ough
he lived in the forecastle.

"John," sings out Bill Martin, casting his eyes over the greasy yellow
surface of the water streaming shorewards, "are ye going to try for it
without the tug?"

"Ay," answered old Bunk.

"And quite right, tew. No good a-messing about here all day," says
Jack Stevens at the tiller.

The land was flat and treeless on
either hand the river, but it rose, about a couple of miles off,
curving into a front of glaring chalk, with a small well known town
sparkling in the distance like a handful of frost in a white split.
The horizon astern was broken by the moving bodies of many ships in
full sail, and the sky low down was hung with the smoke of vanished
steamers as though the stuff was cobwebs black with dust.

The stream was the turn of the flood. Old Bunk went forward into the
bows, and the brig flapped forwards creaking like a basket on the
small roll of the shallow water. We overhung her rails, and watched
for ourselves. John Bunk, trying to look dignified with the drink in
him, stared stately ahead; sometimes singing out to the helmsman to
port, and then to starboard, and so we washed on, fairly hitting the
river's mouth, and stemming safely for a mile, till the flat coast was
within an easy scull of our jolly-boat, and you saw the spire of a
church, and a few red roofs amidst a huddle of trees on the right, at
that time two miles distant.

Just then the _Venus_ took the mud; she grounded just as a huge fat
sow knuckles quietly ere stretching herself.

"All aback forrard!" sings out Bill Martin, with a loud silly laugh.

We were a brig of a hundred and eighty tons, and there was nothing to
be done with poling; nor was kedging going to help us at this the
first quarter of ebb.

"Tom," says John Bunk, coming aft and speaking cheerfully, "there's no
call to make any worrit over this shining job. The tug's bound to be
coming along afore sundown, anyhow. See that village there?" says he,
pointing. "My brother lives in that village, at a public house of his
own, called the 'Eight Bells,' and seeing as we're hard and fast, I
shall take the boys on a visit to him and leave you and William to
look arter the brig."

"Suppose the tug should come along?" said I.

"She could do nothing with us till the flood floats us," said he; "I
shall let go the anchor for security and go ashore."

He talked like a reckless old fool, but was tipsy, and in no temper to
reason with. The situation of t