CHAPTER TWENTY ONE.
THE SPOILS OF THE SEA.
"A shark!" yelled out Mister Bob, evincing much greater fright than hissister Nell, although he was very fond of referring to hercontemptuously as "being only a girl," when manly exploits happened tobe the topic of conversation and she chanced to hazard an opinion; and,at the same instant, he jumped madly from the gunwale of the littlecutter on to the top of her half-deck forwards, climbing from thenceinto the lee rigging, where he evidently thought he would be safer. "Ashark! Won't it bite?"
"Aye, by Jove, it will!" said the Captain ironically. "I'd swarm up tothe masthead, if I were you, so as to be out of harm's way. You needn'tmind your sister or any of us down here. We can take care ofourselves!"
This made Bob a bit ashamed, and he began to climb down again from therigging, looking gingerly the while over the side, as if expecting everyminute that the terrible monster of the deep which his imagination hadpictured would spring up and seize him.
"I--I--was afraid," he faltered. "I--I--thought it best to get out ofthe way."
"So it seems," said the old sailor grimly. "It's lucky, though, thatevery one was not of the same mind; or where would we all be! Dick,where's that hatchet I gave you this morning to put into the boat?"
"It's in the after locker, sir."
"Look smart, then," cried the Captain excitedly. "Bear a hand and getit at once."
At this order, Dick, who, like Bob, had thought "discretion the betterpart of valour," and got behind the windlass, in order to have somesubstantial obstacle between himself and the trawl-net which theCaptain, with Mr Dugald Strong's aid, had partly dragged into the wellof the cutter, now crawled out from his retreat; and keeping over wellto leeward on the other side of the boom, proceeded to the locker in thestern-sheets, from whence he took out a small axe and handed it toCaptain Dresser.
"Ha!" ejaculated the old sailor, as he gripped the weapon tightly andbelaboured with the back of it, using all the vigour of his stillnervous right arm, the bag, or "pocket" of the net, in which the body ofsome big fish was seen to be entangled; although neither its form norappearance could be distinctly distinguished, the folds and meshes beingso tightly wrapped round it. "I'll soon settle him!"
"Hold hard!" shouted out Bob's father, at about the second blow with thehead of the axe over the gunwale. "You very nearly cut my arm off then!Lucky for me you were not using the edge of your hatchet."
"Beg your pardon, I'm sure," apologised the Captain. "But these brutesare uncommonly tough."
"More than my arm is," said Mr Strong ruefully, rubbing this membertenderly. "What sort of beast is it--not a real shark, surely? Ialways imagined those beggars to be very much bigger."
"No," replied the other, satisfied from the net being now still that hehad "settled" his victim. "It is what is called a `fox-shark,' or dog-fish."
"Ah," exclaimed Bob, climbing down from the rigging now that he saw alldanger was over, "I thought I heard it bark just like a dog when you anddad hauled up the trawl."
"So did I," chimed in Nellie, likewise coming to the stern again fromher place of refuge. "It sounded just like Rover's bark when he'ssometimes shut up for being naughty."
"You are both right," said the Captain, who, with the assistance oftheir father, had now lifted the beam and net over the side into thewell of the boat and was busy unfolding the meshes of the net. "Thebrute not only barks, but bites, too, if he gets a chance."
"Oh!" cried Bob and Nell together; and they, with Dick, waited anxiouslyto see the monster disclosed--a deep-drawn "O-o-oh!"
"There!" ejaculated the Captain a moment after, when he had extractedthe dead body of the dog-fish, nearly five feet long, from the net andturned it over with his foot so that they should see its wide shark-mouth and rows of little teeth set on edge, looking like so many small-tooth combs arranged parallel to each other. "What do you say to thatfor a nibble, eh?"
"Is it any good?" asked the barrister, thinking that the dog-fish had asort of resemblance to a good-sized pike, with the exception of courseof its head, which, however, the old sailor had so battered about withhis hatchet that the animal would not have been recognised by itsnearest relative. "Not up to much, I should think!"
"Well, I have heard of sailors eating shark on a pinch, but I've got nostomach for it myself; and all it's fit for is to be chucked overboard,"replied the Captain, carrying out his suggestion without further delay,grumbling as he added-- "The brute has spoilt our haul, too, confoundit, and damaged our net!"
It was as the Captain said, there being nothing found in the pocket ofthe trawl, beyond the carcase he had just consigned to its nativeelement, save some mud and a few oyster-shells.
Fortunately, though, the dog-fish had not done quite so much harm as hemight; and, after mending a few rents by tying them together with piecesof sennet, which the old sailor had taken the precaution of having readyfor such purpose beforehand, the trawl-net was as good as ever, allowingthem to "shoot" it again for another dredge.
