The Riddle Of The Sands - Childers Robert Erskine ... - Cove Systems

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greetings to be exchanged now with well-groomed acquaintances. The only people to be seen were some late stragglers from the park, with a perambulator and some hot and dusty children lagging fretfully behind; some rustic sightseers draining the last dregs of the daylight in an effort to make out from their guide-books which of these reverend piles was which; a policeman and a builder's cart. Of course the club was a strange one, both of my own being closed for cleaning, a coincidence expressly planned by Providence for my inconvenience. The club which you are 'permitted to make use of' on these occasions always irritates with its strangeness and discomfort. The few occupants seem odd and oddly dressed, and you wonder how they got there. The particular weekly that you want is not taken in; the dinner is execrable, and the ventilation a farce. All these evils oppressed me to-night. And yet I was puzzled to find that somewhere within me there was a faint lightening of the spirits; causeless, as far as I could discover. It could not be Davies's letter.
Yachting in the Baltic at the end of September! The very idea made one shudder. Cowes, with a pleasant party and hotels handy, was all very well. An August cruise on a steam yacht in French waters or the Highlands was all very well; but what kind of a yacht was this? It must be of a certain size to have got so far, but I thought I remembered enough of Davies's means to know that he had no money to waste on luxuries. That brought me to the man himself. I had known him at Oxford--not as one of my immediate set; but we were a sociable college, and I had seen a good deal of him, liking him for his physical energy combined with a certain simplicity and modesty, though, indeed, he had nothing to be conceited about; liked him, in fact, in the way that at that receptive period one likes many men whom one never keeps up with later. We had both gone down in the same year--three years ago now. I had gone to France and Germany for two years to learn the languages; he had failed for the Indian Civil, and then had gone into a solicitor's office. I had only seen him since at
Page 1 and 2: The Riddle of the Sands Childers, E
Page 3 and 4: Quartette * 23 A Change of Tactics
Page 5 and 6: dignified incredulity, due in part,
Page 7 and 8: against this course, first, because
Page 9 and 10: The maps and charts are based on Br
Page 11 and 12: London in September. I say 'martyrd
Page 13 and 14: went abroad, for I found that such
Page 15 and 16: saying that Mr So-and-So was away a
Page 17 and 18: The usual preliminary scuffle on th
Page 19: epairs done here, and will have the
Page 23 and 24: mind on it at all, that the whole t
Page 25 and 26: 2 The 'Dulcibella' THAT two days la
Page 27 and 28: unattractive, and all the other dra
Page 29 and 30: Stores, instead of specializing in
Page 31 and 32: two disreputable brown-paper parcel
Page 33 and 34: through the calm channels of the Th
Page 35 and 36: yachtsman--no cool white ducks or n
Page 37 and 38: vacantly, and felt a little hurt);
Page 39 and 40: He seemed to be clinging timidly, b
Page 41 and 42: stores, and stowed the cargo as bes
Page 43 and 44: OTE In a moment he had jumped on de
Page 45 and 46: the ceiling, which seemed in the ha
Page 47 and 48: skylight gave additional cabin spac
Page 49 and 50: The absurdity of argument struck me
Page 51 and 52: uthless sense of humour which whisp
Page 53 and 54: lew out the light from where he lay
Page 55 and 56: 3 Davies I DOZED but fitfully, with
Page 57 and 58: should have come from Dover to the
Page 59 and 60: two skins of teak, and thus had imm
Page 61 and 62: that he scarcely noticed me, save a
Page 63 and 64: haze. Ahead, the scene was shut in
Page 65 and 66: stamped on every lineament. A deep
Page 67 and 68: where we are,' dabbing with a long
Page 69 and 70: esourceful, skilful, and alert, he
Page 71 and 72:
We were following the inward trend
Page 73 and 74:
attentive steward mocked me with pa
Page 75 and 76:
'I think I'll go on deck,' I said.
