MACK'REL IN THE BAY--AND THE SEINE FAIRPLAY--AND A HAUL FOR OUR WIVES
AND BAIRNS.
If you want to go to a place where the air you breathe seems to till
your veins with joy, and you begin to tingle with a desire to be up and
doing something, go down into Cornwall, where the breeze seems to
sparkle and effervesce like the waves that beat upon the rocky shore,
and from whose crests it bears off the health-giving ozone to mix with
the fragrant scent of the wild thyme and heather of the hills and barren
moors. The sea never looks two days alike: now it is glistening like
frosted silver, now it is as liquid gold. At one time it is ruddy like
wine, at another time rich orange or amber, and a few hours after
intensely blue, as if the sky had fallen or joined it then and there.
Only in storm time is it thick and muddy, as it is in other parts of our
coast, and even then it is not long before it settles down once more to
its crystal purity.
"Ahoy-ay! Ahoy-ay!"
A musical chorus, softened by distance as it came off the sea, awakened
Dick Temple from dreams of boats and mines, and rocks, and caves full of
cuttle-fish, crabs, and seals, so big that they seemed monsters of the
deep.
The window was open, for he had left it so when he had scrambled out of
his clothes and jumped into bed.
Then Arthur, who was calmly folding his garments, or rather his
brother's, had quietly gone across the room and shut the window.
"The night air is dangerous," he said.
"No, it isn't," said Dick. "It's all fancy."
"I wish the window to be shut," said Arthur with dignity.
"Oh, very well!" said Dick drowsily; and his brother went on talking.
"Papa has sent for a suit of flannels and a suit of tweeds for me, for I
suppose I must wear them while we are down amongst these savages."
The bed creaked and squeaked a little, consequent upon Dick rolling
about and laughing; but Arthur was at work with two hair-brushes upon
his head, and did not hear.
"I have sent word that the tailor is to make an outside breast-pocket
for my handkerchief, and that the flannels are to be edged and bound
with black."
Dick's head had been half under the clothes, but he popped it out now to
raise himself up a little and say:
"Oh, won't you look lovely!"
Then the bed creaked again as Dick dropped down, his brother not
condescending to notice his frivolous remark.
A few minutes later and Arthur had deliberately climbed into bed,
yawned, dropped asleep, and Dick had rolled out on his side.
"I don't mean to be smothered when there's such lots of beautiful air
outside," he muttered; and he softly opened the window once more, jumped
into bed, fell asleep directly, and was awakened by the musical chorus
off the sea.
"Oh, I say, what a morning!" he cried as he drew up the blind and saw
that about a dozen luggers were coming in from the fishing-ground, where
they had been all night, while the sun was turning the bay into one
sparkling sheet of glory. "Here! Ahoy! Hi! Rouse up, Arthur. Come
and have a bathe."
He made a bound at his brother, and punched and shook him, with the
result that Arthur shut his eyes more tightly and hit out at him
savagely.
"Get up, or you sha'n't have any clothes," cried Dick, trying to drag
them off; but--_Whuff, huff, bang_! down came one of the pillows upon
his head, and Arthur rolled himself in the clothes and settled himself
for another sleep.
"Oh, sleep away, then!" cried Dick. "Here, hi! Will! Where are you
going?"
"To bathe," said Will. "Come!"
"Down in a minute," cried Dick; and deferring all washing till he could
get plenty of water out in the bay, he thrust a comb in his pocket, a
towel under his arm, and ran down-stairs.
"A nasty old nuisance!" grumbled Arthur, getting out of bed like a badly
made parcel, with sheet, blanket, and patchwork quilt rolled round him;
and as he shut the window with a bang he could see his brother and Will
trudging towards the harbour.
"I'll just have another five minutes, and then I'll get up and dress,
and go and meet them," yawned Arthur; then he rolled on to the bed and
went off fast asleep.
"Goin' to have a bathe?" said Josh, who was mopping out the boat.
"Yes. Good-morning! How are you?" cried Dick.
"Just nicely, lad," sang Josh. "Here, I don't mind rowing you out if
you'll promise to bring me half ounce o' the best 'bacco next time you
come."
"I'll bring it," said Dick eagerly; and jumping into the boat, Josh
rowed the boys out half a mile or so, and then in they went with a
plunge off the boat's side, and down into the invigorating clear cool
water, to come up again and swim steadily off side by side, Dick being a
pretty fair swimmer, though in his modesty he had disclaimed the
accomplishment. And as the boys swam, Josh had steadily rowed after
them, so that when they had had enough the boat was at hand for them to
climb in, have a good towel, scrub, and dress.
