Bevis: The Story of a Boy
Page 37
trampled grass where fierce combats had occurred. Howdelighted Bevis would be to see him! How he looked forward to Bevis'striumph! All his heart was full of Bevis, it was not his own success,it was Bevis's victory that he rejoiced in.
"Bevis! Bevis!" he shouted, as they came near the camp, but there wasno answer. When they entered the camp, and found the fire stillsmouldering, but no Bevis, Mark's face became troubled. The triumphfaded away, he grew anxious.
"Where ever can he be?" he said. "I hope there's nothing wrong.Bevis!" shouting at the top of his voice. The gale took the shout withit, but nothing came but the roaring of the wind. The sun was nowsinking and cast a purple gleam over the grass.
Volume Two, Chapter III.
BEVIS IN THE STORM.
In the punt Bevis remained quite still under the sacks while Crassussearched the quarry for him, then looked up in the sycamores, andafterwards went to the hazel hedge. Bevis, peeping out from under thebroad seat, saw him go there, and knew that he could not see over theNew Sea from the lower ground, but as others might at any moment come onthe hill, he considered it best to keep on the bottom of the boat. Thepunt at first floated slowly, and was sheltered by the jutting point,but still the flow of the water carried it out, and in a little time thewind pushed it more strongly as it got farther from shore. Presently itbegan to roll with the waves, and Bevis soon found some of theinconveniences of a flat-bottomed vessel.
The old punt always leaked, and the puntsman being too idle to bale tillcompelled, the space between the veal and the false bottom was full ofwater. As she began to roll this water went with a sound like "swish"from side to side, and Bevis saw it appear between the edge of theboards and the side. When she had drifted quite out of the gulf and metthe full force of the waves every time they lifted her, this bilgewaterrushed out over the floor. Bevis was obliged to change his position,else he would soon have been wet through. He doubled up the two sacksand sat on them, reclining his arms on the seat so as still to be as lowdown and as much concealed as possible.
This precaution was really needless, for both the armies were scattered,the one pursuing and the other pursued, in places where they could notsee him, and even had they moved by the shore they would never havethought of looking for him where he was. He could not know this, and sosat on the sacks. The punt was now in the centre of the storm, and thewaves seemed immense to Bevis. Between them the surface was dark, theirtops were crested with foam, which the wind blew off against him, sothat he had to look in the direction he was going and not back to escapethe constant shower of scud in his face.
Now up, now down, the boat heaved and sank, turning slowly round as shewent, but generally broadside on. With such a hurricane and such wavesshe floated fast, and the shore was already far behind. When Bevis feltthat he was really out on the New Sea a wild delight possessed him. Heshouted and sang how--
"Estmere threw his harpe asyde, And swith he drew his brand!"
The dash of the waves, the "wish" of the gust as it struck him, theflying foam, the fury of the storm, the red sun almost level with thehorizon and towards which he drifted, the dark heaving waters in theirwrath lifted his spirit to meet them. All he wished was that Mark waswith him to share the pleasure. He was now in the broadest part of theNew Sea where the rollers having come so far rose yet higher. Bevisshouted to them, wild as the waves.
The punt being so cumbrous and heavy did not rise buoyantly as the waveswent under, but hung on them, so that the crests of the larger wavesfrequently broke over the gunwale and poured a flood of water on board.There were crevices too in her sides, which in ordinary times were notnoticed, as she was never loaded deep enough to bring them down to thewater-line. But now the waves rising above these found out the chinks,and rushed through in narrow streams.
The increase of the water in the punt again forced Bevis to move, and hesat up on the seat with his feet on the sacks. The water was quitethree inches above the false bottom, and rushed from side to side with agreat splash, of course helping to heel her over. Bevis did not likethis at all; he ceased singing, and looked about him.
