He watched the foresail eagerly, for the moment to shout to Mark; the boat moved up towards the wind, then paused, hung, and began to fall back again. The wind blew her back. Bevis jammed the tiller down still harder, rose from his seat, bawled, "Mark! Mark!" but he was jerked back in a moment as she took the ground.
Mark seized a scull to push her off, when letting go the sheet the foresail flapped furiously, drawing the cord or rope through the staple as if it would snap it. Bevis, fearing the boat would turn over, let go the mainsheet, and then the mainsail flew over the left side, flapping and shaking the mast, while the sheet or rope struck the water and splashed it as if it were hit with a whip.
"Pull down the mainsail," shouted Bevis, stumbling forward.
"Hold tight," shouted Mark, giving a great shove with the scull. The boat came off, and Bevis was thrown down on the ballast. The wind took her before they could scramble into their places, and she drifted across the mouth of the Nile and grounded again.
"Down with the sail, I tell you," shouted Bevis in a rage. "Not that one--the big one."
Mark undid the cord or halyard, and down fell the mainsail into the boat, covering Bevis, who had to get out from under it before he could do anything.
"Did you ever see such a bother?" said Mark.
"How could I tell? She wouldn't come round."
"You ought to have had room to try twice."
"Let's go up the Nile and turn round, and get the sails up there," said Mark. "It will be such a flapping here."
Bevis agreed, and they pushed the boat along with the sculls a few yards up the Nile which was quite smooth there, while at the mouth the quick wavelets dashed against the shore. The bank of the river and the trees on it sheltered them while they turned the boat's head round, and carefully set the sails for another trial.
"We'll have two tries this time," said Bevis, "and we're sure to do it. If we can't tack, it's no use sailing."
When everything was ready, Mark rowed a few strokes with one oar till the wind began to fill the sails; then he shipped it, and sat down on the ballast on the windward side. The moment she was outside the Nile the splashing began, and Mark, to his great delight, felt a little spray in his face. "This is real sailing," he said.