The Young Trawler by R. M. Ballantyne (i read books txt) đ
- Author: R. M. Ballantyne
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âOh! yes, Miss,â he said, âitâs quite true what youâve bin told. Thereâs hundreds and hundreds of smacks a-fishinâ out there on the North Sea all the year round, summer anâ winter. In course I canât say whether thereâs a popilation, as you calls it, of over twelve thousand, always afloat, never havinâ counted âem myself, but I know there must be a-many thousand men anâ boys there.â
âBilly was right. There is really a population of over 12,000 men and boys afloat all the year round on the North Sea, engaged in the arduous work of daily supplying the London and other markets with fresh fish.â
âAnd what port do they run for when a storm comes on?â asked Ruth.
âWhat port, Miss? why, they donât run for no port at all, cos why? thereâs no port near enough to run for.â
âDo you mean to say, that they remain at sea during all the stormsâeven the worst?â
âThatâs just what we does, Miss. Blow high, blow low, itâs all the same; we must weather it the best way we can. Anâ you should see how it blows in winter! Thatâs the time we catches it wust. Itâs so cold too! Iâve not bin out in winter yet myself, but father says itâs cold enough to freeze the nose off your face, anâ it blows âard enough aâmost to blow you inside out. You wouldnât like to face that sort oâ thingâwould you, Miss?â
With a light laugh Ruth admitted that she disliked the idea of such North Sea experiences.
âOh! youâve no idea, Miss, how it do blow sometimes,â continued Billy, who was a naturally communicative boy, and felt that he had got hold of a sympathetic ear. âHave you ever heard of the gale that blew so âard that they had to station two men anâ a boy to hold on to the captainâs hair for fear it should be blowed right off his âead?â
âYes,â answered Ruth, with a silvery laugh. âIâve heard of that gale.â
âHave you, Miss?â said Billy with a slightly surprised look. âThatâs queer, now. I thought nobody knowâd oâ that gale âcept us oâ the North Sea, anâ, pâraps, some oâ the people oâ Yarmouth anâ Gorleston.â
âI rather think that I must have read of it somewhere,â said Ruth. Billy glanced reproachfully at the surrounding books, under the impression that it must have been one of these which had taken the wind out of his sails.
âWell, Miss,â he continued, âI donât mean for to say I ever was in a gale that obliged us to be careful of the skipperâs hair, but I do say that fatherâs seed somethink like it, for many a time our smack has bin blowed over on her beam-endsâthat means laid aâmost flat, Miss, with âer sails on the sea. One night fatherâs smack was sailinâ along close-hauled when a heavy sea struck âer abaft the channels, and filled the bag oâ the mainsâl. She was just risinâ to clear herself when another sea follared, filled the mainsâl again, anâ sent âer on âer beam-ends. The sea was makinâ a clean breach over âer from stem to stern, anâ cleared the deck oâ the boat anâ gear anâ everythink. Down went all hands below anâ shut the companion, to prevent âer being swamped. Meanwhile the weight oâ water buâst the mainsâl, so that the vessel partly righted, anâ let the hands come on deck agin. Then, after the gale had eased a bit, two or three oâ their comrades bore down on âem and towed âem round, so as the wind got under âer anâ lifted âer a bit, but the ballast had bin shot from the bilge into the side, so they couldnât right her altogether, but had to tow âer into port that wayâover two hundred milesâthe snow anâ hail blowinâ, too, like one oâclock!â
âReally, they must have had a terrible time of it,â returned Ruth, âthough I donât know exactly how dreadful âone oâclockâ may be. But tell me, Billy, do the fishermen like the worsted mitts and helmets and comforters that were sent to them from this house last year?â
âOh! donât they, just! Iâve heard them blessinâ the ladies as sent âem, many a time. You see, Miss, the oil-skins chafe our wrists most awful when weâre workinâ of the gearââ
âWhat is the gear, Billy?â
âThe nets, Miss, anâ all the tackle as belongs to âem. Anâ then the salt water makes the sores wussâit used to be quite awful, but the cuffs keeps us all right. Anâ the books anâ tracts, too, Missâthe hands are wery fond oâ them, anâââ
âWe will talk about the books and tracts another time,â said Ruth, interrupting, âbut just now we must proceed to business. Of course you understand that I must have some object in view in sending for a fisher-boy from Yarmouth.â
âWell, Miss, it did occur to me that I wasnât axed to come here for nuffinâ.â
âJust so, my boy. Now I want your help, so I will explain. We are to have what is called a drawing-room meeting here in a few days, in behalf of the Mission to Deep-Sea Fishermen, and one of your fisher captains is to be present to give an account of the work carried on among the men of the fleet by the mission vessels. So I want you to be there as one of the boysââ
âNot to speak to âem, Miss, I hope?â said Billy, with a look of affected modesty.
âNo, not to speak,â replied Ruth, laughing, âonly to represent the boys of the fleet. But thatâs not the main thing I want you for. It is this, and remember, Billy, that I am now taking you into my confidence, so you must not tell what I shall speak to you about to any living soul.â
âNot even to mother?â asked the boy.
