n8 WILD LIFE ON A NORFOLK ESTUARY 



" We had," I replied. " Ben was rowing, pulling either oar 

 a bit harder as I ordered him, and he must get wool-gather- 

 ing and pull the wrong one, and a strong tide pushed us 

 under the cable at the spot it sank into Breydon." 



" At the sykerlodgital moment ! " said Larn, smiling again. 



" Ben and I had a rough time that night when the Norfolk 

 Lass was lost." 



" I remember," interjected Larn. 



" We were overtaken by that bit of wind, and had a fine 

 doing to ; one big wave pushed us a bit awkwardly near the 

 mud and snapped one oar-blade off : I had to row with the 

 sound oar to wind'ard, and the other hitting the mudbank, 

 to get along." 



" Reg'lar wooden-leg-like, 'bor," said he. " I seed Y that 



day when he was sailin' his punt up the ' Ship ' drain. He 

 was kinder wool-gatherin', and one wrong stroke of the 

 steerin' oar ran him up the steep side of the flat, and havin' 

 the sheet fast, over she turns, as neat as a deever [diver]. 

 Ah ! 'bor, you'd need be careful up here. Old drunken 

 * Bugles ' had the narrerest escapes I ever know'd annyboddy 

 to hev. He wor too drunk to swim, but allers got fished 

 out in the nick o' time except once : you remember " 



" Yes, go on," said I. 



" Well, one night he'd got as full as a teek [bed-tick] and 

 arter he'd tied up his punt agin the houseboat, tumbles in 

 hid over heels. I seed him nex' mornin', blaggardin' and 

 fumin' : and a nice mess he wor in. He'd got out, and 

 couldn't remember nothin' more till he comes to the house- 

 boat door blinkin' like a scrache-owl. 



" ' Wheer've you bin ? ' I axes him. 



" ' Gord abuve know ! ' says he, ' I'm in a pritty pickle ! ' 

 And so he wor. He'd got out somehow you could see his 

 futmarks in the mud and gone to sleep soaked through, and 

 wor n't dry then oufardly, anyway." 



" I never got to the bottom of Neave's job there, when he 

 slipped off the dredger up the ' Ship ' drain, Larn," I said. 



" Look 'ere," said Larn, " that happened in '70 sufnV ; after 

 that flood, when the wallswas onderminded wheer they made 

 the boarded quay. Bessey's drain useter swing round, and 

 the whole force of the water struck the wall. They dug the 

 new cut from agin the old ' ship ' more on the slope, so as to 



