Shute, Nevil (20 page)

A couple of hours later they had more or less recovered from the incident of the night. They had had a good meal and had washed up; their clothes, their blankets and their bedding were laid out on deck and drying in the sun. Corbett was drying the magneto of the engine in the oven, and Joan, with sail-needle and palm, was repairing a long slit in the mainsail.

They worked all morning in the sun; by noon they were ready to get under way.

They were dead tired, and both confessed to headaches. The children were fretful and exhausted. Still, it was necessary to move on; they got the bedding down below again and put the children down to rest with a full meal inside them. For themselves, they took aspirin and a little food, and faced the future.

‘There’s one thing certain,’ Corbett said. ‘We’ve got to get away from here before tonight.’

Joan said hesitantly: ‘Do you think we might go to Yarmouth?’

‘That’s in the Isle of Wight. They wouldn’t let us in.’

She sighed. ‘They’re always so nice there.’

‘We’ll try it, if you like, but I don’t think there’s a hope. Still, they might let us have some water.’

She nodded. ‘If they wouldn’t let us stay we could go over and anchor for the night off Keyhaven, on the mainland side. We’d be out of the way of the bombs there, anyway.’

They got the dinghy up on deck and capsized her over the broken skylight in her sea-going position; then they set up the mainsail and got the kedge-anchor. There was a light breeze from the south-west as they sailed out of Southampton Water; the day was only partially overcast, so that there were patches of bright sun to warm them. They laid the vessel to the wind for the beat down towards the Needles; Joan went below to sleep.

An hour later she came up on deck and relieved Peter at the helm; in turn he went below, and fell asleep at once.

He woke later in the afternoon, refreshed and well. He came up to the cockpit and took the helm from Joan, who went below and made tea. They got the children up on deck and all had tea together in the cockpit; by the time they could lie Yarmouth in the late afternoon they were cheerful and in good shape.

As they approached the little town at the entrance to its narrow creek they got the sails down and went forward under engine. A motor-boat came out to meet them, as at Wootton; before it had time to intercept them Corbett had anchored with his kedge-anchor and warp.

The boat came alongside. This time the sergeant of police in the boat was more truculent.

‘Let’s see your Bill of Health.’ Corbett said: ‘I haven’t got one, I’m afraid.’

‘You can’t anchor here without a Bill of Health.’

‘I’m sorry about that.’

‘Where are you from?’

‘Hamble.’

The sergeant began upon a long, stereotyped harangue about quarantine, and the powers granted to the Local Authority under the Defence of the Realm Act to combat the spread of infection. Joan stood by the mast, aside. Out from the harbour entrance came an aged rowing-boat, rowed by a stocky figure in an old blue reefer and a seaman’s hat. There was a black retriever dog perched in the bows.

Joan watched the boat as it drew closer. Then she interrupted the discussion.

‘Oh, Peter!’ she cried. ‘Here’s Mr. Low coming!’ He was the Harbourmaster.

The police sergeant turned and looked with disapproval at the approaching boat. ‘He’s got nothing to do with this,’ he said. ‘Outside of his province, this is.’

Joan called out: ‘Mr. Low, do come and help us. We don’t want to land. We only want some water.’

The Harbourmaster bumped his row-boat unceremoniously alongside the police launch. He beamed at Joan. He spoke slowly and without concern.

‘Why, Mrs. Corbett,’ he said, ‘quite a pleasure seeing you, this early in the season. And Mr. Corbett, too.’

Joan said: ‘Mr. Low, they won’t let us stay here. We know we can’t land, but we want some fresh water. We’ve got the baby aboard with us, and I must wash out her nappies.’

The sergeant said: ‘They can’t stop here. They got to go to quarantine.’

In the Harbourmaster the slow anger rose,

‘Who Says they can’t; stop here. They can’t land-that I do know. But who’s to say they can’t anchor here, or anywhere they likes? Free for all, the sea is, below low-water mark.’

The sergeant, unaccustomed to marine law, hesitated. ‘I got my orders,’ he said a little weakly, ‘and I got to see them carried out.’

The Harbourmaster followed up his attack. ‘It don’t say nothing in your orders about Mrs. Corbett not anchoring here to get a drop of water, nor in the Defence of the Realm Act, either.’ He snorted. ‘Fine goings on, I do say!’ He turned to the sergeant: ‘All you want to know is that they’re not going to land. Well, I’ve known this boat, and Mr. and Mrs. Corbett, these five years past. They come here regular, all through the summer. They won’t land if you tell them not.’

