The Montgomery advertiser., 1907-10-23
CHAPTER XXI. Rrnclx Shift Islapd.

| B1ack Spit Island.
 "Oh, ay, 1 knows Con'sea well. And what might you be wantin' at Con- sec? ?" The brown faced fisherman spat
 on the ground and sucked thoughtful- | ly at his empty pipe. He and Tanker l lane stood under the lee of shed on I the edge of Gorehaven county The | wind blew fiercely from the nor'-east 1 and the waterBR of the harbour were l ruffled into tiny white-capped waves. l Farther away down the short wide 1 creek which led to the open sea long 1 rollers went westwards in thin lines Of l foam. T want your boat" said Tankerlane, | land men to manage her-men who 1 know the creeks well. I may want her for Q week.
 The man peered round the 5ss ss. :.s>s = ee | the sh ed to windward.
 | T don't like the looks of it," he said | better, I'm thinkin'. The glass is terrible low this mornin's Faint no weather for yachtin'."
 well. I must have boat. and she must go out regardless of the weather.
 reckon you've often been out fish- I ing in worse blow than this" "Oh ay," the man replied, we've our | Twin to earn. This be nothin' much, | but It's what a,-cofnin' I'm afeard of. "rll give you fifty pounds for tiae use of your boat for a week. and If want
 her for more than week, I'll pay you | five pounds a day"
 The mans eyes sparkled, and he l looked at Tankerlane as though he
 scarcely dared to believe that he had heard him alright.
 Fifty poun', did Zee say, sir7 Did
 understan' Zee to say fifty poun' and | five poun' a day afterwards" "Yes. But you must start at once | within an hour from now"
 The fisherman looked at the clock
 which faced the harbour.
 'STis now bout ten, sir. I'll find my | mate. and we'll take you aboard at 1 half-past. if yon'Ii come down to the hard Ask for Bnl Ysrdley of the Hope and Glory. Will you order the | food, sir, or will you leave sit to us." III order it. Tankerlane replied. q have nothing to do till we start" ''Pd buy thick jersey or summat of | that sort, sir. if I were you. We can l find you oilskins. but I doubt if you'd l care to wear our old jerseys" N "Half-past ten sharp" said Tanker
 lane, as he turned away into the little town.
 He spent the next half hour in pur-
 chasing everything that obsequicus I shopmen could persuade him to buy. He
 knew nothing of provisioning for a boat l for a weeks cruise, and was in the | hands of those who were aware of his | ignorance. Gorehaven Is a small place. but it possesses one shop where al-
 most anything that has ever been put | into tins or glass jars can be pur- | chased. Tankerlane ordered small cartload of delicacies to be sent down ! to the hard" and was not even al- | lowed to forget the more necessary | articles, such as bread, butter, eggs. | tea and bacon. He also ordered three dozen large bottles of beer and half dozen bottles of whiskey.
 At half-past ten to the minute a | small army of errand boys and shop assistants loaded up the large dinghy of the Hope and Glory with boxes and
 parcels. Bill Yardley grinned as he saw the food that had been purchased | for his consumption. but he drowned
 and bit his lip as he caught sight of | the whiskey.
 "Id rather 'ee hadn't fetched that
 drink aboard. sir" he said respectfully, l as they pushed off the quay
 Nonsense" said TankerIane sharply. | q must really ask you to let me eat and drink what I like. Your depart
 ment Is the sailing of the boat. hope you don't think I shall take too
 much"
 "Beggin' your pardon, sir" the man
 replied. Tt don't matter to me if | you'm drunk as an owl. and I'd be the | last to take the liberty of suggesttn' such a thing. But my mate gets the devil in him if he has the handlin' of any liquor He's a good chap, and a 1 fine seaman, and he tries his hardest | to keep out of temptation. he do. He knows his weakness. and we've both
 agreed on not keepin' liquor on board. | I'm teetotaller I am, save for a glass
 of port once a week on Sundays" 'Tll keep 1t out of his sight and
 reach," Tankerlane replied with a
 smile.
 'Pd be glad if you would. sir,' said
 Yardley, and hope you'll pardon the
 liberty I've taken in speakin' of it. But we've dirty weather in front of us, and
 l don't want my mate to break adrift." It only took the fisherman i've min
 utes to row out to the Hope and Glory. | but in that short time Tankerlane had
 foretaste of what awaited him in the
 creek outside. Even in the harbour
 the waves were big enough to break
 over the bow of the dinghy, and drench
 the occupants with water. In spite of his oilsktnsa nd the thick jersey he had bought, Tankerlane shivered as the water splashed into his face, and he
 was glad when they reached the smack. She was me boat of twenty tons,
 built in Gorehaven only two years pre- viously, and the sight of her thick tim | bers inspired confidence. Her mainsail With three reefs in 1t, was already
 cracking and shivering in the wind. and
 her jib was bent. A young bronzed 1 giant with dark hair and spiercing
 black eyes was hanging over the side, | and caught the nose of the dinghy with a boat hook. Tankerlane glanced l swiftly at his face and liked it. There was no sign of debauchery in that smooth, hard flesh, and clear eyes, and l active body. But he noticed that Bill
 Yardley was careful to cover up the whiskey with an oilslkin as he took 1t | aboard, and that he did not let 1t out
 of his hands till 1t was slowed away
 in locker. It was only the work of
 a minute to castSoff the moorings and
 get under way. and couple of short
 tacks brought the Hope and Glory
 through the mouth of the harbour into
 the more open waters of the creek.
 The wind, which was steadily in
 creasing in fury, had now shifted into
 the sou-east, and was In almost the
 worst possible quarter for the trip to 1 Conasea Island. The creek itself ran
 three miles sou'-east, and beyond the
 mouth the channel ran great sand
 banks for another fifteen miles in the
 same direction, until the Black Spit
 Ea. l