Part 32 (1/2)

The banks had closed in so that every night the vessel could have been moored to some large tree; but one night's experience of this proved to be sufficient for the travellers, too many of the occupants of the forest giant finding their way on board and interfering with their comfort, and as the vessel swung in the stream boughs of neighbouring trees entangled themselves with the rigging.

”It's all right by a wharf,” said the captain, ”or in a dock; but it won't do here.”

And in future they always anch.o.r.ed in midstream just before darkness fell.

And now, hour by hour, they had warning that their further progress with the brig would soon come to an end.

”And it's my belief, gentlemen, that it will be before night,” said the captain one morning when they were all seated together beneath the awning chatting. ”If you keep quite still, you can hear the stopper.”

”Stopper? What do you mean?” asked Sir Humphrey, in a surprised tone.

He was once more pretty well his old self.

”Well, bar, then. There, you can hear it quite plain now.”

”Do you mean that low murmur?” said Brace, who was listening intently.

”I thought it was the wind.”

”No, sir, it's the water,” said the captain. ”That's either a fall or else some rapids. I've been noticing lots of little signs of a change lately, and if it wasn't for this steady wind we shouldn't be moving at all. See how clear the water is?”

”Yes, I've noticed that it has been gradually becoming clearer,” said Brace. ”But do you notice that the wind is dropping?”

”Yes, we are leaving it behind, and it strikes me that if you like to try about here or a little higher up you'll get some sport.”

”Then we'll try,” said Brace, ”when we anchor for the night.”

As the morning progressed, the wind rose higher and the river widened.

It was as if the opening out gave play to the breeze, and a good ten miles were run before sundry warnings of shallowing water made the captain give orders for reducing the sail; but, in spite of this, as the brig rounded a curve which disclosed to the delighted vision of the travellers a glorious landscape of open park-like country backed by mountains, with the sparkling waters of a furious rapid running from side to side where the river contracted again after opening out like a lake, there was a soft grinding sensation, and the way of the vessel was slowly checked, while the next minute it was fully grasped that they were fast on a sandbank, with the open forest on one side only a hundred yards or so away, and on the other fully a mile.

”We've done it now, squire,” said the captain, turning to Brace and mopping his face with a handkerchief he took out of the crown of his straw hat.

”Done it?”

”Yes; here we are, wrecked and set fast in the bed of the river.”

”But I suppose we shall only remain here for an hour or two.”

”Or for a year or two, or altogether, my lad. Maybe we shall never be able to get the brig off again; but we must hope for the best. It's just as if we were set in the ice up yonder in the Arctic regions, eh?”

”This place is not very Arctic,” said Brace, laughing.

”No, my lad, not very,” said the captain, as Sir Humphrey came up. ”We seem to be in for it now, sir.”

”Yes, but I suppose we are not stuck very fast. You'll send out an anchor and haul upon it with the capstan.”

”Wouldn't be any good, sir. We're fast in the sand upon an upright keel, and until the water rises after a storm here we stick.”

”But you talked about throwing over some of the ballast to lighten the vessel if a case like this occurred,” said Brace.