‘I don’t want to land,’ said Corbett. ‘But I want some water now, and perhaps some more in the morning. I’d like to stay at anchor here for the night.’

‘Where are you bound for?’ asked the Harbourmaster.

‘Plymouth, if I can get there.’

The sergeant said: ‘All right,’ and pushed off from the bow. He turned to the Harbourmaster: ‘And don’t you go on board of them, either. We don’t want none of that cholera in Yarmouth.’

The Harbourmaster said disgustedly: ‘Ah, get on out of it. Don’t talk so soft.’ The driver of the launch let in his clutch, and the boat slid away. The Harbourmaster beamed up at Joan. ‘Got the baby with you, have you, Mrs. Corbett? And the other two as well? My, don’t they look well! A proper handful for you, they must be.’

Joan said: ‘It’s awfully good of you to let us stay the night. They wouldn’t let us even anchor at Wootton.’

‘Ah, stay as long as you like. You don’t want to pay any attention to him. And there won’t be any harbour dues, anchoring out here. But don’t go on shore, not without he says you may. ‘We don’t want to. All we want is some water, and then we’ll be able to do the washing.’

‘I’ll get you the water-give us your bag.’ They passed him the water-bag. ‘How are you going on for milk?’

Joan said quickly: ‘Could you get us some? Fresh milk?’

‘Surely, Mrs. Corbett.’

‘Two quarts?’

‘Surely. Do you want anything else-meat, or vegetables, or bread?’

Corbett said: ‘We’re quite all right for bread. We’ve got plenty of tinned things, but we’ve got no fresh meat or vegetables at all.’

‘I could bring off two or three cabbages out of my own garden. What about a nice leg of lamb?’

Joan said unevenly: ‘A nice leg of lamb. You don’t know what you’re saying, Mr. Low.’

He smiled, and said: ‘Suppose I bring you off a little bit of meat that you could cook yourselves, and have it hot for tonight. Then I could buy a nice leg of lamb tonight and get the wife to cook it for you, and bring it off cold in the morning.’

Joan said: ‘That would be splendid. You’re ever so good, Mr. Low.’

He said awkwardly: ‘Ah, it’s nothing, Mrs. Corbett.’ He pushed off and rowed back towards the quay. Joan turned to Peter, and her cheeks were wet with tears. ‘I know I’m a damn fool,’ she muttered. ‘But it upsets one -when people are so kind.’

Half an hour later the Harbourmaster appeared, still rowing with the dog perched in the bows. He brought them a bag of water, four cartons of milk, a little round of beef, and a cauliflower. They emptied the bag into the water-tank and gave it back to him to bring off full again in the morning. Corbett gave him money, but he would take nothing beyond the bare peace-time value of the food.

They spent the evening washing nappies, putting the children to bed, and preparing a great meal. It was after ten o’clock when it was finished and washed up; they sat on deck for a short time, smoking and looking at the lights across the water. From time to time a shadowy form, a warship or auxiliary vessel of some sort, went secretly past them without lights.

Corbett stirred. ‘I knew that there was something wrong,’ he said. ‘I couldn’t place it. The lighthouse at Hurst Castle isn’t functioning.’

She looked towards the Castle in the black night. ‘Is that because of the war?’

‘I suppose it is. They turned out most of them in the last war, because they might have helped the submarines.’

‘Do you think there are submarines in the Channel now, Peter?’

He rubbed his chin. ‘I don’t know. I don’t think they’d bother much about us. We’re too small.’

‘I don’t want to get submarined.’ He laughed shortly. ‘If we stick around here, we’ll get sent back to Hamble sooner or later. I’d rather go to sea and try and get down west. I don’t think there’s much risk.’

She nodded. ‘You’re right. I’d rather take that sort of risk than get sent back to Hamble.’

Presently they went to bed. In the night the distant thundering of bombs and the sharp crack of guns went on continuously from Southampton; it did not wake them. They slept peacefully and heavily all night; it was not till daylight that they woke again.

All that morning the ship was festooned with the baby’s washing and their own, hanging out to dry. The Harbourmaster came off with the leg of lamb, fresh vegetables, more water, and more milk. He brought also a couple of loaves of bread to supplement the bread that Joan had baked, and a little bottle of boiled sweets for the children.

