Thus was the finishing touch put to Billy Brights education at that time, and we have described the incident in order that the reader may fully understand the condition of the boys mind as he stood gazing round the library of the West End mansion.
Books! exclaimed Billy, afterwards, when questioned by a Yarmouth friend, I should just think there was books. Oh! its o no manner o use tryin to tell ee about it. There was books from the floor to the ceilin all round the roombooks in red covers, an blue covers, an green, an yellow, an pink, an whiteall the colours in the rainbow, and all of em more or less kivered wi goldwyI dont know what their insides was worth, but sartin sure am I that they couldnt come up to their outsides. Mints of money must ave bin spent in kiverin of em. An there was ladders to git at ema short un to git at the books below, an a long un to go aloft for em in the top rows. What people finds to write about beats me to understand; but who ever buys and reads it all beats me wuss.
While new and puzzling thoughts were thus chasing each other through the fisher-boys brain Ruth Dotropy entered.
What! Billy Bright, she exclaimed in a tone of great satisfaction, hurrying forward and holding out her hand. Im so glad they have sent you. I would have asked them to send you, when I wrote, but thought you were at sea.
Yes, Miss, but Ive got back again, said Billy, grasping the offered hand timidly, fearing to soil it.
For the same reason he sat down carefully on the edge of a chair, when Ruth said heartily, Come, sit down and lets have a talk together, for, you see, he had become so accustomed to fishy clothes and tarred hands that he had a tendency to forget that he was now clean and in a split-new rig.
Ruths manner and reception put the poor boy at once at his ease. For some time she plied him with questions about the fisher-folk of Yarmouth and Gorleston, in whom she had taken great interest during a summer spent at the former town,at which time she had made the acquaintance of little Billy. Then she began to talk of the sea and the fishery, and the smacks with their crews. Of course the boy was in his element on these subjects, and not only answered his fair questioner fully, but volunteered a number of anecdotes, and a vast amount of interesting information about fishing, which quite charmed Ruth, inducing her to encourage him to go on.
Oh! yes, Miss, he said, its quite true what youve bin told. Theres hundreds and hundreds of smacks a-fishin out there on the North Sea all the year round, summer an winter. In course I cant say whether theres a popilation, as you calls it, of over twelve thousand, always afloat, never havin counted em myself, but I know there must be a-many thousand men an boys there.
Billy 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.
And what port do they run for when a storm comes on? asked Ruth.
What port, Miss? why, they dont run for no port at all, cos why? theres no port near enough to run for.
Do you mean to say, that they remain at sea during all the stormseven the worst?
Thats just what we does, Miss. Blow high, blow low, its all the same; we must weather it the best way we can. An you should see how it blows in winter! Thats the time we catches it wust. Its so cold too! Ive not bin out in winter yet myself, but father says its cold enough to freeze the nose off your face, an it blows ard enough amost to blow you inside out. You wouldnt like to face that sort o thingwould you, Miss?
With a light laugh Ruth admitted that she disliked the idea of such North Sea experiences.
Oh! youve no idea, Miss, how it do blow sometimes, continued Billy, who was a naturally communicative boy, and felt that he had got hold of a sympathetic ear. Have you ever heard of the gale that blew so ard that they had to station two men an a boy to hold on to the captains hair for fear it should be blowed right off his ead?
Yes, answered Ruth, with a silvery laugh. Ive heard of that gale.
Have you, Miss? said Billy with a slightly surprised look. Thats queer, now. I thought nobody knowd o that gale cept us o the North Sea, an, praps, some o the people o Yarmouth an Gorleston.
I rather think that I must have read of it somewhere, 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.
Well, Miss, he continued, I dont mean for to say I ever was in a gale that obliged us to be careful of the skippers hair, but I do say that fathers seed somethink like it, for many a time our smack has bin blowed over on her beam-endsthat means laid amost flat, Miss, with er sails on the sea. One night fathers smack was sailin along close-hauled when a heavy sea struck er abaft the channels, and filled the bag o the mainsl. She was just risin to clear herself when another sea follared, filled the mainsl again, an sent er on er beam-ends. The sea was makin a clean breach over er from stem to stern, an cleared the deck o the boat an gear an everythink. Down went all hands below an shut the companion, to prevent er being swamped. Meanwhile the weight o water bust the mainsl, so that the vessel partly righted, an let the hands come on deck agin. Then, after the gale had eased a bit, two or three o their comrades bore down on em and towed em round, so as the wind got under er an lifted er a bit, but the ballast had bin shot from the bilge into the side, so they couldnt right her altogether, but had to tow er into port that wayover two hundred milesthe snow an hail blowin, too, like one oclock!
Really, they must have had a terrible time of it, returned Ruth, though I dont know exactly how dreadful one oclock 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?
Oh! dont they, just! Ive heard them blessin the ladies as sent em, many a time. You see, Miss, the oil-skins chafe our wrists most awful when were workin of the gear
What is the gear, Billy?
The nets, Miss, an all the tackle as belongs to em. An then the salt water makes the sores wussit used to be quite awful, but the cuffs keeps us all right. An the books an tracts, too, Missthe hands are wery fond o them, an
We will talk about the books and tracts another time, said Ruth, interrupting, but 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.
Well, Miss, it did occur to me that I wasnt axed to come here for nuffin.
Just 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 boys
Not to speak to em, Miss, I hope? said Billy, with a look of affected modesty.