was now blowing almost a gale from the
south-west; whilst the sea, which we had left smooth as a lake, was
rolling in and breaking on the beach in somewhat formidable waves.

"I tell you what," said Coleman, as soon as he had observed the state
of affairs, "I won't attempt to steer in such a sea as that; it requires
great skill and judgment, besides a stronger hand than mine, to keep the
~101~~boat's head right; if I were to let her turn her broadside to one
of those waves, it would be a case of 'Found drowned' with some of us,
before long."

"What's to be done, then?" inquired Oaklands. "I am sure I can't do it:
it's a thing I'm quite ignorant of; all my boating having been on the
river."

"Let's hire one of those amphibious beggars out there to steer for us,"
proposed Lawless, pointing to a group of fishermen who were lounging
round an old boat, not far from where we stood; "they're up to all the
right dodges, you may depend. Here, my men! which of you will earn half
a guinea by steering our boat for us to Helmstone?"

"I wouldn't, master, for ten times the money," replied an old
weather-beaten boatman, in a tarpaulin hat; "and if you'll take an
old man's advice, gentlemen, you'll none of you venture out in that
cockle-shell this afternoon; the wind's getting up every minute, and we
shall have a rough night of it."

"Nonsense," replied Lawless; "I've often been out in worse weather than
this. Are you, all of you, frightened by that old woman's croaking?"
continued he, turning to the group of men.

"He's no old woman," replied a sturdy fellow, in a rough pea-jacket;
"he's been a better sailor than ever you'll be, and he's right now too,"
he added. "It's as much as a man's life is worth to go to sea in that
bit of a thing, with the waves running in as they do now--and with such
a set of landlubbers as them for a crew," he muttered, turning away.

"Suppose we try and get something to take us home by land," suggested
Oaklands; "and leave the boat for some of these good fellows to bring
home, as soon as the weather will allow."

"You'll have to walk, sir," replied one of them, civilly; "I don't
believe there's a cart or horse in the place; they all went inland this
morning with fish, and won't return till to-morrow."

"There, you hear that," said Lawless, who had just drunk enough to
render him captious and obstinate. "I'm not going to walk to please
anybody's fancy; I see how it is,--I did not bid high enough. A