“Where’s Bill, Joe?”

“The young scamp!” the fisherman said angrily.  “Nothing will do for him but to go a-climbing up the cliffs this morning; and just after you left us, news comes that the young varmint had fallen down and twisted his foot, and doctor says it will be a fortnight afore he can put a boot on.  Then the old woman began a-crying over him; while, as I told her, if any one ought to cry it would be me, who’s got to hire another boy in his place to do his work.  A touch of the strap would be the best thing for him, the young rascal!”

“You are not going to take another boy out to-night are you, Joe?”

“No, Master Conway, I knows you like a-doing things.  You have been out enough with me to know as much about it as Bill, and after all there ain’t a very great deal to do.  The trawl ain’t a heavy one, and as I am accustomed to work it with Bill I can do it with you.”

The Heartsease was a good-sized half-decked boat of some twenty-six feet long and eight feet beam.  She was very deep, and carried three tons of stone ballast in her bottom.  She drew about six feet of water.  She had a lot of freeboard, and carried two lug-sails and a small mizzen.

They got in the small boat and rowed off to her.

“There was no call for you to bring that basket, Master Conway.  I know you are fond of a fish fried just when it is taken out of the water; and I have got bread and a keg of beer, to say nothing of a mouthful of spirits in case we get wet.  Not that it looks likely we shall, for I doubts if there will be any rain to-night I think there will be more wind perhaps, and that it will get thicker; that’s my view of the weather.”

They sailed straight out to sea.  Joe had fitted his boat to be worked with the aid of a boy only.  He had a handy winch, by which he hoisted his heavy lug-sails, and when the weather was rough hauled up his trawls.  Of these he carried two, each fourteen feet long, and fished with them one out on each quarter.  When he reached the fishing ground six miles out, Joe lowered the mizzen lug and reefed the main, for there was plenty of wind to keep the boat going at the pace required for trawling under the reduced sail.  Then the trawls were got overboard, each being fastened to the end of a stout spar lashed across the deck, and projecting some eight feet on either side, by which arrangement the trawls were kept well apart.  They were hauled alternately once an hour, two hours being allowed after they were put down before the first was examined.

By the time the first net came up the sun had set.  The wind had freshened a bit since they had started, but there was no sea to speak of.  The night had set in thick, and the stars could only occasionally be seen.  Joe had picked out two or three fine fish from the first haul, and these he took down and soon had frizzling in a frying-pan over the fire, which he had lighted as soon as the boat was under sail.