Sally port

“ He had chosen it because it stood just at the head of a short street leading to a certain wharf—Hazen's Wharf; and because from its windows one could see the length of the street and the length of the wharf and note what was going on there and how many vessels were fitting. The number of vessels that were fitting was surprisingly great, even now, and Sally could see their yards sticking out over the wharf, although their hulls were mostly hidden behind projecting buildings. That view from his office windows had saved Mr. Hazen many steps in the course of a long life. ”

“ Sally-ports, or postern-gates, as they are sometimes called, are those underground passages, which lead from the inner to the outward works; such as from the higher flank to the lower, to the tenailles, or the communication from the middle of the curtain to the ravelin. When they are constructed for the passage of men only, they are made with steps at the entrance and outlet. ”

“ Miles from a railway, miles from the nearest town, only to be reached, unless one went to it by sea, along a most difficult and tortuous road that ended by throwing one down a precipice on to a ferry-boat which took one across the Fal and shot one out at the foot of another precipice,—or so the two hills seemed to Jocelyn and his mother, who had to push their bicycles up them—he considered it the place of places to hide his honeymoon in; to hide, that is, the precious and conspicuous Sally. ”

“ Even while speaking he swung a fat fish over the rail, and from that moment the most enthusiastic fisherman aboard was Tom Falonna.
The eager fish even allowed themselves to be caught by the "baby," and little Joey screamed with delight as he brought over the rail a tiny "tinker" gorgeous in hues of blue, green, pink and white.
"Talk about luck on the first cruise!" Mr. Rowe cried when it seemed as if the "Sally's" deck was completely covered with the beautiful fish. "To strike a school so near inshore at this time of year is enough to make a man sit up an' look at himself ”

“ There was a brief pause while Sally, at a loss, stared out over the shining harbour, now more than ever sensible of the profound, peaceful beauty of its azure floor over which bright sails swung and swayed like slim, tall ladies treading a measure of some stately dance. ”

“ A sleigh turned the next corner suddenly, and a look of anxiety came into Mr. Hazen's face. "That's Cap'n Forsyth," he said. "A most reckless driver. It's best to give him the road if we can."
Sally recognized the captain, in an old blue sleigh, very strongly built. The captain had need of vehicles that were strongly built and he had them built to his order, like a ship. He was standing up in the sleigh and urging on his horse, which was on the dead run. Captain Forsyth kept the middle of the road and made no attempt to turn out. ”

“ Better do your crowin' now, 'cause you won't have a chance after twenty-four hours have gone by!"
"I'm allowin' Eliakim's bark is worse'n his bite," Uncle Ben said placidly, as the commander of the "Sally D." ran forward much as though time was very precious just then. "But what is the poor creeter countin' on doin'? Surely, he don't allow to sail the schooner alone!"
"He's liable to allow anything," Mr. Rowe replied, and then the conversation ceased as those on the beach watched the captain of the schooner. ”

“ With sails flat amidships, the boat shot straight backwards. As they started to clear the stern of the boat that was to starboard, Sally let the tiller move over to that side. The bow of the Cat’s Paw began to swing to starboard.
Not until then, did Penny observe that the Spindrift was tied up only a few boat-lengths away. Jack, armed with several bottles of pop, came hurriedly from the clubhouse. Noting Sally’s spectacular departure, he joined the throng at the railing.
“We’ll give the crowd a real thrill,” Sally muttered, keeping her voice low so that it would not carry over the water. ”

“ Sally’s chief delight is wallowing. No matter what part of the ship’s deck she may select for her operations—whether the scuppers, the quarter-deck, or the forecastle—she lays her down straightway for a luxurious wallow. If the spot be dirty, she wallows it clean; if it be clean, she wallows it dirty. This might seem an awkward habit to an English mother; but it is a matter of supreme indifference to Sally’s mother, who sits on a gun-carriage plaiting a mat of cocoa-nut fibre, for Sally, being naked, requires little washing. ”

