United States or Palau ? Vote for the TOP Country of the Week !
She was a farmer's daughter, with no notion for a change of environment; wherefore she had determined Kent's career and the scene of it, laying its lines in the narrow field of her own choosing. Later, as Loring knew, the sentimental anchor had dragged until it was hopelessly off holding-ground.
The men caught at the idea and went to work willingly; the water casks were started, the pumps set going, and everything that could be spared was thrown over to lighten the ship; but the anchor still dragged from the strength of the current and bad holding-ground; and Philip and Krantz perceived that they were swept further on the bank.
Year by year and age by age did these humble plants extract their nourishment from the murky vapors that shrouded the earth, and, after fashioning those gases into a living tissue of stems and leaves, year after year did they die and lay their remains upon the rocks, accumulating by slow steps a soil which would in time be capable of giving holding-ground to mightier plants.
These were feverish moments, for the ship was now so near the reef as to render her situation very insecure in the event of the wind's rising, or of a sea's getting up, the sand of the bottom being too hard to make good holding-ground.
The first mate, as he looked towards the shore, ordered the lead to be hove, but no bottom was found. "I doubt if there is any holding-ground till close in-shore," observed Mr Henley. "I pray that we may find a breeze to carry us away from it before we get much nearer." "More likely to have one to drive us on to it," answered the first mate, in a gloomy tone.
Towering structures hewn by water and wind from the basalt mass of the island rose like colossi along the entrance to the bay; beyond, a glimpse of great black battlements framed a huge crater. A dangerous bay in the lee wind with a bad holding-ground. We manoeuvered for ten minutes to land, but the shelving beach of black stone with no rim of sand proved a puzzle even to Grelet.
Our anchorage this time was on the south side of the singular natural fortification I have before described; and whilst there we were placed in some anxiety by being caught in a gale from the eastward. The holding-ground, however, being very good, and a strong outset sweeping out of the bay round the south side of the head, lessened the strain on the cables.
"Here," said Leif, "is a land worth visiting, I believe. Let us cast anchor in the lew of the island for the night; and to-morrow we will row up the frith yonder and see what we shall see." They found good holding-ground under the island, and then, as the light was good for several hours yet, launched the boat and rowed to the shore.
The fellow affirmed he knew the place well, and that the holding-ground on each side of it was excellent, consenting at once to a proposition of mine to bring up under its lee. We edged off, therefore, for this point, making the necessary preparations for bringing up. I was too busy in getting in canvas to note the progress of the ship for the next twenty minutes.
The extreme point of palms they had just passed enclosed a creek, which was thus hidden up to the last moment from the eyes of those on board; and from this a boat put suddenly and briskly out, and a voice hailed. "Schooner ahoy!" it cried. "Stand in for the pier! In two cables' lengths you'll have twenty fathoms water and good holding-ground."
Word Of The Day