A Sportsman at Large 255 



rising and the water becoming decidedly choppy. Soon 

 small wavelets broke over the bows and damped us all. Then, 

 to our horror, we found that, instead of making the point, 

 we were being carried rapidly out to sea. The only thing to 

 be done was to turn inshore and skirt the jagged rocks, thus 

 risking a lesser disaster. Henry George, who was not 

 altogether in a well-trained condition, resigned his sweep 

 to Gunn, and then we took alternate turns. I was so intent 

 on what threatened to be a disastrous tragedy that I had not 

 noticed the condition of my C.O. She was evidently in 

 parlous state, blue with the cold, wet to the skin, and shivering 

 in every limb. But I had perforce to stick to my sweep, and 

 so could not go to her succour ; neither could Henry George, 

 who was at the tiller and in almost as bad a state as she 

 was. 



The waves began to break over the bows of the little boat, 

 and it was only by keeping her nose well up to them that 

 we avoided being swamped. As it was, we shipped so much 

 water that the planks were afloat ; so Henry George was 

 detailed for persistent baling. 



All of a sudden my C.O. collapsed, and subsided in the 

 wash. I shouted to Henry George to raise her head sufficiently 

 to save her from the risk of drowning. 



As luck would have it, the wind suddenly dropped, and I 

 could see that by rowing out to sea again and taking a long 

 slant, we might gain the longed-for point. 



It was a desperate chance, but it had to be taken. 



Never before, and only once since, have I experienced such 

 heartfelt joy and relief as when these tactics proved success- 

 ful ; though only by the narrowest of squeaks. Had it been 

 otherwise our doom had been sealed. 



There was yet a long row before us, but no imminent danger. 

 Our spirits rose, and in order to give vent to our feelings, we 

 chortled various seafaring songs as we lay to our sweeps 

 with a will. 



But even so, we were unable yet to relieve the C.O., who 

 appeared to have lost consciousness. 



When, at long last, our boat grounded on the friendly 

 shores of Graeme's Hall Bay, Henry George ran hot-foot for 