“ The whirr of it all, the whizz and bang of it, the whole effect of it all, was, to any man interested in the development of ore, a great forward impetus that swung him far out, limp and dizzy.
"Waiting for you, Mr. Madeira!" cried a man, who fairly shone with enthusiasm, and whose voice tinkled gladly as he came across to the hitching rail where Miss Madeira had stopped her horses. "Mighty glad to see you, Miss Sally—Mr. Steering, glad to meet you, sir. Here you, Mike! come and look after these horses. ”

“ That road had been unequaled for beauty, thirty years before. Sally had heard Patty speak of it often, mourning its loss. She, herself, had seen great stretches of that shore taken by the mills within the past ten years, and she had not known enough to speak or even to care. The people were mill-mad—or sleeping. Well—and Sally sighed—a haughty spirit before destruction; just before it, she hoped. A thousand times rather the few hardened sailor-men in their place than that horde everywhere. ”

“ Drifting in from the north, where fogs are born, it hid every ship of the convoy from Sally’s view.
Turning, she walked bravely along the deck, climbed down the ladder, entered her room, threw herself on her berth, and sobbed her heart out to an empty world.
Finally, she sat up resolutely, and her eyes fell on the secret radio. Here was an idea, perhaps a way out. Danny was out there on the sea. He must be. His plane carried a rubber raft. She would not give up hope. ”

“ Jest think how the table will look when we have real crockery dishes on it! Talk 'bout cookin'! If a feller can't spread hisself with all them things to use, he oughter bag his head!"
The "Sally D.'s" cargo was not on board until nearly noon, when no less than twenty women and men came over the rail to be taken to the island, and a merry crew they made. Little Joey had never been petted to such an extent in all his short life, while Sam and Tom received quite as much attention as if they had been freaks straight from a dime museum, instead of very ordinary boys. ”

“ Sally glanced for a moment toward the factory but made no mention of her unpleasant experience there. “Pop and I stay alone at night on the Queen,” she explained as they approached the ferry. “Our crew is made up of men who live in town, so usually they go home after the six o’clock run.”
Skillfully bringing the Cat’s Paw alongside the anchored Queen, she shouted for her father to help Penny up the ladder. Making the smaller craft secure for the night, she followed her to the deck. ”

“ So Mother and Sally and Alice, carrying Jack Tar, walked home along the rocky shore. The sea breeze blew their hair about their ears. The waves thundered up among the rocks and broke into creamy foam. The boats in the harbor danced up and down and bobbed about on the tossing gray water.
Then, suddenly, the sun shone out, warm and golden, and turned the whole world into blue and white. Blue sky, blue waves, white boats, and great white clouds! ”

“ I've been thinking that if that wood was from an old, wrecked vessel, we might perhaps find something on it somewhere that would give us a clue."
"That's so," said Sally. "I hadn't thought of that before."
With this in mind, they entered the cave, lit the candle, seated Genevieve on the chair with a bag of candy in her lap for solace, and proceeded to their task.
"The only way to find anything is just to scrape off all we can of this mold," announced Sally. "You take one side, and I'll take the other and we'll use these sticks. It won't be an easy job." ”

“ She was pretty, cleanly dressed, had on white stockings, and sported a neat foot and ankle.
"Take care, Sally," said the mother; "keep stroke, or you will catch a crab."
"Never fear, mother," said the confident Sally; and at the same moment, as if the very caution against the accident was the cause of it, the blade of her scull did not dip into the water. The oar meeting no resistance, its loom, or handle, came back upon the bosom of the unfortunate Sally, tipped her backwards—up went her heels in the air, and down fell her head into the bottom of the boat. ”

“ To the Tender ship, you see;
“To the Tender ship,” cried Sally Brown,
"What a hard-ship that must be!
“Oh! would I were a mermaid now,
For then I'd follow him;
But oh! I'm not a fish-woman,
And so I cannot swim. ”

“ When Penny reached the dock next morning she found that Sally had preceded her by many hours. The varnished wood of the Cat’s Paw shone in the sunlight. Below the waterline, the boat was as smooth and slippery as glass.
“Isn’t she beautiful?” Sally asked proudly, squeezing water from a sponge she had been using. “The rigging has been overhauled, and Pop came through at the last minute with a new jib sail. Every rope has been changed too.” ”

