Avon Fantasy Reader No. 9 — page 93: what you’re looking at

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

Immediately afterwards, there was a loud splashing in the water on his side of the boat. | “What’s wrong in the bows, there?” asked the Skipper, sharply. “There’s somethin’ in the water, Sir, messing round my oar,” said the man. : I stopped rowing, and looked round. All the men did the same. There was a further sound of splashing, and the water was driven right over the boat in showers. Then the bow-oar called out:—‘“There’s somethin’ got a holt of my oar, Sir!” I could tell the man was frightened; and I knew suddenly that a curious nervousness had come to me—a vague, uncomfortable dread, such as the memory of an ugly tale will bring, in a lonesome place. I believe every man in the boat had a similar feeling. It seemed to me in that moment, that a definite, muggy sort of silence was all round us, and this in spite of the sound of the splashing, and the strange noise of the running water somewhere ahead of us on the dark sea. : “It’s let go the oar, Sir!” said the man. , Abruptly, as he spoke, there came the Captain’s voice in a roar:—“Back water all!” he shouted. “Put some beef into it now! Back all! Back all! .. . Why the devil was no lantern put in the boat! Back new! Back! Back!” We backed fiercely, with a will; for it was plain that the Old Man had some good reason to get the boat away pretty quickly. He was right, too; though, whether it was guess-work, or some kind of instinct that made him shout out at that moment, I don’t know; only I am sure he could not have seen anything in that absolute darkness. 7 As I was saying, he was right in shouting to us to back; for we had not backed more than half a dozen fathoms, when there was a tremendous splash right ahead of us, as if a house had fallen into the sea; and a regular wave of sea-water came at us out of the darkness, throwing our bows up, and soaking us fore and aft. “Good Lord!” I heard the Third Mate gasp out. “What the devil’s that?” “Back all! Back! Back!” the Captain sung out again. After some moments, he had the tiller put over, and told us to pull. We gave way with a will, as you may think, and in a few minutes were along- side our own ship again. | “Now then, men,” the Captain said, when we were safe aboard, “I'll not order any of you to come; but after the steward’s served out a tot of grog each, those who are willing, can come with me, and we'll have an- other go at finding out what devil’s work is going on over yonder.” He turned to the Mate, who had been asking questions:— “Say, Mister,” he said, “it’s no sort of thing to let the beat go without a lamp aboard. Send a couple of the lads into the lamp locker, and pass eut a couple of the anchor-lights, and that deck bull’s-eye, you use at nights for clearing up the ropes.” | He whipped round on the Third:—“Tell the steward to buck up with : 91 (GC) CONE DOOKS