Part 2 (1/2)
”Cow, sir, overboard”
”Quite right Milk and water,” ca pardon, sir, what shall I do?”
”Go andunder the cliff, sir”
”Go and ask her on board, then Be off!”
Archy Raystoke knew his co a fewa tap or two on the panel--
”Shall I take the boat and get her aboard?”
There was a loud rustle; a bang as if some one had struck the bulkhead with his elbow, and then a voice roared--
”Look here, sir, if you don't be off and let h the door You're in charge of the deck Go and do what's right, and don't bother _!
Another blow on the bulkhead, and rustling noise, and, as well as if he had seen it all, Archy knew that his officer had snuggled down under the clothes, and gone to sleep
But he had the per to a couple of the crew, he soon had the s towards where the coas sloi here and there, with its wet nose and two horns a very short distance above the surface
”Now, then, dick, is it a sea-cow?” cried Archy, as they drew nearer
”Well, sir, what else can it be?”
”Ah, you obstinate!” cried the lad ”Now, then, what are we going to do? We can't land her,” he continued, looking up at the towering cliff, ”and, of course, we can't take her in the boat”
”I'll soonto take up a coil of rope he had thrown into the boat, and ht, sir Get this over her horns, and we can tow her alongside, and hyste her on deck in no time”
The cow proved that she was accustomed to man, for, as the boat approached, she swa her nose a little to utter a loud bellow, as if glad to welcoentle was the poor creature, that there was no difficulty in passing the noose over her horns, -bolt, so as to keep her head well above the surface, and then dick resulance round to make sure that there was no place where the poor beast could be landed, Archie gave the order for theht sunshi+ne, five hundred yards from the shore
He looked in vain, for at the lowest part the green edge of the cliff was a couple of hundred feet above the level of the sea, and right and left of hihty walls of rock rose up, four, five, and even six hundred feet, and for the most part with a sheer descent to the water which washed their feet
The cow took to her journey very kindly, helping the progress by swiside the cutter, where thewith amusement
”Pull her horns off, sir!” said dick, in answer to a question, as he proceeded to pass the rope through a block, ”not it”
”But hadn't we better have a line round her?”
”If you want to cut her 'most in two, sir We'll soon have her on board”
dick was as good as his word, for the task was easy with a vessel so low in the water as the cutter; and in a fewon deck