174 WHALING AND BEAR-HUNTING 



a tunny single-handed, doing your own sailing and gaffing, 

 would be just sublime ! 



It was pleasant sailing back to land close-hauled with the 

 fresh breeze, which had risen with the sun and turned the 

 smooth swell into crisp waves with blue breaking tops, that 

 soft and white breaking sea of the Trades that is more caress- 

 ing than threatening. Most of the other boats gave up fishing 

 at the same time, about three P.M. The skipper gave me the 

 tiller ; neither of us could speak the other's tongue, but there 

 is a quick understanding between all of us who sail small 

 boats, and both skipper and boat seemed to become old 

 friends to me. They are better sailing craft than I had 

 fancied, though they do not draw much, for they have to be 

 beached ; but they have two bilge keels, which make them 

 sail pretty close they all sail closer and are " lighter in the 

 mouth " than I had expected. You notice in the drawing 

 they have a high stem and stern post, and the rudder ships 

 just as it does in the boats of the north of Norway. The sail 

 is simple, a large square dipping lug the canvas from Dundee 

 the tack is made fast at the stem, or a little to either side, 

 and the sheet is simply rove through a hole in the gunwale 

 of the sharp stern. 



We got ashore at last and " 41 " and the Juan Fernado, 

 the interpreter, revived and spoke again as we got into 

 smoother water. 



We climbed up the cliffs in the late afternoon and " 41 " 

 had to explain to Jose, the major-domo of the hotel, why we 

 did not stay out all night, as we at first intended to do " No 

 room in boat," etc., etc., he said, and Jose smiled his genial 

 smile and said : " Told you so, told you so, eet ees dee same 

 ding always, gentlemen do come back so ; dey not like de 

 smell of de feesh, dey say." 



Now there is the moon again, I declare ! I began this 

 chapter by its silvery light before dawn, and now it appears 

 again as I wind up my notes at night ; it surely has done its 

 round at an unusual pace ; it seems to me only a minute or 

 two since it went down in the west, ruddy as a new penny 

 it had only a small gallery then mostly fisher folk ; this 

 evening the hotel people are all watching it from a verandah ; 