This time it remained down till the tide turned, a good three hours atleast; and the hopes of all were high in expectation when they commencedhauling it in.
"What do you think we'll catch now?" asked Nell. "Eh, Captain?"
"Well, not a whale, missy," said the Captain, with his customarychuckle, which to him formed almost a part of his speech. "Still, Ifancy we ought to pick up something this time better than a dog-fish."
These doubts were solved anon; for after a terrible long interval ofheaving round the windlass, at which Mr Strong groaned greatly,declaring that his back felt broken from having to stoop nearly doubleso as to keep out of the way of the swinging boom of the cutter, whichswayed to and fro as she rolled about in the tideway, the end of thetrawl-beam once more hove in sight alongside, bobbing up endwise out ofthe water.
"Belay!" sang out the Captain on seeing it, taking a turn with a coil ofthe rope round the windlass-head to secure it, lest it might whirl roundand let the trawl go to the bottom again before they could hoist itinboard. "That will do now, Strong; if you'll bear a hand we'll get ourspoil in."
Thereupon he and the barrister leant over the side of the boat asbefore; and, catching hold of either end of the trawl-beam, they liftedit over the gunwale.
The Captain then swished the folds of the net vigorously, so as to shakewhat fish might have become entangled in the meshes into the pocket atthe end, Bob and Nellie, and likewise Dick, watching the operations withthe keenest interest. "Now," cried the sailor, "we shall see what weshall see!" So saying, he and Mr Strong raised up the net pocket,which was a goodish big bundle and seemed, from its heavy weight, tocontain a large number of fish, for it throbbed and pulsated with theirstruggles; when, cutting with his clasp-knife the stout piece of cordwith which the small end of the pocket was tied, the Captain shook outits living contents on the bottom boards in the well--Nell giving ashriek and springing up on one of the thwarts as a slimy sole flounderedacross her foot, thinking perhaps it was a fellow sole!
She was not frightened, however, only alarmed; and, the next moment, shewas inspecting with as much curiosity as the others the motleycollection that had been brought up from the sea.
"Not a bad lot, eh?" observed the Captain critically, poking the fishabout with the end of his stick, which he took off the seat for thepurpose. "I see we've got some good soles, besides that little chapthat took a fancy to you, missy."
"I didn't mind it," said Miss Nell courageously, now that she knew thatthere was nothing much to be frightened of. "It was cold and wet, poorthing; but I knew it would not hurt me."
"Ah, but you screamed though!" retorted the sailor waggishly, as heturned to her father. "Say, Strong, do you know what to do with a sole,eh?"
"Why, eat it, I suppose," replied the other laughing. "I don't thinkyou can better that, eh?"
"Yes, that's all right, no doubt," said the Captain, a little bit grumpyat being caught up in that way. "I mean how to cook it properly?"
"Boil it," suggested the barrister, at a loss how to answer the questionsatisfactorily. "I should think that the simplest plan."
"Boil it?" repeated the Captain in a voice of horror; "boil yourgrandmother!"
"Well, you must really excuse me," said the barrister, as well as hecould speak from laughing; while Bob and Nell went into fits at the ideaof their poor old "Gran" being cooked in so summary a fashion. "I'mgood at a knife and fork, but really I don't know anything of cooking."
"I see you don't," replied the old sailor triumphantly, his good-humourrestored at being able to put the other "up to a wrinkle," as he said;"but I'll tell you. The best way, Strong, to do a sole is to grill himas quickly as you can over a clear fire. About five minutes is enoughfor the transaction; and then, with a squeeze of lemon and a dash ofcayenne, you've got a dish fit for a king! No bread-crumbs or butter orany of that French fiddlery, mind, or you'll spoil him!"
"I'll remember your recipe should I ever chance to turn cook," said MrStrong. "I should think it ought to taste uncommonly good."
"By Jove, you shall try it, this very afternoon!" cried the old sailorenergetically. "Dick, see that the gridiron is clean, for we'll want itby and by. Hullo, though, I'm forgetting about the rest of our catch.Let us see what we've got."
While the Captain had been talking to their father, Bob and Nellie hadbeen rummaging in the bottom of the boat, trying to make out thedifferent fish; but, from the fact of all being coated with mud, ofwhich the trawl's pocket was pretty well filled, in addition to its liveoccupants, these latter seemed all so similar at first glance as toresemble those two negro gentlemen, Pompey and Caesar, described by asable brother as being "berry much alike, 'specially Pompey!"
However, the old sailor soon sorted them out.