He asked: ‘When are you getting under way, Mr. Corbett?’

‘This afternoon, I think. The weather looks all right.’

‘I’ll ring them up at Hurst Castle and tell them at the boom.’

‘What boom?’

‘They got the Needles channel closed with a boom, same as they did in the war-the last war. Because of the submarines, and that. All ships come in by Spithead now -we don’t get none through here. But they’ll let you through if they know. You go through on this side, right up against the shore. You’ll see the mark boat there.’

He considered for a minute. ‘I don’t think they’ll make any trouble. Another gentleman went through, day before yesterday, and they didn’t make no trouble with him. They’ll want to know where you’re bound for.’

‘Say Plymouth.’

‘I’ll arrange it for you, Mr. Corbett. They won’t make no fuss. I hope you’ll have a very pleasant trip.’

Joan said: ‘Goodbye, Mr. Low. I’ll never forget what you’ve done for us.’

He looked uncomfortable. ‘That’s all right, Mrs. Corbett. We shall look forward to seeing you back in Yarmouth again.’

He rowed back to the town, the dog still perched impassively in the bows of his boat. They watched him till he reached the quay.

‘I knew we’d be all right if we came here,’ said Joan.

They turned away, and started to get the boat ready for sea. They had baked a quantity of bread; with the two loaves the Harbourmaster had brought they had sufficient for a passage of two or three days. They had made a large meat stew and left it in the saucepan on the gimbals; they would get two meals out of that. They had a full water-tank, and some water still left in the bag.

They cleared the decks, gathering in the washing and stowing it away. Then they had lunch, washed up, and gave a feed to the baby. Finally at about three o’clock they were ready to go.

The day was overcast and cold, with a moderate easterly wind, fair for their passage. They got up their anchor and set sail towards the narrows; very soon they saw the mark boat with a small launch standing by. The launch ranged up alongside them; it was a naval boat, manned by two seamen and an R.N.R. sub-lieutenant.

It passed under their stern to read the name. The officer hailed them.

‘Sonia. Where are you from?’

‘Hamble.’

‘Where are you bound for?’

‘Plymouth.’

‘How many people on board?’

‘Five. Myself, my wife, and three children.’

‘Are you armed?’

‘I’ve got an automatic pistol.’

‘You’d better not try and use it. You can go through-between those two buoys. If you see any foreign submarine activity, or anything else that you think significant, put into Portland or Dartmouth and report.’

‘I’ll do that.’

‘Good luck.’

The launch slid away, and they sailed forward through the boom.

Corbett touched Joan upon the shoulder. ‘Go down and get some sleep. Put the children down, too. We shall be tired enough before we’re through with this.’

She went below and slept. When she came up again it was five o’clock; the light was fading, and the sea was a dirty grey. Corbett smiled at her from the helm.

‘The wind’s getting up a bit,’ he said. ‘We’re getting along fine. Come and take her for a bit; I’ll get a reef down before dark.’

She came to the helm. He went forward and took a couple of rolls down in the mainsail and stowed the foresail; the little vessel went more slowly but more easily. He came aft again.

She asked him: ‘Where does this course take us to?’

‘Seven miles outside Portland Bill-that leads us well clear of the Race.’ He looked at the patent log. ‘We’ve made a good five miles from the Needles. Getting along fine.’

She looked around, a little apprehensively. The sea was grey and angry looking, the dusk was falling. Behind them in the murk she could still just distinguish the high land of the Island; apart from that, there was no land in sight. It was unutterably lonely. She shivered a little.

He divined her thoughts. ‘It’s better than getting cholera.’

‘I know.’

He smiled. ‘Go down and make some tea-or I will, if you like.’

She went below and prepared the tea; then she relieved him at the helm while he went down and made a heavy meal. He came up and took the helm again while she gave the children tea; the bright lamplight made the little cabin seem homely even though everything was rocking on a slant, and she forgot her fears. She put the children to bed again when they had had their meal; finally she gave a bottle to the baby. Then she came upon deck.

‘I’ll take her now,’ she said, ‘You go down and get some sleep.’

He stood up and looked around distastefully. The wind was stronger, and the little ship evidently had all the sail that she could carry. The log showed thirteen miles from the Needles. ‘I’ll reef her down some more, and put on the little jib.’