Saltus Grammar School - Yearbook (Hamilton, Bermuda)

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29 could. You help me to take these bottom board off, they will help to keep us up. Harry, let slack on that mainsail. That ' s right, now we ' re set even if we do sink. But the boat won ' t sink, said Harry, It ' s made of wood. What with the weight of the wet sails, (for they had got wet from the spray) and the centreboard, I ' m afraid it mi ght. At any rate, Daddy will soon be here and he will rescue us. At that moment a wave came over the side, and the boat was already half-full. Be ready! said Dick. Keep a tight hold on this board, if it does sink, Arnold! At that moment they could hear the engines of their father ' s motor boat. Just as they thought the boat was going to sink, the keel touched some- thing hard. Then the Fleet-wing stopped sinking for it was resting on some rocks. About a minute afterwards they were pulled onto their father ' s boat. The Fleetwing was then secured to the back of the motor boat, and when Dick asked if it would sink, his father laughed and said, Of course it won ' t, it ' s made of wood. Told you so, said Harry, who had recovered from his scare. The motor-boat soon reached home, and although Dick was scolded, his father knew that he was not to be blamed, and had the Fleet-wing repaired for him. Beavis, IV. ICARUS AND DAEDALUS I was drawing my plans for King Minos of Crete when I made a mis- take which he did not like. He said that if I did not have it corrected by morning, he would imprison me. I left it behind and forgot to correct it. I came the next morning, and he asked if I had finished it. I told him I had not. He said that I was to go to prison with my son, Icarus. As my son and I sat at the window of our prison, I was wondering how we could escape. I was watching for hours a seagull sailing through the air. He would flap his great wings and range for a while looking for his young ones. After he had fed them, he began to teach them one after the other to fly. They could flap their tiny wings and flutter about, while he would get underneath them and help them to fly. As I watched them, I though of a plan. A week or two after, some feathers floated in at my window. I piled them up, till I thought I had enough to make a pair of wings for myself and a small pair for my son. I found some wax in the holes in the wall. I moulded it out in the shape of a wing and carefully fitted the feathers in it. I learned how to fly and taught my son too. I told him not to fly too high or the sun would melt the wax and the feathers would drop out, or too low for the mist of the earth would make him lose his way and he would fall and be killed. Finally we could fly very well.

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28 But as the boat was only a small one, it went backwards under his feet, the result being that poor Arnold fell short of his mark. Luckily, however, it was not deep where he fell, and although he-got soaked up to the waist, he managed to keep his shirt dry. You silly idiot! said Dick, this is the way you spoil all our outings! I ' m sorry, said Arnold, but I did not mean to! I know you didn ' t mean to, but you must be more careful. Now haul down that mainsail, Harry, and drop the anchor. Harry soon did this, and they joined Arnold, who had clambered ashore, and who was shivering and looking very doleful. They then all broke into a run, heading for a little hill where they could command a view of the Island. This they climbed, Dick being the first one on top. I say, he said, panting from his exertions, It ' s getting awfully windy, and I think we ' d better go home soon. Not yet, said Harry. We can have a look round first. So they clambered down again and ran towards the other end of the island. I ' ll be first one there, shouted Dick, who was outstepping the others by a good bit. At that moment, though, there was a grunt and a rush, and a wild boar sprang out at him, its front teeth only just missing Dick ' s legs, and Dick pulling out a large knife, ran behind a tree. The others followed his example, for they all had knives. Look out, Harry! shouted Dick, he ' s coming for you! Harry was only just in time in springing aside, and as the boar passed him, he threw his knife, point first, into its m outh. The boar tossed his head trying to get rid of the knife that way, but the knife stuck firmly in. Finding that it would not come out, it charged away into the bush, squealing all the time, and disappeared. I think I ' ve had enough of it, said Arnold, who was very white, in a quivering voice, Let ' s go home. They were soon in the boat again and after having had some refresh- ments, they started out. The wind was blowing out to sea, which made progress very slow. They went in waters that they had never been in before, having to make wide tacks. Just at the end of one of these taks, Arnold saw a boat in the distance. That ' s Daddy come out to look for us, cried Arnold, I do hope he can see us. Just as he finished the sentence there was a terrific bump and a large hole appeared in the boat ' s bottom. Dick let go of the tiller, jam- ming his coat down the hole. The result of Dick ' s letting go of the tiller was that the boat came about again and hit the very same rock that it hit before. This made another hole appear in the bottom, and the boat began filling quickly. We shall be drowned, cried Arnold. Not today, at any rate, said Dick, who was being as cheerful as he

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30 I waited for a day when the winds were light. I got through the window and told my son to follow me. I saw that his wings were secure, then we jumped off and rose up in the air. The people thought that we were gods as we were flying for a distant island. My son kept flying higher and higher till the heat of the sun melted the wax; the feathers began to drop out, and he started to fall. I heard a great cry and flew back to help him, but when I got there, I saw nothing but the feathers floating about, which told me that he was drowned. I flew to the nearest Island and hung my wings on an altar as an offering, and promised never to use them again. I named the island Icaria after my son, John Pitt, II, A TEST FOR ANY SAILOR It was not until late in the afternoon of June 6th, 1926, that we had com- pleted the task of preparing our small yawl for her long sea voyage, which we were to begin the following day. At five o ' clock the next morning we slowly glided out over the reefs at the western end of Bermuda, just in time to witness the rising of the sun, which cast a beautiful golden glow over the eastern heavens. With the cool southerly morning breeze, which freshened slightly as we entered the great Atlantic, we soon were gliding swiftly on our way with her bows headed for the great American Continent in a north-westerly direction. We left our beautiful Bermuda behind us in the faint mist which still hung over the sleeping isle, covering its low wave-like hills with its greyish beauty. By noon the faint grey line of Bermuda which had grown fainter and fainter in the distance, had completely vanished, leaving us only with the sub-tropical sun blazing down on our deck, the long rolling ocean and the ever refreshing sea breeze, which never failed to give us an excellent appetite. All afternoon the wind kept at a steady rate, but by sun-set it freshened, and blew a stiff night breeze from the east, which sent our little craft through the water at about twelve knots. The sun-set was beautiful, with its grand golden glow reflecting on the clouds that appeared to nestle around it, whilst the whole ocean seemed to shine with its brilliance. Gradually it changed: the sky became dimmer, and the sea darker with a greyish blackness that makes one feel lonely and depressed. Then came the profound greyness of the entire surroundings, save for the ocean which had become jet black and more angry looking than before. It seemed to heave our little craft up and down angrily with some unknown vengeance that never seemed to cease, but only to become more angry with the inky blackness of the mid-Atlantic night. Having lit our starboard and port lights, and lashed her helm, we went below lo her small but comfortable cabin, where we spent most of the evening listening to the old seaman Vic tell yarns of his adventures.