He then went to his cabin and consulted
his chart; and, having worked his problem, came hastily on deck, and went
from rashness to wonderful caution. "Turn the hands out, and heave the
ship to!"
The manoeuvre was executed gradually and ably, and scarce a bucketful of
water shipped. "Furl taupsles and set the main trysail! There, Mr. Dodd,
so much for you and your Isle of Wight. The land you saw was Dungeness,
and _you_ would have run on into the North Sea, I'll be bound."
When a man, habitually calm, turns anxious, he becomes more irritable;
and the mixture of timidity and rashness he saw in Robarts made Dodd very
anxious.
He replied angrily, "At all events, I should not make a foul wind out of
a fair one by heaving to; and if I did, I would heave to on the right
tack."
At this sudden facer--one, too, from a patient man--Robarts staggered a
moment. He recovered, and with an oath ordered Dodd to go below, or he
would have him chucked into the hold.
"Come, don't be an ass, Robarts," said Dodd contemptuously.
Then, lowering his voice to a whisper, "Don't you know the men only want
such an order as that to chuck you into the sea?"
Robarts trembled.
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