Suddenly, without a moment's warning, the captain ordered them to return
on board.

"Hoist in the boats!" he shouted. "Be smart now, my lads!"

As the boats were being hoisted in, the spoon-drift began to fly across
the surface of the hitherto calm ocean, hissing along like sand on the
desert. The hitherto smooth undulations now quickly broke up into small
waves, increasing rapidly in size and length, with crests of foam
crowning their summits.

Directly the boats were secured, the captain shouted, "Hands shorten
sail!" The men with alacrity sprang into the rigging and lay out on the
yard. The three topsails were closely reefed; all the other square
sails were furled. There was a gravity in the look of the captain and
officers which, showed that they considered the position in which the
ship was placed very dangerous.

Dark clouds now came rushing across the sky, increasing in numbers and
density. Even before the men were off the yards, the hurricane struck
the frigate. Over she heeled to it, till it seemed as if she would not
rise again; but the spars were sound, the ropes good. Gradually she
again righted, and, though still heeling over very much, answered her
helm, and tore furiously through the foaming and loudly-roaring seas.
The captain stood at the binnacle, now anxiously casting his eye along
the reef, now at the sails, then at the compass in the binnacle, and
once more giving a glance to windward. The ship's company were at their
stations ready to obey any order that their officers might issue. Four
of the best men were at the wheel, others were on the look-out forward.
Not a word was spoken. The wind increased rather than lessened after it
first broke on the frigate. Had it been a point more from the eastward,
it would have driven her to speedy destruction. As it was, it enabled
her to lie a course parallel to the reef; but, notwithstanding this, the
leeway she made, caused by the heavy sea and the fury of the gale,
continued to drive her towards it, and the most experienced even now
dreaded that she would be unable to weather the reef.

The hurricane blew fiercer and fiercer. The frigate heeled over till
her lee ports were buried in the foaming, hissing caldron of boiling
waters through which she forced her way. It was with difficulty the
people could keep their feet. The captain climbed up into the weather
mizzen rigging, and there he stood holding on to a shroud, conning the
ship, as c