That craft two miles ahead
of us is a foreigner. You can see her sail has a longer yard than the
others, and the sail is narrower at the bottom than it is at the top. Those
two or three small craft you see more inshore have passed through the
channel we shall follow into the Wallet The farthest one is going on to
Harwich, the others into the rivers. There is a craft about our own size
hull down close by the land. She may be going to Harwich, or may be going
on north. She looks to me like a foreigner. If so, she has come last from
London. French and Flemish ships do not come within fifty miles of this.
And now I must go down. We do the cooking, and breakfast must be ready in
half an hour, or the master will be storming at us."
The wind held steadily from the south-west, and the vessel ran along near
the shore in smooth water. The armourer had been ill the first night, but
he came on deck soon after breakfast, and when once the vessel was past the
mouth of Harwich Bay and was close inland, he soon recovered. On the
morning of the fourth day after leaving port she entered the mouth of the
Humber, and by nine o'clock arrived at Hull. Landing at once the armourer
found a small vessel on the point of starting for York, and in half an hour
from the time of weighing anchor the tide turned, and they ran rapidly
along, helped by the flood.
"At what time will you reach York?" the armourer asked the master.
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