gether--to trace the natural sequence of the events, and their
development. Yet I must not forget, of course, that he had no knowledge
of those two first incidents. If he had, perhaps he might have stood
where I did. As it was, he had not seemed to reach out at all, you know,
not even in the matter of Tom and the fore royal. Now, however, after
the thing I am about to tell you, he seemed to see a little way into the
darkness, and realise possibilities.

I remember the fourth night, well. It was a clear, star-lit, moonless
sort of night: at least, I think there was no moon; or, at any rate, the
moon could have been little more than a thin crescent, for it was near
the dark time.

The wind had breezed up a bit; but still remained steady. We were
slipping along at about six or seven knots an hour. It was our middle
watch on deck, and the ship was full of the blow and hum of the wind
aloft. Williams and I were the only ones about the maindeck. He was
leaning over the weather pin-rail, smoking; while I was pacing up and
down, between him and the fore hatch. Stubbins was on the look-out.

Two bells had gone some minutes, and I was wishing to goodness that it
was eight, and time to turn-in. Suddenly, overhead, there sounded a
sharp crack, like the report of a rifle shot. It was followed instantly
by the rattle and crash of sailcloth thrashing in the wind.

Williams jumped away from the rail, and ran aft a few steps. I followed
him, and, together, we stared upwards to see what had gone.
Indistinctly, I made out that the weather sheet of the fore t'gallant
had carried away, and the clew of the sail was whirling and banging
about in the air, and, every few moments, hitting the steel yard a blow,
like the thump of a great sledge hammer.

"It's the shackle, or one of the links that's gone, I think," I shouted
to Williams, above the noise of the sail. "That's the spectacle that's
hitting the yard."

"Yus!" he shouted back, and went to get hold of the clewline. I ran to
give him a hand. At the same moment, I caught the Second Mate's voice
away aft, shouting. Then came the noise of running feet, and the rest of
the watch, and the Second Mate, were with us almost at the same moment.
In a few minutes we had the yard lowered and the sail clewed up. Then
Williams and I went aloft to see where the sheet had gone. It was much
as I had supposed; the spectacle was all right, but the pin had gone out
of the shackle, and the shackle itsel