“ When it’s not hampered by a convoy, our ship can do close to thirty knots. We’ll steer a straight course. It won’t be long, once we are on our way.”
Sally did not say: “Long before what?” She knew he meant long before they reached the spot where Danny had last been seen.
“The Skipper never forgets one of his boys,” had been Riggs’s word for it. “And he never fails to do all he can for them.”
On the second day Nancy remained on board, but Sally and Danny’s mother once again went ashore. ”

“ Lifting up Sally with much tenderness, Young carried her to her mother, who, after a not very careful examination of the bruised head, set her down on the deck, where she immediately began to wallow as before. Rising on her brown little feet, she staggered forward a few paces, and then seated herself without bending her knees. From this position she rolled towards the starboard side of the ship and squeezed herself between a gun-carriage and the bulwarks, until she got into the porthole. ”

“ The lads were not kept in suspense many moments. Within a quarter hour the "Sally D." was inside the cove; Rube Rowe let the anchor go with a rush, the sails were hauled down, but not furled, and with everything on the deck at sixes and sevens, Captain Doak jumped into the dory which was towing alongside, shouting impatiently to his solitary sailor:
"Bear a hand lively, Rube, for I ain't countin' on wastin' very much time over this job!"
"Lookin' for a boy on this 'ere island, an' the sun within half an hour of settin', is goin' to be a good deal like huntin' for a needle in a haystack," Mr. ”

“ It passed within three hundred yards of them, whistled a couple of times, and became small in the distance.
"Sam," said Sally, "in about an hour they'll be high and dry on the mud. Then not even a boat can get to them. And by the time it's high tide again it will be dark and nobody will see them, and they'll be dying of hunger and thirst."
"That's true," I said. "Sally, you explain that to them, and I'll have the men fetch one of the stable doors, and we'll put a sail on it and provision it and trust to its hitting the middle ground about where they did."
I never worked so hard in my life. ”

“ He took the money and touched his cap and said, "Thank you, miss," with perfect dignity. Yet my imagination must have been lively, for as he slipped it in his pocket, his look turned toward me, and for another breath of time a gleam of mischief—certainly mischief—flashed from his dark eyes to mine.
Then Sally, quite unconscious of this, perhaps imaginary, by-play, had an idea. "Are you a sailor?" she asked.
The man looked at her. "Yes—miss," he answered, a little slowly.
"We want to engage a boat and a man to take us out. Do you know of one? Have you a boat?" ”

“ For the present she could talk about the pier and take her audience for granted.
"But was it that Kensington Gardens business that did the job?" asked Sally, in the shadow of the breakwater, getting the black hair dry after three-quarters of an hour in the sea; because caps, you know, are all nonsense as far as keeping water out goes. So Sally had to sit ever so long with it out to dry. And the very tiny pebbles you can almost see into stick to your hands, as you know, and come off in your hair when you run them through it, and have to be combed out. At least, Sally's had. ”

“ Would he fight? He was under age, but Sally had heard him speak of such manly things as "duty" and "putting down wrong and holding up the right."
One thing she felt was certain. No one could [Pg 171] keep him out of the trouble if he felt it his duty to stay and help his country in her hour of need.
And now there was rejoicing when the Belle Virgeen came slowly up to the quay after having to pick her way midst unfriendly vessels that would gladly have swooped down upon her, taking her cargo and capturing her crew, had they quite dared. ”

“ The seam was long, straight, and monotonous, and Sally was restless and fidgety; her thread would catch in knots, and when she tried to loosen it, would break, and the needle had to be threaded over. Somehow the work was terribly irksome to her, and the house looked so still and dim and lonesome, and the tick-tock of the kitchen-clock was insufferable, and Sally let her work fall in her lap and looked out of the open window, [Pg 309] far to the open ocean, where a fresh breeze was blowing toward her, and her eyes grew deep and dreamy following the gliding ship sails. ”