He strove to curb that tendency and fancied
he was succeeding, but when, after being afloat a good quarter of an
hour, he still failed to see land or hear the break of waves on the
beach he was both puzzled and annoyed. The sun pierced the mist hotly
and he was soon panting and perspiring. He heartily wished that he had
never agreed to accompany Han on the search for eggs. Presently he
rested on his oars, and as he did so he heard voices quite close. He
called.
"Hello, there! Where's the beach?"
"Here," was the answer.
He rowed on and in another minute land came abruptly out of the fog. Two
blurred forms resolved themselves into men as Perry beached the dingey
and tiredly dropped the oars. The men came toward him and proved, on
nearer acquaintance, to be middle-aged and apparently natives. "Quite a
fog," drawled one of them. "What boat you from, sir?"
"The _Adventurer_." Perry viewed the immediate foreground with
misgiving. The beach looked more abrupt than he recalled it. "What
beach is this?" he inquired.
"Well, I don't know as it's got any name exactly. What beach was you
lookin' for?"
"The beach between Vineyard Haven and--and some other place."
"Oh, West Chop? Why, that's across the harbour, son.
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