and the men incline to give themselves the benefit of the
doubt, then, indeed, you will learn who are masters of the Cove. For in
extreme cases the women will even invade the 'randivoo,' and shrill is
the noise of battle until the weather declares unmistakably for one side
or the other. Does it refuse to declare itself? Then I can promise you
that half an hour will see the men routed and straggling down the beach
to their boats, arching their backs and ducking their heads, may be,
under the parting volley.

"But, as I say, I did not know Polreen and its ways. It awoke no wonder
in me to see the bulk of its male population ranged like statues, day
after day, and from dawn till eve, against the wall by the lifeboat
house, talking little (or ceasing, at any rate, to talk when I
approached), smoking much, conning a serene sky, and the dimples spread
on the sea by a gentle nor'-westerly breeze. At intervals one or two
would leisurely fall out of the line and saunter towards the inn,
leaving their places to others as leisurely sauntering from the inn.
It did, indeed, occur to me to wonder how they earned their living, for
during the first fortnight, beyond the occasional hauling of a crab-pot,
I saw no evidence at all of labour. It was on the tip of my tongue,
once or twice, to question them; but, though polite, they clearly had no
wish to be communicative.

"I found great difficulty in hiring a boat and the services of its
owner. I wished to be rowed along the coast; to try for pollack; to
inspect some of Polreen's famous caves. The men were polite again; but
one boat leaked badly, another had been pulled up for the carpenter to
insert a new strake, a third was too heavy, the owner of a fourth could
not leave his business--it wouldn't pay him! At length I patched up a
bargain with an old fisherman named Udy--or rather Old Tom Udy, to
distinguish him from his son, who was Young Tom. He owned the most
ramshackle old boat in the Cove: if the others were out of repair, his
was manifestly beyond it. I took my life in my hands and struck the
bargain.

"'When do 'ee want her?'

"'Now, at once,' said I; 'or as soon as you have had your dinner.'

"He went back to the company by the lifeboat house. He reminded me of
some ancient king consulting a company of stone gods. They looked at
him, and he looked at them. I suppose a word or two was said; half a
dozen of them spat reflectively; nobody moved. Old Tom Udy came