Page 77 and 78:
drenching brain and body in the swe
Page 79 and 80:
you'll steer in that direction.' He
Page 81 and 82:
slight traces of the day's news dis
Page 83 and 84:
lock-dues, bumping against schuyts,
Page 85 and 86:
'We want another chart now,' and he
Page 87 and 88:
feverishly--a habit of his when exc
Page 89 and 90:
'What does it look like?' I called
Page 91 and 92:
the _German_ islands.' He pointed a
Page 93 and 94:
acquaintance not yet enamoured of t
Page 95 and 96:
'If there are many places about her
Page 97 and 98:
grasping a misty lantern of giganti
Page 99 and 100:
heard that persuasive song the foam
Page 101 and 102:
firm on the need for a walk, and go
Page 103 and 104:
we shall ever fight her.' A little
Page 105 and 106:
Sailing Directions, there were seve
Page 107 and 108:
and a brisker tone pervaded the ent
Page 109 and 110:
calling to Davies, and chaffing him
Page 111 and 112:
detected at once as an uninterestin
Page 113 and 114:
'You mean it's all very jolly about
Page 115 and 116:
est. Backwards and forwards we tack
Page 117 and 118:
'Let's get in as near as we can--yo
Page 119 and 120:
gods knew naught of. On the followi
Page 121 and 122:
He stammered on through a sentence
Page 123 and 124:
thinking about. You're a brick to j
Page 125 and 126:
greeted us with a hoarse roar of we
Page 127 and 128:
lair, or perhaps it was chance; but
Page 129 and 130:
7 The Missing Page I WOKE (on 1st O
Page 131 and 132:
coffee. How's the Johannes? Was tha
Page 133 and 134:
excess of warmth which almost took
Page 135 and 136:
This is all the conversation that I
Page 137 and 138:
'Well, you're quite right, it was t
Page 139 and 140:
the night pretty near her. I meant
Page 141 and 142:
it, offered me some wine, and began
Page 143 and 144:
from this, sticking to it that I sh
Page 145 and 146:
last reef.' (Simple words, simply u
Page 147 and 148:
very complicated, and ends in a mer
Page 149 and 150:
'I kept dead in the wake of the Med
Page 151 and 152:
flood, with two hours more of risin
Page 153 and 154:
for the rudder had crocked up someh
Page 155 and 156:
away, up a branch of the channel. I
Page 157 and 158:
water, and we could get at her rudd
Page 159 and 160:
what--of whom?' 'I'll tell you how
Page 161 and 162:
'He doubled back into the northern
Page 163 and 164:
hard. It was an easy game to play,
Page 165 and 166:
'But the crew?' I said; 'what about
Page 167 and 168:
'Yes, that's what I mean. It was so
Page 169 and 170:
'And if he was piloting you into th
Page 171 and 172:
withheld me from pressing him too f
Page 173 and 174:
Scenting a faint clue, I felt the n
Page 175 and 176:
armaments and speeds in which I cou
Page 177 and 178:
sandbanks littered about all throug
Page 179 and 180:
would be important, _sand and all._
Page 181 and 182:
adjoins the estuaries, and would al
Page 183 and 184:
Evidently, too, he wanted my help,
Page 185 and 186:
ound. If my theory, as you call it,
Page 187 and 188:
'For goodness' sake, don't apologiz
Page 189 and 190:
'And, after all, hang it!' exclaime
Page 191 and 192:
'Why, it's dark at seven!' 'Yes, bu
Page 193 and 194:
I sat upon my portmanteau at Flensb
Page 195 and 196:
guided us safely to the mouth of Ki
Page 197 and 198:
at Cuxhaven, or inquired at the loc
Page 199 and 200:
entered Kiel Fiord, and began a dea
Page 201 and 202:
on the move in the confined fairway
Page 203 and 204:
of our adventure never struck me mo
Page 205 and 206:
The same evening we were taking our
Page 207 and 208:
forces were at work. The inner gate
Page 209 and 210:
mighty waterway that is the strateg
Page 211 and 212:
our goal was his own beloved Hambur
Page 213 and 214:
as this.' 'Oh, as long as I get it,
Page 215 and 216:
'We're improving, aren't we?' 'Oh,
Page 217 and 218:
commands her North Sea coast. And s
Page 219 and 220:
from the very wind and spray. He co
Page 221 and 222:
'Oh, I know; she went on to Hamburg
Page 223 and 224:
have missed them.' 'Think twice, ca
Page 225 and 226:
anchor was down, instinctively leav
Page 227 and 228:
This was a new light. 'What do you
Page 229 and 230:
mouth; drab, dreary miles like the