"Half-a-dozen pair of good soles, eh? That will be a treat for youraunt Polly," he said to Miss Nell, pitching the fish as he picked themout carelessly on one side. "Some odd flounders, too, I see. They'renearly as good as our soles; and, I see also a lot of plaice and dabs,which are not bad, fried, when you can't get anything better in the sameline, and--hullo, by jingo, don't touch that!"
"Why, Captain?" inquired Bob, who had just taken up in his hands a soft,jelly-like, flabby thing that appeared as if it were a little white owl,some ten or twelve inches high, without any particular head or wings tospeak of, although it had a short black beak, resembling a parrot's,projecting from out of its livid-hued fleshy body. "What is it?"
"It's a cuttle-fish," cried the old sailor. "Drop it, my boy, at once!or--"
He spoke too late; for at the same moment, the cuttle-fish deluged Bobwith the inky fluid which nature has provided it with as a means ofhiding its whereabouts in the water from its enemies, and from which theRomans obtained their celebrated "Tyrian dye."
Nell, also, came in for a share of this over her dress, which did not byany means improve its appearance.
"Never mind, though;" said the Captain to them both, by way ofconsolation. "What's done can't be helped!"
"Ah!" remarked their father slily, "if you had been looking after thenet, instead of instructing me in cookery, this wouldn't have happened."
"You're quite right, Strong," replied the other, with an air of greatcontrition; albeit his eyes twinkled with fun and his manner was notquite that of a repentant sinner. "I've neglected my dutiesshamefully."
With these words he set to work anew, disinterring a large skateweighing over twelve pounds from amidst the mud and refuse brought up bythe trawl.
The gills of this fish, in the centre of its globular body, had the mostextraordinary likeness to a human face; and as the queer-lookingcreature puffed out these gills, it appeared, as Mr Strong pointed out,just like a fat old gentleman taking a glass of some rare and highly-recommended wine and "washing his mouth out" so as to taste it properly.
"Oh, papa, how funny!" exclaimed Nell. "It is just like that, too! Butlook, Captain, there's a `soldier crab,' isn't it?"
"Yes, my dear, and we'll keep him for your aquarium; as well as some newsea-anemones and another zoophyte I see here, too. This chap ischristened the `alcyonium' by learned naturalists, but is called `deadman's fingers' by the fisher-folk along shore."
"What a horrid name!" interposed Nellie, shuddering--"a horrid name!"
"It is so named," continued the Captain, "because the creature has theadvantage of having several bodies instead of one, all radiating from asingle stem, like fingers or toes. But now, I think, there's nothingmuch of any good left of our shoot, save a few oysters. Those will comein handy presently, eh, Strong?"
"Yes, I shan't mind," replied the barrister. "I'm beginning to have anappetite, I think."
"We'll have luncheon at once then," said the old sailor with alacrity,as if this would be a labour of love. "I'm not beginning to have anappetite, because I've got one already, and a precious good one, too!Do you think you can pick a bit if you try, eh, young people?"
"Yes, please," replied Nell. Master Bob's response was a shout of"Rather," fully indicative of his feelings; while Dick grinned so muchthat his face was a study as he said "Y-es, sir, sure-ly!"
Taking all these evidences as proof of the unanimity of the company onthe subject, the Captain, all helping, at once set about thepreparations for the coming feast. He first, however, tied up thepocket of the trawl again, preparatory to heaving it overboard; so thatthey could "kill two birds with one stone," as he said, and be fishingand eating at the same time.
Each had something to do after this important operation.
Dick began by scraping some soles which the Captain selected from thenumber he had put aside for Mrs Gilmour. Next, Master Bob washed thesein a bucket of water he had procured from over the side of the cutter insailor fashion; and then handing them to the Captain, who officiated as"master of the kitchen," over the gridiron in the "fo'c's'le,"--the oldsailor cooked away quite cheerfully, in spite of having to bend himselfalmost in two in the little cabin in order to attend to his taskproperly, his zeal preventing him for the moment from feeling anyinconvenience from stooping so much.
Nell, who had been debarred from any share in preparing the fish orlooking after its grilling, which, certainly, she would infinitely havepreferred, contented herself with arranging the four small plates whichwere all that the cutter's locker contained in the way of crockery-ware,besides a similar number of cups of various hues and shapes.
All of these articles the young lady set out systematically on a boardwhich the Captain fixed across the thwarts to serve as a table; while,as for Mr Strong, all he did in the way of assistance was to sethimself down on the most comfortable seat he could find in the stern-sheets, where, lighting his pipe, he beguiled the weary moments untillunch should be ready as best he could, smoking and thinking!
He had not to wait long; for presently, with much dignity the Captainserved up his first instalment of soles, which were declared by thebarrister to be so good that another cooking was necessary; aye, andanother too after that, until there was not a single sole left.