It seemed a mile (it was not so far) back to the quarry, such a waste ofraging waves and foam! On either side the shore was a long, long way,he could not swim a tenth as far. He recognised the sedges where he andMark had wandered on his left, and found that he was rapidly coming nearthe two islands. He began to grow anxious, thinking that the boat wouldnot keep afloat very much longer. The shore in front beyond the islandswas a great way, and from what he knew of it he believed it wasencumbered far out with weeds through which, if the punt foundered, hecould not swim, so that his hope was that she would strike either theUnknown Island or Serendib.
Both were now near, and he tried to discover whether the current andwind would throw him on them. A long white streak parallel to thecourse of the storm marked the surface of the water rising and fallingwith the waves like a ribbon, and this seemed to pass close by Serendib.The punt being nearly on the streak he hoped he should get there. Ifhe only had something to row with! The Old Man of the Sea had hiddenthe sculls, and had not troubled to bring the movable seat with him, ashe did not want it. The movable seat would have made a good paddle. Asfor the stretcher it was fixed, nailed to the floor.
He could do nothing paddling with his hand, in calm weather he might,but not in such a storm of wind. If he only had something to paddlewith he could have worked the punt into the line so as to strike onSerendib. As it was he could do nothing; if he had only had his hat hecould have baled out some of the water, which continued to rise higher.
Drifting as the waves chose he saw that Serendib was a low, flat island.The Unknown Island rose into a steep sand bluff at that end which facedhim. Against this bluff the waves broke with tremendous fury, sendingthe spray up to the bushes on the top. Bevis watched to see where thepunt would ground, or whether it would miss both islands and driftthrough the narrow channel between them.
He still thought it might hit Serendib, when it once more rotated, andthat brought it in such a position that the waves must take it crashagainst the low steep cliff of the Unknown Island. Bevis set his teeth,and prepared to dig his nails into the sand, when just as the punt waswithin three waves of the shore, it seemed to pause. This was thereflux--the undertow, the water recoiling from the bank--so that theboat for half a moment was suspended or held between the two forces.
Before he had time to think what was best to do the punt partly swunground, and the rush of the current, setting between the islands, carriedit along close beside the shore. The bluff now sloped, and the wavesrushed up among the bushes and trees. Bevis watched, saw a chance, andin an instant stepped on the seat, and leaped with all his might. Itwas a long way, but he was a good jumper, and his feet landed on theground. He would even then have fallen back into the water had he notgrasped a branch of alder.
For a moment he hung over the waves, the next he drew himself up, andwas safe. He stepped back from the edge, and instinctively put his leftarm round the alder trunk, as if clinging to a friend. Leaning againstthe tree he saw the punt, pushed out by the impetus from his spring,swing round and drift rapidly between the islands. It went somedistance, and then began to settle, and slowly sank.
Bevis remained holding the tree till he had recovered himself, then hemoved farther into the island, and went a little way up the bluff,whence he saw that the sun had set. He soon forgot his alarm, and asthat subsided began to enjoy his position. "What a pity Mark was notwith me!" he said to himself. "I am so sorry. Only think, I'm reallyshipwrecked. It's splendid!" He kicked up his heels, and a startledblackbird flew out of a bramble bush and across the water.
Bevis watched him fly aslant the gale till he lost sight of him in thetrees on shore. Looking that way--north-west--his quick eyes found outa curious thing. On that side of the island there was a broad band ofweeds stretching towards the shore, and widening the farther itextended.
These weeds were level with the surfa
ce, and as the waves rolled underthey undulated like a loose green carpet lifted by a strong draught. Asthey proceeded the undulations became less and less, till on emerginginto an open channel on the other side of the weeds, they were nothingmore than slow ripples. Still passing on the slow ripples gentlycrossed, and were lost in a second band of weeds. He could hear theboom of the waves as they struck the low cliff and dashed themselves topieces, yet these furious waves were subdued by the leaves and stalks ofthe weeds, any of which he knew he could pull up with his hand.
Watching the green undulations he looked farther and saw that at somedistance from the island there were banks covered with sedges, and thechannel between the weeds (showing deeper water) wound in among these.Next he went up on the top of the cliff, and found a young oak-treegrowing on the summit, to which he held while thus exposed to the fullstrength of the wind, and every now and then the spray flew up andsprinkled