Page 231 and 232:
mighty dyke, that of some of its ho
Page 233 and 234:
crowded half-hour we wormed ourselv
Page 235 and 236:
painter, tumbled the kedge-anchor a
Page 237 and 238:
need to tire the general reader wit
Page 239 and 240:
saplings fixed in the sand to mark
Page 241 and 242:
12 My Initiation THE yacht lay with
Page 243 and 244:
that's a tricky bend there.' He too
Page 245 and 246:
covered, the water can travel where
Page 247 and 248:
channel hurrying and rising alongsi
Page 249 and 250:
mauled in the _fracas_, that her te
Page 251 and 252:
ound the outermost alley of the hid
Page 253 and 254:
north. That's where I was nearly wr
Page 255 and 256:
an hotel. Let's have dinner, and a
Page 257 and 258:
'Of course we can,' said Davies, 'i
Page 259 and 260:
The ground sloped down, and a rushi
Page 261 and 262:
it! Two good strokes. Ship your scu
Page 263 and 264:
ampant in here, you see, in spite o
Page 265 and 266:
13 The Meaning of our Work NOTHING
Page 267 and 268:
any danger at all. But I think that
Page 269 and 270:
tolerably alert. As a soldier learn
Page 271 and 272:
See, too, how the strong invader ca
Page 273 and 274:
for defending our coasts in the way
Page 275 and 276:
nothing that suggested a really ade
Page 277 and 278:
14 The First Night in the Islands A
Page 279 and 280:
touch of frost in the air. I lit a
Page 281 and 282:
would be in the doorway lighting hi
Page 283 and 284:
elit the riding-light, and carried
Page 285 and 286:
'You've done jolly well, I think,'
Page 287 and 288:
person. Then there were the naval b
Page 289 and 290:
the Ems estuary and beyond that by
Page 291 and 292:
occasional word 'Bade-strand', sugg
Page 293 and 294:
'We may as well visit one or two, I
Page 295 and 296:
15 Bensersiel [For this chapter see
Page 297 and 298:
at her. Kormoran was on her stern;
Page 299 and 300:
half-past four, when we were soundi
Page 301 and 302:
low hard too, though that is no gre
Page 303 and 304:
'When the banks uncovered we lay mo
Page 305 and 306:
the yacht, heard something snap bel
Page 307 and 308:
ound up properly and no time to low
Page 309 and 310:
up through dark and mud to his cott
Page 311 and 312:
16 Commander von Brüning TO RESUME
Page 313 and 314:
'Supposing he comes on board and as
Page 315 and 316:
'wreck-works' boat. It seemed that
Page 317 and 318:
place. We passed friend Grimm on th
Page 319 and 320:
'Yes,' said Davies, shortly. 'Well,
Page 321 and 322:
'A thousand pardons!' said von Brü
Page 323 and 324:
was very thick and squally--and she
Page 325 and 326:
'I wonder he brought you here last
Page 327 and 328:
'We never dreamed there would be th
Page 329 and 330:
ankrupt, and the wreck came into th
Page 331 and 332:
'Well, it's a romantic speculation,
Page 333 and 334:
'Are there many like you in England
Page 335 and 336:
That was how the question of our fu
Page 337 and 338:
to shoot some ducks.' He was nervou
Page 339 and 340:
probably call at Norderney. Come ab
Page 341 and 342:
foreigners, and young. You I take t
Page 343 and 344:
me; and the last hope of a bed in t
Page 345 and 346:
17 Clearing the Air 'HAS he gone to
Page 347 and 348:
Such was Memmert, as I saw it on th
Page 349 and 350:
'There's the wreck, though.' 'Oh, h
Page 351 and 352:
Dollmann treated you badly--discour
Page 353 and 354:
said. 'At Schlei you spoke of "sett
Page 355 and 356:
'Can't we _possibly_?' 'Of course n
Page 357 and 358:
mean?' 'No, no, not that. I'm not s
Page 359 and 360:
problem in the light of the morning
Page 361 and 362:
Memmert, gained precision and vigou
Page 363 and 364:
scoundrel at all, but it was explic
Page 365 and 366:
shoals, and blocked in the centre b
Page 367 and 368:
Now Memmert was part of the outer r
Page 369 and 370:
as this one was to quarrel with our
Page 371 and 372:
his perfectly frank explanation (wi
Page 373 and 374:
From the bank we could see all alon
Page 375 and 376:
Nobody appeared to have taken the s
Page 377 and 378:
us ready for sea in their own confu
Page 379 and 380:
Davies would be tempted to cut the
Page 381 and 382:
OTE 'Yes,' I said. 'But I should li
Page 383 and 384:
first. Good-night.'
