my part, thought little ill of that, for it held in that quarter
till we were fairly among the sands of the Thames mouth at
nightfall, and Kenulf lit lanterns by which we might follow him. No
man knew the Thames-mouth channels better than our pilot, Kenulf
the sea crafty, as we called him.

Then it fell dead calm, quite suddenly, and we drifted, with the
sail flapping against the mast idly, for half an hour or so. Then
fell on us, without warning, such a fierce gale as I had never
before seen, blowing from north and west, with rain and bright
lightning, and it raised in five minutes a sea that broke over us
again and again as Thormod brought the ship head to wind.

Then I lost sight of Kenulf's lights, and as I clung to the rail,
my mind was torn with longing to be back in my own ship in this
danger, though I knew that Kenulf needed me not, and that, had I
been there, it would but have been to obey him with the rest of our
crew; yet I think that any man who loves his ship will know what I
felt.

And of the fury and darkness of that night I will say little. This
is what comes into my mind of all that happened--aye, and at night,
when the wind roars round the house, I see it all again, waking in
my dreams as I call to Kenulf. One flash of lightning showed me my
ship dismasted and helpless, drifting broadside on to a sand over
which the waves broke white and angry, and when the next flash
came--she was gone!

Then I cried out on my folly in leaving her, and out of the
blackness beside me as I clung to the gunwale, straining my eyes