ship rode over it as if she were a gull resting on the ocean.
Then the ugly wave formed a crest, curled upon itself, and with a heavy
boom broke into fragments of snowy foam.

I said to the men: "This wave has missed us." They answered in serious
voices, "And we must watch, for a more towering one will follow, as
there are always three of them going together, and this second one may
come and break over us."

These words were hardly uttered when I saw far off another mountainous
wave rolling up. I imagined it was Hroenn. It was so high as it neared us
that we could not see the horizon beyond; it looked fierce and
dangerous. Its crest gradually rose higher and higher, as if getting
ready to strike. Steadily Hroenn advanced. We are lost, and our ship is
sure to founder if her wave breaks over our stern. The faces of the
captain and men were serious. I said to myself: "If we get into the
whirlpool of its crest there will be no escape; we are sure to founder."

The wave broke about fifty yards before reaching us. It had become
harmless, but the foaming, scattered billows enveloped the ship in their
thick spray. It was a narrow escape; but we were saved thus far! Then in
the wake of the imaginary Hroenn rose another wave. I imagined Bylgja was
coming. It advanced slowly and angrily towards us, ready to sweep our
deck and to do the work the two others had tried to do and
missed--demolish our ship. It broke before reaching us with a loud boom,
making the sea a surging sheet of foam as white as snow for a long
distance. This was a beautiful sight. We gave a great shout of joy; we
had had a narrow escape.

After these three heavy seas came a lull. The captain said thoughtfully,
"Those are the waves that disable or founder ships and send them to the
bottom of the sea!"

[Illustration: "I saw a big towering wave rolling towards the stern of
the ship."]

We were indeed still in the midst of a great gale. But the captain and
our crew had thus far fought against the storm successfully. I thought
of the great Viking Half, and of his champions. It was their custom
always to lie before capes, never to put up a tent on board, and never
to reef a sail in a storm. Half had never more than sixty men on board
of his ship, nor could any one go with him who was not so hardy that he
never was afraid or changed countenance on account of his wounds. I
wondered if Half and his men had ever encountered such a storm as we
were having. If so h