“I am the only one left who remembers it,” he said. “I was only a boy. The men saw some French boats out to the south, and thought that they could trade with them. They would take out chicken, mutton, dried fish and bring back tea, salt, perhaps even brandy. Trading like that happened often in those days. All the men went out. They preferred to be out with the boats to staying here and working on the harvest. The harvest was late that year. It was thought to be women’s work. Even boys of my age went with them, but they wouldn’t let me go and I had to stay with my mother and my sisters.

“It was a fine day. We watched the men row off towards the ships. They were all in good spirits, thinking of the drams they would have there and the brandy they would bring back. I wanted to be with them. We were in the field, stacking the sheaves into stooks to dry. We were working all afternoon. Then, all of a sudden there was such a wind that all the stooks were blown flat. I have never known a wind like it, coming out of nothing. It blew all night and it was so fierce that we were frightened to go outside. Our hen house was blown right away with all the birds inside it. The men did not come home. The wind blew the next day as strong as ever. Eventually the boats started to come back but most of the men were lost. My father was drowned, and my uncle and my brother. Some boats had just one man alive inside. Most were washed up empty. It was a terrible time.

“Most of the men that came back alive were Stennets, and the Dances who were left said that the Stennets let their men drown to save themselves. I think it was just chance. They say that the Stennets and the Dances have never been friendly since, but myself, I don’t think that was caused by the storm. I remember rows between them before then. There was a lot of bad feeling when Ellie Dance went sick in the head. She was engaged to be married to Stuart, her first cousin, and he was one of the men that were lost. Perhaps it was because there were no other young men left for her to marry that she went so mad. She never seemed to sleep. She was so mad that they had to lock her up in the post office, and she howled like a chained dog. I can still remember the howling. Then one night she got loose and threw herself over the cliff. That’s why it was named Ellie’s Head.”

At first Sarah could not believe what he was saying. It was just a good story.