16 The Wine-Dark Sea - Libro della tutto

Patrick O'Brian The Wine-Dark Sea
He rowed with prodigious force, rising on the
stretcher and pulling so that the sculls creaked
and bent under his hands. He had never seen
the Captain look more destroyed, not even after
the Master action: the bloody bandage
over his eye had something to do with it, but
quite apart from that his bearded face was
thin and drawn, barely recognizable, and he
moved with difficulty, like an old man, heaving
slowly on his oar. From the skiff Pullings
looked straight into the launch: the Captain,
Darky Johnson and Bonden were doing what
they could, labouring with uneven sweeps,
roughly shaped from broken spars; Killick was
bailing; Joe Plaice and young Ben were
stretched out, motionless. The two boats
scarcely seemed to move; there were nearly
three miles to go, and at this rate they would
not be able to go half-way before the ebb set
in, carrying them far out to sea.