A Queer Race: The Story of a Strange People — page 82: what you’re looking at

Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.

A QUEER RACE. 79 ‘““Nearly; though there’s so little difference between day and night that I cannot be quite sure. You said a man can only die once. All the same, I don’t think there’s much risk in going to the mast-head—I am stronger than I was when you went asleep—and fogs is queer sorts of things; 1t often happens as they lies just on the top of the water, and all above is clear and bright —leastways, so I’ve heard say. So I thought as I would just go up and find out, if I could, whether this here fog is of that there nature.” Si igatre ‘Partly. Anyhow, it isa good deal clearer up there than down here, and a score yards or so higher up I dare say it is broad daylight. All the same, I saw the sun rise; and, what’s more, | made out something as looks very like land.” “Land! Land at Jast! Thank God!’ I gasped, almost speechless with surprise and joy. ‘‘ But are you sure you are not mistaken? Where away?” ‘On the port bow. No, I don’t think I am mistaken. It looks like a big mountain, fifteen or twenty miles off, may be. Give me a glass, and I'll go up again and have another squint.” ‘Tl go with you, Tom. Wait half a minute.” As J spoke J whipped into the captain’s cabin and fetched two binoculars. I slung one round my neck and handed the other to the boatswain. ‘¢ Don’t you think as you had better take the helm, sir, and keep her up to the wind? She rolls so much as it will hardly be possible to make anything out. Then, when I come down, which it won’t be many minutes, I. can take the helm and you can go up.” There was so much sense in this suggestion that I was fain to comply with it, notwithstanding my eagerness ‘‘to take a squint ” on my own account—and it was well I did. As I went to the wheel, the boatswain began to climb up the shrouds, slowly and painfully, being still rather short-winded and weak-kneed. I had just steadied the ship, and he had got as far as the upper main-topsail yard, when there came out of the fog a hail so startling and unexpected that it almost made me jump out of my skin. Gomicbooks (ee)