"Poor aunt Polly!" exclaimed Nellie, laughing merrily when they were allconsumed, and the bones of the fish chucked overboard to feed theirbrethren below. "All her soles are gone! What shall we tell her?"
"Why, that we ate them," said the Captain, starting the laugh, and alljoining in.
Dick, who was at the moment devouring the last crust of bread left,after finishing his portion of the fish, nearly choked himself bybursting into a guffaw while in the act of swallowing; so, thisnecessitated the Captain's administering to him a cup of sea-waterwherewith to wash down the morsel sticking in his throat, which did nottaste nice after grilled sole, though the Captain said it was "as goodas grog."
They did not have much sport after luncheon, the next cast of the netbringing up nothing but boulders and mud, besides an old bottle thatmust have been dropped into the sea years before and, mayhap, went downwith Kempenfeldt in the _Royal George_; for it was encrusted withseaweed and barnacle
s of almost a century's growth.
After a bit, seeing that nothing further was to be gained by stoppingout at sea, drifting with the tide alternately between the Nab andWarner light-ships, like Mahomet's coffin between heaven and earth, theCaptain hauled up the trawl and bore away back homeward as well as hecould with a foul wind, having to make several tacks before fetching thecutter's moorings off the coastguard-station.
In spite of this, however, they reached "the Moorings" in time fordinner; when, notwithstanding their hearty luncheon, no deficiency ofappetite could be observed in any of the party.
Bob and Nellie were, of course, delighted with their experiences of theday; for, in addition to the joys of trawling and festive picnic on thewater, which they thought even better than their previous one on land,they brought home a splendid "soldier crab," who caused much subsequentamusement when admitted to the aquarium, two new specimens of sea-anemones, and the "dead man's fingers," whose name made their aunt Pollyshiver, the good lady declaring it "quite uncanny, sure."
Their mother, however, was not quite so well-pleased with the result ofthe expedition.
"There, I told you so!" she exclaimed, on catching sight of them, withthe stains of the cuttle-fish plainly visible on their clothes. "Youwill never wish to wear this suit again, Bob; and, dear, dear, look atyour dress, Nellie!"
"It's not so bad, mamma," pleaded she. "I only got a little of it."
"A little of what?"
"The Tyrian dye, Captain Dresser called it, from the cuttle-fish,"explained Bob, who seemed to treat the matter more lightly than thespoiling of his shirt-front and jacket deserved in Mrs Strong'sopinion. "It's quite classical, mother--so the Captain said when I gotsquelched with it."
"Really, I wish Captain Dresser would not make experiments with his dyeswhen you two are near him," said she, very plaintively. "He hasn't tolook after your clothes, as I have."
Nell smiled at her mother's mistake, while Master Bob fairly screechedwith laughter.
"Why, it wasn't the Captain who did it," he shouted out gleefully. "Itwas the cuttle-fish that squirted over us."
Then, on the whole story being told her, Mrs Strong exonerated theCaptain.
But not so Mrs Gilmour, when she learnt the history of the soles, whichhad been specially set aside for her and afterwards eaten.
"Oh, you cormorants!" she cried, pretending to be in a great rage."Fancy eating my soles! Did you ever hear of such a thing? CaptainDresser, I'll never forgive you!"
"Don't be so hard-hearted," said he imploringly. "If you only knew howhungry we were, I'm sure you would forgive us with your usual good-nature."
"I'm not so certain of that," replied she. "'Deed, and I won't."
"Besides, we enjoyed them so, do you know," continued the old sailor,chuckling away at a fine rate. "Sure they were mighty fine, ma'am. Thebest soles I ivver ate, sure."
"That makes the matter worse, you robber!" she retorted, smiling good-naturedly at his broad mimicry of her Irish pronunciation. "Why, ye'readding insult now to injury, sure."
"Never mind, Polly," interposed her brother, acting as peacemakerbetween the two. "The Captain will show you how to cook soles properlythe next time he catches any."
"Yes," said Mrs Gilmour drily, "if he doesn't ate them first."
"By Jove, I promise not to do that, ma'am, for I don't like 'em raw,"replied the offender, keeping up the fun, and not one whit abashed bythese comments on his behaviour. "Really, though, ma'am, I think youought to forgive me now, and banish your hard feelings, as you've givenme a wigging. Besides, if we did eat all the soles, I've brought youhome a fine big skate, and lots of plaice, instead."
"Sure, I'll consider about it," said his hostess, showing signs ofrelenting. "But don't you think, now, skates are rather out of place inthis warm weather, eh, Captain?"
Bob Strong's Holidays Page 21