Page 385 and 386:
'Well, it's Norderney, isn't it? We
Page 387 and 388:
He loyally did his best to 'shove h
Page 389 and 390:
another of a few moments, when Davi
Page 391 and 392:
'Medusa's dinghy.' He handed, or ra
Page 393 and 394:
'It's your affair this time,' I sai
Page 395 and 396:
and I was scrubbing fruitlessly at
Page 397 and 398:
I held out my hand and swung her up
Page 399 and 400:
We spent a few minutes on deck whil
Page 401 and 402:
out, and led to some questions, whi
Page 403 and 404:
passing travellers.' 'You will stop
Page 405 and 406:
'Is the Medusa in harbour?' said Da
Page 407 and 408:
her. She was staring at Davies with
Page 409 and 410:
'Go on,' said Davies to me in Engli
Page 411 and 412:
'We can wait. We have several days
Page 413 and 414:
'He will understand. I know he will
Page 415 and 416:
in small yachts. He had six or seve
Page 417 and 418:
with a greyish beard.' 'By the shap
Page 419 and 420:
'Was she never on board you in Sept
Page 421 and 422:
_got_ to. The time to cut and run,
Page 423 and 424:
'Oh! that settles it,' I answered,
Page 425 and 426:
'She didn't know you took the short
Page 427 and 428:
'Now, what about her voyage back fr
Page 429 and 430:
even know he's English, or they may
Page 431 and 432:
'At what time?' 'Your Bradshaw will
Page 433 and 434:
'I'll think about it,' said Davies.
Page 435 and 436:
chivalry more suited to knights-err
Page 437 and 438:
abandon the first and embrace the s
Page 439 and 440:
justification, fearlessly adopted a
Page 441 and 442:
21 Blindfold to Memmert 'HERE she c
Page 443 and 444:
coming,' I said; 'let's go below.'
Page 445 and 446:
up, and the weedy waiter and two ma
Page 447 and 448:
Davies agreed, and we both looked l
Page 449 and 450:
at leisure. 'What a waste of good d
Page 451 and 452:
shorewards slowly but surely. 'It d
Page 453 and 454:
luck,' Davies .commented; 'we ought
Page 455 and 456:
minutes.' He whipped out the German
Page 457 and 458:
'Leave that to me,' I said. 'You ge
Page 459 and 460:
have stated in words all the pros a
Page 461 and 462:
sense (eyesight, in my case) fails
Page 463 and 464:
fathom casts, till, just as suddenl
Page 465 and 466:
'Rest for three minutes now,' he sa
Page 467 and 468:
starboard for the whole distance; o
Page 469 and 470:
alpenstock of a lunatic mountaineer
Page 471 and 472:
over the side with the boat-hook. I
Page 473 and 474:
the niceties of the course; during
Page 475 and 476:
ut if he heard a long whistle he wa
Page 477 and 478:
six feet, reached hard wet sand, an
Page 479 and 480:
in the air--voices, the rasp of a b
Page 481 and 482:
passing, dressed very like me, but
Page 483 and 484:
one with a gold signet-ring, rested
Page 485 and 486:
ack between Grimm and me, and then
Page 487 and 488:
conspirators? Was gold after all at
Page 489 and 490:
was a harsh croak, belonging to the
Page 491 and 492:
hopeless. I tried for a downward pu
Page 493 and 494:
The marlin-spike! Where the lower h
Page 495 and 496:
chance came when Böhme, reading ra
Page 497 and 498:
must wait for this,' I thought, and
Page 499 and 500:
and, as the lesser of two evils, bl
Page 501 and 502:
'One or two clues, and an invitatio
Page 503 and 504:
eyes from the pool of light. 'Damn!
