Читать книгу List, Ye Landsmen!. A Romance of Incident онлайн

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When I had attended to all that required being seen to by me acting as the mate of the ship, I went aft to Captain Spalding, who was walking the deck alone, smoking a pipe, and said to him, “It’s going to be a fine night.”

“I believe you are right,” said he, gazing into the dusk of the evening, amid which the near shipping looked pale, and the more distant craft dark and swollen.

“Are you going ashore?” said I.

“No,” he answered. “There’s nothing at Deal to call me ashore. I know Deal and I don’t love it, Bill.”

“I should like to shake Uncle Joe by the hand,” said I.

“So you shall,” said he. “But see here, my lad, you must keep a bright lookout on the weather. If ever you’re to keep your weather eye lifting ’tis whilst you are visiting Uncle Joe, for should there come a slant of wind, I’m off! there’ll be no stopping to send ashore to let you know that I’m going.”

“Right you are,” cried I heartily, “a bright lookout shall be kept. But there’ll be no slant of wind this night—a little thunder, but no wind,” said I, catching as I spoke the dim sheen of distant lightning coming and going in a winking sort of way upon the mass of stuff that overhung the coast of France.