When we were out in the deep water I looked along the line of the
shore for the opposition boat; but I found she was already further
out than ourselves, looking like a pleasure yacht, with her newly
painted hull and clean white canvas--a contrast to the dingy brown
sail and the scratched and worn hull of the Curlew.
My uncle Mansie, who sat quite near to me, told me that the new
boat was called the St. Magnus--after the patron saint of
Orkney--and I noticed that he spoke very lightly of her as a
sailer. I asked him if he did not think she would beat us in this
race; but he assured me there was no fear of it, for that though
Kinlay had the start of us, yet he had not the advantage of a well
trained and disciplined crew, and his ropes were too new to run
free.
There was little chance of a race, however, in the calm bay, and my
uncle, not wishing Kinlay to see that we were taking any interest
in his movements, drew my attention away from the St. Magnus by
asking me some questions about my viking's stone. He said that, now
I had made a start in coming out in the boat, I might stand a
better chance of proving the virtue of my talisman, more especially
if I should be bold enough to come out on some dark, stormy night,
when there would be some danger. Then some of the other men,
hearing us, asked me to show them the magic stone, and it went
round the whole company for inspection.
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