G. Christopher Davies

Oulton Broad.—Lateeners.—Lowestoft.—Ringed-Plover's Nest.—Oyster-catcher.—Shore Fishing.—A Perilous Sail.

Lateen Sail.

They sailed quietly down the river again, and excited much attention from the many yachts they met. They turned off along Oulton Dyke, and on to Oulton Broad. The lake was full of craft of all rigs and sizes. There had been a regatta there the day before, and the major part of the yachts still remained. There was a stately schooner, moving with dignity; a smart cutter, heeling well over, but dashing along at a great pace; a heavy lugger; and, most graceful of all, the lateeners. These are a class of boats peculiar to the Norfolk waters and to the Mediterranean. The shape of them will be familiar to all who have ever looked at a picture of the Bay of Naples. They carry immense yards, the yard of a boat thirty feet long being about sixty feet in length. Such a yard, of course, carries a very large sail. In addition to this large sail they have a fore and aft mizen astern. They sail wonderfully close to the wind, but in running before it they sometimes take it into their heads to duck under, because the weight of the sail is all thrown on the fore-part of the boat, and sometimes proves too much for it.

A boat which attracted our boys' attention was a lugger, with her sails crossed by strips of bamboo, so that they looked something like Venetian blinds. These made the sails stand very flat and firm, and the boat so rigged seemed to sail very fast. The sun-lit waters of the broad, covered as they were with rapidly-moving yachts, whose white sails contrasted with the blue water and sky and the green fringe of tall reeds which encircled the lake, presented a very pretty spectacle, and one that called forth the admiration of our young yachtsmen. As they threaded their way through the numerous vessels, they saw that they themselves were an object of curiosity, and as sound travels far on the water, and people seldom think of that when they speak on it, the boys overheard many comments upon themselves. Those upon their boat were sometimes not flattering, but those upon their skill in handling her upon that crowded water were very appreciative, and at length Frank said, with something like a blush—

"Look here, this is getting too warm. I vote we moor her, and go to Lowestoft to have a dip in the sea."

The others agreed to this, and having moored the yacht in a safe place, they took their departure. At the lower end of Oulton Broad is a lock, by which vessels can be raised or lowered, as the case may be, to or from Lake Lothing, a tidal piece of water, communicating with the sea through Lowestoft harbour. A brigantine collier was in the lock when our boys came up, and they stood and watched it come through, going out upon a floating raft of wood, so as to see it better entering the broad.

"Why, look at her bows. They are carved all over like an old-fashioned mantel-piece."

As it came through the lock, it knocked against their raft, and threatened their safety, so seizing hold of the chains that hung over its bows, they climbed on board and entered into a conversation with her skipper. He told them that his ship was 100 years old, and he considered her still stronger than many a ship of more recent build. He had on board some beautiful little dogs of the Spanish breed, pure white and curly-haired, with sharp noses, and bright black eyes. Dick insisted on buying one.

"We cannot have it on board with the hawks," said Frank.

"But I shall send it home by the carrier from Lowestoft," answered Dick.

They walked along the shores of Lake Lothing to Lowestoft, and went and had a bathe. Then they walked along the cliffs towards Pakefield, and while crossing a sandy spot Dick discovered a ringed plover's nest. There were three eggs, cream-coloured, and blotched with brown. They were simply laid in a hole in the sand. They saw the old birds running along the shore before the wind, as is their habit, and looking very pretty with their grey beaks, and white stomachs, and black collars. On the shore they also saw some oyster catchers, with their plumage nearly all black, except a white belt, and white bars on their wings; and also a pair of redshanks, with their long red legs and bills, and French grey plumage; but although their nests are common enough in Suffolk (in which county our boys now were), they failed to find their eggs. The redshanks nest on the ground in marshy places, and lay eggs of a great family likeness to those of other birds which lay in similar positions.

On the shore men and boys were fishing in the following manner:—

They had long lines with a number of hooks on at regular intervals, which were baited with mussels. One end of the line was pegged into the sand; the other was heavily weighted with lead. They had a throwing-stick with a slit at one end. Into this slit the line next the weight was introduced. With the aid of the stick the line was thrown out a considerable distance. After being allowed to rest some time it was hauled in, and the fish taken off. In this way they caught flat-fish and small codlings, and some of them had accumulated a large heap of fish.

Two boatmen came up to the boys, and asked them if they would like a sail. "We'll take you for an hour for sixpence each."

"Well, it's reasonable enough," said Frank; "I vote we go." So they stepped on board and were soon tacking merrily about, a mile or two from land.

"Did you ever see two uglier fellows than our boatmen?" said Dick in a whisper to Frank.

"No—but what are they staring at that steamer so hard for?" A large yacht was making direct for Lowestoft harbour.

"I say," said Frank, "is not that steamer standing too close in shore? There is a bank of sand somewhere about there. I remember seeing remains of a wreck there not long ago."

"Hush! hold your tongue," answered the steersman.

"What do you mean, sir? If she goes on in that course she'll strike."

The man looked savagely at him, and replied,

"Look here, young man, if she strikes there will be no harm done. The sea is too smooth, and we shall be the first on the spot to help them off, and we shall get a good long sum of money for salvage. If you hold your tongue and say nothing you shall go shares. If you don't, I'll crack your head for you, so mind you don't give her any signal."

"You unfeeling fellow!" said Frank. "Shout, Jimmy and Dick, with all your might. I will settle this blackguard."

Jimmy and Dick obeyed and waved their hats to the advancing yacht. The man at the helm could not let go the tiller, but his mate made the sheet fast, and rose to strike Frank. Frank seized the stretcher from the bottom of the boat and raised it in the air.

"Touch me, if you dare!" he said.

The brute struck at him, enraged at the prospect of losing so large a sum of money as his share of the salvage would amount to. Frank avoided the blow, and with all the strength of his lithe young body, brought the stretcher down on the fellow's skull. He dropped to the bottom of the boat, and lay there as still as a log.

"Now we are three to one," he said to the steersman, "so you must do as we tell you."

The man was a coward at heart, though a bully by nature, so he dared make no objection.

Meanwhile the yacht sheered off, but not soon enough to avoid just touching the end of the shoal, and getting a bump, which threw the people on her deck down, and gave them a fright. They passed on without so much as shouting "thank you."

They now steered for the shore, Frank retaining the stretcher in his hand, in case of an attack. The man whom he had stunned soon came to himself, and growled and swore horribly, but dared not do more. When they landed Frank said, "Now you are a pair of blackguards, and I shall not pay you anything;" and followed by his companions he turned away. Before he had gone many steps, however, he turned back and said, while he pitched them half-a-crown: "There, that's for plaster!"