We came up through the companion-way on to the silence of the deserted poop. The mist had thickened up, even during the brief time that I had been below, and there was not a breath of wind. The mist was so dense that it seemed to press in upon us, and the two lamps made a kind of luminous halo in the mist, which seemed to absorb their light in a most peculiar way.
'Where was he?' The captain asked me almost in a whisper.
'On the port side sir' I said 'a little foreside the charthouse and about a dozen feet in from the rail. I'll show you the exact place'.
We went for'ard along what had been the weather side, going quietly and watchfully, though indeed, it was little enough that we could see, because of the mist. Once, as I led the way, I thought I heard a vague sound somewhere in the mist, but unsure because of the slow creak, creak of the spars and gear as the vessel rolled slightly upon an odd, oily swell. Apart from this slight sound, and the far-up rustle of the canvas slatting gently against the masts, there was no sound of all throughout the ship. I assure you the silence seemed to me to be almost menacing, in the tense, nervous state in which I was'.
[The Thing in the Weeds, Hodgson, W. H.]
- submitted by M. A. Pearce
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