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Menhardoc: A Story of Cornish Nets and Mines, a novel by George Manville Fenn |
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Chapter 18. Mack'rel In The Bay... |
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_ CHAPTER EIGHTEEN. 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!" _ |
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