Page 505 and 506:
'No.' 'Nothing about transports?' '
Page 507 and 508:
'Steamer,' said Davies; 'going sout
Page 509 and 510:
He extinguished the lantern, lit a
Page 511 and 512:
the dinghy were in deep shadow betw
Page 513 and 514:
enough. Dollmann having seen the ya
Page 515 and 516:
'Oh, thanks,' said Davies; 'we took
Page 517 and 518:
The cabin was just as we had left i
Page 519 and 520:
out as I thought it would. Von Brü
Page 521 and 522:
think they), "we'll come too, and t
Page 523 and 524:
'It may be anywhere from Emden to H
Page 525 and 526:
were in the dinghy again. 'It's a c
Page 527 and 528:
weakness, the game's up.' 'What are
Page 529 and 530:
abstractedly. 'I can just do it in
Page 531 and 532:
'Well, what's it to be?' I said. 'H
Page 533 and 534:
24 Finesse THE door of a room on th
Page 535 and 536:
sudden, mirthless laugh. I thought
Page 537 and 538:
ours, and under that implied condit
Page 539 and 540:
he said, in his vile lingo. No one
Page 541 and 542:
'By the way, Herr Davies,' he began
Page 543 and 544:
and she dropped hers instantly, but
Page 545 and 546:
'As long as usual. I visit the work
Page 547 and 548:
Norderney, and find you have return
Page 549 and 550:
'Ah! you remember that? (He remembe
Page 551 and 552:
financial secrets.' 'I have done my
Page 553 and 554:
the way it came about,' I pursued,
Page 555 and 556:
the loudest share. 'I warned you, B
Page 557 and 558:
Memmert?' 'What do you say, gentlem
Page 559 and 560:
'You needn't pretend that you canno
Page 561 and 562:
once delivered his soul, seemed to
Page 563 and 564:
suggested to Davies, for I should h
Page 565 and 566:
vulnerable; whom he feared most, us
Page 567 and 568:
same conclusion, that I liked the m
Page 569 and 570:
25 I Double Back 'GOOD-BYE, old cha
Page 571 and 572:
into my pocket-book. 'Look at it in
Page 573 and 574:
e quickly sent to any threatened po
Page 575 and 576:
no moment, but whose conversation i
Page 577 and 578:
me. Anxiety to reach London was swa
Page 579 and 580:
e recognized--possibly haled to jud
Page 581 and 582:
left my bag at the cloak-room, afte
Page 583 and 584:
others failed; for the present it m
Page 585 and 586:
shallow), were a very fair conjectu
Page 587 and 588:
my journey. At Rheine 1 changed tra
Page 589 and 590:
which, alas! quickly cooled. From E
Page 591 and 592:
Bensersiel took its name. But it ar
Page 593 and 594:
It was between Dornum and Esens tha
Page 595 and 596:
these new-fangled schemes.' 'But it
Page 597 and 598:
more; there were gaunt heaps of coa
Page 599 and 600:
y the side of the canal, till the q
Page 601 and 602:
making progress, but the wings of i
Page 603 and 604:
debouched, as at Bensersiel. From a
Page 605 and 606:
explored, I could pass on to Nesse,
Page 607 and 608:
myself involved in a tangle of impr
Page 609 and 610:
street. Perceiving that he was in l
Page 611 and 612:
my odious crimp was sober enough to
Page 613 and 614:
not so bad after all; it demanded n
Page 615 and 616:
willows. What little I learnt was i
Page 617 and 618:
opened, and a raucous voice shouted
Page 619 and 620:
follow them? These were nebulous qu
Page 621 and 622:
must inevitably accumulate at the b
Page 623 and 624:
The harbour itself looked exactly t
Page 625 and 626:
turning and backing down to a berth
Page 627 and 628:
skylight, and then joined his mate
Page 629 and 630:
landed and strutted off in high dud
Page 631 and 632:
I was abaft the wheel also, though
Page 633 and 634:
and least familiar was, I made out,
Page 635 and 636:
igid conditions of this cruise, whi
Page 637 and 638:
to clean planks and a warm cuddy. W
Page 639 and 640:
shores. Indulgent reader, you may b
Page 641 and 642:
Norderney beamed under transient mo
Page 643 and 644:
the Dulcibella, and swim the rest.
Page 645 and 646:
no one could come, there being no d
Page 647 and 648:
channel of a navigable breadth, at
Page 649 and 650:
of running aground had told me that
Page 651 and 652:
28 We Achieve our Double Aim WHEN,
Page 653 and 654:
'Is Dollmann at the villa?' 'Yes.'
Page 655 and 656:
'I think so; by the Kormoran's men.
Page 657 and 658:
'Clara?' _ 'She's_ all right. By Jo
Page 659 and 660:
ironical laugh). 'You fools,' he sa
Page 661 and 662:
side! Böhme and the rest were deal
Page 663 and 664:
'What did you say about immunity, a
Page 665 and 666:
Dulcibella--now, at once.' She had
Page 667 and 668:
tam-o'-shanter, was a miracle of co
Page 669 and 670:
een lying in a sort of trance. A bo
Page 671 and 672:
it of beating between Rottum and Bo
Page 673 and 674:
Epilogue BY THE EDITOR [For this ch
Page 675 and 676:
command of the North Sea which woul
Page 677 and 678:
minute detail, but in the grasp of
Page 679 and 680:
mechanism, but for the study of riv
Page 681 and 682:
so secure. The only logical alterna
Page 683 and 684:
taken that anything that did do so
Page 685 and 686:
eyes of the curious. [Memmert, by t
Page 687 and 688:
positively that there exist (in a p
Page 689 and 690:
the essence of such an enterprise.
Page 691 and 692:
we may have it to-day and lose it f
Page 693 and 694:
Lastly, a Manning Committee has (am
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