"Why don't you have a bathe, Josh?" cried Dick, panting with his
exertions. "It's lovely."
"Yes, a good bathe be lovely," said Josh; "but I don't bathe much. I be
delicate."
He said it so seriously that Dick never thought of laughing, though Josh
seemed solid and hard as wood, which in truth he was.
"Look yonder, lad!" he cried; "see him on the cliff;" and putting the
handle of one oar under his leg, he pointed towards the shore west of
the village.
"Yes, I can see him: what's he doing?"
"Signalling," cried Josh excitedly; "it's mack'rel."
"What--up there?" cried Dick.
"No, no, lad; in the bay. He can see fish, and he's signalling."
"But he can't see fish in the bay up there."
"Oh, yes! he can. Colour of the water, my lad. He can see a school,
and--All right! The lads have seen. There goes the seine-boat."
He pointed to a large boat that seemed laden with something brown.
There were several men in her, and they had pushed off, and were rowing
steadily out towards the middle of the bay, the water that they lifted
with their oars flashing like silver in the sunshine.
"I can see the school, Josh," said Will. "There, just beyond Dallow
buoy;" and he stood up pointing with his hand, while the man on the
cliff seemed to have a bunch of something in each hand, and to be
turning himself into a human semaphore.
"Right, lad! There's the school," said Josh, who had also risen in the
boat, and was shading his eyes with his hand. "See, Master Dick?"
"No, I can't see anything."
"What--not out yonder, to left of that buoy?"
"I can see the water looks dark and rippled," said Dick.
"That's them, lad. That's the school o' mack'rel, and I shouldn't
wonder if they come right on the flat rock sand."
"What--out of the water?"
"Out of the water? No. Not unless they are catched, and then they'll
come out of the water fast enough."
"Look at that chap on the cliff!" cried Dick, as the man began waving
what really were boughs of heather up and down.
"Yes, he's signalling away to them in the boat. He can see the school.
P'r'aps they can't; and he's telling 'em which way to row."
"But what are they going to do?" cried Dick.
"Do? Why, try and catch that school of mack'rel. Can't you see the
seine?"
"What--the net?" said Dick.
"Yes; that's it--hundreds of yards of it. Can you see which way the
school's going?"
"Right up to the head of the bay," replied Will.
"Then they are going over the sands, and the lads'll get them. Can't
shoot a seine if there's rocks anywhere near," added Josh for the
visitor's information. "Get the net torn, and the mack'rel would get
out of the hole or under the bottom, where it rests on the rocks. You'd
like to stop and see them shoot?"
"What--the mackerel?" said Dick.
"Yah! No; the net."
"Shoot it?" said Dick.
"Yes; shoot it over into the sea."
"Oh! I understand," said Dick; "but they shoot rubbish."
"Oh, they shoot rubbish, do they?" said Josh.
"Yes, about London," replied Dick. "Look how he's waving his arms
about."
"Yes. School's going off another way. P'r'aps they mayn't get a chance
to shoot, for the school may go out to sea."
"Let's row close up. I want to see," cried Dick.
"Nay, nay; we might be frightening the fish. Let's wait and see first,
and if they surround 'em then we'll go close up. You sit still and
watch."
The scene was worth watching on that bright morning, with the blue sky
above, the glittering sea below, the village nestling in the cliffs,
with its chimneys sending up their columns of smoke into the clear air;
and at the foot of the cliff, as if seeking its protection, lay the
little fishing fleet, with its brown sails giving warmth and colour to
as bonny an English landscape as could well be seen. There up aloft,
where the hill cliff was purple and gold and grey with heath and furze
and crag, was the man with the bushes, signalling to his comrades in the
boat, which seemed to be crawling slowly along, the piled-up filmy brown
net, lying in a clumsy heap, so it seemed, but really in carefully
laid-out folds, with every rope in place ready for the work to be done.
Uncle Abram's boat was allowed to drift with the current as its three
occupants watched the proceedings, Will with the more interest that his
uncle had a share in the seine, that is to say, he found so many score
yards of which its length was composed, and consequently would take his
proportion of the profits if the mackerel were caught.
"She's going right for the sands," cried Josh excitedly. "They'll have
a fine haul. See 'em, lad--see 'em?"
