Trafika Europe 1 - Northern Idyll

He had something to eat and went to the shed and got out some nails and two hammers and practised hammering on the anvil. He found some tar and hemp, heated the tar in a bucket on a primus and cut two lengths of hemp. After dinner Barbro joined him and lay on a rug under the boat holding a rock while Lars lay inside and hammered the rivets home. It now had a light-coloured board and a light- coloured half rib, contrasting with the other timber which was black with tar. They launched the boat, jumped on board and drifted in the wind. A few drops seeped in. Barbro said they had done a good job. What about the helm? Lars said he would fix it the next day. They rowed around the headland, pulled the boat ashore and set it upright. Barbro walked home. Lars collected a few buckets of sea water and poured enough into the boat to cover the repair so that the boards would expand. When he had finished they had swollen. He went to the new landing stage where he disentangled and repaired the line they had saved. He wondered if he should wash it as well.

Wash tackle in mid-season?

He decided not to, and instead slung the line-holders with the rest of the tackle on the baiting bench. It was dark and snowing heavily as he walked home. In the kitchen window he spotted a face. It was Felix, who had got up and was waiting for him.

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