e air above me
was filled with a series of wild yells, as if a million souls were in
agony. The gale had struck us, and for an instant I felt as if my breath
were driven back into my lungs, so great was the pressure of the wind in
my face. The ship heeled over till her lee scuppers ran two feet deep in
bubbling water.

"'Down with your helm! Hard down!' shouted the Captain.

"Slowly the vessel's head came up, and she righted herself. She was now
close-hauled, and she began to thresh out to windward with a fearful
bellowing of the wind out of the straining main-topsail. There was no
sea yet; on the contrary, the terrific force of the wind cut down the
great swells, and blew the ocean out flat in a sheet of ghostly foam.
But that did not last long. The sea began to run, and the _Ellen Burgee_
began to rear and plunge over the ragged crests, and to thunder down
into the black hollows that looked like clefts extending to the bottom
of the ocean. At daybreak a mad, a crazy sea presented itself to the
sight. The effect of the gale blowing at right angles to the original
swell was to pile up the billows in great writhing pyramidal masses. The
ship labored and groaned fearfully. Tons of water broke over the
forecastle deck, and the Captain was alarmed lest the deck seams should
open. At six bells in the morning watch the main-topsail blew out of the
bolt-ropes with a report like a gun's, and went swirling away into the
flying spoondrift down on our lee quarter. A stay-sail was set to do the
main-topsail's work, but nothing would prevent the ship from falling so
far off at times that the seas broke on her decks in masses. All day
long she was driven by the wind, and pounded by the seas. Our drift was
something frightful, but it was not much out of our course. At four
bells in the first watch, ten o'clock at night--but I forget you know
all the bells--the carpenter reported a foot of water in the hold. Then
began the heart-breaking business of working the pumps. All night long I
heard the weary clank, clank, under-running, as it were, the yelling of
the wind, the roaring of the sea, and the groaning of the stricken ship.
At daylight the gale broke, and a few hours later there was only a
gigantic swell to tell the story of the storm. But the _Ellen Burgee_
had received her death warrant. She was slowly filling under us in spite
of all that we could do. The Captain gave orders to prepare to abandon
ship. The crew was at work at th