The upturned boat lay beached on the deserted shore, save for an emaciated woman sitting stock-still beside it…
At daybreak, a gale broke upon the scene. It viciously unmoored the boat, flinging it into a seething vortex of water, where it thrashed briefly before listing to one side and lurching away beyond sight. The storm then blew over.
The Port-Police, when summoned, arrived at full pelt. They rescued the boat and the haul of hilsa from under the bilge. The fisherboy, still fast asleep, floated back hours later, exactly where the boat had stood, tethered, bobbing.