âNo, not evenâwell, you may tell it to your mother, for boys ought to have no secrets from their mothers; besides, your mother is a discreet woman, and lives a long way off from London. You must know, then, Billy, that I have two very dear friendsâtwo ladiesâwho are in deep poverty, and I want to give them moneyââ
âWell, why donât you give it âem, Miss?â said Billy, seeing that Ruth hesitated. âYou must have lots of it to give away,â he added, looking contemplatively round.
âYes, thank God, who gave it to me, I have, as you say, lots of it, but I cannot give it to the dear ladies I speak of becauseâbecauseââ
âTheyâre too proud to take it, pâraps,â suggested Billy.
âNo; they are not proudâvery far from it; but they are sensitive.â
âWhatâs that, Miss?â
Ruth was puzzled for a reply.
âItâit means,â she said, âthat they have delicate feelings, which cannot bear the idea of accepting money without working for it, when there are so many millions of poor people without money who cannot work for it. They once said to me, indeed, that if they were to accept money in charity they would feel as if they were robbing the really poor.â
âWhy donât they work, then?â asked Billy in some surprise. âWhy donât they go to sea as stooardesses or somethink oâ that sort?â
âBecause they have never been trained to such work, or, indeed, to any particular work,â returned Ruth; âmoreover, they are in rather delicate health, and are not young. Their father was rich, and meant to leave them plenty to live on, but he failed, and left them in broken health without a penny. Wasnât it sad?â
âIndeed it was, Miss,â replied the boy, whose ready sympathy was easily enlisted.
âWell, now, Billy, I want you to go to see these ladies. Tell them that you are a fisher-boy belonging to the North sea trawling fleet, and that you have called from a house which wants a job undertaken. You will then explain about the fishery, and how the wrists of the men are chafed, and break out into painful sores, and how worsted mitts serve the purpose at once of prevention and cure. Say that the house by which you have been sent has many hands at workâand so I have, Billy, for many ladies send the cuffs and things made by them for the fleet to me to be forwarded, only they work gratuitously, and I want the work done by my two friends to be paid for, you understand? Tell them that still more hands are wanted, and ask them if they are open to an engagement. You must be very matter-of-fact, grave, and businesslike, you know. Ask them how many pairs they think they will be able to make in a week, and say that the price to be paid will be fixed on receipt of the first sample. But, remember, on no account are you to mention the name of the house that sent you; you will also leave with them this bag of worsted. Now, do you fully understand?â
Billy replied by a decided wink, coupled with an intelligent nod.
After a good deal of further advice and explanation, Ruth gave Billy the name and address of her friends, and sent him forth on his mission.
âI wonder,â said Billy to himself on reaching the street as he looked down at the legs of his trousers, âI wonder if theyâre any shorter. Yes, they donât seem to be quite so far down on the shoes as when I left Yarmouth. I must have growâd an inch or two since I came up to Lunâon!â
Under this gratifying impression the fisher-boy drew himself up to his full height, his little chest swelling with new sensations, and his whole body rolling along with a nautical swagger that drew on him the admiration of some, the contempt of others, and caused several street boys to ask âif his mother knowed âe was hout,â and other insolent questions.
But Billy cared for none of these things. The provincial boy was quite equal to the occasion, though his return âchaffâ smacked much of salt water.
Arrived at the poverty-stricken street in which the Misses Seaward dwelt, Billy mounted the narrow staircase and knocked at the door. It was opened by Liffie Lee, who had remained on that day to accomplish some extra work.
âIs your missis at home, my dear?â
âThere ainât no missis here, anâ I ainât your dear,â was the prompt reply.
Billy was taken aback. He had not anticipated so ready and caustic a response, in one so small and child-like.
âCome nowâno offence meant,â he said, âbut youâre not a-goinâ to deny that the Miss Seawards does live here.â
âI ainât a-goinâ to deny nothink,â replied Liffie, a little softened by the boyâs apologetic tone, âonly when Iâm expected to give a civil answer, I expects a civil question.â
âThatâs all fair anâ aboveboard. Now, will you tell the Miss Seawards I wants to see âem, on a matter of businessâof importance.â
Another minute and Billy stood in the presence of the ladies he wished to see. Prepared beforehand to like them, his affections were at once fixed for ever by the first glimpse of their kindly faces.
With a matter-of-fact gravity, that greatly amused the sistersâthough they carefully concealed their feelingsâlittle Billy stated his business, and, in so doing, threw his auditors into a flutter of hope and gratitude, surprise and perplexity.
âBut what is the name of the house that sends you?â asked Miss Jessie.
âThat I am not allowed for to tell,â said the boy-of-business, firmly.
âA mercantile house in the city, I suppose,â said Kate.
âWhat sort oâ house it may be is more than a sea-farinâ man like me knows, anâ of course itâs in the city. You wouldnât expect a business-house to be in the country, would you? all I know is that they want mitts madeâhundreds of âemâno end oâ mittsâanâ they hainât got hands enough to make âem,
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