SOME REMARKS ON 



like a limp rag. Impatiently the men snatch at it, in 

 a hurry to know the worst. Down in the " cod " of the 

 trawl are a few plaice and brill, but above it is a rent 

 four feet long, which has doubtless been caused by some 

 sharp rock when the foot-rope was jerked free from the 

 mass under which it had slid. Then out come the net- 

 ting tools, and the busy crew hastily, yet neatly, repair 

 the damage, thanking the saints, meanwhile, that it is 

 no worse ; and once more the tackle is thrown over. 



But all this turning about has thrown some of the men 

 off their guard, and, as the main-sail flies round, one of 

 them gets the boom full across his chest. For a second 

 his head is muffled in the swelling sail, and then, before 

 anyone knows what is happening, there is a splash, 

 followed by the shout, " Old Jack's overboard ! " 



That " man-overboard " cry is a far more awful sound 

 than italics or marks of exclamation can make it appear ; 

 I have heard it once and am not anxious to hear it again. 

 Sometimes even practised sailors seem for the moment 

 to be paralysed by it, although it is not absolutely an 

 uncommon occurrence in rough weather, or when another 

 smack comes along and steals the wind from your boat 

 so that your main-sail recoils suddenly. 



One man "unships" his sea-boots and sou'-wester, 

 another stands by with a boat-hook, a third with a rope. 

 It is on these occasions that you realise that, however 

 bitter enemies men may be in everyday life, one is ready 

 enough to help another unhesitatingly when there is any 

 fear of death. But, in this case, there is no call for senti- 

 ment or sacrifice ; a very soused-looking head comes above 



198 



