been very obtuse; and yet, with huainst that verdict

Re, it is only since they happened that the possibility of an invasion of England by Germany has become a topic of public discussion Davies and I had never--I was going to say had never considered it; but that would not be accurate, for we had glanced at it once or twice; and if any single incident in his or our joint cruise had provided a semblance of confirmation, he, at any rate, would have kindled to that spark

But you will see how perversely from first to last circuroove, till the idea beca was one of defence and not offence Hence a complete mental somersault was required, and, as an amateur, I found it difficult; the more so that the method of invasion, as I darkly coe and unprecedented character; for orthodox invasions start fro ports and involve a fleet of ocean transports, while none of our clues pointed that way To neglect obvious methods, to draw on the obscure resources of an obscure strip of coast, to inificant streams and tidal outlets, and thence, screened by the islands, to despatch an ar thely obscure and therefore unexpected portion of the ene, aye, and so quixotic in some of its aspects, that even noas half incredulous Yet it ments of the puzzle fell into order till a coherent whole was adumbrated [The reader will find the whole ed on into the night; a squall of rain leapt upon us and swept hissing astern Baltrum vanished and the strands of Norderney beaht Drunk with triu cradle and ransacked every unvisited cha out their dusty contents, to make a joyous bonfire of soht of the great revelation

My reverie was of things, not persons; of vast national issues rather than of the poignant human interests so closely linked with them But on a sudden I was recalled, with a shock, toour course, as I knew by variations in the whirl of draughts which whistled aboutmy arish lights of Norderney town and pro in to enter the See-Gat _[See Chart B]_

Round she cah the broken water of the bar, till her nose was south and the as on the starboard bow Not a mile from me were the villa and the yacht, and the three persons of the drama--three, that is, if Davies were safe

Were we to land at Norderney harbour? Heavens, what a nificent climax!--if only I could rise to it My work here was done At a stroke to rejoin Davies and be free to consu the davit-tackles--I blush to think of the stupidity--was rejected as soon as it was born, and instead, I endeavoured to i on the starboard side; that would be the side away from the quay, and the tide would be low I could swar the stir of arrival, drop into the sea and swih the mud to within a short distance of the 'Dulcibella', and swiled ain? Back he went to the cabin, leaving the sailor at the hel to port now; but no--on ent, south, for theto get to Davies, once implanted, waxed apace

Our destination was at last beyond dispute _[See Chart]_ The channel ere in was the sae to Meo It was a _cul-de-sac_ leading to one place only, the landing stage at Norddeich The only place on the whole coast, now I ca could land at this tide There the quay would be on the starboard side, and I saw ers landed and the tug and lighter turned back for Memmert; at Memmert, dawn, and discovery

There was some way out--some way out, I repeated to e in the lore of this strange region What would _he_ do?

For answer there ca sands The sas dying away, the channel narrowing; dusky and weird on the starboard hand stretched leagues of new-risen sand

Two uard clouds of a fresh squall

A madcap scheme danced beforelow and cloaking the flame with my jacket I struck afor about three hours and a half

Loater about five; they would be aground till 730 Danger to life? None Flares and rescuers? Not likely, with 'him who insists'

on board; besides, no one could coer I should have a fair wind and a fair tide for _ht; ere both clean shaved

The helazed ahead, intent on his difficult course, and the wind howled to perfection I knelt up and exa rele block (like our own peak halyards), the lower one hooked into a ring in the boat, the hauling partthere ive lateral support or the boat would have racketed abroad in the roll outside The support, I found, consisted of two lanyards spliced to the davits and rove through holes in the keel These I leaned over and cut withof the boat, for the tug was under the lee of sands and on an even keel

Then I leftout of the stern sheets by the after-davit, and preparing every successive motion with exquisite tenderness, till I stood on the deck In anotheroilskin coat (A second's yielding to telass, fastened from below So, on with the coat, up with the collar, and forward to the wheel on tiptoe) As soon as I was up to the engine-rooht (that is to say, well ahead of the cabin roof) I assumed a natural step, went up to the pulpit and touched the helmsman on the ar soht, and I took the wheel froed his satellite, and pointed forward He went off like a la drea nized one of the crew of the 'Kormoran'

My ruse developed in all its delicious simplicity We were, I estimated, about half-way to Norddeich, in the Buse Tief, a channel of a navigable breadth, at the utmost of two hundred yards at this period of the tide Two faint lights, one above the other, twinkled far ahead What they meant I neither knew nor cared, since the only use I put them to was to test the effect of the wheel, for this was the first time I had ever tasted the sweets of cohtcould hinder the catastrophe now