"Yes, I can see the dark ripple of the water gradually going along,"
said Dick eagerly. "Oh, I do wish we were nearer!"
"You'll be near enough, lad, when the seine gets to work. Perhaps we
shall have to be farther away. Look at 'em; how pretty they come! And
you, Will, are always thinking about mines, and stones, and holes in the
earth, when you've got a sight like that before you, boy. Eh! but I'm
ashamed of you!"
Will laughed and stood watching the school, and answering Dick's
questions.
"What are they going to do? Wait and you'll see."
"Oh, no! the fish don't run their heads through these nets and get
caught by the gills. Those are drift-nets. This is a seine, and made
with smaller meshes. It's stronger, too, and has a rope top and bottom.
Now, look, they're getting close enough in. They daren't go any nearer
for fear of frightening the fish. Now, see, they're beginning to shoot
the net."
For the first time Dick saw that there was a little boat with the big
one, and that this little boat had two men in it, who seemed to be
stopping in one place, while the big boat was being rowed away from
them. Then over the stern a couple of men were passing what seemed to
be an enormous brown rope, which they kept shaking as it went over and
down into the sea, sinking at once all but what looked like a row of
dots on the water right away to the little boat, which now seemed to be
connected with the big one by the row of dots.
"That's the seine-net they're shooting overboard," said Will. "It has
corks all along the top, and these keep the top edge level with the
water, while all the rest sinks right down to the bottom. It's shallow
enough over the sands here for the net to touch the bottom."
"I see!" cried Dick excitedly. "And they are going to row right round
the shoal of fish and make a regular fence of net about them, so as they
can't get away."
"A mussy me!" cried Josh smiling. "Why, I'm getting quite proud o' you,
Master Dick. You might ha' been born a fisherman."
"But will the net be long enough to go right round?" said Dick.
"No, perhaps not; but they'll manage that if they're lucky."
The scene was exciting enough to chain the interest of those in the
boat, while quite a crowd gathered on the cliff to witness the capture--
one which meant money and support to a good many families; for there
would be basketing and carting to the far-off station, to send the take
to the big towns, if a take it should prove to be. And so all watched
as the large boat was rowed steadily, its heap of net growing lower, and
the row of dot-like corks that trailed from behind getting longer and
longer, and gradually taking the shape of a half-moon.
The little boat remained nearly stationary, only drawing a trifle
towards where Dick and his companions were; but the big boat continued
its course, and so did the shoal of mackerel, making a beautiful ripple
on the surface, that seemed as changeful as the ripple marks on their
own backs, and in happy unconsciousness of the fact that their way back
to sea was being steadily shut off, and that there were baskets getting
ready, and horses being fed to bear them to the train, so that the next
morning they would be glittering on stalls in busy towns both far and
near.
It was a long but carefully-executed piece of work, the large boat
making a very wide circuit, so as not to alarm the fish, now about the
centre of a semicircle of net.
"But suppose the net should be twisted," said Dick excitedly, "and not
reach the bottom--what then?"
"Then when the mackerel were scared they'd swim about and find the hole,
and go through it like the tide between a couple of rocks," replied
Will. "But the men wouldn't let the net go down twisted; they're too
used to shooting it."
"All out now," said Josh at last. "They'll lose the school if they
don't mind. Look yonder."
Dick glanced in the direction indicated, and saw that the man on the
cliff was now telegraphing wildly with his boughs, and the men in the
seine-boat seemed to let out a long rope, for there was a good space
between them and the row of corks.
The two men in the little boat seemed to do the same, and as the two
boats were some distance to right and left of Dick and his companions,
it seemed as if they meant to come up close with them.
"Josh! Josh! the school's heading this way," cried Will; "they'll lose
'em."
Josh jumped down into the seat, seized the oars, and began to row
steadily right across the head of the ripple, just as a hail came first
from the big boat and then from the small.
Josh rowed about twenty or thirty yards, and then began to back water,
going over the ground again, while the big and little boats steadily
rowed on.
"They're gone, Josh!" cried Will, as the ripple on the surface suddenly
ceased.
"Maybe they'll come up again, my lad," said Josh. "I'll keep on," and
he went on rowing first towards the large boat, then towards the small,
as they slowly toiled on, trying to get nearer to each other and Uncle
Abram's boat, which was just about intermediate.
