ment by a lurch to starboard that carried
away the lashings of the chair; and, in an instant she and the steward
and stewardess, along with Master Negus, were rolling to leeward on the
floor amongst the dunnage, the whole quartette sputtering and splashing
in the sea-water, and vainly endeavouring for some time to rise, for the
"Major," first clutching one and then the other as they were scrambling
to their legs, hampered their efforts without improving her own position
in the least.

At last, by the aid of Mr McCarthy and the sailors, the good lady was
pulled up on to her feet and assisted into her cabin, where lying back
in her berth, she loudly inveighed against the conduct of everyone,
particularly selecting the Captain, in her outpour of indignation, for
putting to sea when he must have known, as she held, that a storm was
coming on; he had only done it, she was certain, in order to annoy her
and put her life in peril!

In the midst of her diatribe--which was listened to by no one, for the
mate and sailors had returned on deck after completing the job that had
brought them down in thorough ship-shape fashion, and the steward and
stewardess, now that they had got my lady to her bunk, were trying to
make matters more comfortable in the saloon--Mrs Major Negus suddenly
bethought herself of her young hopeful, of whose existence she had been
awhile oblivious while attending to her own woes.

"Maurice!" cried she, in accents whose shrillness rose above the roar of
the waves and the groaning of the ship's timbers, "Maurice, come here at
once, sir, I order you!"

But, lo and behold! no Maurice made his, appearance; nor did he respond
to his mother's heart-rending appeal. The young scamp had sneaked up
the companion, unperceived by the mate, and was now on deck in high glee
at his freedom from maternal thraldom, watching the battle of the
elements and the struggle of the ship against the supremacy of the wind
and waves, that were vying with each other to overwhelm her.

The boy stood on the lee side of the poop, and was looking over the side
at the wreck of the fore-topgallant mast, which was still attached to
the ship by the stay and braces of the yard, the men not yet having time
to cut it adrift--all hands being busy in doing what was possible to
save the main-topgallant mast, that had begun to show signs of giving
way.

Nobody knew he was there, or that he was on deck at all, till Mr
Meldrum happened suddenly to