48 ALONGSHORE 



going to drive us up to Lyme afore 'tis time to 

 haul in.' 



The moon went to bed in a shining mist. We 

 watched on, sometimes kneehng against the side 

 to peep out over, sometimes standing up to stamp 

 our feet. Seaton lamps were put out; nothing 

 but Beer light, on the western side of the bay, 

 remained. When it grew black around we kept 

 watch on the North Star and its Pointers, which 

 slowly sneaked down the heavens till they almost 

 ceased to point. If we could not tell how far east 

 the flood-tide was going to drive us, we wanted at 

 least to be sure where north was. Now and then 

 the wind, gathering strength, made the boat kick 

 like a live thing. Baling out warmed us; hauling 

 in half a net, to see how the herrings were — or 

 wern't — going in, warmed us still more; but 

 greater chilliness followed, so that we almost 

 looked forward to the immense labour of hauling 

 in-board nearly half-a-mile of wet and heavy net. 



And in such a scuffle, against such a breeze, the 

 hauling in, hand over hand, foot by foot, buoy to 

 buoy, was a full hour and a half's work. We 

 could not attend to much else. At the end, when 

 we stood up to blow and to look around — there was 

 nothing to look at ! Stars, Beer light, everything, 



