Great Northern?. Arthur Ransome

astern,” said Peggy. “They’ve been moving round that way. Pheeeu! It was clammy up there.”

      “Could you see anything?” asked Dorothea.

      “Not a thing,” said Peggy. “But I’ve got ears.”

      “Good long ones,” said Roger.

      “Let me get at that boy,” said Peggy.

      “Bearing about west,” said John.

      “BELL!”

      “Ting … ting …” “Shut up Peggy, I’ve got to keep ringing.” “Ting … ting … ting …”

      “Eight fathom.”

      “That sounded off the port bow,” said John.

      “Ting … ting … ting …”

      “Seven fathom.”

      “Amidships now,” said John. “Funny how hard it is to tell.”

      “There they are,” cried Titty. Dimly, a shadow dinghy had shown for a moment.

      “That’s a bit too near,” they heard Captain Flint’s voice. “Half a minute … now, try again.”

      “Seven and a half.”

      “Ting … ting … ting …”

      “John!”

      “Sir!” John shouted back into the whiteness.

      “Have the kedge ready.”

      “Aye, aye, Sir … Come on, Susan,” said John, and ran forward.

      “That means we’re all right,” said Titty.

      “Does it?” said Dorothea.

      “Of course it does,” said Peggy. “He’s going to put the other anchor down. We’re going to stop where we are for the night.

      The shadow dinghy showed again, clearer now, and was presently alongside.

      “Hop out, Nancy, and give them a hand when they’re paying out the kedge rope.”

      “All ready with the kedge,” called John.

      Nancy was aboard, very wet with working the lead. Captain Flint brought the dinghy under the bows. John lowered the smaller anchor.

      “Not in the boat. Half a minute. Hold it so, while I get it slung from the stern. Good lad. That’s the way. Now, pay out rope and give a shout when you’re nearing the end. It’s made fast isn’t it?”

      “Just going to be,” said John.

      “Wouldn’t help us much to lose the lot,” said Captain Flint. “I did that once, so I know.”

      He pushed off from the Sea Bear’s side, and rowed away into the mist, passing along her side, and then disappearing astern, the grass kedge rope towing after him as John, Nancy and Susan paid it out and made sure that it should run free. Dick and Dorothea from the cockpit watched the rope sliding away like a snake on the top of the water until it vanished like everything else a few yards from the ship.

      “Three fathoms to go,” John shouted.

      There was a splash far astern, and presently Captain Flint came rowing back, climbed aboard and went forward to make the kedge rope fast to the chain of the main anchor before paying out another two fathoms of that.

      “Well and truly moored,” he said as he came aft. “She won’t hurt now.”

      “What’s the shore like?” asked Dick. “It must be quite close because of those grouse.”

      “Never got a sight of it,” said Captain Flint. “We’ve been all round the ship and saw nothing. But we’ve got a good depth and a good bottom and plenty of room to swing.”

      “Where are we?” asked Dorothea.

      “We’ll know that when the mist goes,” said Captain Flint. “It won’t last. The wind’s coming off the land. It’ll be clear enough in the morning.”

      “We’re stopping here?” said Susan.

      “We jolly well are,” said Nancy. “Shiver my timbers but that mist’s clammy.”

      “You ought to say, ‘Chatter my teeth!” said Roger.

      “Well, they do it without my saying it,” said Nancy.

      “Mine too,” said Peggy. “Let’s have a fire in the cabin.”

      “Good idea,” said Captain Flint.

      There was a stampede down the companion ladder. Half an hour later, the cabin stove was burning brightly and the whole ship’s company were sitting in the warmth. It was hard to believe that only a few hours before they had been sailing in bright sunshine. The cabin lamp had been lit. Dorothea was thinking that a misty chapter would go well in her Romance of the Hebrides. John was writing up the log … “Closed with the coast. Thick mist. Anchored in seven fathoms. Mud bottom. Laid out kedge. Land to north.” Captain Flint was poring over a book of sailing directions. Nancy was looking yet again at the small chart on which the Sea Bear’s owner had marked the place where he had put her ashore for a scrub. Dick was looking at the big Admiralty chart that showed a lot of small sheets of water not far inland from the coast, just the place for Divers if only he were able to go ashore and look for them. Peggy and Susan were debating supper and agreeing on macaroni and tomato with poached eggs. Titty was back at her own private log … “Anchored in white mist. We may be anywhere.” Roger was fingering his penny whistle trying to think of a suitable tune to play. He grinned to himself and startled everybody by shrilling out at a good pace, “We won’t go home till morning”.

      “Oh, shut up,” said John. “If you want to play that thing, we’ll put you in the dinghy at the end of a long rope and you can go and play it in the fog.”

      Roger played a bar or two of “God Save the King!” to show that he was bringing his private concert to an end, and said, “Well, if you don’t like real music, get Captain Flint to lug out his accordion.”

      “All right, Roger,” said Captain Flint. “We’ll cheer them up by playing duets.”

      “We don’t need cheering up,” said Nancy. “This is the best thing that’s happened on the whole cruise. But we don’t mind helping you to make a noise.”

      “It’ll be like being in the Arctic,” said Titty. “Nansen could make all the noise he liked, drifting in the ice, with nobody to hear except Polar bears.”

      “We’re Sea Bears ourselves,” said Roger, “and we can make all the noise we like, and there isn’t even Nansen to listen.”

      Captain Flint laughed, and took the accordion that Peggy pushed into his hands, and presently there was a din in the cabin enough to lift the roof. They sang all their old favourites that they used to sing in the houseboat on the lake, stamping with their feet, and banging on the table. Peggy and Susan, the cooks, busy in the galley, were singing while busy with their eggs and macaroni. But Nancy, now and again, looked doubtfully at Captain Flint. She knew very well that he was not really happy.

      “It’s all right, Uncle Jim,” she said. “It couldn’t be righter. Mac’ll be delighted. We’re in his bay, just where we wanted to be.”

      “Are we?” said Captain Flint. “I wish I knew. If only this infernal mist would clear and we could see. She’s safe enough as things are, but we shall have to keep an anchor watch.”

      “What’s that?” asked Dorothea.

      “Somebody on deck while we’re asleep,” said Titty, “to rouse out the rest of us if anything goes wrong.”

      There was more singing after supper. Then, before turning in, everybody went on deck for a last look round. The mist