If they could once join and form a circle, even if part of it were only
the net ropes, the fish would be inclosed, and instead of making for the
unfinished part of the circle where there was only rope, they would
avoid it and the boats, and make for the other side.
"All right, Josh! they're showing again," cried Will, for the dreaded
catastrophe had not taken place--the fish had not gone down and swum
away beneath the boats.
"Keep wi' us, lad!" came a musical hail to Josh, "and we shall do it
yet."
"Ay, ay!" shouted back Josh; and like a sentry he kept going to and fro,
with the boats closing up, yard by yard, but slowly, for they had the
weight of the widely-spread net to check their progress.
They were forty yards from Uncle Abram's boat on either side, and it
seemed a long time before they were twenty, and all the while this was
the most dangerous time, for the alarmed shoal was beginning to swim to
and fro. Then all at once they disappeared from the surface again, and
Dick thought they were gone.
But the fishermen pulled steadily still, and their companions in the
stern of each boat kept the line tighter, and just as they were now
getting closer the mackerel showed again, making the water flicker as if
a violent storm of rain were falling.
"Back out, lad, and go to port," said the captain of the seine-boat; and
Josh rowed steadily along close to the line, pausing half-way between
the seine-boat and the beginning of the corks, that is, of the net.
The men in the little boat just at the same time passed their rope on
board to their friends, and then went off to the right, to pause
half-way, as Josh had done to the left.
Meanwhile the men on the seine-boat began to haul steadily at the ropes
at each end, drawing the great circle narrower.
"Why, how big is this net round?" said Dick in a whisper, as if he
feared alarming the fish.
"Mile," said Josh laconically, "ropes and all."
"But they are drawing the ropes in fast now," said Will, "and when they
get the spreaders together it will be seven hundred yards."
"What are the spreaders?"
"Long poles to keep the ends of the net stretched. They've got lead at
the bottom, like the net, to keep them on the sand."
"Look out!" shouted the captain of the seine. "Here they come!"
The men hauled the harder, and oars were splashed in all three boats,
the smaller rowing to and fro, with the result that the surface of the
water became calm once more, not the sign of a ripple to betoken the
presence of a fish; but no one ceased his efforts.
"Are they gone, Will?" asked Dick.
"No, they've only gone below; they're hunting all about the seine for a
hole to escape, and the thing is now whether they follow it on to one of
the ends: if they do, it's only follow my leader, not one will be left."
It was a long job, but the men worked with all their might, keeping up
their steady strain at the ropes, and gradually reducing the circle,
till at last the two ends of the net were brought together and made to
overlap safely, but there was not a sign of the fish.
"They've got away," said Dick.
"I'm afraid so," said Will, for there was an ominous silence among the
fishermen, who had been at work all this while apparently for nothing.
Then all at once there was a loud cheer, for the shoal, a very large
one, suddenly appeared at the top again, fretting the water as the fish
swam here and there, shut-up as they were in an irregular circle about
two hundred yards across, and hopelessly entangled, for if there had
been a loophole of escape they would have found it now.
"There won't be no storm to-day," said Josh, looking round, "so they've
got them safe, and now, my lads, what do you say to a bit o' brexfass?"
"Breakfast!" cried Dick. "Oh! I had forgotten all about that. I must
go ashore; but I should have liked to see them get the mackerel out."
"Oh! you'll have plenty of time for that," said Josh, beginning to row
for the harbour and going close by the seine-boat, whose captain hailed
them.
"Thank ye, lads," he cried. "You, Will Marion, tell your uncle we've
got as pretty a school as has been took this year."
"Ay, ay!" shouted Will. Then taking one oar he rowed hard, and in a few
minutes they were at the harbour, the pier being covered with the fisher
folk.
"Best take this year," sang Josh in answer to a storm of inquiries; and
then Will sprang up the steps, to run home with a shield of good news to
ward off the angry points that Aunt Ruth was waiting to discharge at him
for not coming home to his meals in time.
The first faces Dick saw on the pier were those of his father and
Arthur.
"I am so sorry, father!" began Dick.
"You've not kept me waiting, my boy," said Mr Temple kindly. "I've
been watching the fishing from the cliff."
"You might have told me that you were going to see some seine-fishing,"
said Arthur in an ill-used tone, as they entered the inn parlour, where
breakfast was waiting.
"Didn't know myself," cried Dick. "Why, it's ten o'clock! Oh! I am so
hungry!"