They could do more than we, for in the meantime the
Lydia was herself running into some danger, drifting outward with
the current.
I spent no time in expressions of regret or lamentation over the
calamity that had befallen the men of the Curlew; but, feeling that
it was in some measure my duty to undertake the work my father had
set out to perform, I told Captain Gordon the best course to take
to cheat the tide, and gave him such advice as only a person
acquainted with Hoy Sound could possibly give. Under these
directions the barque was guided through the easiest channels into
the smooth water inside the Holms, where the anchor was dropped and
the vessel secured.
Captain Gordon, who had been very kind to me during all this time,
procured me a can of hot coffee to send away my chill. He then
threw a warm pea jacket over my trembling shoulders, and came
ashore with us in the small boat that Jessie and Thora had taken
the use of. He also accompanied us to our home to break the sad
news to our mother--a mission in which he showed a fine tenderness
and sympathy of heart.
Chapter XXII. After The Accident.
The sad catastrophe in Hoy Sound cast a gloom over the little town
of Stromness, where the unfortunate men had been held in great
respect. By the fishers and sailors of the island Sandy Ericson had
been regarded as a sort of chief.
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